An Henry Stickmin/A Hat In Time crossover project made by @ZoeyAndGuys and @Sage_Larwence for funâA Crash In Time Collectionâ is a fanficion/ask blog project about the Toppats finding themselves stranded on the planet where a hat in time took place. It all seems fine, but it seems something is off... like they is some bigger reason they found themselves here.
Content Warning: Smoking, Drinking, and mentioning Murder, Death, Hell, and some mentions of gore in a chapter or two.
Thanks to the government, the Toppat Orbital Station is thrown out of orbit and crashed landed on an alien planet far away from home. With the station in pieces, the Toppats will likely be forced to spend years of their life there before they can return home. Luckily, one of the members, an alien by the name of 'Hat Girl' has some connections on this planet that will make life here a whole lot easier. Although sometimes it feels like it's too easy. Like there's some bigger reason they're here and are just unaware of...
Hello, and welcome to the A Crash In Time Collection blog! Run by @zoeyandguys and @sage-lawrence!
Info and Rules About Ask:
-The ask blog side of things is not 100% canon to the fanfiction, and should be seen as a slightly alternative universe where outside forces can talk to the characters. To put it simply, the fanficionâs events always happen, but any crazy ask or M!A events donât happen in the actual story.
-No NSFW ask. Both of the creators of the blogs are minors at the time of creating this and even if we werenât, that just isnât our thing.
-No trying to force shipping onto characters of the blog. There are ships, yes copperright exist, but the ships are already set in stone and no about of outside force is changing that.
-No sending ask via submissions or DMs if the ask box is close
-Ask may take a few days to response. We both have lifeâs outside of the blog.
-Magic Anon is allowed, but not all M!A events sent are promised to happen, and only one magic anon is allowed to be active at a time.
-Please try to stay on topic. While there may be expections depending on the ask, this is mostly a Henry Stickmin + Hat in Time blog so ask involving other media may not always be answered. Feel free to send them if you wanna test your luck just, don't be surprised if it doesn't get answered.
-And have fun! This blog was a passion project between us. And we want you to share in the chaos. As if doing some small updates to this, we had so much fun answering the ask we get, even if sometimes we know they feel rush (blame me, Zoey, for that).
First Chapter of Story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30741449/chapters/75872603
Hi, hope you donât mind me asking. Iâm not big on A Hat in Time, but I like Macbeth & Carol, so I had a skim read of your fic, and enjoyed what you wrote. Really good, even if itâs not my cup of tea.
Anyway, I wanted to know what happened with Macbeth & Carol at the end, I wasnât sure if it was a little unclear, or if I missed it.
Thanks!
Thank you for reading! To answer; They're good friends by the end. Their realtionship wasn't shown to much since Macbeth got wrap into a lot of the main plot but it was definitely better then how things started. Carol definitely still makes comments and stuff and Macbeth can get annoyed but it's more of a jokey freind-way then before.
Ok but like. Outside of Mu since the AHIT characters can now canonically go to the Stickman planet do they. Do any of them help the Toppats commit crimes?
"Really? I'm not even blue."
(DW he'd having fun just take aback by the cops thinking guns will work on a ghost. And to answer the question yes. Mostly Snatcher but some of the others join in now and again.)
Ok so. What's gonna happen now? Crime, probably crime?
(also thanks a lot for this story. its been an interesting ride and its a little sad to see it end. hope you guys still take ask because it would be fun to see more of this world.)
It's the Toppats of course the answer is crime!
(Also thank you :')! It's been weird having to be finished after all this time but it was a fun project. Ask will be open in case anyone still does want to ask of course!)
You ever experience that⌠odd feeling? When you know something good is happening but you know it's going to leave you hollow? You knew it was coming, but it felt so far away that you never thought you would get there. That you could stay in this world forever, living out this life full of misadventures⌠Eventually though, you have to go home. You always have to go home. Hat Girl had accepted that long ago, or at least she thought she did. But after everything she's done, after the battle to protect this place⌠knowing it was over left a small sting.
The snow was starting to melt around the forest clearing. It started to fall less. Not quite winter anymore but not quite spring either. An inbetween. One season passing onto the other.
The station had been repaired. Ready to take to the sky again. The only thing keeping the Toppats from launching off right away was making sure everything was working properly. They only had one real shot of launching off the rocket and making it all the way back to their planet. And you better believe Sven was checking everything at least ten times to make sure nothing went wrong. They didn't just go through a year of repairs and other issues for it all to be thrown away.
The checks would be done any day now. Reginald had ordered the members had everything moved back inside the rocket. That they didn't leave a single thing behind. There wasn't any coming back once they left. The only thing that would be left of their presence was the greenhouse and where the earth had been torn from the crash. No proof for anyone who hadn't seen the clan to know they were there. The Greenhouse didn't have markers on it after all. Why would it when it was made purely for survival.
Hat Girl was in the area of the forest just outside the clearing. Taking in the view one last time while she chatted with those from here. Apparently Grooves and Conductor spoke up about how close the station was to being finished when they returned from helping with the fighting. So a lot of people have been coming over the past few days. Making sure they all got to say their goodbyes before she would vanish again. It was such an odd thing to think about, really⌠But she had to face it.
"You know, it's just funny." Adalyn stated, having been leaning against a tree as she spoke, looking to the side. She was keeping a calm, collective look on her face. But the faintest hint of emotion came out in the way she spoke, her eyes trailing up as she rested her hand on her chin. Like she was recalling a memory from long ago and not simply within the last year. "I knew it was going to happen one day but just, never felt like it would get that far? It's like I blinked and suddenly you're going home."
"Trust me, it feels like that for me too." Hat Girl chuckled as she adjusted the scarf around her neck. She paused and glanced down at her hands, slightly scared up from the later fight. Truth be told, she was surprised she was even still standing after it⌠"I should read into that 'Starwalker' stuff Ezra mentioned." She mumbled, ignoring the head tilt
from Adalyn.
"Oh, it's so sad. I thought we would have had more time." Cooking Cat started with a sad chuckle. "But that's life, that comes and goes." She suddenly jerked up, taking out a container from her bag as if she just remembered. "Oh, I made a little something for you all and Mu on the way home."
"Oh, thank you!" Hat Girl stated, starting to open the container to check before she paused, looking at Cooking Cat. "Us and Mu?"
Cooking Cat blinked, turning to the red hooded girl. "Did you not tell them yet?"
Mu sighed as she shook her head, a blush faintly appearing before she looked at Hat Girl. "As wild as it sounds I'm⌠leaving with you." Hat Girl started to speak but Mu raised her hand. "As backwards as it all is, your father's clan has shown more kindness and love to me than most souls on this planet. Besides, Mafia Town made it clear it doesn't need me anymoreâŚ" She let out a sigh, her voice shakey faintly as she spoke. "If you'll have me, of course."
Hat Girl gave a smile. "Well, you'll have to ask Dad about that but, I doubt he'll turn you away." She claimed.
"Just maybe tone down the whole 'criminals bad stuff', and we'll be good." Platinum said, making Mu groaned.
"Don't make me regret this, I don't need my moral compass shifted more." She claimed.
"Now, I'll be no expert but, I'm pretty sure it's shifted a bit Lassie." Conductor spoke up from nearby.
Mu just gave a quick glare. "Don't act like you arenât happy to see me go either."
The Conductor didn't reply, frowning a bit. You couldn't see his eyes but it's clear he was trying to find something to change the conversation⌠Eventually he let out a cough. "Hey, why aren't any of the ghosts here?"
"Oh, last I saw Snatcher he was talking with Dad about something." Platinum shrugged.
"He says since they're so close we can just swing by yourself when it's time for us to go." Hat Girl stated as she looked up. That word was still stinging inside her but it was starting to hurt less. Maybe a little less.
There's only so much a wound can be sting before it stops hurting, she supposed.
Adalyn let out a small yawn as she stretched. "Man⌠I don't know how long itâs been but I hope it hasn't been too long. I doubt I'll be able to make it back down again before you are all gone." She said as she stood up, stretching her arms as she looked over Hat Girl. She smiled a bit and she chuckled, turning invisible. Hat Girl didn't even stop her as she grabbed her hat, chuckling as Adalyn stepped back with it. "Just maybe keep a better eye on your stuff this time around."
"Like I need to be told that." Hat Girl said as she swiped her hat back.
For a while, the conversation shifted to different topics, trying to recall the good times and reassure them that they all would be fine after all this. That no matter where life took them from here, it would be alright. Even if they never saw each other again⌠Footsteps brought them out of their thoughts. "Hey!" Calla's voice called, making the group turn to her as she came over. "There you are! Can you guys head to the station? Reginald said there was something he wanted to show you all."
"As in, all of us all of us?" Cooking Cat asked for clarification, getting a simple nod from the Toppat, a smile on her face. One that seemed to have a bit of purpose behind it. Hat Girl tilted her head. Sure Calla was a happy soul but she didn't have that type of smile to her. Cooking Cat hummed. "Well, it would be rude to keep them waiting. It must be something special."
"Oh, it might be." Calla quickly covered her mouth, like she almost ruined some sort of surprise, before just gesturing for the group to follow her. Hat Girl began to follow and the rest followed suit. The remains of snow crunching under their feet as the sun warmed them whenever they weren't cast in shadows.
"So⌠since this is the last time I'm gonna be here." Adalyn whispered as she went up to Hat Girl. "Can I steal something from you?"
Hat Girl rose a brow. "Ever heard of honor among thieves?"
Adalyn rolled her eyes as Mu let out a simple groan, Conductor and Cooking Cat both snickering at the simple interaction between the two. Hat Girl smiled at that. At least she could cherish these simple memories now. Even if they had to leave first thing tomorrow, they would be fineâŚ
Eventually the group would arrive at an area at the edge of the clearing, a few trees having been dotted around. It wasn't an area people normally went to, Hat Girl never knew why. She knew recently her dads would come near the area, occasionally with one of the toppats that had a background in construction, but never put too much thought into it. She always assumed if there was anything, it was something for their basic survival assuming repairs took longer than it did. However that didn't seem to be the case now they were there.
In the clearing was a structure. Not quite a house but more of a house's foundation. It had a roof with half walls and foundational parts all around. It looked less to live in and more to protect something. And on the ground, underneath a glass panel in the roof was some circular metal device. Hat Girl paused when she saw that. It looked an awful lot like the device they used to beam people down and back up when they were still in earth's orbit.
"Huh? They've been working on a science project or something?" Platinum asked as he walked up, tapping the top of the device slightly. It gave a simple metal clang in response. The middle had a circle that was glowing despite not being on. He bent down and enhanced his vision, seeing swirls of what seemed to be pure magic inside of it. He hummed as he sat up. "Huh⌠I guess we know why Dad asked for Snatcher's help." He turned to Hat Girl. "But doesn't explain why he made this."
"It's a little too late for a device for this planet's travel." She hummed as she went up to check for herself. There was a control panel nearby, but it seemed to be an automatic one. She heard a chuckle from the woods nearby, seeing Snatcher and Reginald come up the bushes. Shadow Kid hopped off her father's back as she raced over, Hat Girl giving a wave as she tilted her head. "Dad, what's this for? I know you have the one for the station installed, what's this device for?" She questioned, looking back down at the device.
"Well, that's the tricky thing." Reginald gave a sigh, but he had a hopeful smile on his face. "We⌠know how important this world is to you, Hattie. So I started plans for this device a few months ago. With the magic connecting it to the teleporter in the orbital station, in theory it should allow us to travel between here and the orbital station." He looked up. "I can't promise it will but there's a chance. Snatcher and Randy provided the magic, I made sure all the coding was right."
"I even stole some of that decoration's magic for it, not like he's going to be using it anymore." Snatcher chuckled, even as his eyes dimmed slightly from the faint mention of Ezra. Hat Girl paused, that seemed like a risky move. On the other hand, any magic that was able to open a world between the living world and afterlife, surely it could handle the concept of teleportation, right? "We already tested with an apple, it works here." He hummed.
"Did the apple make it completely in one piece?" Adalyn asked. Snatcher didn't respond to that. She looked around, seeing the apple placed to the side. Perfectly intact aside from being left out a little. "Why did you imply otherwise?" She asked, just getting a small chuckle from the ghost. Hat Girl stepped off the machine, going over to look over the control panel, Adalyn following her movements. "It is a fancy piece of tech you got here. I'm impressed, didn't think you had it in you." She said, glancing at Reginald with a smirk, who rolled his eyes in response.
"Isn't this great, Hat Girl!" Shadow Kid said as she climbed up the control panel. Hat Girl nodded as Shadow Kid took her hand, looking up at her in joy. Like a little sister to a big sister, almost. It was almost funny. Shadow Kid then stood up on the control panel, putting her hands in the air with a smile as she glanced up. "You can visit all the time, there's so much I want to do with you still!"
"Would be fun to see if you could beat me in a race around Subcon one day." Hat Girl mused with a hum as she looked up slightly. However, the smile on her face still had some sorrow in it. As great as it was to think it wasn't all over⌠it also stung because she knew it was just a chance. A chance that likely wouldn't end up happening if things were too far away. "Just, know it might take a little." Hat Girl said as she glanced at her. "Could take years before we make it home for all we know."
"I hope not, Sven is already stressing about the food supply." Calla stated from nearby, rolling her eyes. "We have magic on our side now, it shouldn't be hard to cause duplication." Hat Girl chuckled a bit at that, as Calla glanced out at the forest nearby, giving a hum in thought as she turned to Reginald, who tilted his head as he saw an idea appear in her eyes. "You know Chief, if this device you make works, it might not be a bad idea to set up a backup base here. I mean, the clearing was technically given to us by the prophecy."
"HmmmâŚ. I haven't thought about that." Reginald hummed as he brought a hand to his chin. He looked to the side. It would be good to have in case they ever ran into a crisis or something and couldn't beam down to earth. And as odd as it was to think, they had far more friends than enemies here. He crossed his arms as he looked down at the device he made, the magic aura glowing still. "âŚWe'll have to wait and see, but if everything falls into place, I'll speak to Right Hand Man about it."
Mu was quiet. "It⌠might be nice to come back once in a while." She said as she went up and picked up Shadow Kid from the top of the control panel. Reginald tilted his head at her wording, before it clicked and he just gave a small smile. About time if you asked him, he and Right already had a room set up and ready for her. Mu turned her attention to the group from this planet, mainly Cooking Cat. "âŚThanks again for putting up with me after all this time. Even after the whole 'burn down the world thing.'" She let out a goran as she finished, her mind cringing at the memory.
Cooking Cat gave a gentle smile. "Don't go thanking me, I just did what anyone would do." She did pause and give a hum. "âŚAlthough do try and avoid letting something like that happen again, I doubt their planet can take it." Mu let out a chuckle despite the glare on her face. Cooking Cat adjusted her hat before looking up, humming at the sun's position in the sky. "The rest of us should be getting back, it'll be late at this rate." She claimed, looking over the toppats again.
"Oh boy, time for more emotional nonsense." Snatcher rolled his eyes but his tone was clearly more sarcastic than usual. He picked up Shadow Kid, placing her on his back again, before he paused, looking over Hat Girl once again. It was almost crazy to think once he wanted nothing more than to see her dead, and now⌠He rolled his eyes as he forced his more typical tone. "Don't go dying on me out there, that would be a tragedy." Without another word, he floated off into the forest to return to Subcon, despite Shadow Kid's protest being heard clear as day.
"That wanderin' phantom is so bad at hidin' his emotions." Conductor stated, before he looked over at Hat Girl. He walked up and looked up at her. "Ah, lassie. Make it home safe, you hear? And make sure Macbeth gets a better kind of beer, I think there's something wrong with his." She chuckled at the bird's comment but nodded. He tilted his head to her, and quietly said "Thank ye again for everythingâŚ" Before he started to walk away. "Alright, let's go. Felines, you manded the boat."
"We know!" Adalyn said, calling after him as Cooking Cat started to walk away. She quickly turned to Mu. "Is there anything of yours you need from-" She stopped, Mu shaking her head before she even finished. Dumb question, really, but she just wanted to be sure. He nodded and looked at Hat Girl, giving a quick hug. "Stay safeâŚ" She claimed, before rushing off with the group, turning invisible to hide any sorrow on her face.
"We should head back too." Reginald stated. "I need to finish the checks with Sven."
With that, the toppats and Mu began to head back to the station for what would be one of the last times. Hat Girl gave the device a final look as she walked away. She still had her doubts but she hoped it worked⌠If not⌠She sighed. At least she had her memories.
It was finally happening. The day had come. Everyone was inside the rocket. Everything was preparing for launch. Burt was speaking over the speakers, telling members to make sure they were doing everything they were told. Be in a safe spot, ideally strapped in somewhere, for the takeoff. You could faintly hear Fredrick talking to him in the background, and while Burt mostly ignored him, you could hear the smile in how he spoke. It was time. After so long yet, oddly so little.
Hat Girl was in her room, Platinum, Mu, and Van in with her. Rumbi was resting by her feet, letting out worried whirl-like sounds as slowly they heard the engines become more and more active as the rocket prepared. Platinum was resting by the door, and Mu and Van were resting by a wall, Van showing Mu a book about their planet's world history to give her an idea of what it would be like. The artificial gravity was already on, so they should be fine. But a few chairs were moved in and temporality bolted down, straps on them, just in case. Hat Girl stared out the window.
"Is it just me, or can I see Snatcher from here?" She whispered as she looked out into Subcon's forest. She could see it from here, could faintly see the top of what she assumed was Snatcher's tree. And she could have sworn something was waving from the top⌠She found herself waving back despite knowing there was no way anyone would be able to see her from there. "I wish we could stay longer." She whispered. But she had to embrace returning to her home. Their home. It wouldn't be fair to keep the clan here just for her sake.
Burt's voice came over the sparkers again, slightly louder than before. "We are initiating takeoff. Stay still and put until we bypast the planet's orbit. There's no promise the place won't flip over mid air." Hat Girl couldn't tell if Burt was serious there, or if it was some sort of joke. But the rocket did begin to shake slightly as the energy and fuel began to course through it. It was happening, now.
Platinum quickly pulled Hat Girl into one of the seats, strapping her in. He looked at her as she rose a brow. "Hey, even I know how risky it is." He said, before going to help Van into one of them, Mu walked over to the window for a moment to look out the window. There was a quick flash of hesitation in her eyes, but it was too late to act on it. Even if she used her timepiece to rewind time, she wouldn't make it far. "Mustache Girl, get strapped into a chair before you fall."
She gave a small chuckle, when was he the responsible one? She looked out the window one last time before heading to a seat, looking at Hat Girl in the process. She already made her choice. She just had to wait and see how things played out now. She sat in a seat and got strapped in, before Platinum went to his and sat. The shaking increased as a low rumbling came from below them, before it sounded around them. Hat Girl felt her stomach go light as it began to take off into the sky. Quickly.
Hat Girl closed her eyes, before pausing and shifting her gaze to the window, holding onto her seat a bit as she watch the window become a blur of blue and white as they rushed higher into the sky. "âŚGoodbye." She quickly said, a small smile on her face despite the words, before she closed them again. Taking some breaths as time seemed to speed up and slow down as the rocket fought its way through the atmosphere and orbit and into the vast wave of space. Waiting for the clearance to move.
She felt her stomach get lighter again for a moment, before it lowered. She heard Mu groan nearby, could practically see her place a hand to her head despite Hat Girl's eyes being closed. She couldn't blame her. You get used to the feeling when you been in space a few times but Mu only ever was up here twice. And doing so via rocket was likely different then whatever method she had used to get up in the past⌠she never did ask her about that, huh? Well, they had all the time too now, Hat Girl suppose. She hummed in that thought.
After what felt like forever yet no time at all, the rumbling slowed to a stop, only the faint hum of machinery could be heard. After about a minute, the speaker came back out. "We successfully broke out of orbit and are on the way back home. It is now safe to wander. If you got injured during takeoff, head to the medical bay immediately." Burt gave a hum. "Or not, if you want to play the risk game. I'm not in charge." Fredrick called out something that wasn't picked up by the mic before it closed off.
After a moment, just to be sure, Hat Girl unstrapped herself and stood up. Looking at the state of things. "Well, it's gonna be annoying to get the chairs out." She said as she scanned around. A few things were knocked over, but everything seemed intact. Rumbi let out a whirring sound as he came out from under her bed where he had dashed, his eyes swirling. She picked him up with a smile. "Are you alright little buddy?" She asked, getting a beep in response.
"I hope we never have to do that again." Van said as they groan, standing up and adjusting their hat. Platinum got out of his chair and looked Van over, holding their hand as he checked. Van leaned closer to him and it triggered Platinum's blush feature, the robot mumbling when he realized he was feeling that heat in his cheeks. Van gave him a small, shy smile as they looked at him. "Uh⌠is it bad I like that little feature?" Platinum's blush grew, making the girls both laugh a little.
"Oh, you are still helpless, huh?" Mu stated with a raised brow as she sat down on Hat Girl's bed, crossing her arms with a smug smile. Platinum just rolled his eyes as he stuck his metallic tongue out at her. She then looked out the window, standing up to get closer. Watching the endless sea of stars and planets pass by. She couldn't help but hum a bit. "âŚNever could understand how someone could be used to seeing this all everyday."
"Eh, you do after a while. It's easier to think of it as just darkness with colorful dots then, well, space." Hat Girl chuckled. She stood beside Mu, poking her head near the edge of the window. They were already so far from the planet, it was barely in view. Mostly purple from Subcon's forest but she could see hints of green and yellow⌠It was always so pretty⌠"..I'm glad you decided to join us Mu." Hat Girl said as she looked at her. "I always wished I could do more to give you a better life."
"No, you didn't." Mu chuckled with a head shake, looking over at Hat Girl who frowned slightly. "âŚOk, fine. Maybe you did." She said as she leaned against the wall, turning away from the window. She let out a breath and the tension in her shoulders faded a bit. Not a lot but enough to be noticed. Like a passive weight had just been lifted off her and likely wasn't going back on anytime soon. "âŚSo what do we⌠do?" She awkwardly said as she looked around. "I never really had free time to experiment with before." She claimed.
"Well." Platinum said, opening a drawer on Hat Girl's desk as he shook off the blush. "There is always the friendship ruiner." He said as he pulled out a pack of uno cards. Hat Girl gave a smirk that Platinum returned, sitting down on the floor.
"Don't you dare think of putting two draw cards on me in a row, again." Hat Girl warned.
Platinum gave an offended gasp, putting his hand to his chest. But he gave a devilish smirk in return, a silent warning to her.
The group gathered on the floor and Van began to deal out the cars. Rumbi drove up to Hat Girl's side, resting by her with a beep. She chuckled as she patted the top of his head. She found her gaze shifting towards the window as the game began.
Maybe that chapter of their lives were over⌠maybe they would never return to it again⌠But maybe that was ok. As long as they had the memories of that time to hold onto. Maybe it would make their lives all the more meaningful. No matter where life took them from here.
In theory, they could have shut off the station with all the power they had, and they in theory would have returned to Earth in a days time. After all, the initial crash that sent the clan to the strange planet did so very quickly. No one was able to keep track of time, but it was agreed it took less than a day. But Reginald and Right had decided that putting that much force on the station again was a risk, and therefore the trip was going to take a lot longer back then it had almost a year ago.
The next few days were⌠a little odd, to say the least. There was an underlying tension in the air, there was no denying that. Thoughts of what would happen if they didn't get home. At least on the strange planet they were stranded on they could get more supplies. And while the more optimistic members tried to keep the mood light as the days passed, it was impossible to shake it off completely.
What if all their work had been for nothing, after all? What if they got themselves stuck slowly starving to death in space? Left to rot with the topbots eventually being the only human-like things on board. Should they have just stayed on the planet?
Regardless, the members slowly made their way through the day to day. Living out life as they had before the station had crashed. Preparing heists for once they return to earth's orbit, playing card games such as poker in the Orion Lounge. Macbeth and Randy did their best to keep the kids entertained, and Hat Girl and the others simply wandered around, finding things to do each day to pass the time.
It wasn't uncommon to catch members in the cafeteria, watching the endless voice of space pass by. Snatcher had given them some magic to use to boost the speed of the trip, making it take much less time then if they relied on the system alone. So while it hurt their eyes to look at at first with the fast speed, as the magic slowly wore off and they traveled slower and slower, many took the chance to see the parts of space no human had seen before and likely would never see again.
On the seventh night of travel, as the members were all starting to head to bed for the night, one happened to point out a familiar shape in the window as they passed by. Neptune.
From there Reginald had decided to use the last of the magic during the night to make sure they would be home by the time it was morning. Jaques stayed up to man the control room in case anything went wrong during the cycle, Randy stopping by once or twice to make sure everything was alright.
By the time most of the clan woke up the following day, the station was perfectly back in orbit. Floating in space, facing the Earth. Like nothing had ever happened.
Oh to see the look on the government's faces when they realized.
The clan members initially began to celebrate, some roping Randy into setting up an impromptu party for the occasion, which the man was more then happy with once he got Reginald's approval Macbeth was beside him as he did, Alexsandera wrapped around his shoulders. For the first time in a long while he seemed truly alive. Despite being a ghost.
However, despite it all, there was only one thought on Hat Girl's mindâŚ
She stood in front of the device on the ground. A perfect match to the one back on the planet. Even now, despite the distance, the glow was still there. Reginald was sitting at the control panel, making sure the settings were right. "Hattie⌠Are you sure you don't want one of us to test it first?"
She shook her head, looking over at him. "It has to be me, Dad. It has too." She said as she stood on the device.
Reginald gave a quiet nod as he pressed the button on the panel, allowing the machine to fully activate.
The device began to hum for a moment, a light coming up from it. It filled her vision before she closed her eyes. It got numb for a second. A single second that felt like years, before slowly feeling returned to her. She couldn't hear the clan celebrating in the background anymore. InsteadâŚ
"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
Hat Girl barely had time to react before she was pulled up into the air, her hat falling to the ground. She opened her eyes to see herself being held by her ankle by a certain phantom, his daughter resting on his head, trying to mimic the smug look he wore.
She stared for a moment⌠before she began to chuckle. "It workedâŚ" Her chuckles turned to laughter as she swung herself closer to Snatcher, hugging him. The ghost let out a hiss at that, but didn't try to pull her off. "It actually worked! I-I thoughtâŚ" She began to tear up, but she paused as she noticed some tents nearby. "âŚDid you seriously camp here to see if it worked."
"No." Snatcher said, pulling her off him and gently sitting her on the ground, rolling his eyes. "We just happened to be playing camp when you came up, isn't that clear?" He scoffed, but Shadow Kid shook her head, placing a finger on her mouth.
Hat Girl nodded at the ghost claims, before looking back at the device. She took his hand, giving him a smirk. "We're having a party, why don't you join us?"
"A party!?" Shadow Kid clapped her hands before she looked at Snatcher. "Can we, Papa?!"
Snatcher gave a thoughtful hum, before beginning to float over. "You know what? Why not? Now that I know this steel platform actually works, I need to discuss something with Randy and Macbeth anyway." He smirked, he could practically hear the ghost's groans if he heard him. If the spell worked that far away, oh boyâŚ
Hat Girl smiled as she stepped onto the platform again, Snatcher reaching over and pressing the button as he floated up beside her. In another flash, they were gone from that spot and in another. Ready to start the new chapter of the wild life they led.
Sometimes a story doesn't end. Not truly. Sometimes it changes, evolves, and appears again just when you think it's overâŚ
Hat Girl couldn't wait to see what laid ahead for her now.
The flames grew ever brighter along the forest floor, along the trees. Along every inch they touched. Ezra couldn't help but grin. Finally, things were turning out how he would like it. He still had to track down the Moonjumper, the coward hiding from his doom. But there was only so far he could go in his forest of flames. Eventually they would catch up to him. Eventually they could get a hold of him. Keep him trapped until Ezra was there to take every spect of magic that coursed through the lunar deity's veins. And once the Moonjumper was drained of everything he was worth, Ezra was going to enjoy watching him bleed out. Slowly, painfully. Begging for a quicker death that would never come⌠perfect.
Ezra stood proudly in the middle of the battlefield, having taken a moment to catch his breath. His guards were taking care of the foes well enough. He could tell most were closing their energy.
He glanced back in the direction of Vanessa, finding her still laying cold on the ground. He frowned. Truth be told, part of him wished for something more from her. Her waking up and trying to take him by surprise. Getting a single scratch at most before Ezra set her falling, burning down the canyon outside her icey domain. He wondered if she would have died from the impact of the ground or burning to death first. Part of him wondered if death was even possible for her.
He shook his head. He shouldn't be concerning the fate of the ice witch that was only a pawn in his plans. He had his own destiny to worry about. He glanced in the direction he last recalled seeing the Moonjumper, and began to head over. Trying to regain his energy for a losing battle. How pathetic. Although Ezra did find himself enjoying this twisted game he was playing, even if just a bit. The cat loved to watch the mouse struggle in vain before making its final pounce. He wanted to hear the Moonjumper squeak, squeal, scream.
That was the one thing he didn't like about his original plan.
He didn't actually get to see the first die. Didn't get to watch his final moments. Oh, but he remembered Victor's eyes when he recounted them during Ezra's trial. The eyes, forever scarred by such a sight. It made him grin.
âŚHe had been distracted by his thoughts a little too much it seemed.
He barely registered the glowing blue below him before it suddenly shot from the earth itself. Pain coursed through his body as he felt his skin burn and freeze at the same time, slashes going across his skin. He jumped out of the pillar of pain, landing on all fours like a feline as he tried to scan for the ghost, intending on throwing a wave of fire in retaliation for the attack.
Only to pause when he saw the ghost dealing with some of the larger, more stronger guards. His long body wrapped around the two mortal men on the battlefield, the fully mortal one trying to help with that odd device while the one that was briefly Vanessa's puppet rested on his shoulder.
Snatcher was fully focused on the guards, there wasn't a chance he could have been behind that attack.
Especially an attack that felt so⌠strange. One that didn't feel like it belonged to this planet. It felt similar to the Moonjumper's but different⌠He tried to scan his mind and he remembered in his younger years, studying the myths not just from here, but from beyond the stars. Stories pieced together from relics of another civilization far beyond his planet's reach.
The Starwalker. A deitel figure that was depicted in myths of some society made of people that looked like humans but were far from it. It could take the magic from memories of places and channel it. There was only ever one at a time. And most Starwalkers were never pushed to the point of having access to its magic. Most lived their whole lives never knowing what they really were.
"You're awfully quiet now, aren't you?"
That voice. He only heard it a few times but instantly the image of the teen girl he hadn't paid too much attention to came to mind. The one in purple clothing. The one that was there the day they snuck into the tower of ice. The one that seemed so⌠normal.
He turned to where the voice came from and paused. At first glance she looked normal but⌠something was wrong. There was a subtle but unignorable energy going through her from. It reminded him of the stars in the night sky. It felt⌠transcendent. Her eyes were closed, but she tilted her head, frowning as if she could see him.
Surely this must be some trick. Part of some plan to throw him off.
"This isn't your battle." Ezra hissed as he charged an attack, sending fire off his hand right at her. She stepped to the side. "I would recommend saving yourself the pain and let me have what I want."
"You don't get it, do you?" Hat Girl asked as she stepped forward. The air chilled around her. Not like Vanessa's harsh winter but more like a gentle rain. Just gentle enough that the fire around her seemed to vanish at the mere sight of her persense. "This planet means a lot to me. To the Toppats, even if most aren't willing to admit it. My friends live here. And you won't be satisfied even if you take it all."
The demon rolled his eyes. "So what there's truth in your words. Don't you see. From the very start of your time here, the clock's been ticking down to me." He grinded. "Every mindless breath. Every tiny moment. Not for your Moonjumper. Not even for whatever goal you were hoping to reach. All for me. The stars aligned for me."
He threw another attack, a much larger ball of flame. This time Hat Girl wasn't able to dodge the attack completely. But when the smoke gave way, she looked like she had only had scratches at most⌠That made Ezra frown. That⌠shouldn't be possible. It was an act.
Her eyes opened. No longer looking like human eyes. At first looking like the starry sky above them. But the longer you looked into them, the more complex they seemed to get. And it was very hard not to look into them once they were open. Time seemed to freeze completely for a single second, just long enough for her to speak a few words.
"You'll wish you would've stayed in Hell."
She was in his face the next second, her hand bursting in energy before she unleashed it.
Ezra summoned some fire to take the hit, but he was knocked back. Crashing into a tree. His skin was torn somewhere. He felt blood pour down his back.
But even so, he took notice of the flicker her eyes gave with the attack⌠He grinded. Even if it was the worst, whatever she was running off on, it was limited. He just had to make her waste it all, then he could get back to his task.
He forced a grin on his face. "Fine, little Starwalker. You want to die for a useless cause? Be my guest." With that he slammed his tail against the ground, spikes of Ice and Fire approaching rapidly to her location. She dashed out of the way as she formed a planet-shaped projectile in her hand, tossing it at him like a bomb. He ducked to the side. The dance of battle had begun.
The two began to clash against one another. And it very quickly was noticed by the group fighting. Both the team for the Moonjumper, and the guards for Ezra. Like whatever life was behind their soulless form had to see what the commotion was about. Snatcher was the first to snap out of it, quickly using the opportunity to fire beams at the guards, shattering or at least cracking most of them. But even then his movements were shaky. Both from the lacking energy and the confusion over the new factor suddenly thrown into the battle.
Not that he was complaining, of course.
It gave the rest of the fighters on the field an advantage. Some guards would go over to try and help Ezra, allowing the group to take them by surprise. Snatcher focused his attention on the larger ones still while the birds focused on the guards more in the distance, using the same tools Grooves used to fight Hat Girl so many years ago now. The human fighters focused on the ones coming closer. They seemed to be weaker than the rest, or maybe the fire resistant spell was fading now that the one who used it seemed to be knocked out.
Still, despite it all, the group couldn't help but turn to look at the fight between Hat Girl and Ezra, even if it was only for a second or two. Hat Girl had always been a capable and decently strong fighter, mostly when she was a child on this planet. But this magic. It wasn't like what they had seen from her⌠But for those from this planet, they could recognize little sparks. Ghostly magic coming from the beams Hat Girl shot, the red dash in the dark whenever she would charge at the demon. It reminded them of the fights they had against her all that time ago. Their planet's magic.
"Hattie?" Reginald would try to call out to her once the battlefield around him and Right cleared a bit. She stepped to the side of an attack, briefly looking over at him, her eyes closed. She just silently nodded before she dashed forward to the demon again. Reginald was going to follow her, but suddenly another one of those ice-creatures like the one that took Randy down appeared in his way. He went to shoot, but a lazer came just over his shoulder, shattering it. He heard Right groan from the action.
Luckily, the sounds of the fight started to get quieter. Guards started to retreat, heading to the nicer areas to try and prevent more damage. Snatcher thought about following, but saw the chance to rest and allowed it, falling down to the ground to rest. Mu and Platinum rushed over, Platinum going up to Right to check him over. He wouldn't have been able to help but he still wanted to try⌠He looked back over at the fight his sister was having with the demon, catching her open eyes.
"The metro." The topbot said aloud, earning confused looks before he turned back to the group. "When Hattie needed to be saved from the metro, during that fight. She had a weird spark in her eyes. Like her eyes now but smaller. I think whatever's going on its, always been there.."
"Would have been nicer if the lassie started usin' it at the beginning of the fight." Conductor stated, rubbing his face to the point his feathers ruffled enough you could briefly see his green eyes. Everyone was starting to form a bit of a headache, fighting in an environment with bright flames around wasn't exactly healthy for one's vision. He leaned against a rock as he looked over at Hat Girl, seeing her form a dome around herself. "Hey, didn't ya use something like that in yer fight, Mu?"
Mu nodded quietly while Right coughed, rubbing his head. "God. W'otever's goin' on wit' âer better not be permanent, I'm not about to be dealin' with a god kid." Despite the stress of the battle still in the air, that still earned some chuckles. "Snatcher, make sure I get a good 'it on Vanessa once t'is is all overâŚ"
The phantom chuckled. "Oh don't worry, I'll make sure you get one⌠I'm surprised she hasn't gotten up yet." He mumbled as he looked over to where her body still laid nearby. He could see the faint rise and fall of her chest, so she wasn't dead, unfortunately. But still, something felt off.
DJ Grooves studied Hat Girl's movements as he watched her and Ezra fight. The demon summoned a cloud of smoke, using it as a distraction to charge ahead. Hat Girl failed to react in time, her arm getting slashed. Even from a distance, Grooves could see it sparkle in a way it hadn't before, at least to his knowledge. It felt like she had changed. Yet not at all. "Did she ever tell you two about where she came from?" He asked as he turned to Reginald and Right Hand Man.
Reginald was quiet for a moment. "A little." He answered. "But nothing like this⌠She only told us after the Metro."
Platinum hummed. "If I remember right, the Empress had her in some device that brought back her memories of back then. It messed her up for a while afterwards." He shivered slightly as he recalled those days. The way there wasn't as much light behind his sister's eyes. It just didn't feel right. He then paused. "That was the same day I saw that sparkle⌠I wonder if that machine unlocked it, somehow. And we're just seeing it at full power now."
Right groaned slightly. "It's possible, I supposeâŚ" He paused as he quickly switched his hand to a blaster, firing at a stray guard he heard try to sneak up beside him. The pieces went flying, all of them having to duck.
"Righty, rest." Reginald said as he wiped some sweat off his husband's brow, wrapping his finger around a loose strand of hair as he did. Right hissed in pain as he switched back to his hand. "You're still recovering."
"I'll rest w'en I'm dead." The Cyborg replied with a groan.
"Righty, I'm serious!"
Right sighed at Reginald's tone. "Trust me, I know⌠I just can't 'elp but feel a bad. We couldn've been done wit' t'is w'ole t'ing by now if I just 'adn't lost control of myself."
Snatcher sighed as he looked down at Right, shaking his head slightly. "Well, that's the whole thing about being a puppet. You have no control over your actions, at the mercy of whoever pulls your strings⌠but don't worry. No one's going to pull our strings again, never."
Mu paused. "Uh, I understand you guys are having a nice moment and all." She said as she turned to face them. "But you might wanna wrap it up, they're coming back!"
Platinum chuckled as he sat up. "Well then, showtime!" He began to race to the upcoming guards.
"Platinum Copperbottom get back to your normal spot- and he's not going to listen, is he?" Reginald asked, getting a quick head shake from the others.
The guards came around quickly, and the fight resumed. The quick rest only did so much for the mortal team, and even if they defeated all the guards, more will just come in their place. They just had to hope they could clear out the guards quickly and then help Hat Girl take Ezra out before that happened.
Meanwhile, the Demon and Starwalker were still locked in their battle. Although it was clear both sides were starting to tire out. Sweat was falling down Ezra's face, and the minor wounds along him didn't naturally heal as quick as they were earlier. Even with Vanessa's magic, he was starting to run out. It couldn't end like this. He put so much into this plan, he refused to let it die like this.
His mind started to lose calculating thought as he let the pure demonic instincts take over. He needed to find the Moonjumper now, but this brat wouldn't leave his way. He shot a fire ball into the sky, it bursting and causing a lava-fall to pool, forcing Hat Girl to get higher up, lose ground. But she simply jumped. Platforms of stars appearing under her as she clapped her hands, purple vines sprouting from the earth and trying to wrap the demon, Ezra slashing through them. They appeared to be fire resistant, but not immune to the sharp claws
Hat Girl looked up slightly to check on her friends. The blank face she wore since her powerup faded to faintly show concern as she saw her friends fight. They weren't going to last much longer like this. She needed to stop the guards now.
If Ezra slipped away from her sights during the process, so what?
If she got harmed during the process, so what?
Her family would be safe. That was all that mattered at that very second.
Her eyes began to glow brighter as she took a few steps in the direction of the main fight. Ezra tried to cut her off with an attack but she simply dashed ahead while time was slowed, making it miss her completely. She stood up on a rock and glanced over the situation.
The fire burning the beautifully haunted woods of Subcon forest. Her friends, her family slowly getting more worn out and injured. Enough was enough.
"Leave. Them. ALONE." She called out as she raised her hand, it beginning to glow. With as much magic as she could course though herself, she summoned a glowing orb above her head. Simple at first, unassuming. Until an eye appeared in it, scanning around until Hat Girl pointed at her targets, the guards. It blinked once, then faded.
It began to glow, and glow brightly. Bright enough to where once could easily consider it blinding. The guards seemed to take notice of this and raced over to attack. Slowly their movements began to slow, their bodies began to drip. Waves of blue and orange magic came from their bodies and were absorbed into the orb. Almost instantly the guards started melting, and the fire that came off them began to be drawn into the orb. Because of that, the guards couldn't be melted away completely, but it left them barely holding their shape, all of them.
Snatcher was quick to throw out attacks to start destroying them before they could take another chance to attack, the birds following in toe. Mu raced up to shatter some of the closer ones, each one bursting with only a few good hits. The guards meanwhile had their attacks slowed. After a few swings, not even hits, their weapons would snap and shatter. Leaving them defenseless⌠As if they posed much of a threat anymore.
Many just slowed to a stop in their movements, even as Ezra shouted from nearby for them to get moving. Ezra tried to snap his fingers, force his guards to do anything. It was only then Ezra noted the same waves coming from him, before absorbing into the orb. As well as that, he noticed he was starting to feel weaker.
He glared in the direction of Hat Girl, summoning a massive fireball and aiming it right at her. It would have been a perfect hit, had it not also begun to be absorbed into the orb. "Stop it, Starwalker!" He roared, even as he fell to the ground, his head beginning to go light. "What do you think you're doing!?"
She didn't answer. Her face perfectly still. Not even a single breath. Stars were just shining in her eyes now. They were appearing around her skin, shining through. Like the body she had her entire life was nothing more than an extra covering over what was really underneath.
The fire began to fade and disappeared from the trees, being pulled into the orb. Hat Girl began to sweat, closing her eyes tight. Like the orb was an extension of herself and she couldn't take it anymore.
With a sudden scream, Hat Girl raised her hand into the air again. The orb suddenly rushed up, out of view of the human eyesâŚ. although there seemed to be a single aspect of blue and orange in the sky after a moment.
What a sight it must have been up close.
After that, Hat Girl fell to the ground, hard. Platinum raced over to check on her, as she coughed out blood. Her eyes were back to normal, although they looked drained. Like she hadn't slept in years. All the weird star stuff was gone, leaving just her. The same girl who walked into this forest. The same as when she first returned to this planet all that time ago.
Platinum held her close, reaching for her forehead. He had sensors in his hands designed to pick up on heat readings. It was burning. He took off his charm and placed it on her head to try and help soothe the heat quickly. "It's ok, Hattie, look at me." Platinum spoke, her eyes following his face as he forced a smile. "You did it, it's gonna be ok."
"Hat Girl, what were you thinking?!" Mu asked as she ran over, the rest of the group following behind. She got on the ground beside her, taking her hand as she looked at her. "âŚYou could've gotten yourself killed. You could have waited." Hat Girl nodded slightly with her claims.
The rest of the group came up, all getting around her to check if she was ok. Most of the fire was dealt with, they could afford to let it burn for just a moment more. Reginald checked her pulse. Her heartbeat was slower then it should be.
They almost forgot about the demon.
Ezra pounced on the group, grabbing onto Snatcher and biting into him with his teeth, a burn being left with the marks as Snatcher shook him off like he was a bug. The demon caught himself on the ground and growled, glaring at them all.
"Fine, Starwalker, youâve taken that power." He started with a chuckle, even as a nervous sweat betrayed him. "It doesn't matter. If the Moonjumper hasn't returned by now, surely he must be weak! I will steal his magic, and then I will tear you apart, limb by limb, begging for the sweet release of death I won't let-"
Suddenly a blast came from the side, knocking him from the trail to a clearing in the area, withered bushes and vines dotted about. Macbeth glared at him before he went over to Hat Girl, applying his heal magic. "Kid, what on earth did you do to yourself?"
"R-Randy. I-Is he?" Hat Girl asked with a cough as she looked over at Macbeth.
There was a laugh from Ezra as he got up, taking some breaths. Trying to keep the illusion he still had everything under control, even as it failed bit by bit. "What's even the point?" Ezra asked mockingly. "I can never be contain in a normal cell. And I already escaped death once, escaped the very pits of Hell! I still have the fire spirits magic in me! I will be back." He smirked. "So why fight? I win in the end."
Macbeth looked at him, and gave a smirk. "If we were going to kill you, Dad would have torn you apart by now." Macbeth looked at Snatcher. "Remember how you and Randy first met?"
Snatcher tilted his head, before he turned his attention back to the demon. Mainly the charred, but still noticeably purple vines just under the demon's feet. He gave a smirk and shot a single beam of magic, landing just in front of the demon's feet. The demon scoffed at what seemed to be a perfect miss.
Until suddenly a light shot from the ground, leaving Ezra stunned for a moment. His eyes dashed around in awareness, but his body was forced into a slow state. The vines reached up, quickly wrapping around the demon, who couldn't even get a spark going afterwards. Snatcher began to summon a beam under him, ready to finish the job.
"Let me."
Randy's voice came so suddenly through the air, and for the first time it didn't sound just like Randy, but like something more. Snatcher lowered his hands as the beams faded, a faint shake to them. Red strings appeared from the sky and began to wrap around Ezra. Ezra tried to send up the fire sprirt's magic to attack but the vines kept his magic in place, unuseable. He was trapped.
Ezra glared up as the Moonjumper made his presence known in the sky, basking in the cold light of Subcon's moon. Still injured. Scars littered over him. Blood and bandaged up in places. Eyes drain of anything but pure hatred.
Ezra was so close. So. So close.
Magic began to flow through the string, coursing into Ezra's body. It suddenly felt a lot harder to breathe. Not in the traditional sense, but more like he didn't need air⌠He tried to fight, but his body began to stiff up. He smirked as he went to make a comment in an attempt to scare the Moonjumper, only for his mouth to lock in place.
"Ezra. I'm not giving some grand deity speech because I don't want to waste more breath on you." Randy stated as he looked down at the demon, watching as the harsh colors slowly faded into grayer shades, all while the demon struggled in vain. "You will not be set back to Hell to break out again. You will not be kept in a cell where you can still breath and move. You will remain here, in this exact spot, perfectly aware yet helpless to the elements for the rest of time⌠Be grateful I don't drop you down a cliff."
After a moment, Randy returned his strings, the vines retracted into the ground. And all that was left of Ezra, the man who wanted everything so bad he was ready to take it all, was a statue. Frozen in place. Helpless to the elements. A false smirk with anger and fear enterally locked in his stone eyes.
Inside, the man was screaming, hissing, trying anything to even move. To do anything at all! But apparently the stone he wasn't made of wasn't cursed to move. How was he more pathetic than the statues that sat around without a mind?! This wasn't the end, it couldn't be! He refused! He was going to get his hands on Moonjumper! He was-
âŚbut is it worth dwelling on the thoughts of a carved rock?
Randy floated down, resting as he took a breath, shaking his head as he sat down beside Hat Girl, helping her sit up again. The rest of the group locked eyes with the statue, still trying to process what had happened. Suddenly, Jaques and even Florist's past fate seemed a lot less unsettling.
But Ezra deserved it. And it was a reassurance that it was all overâŚ
Using some of the energy he had left, Randy shot up some magic into the sky, causing it to rain. Not too heavily, just enough to keep the remaining fire from spreading. They all needed a breatherâŚ
Snatcher floated over for a moment, inspecting the statue. He tried to think of some witty comeback, but after everything, he was just relieved it was⌠He shook his head, and dashed back to where Vanessa was⌠slightly surprised to see she still hadn't moved, not an inch.
"Why haven't youâŚ" He cast a spell on her, one that was supposed to highlight injuries. A more modern spell, one he made himself.
The word 'COMA' flashed into his brain, making him pause as he looked back down at her⌠Oh⌠She must have gotten hit just hard enough when Ezra knocked her to the side⌠And if she ever woke up, she was now drained of magic.
If she ever woke upâŚ
It was over⌠His own twisted nightmare was over, just like that⌠Huh. It was almost funny.
The group was quiet as Snatcher turned back to them, truth be told he wasn't sure what to say. What words he could use to convey how he felt. How relieved he was, how thankful he was. How tired he wasâŚ
Randy floated up beside Hat Girl, the teen grabbing onto Right's arm for balance as she looked at them all. She closed her eyes.
Well⌠It was over. Unless there was something else wanting to strike, it was all overâŚ.
Snatcher could start moving the Dwellers and Minions back into the forest once they put out the few remaining fires. And after they all got enough rest⌠As for the toppats.
Well, the station was almost complete. Less than a week's work was needed if they hurried enough, Sven had said when she last saw him. She⌠guessed that only left that for them thenâŚ
Ezra and Vanessa were powerful. Their magic was endless. They spent weeks plotting this whole battle. They knew the expected backup on the Moonjumper's side. They knew to be prepared for the unexpected. They had their army. The environment coated in the deity-killing flames of Ezra's magic. Vanessa had her curse spell ready to go, just needed the right time to cast it. Sure they might come out of it scarred, but they were going to win. The ones around the Moonjumper would fall, and he would be all theirs...
So why were they starting to get tried? They were plenty rested before the fight had started. They had more energy than the group when the fight started. And yet here they were, their movements starting to become slower. Their minds struggling to catch up. That allowed more direct hits on them to take place. And while the mortals they were fighting wouldn't be able to go on forever while avoiding the tiredness as well, the Moonjumper could also recharge his energy in the light of Subcon's eternal moon.
Bruised as their egos were, a silent understanding came between the two red beasts. They had to retreat, for a moment. Vanessa summoned more of their guards to fight, and threw ice on the ground, Ezra hitting in it with a flame design to make sure the ice became a mist. The two would then run off while the group of Moonjumper's fighters were distracted, going to a nearby cave in the area and resting in there. The cave looked unnatural. Carved away too quickly. A side effect of them changing the environment, likely.
Ezra and Vanessa both sat down, taking some breaths as Vanessa rubbed her head to try and soothe the headache that had begun to form. Ezra looked at a tree near the cave's entrance, using his magic to pull a lower branch down to cover it. He paused as he saw the damage on the tree, the ice magic's effects were fading, it seemed. Truth be told he hadn't cared to notice. He was a demon of flame after all.
But he wasn't sure if he would actually want his main base of operation to be a forest that was constantly on fire. Burnt away. He had some care for Subcon, even if it was in his own sick, twisted way he couldn't understand. It had some beauty, truth be told he actually liked how it looked before he took it over... But he supposed he could live with this. If the entire forest had to burn to get him the Moonjumper's magic, so be it. He had the rest of the world he could shape after all.
"Ugh!" Vanessa's shout brought him out of his train of thought. She threw her hands to the ground, looking at them, shaking. Ezra sighed, looking down at his own hands. He's been tolerating Vanessa for so long, he wasn't sure if he would be able to keep it up. He originally planned to see if he could keep her alive after all this but now, now he wasn't so sure. "Why must my prince have so much support!? Why won't he just let me take him home! I did everything for him, gave up everything!"
"Surely, there must be something." Ezra stated as he hum, wrapping his tail around his leg slightly. He looked at Vanessa as she breath to herself, sounding more like a animal's breathing then anything remotely human. Her magic was strong⌠but she wasn't holding back, even when she claimed she wanted to. Holding back against the one soul they needed to go all out on. An idea crossed his head. "We need to break your prince down." He said. "Make him physically incapable of fighting us anymore."
Vanessa paused as she heard that. "What are you trying to suggest, Ezra?" She questioned, her eye narrowing as she straightened up. "We already planned on draining him of his magic."
"But that plan won't do any good if we never make it that far, will it?" Ezra asked, tilting his head.
There was a loud crash from nearby, the ground below them shaking as a spark of energy barely shot passed the branch and into the cave. Vanessa stood up and walked over, pearing past the burning branch and into the battlefield nearby. One of those two birds had dropped some sort of attack with a ball of crystals, it seemed. The silver pieces were littered around along with broken chunks of ice.
She could hear a voice commenting on aim, but it was too far and the words mixed together too much to tell what he was saying. If only they could be useful and get out of their way.
Ezra cleared his throat after a moment. "Face it, Vanessa. Your prince is clearly sick in the head. His mind is unable to function properly, especially next to someone as smart as yourself." He claimed as he gave a gentle bow. "Even if we bring him down and chain him up, draining his magic, he'll find some way to slip free again... Unless he is physically unable to." He chuckled. "You know, I heard that if you hit one spot in the spine just right, that person is unable to move, forever."
Vanessa was silent, processing the words. Her hands shook. "You want me to cripple the love of my life?" She questioned as she looked over at him. "Have you gone mad?"
Ezra sighed, forcing a disappointed look in his eyes as he looked at her. "I'm just being realistic, my queen... and besides, he's going to be locked away once we have him anyway. Might as well save ourselves future work." He said as he stood up, resting his hand against his chest. His heartbeat was faster than he liked. The sounds of their approaching loss still echoed outside the cave. "I would do the job myself, but my flames aren't that precise. Not as sharp. Could do more harm to the outside than you would like, too quickly."
Vanessa was quiet as she listened. The sounds of a ray filled the air outside. The phantom beast letting out a laugh followed by the sound of more shattering ice. They didn't have much more time to think.
"...I already lost my prince once. Twice. Too many times in my own head." Vanessa spoke, trying to keep her voice calm. "I don't know if I could live with myself if I killed him. I won't be able to bring him back again."
Ezra had to wipe the smirk off his face before it could formed. He offered his hand to Vanessa. "Give some to me."
Vanessa looked at him. "What?"
"If you're so scared, give me some of your magic's strength. I'm not asking for much. Just enough to soothe your scared soul." Ezra's voice was honey poisoned with venom. His head tilting, his smiling showing his sharp teeth, his demonic nature starting to take more hold. "I promise. I'll return it once it's all over."
Vanessa was quiet... Normally she wouldn't even dare to think about offering anything of hers to such a lowly creature. He wanted something more. That was clearer than ever now... And yet the demon had given no reason for her to mistrust his word. And as much as part of her hated to admit it... He might be right.
"...I expect this back as soon as my Prince is safely home." She said as Ezra nodded, watching as she took his hand. She allowed her magic to course out of her, and into him. Just a small amount. So small it could barely be considered a fraction. And yet the glow in the demon's eyes seemed to brighten once it was done. She looked at him. "You take the rest. I'll focus on AJ."
Ezra smiled. He could already hear the screams of Moonjumper as the ice burst through his ethereal flesh, falling back down to the flames. A sacrifice to Subcon's true deity.
"Of course, my queen." He said as he gestured to the branch. He moved it out of the way, studying the battle faintly in the distance. "Oh... and maybe it's time you gave that curse a spin."
Vanessa gave a nod. The curse didn't work fully off of her magic. It also relayed on a potion. She only had one on her, and she didn't have time to go garb more from her supply. It wouldn't last forever, so she would have to be quick and make sure she could cause the magic damage.
She gave Ezra a nod, and he sprinted off to rejoin the battle, sending out a wave of fire once he got close enough to try and get a hit. Vanessa watched. Inside she was still torn. It felt like there were two sides of her fighting over what was best for her... Maybe she could do something else. Or maybe this was the only option. She was running out of time to think. She slowly approached the battlefield, but stayed near the bushes. Watching. Waiting for the chance for her to strike.
-------
Something was off. Right Hand Man was the first to notice the missing leaders during the fight. And while Ezra threw himself back into the battlefield soon after, it didn't feel like just a temporary retreat. Right knew how people's brains work in battle. They plan any little breath they get. They try to get their enemy by surprise. They then hop out pretending nothing happened to try and take their foe by surprise. Not him. He wasn't about to let any new fancy tricks turn the tides.
He had the rest of the groups back away, only allowing Randy and Snatcher to fight near him since they could act faster to any move he had to make. The rest of the group focused on the weaker guards that were along the outskirts of the battleground, while Right focused on the brutes that appeared from the corners. The whole time he had his eyes locked on the shadows. Waiting for whenever Vanessa would show her face. He knew she was likely the one holding whatever trick they had.
Eventually he did catch her from among the flames. She started to raise her hand, and Right quickly turned fully around, shooting a lazard at her. She stepped back from the spot, her hand dripping with some substance.
"Did you forget what happened when you first broke into my manor?"Â She asked, before she touched the lazard, hissing in pain but sending a course of magic through the lazer using some ice. Right caught onto it and stopped the beam, but was unable to dodge the attack as he was hit right in the eye, getting knocked back and slamming into a tree. Blood poured faintly from the back of his head, but that wasn't the real concern. It was the magic seeping through. He went to call out, but found himself blacking out as his hardware experienced some sort of error.
Snatcher heard the crash from above, swooping out of the ground early to get a look. He quickly began to head over, intending on helping the cyborg. But paused when he saw him get back to his feet... his entire body coated in a similar shade of corrupted magic like the dwellers at the twilight bell. Only this didn't seem to be like an infection that could be shrugged off. It felt like... strings of a puppet. A thought that was confirmed as Right quickly aimed his blaster at the ghost.
Snatcher was able to dodge, but only by an inch. He was knocked back by the force of the attack.
"Right?!" Reginald called in concern once he had gotten closer to get a better look at the situation. "Right Hand Man!? Can you hear-" Reginald barely had time to duck below as Right's blaster turned and fired at him. No hesitation. The movement felt too harsh for even Right to make. Reginald could hear Vanessa chuckle as she reentered the battle. He gritted his teeth. "Oh, if that witch isn't-" Reginald had to force himself to think in the moment. As Right flew over and tried to get a hit on him.
The rest of the group quickly became aware of the situation. Luckily, Reginald was quick and clever enough to hide and dodge out of each of Right's attack, but this wasn't going to last long. Snatcher bit his tongue and flew into Right's sight, taking the puppet's attention on him. Hat Girl raced over to make sure Reginald was ok as Snatcher led Right a bit away from the others. That way his attacks would be less likely to hit the group while Snatcher kept him busy. All while trying to think of a plan.
Right was one of the best fighters on the field. So the guards quickly became more of a threat. Along with the demons.
"Now," Vanessa hummed slightly, before turning her attention up to the sky where the Moonjumper was waiting, horrified. "Don't make this harder, my prince. You don't have that half-flesh beast to protect you." Randy growled as he went to send down a strike of lightning. But Vanessa replied by quickly shooting a few spikes of ice from her hand, each arming right for the middle of him. "You're going to come home! You're going to stay put! You'll never leave me again!" She screamed.
Randy barely missed the attacks, taking a few breaths as he ducked under the cover of a tree, looking over at the fight between puppet and ghost. Randy needed to turn his attention there. Right was going to get hurt if he let this happen. He flew over and gestured for some of the group to come over as well. Hat Girl and Reginald did, while the rest focused their attention on the main two they were fighting. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to work. At least Mu could take hits, not that he wanted her too.
Hat Girl changed to her brewing hat, and started to throw projectiles to confuse Right. Only to hit Snatcher.
"Kiddo!" Snatcher hissed as he briefly looked over. 'Right' took the chance to use it to laser on the ghost, Snatcher getting his arm blasted before he could think to pull away. It wasn't ripped away, but it was shaky. Snatcher had to bite his tongue to not scream in pain and distract the other group. He tried to summon a potion with his bad arm, but it barely formed before it started to blow, nNatcher tossing it to the side of Right before it could fully do so. He floated back and looked at the puppet.
This isn't right. Right began to charge another attack. It wasn't right. Why did it have to be him? People like Vanessa knew how to target those hurting. Vanessa and that snake-
He was caught off guard as Right charged right into him. Knocking him into the ground, raising his laser to blast the ghost right in the face. However, one of Vanessa's guards threw it's weapons at Right, not understanding Right was now fighting for them. Right quickly turned his blaster and aimed it at the guard, shattering it in one hit. He then turned back to fire at the ghost, but that brief interruption with the guard was all Hat Girl needed to get close enough, having switched to her time slow hat. She had some fabric from one of the old houses too. The curse would likely spread on contact, she needed to delay it as much as she could.
She quickly activated it, the world turning darker and everything slowing except for her. She quickly jumped using a mushroom onto her father's back, forcing his arm to be pointing in the vague direction of Ezra and Vanessa. When time resumed, the blast went off, and Right flinch as if unsure about what had just happened. He then noticed the weight on his back and went to toss her down, but before he could, strings quickly wrapped themselves around his arm, one hitting him in his eye. The curse started to spread up the strings.
"Sleep!" Randy ordered, causing a quick wave of magic through his strings before detaching them. The cursed puppet struggled, shaking the strings off. He was able to get them away, but by that time the magic hit his cybernetic side, forcing it to shut down, making him crash to the ground. Snatcher quickly summoned some vines to keep him from crashing to the ground. "Don't touch him!" Randy ordered as he watched him struggle. "We'll figure out how to help later. Just keep him safe."
With that, Randy returned to the proper fight. Snatcher casted one of the few cold spells he knew on a tree, slowly getting rid of the fire. Once it was done he pulled the vines over to the tree, the puppet still struggling to get free, only one arm of use to him. Snatcher floated the fabric that Hat Girl had used to block the curse and tossed it off the cliff. He took a moment to breathe, before going to head back to the main fight, a new fury in his already rage filled eyes.
Reginald slowly walked up to the cursed puppet, the puppet slowly slightly in its struggle as he sensed his presence.
"Hattie, go help the others." Reginald slowly said. "I'll stay with him, make sure nothing gets close."
Hat Girl looked at the vines that tied her father down. They wouldn't last forever, especially when his cybernetics turned back on. But there wasn't anything she could do but just hope Reginald could snap Right out before that happened. So with a breath, she headed back to the path Snatcher and Randy went.
-------
Randy's crew were able to 'get back on their feet' after the shakeup of losing Right Hand Man, but they were put at more of a disadvantage now. Right couldn't just come in and blast away some guards if it was starting to become overwhelming. Even if the blast wouldn't have outright destroyed the guards, it would at least make them easier to deal with. And the little help Reginald could give had also been taking since he was now guarding Right. So they were down two against an army that just kept growing to replace themselves.
Macbeth stepped up to take the chance to fight Ezra and Vanessa whenever he got close enough. He was struggling, however. His weapon alone didn't have the full strength to go against their magic. He had his own, but it specialized at one-on-one combat. He could still be hit by whoever wasn't in his little 'world', and being in said world caused him to lose all visuals on the actual world around him. He couldn't risk that. He needed to find some way to adapt.
"Come on, Java." Macbeth mumbled as he ducked behind some rocks for a chance to rest his nerves, even if just for a second. He peaked out, studying Vanessa. He could sense that she was weaker than before, even if slightly. He thought about it. Vanessa was a big threat, but Snatcher had dealt with her for centuries before Ezra showed up. Take care of the demon, take care of her. "I'll drag him back to the afterlife myself if I have to." He stated as he went to the bushes nearby to scan.
He saw Ezra fighting against Mu and Platinum, Platinum attacking from behind while Mu used her time piece to mess around Ezra, desorting his sense of where she was so she could get hits in while dodging his. She did have a few slashes already, and the smoke kept trying to reach over to where Platinum was. All the while Ezra was still taking occasional shots at where Randy was, hoping to knock him out of the sky. There was something about one movement of Ezra that stuck out to Macbeth.
He fired a blast from his fingers. It almost sounded like a gunshot. The smirk on his face. It felt too much like Wilford. Randy wasn't being taken from him. Not again.
"You creatures should leave me be." Ezra hissed as he slammed his tail against the ground, him being surrounded in an aura of flame that forced Mu to retreat, jumping up to where Platinum was and pulling him down low to avoid the blast. Ezra smirked slightly and turned to go focus on his magic target, only to stop. It felt like he was suddenly being chained in place. The area around him got darker, he could swear he heard something. "What is this!?" He shouted, trying to dash to where he saw Vanessa.
However some force stopped him once he hit where the darkness began to fade back into the normal world. He slammed his hand against the invisible wall, and heard footsteps beside him. He meant to send out the same aura blast attack, but instead his flame swung like it came from a knife, or something. Macbeth couldn't dodge the attack, but he took it a lot better than he could have otherwise. Although it left him with Ezra's magic clinging at him, trying to chew away at him. It burnt.
He had to make quick work of Ezra while he could. His magic wasn't being used completely. Just enough to have awareness.
"What's wrong?" Macbeth questioned with false cluelessness. "I thought you would approve of modifying the battlefield. That's why you took over the forest, is it not?" Ezra growled and shot out another attack. Only this one was weaker, much weaker than intended. It also traveled slower, allowing Macbeth to easily step to the side. Macbeth pulled out his rifle with a smirk. "So you can technically skip turns, just weaker... Good. Any damage is good on a lowlife like you." He hissed, the smirk fading.
Before Ezra could start genuinely asking what Macbeth meant by 'turns', Macbeth turned on his rifle and fired out multiple waves of bullets from it. Each one coated in a faint bit of orange or blue magic. Ezra tried to dodge them all, and while he managed to avoid most by the skin of his teeth, he still ended up with wounds faintly at his sides. He hissed as he tried to use magic to recover some from the damage.
"You ghosts have to always be pests, don't you?" Ezra hissed as he dodge another attack of Macbeth's, running up to try and get close. That forced Macbeth to attack again to try and slow him, but Ezra just ducked under the attack, dashing forward like a cat until he got close enough to slash at him. Macbeth hissed as he wasn't able to back up in time, burning scars being left where the demon had struck. "You're tricky, I'll give you that. But none of that matters when the Moonjumper is gone!"
Macbeth stepped back with a glare. His eyes gain a purple hue as suddenly Ezra felt himself being lifted partly off the ground, his body coated in a similar hue as a cartoon heart appeared over his chest. Macbeth walked up as the demon began to try and pull himself free. The ghost studied the demon for a moment. He then focused on his rifle, opening up a hidden compartment, pulling out a blade he had. He quickly slash into the demon's side, smirking at the screams.
"Doesn't seem like yo' gonna get close." He smirked, going to stab again. But Ezra mangueing to grab the blade before he could, kicking Macbeth away. He used the blade to slice at the 'rods' that he could sense nearby. Macbeth hissed. It didn't do physical harm but his mind was starting to drain from the unusual setup. He figured he damages the demon enough, and had the world fade. "That's more like it." Ezra stated, striking despite the blood pouring from his side. He threw the blade back at Macbeth after coating it in fire.
Macbeth was able to dodge the hit by ducking to the ground, then went to grab his rifle. Sure it wouldn't be as strong in this reality, but a bullet still would hurt. If he got lucky the demon would still die from one good hit to the head. With that thought in mind he went to turn on the auto aim. However, just as he went to select the target, something knocked into his side and he was flung back away from the rifle, the guard that had snuck up on him kicking it away like trash.
Dang it! He saw the guard nearby but it was focused on Snatcher last he checked, and that was only a few seconds ago. It must have changed priority in that little bit of time.
"Can't they just stop?" Macbeth hissed, rubbing a spot in his shoulder. Another wound. Snatcher quickly went in front to draw the reader's attention back to him, before summoning a laser from the ground to rise and attack the guard, shartting it into pieces. Ezra placed his hand on the ground, and made a circle of fire around himself to keep himself safe, giving Macbeth a smirk. "That can only protect you for so long." Macbeth claimed, backing away in hopes of regaining strength.
Only to hear a snap in the faint distance. He didn't need to guess what it was, just had the foresight to avoid the red beam by about a hair's length. He hissed and backed away as Right came back to the battle, still under the curse's effects. Vanessa gave a chuckle, like she was watching something humorous. Macbeth quickly ducked into hiding, he knew better than to try and deal with Right's cybernetics. Dead or not, Macbeth could still be hurt. He didn't need to go out of condition too...
He barely caught Vanessa moving her hand in an odd way. Macbeth looked up to see magic starting to form on a tree branch. At first he tilted his head. Before it hit him. "DAD!" He screamed.
Randy turned around. "Java-"
He felt a sharp pain go through his chest. He coughed a bit, feeling the side. It barely missed anything important, he could tell. But the fact there was now a long thin spike of ice going through him didn't add peace of mind... He had to float down. He didn't have any other choice. He tried to stay hidden as he descended... but as soon as he got near the ground, he was pounced on.
Randy hissed as he kicked the icey-beast off. Must have been something Vanessa made ahead of time as a surprise. Java quickly raced over and tossed it off with all his strength, quickly applying healing magic to the wound. "Save yourself the energy, failed prophet." Ezra stated as he began to walk over, his eyes wide with glee and almost drooling at the thought of what was to come. "He's MINE now! I'll drain his magic, and then I'll tear his organs out, one by one! And I'll make sure you-"
"What?" Ezra paused as that voice came through the air. He had almost forgotten. "What did you say you would do to my Prince?!" Before Ezra could even try and respond, bars of ice formed around him, the magic from the ice tower applied at its strongest. Java quickly helped Randy up and the two began to back away while Vanessa marched over, the guards slowly turning their attention from the ones they were fighting to the scene. "You said my prince would make it home safe!"
Ezra stared for a moment, before he started to laugh as if she had just told a joke. There was no use hiding now. And deep down, oh he wasn't worried in the slightest.
"Oh, Vanessa." He shook his head. "Deep down, part of me hoped you would have realized sooner, and was just playing along to use me like I used you. At least then things could have been interesting."
Vanessa gave Randy and Java a quick look, before raising her hand. A wall of ice formed between the makeshift cage and the moon deity. She raised her other, and the cybernetic puppet stopped charging its laser for its next attack, floating to her side. Her entire body shook faintly in rage. The guards all stopped their attacks, allowing the group of mortals to finally catch their breath.
"Heal him, quick."Â She ordered Macbeth, glaring.
Macbeth was going to make a comment, but he didn't. Instead just trying to help his father.
Vanessa walked up to the cage. Normally Ezra could at least mimic being able to stand above her, but the cage's ceiling made him unable to do that. Still, he did not tremble. He just watched, waiting. His hand faintly glowing with an orange flame.
"You promised me my prince would return to me alive." Vanessa hissed. If the situation wasn't so tense, someone would have been surprised she wasn't screaming right away. "You told me you would just take his magic and leave him to me! That is what we agreed to!"
Ezra just burst out laughing, a faint echo to it that they swore wasn't there before. "Vanessa, Vanessa, Vanessa." He started as he shook his head. "The Moonjumper? He's not even your prince!" He stated, before gesturing to the vague direction of where Snatcher had stopped to rest. "THAT'S your prince!"
Snatcher fell silent as Vanessa's gaze turned to him. He feared a spark of recognition.
She then huffed at him. "If he was my prince, he would have told me long ago." She claimed as she turned her attention back to Ezra, before pointing over to where Randy was. "I found a spell that revives the body. The 'Moonjumper' there was brought back using my loving AJ's body! It has to be him!"
"It doesn't work if the soul is still in the mortal plane." Randy coughed out. He knew that might not be the smartest move in the long run, but he feared this would be the only time Vanessa might listen to reason. "It'll still revive someone, but a random soul! It was a protection measure."
"If that were true, why didn't you say anything?"Â Vanessa questioned, an almost smug tone to her voice despite the fury she still had for the trapped demon. Like she had caught Randy in a lie.
"I did!" Randy shouted, anger fueling his voice. "Do you not remember me being scared and panicking in that cell? How I tried to explain I wasn't who you thought I was?! How you forced me to stay by you, keep you close. I still remember the taste when you forced me to kiss you, while I was still trying to figure out what happened!" He hissed. "God, Snatcher used to be a saint if you were even a fraction of how bad you are now back then, I would have made sure you were taken care of!"
Vanessa and Randy locked eyes. Their conversation had turned the group's attention away from Ezra...
For just a little too long.
Without warning, the demon broke through the cage, pouncing onto the queen with a smirk.
She growled and went to freeze him. "I'll pull your soul apart piece by piece!" She claimed... She wasn't expecting him to grab her hand, the same magic he used from earlier coursing threw him. The one where she lent him some of her magic. She struggled to get free. "Puppet!" She called, and Right quickly charged his lazer, firing the demon off of her, forcing the spell to stop.
That was the last command before the spell finally cracked, the red from the spell fading as Right fell to the ground, coughing. Reginald quickly raced to his side as Right leaned against him, breathing.
Ezra chuckled a bit, his hand catching ablaze. Vanessa quickly pointed her arm for her guards to attack, but they didn't listen... not to her. Not anymore.
The guards quickly rushed into battle, Ezra having commanded them silently that she was now a target. Vanessa stood up, feeling drained. She summoned a wall to deflect some attacks, before looking at Randy. "We'll discuss this later AJ, just go! Recharge your strength!"
Randy was quiet, nodding quietly as he quickly pulled Macbeth to a direction away from the main battlefield. "Let's go."
Macbeth nodded and quickly began to head off with him, trying to think of a plan. Sure, it was now Ezra against everyone else, but it was clear that Ezra had taken enough of Vanessa's magic to where they were now effectively still fighting two major threats. And now that it was Ezra, any amount of holding back the statue-like foes did had vanished.
The battlefield quickly sparked into more chaos then it had moments before. Hat Girl watched on the sidelines as Ezra shot a single fireball to the ice wall. It easily broke through, the heat melting the ice before it even made contact, and it knocked Vanessa far back. So far back she was almost out of sight. Vanessa only managed to fire off a single spike of ice that landed near Hat Girl.
Hat Girl was quiet... she didn't know what she was doing but no one had noticed her yet. She got her bag and laid out her hats on the ground. Each made with a little magic yarn from this planet. She pulled out her Badges, gifted to her by what remained of a deity. She heard Snatcher's magic bottle shatter on impact against guards. She heard Conductor and Grooves start to combine their attacks for more of an advantage. She felt time rewind and return in quick bursts as Mu danced around her opponents. She heard her Dad fire his gun with one hand while leading her Papa away with the others.
There was a lot of magic in the air... She could almost feast on it.
She thought about Adalyn and the others in Alpine Skyline. The magic of the twilight bell. She thought about the Captain and his Seals. The warmth they brought over the cold seas. She even thought about the Metro. Despite the darker memories she had of it, there were still good people in those glowing, quick halls.
She thought about her mothers, and her sister. The family she was never going to see again. How they would want her to at least try and do something more...
She faintly recalled a story they told her. She couldn't remember the words. What characters. What kind it was. But something about it always stuck with her. Power. A promise being made.
She thought about the Metro again. How for some reason, after her force exposure to the past, she felt more, powerful. She didn't notice the faint glow that surrounded the objects. The energy coursing of the memoires themselves.
She was Lifda. This battle wasn't hers to win.
But she could certainly turn the tide back in their favor.
I'm gonna assume that the characters currently in thr battle aren't available for ask so.. For any of the moonjumper pieces. Are you planning to join as well? Do you even know what's going on?
The flames danced around, coiled around, burnt effortlessly. On the trees, the bushes, the rocks. Even chunks of the ground were nothing but fire. The smoke from the fire kept trying to reach the floating Moon figure. Trying to burn out his very soul like what happened with the first long ago. The charm was the only thing keeping him safe. He applied some of the spells of protection and resistance he got from Victor onto it. He didn't know how long the spells would last however.
Randy had to be quick. Sure the enchanted ice was protecting most of the forest from actually being harmed, but he could see the ice slowly melting away in places, burning whatever was under them. Whatever enchantments Vanessa had put on the ice clearly wasn't meant to last this long. Randy had to summon small bursts of water over weakened spots just to try and keep things contained. He didn't want Subcon's ghosts returning to a destroyed forest. It was his job to protect it now. Like it or not.
Deity of the Moon. Protector of Subcon Forest... he wasn't going to get to go home with the clan even after this was all over, was he? Something was going to come along again. Even if it was years from now... He shook his head. No, he shouldn't be thinking about anything but basic survival for himself. Ezra and Vanessa were a threat that had to be dealt with, he could let himself drown in self-pity for the position he was thrown into later. He just had to find the two before they found him.
He would eventually come across the bridge that led into Vanessa's domain of Subcon, which was still as icy as ever. The only part of the forest that wasn't burning... He floated across to that side to let his body cool slightly, even with the charm's magic the forest felt hotter than the sun. Or a really hot oven. Randy hadn't experienced a summer day since his arrival so... He shook his head. Why was his mind trailing off again? He couldn't wander now! Was there something in the air?!
...He caught a hint of pink in the corner of his eyes just as he thought that, seeing what looked like an average flower. Just sitting there, among the flames, not even having ice protecting it yet not burnt. He got closer and picked it, the back of his mind starting to wander more and more as the scent from it hit him. He quickly threw it into the depths below the bridge before it could take full effect, but he knew that must have been one of the traps. He heard rope behind him.
He quickly dodge the net, seeing it basked in a glow of magic, before he turned his attention to the figure below him. "You made your queen very upset." the demon spoke, while Vanessa looked up at Randy, anger and pain in her eyes as her hands shook. They had two of their 'guards' beside them, both slightly melted but still keeping their shape. Ezra offered a smile. "How could you break her heart like that?"
"You know full well I am not her prince." Randy spoke, his tone much colder than when he spoke before. He knew it wasn't a frightening tone coming from him, but he wanted to get the message across. "I offer you one last chance to end things peacefully. Vanessa goes back to her manor, you find a cave to crawl into, and let Snatcher have his forest back." Randy demanded, despite knowing it would be in vain. "And we NEVER hear or see a single spect of either of you ever again... But you're too prideful to take that, aren't you?"
"Like you have anything to say about Pride." Vanessa called up, a sob mixed in with the anger that made her voice toxic. Randy had his hands placed behind his back, already charging a spell there. He wanted to be ready. Let her talk all she wanted before then. She kept her gaze locked on him, and Randy could have sworn she had a bloody tear running down her face. "You left me for some Florist. Broke my heart and took the entire kingdom with it!"
Ezra rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking, before smirking as he glanced up at Randy. "Those powers you gained in your rebirth have gone to your head." Ezra claimed as glance briefly down at his hands, at the claws. Ready to slice into Randy, no doubt about it. Randy kept his face still, looking down on them, waiting for them to make the first move. Ezra gave a disappointed sigh as he shook his head. "And after she spent everything to bring you back... Let us take them away, so you can return peacefully."
"I promise I'll treat you right, my Prince. I always have..." Vanessa claimed as she reached her hand out to Randy. Randy just looked at the hand, and gave a glare, shaking his head. Vanessa's hand started to shake, and he could see the control she had over herself started to fade. "Fine, I'll MAKE you then!" She called as she pointed her finger, a pillar of ice sprouting from the ground and trying to form around him, Randy shooting up and blasting away the ice before it could.
"Fine. We're doing it this way then." Randy said before he took the other hand that still had its charged magic. Strings formed from the finger tips and he lunged them in the direction of the ground, the strings burying themselves under the earth before sprouting out and quickly coiling around Vanessa and Ezra. They didn't get to capture them, as one of the guards quickly swiped at the strings, cutting them, making Randy let out a hiss as he quickly recalled the strings into his palm.
The groups stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to strike. Randy chose to dash back, holding his breath and holding in a shout as he ducked behind some smoke from one of the trees, forcing Ezra and Vanessa to come to him. He floated up to one of the nooses in the tree, barely holding out against all the flames. He placed a spell on it, causing it to split into five. Once Ezra had entered his sights below, Randy lunged it down, the noose quickly looping around his hands and legs, the final part going for his neck.
Randy saw fear briefly enter Ezra's eyes before he smirked. "Try again." He called before he grabbed the rope in his mouth before it could wrap around his neck, breathing out flames that set the rope ablaze. Randy pulled it up to try and send it down on Vanessa instead, but she summoned a spike that cut the rope before it got close, the noose falling to the ground with a screaming sound before it burnt out, a faint blue aura rising from it. Ezra gave a smirk as he looked up at Randy.
Randy tried to think of what to do next. He wanted to keep his distance. He knew Ezra and Vanessa likely had a plan for the millisecond Randy got too close to them. He raised his hand to above, the clouds in Subcon's sky starting to take a darker hue before thunder started to roar from them, rain falling out onto the forest. Ezra quickly planted his hand to the ground, sending out a flame attack to knock Randy out of his concentration, Randy barely avoiding most of it once he saw it enter his vision. He had to pause to breathe.
"Don't you see your little 'protections' aren't doing anything?" Randy asked as he turned to Vanessa, one hand ready with a spell and keeping his mind focused in case an attack came. "The forest is getting destroyed." He said as he gestured to one of the trees nearby, who's bark could be seen beginning to darken under the heat of the flames, even with a thin layer of ice protecting it. "Whatever spell you're using wasn't meant to last this long. Even if you win, you will have no home!"
"I can rebuild it, and don't put the blame on me!" Vanessa called up as she threw a spell right past his shoulder. Randy couldn't tell if it was an intentional miss or not. Vanessa stomped her foot on the ground, from up here she almost looked like a toddler. No, worse than that. Toddlers had more respect for themselves and those around. She still had a few tears going down her eyes. "It's your fault it's all like this! All you had to do was stay with me, why is that so hard to ask?"
"Well," Randy couldn't help but chuckle. "Have you considered you might be the worst woman alive?"
Vanessa looked genuinely taken aback, before growling. "I'll cut off your arms when I get you!"
She summoned a spike, Ezra quickly lighting it on fire, and Randy smirked, although a single sweat drop dripped down his face. The battle was really beginning.
Almost instantly, the group started firing their attacks at one another. Randy's lunar magic, Vanessa's ice, and Ezra's hell fire dashing and slashing about. It was utter madness, no rhyme or reason to any movement. Just a need to try and be the last one standing no matter the cost. Randy had to act quick, who knows how long he would have to do this on his own.
-------
The sun hadn't rose yet, but multiple toppats were already awake and starting that day's routine. Another measurement in place in the chance Vanessa and Ezra tried to attack the orbital station. Those who were out on night-watch would return to their rooms to sleep for the hours they stayed up. Although if you asked Hat Girl, it felt the one for last night looked too well rested when they came in. Then again, nothing bad had happened during the sleeping hours so maybe it was fine? It wasn't like they could miss anything.
She finished her breakfast relatively quickly that morning, talking to Mu and Platinum while she did. Her dads were at another table nearby, discussing what needed to be done next. She could see Calla dragging Sven into the cafe while Burt rolled his eyes nearby, Fredrick by his side. Conductor and Grooves were just starting to head in as she went to leave, garbing a box from the kitchen as she did.
"Hey, wait for me!" Platinum called as he rushed to meet up with her. Mr. Macbeth had become a bit of a mess, barely leaving his room unless it was to watch over Randy. Neither blamed him, the stress of the situation was getting to them too, but he started forgetting to get food for himself. Sure, he didn't need to eat anymore, but Hat Girl still wanted to make sure he had something in his system. He was one of the better fighters the clan had, after all. "You think he's getting better?"
"Probably not." Hat Girl sighed as she began to approach Macbeth's door. She paused before she knocked on it. Something just felt off in a way she couldn't describe. She could hear Macbeth say something but it wasn't clear what it was. He sounded a bit panicked... It threw her off. She rarely heard him like that. She and Platinum looked at each other before she knocked on the door. "Mr. Macbeth!" She called. "I wanted to drop something off for you and Alex, is ev-"
The door open before she could finish, Macbeth stepping out. "Have either of you two seen Randy? He's not answerin' his phone."
"We just left the cafeteria." Hat Girl said as she shook his head, Macbeth letting her step inside so she could drop off the box. She tried not to show it but now that it was mentioned, she was worried. Randy specially set up a loud ringtone to use whenever he was going to sleep in case he needed to be woken up and for whatever reason no one could get in his room. She heard it, it was impossible not to wake up from. "We can go check on him if you want. His room's only a bit down from here, right?"
"That's the issue, Hat Girl." Macbeth said as he gestured down the hall, walking again as if unsure even as he spoke. "First thing I did when I woke up this mornin' was check on him, and he was just, gone." Macbeth explained as he tried calling Randy's number again. He was trying to put on a calmer act now that he was with the teens, but his pupil was still shaking in fear. "He doesn't normally do this, he's always either right here or comes right to me when I wake up. This isn't right."
"Well, maybe he's-" Platinum paused his statement. "Hey, didn't we fix that window? Why is the glass just gone now."
"What?" Hat Girl asked as Platinum pointed to a window ahead of them. At first she thought he had to be joking, only to pause when she got to it and saw that, in fact, there was no glass. SHe knew for a fact there was some there before. She poked her head though and looked down, trying to see if there were any signs of the missing glass. But no. It didn't look like it fell and there weren't any sharps so it couldn't have been shattered. "Hmm... Hey Snatcher!" Hat Girl called as she saw the ghost passing by. "You know anything about missing glass?"
"Kiddo, why the peck would I know anything about missing glass?" Snatcher deadpanned as he looked over, tilting his head slightly once he actually saw the window. He thought about making a comment about how they could have missed such a thing, but paused as there was a faint sound in the distant. Almost like a boom. He leaned out the window and saw what looked to be a blast of light faintly disappearing from Subcon. LIke a missed attack. "Macbeth. Do you know where Randy is?" Snatcher asked. "Because I'm pretty sure he's in Subcon right now."
"Why is he there?!" Macbeth called out as he pushed himself past Snatcher to look out, the ghost hissing as he rubbed the side of his face. By now the burnt marks from the flames had healed, but the underlying ache was still there. Macbeth took some breaths once what happened clicked, him trying to focus his mind on staying calm. He turned to the teens. "Tell the chief I'll be back, I need to go help him." Macbeth claimed before he began to head down the hall, before pausing. "I hear you, why are you following me?"
"Do you think I'm gonna stand to the side while one of my friend's homes gets destroyed, and one of the chiefs fights for it alone?" Hat Girl asked as she glanced back at Snatcher briefly while talking. Snatcher got a small smirk on his face as she adjusted her hat and checked she had her umbrella on her. Macbeth opened his mouth to stop her but Hat Girl quickly put him off. "I know I'm out of practice but at least I have experience. Besides, you want all the help you can get Randy out, right?"
Macbeth was quiet for a moment, before sighing. "I suppose I'd be lyin' if I said otherwise, but yo' dads will kill me."
"Well, you're already dead so nothing they can do about that." Platinum said as he began to dash down the hall. Macbeth raced over and stopped him, Platinum pausing as he looked at him. He expected to get some lecture but Macbeth just walked into the room and came out a minute later with a gun, handing it to Platinum. Platinum paused as he looked at it, before looking at Macbeth. "Do you really trust me with this?" He didn't get an answer, but Platinum made sure the safety was on and kept it away from anyone.
"Oh, now I really gotta see how this turns out." Snatcher smiled as he kept following the group. Inside he was still shaken. Still guilty. But he couldn't dwell on that forever. It was his forest, he needed to be the one to try and save it. Otherwise he wouldn't have claim to the title of 'Subcon's Ruler'. Not after he caused his own subjects to get hurt. And he sure wasn't about to let some reborn human take the title from him.
"Let's just get goin', I'm not letting Randy fight alone." Macbeth had to keep himself from shouting that as he began to head down the hall. The group quickly followed him, but Hat Girl trailed behind just a little. She had pulled out her phone and was setting up a message she would send once they got past the protected dome of the Overseers. Letting her family and friends know what was happening and where they were. "I swear if he got himself hurt badly." She could hear Macbeth mumble to himself.
She put her phone in her pocket as she raced up to him. "Come on, you always said Randy could do anything, right?" Hat Girl asked, getting a look from the man. "Ok maybe you never said it out loud, but surely you thought it, right?" She wanted to put his nerves at eaze, even if just for a little. They would be fine, they had to be after all. And she dealt with Vanessa before... even if that was hiding under the table in her manor. "Worst case scenario, we'll have to call a retreat."
"I doubt Rand will allow that." Macbeth shook his head as he got out of the station, having to force himself to slow so he didn't trip over on the steep trip down. "He's stubborn."
"Oh!" Platinum said. "So that's where you got it from."
Macbeth couldn't even roll his eyes at that comment. He understood what they were trying to do but the times for games and jokes were long over. Even simple lightheartedness wasn't allowed right now. Not while Randy was starring in the face of death.
-------
How long was this going to go on for? It felt like days had passed already and the fight wasn't near being done. Ezra and Vanessa were a lot stronger than he had hoped, and they really had figured out how to make their clasing magic work well together. Just because the fire-resistance spell was fading on the trees and flora didn't mean it would start fading the second Ezra and Vanessa applied it to a new structure of ice. And Vanessa seemed to have an endless amount of ice she could summon.
Randy was getting hits in now and again, but it was hard to do anything of note with having to keep far enough away in order to prevent them from getting the upper hand. The battleground had mostly turned into a bullet-hell of spells being thrown around, hoping in vain one would hit and actually do something. But all their bodies seemed to possess some resistance to the spells even when they did hit, so they couldn't drain all their energy magically and force them to freeze in place.
Randy was starting to get tired, but he couldn't let that stop him. He seemed to gain energy the closer to Subcon's moon he got, so he would float as high as his body would allow whenever he started to get worried about his chances.
"Stop being a coward!" Ezra called up as he began to make a ball of flame in his hand, sending it up. Randy was able to dodge it with ease, but failed to notice the ball of ice that followed until it was a few feet from him. He snapped his hands to shatter it, but it quickly let out some sort of mist as it did, it quickly surrounding him. He felt it quickly sent into him, trying to freeze his body from the inside out. He had to get closer to the fire, as idiotic as it sounded.
He floated down to one of the treetops, making sure he kept enough distance so that the fire's magical effects couldn't start on him. He fired off a few spells below, but he suddenly felt something grab him. One of the tree's branches being manipulated like a puppet, the fire quickly tried to burst through the protective charm. He held in a shout as he slashed at the branch with his magic, his clothing starting to burn.
Ezra began to lower him down with a smirk, before pausing as he heard a rushing sound from nearby. "Oh no you don't!" He turned just in time to see Snatcher slam his fist into the ground, a quick and powerful trail of magic heading right to Ezra's location. Ezra had to break his focus to dodge, allowing Randy to break out and quickly use a storm spell again to put out the fire on him, him shivering a bit afterwards. Ezra got up, Vanessa walking by his side to make sure he was ok before they both turned their attention to the visitor.
Snatcher looked at them both, his hands shaking slightly as he took a breath. No running, not now. Be the phantom he always had been. Show no remorse, no mercy. Become the ruler that made Subcon the most feared place on the planet. He quickly summoned potions above him before sending them crashing, being mindful to dive into the ground before either could throw one back at him and force him to turn blue. It wasn't long before the teens raced out from where he was, Hat Girl adjusting her brewing hat while Platinum tried to find a place to hide and shoot.
"Of course it's those pests."Â Vanessa hissed as she summoned a pillar of ice to rise under them, trying to throw them off their feet. Ezra meanwhile tried to find Snatcher under the ground to attack, avoiding the potions as he did so. He growled as he turned back to the teens and saw the charms around their neck. How many had this Moonjumper made? Was he planning on bringing an army in here?! He needed to act fast, and started jumping from a stump into a tree, trying to climb to where Randy was.
Randy saw him out of the corner of his eye and lunged forward to fire a spell. He went further then he wanted and that allowed Ezra to jump out and grab him, forcing him to crash into the ground. Ezra went to slash at Randy's face, before an odd look went over his eye, turning white. Randy took the chance to back up as it seemed suddenly Macbeth was in front of him, firing off an attack with his rifle that knocked the demon back, the white in his eyes fading as he snapped out of the 'trance' of Macbeth's ability.
Macbeth took a few breaths before he turned to Randy, worry and faint anger in his eyes. "Dad, what were you thinkin'!?" He asked as he went over to check on Randy, already applying some of his magic to heal him. He couldn't see any major injuries, just a few scratches and scrapes from where the spells hit and tore his sleeves. The area where Randy had been garbed by the branch was burnt, but not completely withered away. "Didn't we talk about this? Who knows what would happen if we didn't notice!"
"I didn't want anyone else getting hurt, Java!" Randy claimed before he leaned back on the rock they were near, one of the few things besides the fire that hadn't been set ablaze. He turned his head to the side to watch the nearby fight, raising a finger to fire a small spell to at least distract the demon. He then looked down, allowing his body to rest, the adrenaline starting to fade a bit. "I figured I was already dead. I got to live my life. If anyone should risk themselves, it's me."
"You didn't have to do it alone!" Java called, tears starting in his eyes. "And you didn't get to, Dad. It got cut short."
Randy took a breath, sighing. "I just... they want me so badly. That's the reason Snatcher has to fight now. I thought I should be the one to handle it, I didn't want to just wait.." He whispered something else under his breath, as Java looked at him. He pulled his hand away once he seemed healed enough, and Randy adjusted his position to where he was straighter. "I didn't want anyone getting hurt... especially not you..." He gave a knowing smile. "But you were always going to come out, weren't you, Right Hand?"
Macbeth nodded a bit, and suddenly they heard a shout. "Hey it's nice you guys are having a bonding moment but we got a situation over here!" Platinum called as he ducked behind a tree as Vanessa tried to make a wall of ice collapse on him. He quickly reloaded the gun. Snatcher had placed an enchantment on it before they got there so they didn't need to worry about physically running out of bullets, but it still needed to be 'reloaded' for the magic to work.. "God, Pops should have shown me more of how to do this!"
Randy took a breath as he floated up. "Just be careful." He quickly told Java before he went back up to the sky. Vanessa seemed to realize that things would go downhill for her and Ezra if she didn't call backup, so she quickly shot ice nearby and made it take the shape of her old guards, Ezra set them ablaze once he took notice of them, Most of their other guards were still on patrol in parts of the forest and it would be a bit before they could get over here to help with the fight.
Hat Girl was acting quick with her attack, focusing most of her attention on the guards once they formed since it was clear they would be the biggest issue to the ground. useless distractions from taking down the real goal. And as she dashed about, throwing off her explosive cash and occasionally switching to another hat when she needed something else, she felt... odd.. Briefly like she had in the tunnel of the metro that day the group had to rescue her. Where for a moment she felt stronger than before.
Odd thing to notice at an odd time, but she could have sworn she felt faster. It was like the magic around was starting to take notice of her, and wanted a piece of her. She had to shake her head to clear those thoughts as a guard suddenly came up and swung at her, barely scratching her flesh as she backed away. "You're gonna need to be faster than that." She smirked before she ducked back.
"Heads up!" A voice called from below.
The guard just looked down for a moment, before Snatcher burst through the ground, shattering the guard and able to wipe away the effects of the fire magic before it got to him. He then turned to where Vanessa was and gave a knowing smirk. Oh, this was going to be fun after all...
-------
Time felt odd as the fight continued. No one exactly had time to stop and check the time and Randy only knew it had been hours by the arrival of the members. The issue came up about the living fighters for Randy's side. Hat Girl was going to get exhausted sooner or later and while Platinum was more resistant to heat, he was also affected by the fire's magic and had to be more careful with what he did. Besides, his battery would only last so long and the second it ran out, he would be nothing but a chunk of metal on the floor.
Randy tried not to think about it, instead trying to make the enemies focus on himself. He already had something faintly in mind for both of them, how to put them in their places permanently. He just couldn't do it while they were both by each other. And he doubted he could get away with just doing it to Ezra while the flames roared all around him. The flames seemed to power Ezra, or maybe it was just because Randy couldn't get too close. Regardless, he needed to wait for the perfect opening, no matter how long that took.
Unforntally, it seems Vanessa wanted to make the process just a bit harder. "I'll have you all hanging by your hearts!" She shouted before blasting some of her magic nearby, Randy groaning a bit once he realized what was happening. Ezra didn't even wait for them to fully form, just set the newly formed guards ablaze. Resulting in more choppy but many more guards joining the fight to protect their Queen and her little rat. Randy instantly used his strings to pull Platinum and Hat Girl a bit away from them so they didn't get overwhelmed, hissing as the fire tried to seep in.
Macbeth and Snatcher took notice, so Snatcher quickly tossed a spell over to Macbeth who went to the guards. He couldn't use his main ability on them since they didn't have a soul, but he could still use a few smaller tricks. He applied the spell to himself, making him faster as he pulled out his refile and just started firing.
"Pest!" Vanessa hissed as she shot out a row of spikes in the direction of him. "I can summon more than you can destroy! Give up!" Macbeth barely ducked out of the way of the spikes, although they wouldn't be there for long. A sharp, sudden red ray of light burst through them, almost hitting Vanessa before she summoned a hill of ice to take the hit. She growled, she knew that strange red light. Still remember when it first tried to kill her in her own home. Of course he'd be here too.
"They saw my message!" Hat Girl said as she was making her way back to where she was before Snatcher had dragged her away. Right flew over and quickly scanned the area, Vanessa was making more guards already. He let out a quick mumble as he focused his attention on a group of them. One tried to throw it's weapons at him but it was knocked away by an oversized knife being thrown in the direction. Hat Girl would hear the birds bickering a bit already. Perfect.
"Conductor, try to have more aim at least, you almost missed." Grooves said, watching mostly from the sidelines. He and Conductor weren't in the condition to get on the main battlefield. The only reason they were even here was because Snatcher had the hidesight to give them a contract that temporarily gave them powers to recreate the 'boss fight' Grooves had with Hat Girl back then. Not the words the DJ would have used but, at least he could do something. They couldn't stand on the side after all.
Randy looked down at the battlefield for a moment as he charged another attack. Despite knowing he didn't want the others fighting, he knew how things went. One person goes into battle, the army follows. Snatcher had his attention mostly focused on Vanessa, and the group was handling the guards, so he felt he could put his whole focus on Ezra, firing off his attack while Ezra was distracted. Ezra barely ducked, his horn getting cracked by the attack. Good.
Hat Girl and Platinum snuck closer to the fight, Hat Girl giving a smirk as she decides to switch out her hat for the ice hat. "Let's see how this works." She said before she began to sneak near the guards, freezing whenever one tried to look at her. The hat seemed to confuse them, even as Vanessa would shout to destroy it since it wasn't her ice. Hat Girl could unfreeze and get hits off when she could, at least cracking parts of the guards. However, she was a little too slow to unfreeze, and saw a guard swing at her.
Time paused for a moment, before she found herself getting pulled back to before she froze. She quickly ducked away, and went to swap out her hat back to the brewing one. She heard a loud crash and the sound of shattering ice, turning to see Reginald and Mu hiding from behind a tree, Mu rushing over with a glare on her face, taking some breaths even with her mask blocking out the smoke. "What were you thinking?!" Mu demanded once she got there. "You could have gotten killed! You shouldn't even have left without us!"
"Well, Dad and Papa were busy and I knew you didn't sleep well. Thought weâd get a head start?" Hat Girl stated as Mu facepalmed... Her annoyance quickly faded a bit as the real emotion of fear shown through. Hat Girl quickly threw some exploding cash at a guard she heard walking in their direction before walking back to where Reginald was with Mu. "But hey, I'm fine, you're fine. We're going to be fine at the end of this. Just, it's taking a little longer than I hoped."
"Hattie, is there something up with your eye?" Reginald asked, Hat Girl pausing at that statement. It felt like it came out of nowhere. She reached up and rubbed her eye, like that would give her any information. Mu seemed to pause once she took notice of something, but said nothing. Reginald shook his head and quickly gave her a look over as he loaded an experimental gun he brought. "Just make sure to bring your father back over if you see him pushing himself, I upgraded his cooling but there's so much flame around."
"He has the charm too, he should be fine." Hat Girl said, but gave a quick salute before hopping back onto the main battleground.
"Still!" Reginald called out.
The battle didn't seem like it would be close to ending anytime soon, but that's fine.
As long as they kept the upper hand away from Vanessa and Ezra it would be fine.
The snow was frozen in the air, perfectly. It was like time had stopped... except no timepiece had broken. No spirits were used. All that floated there in the middle of the sight was a lunar deity, taking some breaths as his hands glowed. His eyes shot open as suddenly the snow started to swirl around him, swirling and blending together until it was one stream under his control. He quickly aimed it at a fire that had been set blaze nearby, the snow rushing through, melting and putting out the fire...
Mostly. A small flame still remained once the attack was over. There was a small sigh but... It didn't carry as much weight as it used to. Over the last week, he focused more and more on his magic. Focused on understanding how to use it. Processing it in a way his mind could understand. To a degree, he found that treating it like party ticks seem to help him have better control. There... had to be some joke in there. He had always tried his best to make the clan smile when he was chief, after all.
He still was far from perfect with his magic. But he felt more sure in himself. He could stand a proper fight against Vanessa and Ezra now... The only issue is he wasn't sure he could win... It was a lot to ask of someone after all. Especially someone who hadn't been a deity that long. But compared to a few weeks ago, he had hoped. He had too. It wasn't just his life that was at stake. It was Subcon Forest. It was this entire planet, if Ezra was crazy enough. Maybe perhaps other planets...
Randy paused when he heard something from behind him, turning around and quickly creating a shield to block the projectile magic that had been sent at him. He looked beyond the shield to see Java there, breathing a sigh of relief before focusing again, purple 'strings' appearing at Randy's side. Macbeth tried to focus them to attach to Randy but Randy quickly summoned his own and slash through them, before focusing them on Java, them wrapping around his arms as he put in a genuine struggle to break free.
Randy watched for a moment before letting go, turning his attention to a spell that let him create a mist he could hide in, occasionally glancing back at Java. He didn't like going against his son but Java insisted on it. He didn't want him training against anyone else. He could see fear in Java's eyes when he had suggested it. Still worried someone might take it too far after all this time... Not that Randy could blame Java for being worried. They were stepping into a war zone any day now.
"I think you have done well enough for now!" Badge's voice called from below as Randy left the mist surrounding him, hiding him from view until he floated down, grabbing a water bottle that was waiting as he sat down. Badge gave a smile as he watched, even if it was hidden by the mask. "If only the original could see you now."
"I mean-" Autiomaa shouted when Hydaric appeared on the TV set that had been placed by the group. "Auto, chill. I'm not going to stare into your soul." Hydartic cleared his throat, before gesturing to the small group around the makeshift training area, mostly to where Legends was resting just to the side, a blanket placed around his shoulders to help keep him warm. "We're all here and we were all made from the original Moonjumper so he... Kinda is? Sorta?" He shrugged. "I don't know technicalities."
"Thanks guys." Randy smiled a bit as he took a drink from the water, pausing as Autiomaa floated from where they had been watching with some other dwellers, resting on his lap as he gave them a pet, smiling a bit. He found himself looking in Subcon's direction and frowning. The faint smell of ash filled the air of the station. It was clear Vanessa's and Ezra's 'protection' spells were only doing so much. "Do you think my magic is ready?"
"The magic itself has been ready since the moment you were reborn into it." Legends spoke nearby. He spoke in what sounded like his caring, knowing tone, but there was an underlying disconnect in it. Randy frowned a bit at that. He couldn't imagine what Legends might be feeling. His whole purpose being taken away because of one fool's actions... yet Legends still tried to offer the words of guidance he knew those around needed. "I believe you have the skills now. All it is now is if the overtakers are foolish, or not."
"Well... There's only so much they can plan for." Randy said as he picked Alex up, placing the water bottle to his side and handing the Dweller to their father before he floated up. Macbeth tilted his head before pausing once he saw Randy start to float in Subcon's direction. By now the embers of the fire would hit the shield around the clearing. "I'm going to take the frost back."
"Dad!" Macbeth quickly raced over, garbing Randy's hand and making him look back at him. Macbeth took a breath, shaking his head a little as he let go, looking down at the ground as he frowned. "I... I think you could do it, I really do." He said as he looked up at him, Randy floating there with a worried expression, hands behind his back as he waited patiently. "But can't you rest a little at least? Maybe train a little more tomorrow? You haven't been in a serious magic fight before."
"Java..." Randy sighed as he bent down a bit. He looked down at the cloak Macbeth now wore over his toppat uniform, humming slightly. They were chosen to work together for this... They made a perfect team... The cloak almost made Java look smaller. Almost tricked Randy's brain into seeing Java the same way he saw him in the days leading up to his death. "I know yo' scared... I am too. But I have too."
"You shouldn't have to do it alone.." Macbeth said, shaking his head. Randy bit his lip at that... Part of him did want to accept help, it really did. On the other, if someone got killed because of him asking for it... He wasn't sure if he could forgive himself. Especially if it was Java. Ezra's magic was able to kill ghosts, as bizarre as it sounded. Macbeth garbed onto Randy's hand. "Look, please. Snatcher even said he's fine with you taking as long as you need to prepare. You don't have to rush."
"Are we... talking about the same Snatcher?" Autiomaa asked from where they were resting, having been looking over a spellbook on Randy's behalf. A spellbook that was now drench in the snow it fell into, but a spellbook nevertheless. Macbeth nodded as he glanced back at the station, being able to faintly see the ghost's purple glow from a distance. In the storage area that had basically been converted into the 'Subcon refugee Bedroom.â "If anything I think he would want Randy to rush."
"Well... The choice of what to do falls on Randy at the end of the day." Badge Seller claimed as he looked at Randy. "If you think you're ready, there's nothing keeping you back."
Randy was quiet as he looked at Java. He... couldn't go while his son was scared. He could tell Java was hiding his full fears... "Maybe in a few days... Java has a point." He could see relief enter Javaâs eyes as he breathed out a sigh. Randy looked up at the station and began to float over. He might as well make sure the Subcon-Folks were doing well. He knew how bad this was for them. "I'm going to check on Snatcher and the kids." He announced as he looked back at the group.
"I'm coming with." Macbeth said as he walked over to him, Randy giving a smile as he nodded. He wouldn't expect anything less. As they began to head up the railing, Macbeth gave a hum. "You know... you mellowed out a lot since coming back to life." He said as he looked at Randy, who tilted his head and gave a chuckle. Macbeth held up one hand, his other patting Autiomaa. "Not that there's anythin' wrong with that. Just... Kinda weird knowin' your reputation... then again, you were always more than what the history books said."
"I don't know." Randy shrugged. "I did host far too many parties for the clan's good."
Macbeth frowned slightly at that even as Randy chuckled. Randy wasn't wrong, per say. If anything he was just honest... He just hated how that was just the main thing Randy was known for.
It wasn't until Randy came back that the clan got to see the man he knew. The one who always did what he thought was best, even if he was misguided. The one who would take a bullet in any situation if it meant keeping one of them safe. Sure Randy had a party side but he was far, far more than that. And they only now got to see that... He couldn't risk losing him again... He couldn't. Heâd delay Randy going until Spring if needed. He just wanted to be fully sure his father would leave that forest alive...
-------
Hat Girl was quiet as she rubbed her hands, stepping out of the cafetria's kitchen. She found herself looking down the hall that led to storage again, sighing. She was trying to keep things happy for everyone, she really was. Her smile seemed to pull smiles on the faces of those close to her after all... But it was starting to get harder and harder with each day that passed by. The station was almost repaired, so they would be saying bye to this planet again. And right now the planet was dealing with a crazy demon...
She paused as she heard bickering in the hall, heading over as Rumbi followed by her feet. A few days ago some people from around the world had shown up. Grooves, Conductor, Cooking Cat, Adlayn. At first the clan had been confused on why. The group's response was if there was a threat to the clan's safety, in addition to being one to their planet's safety, they weren't just going to sit by and let it happen. They did catch and beat any of Vanessa's minions that got close.
"I wasn't trying to make you go out again, Darling." Grooves said as he shook his head. "I was just making sure you did the job properly. You know how skittish some of the owls can be." Conductor huffed, crossing his arms as he turned his head to the side, making Grooves shake his head as he took his glasses off for a moment, rubbing his eyes before he glanced over when he heard Hat Girl's footsteps. "Oh, hello darling!" He said as he put the glasses back on. "How are you, dear? We haven't run into you much."
"Oi, be careful where yer carryin' those! Ye might break what's inside." Conductor called as a seal was passing by, carrying a box on his back. The seal turned around and gave a quick nod before continuing to bounce down the hall, making Hat Girl chuckle as she took Rumbi out of his way. Conductor sighed before turning back to Grooves, his mouth in
its typical frown. "As I was sayin' last I was aware it was yer teams turn to check around the station. Mines finished its patrol last night."
"She's been busy helping the clan." Mu said as she walked over to the group, Hat Girl looking over and tilting her head a bit.
"Of course, I know." Grooves said as he gave a smile. "I'd just assume I would run into her more often, that's all."
Hat Girl wandered slightly past the two birds in the wall to where she could see some Dwellers playing with some minons. Some had bandages wrapped around them, a pink glow from where they had made contact with Ezra's fire. Even Snatcher had those marks, and they were only now starting to fade. And despite the innocent nature of the game, just tossing a ball between them... there was a lingering hint of pain in the air.
Hat Girl frowned. She thought about Snatcher. He looked so... drain whenever she saw him. Even if did his best to act like normal. His act had dropped a bit with him talking to Grace, the only living soul he had known before in the original subcon. But it was still up. Not enough to hide the pain and guilt he clearly felt, but it was there.
"None of this is fair." Hat Girl sighed as she turned back to the birds, placing Rumbi back on the ground before placing her hands behind her back, fiddling with them as she looked at them. "They don't deserve this."
Conductor nodded as he looked down the hall, frowning a bit at the sight of the ghostly children. "Sure that Phantom had taken souls but, who wouldn't. Chain me up in a bloody cellar 'nd take everythin' ah every own? Of course I'd last out on everyone that crossed into me vison."
"He's also changed, even if he doesn't like us seeing it... as annoying as it is to admit." Mu mumbled briefly as she looked at Hat Girl. "He hides behind the behavior he's always had but, even before you showed back up... He was trying to be better. I think, deep down, he was getting tired of the 'evil ghost' stuff."
"Or âe could've had a collective amount of bad days in ah row." Conductor commented.
Hat Girl sighed. "Why does if Snatcher deserved it matter? Even if he did, the kids sure didn't. They didn't even deserve to be killed in the first place! Lose everything, even their own names. And now some demon so vile he was ripped from history is here to try and take their home." Her hands were shaking, anger was starting to bleed into her voice before she took a breath.
Mu rose a brow slightly as she looked at Hat Girl, before pausing. "...You want to do more, don't you."
"Of course I do." Hat Girl confirmed as she looked back at the Dwellers and Minions down the hall. "I saved this planet once before, why should I just stay on the sidelines and let someone else do it. I know I'm not as strong as I was back then, but still... I haven't even TRIED anything, and I don't know why."
She did everything to help the ghost. But she hasn't even dared to step a foot into Subcon... She couldn't even place why. It was just two threats. She handled more before...
But back then she was trained to handle climates from many different planets. Face many types of foes. It was just basic schooling on her original planet.
But for the past seven, maybe eight years, she spent her time living the comfortable, mostly protected life of the toppat clan's heir. There were risks but if they ever came across them, it was everyone's job to protect her with their lives. Maybe she gotten too comfortable in that set up, never really facing true danger.
And now when she was staring it in the face, her body was keeping her in place while her heart wanted nothing more than to rush to the front lines... She...
"Hattie!" Platinum's voice suddenly called, derailing her train of thought as she turned behind her, seeing Platinum race up to the group. "We got everything set up for that Buckshot game you promise- oh." he paused as he looked around. "Is this... bad timing?"
Mu glared at him. "Is that not easy to tell?"
He held his hands in the air like she had a gun pointed at him. "Ok, I'll just go back to Van then."
"It's ok, Platy. I promised after all." Hat Girl said as she looked over, giving a nod as she walked up to them. She looked over at Mu. "If Snatcher or Randy need anything from me, come get me, alright?"
Mu nodded briefly with a quick "Of course." Hat girl nodded and looked at Platinum, letting him take her hand and begin to lead her to his room. Mu waited a moment, waited until Rumbi followed them out of their line of sights before she sighed. "I know that feeling too well, Hattie... I wish I could help you."
Grooves walked over and placed a flipper on Mu's shoulder. "As much as I would be scared of the Darling being hurt, I do think she has what it takes when Randy decides to face Ezra." Mu nodded at his statement, even as she brushed his flipper off her hand. "Her fathers just wouldn't allow it. I mean, I know for a fact I would never let Dinenna in this mess even if she was old enough to fight."
The Conductor nodded in agreement, starting to make a comment about his grandchildren, but Mu started to toon the conversation out. She looked at her cloak, mainly at the pockets she got sewn inside. Something told her to get medical supplies in them now. Hat Girl was going to go on the battlefield when the time came. And Mu couldn't stop her. Not that she would dream of doing so.
-------
For the longest time, Snachter didn't assume it was possible to feel more dead then he already felt. For one, it was an objectively true statement. He was dead. But there was always a lingering feeling of tiredness that followed him, even when he started to become, to put it simply, insane. He always just assumed that would be the worst of it but... No...
Maybe it was the guilt. Maybe it was the anger. The helplessness to actually do anything but man... did he feel more dead than he had in a long time... Just... nothing going through his head unless prompted.
Right now Snatcher was laying further in the woods, near the ocean side. It was raining along the ocean, Anamund pacing on the shore in the faint distance, their hands digging into their side so much that Snatcher started to wonder why they weren't bleeding.
"I still can't believe that's the Anamund of legend..." Grace's voice brought him out of his trace of nothing as he looked to see her resting under a tree near where he was. Did she come with him, or did she follow him... He couldn't remember, he'd think he know.
"The real question is how strong is Randy's magic that Anamund has stayed humanoid this long." Snatcher hummed. "From what I was told, it should've faded by now."
"You know it's rude to talk about people when they can hear, right?" Anaumund asked as they glanced over, pausing their pacing. They rolled up their sleeves slightly, showing a small bracelet that looked recent compared to the rest of their outfit. "For your information, Hydratic, Badge, and Randy figured out how to tie that spell to this. So I can shift whenever I want now. Only reason I'm like this is because I want to catch that demon by surprise if he wanders here."
"Good luck with that." Snatcher rolled his eyes. "He's far too clever then I want to give him credit for..." He paused when he thought he heard footsteps, looking over to bushes. He squinted his eyes, faintly able to see two pairs peaking through. "Shadow, Ivy. I know you're there." Ivy groaned as she came out, crossing her arms. "Why are you out here?"
"I want to go back to Subcon." Ivy stated as she looked up at him. Her expression and tone were annoyed but Snatcher could faintly see worry in her eyes. "I want to go back to my swamp. How much longer until we can go back?"
"Ivy, Papa and his friends are doing everything they can." Shadow Kid said as she looked at Ivy, who just glanced to the side. "I know you miss your home, I do too, but can't you give them a little more patience?"
"I'm sick of waiting, Shadow." Ivy said as she looked down at the ground.
Grace frowned a bit and reached for the child of the swap, who just huffed once she sensed her presence. She glanced down at the ground and sat down. Warming herself slightly by rubbing her sleeves together.
Snatcher sighed after a moment, looking at her. "Believe me, kid. I would have long had you back already if I had a say-"
"You're the big scary ghost of Subcon!" Ivy said as she glared over at him, Snatcher pausing before he nodded slightly to her statement. "Why can't you just throw him out or send him back-"
"Do you remember the fire spirits?" Shadow cut her off. Ivy seemed to pause. Both from the memory of her encounter with them and the faint tone of frustration in her voice. "This is the guy who made them. He has their magic. Papa barely got out of the forest with his life. T-That man crawled from hell!"
"Shadow, please." Snatcher quickly said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, making her pause and look up at him, tears starting to fall from her eyes. He wiped them as he took a breath. "You don't got to defend me, she's just upset... You would have been too, right?" he asked, getting a small nod from the girl.
"Losing your home does a lot to someone, after all." Grace said from nearby, resting her hands in one of her dress pockets. Snatcher looked over with a sorrowful expression. God, he didn't know how she was keeping sane. If he was in her shoes, he would have had his mind broken a long time ago. And she was putting her own worries aside for the kiddo... Like she always did. "You'll get it back one of these days..."
"But one of these days seems so far away..." Ivy stated as she turned over to her. Her eyes kept glancing away, she couldn't seem to have eye contact with anyone. "I'm not supposed to be..."
Anamund walked over, bending down on their knee to get eye level. Almost fell face first in the process while doing so, but still. "Take it from someone who's been around for at least a millennium. Sometimes life just... changes. Sometimes for a temporality amount of time... sometimes permanently. Deities aren't immune to that... if anything we're more likely to be affected..."
Ivy looked at the protector deity, and was going to make some comment... only to yawn and rubbed her eyes. "Is it that late already?" Snatcher stated as he looked at the sky, seeing the sun start to set in the distance.
Shadow looked at Ivy, taking her hand with a smile. "Hey, why don't we race to the station?" She asked. "See who wins, or who falls asleep on the way first."
Ivy rolled her eyes slightly at the request but still gave a smile, quickly dashing off before Shadow Kid could even start counting. Shadow Kid gave a call before following, leaving the group of Adults alone again.
Grace sighed slightly. "You'll get through it, kid." She whispered, before turning to Snatcher. "You know, you raised a good kid. She's going to be a great leader one day, like someone I knew."
"Oh please." Snatcher said, pulling up his act a bit as he waved a dismissive hand. "That's all her. I just made sure she was away from Vanessa..." He sighed a bit. That name. He would have to find a way to stop it one day... He turned to Anumand and gave a smirk. "You know. For a fish beast, you're decent at the advice thing."
Anamund rolled their eyes as they walked away. "I only did it because she's Moonjumper's sister..." They sighed, looking at the water before looking back at Subconâs resistances. "I'm going to make sure the Eversteads are gathered up for the night. If Ezra comes by, knock him out..." They said before jumping in, a glow briefly appearing over their form before they disappeared under the blanket of blue.
Grace looked up at Snatcher, who was chuckling a bit at the sight. "You know... You did good protecting Subcon for so long... Even if things are a bit of a mess now... Your family would have been proud of you."
Snatcher paused as he glanced at her...turned slightly and looked like he adjusted his mane, secretly wiping a single golden tear out of his eye before it could form.
"Well... I've done the best I can. I'll show you how I ran the place when we get back." Snatcher said as he turned back to face her, stretching a bit. "I mean, I'm sure Vanessa and Ezra are going to drain themselves from over planning eventually. We'll be fine! As long as Randy doesn't do anything dumb."
-------
Randy had woken up during the night. And despite his best, genuine efforts, he couldn't fall back to sleep.
He carefully floated out of the room he was staying in, floating down the halls silently. A few Overseers flying through the walls working on repairs while the toppats were asleep. He could hear their wings flap.
Randy found himself looking out one of the windows. On the horizon was a glow of orange and red, smoke rising into the distance. It was getting brighter each night. More was burning each night. If they didn't act soon, there wasn't going to be anything left.
Ezra reminded him of Wilford. Always assuming he knew right. That his way was best. And willing to burn down everything just for the chance to get his way. Randy had noticed Wilfordâs behavior in the past, but failed to act on it. And in the end, it shaped Java's world for the worst. He spent over a decade just hiding from the... monster until he was finally killed in the airship's blades. Too quick a death if you asked Randy...
He couldn't just ignore Ezra. Wait until he built himself up. Wait until he and Vanessa grew more and more powerful just because everyone around him wanted to play it safe...
They were after him. They were going to stop at nothing to try and get him.
"Fine. Have what you want."
Randy pressed his hands against the glass, the glass disappearing a second later. Like it never existed. He floated out and began to approach the treeline. He stopped just at the edge of the clearing, the edge of the protective doom his Overseers had made.
He looked back and thought about Java sleeping inside. Alexsandera sleeping nearby in their own little bed. Percy the plush placed by it. The only thing Java had, besides the clothes on his back, when he found him almost five decades ago. Under a table, scared. begging for his life.
"I'll be home."
Randy took a breath, his hand taking a glow as he began to float right into the trap he knew Vanessa and Ezra had set up.
God, even just standing on the outskirts of Subcon, you could feel the change in the air. The heat burned from where the forest was, an orange glow around the trees as the flames danced off them. Anger filled the air, anger, and pride. It was almost too much to even be near. Just a few days ago it was the oddly charming haunting forest the toppats had come to know. Now, it was on the road to becoming unrecognizable too anyway. It would become a wasteland if nothing was done. The magic protecting the forest could only last so long...
Right-Hand Man had to adjust the charm he now wore on his neck. Snatcher had done some research into Ice Magic before, back when his kingdom fell to Vanessa's cursed blizzard and ice. He couldn't find any way to reverse it, but he did find a few ways of recreating it. Some of the magic now resided in the charm. Right would most likely die of a heatstroke without it. The fans built into his cybernetics wouldn't have time to kick on and cool him back down. Right couldn't risk losing it.
He approached the edge of the forest, still trying to form a plan in the back of his head. Snatch, Randy, and Macbeth had told him where exactly Legends could be located. He still wasn't exactly sure how he was going to manage to bring a state back to the station himself. For a brief moment he thought about asking Hat Girl to help with her super strength, but he quickly shot that down. He'd figure it out. She was still a kid. She shouldn't even have to be worrying about all this...
It was too late for that, he supposed. Hat Girl quickly learned what had happened to Snatcher in the forest the day following the phantom's sudden arrival. She had stayed by the ghost's side, made sure he wasn't doing anything that could hurt his wounds more. She also sent a message to the other groups of the planet. Warning them in case Ezra got impatient and decided to attack other places. The whole world felt a lot colder since then, except for Subcon. And it wasn't just because of winter's chill.
Right began to step into the forest, only to pause when he stepped on something, getting a whine. He quickly transformed his hand into a blaster and pointed down, only to hold back from firing. A bushcat was right by his feet, one paw stuck under it. It had two bush kittens beside it, both whining quietly, one coughing a bit from the smoke that came from the fire around. Their leaves looked withered. If Right didn't know better, he'd say he saw these before. Back when the the forest was showing signs of healing from the fire...
"Oh, the poor things." A voice called from behind Right, He quickly turned around. "Oh- Right. S-Sorry."
"Autiomma?" Right looked to the side. "Jaques? W'ot are ya two doin'? Haven't you seen w'ot 'happened 'ere?" He asked as he looked between the two. He noticed Jaques was wearing another one of those charms. Snatcher had made a few, too many considering his weakened state. He wanted the best protection for Right going into the lion's den, he kept making them until he made one that was 'strong enough'. Right thought Snatcher's face couldn't get paler. "T'is is an imporinat misson-"
"And we're here to help. Autiomaa can use their magic to get Legends back and I'm more than willing to play lookout." Jaques cut the cyborg off as he adjusted his charm faintly. Right was about to object but, when he thought about it, he suppose that would be useful. Besides, Autiomaa and Legends were technically related. "Also Reginald asked us too."
"I do think I heard footsteps..." Autiomaa stated as they glanced behind them, their cloak pulling closer to themselves. The gains of sand they were made of shook in place, enough for Right to take notice. It was odd how scared sand could look once life was breathed into it... He shook his head and sighed, turning his sight back down to the Bushcat who was trying to pick itself up. "Oh, let me help you.." Autiomaa whispered as she got to the ground, applying a gentle healing spell to the feline.
"Ya said ya thought ya 'heard footsteps, correct?" Right asked, getting a nod from the figure. He looked to the bushes they came from, him heading over. The last thing he wanted to risk was a surprise attack from one of the 'creations' Snatcher had told him about. However, a figure quickly appeared hands in the air. Right rose a brow. "W'y are ya 'ere?"
"To start to believe the Reginald excuse works on me too," Mu mumbled as she looked at them. She still had her red cloak on, but she had changed her usual wear to one of the spear uniforms. Her usual outfit was starting to get torn and it needed time to be repaired properly. She lowered her arms as she placed them behind her back, walking past them and facing Subcon's new glow. "It's... not fair." She said as she looked over at them. "For the ghost. I want to help in any way I can once I'm here."
"Mu, yer a kid still. Ya, shouldn't be out 'ere risking yer life when there's a safer option." Right stated as he went up to her, Mu simply looking at the ground. She had been quiet since she came to stay at the station. Some days they almost forgot she was there at all. Right, and the others had opened she was shaking off the need to be everyone's hero. "T'ere's other ways ya could 'help."
Mu took a breath. "Right. My childhood is almost over. And I spent all of it fighting for a cause no one cared for." She said as she turned around, looking at him. Right noticed the faintest traces of tears building in her eyes, even if her face remained neutral. "If I don't genuinely help at least once, the past decade will have been for nothing.." She looked down, fidgeting with her fingers a little. "Please, just... let me have this. Let me do one good thing so none of it was a complete waste."
Right was quiet for a second, turning his gaze to Autiomaa and Jaques. Autiomaa was still focused on the bush cat, mainly healing the wounds of the kittens. Jaqeus frowned at the girl, and Right saw that look in his eyes. It was a look of recognition... "Fine." Right mumbled as he turned his attention fully back to Mu, who had her gaze still fixed on his face. "Just don't get yourself killed. The second you get inquired yer goin' straight back, understand?"
Mu gave a nod as she looked forward at the forest. "Kid, wait," Jaques said as he headed in front of her, reaching into his suit's pocket to pull out a spear charm. "Wear this, Snatcher said it should help you with the heat. He gave me a spear because he thought I would lose mine, for some reason." Jaques mumbled the last part as Mu took the charm, attaching it to her hood. She let out a small shiver as she felt a rush of cold go through her, nodding to confirm it was working.
"There we go.." Autiomaa turned back, seeing Mu. "Oh, I didn't know you would be joining us." They said the bush cats they were helping started to head into the normal woods that surrounded Subcon, the cat holding one kitten in its maw while the other stumbled behind. Autiomaa watched for a moment, before floating back up. They looked into the subcon, their body leaning back as if holding a breath. "...I was always told to fear the fire. A-And here I am, about to walk right into its waiting jaws..."
"Just stay behind me Autiomaa. I can take a few hits if they spot us." A complete lie but neither Mu nor Right were about to speak up about it. Right took a moment to rub his eyes, truth be told he just wanted this mess over. Especially now he wasn't just risking his life here. Autiomaa floated behind Jaquws, shrinking their from down a bit to hide behind his silhouette. "There, you got it." Jaques smiled as he stretched his arms for a moment, before making sure he held his gun in his pocket.
"Alright, let's move. We don't 'ave time to waste." Right stated as he took a breath and finally moved into the orange glow they had been standing there, coughing a bit. The heat was soaking through him as expected, the charm glowing brighter to apply more magic to fight it. The smoke that was coming from the flames was a bigger issue. Suddenly, he felt some cloth enter his hand, seeing a mask. He turned to Mu who was putting one on. "W'ere did ya get t'is?"
"Made it myself, in case I ever had to deal with some sickness like Apline's." She said, adjusting the mask in place before getting one last one out of her pocket and throwing it over to Jaques. "Sorry if it's tight, fitted them to my face and we don't have time to adjust.."
-------
What should have only been a half-an-hour walk felt like it was taking years. Even with the charms preventing their bodies from getting too hot, it still was burning. Right was able to adjust slightly better thanks to his cybernetic fans but Jaques and Mu were both struggling despite how much they pushed to keep going. Mu had to take her hood off and tie it around her waist, moving the charm to the tie of the outfit she wore. The only reason Autiomaa was moving well was because their body was more resistant to heat.
That wasn't the main thing that was slowing them. They hadn't thought about how much being on fire would change how the forest looked. Right and Mu had been in it enough times that they had the place somewhat memorized, and even they struggled to find the usual landmarks. The noses were burnt to crisp with only a faint glow. Signs were completely gone. Bushes were torn and burnt, and the trees were only still alive because of the forest cover. Not to mention the fire just, in general hurting their eyes.
"I think I see Snatcher's tree," Mu called after what felt like a week of travel, pointing to what at first glance looked like a pillar of fire. The group approached, seeing the tree being burnt, along with scratches and other signs of the place purposely being trashed. There was even less covering on it compared to the trees around, so there was actual damage being done by the fire. "It's like they knew this was Snatcher's... Can't they give that annoying phantom a break?"
"The ghost's village should be nearby if I recall correctly..." Autiomaa began to float down a path nearby, the group following close behind. It didn't take them long to get to the burning pillars that used to be the ghost's home, the group ducking behind a rock as they saw one of the spiked night's nature had mentioned moving around the area on patrol. Autiomaa peaked their head out, only to quickly duck back down. "H-He's there."
The group didn't get to ask who, not that they needed the answer. "I still don't know what with this one clearing." Right poked his head above, closing his human eye and zooming in with his cybernetic one to see Ezra looking over a map placed on a table. The demon was glaring at an area marked in black marker as it owed him money, before turning to where Vanessa was resting nearby. "Are you sure you sent fross that way? My flames should have followed it if you had, yet my spells say this area is untouched."
"I told you, it should have covered everything by now,"Â Vanessa spoke as she looked over, her resting in the water.
Right narrowed his eyes. Of course, they treat themselves while they ruin the space around them... Ezra let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes. "It's like there's some magic that's making that one area more resistant to everything we try." Ezra ranted as he paced back and forth, his footsteps melting into the ice that Vanessa had groaned around her to keep the water cool. "It can't be the Prince's, otherwise he'd be here to fight already. So what on earth could it be? Why that one random spot."
"It's probably nothing. You might be overacting." Vanessa spoke with a deep look on what little you could see of her face like she had any room to talk. Ezra was taking some breaths, but it was clear he was becoming more anxious. This wasn't going how he pictured it in his head. He clearly must've thought 'Moonjumper' would have shown up by now. Vanessa let out a sign. "I can go manually cover it myself."
"Please," Ezra said as he sat down in a chair, looking up at the sky. The only part of Subcon that couldn't be affected by the duo's magic. The moon stayed there, tauntingly. Like it knew what he wanted, knew what he needed to do, and yet refused to speak. His fists were shaking. He had to try and stay focused. He had to. Moonjumper would show up any minute now, knowing his luck. "He could hide anywhere that isn't affected... We need to give him no option other than to face us."
Vanessa got out of the water, and Ezra eventually went to rest near the cliffside. Right began to climb out of that spot, his eyes locked on his target, only for Jaques to grab his arm. "Don't. He'll just drag you down with him." Right was about to remind him he could fly, but suddenly the man stopped. His eyes seemed to catch onto something in the distance. A single painting loosely hung on a tree branch where Ezra was. Just barely safe from the fire's reach. "That painting."
"It's a nice picture, yeah." Right rolled his eyes. "W'ot about it?"
"Remember how I was stuck in a painting?" Jaques asked, Autiomaa tilting their head to the side while Right nodded. "I can't explain it but... That painting. I think it's a similar case. Snatcher did say he had paintings with trapped souls if I remember right.." Jaques rubbed his eyes. He only faintly recalled from the last day he was stuck in that cursed painting. He tried not to think about that part of his 'life' anymore. It wasn't living anyway. Just existing. A nightmare he couldn't wake from.
"I thought Snatcher stopped doing that," Mu mumbled as she looked at the painting. Although even then, she had a sense of unease. She saw the paintings that had people trapped in them before. The picture was always them trapped in their last second of fear, in that dark forest. The person in the painting seemed happy, the forest behind her alive and green... "So I guess we got two people to save now, great." She began to lower down. "I'll see if I can walk up and garb Ms. Painting without Ezra seeing me..." She shook her head. "No, wait. That's a bad idea."
"I mean... shouldn't we get to Legends.." Autiomaa asked quietly. "The part of the forest they spoke of is clearly where he is, and it sounds like we don't have much longer until they come across him.." Right gave a nod, but looked at the painting. He couldn't just leave the girl stuck to her fate, especially so close to two forms of demise. Autiomaa looked at the group. "Maybe we should split up? I-I heard that's usually a bad thing to do but, I don't know if we'll have time otherwise.."
"It's t'e best s'ot we got." Right nodded as he stood up. "Autiomaa, ya come with me to get Legends. Jaques, ya and Mu work on tryin' to get t'e painting girl to safety." Both of them nodded, although Jaques did start to rub his hand. His breaths were slow like he was trying to stay calm. Like the mere idea of the situation was going to send him spiraling. "Keep yer 'ead clear, Jaques." The man nodded, slowly. "We'll meet up back at Snatc'er's tree. If anythin' 'happens, go there."
"We'll be ok," Mu said as she looked over at where the painting was. It was just a little too close to Ezra for her liking. And she didn't want to risk her being the one to fall the cliffside before she could get her timepiece to reset. They were going to have to wait a bit. She bends down to the ground. Her hands gripping faintly on the grass under her. "We just need to play the waiting game. Make sure you two don't run into Vanessa. She's faster than she looks with reflexes."
"Trust me, I'm aware." Right-Hand Man mumbled as he reached for his eye. It was almost funny to think it was almost a year ago since the incident he and Reginald first went into her manor... Right shook his head. He needed to focus on the task. Couldn't let his mind wander. He climbed up on the rock to get a scan of the area, before sliding back down and beginning to walk in a direction. "It should be t'is way if the directions I was given are right."
Jaques managed to calm his nerves enough for a cheeky smile. "Are you?"
Right groaned as he rolled his eyes as he just began to head forward. He paused once he sensed Autiomaa's lack of presence behind him, and turned around. The figure looked up from where they were down, taking what sounded like a few breaths before slowly floating over to him. Right just nodded and went forward again, his hand already transformed and ready to fight.
-------
Vanessa must have gotten lazy. There was some frost on the ground once Autiomaa and Right got to where Legends should be waiting, but it disappeared after about ten feet. Leaving only the untouched forest. The only part of the forest's completely untouched grounds. There were some more bushcats around. Trying to recover from the wounds. Right had to steer Autiomaa's attention away from a dead one, he didn't know how the sandy souls would react and he didn't want to risk that being what got them caught.
It was oddly painful to go through the clearing. Right never had an emotional tie to Subcon. Or at least, he never thought he did. But he had gone in and out so many times over the last year it started to feel closer to a home than just a place near it. The last few times he was here were positive, for the most part...
He shook his head, he needed to focus. "So, are we any closer?" Right asked, Autiomaa nodding as they started to float ahead. The clearing began to come into view. It felt untouched, as weird as it was to describe. It was like it was covered in some protective blanket of magic. Right squinted his eyes a bit, and soon he saw the statue of Moonjumper come into view. "T'ere." He said as he began to walk over to it, a hint of caution in his steps. He didn't know what might happen.
"Legends," Autiomaa called gently, and there seemed to be a faint shift in the air. Like something beginning to awake. Made right pause for a moment. The flame in the statue's lantern faded a little. Right, could hear a faint hum in the air as Autiomaa rested by the base of the statue, floating from their figure and starting to surround the base. "I don't have time to explain, but we need to get you out of here."
"What? What do you mean?" Legends spoke. His voice was calm and collected, as it has always been, but it was covered in confusion. Right looked around the clearing. You could only see the faintest hints of the orange glow from where they were standing. That was the only thing Right could think of for why Legends didn't notice. Autiomaa just focused on the spell. "You cannot move me, I'm afraid. I need to stay." Legends spoke. "What if someone loses their way in the forest? I must lead them back."
"Legends, t'e forest is on fire because of Ezra. It isn't safe for anyone anymore." Right stated as he gestured to the area beyond what could be seen. It got quiet then, almost too quiet. Right, could swear he could see fear enter the eyes of the stone despite them staying perfectly in place. "Ezra crawled out of 'ell and now 'e is makin' it everyone's issue."
"He's going to find you sooner or later if we don't leave..." Autiomaa said as they looked up at Legends. They paused their magic as they floated up, some of their sand forming a hand and reaching for the one that didn't hold the lantern. They held it for a moment as they sighed, glancing around the clearing. The night sky was pretty right now... It was a shame to leave it. "I... know the fear of leaving the only place you've ever known." They sighed. "But sadly, you don't have a choice..."
"I... I need to stay.." Legends spoke in a whisper. "If someone gets hurt or worse because I wasn't here to guide them. I don't know if it would be possible to forgive myself." Autiomaa looked at Right, who just quietly gestured to the sand. They didn't have a choice here, they had to keep going. Autiomaa nodded and looked down, focusing on the spell again. "It's my purpose to watch over those of Subcon..."
"Well, there's not exactly anyone in t'e forest to watch over right now." Right stated with a small sigh. He didn't even know why they were talking. Autiomaa could finish the spell and they could have been on their way to Snatcher's tree by now. He looked at the statue and walked in front of him, looking into his eyes. They stared back. Cold. Right just shook his head. "All t'e ghost 'ave already evacuated. Are ya goin' to stay 'ere until yer found 'and destroyed, or are ya goin' to live to die another day?"
"...If it's what must be done." Legends let out a sigh. Right, could have sworn he could feel the spirit's head shaking, as odd as that was to phrase. "Let us go... Just... Promise you'll return me when it is safe."
"Of course," Autiomaa said as they began to lift off the ground again. The sand that was around the statue's base had grown a faint glow around them, and now the glow spread over the rest of Legends. It stayed that way for a second before the magic began to gently tug on the earth, lifting the statute ever so slightly. Autiomaa paused as they heard Legend let out a hiss of pain. "I-I'm sorry. I never used a spell like this before. I don't want to hurt you..." They stated.
"We don't 'ave time to waste." Right stated as his legs turn into the boosters, him flying above Legends and garbing his shoulders, being mindful to use less force with his cybernetic hand to not risk breaking the shoulder. From there he pulled up, slowly tugging the state out of the earth with he magic's help. Although it was clear this might take a while. "Could speed t'is up, but it might result in more pain."
"Do what you must." Legends spoke, even if there was a hint of hesitation in his voice. Right could tell just from what he was saying that the feeling of danger was new... Right boosted the speed of his boosters and started to pull up more, Autiomaa watching with some hesitation as they gently pulled the statute further from the earth, the ground below starting to crack up a bit. "Aploziges. I'm just not used to any form of pain." Legends stated as Right tug again, the statue's base being freed from the earth.
"Finally." Right huffed as he let go of the shoulder, Autiomaa focusing their magic on making sure Legends stayed afoot. Right took a glance down where the statue lay, seeing was looked to be the faintest hints of some sort of sparkling dust. Because nothing in this forest could make sense... Or at least, nothing in the true forest. "Jaques 'and Mu should 'ave gotten t'e paintin' by now."
"I hope they're ok.." Autiomaa said as they began to float forward, constantly looking back to check on Legends. Like he was going to float away from them despite that being impossible to their knowledge. Right took charge and walked ahead of the two, in case Vanessa did decide to show herself. She could still be nearby based on the frost. It was hard to say for sure. "Hey... You'll like it at the station." Autiomaa said as they moved. "They're not too far from the ocean, and the toppats are fun to watch."
"Perhaps." Legends sighed. Their voice was barely above a whisper. Coated in sorrow. Right shook his head, Legends knew why they were doing this. Did he have to make a fit about it without actually making a fit... Or was Right just not seeing the bigger picture? How was he supposed to know if he wasn't? "I just hope no one gets lost while I'm gone."
"If t'ey walked into t'e forest while it was set ablaze and got lost, that's not yer fault." Right stated as he rolled his eyes. It should be most people's instinct to go away from the fire after all. Only go in if it was necessary, which Right couldn't think of a single reason why it would be. All the ghosts were at the station and no other person on the planet should have a reason to go into Subcon. "We'll get it wrapped up, I promise. It's just goin' to take time."
"Well, at least you and Hat Girl have a lot of that?" Autiomaa asked, tilting their head. Right gave a small nod as he briefly thought about it. He did have 'Bottled Time' with him, and it has been a while since he made good use of it. Although he didn't like the fact Hat Girl was brought up. "Sorry.." Autiomaa stated. "I wanted to try and lighten the mood?"
Right-Hand Man just sighed and focused on the path ahead, then started to approach the flames. He could feel a shift in
the air, and somehow he knew it came from Legends. Maybe now Right's words were starting to sink in. Or maybe he was just upset at seeing his home being ruined in vain...
-------
Was Ezra ever going to move from that spot? It felt like an hour for the duo, just waiting for the demon to get far enough from the painting to go and grab it. They should already be at Snatcher's tree waiting, but no. Here they were instead. Every time the demon got up to move, he always found a new spot that was too close to the painting for comfort. It was like he knew and was purposely camping around the painting, making them either have to leave it or force them to get closer...
Which they did end up doing after a while, still staying out of Ezra's sight. Mu wanted to dash over and garb the painting that very second, but she knew that was a death sentence. Ezra had his fire magic and neither one of them had any proper magic to fight it back with. They also couldn't risk breaking their charms, there was no way they could get out before collapsing otherwise. Just one more thing on this pile of issues of the task. But they couldn't leave the picture behind.
If Jaques was right and there was a soul trapped in that painting, then it would be wrong to leave them for death. They likely did nothing wrong. Vanessa and Ezra just had a habit of doing what they thought was best.
"At this point, we need some sort of distraction, Right's probably waiting for us by now," Mu whispered as she looked at where the demon was resting, reading a book while his hand opened in close. He was on the urge of snapping, Mu couldn't risk him just hearing her footsteps, even with him facing away from the painting right now. Mu looked over at Jaques. "You got your gun, right?" She asked, the man nodding with a faint look of concern in his eyes. "Can you shoot near him, force him to move?"
"I could... But we would need to be quick. Cover your ears." He said as he began to sneak away from the current hiding spot, heading over to the bus lines nearby. He had to close his eyes as the fire threatened to blind him, he wasn't sure how much longer they could stay here. He looked over at where Ezra was reading, aiming the gun right above his head. "If I'm lucky, it'll miss and kill him." He mumbled before he quickly slam his finger on the trigger, the area roaring.
Ezra dropped the books as the sound made him shut up, his tail stirring up like a frightened cat. "What the!?" He shouted as he looked around, his hand ablaze. It sounded like when a potion was mixed incorrectly but, loaded. More⌠prepared. He turned to the direction he was sure the sound came from, beginning to would over, him hissing as he bore his fangs. "Vanessa, I swear if that was you.." He mumbled, before calling out. "Just come on out, 'friend'. I'm sure we can talk about this."
Mu waited until Ezra had just left her sight. "Stay there." She whispered before she rushed to where the painting was. She had to balance herself on one of those glowing mushrooms, trying to be gentle enough so it didn't spring her up into the air. She looked at the painting as she carefully grabbed it from the tree, at the picture of the women. She could have sworn she had seen her somewhere before... "Were you in one of Hattie's storybooks?" She whispered, before shaking her head.
"Mu!" Jaqeus called out as he began to rush over. "You got it, good! Let's go now!"
"Why did you just shout that out, Ezra could still be in hearing range!" Mu called before she began to rush forward. She had to stop when she almost tripped, looking back down at the painting. She couldn't risk doing damage to it, who knows what that might do to the person inside. She went to some of the buildings nearby and began to use them like the cover, her back turned away to protect the painting from the flames. "We just need to get back to the tree and then it will all be alright..."
"Who's there?!" Ezra's voice suddenly called, sounding a lot closer than Jaques or Mu wanted to hear. Jaques went ahead and poked his head around the corner, seeing Ezra had walked back into the area, his eyes darting around like a cat searching for a mouse. Jaques tried to sneak further, but the flames on one of the bushes suddenly dashed near him due to the wind, making him shout as he stumbled back. "What the" Ezra glared at the two. "What do you two think you're doing in my forest!"
"It isn't yours!" Mu called out before quickly passing the painting to Jaques. "Get to the tree, I can handle this better." She said as she got out her timepiece.
"Oh no you don't!" Ezra slammed his hand into the ground, sending the crack of flames rushing to Mu. Mu quickly got out of the way, Jaques rushing to a spot for cover. She quickly raced up to Ezra and kicked at him. He was only knocked back half a foot, and he went to slash her... only to blink and find himself in the position he was in moments ago. He blinked before he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. "Peck!" He shouted as he garbed it, only to feel another sharp pain in his side as something slashed through it.
"Jaqeus!" Mu called she slammed the branch further into Ezra's shoulder, the man aiming down and shooting the demon in the foot. Ezra's body took on a redder tone as Mu quickly backed away, a blush of fire coming from the beast's form. Mu waited for the blast to go away, and then paused when she noticed the man just standing there, taking a few breaths. She quickly threw a nearby stone to knock him back some more, then began to dash away. "Come on, let's move!" She called to Jaques.
"Don't you dare think of getting away!" Ezra breathed out as he began to form a fireball, throwing it quickly.
"Keep Running!" Jaques said as he turned around, firing his gun at the fireball. Making it break just enough for its pieces to miss them. And they had managed to go far enough in that time that Ezra decided it wasn't worth it. Jaques took some breaths as he looked at Mu. "You didn't have to risk getting hurt..." He sighed as he looked at the painting he placed under his arms. "But I suppose we got our goal in the end... Sorry mam. You'll be out soon enough."
He said.
"W'ot 'appen?" Right-Hand Man's voice cut them off guard, the two looking forward as the cyborg came up to them. Autiomaa was behind him with the Moonjumper statute, making Mu sigh in relief as she wiped her brow. They got all they came here for, good. She started to walk back in the direction of the orbital station, Right following behind with a hint of concern in his eyes. "We got to t'e tree first and got worried. Did Ezra stay by that paintin' all that time or somethin'?" He rose a brow as he tilted his head.
"If I had a penny for every time Ezra was about to leave only to move an inch, I'd be richer than you," Mu mumbled tiredly, sighing as she rubbed her eyes. She looked back at Jaques, mainly at the painting he had, and a tiny smile formed on her face. Sure, it was annoying and risky near the end. But she did it. She helped someone... right? She took a breath and continued to head forward. "Snatcher better still have that spell to get them out. Otherwise, I'm going to make fighting Ezra look easy."
"Did 'e not throw ya into t'e swamp a half dozen times?" Right-Hand Man asked, Mu giving a small shrug in response. The right was scanning what he could see of her with his eyes, and it didn't look like she had any inquiries besides a few scratches and a faint red burn on her hand. Still wanted to make sure she got looked at properly, but he could do that later, once they were all back at the station. "So, I see ya let 'er do most of t'e work." Right-eyed Jaques.
Jaques rolled his eyes. "I didn't have much time to react. Besides, I think I did well."
Right just sighed as he wiped some sweat off his brow. He was starting to get used to the heat, even a little worried they might freeze up once they got back to the station and the snow around it... Oh well. At least they wouldn't have to go back in until they had their plan.
-------
Snatcher was waiting with Hat Girl and the Moonjumper pieces just outside the airship for the group to get back. Snatcher wasn't fully sure why he was there if he was honest. Maybe he just wanted to rest knowing Legends was out, but he could easily do that from the warmth of the orbital station. He didn't have to know the second they came into few, freezing his tail off in the process... Although in some odd way, the cold felt like it was being kinder to him. Maybe because it wasn't Vanessa's crushed snow?
Eventually, the group appeared in their vision, the state of legends floating behind them. Snatcher could let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Badge Seller got up and started to walk down as Autiomaa placed Legends on the ground, Hydartic leaning as close as the screen he was on would let him see with his own eyes. Mu went up to Hat Girl and gave a small smile, Hat Girl sighing once she took note of Mu's faintly burnt hand. Snatcher rolled his eyes at that, hers weren't that bad... But at least things were over now. He didn't have to worry about this again.
"Oh, Snatcher!" Jaques called just as the ghost started to float up to head back inside. Snatcher let out a groan as he looked down at him, about to ask him what he was thinking when he paused. His eyes widen slightly at the painting. He⌠knew that face. It had been ingrained in his memory ever since his last day of life. The last person he spoke with before he walked right into Vanessa's waiting maw. "Vanessa and Ezra had this in the town... There's a soul in here, right?"
"Grace," Snatcher said as they gestured for Jaques to stand back, taking the painting and leaning it against the station's wall. She looked just like how she did that day all those years ago. She was even smiling... Vanessa must have found the same spell he used and modified it. Because he couldn't sense fear or, anything from the painting's soul. Just a cloud of unconsciousness, like a coma... He took a breath. "You have been in there long enough." He said as he reached out his hand. "Let's hope I don't screw this up."
Hydartic noticed from where he was and looked over, raising a brow. "Snacher, what are you-"
He didn't get to finish that statement. Snatcher's hand took a glow as an aura surrounded the painting. The show around the painting began to lift slowly as the picture started to desert, a faint swirl coming off of it. Snatcher was waiting, his breath shaky. She should be crawling out by now. Right? Did he do something wrong?
He couldn't wait any longer and reached his hand into the painting. He felt an arm and garbed, pulling back and catching her head when she flopped from the painting. He took a breath and gently pulled the rest of her out, the painting becoming an empty frame as the magic faded... He took a breath. It was done.
"...Ya couldn't 'ave brought 'er inside first?" Right asked, his face blank with his brows slightly raised. Hat Girl and Jaques went up to Snatcher, watching the Florist breathe slowly. "'ow Long 'as she has been in there anyway?"
"Too long.." Snatcher sighed as he shook his head. He paused as he felt movement, a groan coming from the women. He quickly led her on the ramp to the station, placing her on a blanket legends had laid out. He floated back a bit, biting his tongue.
The woman would groan as she slowly opened her eyes, sitting up. "My queen?" She dazesly whispered as she rubbed her eyes, before looking up slightly. Her gaze met Snatcher's, and she let out a scream as she looked around, her eyes widened as she glanced around. She eyed the unfamiliar creatures and people in fear. "S-Stay back! Who are you, where am I!"
Badge Seller watched for a moment, humming before stepping over... She looked at him, her hand raised, shaking but fisted. He stopped and tilted his head. "...You have their eyes..."
"Badge, please don't frighten her." Legends spoke. "She doesn't know what has happened."
Grace locked onto the statute of Moonjumper, pausing. It was the only thing here she recognized, despite this clearing being far from where the statue was supposed to rest. That voice... it came from it. "Moonjumper?" She asked in hesitation.
"Partly," Hydaric called up from the station, using the speakers to make his voice heard. "Hey, can one of you bring up something electrical I can get into? I need to see this."
Mu sighed as she rolled her eyes as she headed up the station's ramp. Legends looked at Grace with a sigh. "It is a long story, young one. But it is not as important as yours." Grace tilted her head to the side. "You... were trapped in a painting. Cruse to live among the paint. And during the centuries that past, Subcon has fallen into a state you would not recognize anymore..."
Grace's eyes widen as she listens. "Cent... Centuries?" She asked, shaking her head. A single tear fell as she took a few breaths, the implications clear. "Oh... Oh God... They're gone. My friends, my family. My queen-"
"Oh, that old drama queen is still kicking, for some pecking reason," Snatcher mumbled as he rolled his eyes, Grace jumping a bit as she turned back to face him. "She's the reason Subcon fell in the first place. All because she saw me buy flowers from you..." His tone softens at the end.
Grace looked at the phantom beast. "Bought flowers from me? I would remember if I sold flowers to a..." She didn't finish, slowly the pieces were falling into place in her brain. Underneath the echo of the ghost's voice, he sounded familiar... And the last person she remembered selling flowers to was the prince. Just got back and want to give his finance a nice gift... She looked up at the ghost again. The man looked oddly familiar. "Prince AJ?" She whispered.
Snatcher bit his tongue for a moment, before sighing. "It's Snatcher now... but yes..." He gave a dry chuckle. "I rather not get into it all now but... it's just us. We and the kids left. Phantoms of a time forgotten..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry... If I known you were like this I would have found you sooner..."
"What... happened to Subcon?" Grave asked after a moment.
"Let's discuss that inside... the exact situation is complicated..." Jaques said as he walked by the two. Grace eyed the man, who offered her a small smile. "Don't worry, I was stuck in a painting for a long time too. You'll get used to everything, eventually."
"Well. You were also aware while in the painting. So you had an idea." Hat Girl stated. She began to head up. "I'll go see if Burt is making coffee or something to warm you all."
"As if we need warmth after that..." Autiomaa looked at Legends. "Are you going to be fine out here?"
"I have been through the cold months before. I can survive." Legends spoke. "Go and warm yourself... You'll all need to be ready."
-------
"What do you mean you lost the painting?!" Vanessa roared as she looked at Ezra, who was rubbing where his wound was wrapped. She had just gotten back from frosting the clearing, having taken a nap in the middle of the process, and now the trapped soul was just gone.
"In my desire, they acted quickly for two normal humans," Ezra mumbled as he adjusted his spot on the bridge that lay on top of two of the ghost's houses. He had been working on plains to put spiked fences along these upper areas. Try and limit how close Moonjumper can get while still being in the air. Gave him something to look busy for when she got back because he knew this was coming.
"Ugh!" Vanessa shouted as she slammed her hand into one of her spike knights walking by, shattering the figure's head before it walked off as part of its partial. She looked at her hands, spikes of ice coming from them with only a single thought. "I should have just struck that soul down when I had the chance."
"You should have," Ezra mumbled. Save his ears.
Vanessa sat by the water again, taking a few breaths. She looked at her left hand. It should be ringed. It should have been ringed long ago. It was what was promised to her. Why must her prince have everything work in his favor? Why him, when he was the one who betrayed her...
The next time she saw Florsit, she was going to kill her in one attack. String her crops up as a decoration, and a warning to her prince about what happens when anyone falls out on line in her kingdom.
"...How long til my prince returns?"
Ezra was quiet for a moment, summoning a blade from his flames and looking it over. They didn't have much more time. Moonjumper was going to show his face. And when that happened, Ezra couldn't afford to let the chance slip. He needed to drain his magic and kill him. Before Vanessa could react to the betrayal. He can kill her in one shot after that.
