Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ultimately, Oticat was a good king. He always donated everything he could, which was nice. He made sure to regularly send mail to his clanmates, even when he didn’t want something. Occasionally, he would make a trade that didn’t benefit him in any way, just to help out his clanmate. He always did all three of his Collection Day battles, and he always, always, used his War Day battle. He made good decks, using annoying meta strategies only when he had to. And he had good cards, as well. Good spells, good buildings, good troops- the best of which was Brandy the Bandit. Or at least, she thought so.

As she sat on the bench in the dugout in the midst of the latest battle, Brandy closed her eyes for a second, and took in the wonderful atmosphere. The cold wind of Frozen Peak seemed to be rather biting to some people, but Brandy didn’t mind all that much. She felt it, sure, but it didn’t mean a whole lot, not when this was one of their last battles before Arena 9.
"Hey, Brandy! You're up!”, came the shout of Dan the Knight, her best friend. He had been in Oticat’s battle deck from the very beginning. Brandy was a relatively recent addition, having been unlocked from a Legendary Chest only a few months ago.
"Thanks, Dan!” she yelled back, and leapt up from the bench. A quick Dash, and she was on the teleporter. Her vision blurred a light blue, a low roar echoed in her ears, and a second later, she was on the ice and snow of the battlefield, placed right on the right bridge.
"Alright, what do we got today?" she said to herself. Looking out across the Arena floor, she saw a Hog Rider. Okay, that was pretty standard, especially after the recent buff. But Brandy knew better than to try and catch him- no one could outrace a Hog. She would leave that task to Agatha and her Skeletons.
Looming up from behind the opponent’s king tower was a Balloon, a faint 9 glowing over its surface. There was no possible way she could deal with that. Brandy hoped that maybe Bowza could deal with it. The Magic Archer was one of the only air targeters in the deck, along with Agatha and Randy, who was an Ice Spirit.
Brandy looked forward, and to her surprise, the path to the tower was completely open! It looked as though the enemy king, focused as he was on the Ratzo Brothers charging on the left side with their Battle Ram, had simply forgotten to defend it.

Brandy ran for the tower as quickly as she could, trying to get within dash range. She had seen him use his Fireball just a few moments earlier, so she knew that she didn’t have to worry about that. He did have a small spell in the form of The Log, just like Oticat. The spell had regained its former popularity pretty much the second Barbarian Barrel was nerfed. But now, she had crossed the bridge, was in dash position, and ready. Steam rose off of Brandy’s body as she knelt to rush forward. Too late, the enemy king noticed. He pressed his finger to his digital interface, and flung it forward. Within a second, his The Log had come hurtling toward her, bouncing off of the ground at high speed. But unfortunately for him, his reaction had been just a bit too slow. Brandy dashed, and passed almost phantasmally through The Log. A Villager in the front row of the stands cheered, and threw her drink into the Arena. Almost immediately, it was absorbed by the Shield that protected the Arenas from any interference. Brandy finished her Dash, and struck the tower, shaking the Princess within, almost off of her feet. It’s health readout dropped to 400- it was almost down. Just a few more hits would finish it. So Brandy raised her club to strike the tower- and another Log emerged from nowhere and knocked her backwards.
“Wha…”, Brandy thought to herself. “How did he get a Mirror? He’s only in Arena 8! Oh well, that Log didn’t stop me.”
Brandy wasn’t in Dash range, so she just started to run towards the tower. Hopefully, she could still bring the tower down- oh. Nope. Not with that just-played Mini Pekka blocking the way. Brandy knew she couldn’t take it down, not without her Dash.

“Hey, look! Pancakes!” she shouted, and pointed to somewhere in the audience.
“PAN. CAKES?”, asked the Mini Pekka, and swiveled its head all the way around.
“Yes, Pancakes!” said Brandy. “Go get them.”
“PAN. CAKES!” it beeped, and swiveled its head around again. It saw Pancakes, all right- that was the way it saw the world. And to it, Brandy looked like a very inviting stack. It raised its sword, and swung down.
Seconds later, Brandy reappeared back on the bench. She huffed, and blew her bangs out of her face.
“Hey, you didn’t do too bad,” said Dan. “You did better than me.”
“Why?” asked Brandy. “What happened to you?”
“I took one step, and got fried by a flawless prediction Lightning,” Dan replied. “But you know what that was?”
“What?”
“It was a…” Dan began, as he waved his hands around in the air. “Positive Elixir Trade! Yeeeaaah!”
“Yeeeaaah!” Brandy sang back, and they exchanged high fives. A second later, the entire Arena was rocked by an explosion, and the two friends stumbled.
Because out on the battlefield, the huge rock of Webert the Bowler crashed right through stone, destroying the enemy princess tower and winning the match.
“Oticat 1, MaNoFwAr_68 0,” drawled the Wizard in the announcer booth. “Blue team wins.”

The specially constructed blocks of ice on either side of the Arena cracked and split, forming into the shape of a single crown, lit from within with a mysterious blue light to signify the score.
Oticat held up the screaming hog sign- his favorite to use whenever he won. The red king, MaNoFwAr_68, ranted and raved, then flipped the laughing sign multiple times in a pathetic attempt to mask his loss.
Within seconds, everyone that had been out on the battlefield reappeared, back on the bench. Agatha and Bowza crossed weapons in a formal celebration, staff to glowing bow. Webert shared a fist bump with both of the Ratzo Brothers at once, while Randy danced on top of The Log.
“Kudos for taking out that Minion Horde, Bowza.”, said Agatha.
“The mountains cannot meet the sky without the trees, Agatha.”, replied the Magic Archer.
“And that means?”, said Agatha.
“It means that you helped take them out too.”, said Bowza. He would usually do this- speak in riddles, then provide a translation just in case nobody understood. Which was all the time.
“Hey, nice job with that Furnace, guys.”, rumbled Webert. “It was really annoying.”
“Well, we couldn’t have done it without you.”, said one of them.
“Yeah, you took out the Fire Spirits.”, said the other.
Randy said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit.
Oticat and his daughters, Sadie and Elizabeth, walked down from their respective towers after their emoting was finished. Oticat clapped his hands.
“Alright guys, great match today. Let’s head out.”

As one, they exited the dugout and strolled towards the Prize Goblin at one end of the Arena. Here, the winning king would receive Gold and Chests, as well as sometimes a Crown for their Crown Chest. Here was also the spot where the loser would hand over a select amount of trophies - usually between 20 and 30, but occasionally higher- to the king that won.
“Hey Grug!”, said Oticat to the Goblin attending to the table that day, once they arrived. He slammed his elbow down onto the counter. “What do you have for me today?”
“Oh, I have something simply delightful for you today, sir.”, said Grug, and rummaged around below the counter. With a grunt, he pulled up a handful of Gold and a battered red crown.
"Here you go, mate- 16 gold, 1 crown for your chest, and...."
The prize goblin ducked down behind the counter again. As Oticat watched in excitement, loud grunts of exertion and Gobbish curses could be heard. Finally, with a heave of heroic effort, Grug lifted a massive Chest onto the table, and gasped.
"Here's your Giant Chest, sir!", he said finally. “Hope you - wheeze - enjoy it.
The king's face lit up in delight. "Awesome!", he said. “It’s always good to get a nice and juicy chest like that.”
Webert took the Giant Chest in one massive hand, and gently bounced it up and down.
"And of course, the trophies.", said Oticat, eager to receive them.
"Right," the goblin replied, "MaNoFwAr_68 should be along any second to deliver you his trophies." Oticat looked down the hallway- and sure enough, the angry red king was marching stiffly toward him. One of his Princesses carried a bundle of 30 Trophies in a wheelbarrow behind him.
With a sneer of disgust, MaNoFwAr_68 gestured towards his daughter, and she piled the won Trophies into Oticat’s own wheelbarrow, pushed by Elizabeth.
"Here, take your stupid trophies. I hope you lose them.", said the red king with a huff.
"Oh, it's all right man. You played well out there. Good game.", Oticat said, and moved his hand to give him a thumbs up. Once MaNoFwAr_68’s eyes followed Oticat’s fingers, they were swiftly changed to a circle, and slammed against the blue king’s knee.
The red king drew swiftly back, then crossed his arms and turned around. Oticat just laughed.
"Hmph. You'll hear from my clanmates about this.", he said.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and laughter. Brandy came around the corner, already engrossed in conversation with Dan and Agatha.
"I can't believe that moron left the tower open for me!”, she said, and put her hand on Dan’s shoulder. “And such a nice Log placement- it’s like he’s got the reflexes of an actual Log!"
Everyone laughed, except, of course, for the MaNoFwAr_68. Smoke merely came out of his reddening ears, and he grumbled. But then, as he looked at Brandy, the source of the insults, he stopped. His head tilted very slightly, and a mote of an idea began to form in his head- somewhere around 11%. Suddenly, he gave a good natured smile and clapped Oticat on the back.
"Yeah, no hard feelings man.”, he said, suddenly all sunshine. “Just don’t expect us to cross paths again anytime soon.”
And with that, he turned around, swept his cape around, and strode out of Frozen Peak, his team and Princesses following closely behind.
Dan frowned, and scratched his head. "What do suppose that was all about?"
Agatha stepped forward, her brow furrowed with concern. "I don’t like the way he was looking at you, Brandy.”
Brandy startled and turned to the Witch. "Why, was he looking at me? I didn’t notice.”

“So, I’m gonna hit the shop really fast.”, said Oticat as they left the Arena. “You guys can just wait here.”
He walked into a nearby Official Store, in order to check what was for sale. Sometimes they had free Gems, Gold, or even free Chests. They also had a selection of various cards for sale, as well as some Emotes. Also available were high end, specialty chests, but hardly anyone ever bought them, due to their massive Gem cost.
Brandy decided to follow him, then at the last second took a left into the Gift Shop. This was for visitors to the Arenas to pick up souvenirs- action figures, posters, and the like. After a few seconds of poking around, Brandy noticed a figure of herself posing on a shelf. Of course, it was not actually her, but rather a regular Bandit. But all Bandits, and indeed all troops, did look practically the same. The figure was packaged as part of “The Essential Bridge Spam Kit”, and nestled in between two Elite Barbarians.
Brandy picked up the box, and looked at it for a bit. It also included a Battle Ram team and the massive figure of a Pekka. In between the figures, she could see out the back of a box- and through the box, Brandy could see a small Villager child staring at her.
Brandy put the box back onto the shelf, and knelt down. The little girl yelped and hid behind her mother’s skirt.
“Now Cookie, what do we say?”, said the adult Villager.
“Hi.”, squeaked Cookie shyly, staring up at Brandy with sheer admiration in her eyes.
“Hi, Cookie.”, said Brandy. “ I’m Brandy. How are you doing?”
Cookie, as typical of small children around unfamiliar people, said nothing.

“Cookie, you’ve wanted to go on this vacation for months.”, sighed her mother. “You kept on talking about how you wanted to meet a real troop, and now here’s one and you don’t want to talk to her.”
Cookie continued her silence.
“Maybe I can get her to talk.”, said Brandy, and knelt down onto one knee. With a swift sleight of hand, Brandy tucked her hand behind Cookie’s ear, and pulled out a Gold piece. Cookie gasped and grabbed it.
“How- how did you do that?”, she asked, her fear vanishing in the face of magic.
Brandy wiggled her fingers. “It’s all in the fingers, kid. I can teach you, if you like.”
The adult Villager swept Cookie back under her arm. “Oh, no thank you. She already gets into enough trouble around the Hut. Which reminds me-”
She fumbled in the folds of her dress for a second, before pulling out a huge camera. “Do you think you could take a picture with us before you go?”
“Sure, that’ll be fine.”, said Brandy, and maneuvered herself in between the two, hands in the air and fingers in a V. With a click and a snap, the picture was taken, and the camera put away.
“Well, we better leave, Cookie.”, said her mother, then looked around. “Cookie?”
Cookie was staring intently at something on the floor. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a large floor art of a vicious looking red Dragon. Cookie’s study of the picture was interrupted by a tug on her sleeve.
“Cookie, we need to leave.”
Cookie looked up with eyes shining. “Mommy, can I be a Bandit when I grow up?”
Her mother grimaced. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, dear. When you’re born, you’re one thing and that’s it. Your father learned that the hard way.”
“Now, don’t be so sure.”, said Brandy with a smile. “Something could always happen.”

The second Brandy left the Gift Shop, she was very nearly blinded by a ray of sun that glinted off of the metal ground. It was getting kind of late after such a long day of battling, and the sun was beginning to set. Oticat walked out of the door next to her, with a small white square in his hand.
“Hey, guess who just got a new Emote?”, he asked to the team, and they all crowded around to look.
“What is it? What did you get?”, asked Dan excitedly.
“I bet it’s Goblin Facepalm.”, said one of the Ratzo brothers. “I love that one.”
“Yeah.”, said his partner. “Especially when you charge a Tombstone instead of the tower.”
“Hey, did I ask for your opinion?”
“No. That’s why I’m giving it.”
Oticat silenced them with a motion, then moved his hand to reveal his purchase- the Dabbing Wizard. Everyone cheered, and laughed.
“Watch this.”, said Oticat, and pressed it. The symbol of the Wizard on the tile made a small motion, and a pressing sound issued from it as he dabbed.
“But all fun aside, we had better head home.”, said Oticat. “It’s pretty late, and I really want to set this Giant Chest to unlocking.”
So Oticat and his team got up, walked to the Balloon station, and got in line.
“11, please.”, said Oticat to the Bomber tending the stand. “And hurry.”
“Yeah, yeah, 11.”, said the Bomber sarcastically. “Look, you can just say the standard package- there’s only ever a Team, a King, and the two Princesses. Never anything else.”
“Oh.” said Oticat. “Well, in that case, standard package, please.”
The Bomber sighed, and expertly unhitched a group of Balloons from their tethers. “Here you go, sir.”

Once Oticat and the team were in the Balloons, high in the sky overlooking the great uncharted canyon that seperated Arenas, they all started to relax a bit.
Oticat looked at his Giant Chest, then up at the sky. Back to the chest, then back to the sky. Up, down. He really wasn’t sure if he should do what he was thinking of, but it was a spontaneous feeling day. Finally, he sighed and cleared his throat.
"You know what, everyone?", he said.
The various Troops in their various Balloons all turned to look at him with varying levels of curiosity.
“What is it, Dad?”, asked Sadie.
"I really shouldn’t be doing this, especially after buying an Emote, but I feel spontaneous today. I'm gonna Gem this thing once we get back home."
This caused a great excitement among them all. Rare chest openings were always fun to see- and there was the hope that one of them might get upgraded. And that was one of the greatest feelings of all.

Once they all arrived home, the team hurried out of the Balloons, full of excitement. The door burst open with a bang of Webert’s foot, and they all rushed through.
“What’s the rush for, sir?”, asked Masonl, Oticat’s highest level Wizard.
“I just got a Giant Chest.”, Oticat quickly explained. “I’m going to Gem it open. You wanna watch?”
Masonl folded up his glasses, and folded to Oticat’s side. “Yes, sir. I rather would like to.”
The group, now larger with the addition of Masonl, quickly filed into the Card Hall. Here, Chests were unlocked, decks were built, and cards were upgraded. With trembling hands, Oticat gently placed the Giant Chest into the unlocker. Everyone watched intently as he walked over to the cupboard, took out 72 gems, and carried them over to the machine. He placed them, one by one, into a special slot fitted into the front of it, and the Giant Chest cracked open. He grabbed it and took it out, then set it on a nearby table.
"Alright everyone, let's see what we get! Here’s hoping for an upgrade!”
His hands trembling from excitement, Oticat reached in and pulled out a sack of 1500 gold. A few thousand Gold was always nice to have. But now, on to the cards. He placed the Gold on the table to be carried off to another part of the room by a “helpful” Goblin. Oticat reached in again, and pulled out a stack of 185 Commons. With a flip, he turned them over to reveal them as Knights. His eyes lit up and he turned to Dan. "Congratulations! You're getting upgraded!"
Everyone cheered- with Dan the loudest. Oticat rubbed his hands together, and reached in again. This time, what was clutched in his hands were Rares- 64 Battle Rams.
“Dang, this is a good Giant Chest.”, he said as he turned around. “Two stacks that we use.” But he stopped as he saw everyone else in the room staring in shock and awe at something behind him.
“What? What is it?”, he asked.
Brandy whistled. “Oticat. Look.”, she said.

Oticat turned around, and saw what they were all looking at. A shimmering corona of multi-hued light glowed from the Giant Chest- the surest sign of a Legendary.
Elizabeth squealed with excitement. “What do you want, Dad? I hope we get a Lumberjack. They’re so dreamy.”
“I want…”, Oticat said, and glanced back at the group. Bowza and Brandy both had their hands clasped together, both hoping for an upgrade.
Come on, please…, thought Brandy. I want to be Level 10…
“Well dang. I don’t even know what I want.”, said Oticat with a shrug. “Just something I don’t have, I guess.”
He shut his eyes, and pulled out the last card. It flew out of his hands and into the air, where it began to float. It spun around faster and faster, spattering sparks of rainbow light, until finally it stopped- and turned into the shining silhouette of- a Lumberjack! Elizabeth clasped her hands and screamed, as snow fell around him.
The Lumberjack stepped forward, posed, slipped on a wild patch of snow, fell down the stairs, hit his head on the floor, and said “Bugger!”, which is a terrible thing to say as your first word ever.
“Woah, are you alright-”, Oticat started to say, but the energetic Lumberjack jumped to his feet before there was a second and shook Oticat’s hand with a grip as hard as oak.
“Hi! Name’s Kars! Kars the Lumberjack!”, he shouted enthusiastically. “Good to be alive, huh?”
“Well, Kars, I’m-”, Oticat tried, but Kars had already moved on. Quick as a flash, he was down the stairs and already introducing himself to the rest of the group.
“Hi, I’m Kars!”, he shouted as he pumped Dan’s hand up and down. “You look like some fine people!”
Before Dan could even think of something to say, Kars turned and saw Elizabeth, attempting to control herself. Kars winked at her, and the Princess fell into the arms of her sister.
“Hey, Bowler!”, shouted Kars, and Webert looked down at him. “You got any trees to chop?”
“Well, there’s some outside.”, rumbled Webert. “I guess you could-”
“Awesome!”, Kars shouted, and kicked open a random door. He laughed maniacally as he ran through in search of some lumber to jack.
“Sadie, see to it that he doesn’t go too crazy.”, said Oticat.

Now it was time for everyone to wind down. And in order to do that, they usually partook in one of their favorite activities- watching some T.V Royale. Brandy took her regular spot sprawled across the couch, Dan sitting in the chair right next to her. Agatha summoned some of her skeletons so they could watch too, the Ratzo brothers sat on their ram, and Webert, Randy, and Bowza stood, as always. Oticat, Elizabeth, and Sadie had the seats of honor in the middle. Oticat grabbed the remote from its glass case and flicked the On button.
“Hey everyone, and welcome back to TV Royale.”, said the Villager on screen. “I’m Trisha, your host, and today we’re going to be taking a look at several exciting things. Isn’t that right, Ted?”
Her co-host, a Wizard, laughed. It wasn’t very authentic, but nobody expected it to be.
“That’s right, Trisha.”, he said. “First up, the rumors going around are, in fact, true. Dennis, roll the ad.”
Dennis, the Bomber working the camera, flipped a switch, and the scene on the screen changed from a newscast studio to darkness. Writing appeared on the screen.
Introducing a new card…, was what it said.
Oticat leaned forward in anticipation. This was exciting. “What do you guys think it’s gonna be?”, he asked.
“I bet it’s the Hydra.”, said Brandy. “I remember hearing about that a few days ago.”
“No, it’s the Firecrackers for sure.”, said one of the Ratzo brothers. “That’ll be just our luck.”
“Now, the only wave that can truly crash is one who-”, Bowza started to say, but saw no one was paying attention. So he forgot about it.
The Gravity Elf!, flashed the writing on the TV, and for a split second, a figure of a young, slender woman in bright green cloth appeared, in front of a bundle of leaves. Purple particles shimmered around her, and then the TV faded back to the newsroom.

“So, the Gravity Elf, eh?”, said the Wizard. “About time the Jungle Arena got another Epic. It just hasn’t been the same without the Executioner around.”
“But that’s only the first of our announcements.”, said the Villager. “Because the council of the gods has ended, and our monthly balance changes have been announced.”
"Now, this is a pretty large one, and it might spark some controversy. But rest assured, they know what we're doing.", said the Wizard.
“Firstly, the great Dr’ew has decreed that the speed of the Elite Barbarians will be reduced from very fast to merely fast, and their HP and Attack will be increased by 4%. He says that this will help give Kings more time to react before the Elite Barbarians start hitting the tower.”
“Good.”, muttered Elizabeth. “About time the jerks got what was coming to them.”
Dan stood up. “Oops, looks like we’re out of Elixir.”, he said. “I’m gonna go get some more.”
“Could you bring me a brush while you’re over there, Dan?”, asked Brandy. Dan nodded, and walked away.
“Secondly,”, continued Trisha, “the mighty Ti’m wishes the HP of the Dark Prince to be increased by 6%. He says that he rather likes Dark Princes, and wants them to see a lot more action.”
Giovanar the Dark Prince had stopped to watch. Upon hearing this announcement, he pressed his hands to his helmet and shouted something excitedly. But no one could understand what he said, because he had a giant metal bucket on his head.

“And lastly, the ineffable Se’th has decreed that the speed of the Ice Spirit be raised all the way to very fast, in order to help underleveled ones get that one hit on the tower.”
Randy jumped up from where he sat, and did a little dance. But he said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit.
“And that should be it for today, folks- wait. No.”, said the Wizard, and pressed his finger to his headpiece. “Never mind, that’s not quite it yet. We still have one more change- with the Knight.”
"Hey Dan! You're missing this!" Agatha and Brandy both shouted. Dan, in the kitchen, almost dropped his mugs of Elixir.
“What? What am I missing?”, he yelled back.
“You’re getting balanced, you klutz!”, shouted Brandy good-naturedly. So Dan hurried back as quick as he can, mugs and random muffin in tow, and quickly sat back down.
The Wizard on the screen cleared his throat. "Now, this is a bit of a controversial change.”, he said. “I still don’t quite believe it myself, even as I hear it. But it’s my duty to report the news, so you here all go. The Knight will have his hitpoints..."
Everyone leaned forward, and the Wizard blinked. "Nerfed. Reduced by 50%."
In the utter silence that followed, you could have heard a flea blink. No balance change had ever affected a card this much. Never. Cards had been pushed to uselessness for far less, and everyone knew it. Slowly, everyone’s eyes turned to Dan.
Dan’s grip on his mug loosened, and it fell out of his hand. He could feel it, and his dreams, shatter on the floor. With trembling hands, Dan slowly walked towards the T.V, then grabbed it and began to shake it violently.
The normally calm Knight lost it. “Why?”, he screamed. “Why? What did I ever do to deserve this? I’m iconic! I’m not oppressive! I’m… I’m…”
He slumped to the floor, with his head in his hands, and began to quietly sob.
“I’m… balanced…”

Chapter Text

"Look, Dan. It’s not that bad.", Brandy said, giving the Knight a pat on the shoulder. The aftermath of the nerf had been devastating, Knights had not been a very played Troop to begin with, and now he was nigh-useless. After a short discussion brought upon by a lost 2v2, everyone had taken turns attempting to cheer him up. Agatha hadn’t done it, Webert had somehow managed to make it worse, so now it was Brandy’s turn. They were together, up in his bedroom.

"Give it a rest, Brandy.”, Dan grunted. “I mean, what's the point? I'm obsolete. Nobody uses me anymore. You know my usage rate was hovering around 6% anyway, and now it’s about to hit zero. I’m being replaced with Mini Pekkas, Guards, Royal Ghost, Ice Golem, - people would actually use Ice Golem as a minitank, over me!" He put his face in his hands and sighed.

Brandy frowned. She wasn't sure how to handle this. Maybe I could return his mustache trimmer, she thought. Maybe I could…, she thought, and then she had it.
"Well, you know what always cheers you up when you're down?", she asked.

Dan didn't even look up. "What?", He grumbled.

Brandy walked over to the closet. "Your sword collection! You've always liked going over that, right?"

If such things happened, a red exclamation mark would have appeared over Dan’s head. But things like that didn’t happen- yet. So as such, he just stood up and threw out his hands. "Wait! Don't open-"

Brandy threw open the doors to the closet with a loud crash.

"-that.", Dan groaned, and winced.

Brandy’s face turned to shock and concern. Because instead of finding Dan’s extensive sword collection, all neatly polished and organized as usual, she found herself staring at bottle after bottle of-

"Dark Elixir? You're drinking Dark Elixir? You know you can’t drink that stuff. Where’d you even get it, anyway? Webert?"

Dan sighed again and sat down on the side of his bed. "I know, I know. I know I shouldn’t be drinking it. It's just the only thing that takes away the pain anymore."

"Dan, it can't be that bad.”, Brandy said. “So you got nerfed. So what? Oticat still uses you, you have all of us-"

Dan stood up, his face contorted. "You don't understand, Brandy. You're- you're a legendary. And I'm just a common. You were born at level 9, I had to work my way up from the bottom. All you have to do is show up, and everyone loves you. You have your Dash, all I have is stats. You're a hero. All I am- was- is a distraction. My only purpose was kiting, and I can't even do that anymore."

He closed his eyes, and sat back down. "Watch. I'll probably be replaced any day now."

Brandy paused, then leaned close to him. "No. No you won't."

Dan didn't respond.

"Dan, listen to me. I promise you, Oticat needs you in the deck. You've been there since day one, and he isn't about to get rid of you now."

Her friend looked up. "Really? You really think so?"

Brandy smiled. "Dan, you’re still a glass breaker. Dan, you can still match me in a fight. Dan, you can still distract a Pekka. So Dan, I don’t think so. I know so."

“Really, Brandy?”, asked Dan. “Am I really still viable?”
“Dan, as long as you’re my friend, you’re always viable.”, said Brandy.
"Well, when you put it that way...", Dan smiled, and stood up.

The door slammed open, and Oticat burst into the room. Dan and Brandy both looked up in surprise.

"Dan, I have some big news.", said the king, slightly out of breath.

Dan grabbed his sword from off his desk and twirled his mustache. "Yes? What word doth you bring this noble knight?"

The king's eye twitched. "I'm sorry, but there’s no easy way to say this. I’m switching you out for Guards.”

Dan stared. He was silent for a few seconds, then his face twisted as he finally spoke.
“I knew it.”, he said. “I knew this was going to happen. So it doesn’t matter then, does it? None of what I did matters? All the battles that I won, all the towers that I destroyed, all my experience- nothing? What is this, Oticat? Is this just a game to you?”

Then nobody moved in the room, as they all just silently stared. Brandy opened her mouth to speak, but Dan raised a hand to silence her.

“Go away, Brandy.”, he said quietly. “You’d never understand.”

Brandy stared back at him, the hurt evident in her eyes, but did not say anything. Finally, Oticat broke the silence.
"Um... well, it's time to go.”, he said. “We got a battle soon. Brandy, suit up. Dan... hang in there buddy. I'll find a place for you. Somewhere."

The mood as the team touched down near Arena 9 was tense. None of them had ever done this without Dan, and they weren't sure if they could adjust to the Guards or not. But this was a battle, and they had to put such worries aside.

“Heya, wanna place a bet?”, said the voice of a Goblin. Brandy turned, and saw two of them in a small booth. It was set ramshackle against the wall, and had “Betz” written on it. The Z was backwards.
“Um…”, Brandy said.
“Yeah, you’re a Bandit.”, he continued. “Bandits love stealing, so why don’t you make a steal with this golden opportunity?”

His partner, who had been totally and utterly distracted with the cleaning of his ears, picked one part of a single word out of this sentence- golden.
“Golden?”, he asked frantically in Gobbish. “Gold?”
“No, you idiot.”, said his friend, also in Gobbish. “It’s just an expression. Go back to bed.”
With that out of the way, the bet-dealer turned again to Brandy, but she was gone. Her attention had been moved entirely to a nearby screen.

A broadcast was playing, one straight from the infamous “opinion” section of the TV Royale crew. And it was a real mean one.

“Good night, Knight!”, shouted a Giant. “This aggressive mini-tank has always been a little obsolete, but now?”

An image of a Knight twirling his mustache was slapped with two Xs over his eyes and a crying emote.

“Its over! He’s gone! Down the drain, down the dumps! He’s gone forever, and there is no! Bringing! Him! Back!”

An explosion filled the screen, and the Giant narrating gave a vicious thumbs down.

“That’s just a great big middle finger to every king who ever leveled up their Knight, and just a taste of what’s bound to be coming next! What classic card will be totally stomped on and obliterated? Find out, only on Infowars!”

The screen blinked out, and Brandy sighed. “I hope Dan wasn’t watching anything just then.”

“Hey, wanna get drawn?”, she heard something whisper in her ear. Brandy flipped back her hood, almost dislodging a Bat. It giggled and flew a short distance to a small booth Brandy had not noticed before. A man stood in it, casually sharpening a pencil. He did not resemble any troop, and he certainly wasn’t a king. Snapshots with Adam Clowery read a sign that hung right above his head.

“Ah, hello.”, he said when he saw Brandy walk over. “I’m Adam. I draw, as you can see.”
He gestured to the myriad of drawings that were taped and nailed to his booth.
“If you want to be drawn, it’s only 100 Gold.”
“I… shouldn’t.”, Brandy said. “I mean I have the Gold, but I should really go catch up with my team.”
“Ah, yes.”, said Adam. “I see. Time.”
He paused for a second, then carefully took out a pencil from behind his ear. With lightning speed and precision, he flashed it across a canvas, all while not taking his expert eye off of Brandy. After exactly 4 seconds, he put down the smoking pencil, and handed Brandy the drawing.

Brandy blinked. It looked exactly like her. “This… this is amazing.”, she said. “How did you do it so fast?”

Adam shrugged, and gave a slight wink. “Just skill, I guess. But you better go- your teams probably missing you right now.”

“Right.”, said Brandy as she pocketed the drawing and ran off.

As the team filed into the bench, Brandy could not shake off the weirdness of her friend not being there. Neither could anyone else.

"I can't believe he's really gone.", Agatha said. "I remember when we were still in Arena 1 together."

"I never even really got a chance to know him.", said Webert. "I only got on to the team an arena ago."

"He really did tank for us.", said the Ratzo brothers. "I can't even count how many towers we took with him helping us."

Bowza merely nodded.

Randy said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit.

Oticat4 walked into the room.

"Alright, we got a big match ahead of us.", he said. "If we win this match... we go onto Arena 9!"

No one said anything.

"Eh? Eh? No? Okay, look. I know that Dan isn't in the deck anymore. But its not like he's dead- he's still back at home. And I know that he wants us to win here."

Agatha stood up, and hit the floor with her staff. "You're right. We're still a team, and we need to move."

Oticat stepped into the elevator that would take him up to his platform, and the announcer raised his microphone. With a bored air, he read off the match details.

“Alright, we got Oticat on blue, and Odurawaz on red. Ready, go.”

He threw down his hand, and the match began. As was Oticat’s habit, he started the match with a screaming Hog Rider emote. His opponent responded with a raspberry Goblin. Oticat responded to his opponent's response by selecting the Ratzo Brothers, playing them right on the left bridge. They fist-bumped, grabbed their ram, and stepped onto the teleporter. Within a second, they were out on the field.

"All right, guys, we're going for a bit of a bridge-spam strategy today.", whispered Oticat so his opponent wouldn't hear. "Just keep moving, and we got this. Brandy, you're up next."

"Bridge spam, huh? Didn't think he really did that.", said Webert in confusion.

"He only does it when he's angry.", replied Agatha. "It's not really hard to see why he's doing it now. Go get 'em, Brandy!"

Brandy smiled weakly, and stepped onto the teleporter.

Her vision turned blue, then faded into the vines and gold piles of Jungle Arena. It seemed familiar to Brandy for some reason. Was this the place where she was normally unlocked? She didn't really know- she had been gotten from a Legendary Chest. Or had she been unlocked through trade? She couldn't quite-

"Brandy! Focus! You're just standing there.", Bowza shouted from right next to her.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." She scanned the arena in front of her, and saw a couple of Archers firing at Webert. They were distracted. She grinned. Good. She raised her club, whistled, and dashed forward at them. Brandy’s dash was interrupted by something- she didn’t know what. It vanished too fast to see. And judging by the angry King emote that Odurawaz used a second later, it shouldn’t have been there. So Brandy gathered herself again, and aimed at the Archers. They turned to see her seconds too late, and their mouths dropped open in shock. Seconds later, there were significantly less arrows being fired. The huge Bowler gave her a thumbs up, and started going at the tower. Brandy looked around for any more targets, but did not see any. She was about to head for the tower, when she heard one of the most terrifying sounds in the world from her left. A clank of metal hitting the ground, and a monstrous "BUT-TER-FLY." That could only mean one thing- a Pekka.

Brandy turned to the Pekka. She knew she couldn't defeat it, but she could at least slow it down. So she readied herself to dash, and- and she was stuck. She couldn't dash. Why couldn't she dash? It reminded her of the time she tried to take off her mask, only worse in every way. ANd then, the cold hit her. A cold so frigid, it hurt. Brandy looked down. Oh, that was why she couldn’t move. The red king had hit her with everyone’s favorite status effecter, Freeze.

“Freaking no-skill, cancerous, idiot, using Freeze…”, she growled under her breath. “And count down from 5, 4, 3…”

Brandy looked up again, and saw the Pekka raising its massive purple sword high above its head to crush her. “BUT-TER-FLY.”, it said again.

Oh, well. At least she had protected Webert. The Pekka swung downwards and hit Skeletons.

Wait, Skeletons? Agatha must have come up from behind Brandy without her noticing!

"Head for the tower! I'll handle the PEKKA!", Agatha shouted as she summoned another trio of skellys. She turned around to address Bowza.

"Hey, Bowza!", Agatha shouted. "Take out that Minion Horde!" Figured that with Dan gone, the second oldest veteran was directing them.
“Right!”, said Bowza back to her, and aimed his bow. With cool precision, he fired his bow. The arrow of light shot through the air with a soft whistle and sliced through the Minions like a hot knife through cold butter. It would have been a hot knife through regular butter, but Bowza’s damage wasn’t all that great, really.

Finally, Brandy's legs unfroze, and she took off. Only 8 tiles from the right tower. 7. 6. With the Princess firing at Agatha’s Skeletons, she had a perfectly clear shot. Brandy crouched and started charging up, when something smacked her face. Curious, she grabbed it and held it up so she could see. Was that... gum? Had a spectator spat their gum into the arena? Brandy looked to the audience, when another of the mystery projectiles smacked her. And another. Strangely enough, it was actually damaging her.

"What the...", she said, and looked to her left. There were two girls in eyepatches pelting gum at her. Oh well. She could take them out without a second thought. She readied her dash, and saw them wave to someone behind her. But Brandy didn’t have time to worry about that. She leapt forward, and struck one of them right in the jaw, popping her into Elixir. Brandy raised her club- and another hit her in the back of the head, taking out the last of her HP.

When she reappeared back on the bench, she was pleased to see that the enemy king was on the ropes. Even though he still wasn’t thinking quite straight, Oticat had guided his troops admirably, and victory was almost assured.

“Howdah.”, whispered Bowza to himself as he fired. He wasn’t sure why he said it, or even really what it meant, but he just said it anyway. It was practically instinct. He nocked yet another shining arrow, and fired over the heads of the Ratzo brothers. They had already slammed their ram into the left tower, which was now at only 500 HP.

Odurawaz looked at Oticat, looked at his tower getting decimated, then back at Oticat. With a sigh of acceptance, he pressed a button on his interface, and broadcast the White Flag Goblin emote. A king in the audience- Oticat’s clanmate, SpacekrakenX, responded with a simple laughing Electro Wizard emote. An Electro Wizard seated above him used a laughing King emote, but the simple irony was noticed by nobody.

With one last yell, one of the Ratzo brothers swung his sword downward, and the stone of the tower cracked. The Princess within flipped her escape switch, and she vanished to the bench as her tower broke down, and spilled all over the grass.

The heads of the audience turned as the Golden Goblin statue’s eyes flashed, and hit 0. The rest of the various decorations spread across the Arena glowed blue to signify the outcome of the battle, 1-0. The battle was over, and Oticat had officially moved on to Arena 9!

But the mood among the team was anything but celebratory. Sure, they had advanced, but Dan wasn’t here to share the moment with them.
“Did we do something wrong?”, asked a Guard.
“No.”, said Webert. “Why do you ask?”
“You’re all just staring at us.”, said another timidly. “And it seems like something is our fault.”
The Guards hadn't been played the whole time, and everyone was just a little mad at them.
They hadn't really done anything wrong- they just weren't Dan.
“No, no, you’re fine.”, said Oticat reassuringly. “I didn’t get a chance to play you, but that’s fine. I’m sure you’ll get your shot next time.”

Both teams left their dugouts. Oticat walked confidently over to the prize Goblin, ready to collect his new Arena 9 chest. “Ooh, sweet new cards.”, he said. “Goblin tribal time.”

On the other side, the red King shrugged on his cloak. “Well, we tried.”, he said to his team.
“I’m sorry, dad.”, said the Princess who's tower had been taken. “I could have defended, if only I had fired faster.”

“No, you’re fine, Emma.”, said Odurawaz. “Besides, we completed our task.”
Emma looked up. “We did?
“Yes.”, he said. “We’ve gotten the information we needed, and now the rest of the plan can proceed.”
“Right.”, said the Princess. “That’s good.”
The King pushed his glasses up his face and smiled. “Yes. Resistance against it will be useless. Useless, useless, useless.”

“So, did anyone else notice when he threw the Skeleton Army right in front of me?”, grunted Webert, as they walked. “And that Dart Goblin in front of Brandy? This guy was hilarious!”

“Oh, is that what that was?”, Brandy asked. “It vanished so fast, I couldn’t even tell.”
Everyone laughed, then Brandy sighed. “If only Dan were here to see it all.”
“Brandy, only the sea misses the sky.”, said Bowza. “You must remember that.”
Whatever that meant, it didn’t help Brandy much. The thrill of winning slowly turned to something else. Brandy didn’t quite know how to describe the feeling. She looked to her right- and saw a Red King, standing stock still in the middle of the crowd.

As soon as she laid eyes on him, an involuntary chill ran through her body. He looked just like any other king- except for one distinctive mark, a black line running down from both his eyes. The look was haunting, and unnatural. But the air of uneasiness was nothing compared to how she felt when he turned slightly, and looked straight at Brandy.
Hello.
Brandy stumbled back, right into Larry, whose head fell off. He angrily put it back and silently shook his tiny bony fist at her, attracting the attention of Agatha.
“What is it now, Larry?”, she asked, then paused as she saw Brandy staring straight ahead.
“Brandy, what is it?”
“That king.”, said Brandy, and pointed. “When he looked at me, I heard a voice inside my head.”
Agatha put her hand to her chin, and thought. A quiet, almost silent warning bell went off inside of her head. This was starting to seem dangerously suspicious, but she couldn’t actually prove anything.
“Bowza, what do you make of it?”, she asked him.
“Trees do not require the light for reading, only for life.”, he said.
“Oh, you’re not helpful.”, sighed Agatha. “Don’t worry about it, Brandy. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“If you say so, Agatha.”, said Brandy, and they continued walking.
Then, nearby, she saw a Villager peddling her wares- a collection of just smithed-swords.

I should get one of those for Dan. Maybe it'll help cheer him up., Brandy thought to herself, and walked over to the Villager.

"Hey, these are nice swords.", she said. "What are they made from?"

The Villager looked up from her knitting and smiled warmly. "These are pure Spooky Iron, imported straight from Spooky Town. Do you like them?"

"Yep.", said Brandy. "In fact, I think I'll take one right now. Bye."

She grabbed a blue sword and dashed away through the crowd, knocking a Prince right off his horse. The Villager almost called out, but thought better of it. She knew the rules. Bandits, along with Goblins, were allowed petty theft in the same manner as Rascals were allowed to commit small crimes, and large troops such as Giants or Pekkas were forgiven for accidentally destroying small buildings. It was only their nature, after all.

Brandy stopped running and smiled. Stealing something always made her feel better, and this time was no exception. But her smile disappeared as she looked around, and saw that her team was nowhere to be found. Brandy jumped over the heads of the people in the crowd, but she still couldn't see them. So she ran to the Balloons as quickly as she could- and they weren't there, either. But far off in the distance, way up in the sky, she could see what appeared to be the blue glint off of Bowza's magic bowstring.

"Dang it!", she said, swinging her fist. "I missed them."

She didn't know exactly what was standard procedure in these types of situations- she had never missed the Balloon before. She looked around, and saw the Bomber that attended the station, tossing rocks off the side into the gully below. Perhaps he could help.
"Excuse me, sir!", she said to him as she ran up with a wave. "Can I get a Balloon?"

The Bomber didn't even turn around. He just picked his head off of his neck and turned that around to face her.

"Where's your king, kid?", he asked, his tone of voice the definition of sarcastic boredom.

"Oh, uh, I just missed him. I got a little distracted, and I-"

"Oh, give me a break. If I had a bone for every time I've heard that one before, I'd have an entire Skeleton Army.", he scoffed.

"But- but- you gotta give me a Balloon.", Brandy whined. "What else am I supposed to do, walk home?"

This time, the Bomber turned his entire body around. She didn't know that you could make sarcastic looks without skin or organs, but he somehow pulled it off. Brandy quickly flipped back her hood in an attempt to look friendlier.

"Look, kid. You either show me your king..."

He gestured towards a random King in line.

“5000 Gems…”

He raised one eyebrow, through some sorcery, then jerked one thumb towards a wall of rock, some distance away.

"...or I show you the footpath."

Brandy fumed and stomped her foot on the ground.

"Fine. Whatever. Your Balloons suck, anyway. Probably only level 1."

She turned around and began to make her way towards the canyons.

"I hope you get fired, or blown up, or... or something!", she called over her shoulder, but the Bomber didn't seem to hear her. As soon as she was out of sight, a shadowed figure crept out of the shadows and up to the Bomber's desk.

"Did you do it?", the figure asked him. His voice was smooth and elegant, but perfectly evil.

"Yeah, it's done.", replied the Bomber. "Now, my fee?"

The figure pressed a small pouch of Gems into the Bomber's waiting hand. "Yes, yes, here you go. Thank you for your cooperation."

The figure walked out from the shadows, and turned on a communicator. Within seconds, the face of a King had appeared inside of it.

“Did it go well, my lord?”, asked the King on the screen. “Did everything go right?”

The figure smiled, the black lines underneath his eyes stretching with it. “Oh yes,”, he said. “Everything went well. It’s not often that I dirty my hands with this kind of grunt work, but there’s always a certain satisfaction I get out of doing so.”

And then, he threw back his head and laughed. The sound and the force of it were tremendous, a magnificent ohohohoho that attracted the attention of everyone there. But the red King waved his hand, and they all went back to their business.

“Yes…”, he whispered to himself. “Everything is going just according to plan.”

Chapter Text

The sand crunched underfoot as Brandy walked through the canyon, the only light shining from the stars overhead. She glanced at the map, grabbed from the faded and worn kiosk that She hadn't really been here had been next to the entrance. However, it was far from complete, and Brandy had left its edge around 30 minutes ago. As such, she now only found her way by the helpful signs left by previous travelers. Go this way, they said, pointing down a path, or Warning: GG up ahead, referring to a wild Goblin Gang.

"Stupid, fricking, pathetic Skeleton...", she muttered under her breath. "It's his fault I have to walk. I hope he gets fired."

She was, of course, referring to the Bomber that had stubbornly refused to grant her access to a Balloon. She thought all of his reasons were quite illogical. 5000 Gold, just for passage in a Balloon? He was probably just mad at something else, and wanted to take it out on her, or whoever walked by.

Song: Danger Draws Near

Brandy gripped herself and shivered as the cold night wind hit her skin. Was it always this cold at night? She hadn't really been out at night before, just a few minute-long Elixir runs to the outside fridge. But Agatha went outside every night. Brandy didn't know how she could stand it. She was a Dark Elixir troop- maybe that had something to do with it.

Brandy heard a slight sound above her, and looked up. She was expecting maybe a Skeleton ambush, or another traveler. Maybe even a rockslide. But what she got was very different indeed. A tiny green and yellow bird flew out of the air and alighted on her shoulder.

“Hey, little guy.”, she said. “What are you doing?”
The bird looked at her, cocked his head, and began bobbing it madly up and down. “Gems.”, he chirped.
Brandy was a little taken aback. “Did you just… talk?”, she whispered.
“Gems.”, said the bird. He chirped once more and flew away. Brandy ran to follow him, and saw a green glow coming from around the bend. Could it be? She dashed around the corner, and it was. It was a Gem Box! The bird had been right! Someone had just left 25 Gems sitting here in the canyon, and now it was just begging to be taken. Her eyes lit up at the sight of so much loot, and her fingers started to tingle, the same way they always did just before she was about to steal something.

"Oticat's gonna be so happy.", she said as she bent over to grab the Gem Box, then held it to her chest. "20 free Gems are always nice."

She was going to keep 5 for herself, to boost her own personal funds. Brandy had a good sized allowance- 200 Gold and 1 Gem per week- but now that she had started to collect figurines, she figured more was going to be needed. With the Gems in her grasp, Brandy started to whistle, and continued down the path with a slight spring in her grasp.

George the Barbarian poked the fading fire with a stick. It was a nice stick, he was glad he had found it before his brothers did.

"Hey, could you throw another stick on the fire?", he asked. "And get me another sausage."

Dave, one of his brothers, grumbled good-naturedly. "Sure, George. But the next one you want, you're getting it on your own."

George caught the sausage that Dave threw to him, put it on his stick, put the stick into the fire, and waved his hand offly. "Yeah, fine. Whatever. It’s your turn, bro.”

Another Barbarian, Phil, looked up from his cards and spoke up. "Right, just gotta think a little more. So, what are you up to on the Leg Press, George?"

"Well, I hit 1600 last night. New personal best. What about you?"

"I'm still stuck at 800. I just can't beat it, no matter how hard I try.", Phil sighed. "And of course everyone else is so much higher than me."

He selected a card from his hand and tossed it onto the pile face down onto Dave’s 10 of Crowns. “Okay, Princess of Elixir. Go.”

"Yeah, who holds the record right now?", asked Dave. "Is it John?"

"No, John's at 15000 exactly last time I checked. Right now, it's Nidvaleer. 36000 pounds.", said George.

Phil slapped his knee. "Frickin T'im! 36000 pounds? That's ridiculous!"

"Well, it makes sense.", said George, ever the voice of reason. "His legs have to be outrageously strong with all that jumping he does, right?"

“Hold on a minute.”, said Joe, the fourth Barbarian. “I don’t think that was really a Princess of Elixir, Phil. I’m calling it.”

“You sure?”, asked Phil. “Are you sure, Joe?”

“Yes.”, said Joe. “Now flip it over.”
Phil groaned, and flipped the card, to reveal an Eight of Elixir. His bluff hadn’t worked. Joe threw his hands up into the air, and hollered with triumph. “Pick it up! Pick up the pile!”

A slap of feet on the rocky ground interrupted their game, and they all looked up to see Ed, the last brother, slide into their makeshift camp. He leaned on his knees, out of breath.

"She did it, guys. The Bandit took the bait.", he panted.

George stood up and grabbed his sword. "This game will have to wait. Onwards, Brothers! Fulfill the plan!"

“Why are doing the voice, George?”, mumbled Joe. “There’s not even anyone around here to impress. It’s just us.”

“I’m not doing the voice.”, George said. “I just-”

“Oh come on, that’s totally The Voice.”, said Ed. “Let’s go.”

Even though stealing things came naturally to Brandy, stealing requires taking. And taking meant that someone was not going to be very happy. And she knew it. And so when a Barbarian came running down the dirt path, she fully expected it. And so she gave him a jaunty wave, and took off. Brandy could outrun him, no problem. Come to think of it, she could probably pretty easily beat him in a fight, too.

Phil stopped running. There was no way he could possibly catch up to Brandy, especially if she started Dashing. He took the communicator out of his belt and spoke into it.

“She’s too fast for any one of us.”, he whispered. “Plan Wa.”

“What’s Plan Wa, again?”, came George’s voice through the communicator, almost too staticy to make out. “Is that the one with the Goblins? Because I don’t think we have-”

“No, that’s Plan Mmu.”, said Ed as he joined the conversation. “Plan Wa is where we all surround her from different angles. Two plans, you got that? Wa. Mmu.”

Brandy increased her pace, leaning into the wind for additional speed. She risked a look back- and saw no Barbarian. Huh, she thought. I must have lost him. Nice.
So Brandy stopped her sprint, and slowed down to a walk. Mission successful.
But when another Barbarian rounded the corner in front of her, she wished she had kept on running.

"Hello, cutie pie.", said Dave as he drew his sword. "One of us is in deep trouble."

"Really?", she asked him. "Because the way I see it- you left this unguarded. So I'm taking your Gem Box. Toodle-oo!", she said, and ran to the left. But Brandy skidded to a stop, when Joe appeared in the alley in front of her. To the right she went, but the way was blocked by George. Brandy turned around, and saw Phil. Four directions, all blocked. And Brandy knew that there was still one more out there.

"Hey, look guys. Let's just talk this over, shall we?", she said, hoping the nervousness in her voice wasn't too obvious. She stepped back too far, and tripped. Brandy hit the ground, the Gems from the Box spilling next to her. “I’m sure this whole thing was just an innocent mistake. In fact, this probably isn’t even your Gem Box. So why don’t I just take it and leave? I’m sure we can all agree on that.”

Listen, little girl.", Joe said. "You're coming with us."

"What are you talking about?", Brandy said.

"Hmph. You Bandits always talk so big.", he said. "Really, all Legendaries, but especially Bandits. Always dashing everywhere, always stealing, always being so prevalent at 4K. But you took the bait so readily. You just can't deny your instinct, can you? And now you're-"

His words were cut off by a ferocious war cry, and everyone there looked up. "What the-"

An Elite Barbarian fell out of the sky with sword swinging, having jumped from a ledge above. He landed on the Joe’s head, knocking him out cold, then swung his sword in a menacing circle.

Another jumped out from the corner, and tackled Dave, grinding him into the ground. The three remaining Barbarians, severely lacking the firepower to deal with this new threat, turned and looked at each other. No words were needed- they turned and fled. One of the Elite Barbarians stuck out a hand to help Brandy to her feet.

Song: Himeru Omai

"Hey," he said. “I’m Chad, and this here is my partner Rick.”

"Yeah, and I’m Rick- dang it!", said Rick, as he realized exactly what Chad had said. “Chad, stop introducing me!”

Chad chuckled. “So, that was pretty close.”

Brandy eyed them carefully- she had heard that Elite Barbarians were supposed to be self-centered jerks. But Chad gave just a good natured grin and threw his arms open wide.

"Good thing we found you when we did, eh? It's dangerous to be out here by yourself, you know." They took a big step forward, one on either side of her.

“Woah, hey, what are you doing?”, asked Brandy nervously. She didn’t like how they positioned.

“Oh, we’re just walking you home.”, said Chad. “Cause Bandits really put the glass in glass cannon, right Rick?", asked Chad, then he struck a ridiculous pose. "Good thing you have a pair of stud muffins like us to protect you."

Brandy forced a nervous chuckle.

"Now then, where do you live, uh.... uh... hey, what's your name? I never caught it back there.", said Chad.

"Brenda.", said Brandy, using the name of another Bandit she knew. She didn't quite trust these guys, nice as they seemed. "My name's Brenda. And I live just over that way." She pointed in a random direction.

"Great!", exclaimed Chad. “Yeah, you can tell I’m Chad cause" - he pointed to his forehead- "I've got the scar. Good to meet you, Brenda." They started a brisk walk down the sandy canyon path.

"Yeah, sure.", Brandy chuckled nervously. "So, I guess you guys missed your Balloon too, huh?"

"Actually, no, we didn't.", said Rick. "We just waited for someone to come along, so we could help them. Our king understands- we do this all the time."

Brandy grimaced. "I see. How... chivalrous of you."

They continued walking. Several silent, awkward minutes passed. The pregnant pause produced several children, all of which were even more awkward than their progenitor.

"Hey, wanna know how I got this scar?", said Chad, in an attempt to relieve the monotony. "It's really a very interesting story. You see, I-"

"Oh great, not this again.", Rick scoffed. "The way he talks about his scar, you'd think it was some holy artifact."

"Listen man, I'm the one with the scar, and the one with the girl. So shut up.", said Chad.

"Oh, you had to bring your girlfriend up.", said Rick. "As if I'm supposed to be impressed by a Valk."

"Hey!", shouted Chad, and punched Rick on the shoulder. "So, as I was saying..."

It took Chad a full half hour to relieve the entire story of his scar, which he said had been gained while he single handedly fought off 16 Level 13 Pekkas at 1% health on the entry match for Electro Valley several months ago, while he himself was still a Level 1. Apparently, even the regenerative ability of the Arenas hadn’t been enough to keep all of his wounds at bay, which is why he had gotten his scar. Brandy thought it was rather far fetched, and Rick kept on interrupting every time he thought Chad was full of it, which was approximately every 5 seconds. However, long and meandering as the story was, there still was a little bit more to go until the exit to her Castle.

Brandy hoped that something would happen in order to break the increasingly awkward walk. Maybe they would run into something on the road ahead. Maybe Oticat would appear in a Balloon and give her a ride back. Maybe something totally wild and crazy would happen that she couldn’t even predict.
And then, something did happen.

Song: Throwing

“Yeah, but then there was this Mega Knight, and this Musketeer that kept on trying to-”, Chad kept on rambling, and stopped. He tilted his head, put his ear to the sky, and pointed a finger to the air. “Shh, shh.”

“What?”, Rick whispered. He had stopped right behind Chad, and Brandy had stopped moving as well. “What is it?”

“I hear something.”, said Chad. “Something very… suspicious.”

Brandy thought that she, too, could hear something. It almost sounded like the rattle of metal, or the clink of Gold. No, it wasn’t metallic enough for that. More like stone against stone, or… or…

“Bones.”, said Chad. “I hear bones.”
He straightened up. “There are Skeletons just ahead. Get ready for a fight.”

“A fight?”. Brandy stammered. “With Skeletons? But we’re all single target troops!”
Chad chuckled, and leaned down next to Brandy. “Well, Brenda, we are in the Arenas. But I’ll tell you a little something.”
He drew his sword, and gave it a swift practice swing, the silver metal glistening in the soft moonlight. “Out here, there’s not really any rules when it comes to combat. You can fight however you want. Target types, hitspeed- that doesn’t really matter as much.”

“Really?”, asked Brandy, and her eyes widened. If what he said was true, then that meant she could fight in ways that she never even thought were possible. Imagine what I could do with my Dash…, she thought.

“Alright, quit your chattering!”, barked Rick. “Those Skeletons will be upon us at moment!”
He drew his sword as well, and struck a glancing blow on each of his helmet horns. He growled, and leaned down in a combat position.
“You ever fought like this before?”, he asked Brandy.

“Oh, uh, no.”, Brandy admitted. “I’ve never really had to, I guess. Not really much experience, I’m afraid...”
For a brief moment, Chad and Rick’s eyes met. They subtly nodded, a barely visible gesture. This was good.
Then they turned again, and faced the Skeletons that were now bearing down on them, in a horrifying horde of… two?

There were only two Skeletons now approaching them down the path, and they certainly weren’t charging. In fact, they were walking rather slowly, and they looked almost scared. As scared as Skeletons could. Brandy’s brow knitted in concern, and she knelt down.

“Um, are you guys lost?”, she asked quietly. “Did something happen to you?”

The Skeletons could speak- they didn’t come from a Witch. One looked down at the ground, and gave his response. “Yeah, we’re kind of lost. See, we got separated from our Army back at the Arenas, and now we don’t know where we are.”

“Oh, that’s horrible.”, said Brandy sympathetically. “That happened to me, too. Only, you know, not from my Army. Just from my King. But these guys are helping me get home. Maybe they can help you too-”

Her sentence was interrupted by the sound of a blade rushing down right beside her. Brandy instinctively jerked herself to one side, and Chad’s blade fell directly through the Skeleton on the right, cleaving it in half. The other panicked and tried to run, but was almost instantly destroyed by another stroke.

Brandy turned around in shock, and looked up into Chad’s face. “What- what was that for? They were lost! I was trying to help them!”

“No.”, Chad said. “No, they weren’t. Typical drifter strategy. Try to lure you into a false sense of security, and then they strike. The old oh no help us we’re lost trick usually gets most people.”
He swung his sword again in the air. “Most. But not us.”

Rick cupped his hands to his mouth. “Hey, any other Skeletons out there that wanna mess with us? Yeah, we’ll take you on!”

For an Elite Barbarian like Rick, yelling usually worked. Yelling intimidated people. But this time, it might not have been the best idea.

Dozens of Skeletons suddenly appeared from the rocks, chittering their own bizarre language and clacking their swords together. Within seconds, there were at least 50 of them, all prepared to strike at Chad, Rick, and Brandy.

“Well, shoot.”, said Chad. “Didn’t think there would be this many.”
He glanced at Brandy. “Hey, Brenda, Bandits usually have a lot of gear and stuff on them. Got anything that could help us against these Skeletons?”

Brandy searched her memory, and came up with nothing. But then she searched her pockets, and got what was definitely something. She withdrew the item from her pocket, and held it up in the air.
“Alright, this will do it!”, she said, and broke the seal on the bottle. “One Earthquake Spell, coming right up!”
Brandy tossed the vial into the crowd of Skeletons, and it hit the ground with a mighty bang. The Skeletons stopped running, looked at Brandy, and realized what was about to happen. They tried to run, but the shockwaves of the Earthquake were too much, and the entire Skeleton Army turned to puddles of Elixir within seconds.

Chad gave an appreciative whistle. “Woo. Nice.”
“Thank you.”, said Brandy, and winked.
“So, uh, where did you get an Earthquake Spell from, anyway?”, asked Rick.
“Stole it.”, Brandy said. “I don’t think my King cared all that much.”
And with that, they continued their walk. But within a few seconds, Rick thought he would start the conversation this time.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you do in your spare time?", he asked.

Brandy felt her face unexpectedly flush. “Wha- what?”, she stammered. Had she heard Rick right?

“I said, what does a pretty girl like you do in your spare time?”, he asked again.

"Really?", asked Brandy. "You- you think I'm pretty?"

Rick looked at Chad, and exchanged glances. What are you doing?, Chad's glare seemed to say.

Just roll with it, man., replied Rick's eyes. I think I got a thing going here.

"Why sure I do.", he said out loud to Brandy. "I mean, you've got your nice green eyes, your cute little button nose, the way you move, your, um, petiteness..."

Brandy felt her chest flutter, her heart beat faster, and she struggled to form words. "Well, I- I, uh…”

"Aw, you don't have to say anything, cutie pie.", said Rick. "I understand. "

He extended one finger and delicately stroked Brandy's chin. Rick reached around with his other hand, put it on her back, and started to move down her back. She took a sharp breath.

“And tell you what, we're having a bit of a party at our Castle tonight, if you wanna come?", he said, and whispered into her ear. “I can get you to real special spot in the party, if you know what I mean…”

Brandy attempted to say something, anything, but the dizziness overloaded her brain, and stopped her tongue.

“Well alright then.”, said Rick, and wrapped his hand around her. “I guess that means that-”

With a massive burst of effort, Brandy shook off the shock and pushed away his hand.

"No thanks.", she said. “I hardly even know you. What kind of signals do you think I’m putting off? And besides, I'm... taken."

"Aw, that's a shame.", said Rick. "By who?"

"Dan.", said Brandy, the first name that came to her head. This wasn't true, of course, they had always been only friends, but she just wanted to throw the Elite Barbarians off her trail.

"Dan, eh?", mused Chad. "What is he?"

"He's a Knight.", said Brandy. "Level, uh, 13." This, too, was a bluff.

Rick frowned, and said nothing else. Brandy wished that this, probably the single most awkward conversation in her life, would end soon.

She looked up- and saw at long last the turn in the canyons that would take her home.

"Well, alright guys, this is where I go my own way.", said Brandy, relieved. "Thanks for walking me home, but I gotta go now."

Chad and Rick looked at each other, then nodded. With the special telepathy only linked troops have, they knew it was time to put their plan into action. With one on either side of Brandy, they grabbed her arms, sharply turned and forced her down the opposite direction.

"Uh, guys? I don't live down that way. I live the other way.", Brandy said nervously.

"Oh yes.", said Chad. "We know."

Brandy's mouth went dry, and her breath died in her throat. For the first time on the walk, she truly realized that she was in the company of two very large, shirtless men. Men that could very easily overpower her, if they felt like it.

“What are you doing?”, she said, louder. “Stop!”
She tried to pull away, but the grip that the two Elite Barbarians held on her was too strong. She may have been strong for her size, but Chad’s arm alone had more muscle mass than she had in her whole body.

"Brandy, you were very impressive in the Arena today. Very impressive indeed.", said Chad.

"What are saying? What are you doi-?", Brandy began, but was cut off as Rick's shoulder pushed her into Chad. And she realized with an icy chill that Chad hadn’t said Brenda- he had said Brandy. They knew her name. They knew her name.

"Yes, very nice indeed, cutie pie. Your king must be very proud of you. I'd expect he wouldn't want to, well, lose you or anything."

Chad grabbed Brandy’s arm. He yanked her closer to himself and leered into her face. "Yes, imagine if you were, oh, I don't know, kidnapped or something. That would be a real shame, now wouldn't it? For your king, I mean. Not necessarily for you..."

Brandy squirmed out of his grasp. "No! Let go of me!" She looked down- and noticed, for the first time, a rope and cloth hanging from Chad's belt.

Oh no. Oh no.

Song: Shoot Towards the Decisive Battle

A shock of fear gripped Brandy's heart. Where they going to-

She looked down the canyon- they were already far away from anyone. Chad grabbed her by the shoulder, and spun her around. Any trace of his previous, cheery demeanor had vanished.

"You're coming with us, Brandy. Whether you like it or not."

A creeping chill ran up and down Brandy' arms. They were. This whole thing- the Gem Box, the Barbarians, the signs, the map, the Bomber- probably even the bird. It had been just a clever trap, and Brandy had failed to notice it. But they weren’t going to take her. Not if she could help it.

“Do you understand, Brandy?”, rumbled Chad.
“Yes.”, said Brandy quietly, while slowly reaching for her pocket. “I do.”
“Good.”, Chad smiled. “See how easy it is when you coopera-”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Because in one lightning fast motion, Brandy grabbed a smoke bomb out of her pocket, flung it to the ground, and jumped away.

Chad coughed and stumbled trying to shield his eyes from the choking, acrid smoke. And as Rick did the same, Brandy turned around and took off running down the narrow alleyway of rock.

Chad waved his hand, trying to dispel the smoke cloud. “Where did she pull that from?”, he growled. “Little brat probably stole it.”

Rick drew his sword, ready for a chase. “Looks like this job’s gonna be hard, bro. Not like the last one- that was easy. But you’ve been wanting a challenge, haven’t you?”

Chad wiped his sweaty hand across his face, removing the last of the smoke. The rest had swiftly vanished in the cold wind. “Yeah.”, he said, and smiled. “This’ll be fun.”

Brandy sprinted as fast as she possibly could down the canyon, knowing the Elite Barbarians could be upon her at any moment. Even if their speed had been nerfed from Very Fast to just Fast, same as her, they could still catch her if given the chance. Left, right, straight, diagonal, left- she took random twists and turns, not caring what direction she went- just as long as it was away. And then, she stopped. Because horribly, he rock wall rose in front of her path in a dead end.

"Okay,", Brandy thought to herself, "maybe this is all just a dream. Maybe I can close my eyes, and then open them, and I'll wake up."

She squeezed her eyes shut, counted to three, then opened them. The scene before her remained untouched. She started to panic, then remembered something- her emergency communicator, in her back pocket. She pulled it out and dialed the first saved number- the number for Emergency Services.

“Yes, Emergency Services, how may I help you?”, asked the Goblin on the other end.
“I’m being kidnapped!”, screamed Brandy. “I need help!”
“What?”, said the Goblin, sounding shocked. “That’s illegal. People can’t do that.”

Despite Brandy’s shouts of protest, he hung up and resumed getting high. Brandy growled, cursing the vast inefficiency of the government, and instead dialed Oticat. He would be sure to help.

“Come on, come on, pick up…”, she whispered, knowing the Elite Barbarians were mere seconds away. After a few seconds, her communicator dinged, and Brandy’s hopes soared.

“Hello, this is Oticat.”, came the voice on the other line.
“Oticat! I missed the Balloon, and now I’m getting-”, she said as quickly as she could.
But her hopes were dashed as she listened closer, and heard “I am currently unavailable to answer your call right now, and will call you back as soon as I can.”

“No!”, Brandy howled, and held the communicator up in the air in an attempt to activate its emergency beacon ability. She saw the red light flaring to life-
And the small, handheld device was impaled by a thrown sword, stuck into the far wall, and shattered completely. Brandy gulped, and turned around. She saw two Elite Barbarians, each coming from a separate alleyway. She was trapped.

Chad put out his hand, and Brandy flinched.

"Now, you don't have to be like this, cutie pie. You can make this easier for all of us. Just come along with us, we can go back to the castle. Easy as that.", he coaxed.

"Why? Why do you want me?", Brandy asked, almost screaming. “What did I ever do?”

"That's for us to know, and you to find out.", said Chad. "If it is the will of Ryusei_Nakao69, then it must be done."

"Ryusei_Nakao69?", Brandy asked again. For some reason, the name sounded oddly familiar. "Is that your king?"

"Clever girl.", said Rick. "Too bad you're not clever enough to just cooperate."

He started to take a single step towards her, but Brandy held up a hand. “Now, hold on a minute. I’ve got a little something for you.”
She reached her hand into her pocket. “A spell that I picked up a little while ago. Good luck getting through it. It’s an Earthqua-”
And then, Brandy’s blood ran cold. She remembered that she had used the Earthquake to take out the Skeleton Army. She didn’t have her ace in the hole anymore.
But even so, she knew that she would have to at least try to fight back. Even if Elite Barbarians were her hardest counter, she had to do at least something. So Brandy gathered her strength, and smoke rose off of her. She yelled, and Dashed at Chad. The sand blew apart at her speed, but to her shock, upon impact, he just laughed. "We're level 13, cutie pie. You can't touch us."

As if to accentuate his point, he drew back his fist, grinned evilly, and punched Brandy in the gut.
She staggered back, the wind knocked out of her. The ringing in her ears drowned out all sound, and she instinctively grabbed her stomach, dropping her club. Brandy gave a ragged cough of pain, and blood spattered out of her throat and onto the canyon floor.

"You...bastards...", she groaned, and fell to the ground.

"Aw, can the little Bandit not take it? Is she too weak? Huh?", asked Rick, his face a mocking smile.

"It's so adorable how she tried to fight back. Its almost as if she thinks she can escape.", laughed Chad.

But Brandy, slowly, shakily, still managed to get back up. She raised a fist, and wiped the blood from her mouth.

"You think you can get away with this?", she quietly asked them. "You think that if you try and take me now, that I'll just sit there and let you? You think that… that…”
Brandy’s eyes closed, and she lay motionless on the ground.

Chad watched her lay for a few seconds, then scoffed. "Well, I think she’s unconsciousness. Rick, grab her."

Rick leaned closer to pluck Brandy’s body off of the ground, and suddenly saw Brandy’s eyes open. "Gotcha!", she said.

Quick as a Zap, Brandy front flipped into the air, right over Rick’s head. He dumbfoundedly turned around and tried to grab her, but she was already out of his reach. She raised one hand, performed a rude gesture, bounced off his head, and leaped into the air, grabbing for the rock wall. Flying through the air, now far out of the reach of the Elite Barbarians, Brandy let out a shout, and grabbed onto the rock wall, securing a foothold. Now, it would be a simple matter to scramble over the rock wall, and away from her would be captors. Brandy reached- and a huge, meaty hand grabbed her foot and yanked her down, directly onto Chad's shoulder. He locked a massive arm onto her, pinning the Bandit.

"Well. It looks like we got you now.", he said.

Brandy squirmed to try and get free, but her captor was too strong.

"What- how did you- I was out of your reach!", Brandy said.

Chad just squeezed tighter, crushing the air out of her. Her voice of protest died in her throat. "Oh, just some elasticity potions our friends cooked up for us. Pretty cutting edge."

Rick strode over, and raised an eyebrow. He looked down her skirt. "Hey, Chad, I got an idea."

"Yeah? What?", replied Chad.

"Well, you know what the two best ways to counter a Bandit are?”, he said slyly.

“What?”, asked Chad again.

“Swarm her, and smash her.”, finished Rick. “We can’t swarm her - there are only two of us - so that leaves the other option.”

Brandy's face paled, and er heart somehow beat even faster. A cold dread ran up her body. "What- what are you-", she started to say, but she already knew what they were planning. This had suddenly become far worse than any mere kidnapping.

"Oh, nothing that concerns you, cutie pie.", said Rick. "Just a little nudge-nudge, wink-wink, eh Chad?"

"Oh, I don't know, Rick. I don't think Valeyrie would be very happy if she found out."

"Valeyrie doesn't have to know. Now hold on to her a little bit tighter. We don't want her getting away."

Chad tightened his grip, and Rick grabbed a fistful of her tunic, preparing to rip it off.

In that moment, Brandy closed her eyes. She so very much wanted to be anywhere but here. More than anything, she so very much wanted to have made the Balloon back home. She so very much wanted to be bored on the bench in the Arena. She so very much wanted to wake up to a breakfast of Elixir and doughnuts, reading the newspaper. She so very much wanted to do the daily crossword with Agatha. She so very much wanted to get completely stuck on 17 across.

Rick yanked on her tunic once. The cloth did not rip, but it came close. But as the cloth slid against her skin, Brandy felt something odd in her back sash. And then she remembered- the sword. She still had the sword that she had stolen for Dan. With the right timing, she might just be able to kill one of the Elite Barbarians The thought gave her hope, and with strength she didn't know she had, she ripped one arm out of Chad's grasp.

“Woah hey-”, Chad started, but Brandy did not waste any time. She slid the sword out of her back sash, and swung it directly at Chad’s throat. The blade shattered, and fragments of the blue Spooky Iron flew in all directions.

"No.", Brandy said quietly. She watched the metal, and her hope, fall to the ground and hit the sand. “No!”, she screamed, and Chad slapped her face.

"Oh ho, that was pretty close! You almost got me there, cutie pie!", he said with surprise. "Good thing Wizardbro cooked us up some..."

He and Rick both did a little dance. "Invulnerability rune! Yeah!"

Rick ripped her tunic again, then again. The seams, even as tough as they were, began to tear. With one more yank, it would come off. Brandy was completely out of tricks. It was time to bargain.

"Please, don't do this.", she stammered, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I have lots of stuff at home- what do you want? I can give you Gold, Gems- anything you want."

Chad just smiled. "Well, we want you."

Ten nightmarish minutes later, Brandy's unconscious body slumped to the ground. A soft groan escaped her lips, and Chad unwound the rope from his kilt as he put it back on.

"Well, that went pretty successfully, eh Rick?", he said. "Just hope George and the others aren't too mad about us uh... improvising the plan."

"Yeah, I’m sure they’re fine.", Rick said, as he took the rope from his brother and tied Brandy's wrists and ankles with it. "They probably couldn't have handled her anyway. She was a feisty one. If it wasn't for those potions, I think she might have escaped."

"Nah, we would have gotten her anyway.", said Chad, as he slung Brandy into a bag so not as to damage her body along the way. "Because we're not like those other guys. We're elite."

"You got that right, bro.", said Rick. He slung Brandy over his shoulder as they bumped fists, and then they began their long walk towards the castle of their clan. They had gone a little past schedule, and Ryusei_Nakao69 did not like to be kept waiting.

Chapter Text

Red was the light of the sun as it set over Oticat's castle, accented with rich yellows and blues. A dot appeared on the horizon, then another, then 7 more. They soon came into view of the Guards and Builders on the castle walls, revealing themselves as Balloons. As they touched down on the ground, the last of the day was slowly obscured by the mountains in the distance, and night fell.

Song: Approach
Bowza leaped out of his Balloon. Ethereally, he sensed that something was wrong, but he didn't quite know exactly what. So he knitted his brow for added concentration, and looked around at the team climbing out of the Balloons. He counted them, then counted them again. Ah yes, that was it.
"The sky lacks its swiftest cloud.", he said to Agatha.
“And that means?”, she said, with a hint of annoyance.
Bowza cleared his throat, and spoke with a much quieter, softer voice than normal. “Brandy’s missing. She’s not here.”
"Her Balloon's probably just lagging behind.", said Agatha. "There's often one that's late."
She looked up and saw a Balloon coming down towards them. "See look, there she is now. It’s all fine.”
The rest of the group had heard their conversation, and so they all watched as the balloon landed. But to their surprise, a Miner walked out of it instead of their Bandit.
"Oh, yeah, uh, sorry guys, I’m really sorry for being late. You see, some gold fell out of my pocket and I just had to pick it up, you know?", he apologized in a thick Kiwi accent. Then he looked up, into the highly confused face of Oticat.
"Oh. You’re not my- oh.”, he then said. “You’re not my king. Well then, I’m terribly sorry, I must have accidentally made just a little mistake there, heh. So I’ll just be on my way. Sorry guys.”
He started to climb back into his airborne craft, when Webert put a huge hand on his shoulder and turned him around. "Now hold on a minute there, little buddy. We might need your help with something.”
“Oh yeah bro, happy to help.”, said the Miner. “Really nice to help, what do you have for me?”
“Well, our Bandit is missing.”, said Webert. “You wouldn't have happened to have seen her, now would you?"
The Miner just stared at him. "What does she look like?"
"Look like? Well, she's got white hair, and.. and dresses in green and blue, and... well, she's got green eyes...and...and..."
Webert put one hand to his chin. He was quite stumped- he hadn't had anything to eat for a while, and his lucidity was fading. The stress of the situation didn’t help, either.
One of the Ratzo brothers cut in, raising his sword. "She's a Bandit! How do you not know what a Bandit looks like, you stupid Miner?"
The Miner turned to them, a deeply hurt look across his face. "Oh, I may not be the quickest Miner, but you don’t really need to call me stupid, bro.", he said.
"Do you know where she is or not?”, Agatha hissed at him, with uncharacteristic fury. Larry jabbed his sword into the air in an exaggerated motion, as if to back her up.
“Oh. Well, now that we’re here talking,”, said the Miner, “I don’t actually think I do, technically speaking. So I should probably just be going, really.”
The Miner turned around, then his head snapped up.
"Oh, no. Wait! Wait hold on. I saw a Bandit!", he remembered.
Agatha grabbed him by the shoulder, and looked deep into his eyes. She thought a little mind magic wouldn’t be out of the question to help him talk, so she applied it generously.
"Where was she, Miner?", she asked. “Where did you see her?”
"Well, I saw her near the Jungle. She was walking with her team-"
He turned around to face them.
"Oh! You guys were her team! She's your Bandit, then?"
The looks given to him by everyone could kill, or at the very least seriously injure.
"Oh. Right, and then she got distracted and missed her Balloon, and then I had to leave. But on the way here, I was flying over the canyon, you know, and then- and then I just heard this awful scream, like really terrible.”
Agatha and Bowza glanced at each other, and the Miner took a deep breath and continued.
“I don’t know what it was, but it was probably something. I'm Mike by the way, could you please stop calling me Miner?"
"Okay, MIKE, where did she go next?", Agatha asked, the annoyance in her voice at the simple Miner audible.
"Oh, she got really mad and started walking through the canyons. She's probably still there!”, said Mike. “Can I um, can I leave now?”
“Through the Canyons?”, whispered Webert to himself. “But those are dangerous.”
"Yeah, you can go now.", said Oticat. "Alright everyone, to the balloons!", he shouted confidently. “Operation rescue!”
But before everyone swung into action, Bowza raised his bow.
"Alas, it seems the final waves have left the shore.”, he said with a sigh. “And our own possession is sadly unmeasurable.”
“Right.”, said a Guard. “The Balloons aren’t running.”
Oticat looked at him. “You understood that?”
The Guard shrugged. “Yeah. I was bored one day, and decided to learn what all his phrases mean. Sadie told me.”
“Yes, it's true.”, said Sadie. “The Balloons aren’t running anymore.”
They all collectively groaned.
"Well, what do we do now? We gotta get there somehow.", asked one of the Ratzo brothers.
Webert looked at Mike's Balloon, then pointed one finger into the air.
"Hey, Mike, my little bro, do you think we could-"
"Oh, sorry, but no.", Mike firmly replied. "It couldn't possibly hold all of us, be a real disaster if we tried. And I need it to get back home, besides.
Agatha thought for a few seconds, then looked into her staff. Its slightly haunted eyes stared emptily back at her, and an idea took hold in her mind.
"Mike, you can dig pretty fast, right?", she asked.
"In the arena, yeah. Why?", Mike replied.
"Well," Agatha said, "Do you think you could dig that fast outside of it too? Fast enough to get us to the arenas?"
Mike looked at his shovel, then back up at her. Could he?
"I uh, I don't really know. I've never thought of doing that before, actually, now that I think about it. Here, let me just-"
He stabbed his shovel into the ground, then began to dig, faster and faster until he was all the way underground. He popped his head up. "Looks like it works! So that’s good, right?"
Bowza slung his bow across his chest and dropped his “mystical” act. This was serious.
"Okay, you all go.", said Bowza. "I'll go get Dan. I’ll ask Chuck if I can borrow Trigger, too."
One by one, the team went into the hole, while Bowza ran inside of the castle. Oticat4 jumped in first- he fit easily. Randy was right behind him, also sliding in without a hitch. Because he was an Ice Spirit. Agatha and the Guards were next. They were a bit larger, but they could still go through. But after several failed attempts, it was discovered that the Ratzo Brothers and Webert were simply too large to fit through. "What do we do now?", Webert puzzled.
Mike smiled. "Well, actually, I think I might have a little something that can help us. Yeah, I actually stole it from a Spell Factory I visited on holiday. Don't think it's ready for release yet." He pulled a small yellow vial out of his pocket. "Behold, the shrinking spell!"
Inside his room, Dan morosely popped open another bottle of Dark Elixir. He leaned against the wall and took a deep swig, then sighed as he picked up a photograph from his dresser. He stared sadly at the golden, faded picture of him and Oticat4 on the destroyed red king's tower after the very first arena battle they had ever fought. Each holding their foe's trophies, as he cried into them. What had happened to those days? Back when he was strong. Back when he was tough, and respected. Back when he-
The door burst open without warning. Dan fell off of the side of the bed, fumbled with the picture, dropped it, looked up and saw Bowza.
"Oh. What do you want?", he mumbled.
"It’s Brandy.", the Magic Archer replied, nearly out of breath.
"What about her? You want to tell me how great she did in the last battle? How she got a 3-crown by herself? How she’s actually the chosen one or something, going to embark on a magical quest to stop an ancient evil and save the world?”, he said, the influence of the Dark Elixir slurring his words.
“No. No, you want to tell me how she found a new friend to hang out with. Anything better than stupid old me, right?"
"She's missing.", Bowza said.
Dan stood up, suddenly stone-cold sober. "What?"
"She didn't come back home on the balloon. Nobody knows where she is, and she was last seen going into the canyons 3 hours ago by some random Miner. We're going to try and find her. You wanna come?"
Inside of his room, Chuck the Hog Rider was happily humming and combing out his mohawk, while working on a new poem of his. This one he had chosen to pen on the purest pine paper he could find, with red ink. It was about Hogs, of course, all his poetry was, and the Hog Riders that rode them. He poured himself another glass of tea, picked up his pen, and-
"Chuck!", Bowza yelled as he flung open the door. Chuck made a sound like an exploding bullfrog and leapt backwards.
"What? What is it?", he screamed, and tried to cover up his poetry.
"We need to borrow Trigger for a bit.", Dan said.
"Why? I need him. He was helping me work on my... my, uh...", Chuck trailed off. He didn't want to admit his Hog had been helping him write poetry. He wasn’t even sure how to word such a thing.
"Brandy's missing.", said Bowza. "She didn't come home on the balloons, and a Miner said he thinks she might be in the canyons somewhere. We need Trigger to help sniff her out."
"Oh. Well, alright.", said Chuck. "Just bring him back in one piece, you hear?"
Trigger, already knowing what to do, shuffled over to Bowza and Dan. Chuck noticed something.
“Hey, Bowza?”, he asked. “Why aren’t you speaking all riddle-like like you usually do?”
Bowza just cast a look over his shoulder as he left that could have chopped lasers.

About an hour later, a slight clanging sound broke the silence of the canyons. It was followed by muffled shouts of good natured cursing, scaring away a flock of birds, until the ground burst open and a Miner popped through.

Song: Mysterious

"Well, here you go bros. Hope you find your Bandit.", he said, exhausted from an hour straight of digging.
He was immediately trampled by everyone else all rushing out of the tunnel as quickly as they could.
"Bowza, go right and pick up a trail. Randy, make sure we're not being followed. Who knows what's out here.", Agatha said. "Dan, follow Trigger. And go left."
"Like wind.", Bowza said. Randy said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit. Trigger took off, Dan in pursuit.
As the Hog clopped down the trail, Dan could barely keep up. Hogs were the single fastest troop there was, and Dan couldn’t match the speed of even one that was walking. He looked down to breathe a little easier, and saw footprints - The familiar footprints of a Bandit.
"Trigger, stop!", he shouted. But Trigger continued, snorting excitedly, having picked up a scent.

“Yeah, and so I told him to go Freeze his head.”
“Oh bro, you didn’t!”
“I totally did, Rick. I totally did.”
“But he was an Ice Wizard! His head’s already frozen!”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s the joke.”
This conversation was, of course, between Chad and Rick, still walking back home. The sun was far behind the horizon by now, and they were almost there. They just still had to get past the security checkpoint that marked the exit from the canyon.
“Hey, could you carry her for a bit?”, asked Chad. “My arm’s getting a little sore.”
“Your arm’s getting tired?”, asked Rick in disbelief. “Just from carrying a Bandit?”
“Hey, even a Bandit gets heavy after you carry her over your shoulder, with one arm, in the same position for like 2 hours. You know that, bro.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”, said Rick. “I’ll carry her.”
Chad swung the bag down from his shoulders. He intended to make a clean pass to Rick’s waiting hands, but his arm had fallen asleep, and so he missed wildly and dumped the bag open on the ground, spilling Brandy out onto the ground. She opened one eye, and moaned.
“Hey! What was that, bro?”, asked Rick.
“My arm fell asleep, Rick.”, hissed Chad. “Just gas her, pick up the bag and go.”
Rick took a small, white square of cloth out of his belt and pressed it against Brandy’s face. She moaned again, with notable alarm. But Rick pressed harder, and her eye closed. With a smile, Rick picked her up and slid her back into the bag.
“Sweet dreams, Brandy.”, he said. “Just hold on.”
He grabbed the edge of the bag and slung it over his shoulder. It took several seconds for him to realize it wasn’t quite as heavy as it should be. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, and saw Brandy crawling away on one arm.

Bowza quickly dropped to the ground and swept his hands across it. He noticed some footprints in the dirt.
"There's a trail of footprints here. They look like hers." He walked further. "But there's another set here- they look like..."
His eyes narrowed.
"Elite Barbarians.", he said, utter contempt in his voice.
He walked over along the path of the trail, maneuvering through the twists and spires of rock that Brandy had been just hours earlier, with Agatha right behind him.
"Hmm. They walked together.", he mused. "There seem to be no signs of a struggle, and the footsteps are calm. Agatha, what do you sense?"
Agatha touched two of her fingers to her forehead. "I don't sense anything very alarming. Some uneasiness, certainly, but nothing too bad yet."

Brandy, only barely conscious, pulled herself desperately along the canyon floor on her one good arm. She could feel the rocks and sand tearing at her bare skin, but she knew that a few scrapes and bruises would be vastly preferable to whatever horrible fate awaited her with them.
“Hey! I thought you gassed her!”, yelled Chad.
“I did! I gave her the cloth!”, said Rick, holding it up. Then he looked at it one more time, and his eyes slightly twitched.
“Oh.”, he said. “Guess this wasn’t the right cloth after all.”
“Rick, what is that?”, asked Chad slowly.
“This is my, uh…”, said Rick. He looked down and whistled.
It took a moment for Chad to get what Rick was saying. But when he did, his face twisted up in disgust. “Dude, that’s gross! Why’d you even bring that?”
“I brought it? I didn’t bring it!”
“Whatever. Just grab her.”
Rick took a few steps forward and grabbed Brandy around her waist. She turned her head upwards, and her face flashed white.
“Stop struggling, Brandy.”, said Rick. “You already know this is going to happen, so don’t fight it. Just let it happen.”
He picked Brandy up from off the ground, and she screamed. And such was the sheer terror within her scream, that even the two Elite Barbarians were given a moment of pause. But their orders overcame their humanity, and Rick pressed the correct cloth to Brandy’s mouth.
“Good, Brandy.”, he said. “We’re almost home.”
Brandy had two options here. Either she breathed in and lost consciousness, or she held her breath until the same thing happened. But her decision was made for her as Rick pressed down on her chest, expelling the air from her lungs, and sending her into another deep sleep.

“Anything else yet, Bowza?", asked Agatha. She hovered a foot above the ground, stressed out as she was.
"I'll tell you when I see something.", the Magic Archer replied. "I'll just keep on following the footprints."
His glowing eyes scanned the rocky ground for any sign of the rapidly weakening trail. The footprints grew sparser and shallower on the rock, and- there. There, right in front of him, they became more active. Further apart. He heard Agatha moan from behind him, and turned around. The Witch clutched her head and swayed gently above the ground.
"I feel it.", she said. "Terror. Something happened. Something very, very bad."

“So, what did that map say, Chad?”
Chad looked at a torn segment of a map that he had found on the ground. “It said, I’m writing this letter to whoever finds it. My food and Elixir ran out days ago, and-”
“No, not that side.”, said Rick. “The other side.”
“Oh, right. Just testing you, bro. It says that we only have about 7 more to go before we exit the canyon.”
“7? 7 what?”
“I dunno. It just says 7.”
Chad looked up, and saw what appeared to be an old, faded security checkpoint. It lingered on the very edge of the canyon, manned by a bored looking Goblin bouncing a ball on a string. The Goblin, Grug, was, in fact, unspeakably bored. The only reason he was even here was because he had lost a bet. So when he saw the two coming towards him, he took several seconds before he remembered what he was supposed to do in this situation.
“Hey, lemme check you.”, he said to Chad, trying to maintain an indifferent air. “Can’t let you pass otherwise.”
“Yeah, sure bro.”, said Chad. “Check away.”
Grug climbed over the counter and circled them. “Alright, alright, no obvious illegal substances on your person. Good. Let me just-”
Chad and Rick both raised their arms, and Grug performed a quick pat down. “And you got a bag, lemme see that.”
Chad handed him the bag. Grug opened it, looked inside, handed it back, then saw what was in it. He took the bag again, and took a closer look.
Out of all the things he had been expecting the bag to hold, an unclothed, unconscious, very clearly beaten up Bandit had not been one of them. He looked up into Chad’s face, towering over him. He was sure that there was something he was supposed to do in this situation, but for the life of him, Grug could not remember what.
“I, uh…”, he stammered as Chad leered. “I… I…um...”
Then Grug stiffened, straightened himself up, and pulled himself up to his full height of 3’ 1”. “
I’m pretty sure you’ve violated some law, sir.”, he said. “I’m not sure what, but once I figure it out, I will take the proper action.”
“Oh, no you won’t.”, said Chad, and stabbed Grug in the gut.
Grug looked down at the sword almost as big as he was that jutted through his stomach, now swiftly turning to purple sludge. But he wasn’t that worried- he would reform at the checkpoint in about 10 minutes. At least, he hoped.
As the Goblin dissolved into Elixir, Chad swung Brandy’s cocoon back onto his shoulder and sheathed his sword. “That’s the end of the canyons. We’re almost there.”

Song: A Lurking Evil

Bowza was about to say something to Agatha, when he saw the shattered remnants of a blue sword beneath her. They commanded his immediate attention.
"Agatha, could you just-", he said as he motioned for her to move aside, and she did. She looked down, and saw the broken metal as well.
"Mysterious,", he breathed as he picked up the handle. Hmm, its Spooky Iron, he thought. A pretty rare sight. Such a sword would have fetched a hefty price.
He set down the piece he was holding, and moved to inspect the others. But he stopped when he felt the tap of a Skeleton on his shoulder. Bowza looked up.
Agatha's face was pale, even more so than usual. She pointed. "Bowza, look.", she said, her voice thick with maternal worry. Bowza could feel the dread hanging in the air- part from Agatha, and part from the past.
He looked to where she indicated, and saw Brandy's club laying on the far side of the path, next to a roughened patch of scuffed-up sand. He leaped over, and brushed his hand over the markings. And as he analyzed the patterns, his heart began to race faster.
These markings- she was between them, then underneath one on the ground. Then in the air, then-. A cold wash of dread, like an avalanche of dead rain, sank through his soul. No, no, of course they didn't. It was just a struggle. That's all it was. I hope. I hope to Se’th-
But he chanced to looked upwards, and he saw something that confirmed his worst fears, lying not 10 feet away from him. He slowly leaned over and plucked the bundle off of the ground. Agatha saw, and floated over to him.
"Bowza, What did you find? What are those?", she said, her voice picking up speed.
Ashen-faced, Bowza lifted what he found. "Her clothes. These are her clothes."
For a second, there was silence. For another second, the only sound that could be heard was the slight twitching of Agatha’s hand. But once the third second hit, the silence was rent by a broken cry of despair, and the sky lit up violet.

Trigger had stopped running. It wasn't that he had lost the scent, it was just that the scent trail had ended. It had stopped right in the middle of a patch of very stirred up sand, and a spilled pile of Gems. Not seeing anything else to do, he snorted and started to root around in a nearby bush, but stopped when Dan grabbed him by the collar.
"Okay, Trigger. Good- whew- good boy." Dan took a moment to catch his breath. “Let’s see what you found.”
He dropped to his knees, and inspected the ground. There were some footprints, and some marks, and some more marks, and oh my, there sure were just a whole lot of marks, weren’t there? They all looked the same, too. Dan looked around some more, then realized something.
I can’t track, he thought. I just never learned how.
So Dan stood up, brushed the dirt off his armor, and turned to Trigger. “Well,”, he said, “that didn’t accomplish anything. Now, let's go meet up with the others."
A huge flash of violet light filled the air above the canyon, sending Trigger into a panic and causing Dan to fall. They looked at each other, looked back at the light, then ran off towards it.

Once the light subsided, and the echoes of the scream had at last died away in the air, Agatha fell faint to the ground. A bolt of lightning illuminated the canyon clearing, and Dan appeared alongside Trigger.
“What happened?”, he breathed. “What is it?”
Oticat and the Princesses appeared in the next flash, digging through their pockets. “Spell?”, Oticat asked. “Anyone need a spell?”
Webert moved aside a huge boulder into the clearing, Randy riding on his shoulders. “Did we find her?”, the ponderous Bowler asked. Randy said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit.
The Ratzo Brothers broke through a narrow cliff with their Ram, which immediately reformed. They shouldered it, and said nothing.
Bowza turned to face them. His face was grim, and uncharacteristically serious. He was about to say something, but decided that simply holding up Brandy’s clothes would be far more effective. And he was right.
"This is the work of Elite Barbarians.”, he further explained. “Level 13, judging by the depth of their footprints. I don't quite recognize their clan symbol- its a purple gloved hand."
"Oh, it must be a premium clan symbol.", said Oticat. "Their leader must have shelled out a lot of Gems for it. Let me just consult my king booklet-"
He pulled out a small book from his coat and flipped through it. "Yes, yes, yes, just gotta- Ah! Here we are. It says that symbol belongs to a very powerful clan. TheEvilOverLords. Come to think of it, we fought one of their members just yesterday-"
He clapped his hands together in realization, and spun around. "And- and he said that we would be hearing from his clan mates about his! Oh! Shoot!"
Bowza traced the dirt aimlessly. "Overleveled Elite Barbarians. There is no greater evil in this world."
Dan stared emptily ahead, crushed. Brandy was gone, taken. His best friend, kidnapped just like that. And the last thing he had said to her?
Go away, Brandy. You'd never understand.
How quaint his troubles seemed now. How small next to whatever Brandy must be going through right now. She was so innocent. She had to be lost. She had to be terrified-
Dan felt Larry tap his leg. He looked down at the eager Skeleton, and was surprised to see that he was holding a note. It said "To Dan, the Knight" on the front.
"Where did you find this, Larry? What even is this?", he asked. Larry pointed to Brandy's torn clothes, and put his hands together to plead Dan to open it.
So Dan opened the letter, unfolded it, and scanned the words. In a crude, hand-written script, it read:
"Hey Dan, your girl was awesome. We really had a great time with her. She tried to put up a fight- at first. . You can have her back, as soon as we decide the ransom. But I really don’t think she’ll want to come back. Later, little dude."
It was signed with a single lock of Brandy's snow-white hair, and a single streak of blood.
Dan's eye twitched. Then the corner of his mouth, and then his mustache. He gripped the paper tighter in his hands, until the muscles bulged past his armor. A low roar began to build in his throat. He thought about holding it back, but realized there was no reason to. So he screamed in pure anger, into the sky.
“Woah Dan, what are you doing-”, Elizabeth said, as Dan charged headlong into the direction of the footprints, sword waving wildly over his head.
“I’ll kill them!”, he screamed. “I swear, I will kill every single one of them!”
He ran so fast, even Randy had trouble catching up to him. But when he did, the trip tackle sent him sliding into the dirt.
“Randy, what are you doing?”, he growled. “I have to kill them!”
But Webert put a hand on his shoulder. “Dan! What are you doing?”
Dan handed Webert the note. It only took a few seconds for Webert’s face to turn a far more reddish purple than normal.
“You know what, Dan?”, Webert rumbled. “I’m with you. Let’s go crush them.”
He held his boulder defiantly in the air, but Agatha held up a calming hand.
“Dan, Webert, if you think for one second that we’re just going to let you attack an entire Clan Castle, you’re insane.”
Oticat, next to her, held up a communicator. He was already dialing.
“You’re going to need some help.”, he said.

Past the canyons, just beyond the burning desert that housed Bone Pit, a door on the walls of the Clan Castle of TheEvilOverLords creaked open. Chad and Rick slipped inside, still carrying Brandy's body bag. They shut the door behind them, and walked further into the room, closer to a tall, dark throne. The figure on it spoke into a telephone.
“How is Mr. Donnie coming along on the new wing of the Castle?”, he asked, in an impeccable voice, then slightly recoiled.
“Oh, he’s done? Well, give him my personal congratulations. I can see that was 500 Gems well spent. But I have to go- my other plan needs my attention.”, he said a he set down the telephone, and slightly turned.
"Well? Did you do it?"
The two Elite Barbarians snapped to attention, and saluted him, dropping Brandy onto a nearby table. She groaned, but did not stir.
"Yes, Ryusei_Nakao69, sir! The deed is done!"
The king spun around in his chair and gave a low laugh. "Excellent, excellent. I would- wait a minute.”
His brow knitted, with almost grandfatherly concern. “Chadwick? Richard? Where are Mr. George and the others?”
Chad shrugged. "Well, we were just in the area, you know, doing stuff, and we decided to check on them. They seemed incapable of getting the job done on their own, so we decided to step in."
"Well, where are they?", the King asked.
"Oh, they're fine.", Rick said. "They'll be back here soon.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 sat back in his chair and massaged his forehead. "Did you at least tell them before you took control?”, he asked.
“Um, no.”, admitted Chad. “We had to keep the illusion up so the target would drop her guard.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 sighed. “If it worked, then I guess it worked. Good job.”
Then he resumed his former position- hands together in front of his grinning face.
“Because I would expect nothing less from my finest troops, from the finest king, from the finest clan. Kudos to both of you."
Chad clapped his hands. "Alright then! Let's talk ransom! What should we demand?"
Rick slammed his hands down onto the table. "I was thinking either 80000 Gold, or maybe 500 Gems, or maybe just a Legendary King's Chest- no! Wait! One of those fancy new Mega Lightning Chests! Those are cool, right?"
Ryusei_Nakao69 held up a hand to silence them.
"Please, gentlemen. I have no need of Gold, or Gems, or Chests. I have the black market for all of those.", he said.
"What?", grunted Chad.
"There will be no ransom."
The Elite Barbarians groaned, and gave him unbelieving looks. "What? That's lame! You mean we're just going to let her go?"
The red king smirked. "Oh no no no. Because do you know the real reason we took her? The real reason why this particular plan was weeks in the making?"
"What?", grunted Rick.
"For whatever reason, I still don't have a Bandit of my own. I just have the worst luck with chests, and both theSenate and LeChris are still unwilling to trade. And I would like one- my Bridge Spam deck really isn't complete."
"Sir, do you mean... are we gonna-", said Rick, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, Richard. I do. We're going to keep her."
And then, he laughed. It grew from a mere chuckle, to a hefty chortle, and finally, a show-stopping cackle. As the rafters groaned and creaked from the force of his unholy laughter, The ohohohoho echoed off of the rafters, and flew into the night.

Song: Dawn

It was a bright, sunny morning as ChupilickytwaCT opened his mailbox. He didn't get mail that often- he much more often sent it. He was the Leader of his clan, LosDementosCT, after all. But today, his daughter Annabelle had told him that there was something for him. So it was for that reason that he reached in his hand and extracted a bundle.
Most of it was normal fare- a private Trade Request, a hand-written letter from…from… from someone, that much was sure. The writing was almost totally illegible. There seemed to be a “Legendary” in there somewhere, but it was being eaten by the quadratic equation. Oh well. ChupilickytwaCT tossed the letter aside, and picked up the next one, a letter from Oticat.
"Why, its from Oticat.", he mused to himself. "Very nice young chap, wonder what he's up to now?"
He sliced open the letter with an arrow, unfolded the crisp paper, and began to read.
Esteemed Leader ChupilickytwaCT., it began.
I am writing to you in my hour of need. My Bandit, Brandy, has been kidnapped- and worse. I believe it to be the work of TheEvilOverLords.
"TheEvilOverLords?", ChupilickytwaCT whispered. "Those buggers."
I have managed to pinpoint the location of where she is being held to a Clan Castle near the East Shore, just beyond Bone Pit. I know I cannot take them on by myself. So please, illustrious leader, hear my plea. Notify the clan, tell everyone, get help. You know I don't ask for much. Please, help me. Help Brandy.
With respect,
Oticat
ChupilickytwaCT refolded the letter and put it back in its envelope. "Oh.", was the only thing he said for several minutes, as his thoughts whipped around in his head. "Oh my."
But then, eventually, he composed himself, and put the resealed letter into his back pocket.
"I hear you, Oticat. I hear you loud and clear."

He turned to a nearby Builder, tending the hedges. “John?”, he commanded.

The Builder snapped to attention. “Yes, my lord?”

“Call a clan meeting, and go find my son Edward. We must prepare for battle.”

Chapter Text

As the sun slowly filtered through the window and landed on her bruised face, Brandy awoke in a bed that wasn't hers. This, in itself, was strange, waking up in a bed. She hardly ever used hers- she preferred to sleep on The Log. She only slept in a bed when she was truly exhausted, or sick. Something must have happened last night.

Song: Desperate Plan

As if to prove that, Brandy couldn't quite get a strange feeling out of her head. It was a feeling that something was terribly, horribly wrong, but she could not for the life of her remember what it was. And her immensely sore body didn’t help either.
She yawned, sat up, stretched, and opened her eyes. A Red Villager stared back at her, and Brandy fell back on the bed.
Wait a minute. Red villagers? That didn't make any sense. Brandy sat back up again, and the Red Villager cleared her throat.

“Good, you’re awake.”, she said. “Are you alright, dear?”

“Who are you?”, Brandy said, confused. “Where am I? What’s going on?”

And then, horribly, it all came flooding back into Brandy’s mind. How she had missed the Balloon, how the Barbarians had cornered her in the canyon, how the Elite Barbarians had pretended to rescue her, and then, and then- she nearly threw up. They had done that to her?
Brandy tried to push the memory out of her mind, but its presence was too strong. She could hardly believe it. She had been stolen. Taken, just like that.
But this wasn't the time to reflect on such matters. Brandy needed to get out of here, now. She instinctively reached for her club, but it wasn't there. Of course it wasn't, they would have taken that away from her first thing. She twisted up and sat on the side of the bed, and noticed that she was in the uniform of a red Bandit. Disgusting.
The Villager leaned down, her face etched with concern.
“I expect you would feel quite sore after what happened to you last night.”, she said. “We’ve given you a salve that should help.”
“You…”, Brandy growled, and clenched her fist.

Seeing her aggressive stance, the Villagers ceased their chatter and began moving fearfully away. But quick as a flash, Brandy Dashed out of the bed, grabbed one by the throat, and slammed her against the wall.
"How would you like to answer a few questions for me?", she asked the Villager.
The Villager stuttered a few incoherent syllables, and Brandy slightly loosened her grip.
"I'm sorry, we're only supposed to keep an eye on you. Not tell you anything.", she replied.
Brandy and gripped tighter. "Look, I'm usually a pretty nice Bandit. But if you don't get me out of here right now, I'm going to have to change all that."
"But if I did, I'd be punished for sure."
"Punished? What do you mean?"
The Villager only looked down, and Brandy saw a huge scar on her lower leg.
“Well, um…”
Brandy’s grip loosened again. Her aggressive strategy suddenly didn’t seem viable anymore. But she had to get out of here.

“How’d you like to be dead?”
"We can't die here. It’s our own territory."
Darn. The villager was right. Brandy thought for a second, then turned back to face her.
"Okay, how'd you like to wish you were dead?"
The Villager stared forward at her, her expression almost blank. But the subtle movements of her eyes communicated to her sisters to arm the door trap.
"Alright, the way out is through that door over there.", she finally said, and pointed to the far wall.
"And that's it?", Brandy asked. "No tricks, or traps, or false walls?"
"No."
"Great. Thanks for your cooperation.", Brandy said, and let the Villager down. Brandy ran over to the wall, opened the door, and was greeted with the sight of glowing blue metal. Instinctively, she crossed her arms in defense, but it was too late. A massive jolt of electricity flowed from the wall and into her.

Brandy screamed in pain as her already damaged body was hit with the force of a Lightning, and fell to the ground. The Villager leaned over her prone position.
"I'm sorry. I really am. But I'm not allowed to help you." She cupped her hands to her mouth. "Help! The prisoner tried to escape!"
Within seconds, the sounds of tramping boots came from a nearby hallway, and a band of Royal Recruits flooded into the room. Brandy raised one arm in protest, but they surrounded her, picked her up, and shoved her in a straightjacket within seconds.
"About time you woke up.", said one Recruit. "We were just coming down to take you upstairs anyway."
"Hope you like that room.", said another. "Get used to it."
“What are you talking about?”, said Brandy suspiciously.
“That’s for us to know, and you to find out.”, grunted a third Recruit. “Now come with us.”
They all marched upstairs, Brandy in tow, as her heels began to spark blue.

Song: Dark Rebirth

Upstairs, the monthly Clan Meeting and Party of TheEvilOverLords was about to begin. It was different from their weekly Clan Meetings, in that they had a party afterwards- hence the name. All the members of the Clan were in attendance, their prize troops with them. Normally, the Clan Meetings were about stuff such as donations, clan wars, and the like. But today, this time, Ryusei_Nakao69 had a very special prize to show off.
As he stood with his arms behind his back, in the middle of backstage, he chuckled softly and turned to his right.
“Would you be pleased with this, Kurizas?”, he asked his son-Prince.
“What do you mean, father?”, Kurizas asked, looking up from polishing his lance.
“If you were me, would you be pleased with this work? The plan that has come together?”
“Well, if I were you, I guess I would be, yes.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 stood up, and ran his fingers down his face, tracing the outline of the black scars that adorned his cheekbones.
“Good, good. That’s very good, Kurizas.”
After a few seconds of simmering silence, a Goblin in a stagehand uniform popped out from behind a curtain and smartly saluted.
“Sir? We’re ready for you now.”

The King known as theSenate popped his knuckles, and flipped open a dark grey notebook. He adjusted his crown, selected a pencil from behind his ear, and began to write. Being one of the Co-Leaders of the clan, and also the one best with words, he was the one in charge of writing everyone’s speeches. But he had already completed that several hours earlier, and thus was writing a much more personal letter.
Dearest Sophia, it began.
From the first time I laid eyes on you, I knew that there could never be an Archer Queen as lovely as you. Indeed, even-
“Whatcha writing?”, came a voice from behind him. theSenate turned around, and saw a Bandit looking over his chair and at the paper.
“It’s nothing, Bailey.”, he said, and hurriedly hid the notebook. “Go back to your business.”
Bailey smirked, and slid back down off of the top of the chair. Oh, I’ll get that notebook, she promised herself. One way or another.

The curtain at the front of the stage parted, and Ryusei_Nakao69 walked out from the middle, much to the cheers of the crowd. He folded his hands, walked up to the podium, and cleared his throat.
"Everyone, thank you for coming. The Emperor of the Arena has returned!”
The audience cheered again. Ryusei_Nakao69 had actually recently been arrested on charges of ID sharing, but the charges against him had been dropped due to the mysterious disappearance of all witnesses and opponents.
"Let us begin with our first order of business.”, he said, and shuffled his notes, which had been given to him only seconds earlier by his daughter Stacy.
“It seems that Mr. Mickeyfuns has not met the required number of donations this week, and has thus been kicked. Now, the loss of a member is usually a rather tragic occurrence, but Mickeyfuns was only in Pekka’s Playhouse. Not too much of a loss. But that does bring me me to the next item on our list, raising the required number of trophies in order to join. I've noticed that we have had an unusual number of riff-raff joining our clan lately."

While he spoke, Brandy's escort had already entered backstage. A Royal Recruit poked her in the back with a spear, just enough to hurt.
C'mon, c'mon..., she thought. Just a little more. I just need a little more.
"Alright, here's what you're gonna do.", he said, his voice muffled by his bucket. "We’re all gonna walk onstage, he’s gonna say his thing, you stand there and look pretty, we go off stage, you go back to your room and wait. You got that?”
Brandy chose to say nothing. Instead, she slightly nodded.
“I said, you got that?”, said the Royal Recruit again, a touch of annoyance in his voice.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”, she finally said. “I just couldn’t hear you over the sound of stupidity in the room.”
"Fine, whatever. Just follow us.", he said with a sigh. He didn’t get paid enough for this, he thought. If he even managed to get paid at all, which was rare. He jabbed Brandy in the back again, and they all moved forward.

Back out on the stage, Ryusei_Nakao69 was finishing up his opening remarks, and starting to move on to the meat of the meeting.
"And of course, everyone, don't miss your War Attacks. There's not really a reason to, I shouldn’t have to remind anybody, and yet some of you still choose to miss them." He pointed into the crowd. "I’m Looking at you, T. Wiseau."
Several members of the crowd turned to look at the black-haired King he was pointing to. "Hey, I did nawt mees it.", he said in his bizarre, unique accent. He was also just a very bizarre king. "I did nawt."
He looked around. “Oh hi Mark.”, he said to someone who wasn’t there.
"And finally,", said Ryusei_Nakao69, trying to move on, "We have a very special treat for you all tonight. Sirs MaNoFwAr and Odurawaz. Your tips have been much appreciated, and it was only with your help that this operation was successful. And of course, I have to thank my very own Elite Barbarians, Chadwick and Richard, for their invaluable help."
They both stood up from the back of the room, and many clapped, although some cheered. A group of Archers and a Princess shrieked, and a Valkyrie hollered.

"They have managed to capture me that Bandit! Bring her out, everyone."
He turned and caught the eye of a Goblin stagehand, who flipped a hand signal to another. The other Goblin pulled on his line, and the curtain opened, revealing several squadrons of Guards, a line of Royal Recruits, and Brandy, her eyes closed and trying to keep her breathing slow.
Inexplicably, a Bowler yelled “Hey, my Rider!” from the audience. Someone would have gotten on him about it, if it were not for the R-Word pass tattoo that was clearly displayed across his chest. Perhaps that’s why he did it- in order to show off.
In the far corner of the room, a newspaper high up on the table twitched slightly, and a pair of mystical eyes looked straight through it, right at Brandy. The strange man reading then took a sip of his tea, and resumed looking at the Comics section.
"Better keep a close eye on her, your Highness.", said one of the Guards. "She's a fiery one. Almost killed Helen."
“Helen?”, asked the King, one eyebrow raised.
“A Villager.”, explained the Guard.
"Oh, don't worry.", Ryusei_Nakao69 replied. "She may be stubborn, but we’ll fix that tomorrow."
Brandy felt her forehead knit. “What…?”, she said to herself.
“Oh, has he not told you?”, a Goblin whispered from behind her.
“Told me what?”, she asked frantically. “What is he going to do to me?”
“Oh, he’s going to hypnotize you to be his troop.”, said the Goblin with a shrug. “Just like everyone else we kidnap.”

It took a few seconds for the Goblin’s words to sink in, but once they did, Brandy felt her heart jump. Blackness creeped in the corners of her vision, and despite her best efforts to stay calm, she felt herself starting to hyperventilate.
He couldn't do this. Hypnotism was just a thing that Witches did at parties with volunteers. And on Hogs. He couldn’t actually do it to her. Could he?
Her thoughts were broken by the sound of Ryusei_Nakao69 pounding a gavel on the podium. "Meeting dismissed! Everyone, the accommodations for tonight are as follows. theSenate, take the far north tower. LeChris, deep south laboratory. VADER, you drew the short straw, so the Elixir shed out back. HurtJohn…”
The rooming announcements continued for a while- around 15 minutes in fact. There were a lot of Kings, and a lot of Troops. But eventually, they were finished, and the room was almost empty. The only ones left on the stage were Brandy, a handful of Royal Recruits, and Ryusei_Nakao69. And a couple of stagehands, but they were practically invisible, and didn’t count.

Ryusei_Nakao69 turned to Brandy, a diabolical leer crossing his face. "Now, Miss Brandy, I would normally command these Recruits to take you to your room. But I'm going to give you a little offer, a luxury really. If you’d like, why don’t you sleep upstairs? With me?”
Brandy choked a little bit. “No.”, she said. “That’s- that’s disgusting.”
“Disgusting?”, Ryusie_Nakao69 said, faking his hurt. “I don’t think you have any idea of the situation here. You see, you don’t really have a choice here. I got you. You’re mine.”
“Well, I’m getting something better.”, Brandy quietly retorted. A tiny spark of bravery grew somewhere within her.
“Oh?”, said the King. “And what is that?”
“Out.”, she said. “I’m getting the frick out.”
"Wait, what-", he started to say, but it was already too late for him to respond. Brandy at last put her plan into motion, and unleashed all of the Dash energy she had been building up for almost 10 minutes. With a sound like a sonic boom, she blasted off across the stage, blowing the king off his feet and crashing through the huge double doors.
"Someone! Stop her!", he roared, readjusting himself as quickly as possible. He started to run after her, but was stopped by a tap on the shoulder. He turned around, into the face of a shadow.

Song: Throwing

Inside the hallway, Brandy still dashed at incredible speed. She jumped over a Gold Chest lying in the middle of the floor, and saw a passing Ram Rider and a Mini Pekka both run towards her, from opposite directions. The Ram Rider gave a fierce warcry and threw her bola, but Brandy, still Dashing, ducked and slid on her knees. The bola passed harmlessly over her and hit the Mini Pekka, which skidded into the wall and fell.
Brandy straightened up again, and saw the door to outside at the end of the hall. Hope surged through her, and she pressed the side of her straitjacket to the wall. The immense friction generated slowly but surely burned through the thick, course material, and the jacket popped off. Brandy shook herself and continued running. Almost there...
"She's getting away!", shouted LeChris, arms full of Gold. "Do whatever you have to to stop her!"
A Dart Goblin jumped in front of her with his arms open, and was instantly bowled over by Brandy. His blowgun snapped, and his body splashed into a puddle of Elixir. He reformed a second later, but not without a massive headache. And the tinges of blue fire all over him didn't help either.

"Mr. Door!", yelled VADER, another Co-Leader. "Stop her!"
Brandy was now but mere seconds away from the exit door. She noticed that her Dash had begun to flicker and fade, but she was still going strong. With a yell of sheer effort, Brandy leaped, one hand outwards, for the door. She hung there for a moment, seeming to be suspended in the air. Hope soared on her fingertips, her eyes lit up blue- and at the very last second, Brandy violently collided with the the outstretched arm of a Golem.
If Brandy had not still had her Dash invulnerability, the impact surely would have killed her. Instead, it only stopped her cold, knocked the wind out of her, and sent her sprawling backwards onto the floor.
Brandy lay there for a few seconds, trying to get her body to respond. The immense pain was felt across her entire torso, like a pulsing… pulsing…

She couldn’t think of any figures of speech. It just hurt too much. Brandy strained, and finally got control of her muscles again. She tried to get to her feet, but the huge, rocky hand of Mr. Door, the Golem, grabbed hold of her, locking her arms to her sides and lifted her into the air. Veronica, Ryusei_Nakao69's daughter-Princess, walked out from behind him with a smug grin.
"Mr. Door has a grip strong enough to restrain a Pekka. You can't escape him.", she said. Mr. Door gave her a rocky smile, looking for approval, and Veronica patted him on the head.
"We'll - rrgh - see about that!", grunted Brandy, and pushed. All of the muscles in her arm strained as hard as they could against the iron grip of the Golem, sweat dripping down her brow. But after a few seconds, she hadn’t even caused the Golem to budge, and Brandy realized that Veronica was right - it was like trying to push against a mountain. So Brandy then chose to conserve her energy, and quit struggling.

“Oh, you’re done?”, Veronica asked mockingly, and applied another layer of lipstick. “I was starting to get bored.”
She took a metallic ring out of her pocket, knelt, and snapped it onto Brandy’s leg. It made a soft, slightly satisfying click as it took hold, and then lit up red. Brandy could feel a strange sensation move across her skin as it hummed.
"There.", said Veronica as she stood back up. "That should prevent any more incidents."
"What is that?", asked Brandy. “What did you do to me?”
Veronica took a long drag on what appeared to be a cigar, even though there was nothing in it, and smiled sickly-sweet at Brandy.
"It's an anti-ability collar.", said Veronica. "It's my father’s own invention. You see, what it does is that it blocks the natural Elixir flow of troops from accessing their hearts, causing a buildup of mortality, and heavily increasing the amount of normalcy.”
Brandy was silent, as she tried to figure this out.
“Oh, that’s right.”, said Veronica, using the exaggerated voice of a young child. “You don’t know anything about science, do you? Cause you’re just a simple little Bandit. So I’ll put it in terms you can understand. It stops you from dashing."

"You can't do that.", said Brandy, hiding her shock. "That's impossible."
"Is it?", came the voice of Ryusei_Nakao69, who had come up from behind his daughter. "Is it really? Go on ahead, try it. Be my guest."
Brandy tried to Dash. She tried to use her latent, built-in abilities as a Bandit, skills she had had for entire life. But aside from a light blue film running across her skin, flowing into the collar, and vanishing, nothing happened. She stared at the King in shock. And when Mr. Door at last opened his hand and dropped her onto the floor, she didn't even try to run away.
Ryusei_Nakao69 tapped her forehead.
“Do you see now, Brandy?”, he whispered. “This is what I do. This is my specialty. For I may battle in the Arena, just like any other king. But I do not deal in Trophies, or Gold. No, I deal in a far more precious commodity.”
Brandy stared up at him, and he cracked a cruel smile as his eyes lit crimson. “I deal in souls.”

Song: Sekibetsu

Brandy felt a primordial instinct of pure fear take root somewhere inside of her. She had always heard stories of people like this. Kings who stole Troops, or Troops that went around murdering others. And Bowza had told her there was a special word for people like that.
Demons.
Ryusei_Nakao69 gestured to a dour-faced, bearded Bowler standing at a nearby hallway door. "You there! Bowler!”
The Bowler snapped to attention. “Yes, my liege?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 shoved Brandy towards him with a cruel sneer. “Take her away.”
"Yes, my liege.", the Bowler replied. He leaned over, grabbed Brandy with one massive hand, and turned her around.
“Come with me, Bandit.”, said the Bowler. Oddly enough, his tone of voice seemed gentle, almost kind. But Brandy did not notice. She only stared at the ground, and numbly nodded. The Bowler put one hand on her back, and walked her into the hallway.
“Oh, Bowler?”, came the voice of Ryusei_Nakao69 from behind, and the Bowler looked around.
“I would normally have you take her to her room. But for this one…”
He fixed Brandy with a look that was a strange mix between contempt and lust.
“Take her to Dungeon C instead. The one with the Arena 8-12 troops.”
The Bowler saluted without a word. “Understood. Will there be anything else, sire?”
The King waved his hand. “No, that’s it… um… what’s your name, again?”, he asked.
“Jobe, sire.”, said the Bowler, and bowed.
“Ah yes, Jobe.”, said the King. “So that’s all for now, then.”
And so the Bowler slightly shoved Brandy, and the continued their path, now towards the dungeons.

The walls of the lower levels of the castle dripped with bright green mold, and entirely unknown species of insects scrambled from the light of the torch that the Bowler carried. Once they were out of earshot of the King, or anyone else, the Bowler looked to his left, nodded, then the same to his right. And then, to Brandy's growing curiosity, he set the torch on the wall, knelt, and grabbed his beard.
“Brandy, are you okay?”, he said in a different voice.
Brandy looked up for the first time since they had began their walk, and saw a very familiar face, now free of the beard.
She gasped. "Webert?"
Her friend smiled, and slightly posed. "Yes! I am!"
Brandy’s lip quivered, and she jumped forward in a hug. "I knew someone would come! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"
Webert gently patted her back, and put his finger to his lips. “Okay, I know you’re excited. I’m excited to see you too, I’ve been looking for a while. But keep the noise down.”
“Okay, okay, I will.”, whispered Brandy. Then she thought for a second. “You said you’ve been looking for me for a while- how long?”
“Hmm?”
“How long, exactly have you been looking for me?”
“Oh, about two days.”
Brandy thought about this for a second. “TWO DAYS?”, she finally shrieked, then quieted back down to a whisper. “But I just woke up not even an hour ago. You mean to tell me I’ve been unconscious for two days?”

Her skin crawled. “What did they do to me?”, she whispered to herself. “And… and…”
Brandy looked up into Webert’s face.
“How did you get here?", she asked.
"Yeah,", Webert replied, "this isn't technically me. I'm speaking through a Clone."
"Oh.", she said. "But, how did your Clone get in here?"
"I just walked on in. This place actually has one of the best bowling alleys in the world- all Bowlers are allowed."
"Huh.", Brandy said. "But, you're Blue. Wouldn't they recognize that?"
"No. Clones are neutral-aligned outside of the arenas.", he explained. "I just read as Red to them."
"Well, I guess that makes sense.", Brandy said. "So, what we do now, then?"
Webert pointed one finger in the air, opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. His eye twitched as he thought of something to say, couldn’t, and put his finger back down.
“I… don’t know, actually. Bowza and Agatha just told me to get in and find you. Not what to do after that.”
“Are they here too?”
“No. Just me.”
Brandy felt a little let down. “Oh. Just… you are gonna get me out of here, right?”
Webert smiled. "Of course. Just remember, don't arouse any suspicion. Nobody can know what just happened.”
Brandy nodded. "Right."

Ryusei_Nakao69 stopped where he was walking. His mechanically enhanced hearing had just picked up something very strange. Normally, he heard many things that would be considered odd throughout his castle- electric explosions, genetic experiments, screams of pain and torture- but to him, it was all just daily routine. But this time, he had heard an odd conversation. He had only picked up the tail end of it, but…
Nobody can know what just happened. That is what he had heard. His mind acted fast, cross-referencing the sound bite with everything currently happening. There was the party upstairs, the party outside, the Dragon dissection in the laboratory, the prisoner block, the-
He stopped. Of course. It was the voice of a Bowler. He pulled up his sleeves and went for Dungeon C as fast as he could.

“Well, what if we organize a breakout?”, asked Brandy. “There are probably lots of prisoners here, and we might be able to do it.”
Webert shook his head. “No, no. Too risky. Every red troop here can respawn, and we couldn’t. Any direct attack would be suicide.”
“Oh.”, said Brandy. “Well, what if we-”
Webert suddenly looked up. “Someone’s coming. Quick, act like we weren’t doing anything.”
He hurriedly pulled on his beard, without checking to see if it was quite right. Brandy put her arms behind her back and sat down on a nearby bench, with her head hung. Within seconds, Ryusei_Nakao69 came striding around the corner, a suspicious look on his face.
“Jobe, what’s going on?”
“I just sat down, sir. You see, she tried to escape, and I had to really work to restrain her.”, he said with a pump of his arm. “Quite a fast one, this Bandit.”
But Ryusei_Nakao69 wasn’t listening. He focused all of his attention on Webert’s face. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but he was going to find out. Going to- oh. Yes, that was it.
“Jobe.”, he said. “Your beard’s not on straight.”

A cold shock of fear raced through Brandy on the bench, and she stiffened. Webert, too, was taken aback a bit.
“Uh,”, he said. “Uh, well, you see, I…”
Brandy started to panic. Webert had never been a good lier. He was pretty bad at it, to be totally honest. And if he couldn’t think his way out of this one, then the King was going to find out everything, and Webert’s clone would be destroyed, and then, and then-
And then to everyone’s surprise, probably even including himself, Webert’s eyes quivered, then his lips. He dropped his ball to the ground, fell to his knees, and began to sob.
"I'm sorry, your majesty,”, he said in between gasps, “but... but…”
“What?”, snarled Ryusei_Nakao69. “What is it, Jobe?”
“I just can't grow a beard!”

Ryusei_Nakao69's face twisted into confusion. "You can’t grow a beard.”
“No. I can’t. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t! I don’t know why!”
“But, you’ve always had a beard, haven’t you? Even when I just saw you around the castle.”
"I know, I have- and it’s all just been a lie! As long as I can remember, I've always just worn a fake beard."
"But… why?", asked the king.
"All the cool bowlers have one- I just had to have one, you know?", Webert sobbed.
Ryusei_Nakao69, his composure a bit unsettled, chose to just pat Webert on the back a few times.
"Well, you know, just keep in there, Mr. Jobe. I won't tell anyone.", he said. “I suppose everything is alright, and you can take the prisoner to her cell now.”
“Oh, right.”, said Webert, and stood back up. He dried his eyes, straightened his beard, and grabbed Brandy. “Come on then, Bandit.”
So as Ryusei_Nakao69 left to take care of other business, Webert and Brandy continued their march towards the Dungeon.

Chapter Text

Ryusei_Nakao69 at last sat down in his chair, cracked open a can of soda, turned on some TV Royale, and smiled. The day had gone all according to plan, and there was nothing that could happen that could possibly ruin it. Nothing at all.
He flicked the remote a few times, and the channel changed to one of a Barbarian in a forest clearing. The title flashed across the screen a few times- Wheel! Of! Death!
The Barbarian looked around frantically. “What’s going on?”, he said. “Where am I?”
“You’re on Wheel of Death!”, shouted an unseen Wizard. “Smile- you’re on camera!
“Wha- I’m being filmed?”, shouted the Barbarian. “What kind of sadistic retard watches this crap?”
“Oh, I love this show.”, murmured Ryusei_Nakao69 to himself. He took a long swig of his drink, and heard a knock at the door.
“Come in, come in.”, he said, and the door opened.
“Daddy?”, came the voice of a Princess. “Did you get me a new toy?”

Song: Himeru Omai

Brandy coughed, and shifted on the hard stone floor. It had been about an hour since Webert had put her in the cell- gently, of course, and with a promise that help was on the way. He had also removed her handcuffs, but they had decided together that taking off her anti-dash collar would arouse too much suspicion. So for now, Brandy was just waiting for something to happen. Anything.
“Psst! Hey!”, came a voice. Brandy turned her head over her shoulder, and saw two Rascal Girls, tied with their backs to each other, in the cell right behind her.
“Are you untied?”, one whispered.
“Yes.”, said Brandy. “I guess I am.”
“Good!”, the other whispered loudly. “You can help get us out of here. I’m Double, by the way, and this is Gum.”
“Hi.”, said Gum.

“How do I get you out?”, Brandy asked. “There’s still a cell wall between us.”
“The keys are on the far wall.”, said Double. “You can just dash between the bars and grab them, right?”
Brandy sighed heavily. “Well actually, I can’t. This collar on my neck stops me from dashing. And I can’t take it off.”
“Oh.”, said Gum. “Darn.”
“Where’s your brother though?”, asked Brandy. “Isn’t he supposed to always be with you?”
“No, Tim’s being held in another cell.”, said Gum. “We got to stick together though, thank Dr’ew.”
“Yeah.”, added her twin. “We’re scheduled to be hypnotized though.”
“Shoot.”, said Brandy. “So am I. Tomorrow evening.”
“Oh, I wish we had that long.”, said Gum. “They’re coming to get us at 10:30. Say, what time is it?”
Brandy strained, and saw a clock on the wall out of the corner of her vision. “It’s 10:28.”, she said, and felt the Rascal Girls’ eyes widen.
“Crap!”, said Double. “We only have a few minutes! We gotta-”

There was a crack of stone, and the wall on the other side of their cell bulged slightly outward. Then another, and the wall burst, revealing a heaving Rascal Boy.
“Tim!”, shouted Gum ecstatically. “You came!”
Tim straightened himself up, flung his wooden sword onto his back, and started towards the Girls.
“I thought they got you already!”, said Bubble. “How did you manage to escape?”
Tim said nothing, and simply grabbed his sisters by the rope that held them together, lifting them into the air.
“Heh, Tim, aren’t you gonna untie us?”, said Gum, a note of nervousness in her voice. “Please?”, added her sister.
Tim just looked up, and huffed his hair aside. And for a single moment, Brandy, Double, and Gum could see his eyes. They were blood red.
Bubble and Gum’s faces both drained. “Tim! No!”, Double screamed in horror, but her hypnotized brother had already began to walk towards the exit he had created.
Both of them screamed, as the realization of what had happened, what was happening, and what would soon happen fully set in. “Timmm!”
And then they were gone, leaving a mortified Brandy alone, having been totally unable to do anything at all.

Ryusei_Nakao69 turned down the volume on the TV, and turned to his third daughter. She was noticeably smaller than either Veronica or Stacy, as she was younger. “I’m sorry, but not this time, Chloe. I have a very special purpose for this one."
"But Daaaaaddy, I want her!”, whined Chloe, with hands clasped. “Please?"
"Do remember those Archers I got you the other day? Weren’t they enough for you?"
“They were…”, Chloe huffed, “But then they got boring. I’m bored, Daddy, I want a Bandit!”
Ryusei_Nako69 stiffened in his chair. “Chloe, I’m afraid not. Usually I would let you have her, but my contractor wants her. So no.”
“Please, Daddy? Just for one night?”, Chloe begged. “Please please please please please please ple-”
The King put his hands over his ears. “Oh, fine. I suppose you can have her for one night. Let’s go get her.”
He stood up out of his chair, and Chloe clapped her hands together and jumped with delight. “Thank you, Daddy! You’re the best!”
She hugged him ferociously, and they both headed on down to dungeon 3.

Brandy aimlessly dug at the stone of her floor with her fingernails. Silence reigned in the dungeon, as her only cellmate that she could see was an Ice Golem. And of course he didn’t say anything, because he was an Ice Golem. Instead, he just kept on staring ahead, into the Aether, with his constant facial expression that meant everything and nothing. Brandy looked ahead at the poster on the wall, a tourism poster meant to attract people from other continents. It depicted a pile of troops - including a Ram Rider, some Rascals, and a Royal Ghost - all reaching for a floating Red Crown. As Brandy stared at it closer, she could see a Bandit among the pile. Staring, waiting for her chance to strike.
But within time, the poster lost its appeal, and Brandy just closed her eyes. And when she did, she could only see a faint afterimage of Dan. It occurred to her just how much she missed him then. His smile, his personality, everything about him. And what had their last conversation ended on?
Go away, Brandy. You’d never understand.

But Brandy wished that that was her biggest problem right now. How she wished so desperately that Dan’s nerf was what she had to deal with, instead of being kidnapped and lying in a dungeon, with who knows what fate about to befall her. She remembered the awful screams of the Rascal Girls, as their brother was the one to take them away.
A jingle of keys broke her thoughts, and she looked up. Ryusei_Nakao69 was there, right at the entrance to her cell, with a bouncing young Princess in tow. Brandy realized with a start that if he was there, then that must mean that her time had come. And if her time had come, then that meant that he was her to hypnotize her.
Well, she wouldn’t go down without a fight. Brandy leapt to her feet, and assumed a fighting pose. But she slightly relaxed when she heard their conversation.

Song: Stardust Requiem

“Remember Chloe, you only get her for one night.”, said Ryusei_Nako69. “And then you have to turn her over to me.”
“Yes Daddy, I know.”, said Chloe. “Now just let me have her!”
Ryusei_Nakao69 finally finished fumbling with the lock and threw open the cell door. He greeted Brandy with a wide, menacing smile.
“Miss Brandy, I hope you’re feeling alright.”, he said. “There’s been a slight change of plans.”
Brandy chose to say nothing. Instead, she only slightly tensed her muscles, and prepared herself to Dash. Nobody was around. If she could get one good strike on the King’s head, it might be enough to kill him.
“You see, my daughter Chloe here has taking quite a liking to you. And as such, you’re to be her toy for the next 24 hours. There will be no resistance.”
“Wait, is she your daughter?”, Brandy asked.
“Yes, she is.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “That’s literally what i just said- were you even paying attention?”
“Well,”, Brandy said, feeling that the Dash energy had at last built up inside her, “She’s not going to be your daughter for long. Because her dad’s about to be dead.”

The King recoiled, and Brandy let out her characteristic Dash yell. She lunged forward- and stopped. She felt a chilling realization settle onto her, and saw a faint blue tinge run down from her body and into the collar that she only now remembered was there.
Ryusei_Nako69 laughed. “Oh, it appears you’ve forgotten, Brandy. As long as you’re under my power, you cannot Dash. And in case you’ve forgotten that too…”
He leaned forward, hands behind his back. “You will always be under my power from now on, until your free will ends. Which I guess will be in about 17 hours from now. Might as well enjoy it while you can.”
Chloe bounced out from behind him, and grabbed Brandy by the wrists.
"Alright, come with me.", Chloe ordered her.
As much as she despised the idea of being a Princess’s “toy”, Brandy didn’t see any other choice. So she sighed, and started to walk. But then,
An idea began to take hold inside of Brandy's mind as the enthusiastic Princess pulled her towards the stairs. If she was left with Ryusei_Nakao69's daughter unattended, she could be in a real bargaining position. She couldn’t kill him, but maybe-

Her thoughts were interrupted by Ryusei_Nakao69 grabbing her hood, and pulling her back. His breath was hot on her neck, and felt slightly dark and mechanical for some reason.
"If you even think about harming my daughter, well... let me put it this way. You're either a toy for a Princess or a toy for the Barbarians. You get that?"
"Yes, I understand.", Brandy said quietly.
"You understand what?"
"I understand, your... your...", Brandy tried to say, but could not bring herself to finish the phrase. She squeezed her eyes shut, and her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Go on. Say it.", said Ryusei_Nakao69 with evil pleasure.
"I understand…”, Brandy gritted her teeth, and forced herself to say it. “Your Majesty."
"Good, Miss Brandy, good. You’re finally coming around. Now go upstairs." Ryusei_Nakao69 took a different staircase, to a deeper room. He had some explaining to do, to his contractor. Brandy saw him leave out of the corner of her eye as Chloe took her upstairs. She also noticed the Ice Golem was gone, for whatever unknowable reason.

The door to the basement opened, and Chloe bounced out, Brandy in tow. Veronica, chatting with a Dark Prince and a Valkyrie, noticed her and came over.
“Hey, so that’s where she ended up.”, said Veronica. “Nice. Seems fitting.”
“You wanna come play with me, Veronica?”, asked Chloe. “I have some Archers up in my room too.”
“Oh, not right now, Chloe.”, said Veronica. “Me, Valeyrie, and Edvard were all going to do something. Maybe later, kay?”
“Okay, that’s fine.”, said Chloe. “I guess you just don’t want to play with your little sister, that’s all.”
Chloe had expected some sort of sympathetic response from Veronica. Maybe a “Hey, cheer up” or a “Oh, don’t worry”. But what she got was a cruel glare, and a “Listen, Chloe. I’m busy right now. Go away.”
“O- okay, Veronica.”, said Chloe sadly, then remembered Brandy was still there. “Okay Brandy, let’s go!”

But Brandy wasn’t listening. She had just been staring at Veronica. Her smug grin. The way she carried herself. And Brandy’s thoughts twisted furious. How dare she do this. How dare anyone treat her like this, like she was just some object to be thrown around.
An insane mix of courage and anger took root in Brandy, and her eyes lit up a faint purple. With a ferocious yell, she jumped forward, Dash or no Dash, and swung one fist directly at Veronica’s face.
It took not even half a second for Veronica’s eyes to widen, and for her to start to fall backwards. And it would have taken only a second for Brandy’s fist to satisfyingly crash into Veronica’s face, had it not taken exactly half a second for Edvard’s black gloved hand to reach out from behind the Princess and catch Brandy’s fist.
“Listen, you little skank.”, he spat from behind his helmet. “Nobody hurts Veronica, except maybe me. And not even then.”
Veronica put a hand on his side and kissed him on the cheek.
“Come on, Edvard.”, she said. “Let’s go.”
And they did, down the hallway towards the Laboratory. But Valeyrie still stood there, watching Chloe and Brandy head upstairs, slowly twirling around her axe. She had a feeling that her and Brandy would meet again, somehow. She didn’t know when, but she knew it would happen.

As Chloe finally led Brandy through the Gem-encrusted doors of her room, the door locked automatically behind them. Chloe spun around, and sighed happily and deeply.
“Chloe, you’re back!”, came the voice of an Archer from somewhere inside. “We were wondering where you had gone.”
Brandy saw a circle of Archers, all seated around a table. They weren’t wearing the regular tunic of Archers, though- no, their clothes were far more fancy, and also very chaotic, a product of Chloe’s bizarre fashion sense. Their eyes glowed a faint red, and there seemed to be various papers scattered between them.
“Who’s that, Chloe?”, asked another. “She looks fun.”
“She’s a Bandit.”, said Chloe with pride. “Her name’s Brandy, and we got her last night. Daddy didn’t want to give her up, but I got her anyway, cause I’m his favorite. And she hasn’t even been hypnotized yet, either!”

“Ooh, a new one.”, said one of the Archers. This prompted a ring of excited whispers among them- “We haven’t had a new one in ages”, “I wonder what she’s like”, “Who took her”, etc.
“Well, bring her over!”, said an Archer. “Let’s get her comfortable.”
Chloe turned to Brandy. “Alright Brandy, let’s go.”
But Brandy did not move. She just stood there, right in front of the door, staring at Chloe, and staring at the Archers. How casual they were, in the face of such atrocity. How almost surreal it was that Chloe, clearly such an innocent soul, saw nothing wrong with using Troops as mere toys and playthings. A quiet, deep resolve filled Brandy, and she stood slightly taller.

Song: Determinazione

“No.”, she said. “I’m not moving.”
“You’re… not?”, asked Chloe slowly, almost as if she didn’t believe it.
“No, I’m not, you little brat.”, growled Brandy. “You cannot make me. I don’t care what you do, I don’t care what you say, you or your kind will not control me anymore.”
Had Brandy been paying more attention to the events of the last few hours, she might have noticed that every time she tried to fight back, she was almost immediately beaten. But she hadn’t been, and so she didn’t know. But that pattern was not about to change.
Chloe sighed, and snapped her fingers. “Tim!”
Brandy barely had time to remember that name as oddly familiar, when the huge hand of a Rascal Boy grabbed her waist. And then she remembered where she had heard the name before.
Tim took a few huge steps, and soon reached the Archer table. He dropped her down in a chair, and held her down. And then, to Brandy’s horror, she saw Double and Gum emerge from behind him. They each held a metal band.

“Oh, hey Brandy.”, said Double. “Didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
“You two?”, Brandy said with shock, and the two Rascal Girls each clamped a metal bracelet down on Brandy’s wrists, pinning her to the chair. “What happened to you?”
“Easy.”, said Gum, and blew a bubble. “Ryusei_Nakao69 was so gracious as to show us the light.”
“He didn’t show you the light, he hypnotized you! He stole your free will!”
Double waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, that’s ridiculous. He even told us that someone would try and tell us that.”
Brandy could see that there was no good way out of this situation. Come to think of it, there wasn’t even a bad way out, either. In fact, there just was no way out, period. There was clearly no point in talking, she couldn’t fight, and now, she couldn’t even run. So Brandy reluctantly lowered her head and sighed.

“Fine. You win.”, she said quietly, and felt her heart sink. “Do what you want with me.”
She heard herself speak, but couldn’t quite believe it. Was she really saying this? Her?
The Archers got up from the table and surrounded Brandy. One flipped back her hood and ran her fingers through Brandy’s hair.
“Ooh, let me do your hair!”
“You know, I bet we could do something real nice with this hood of yours.”
“I have some new makeup I wanna test out-”
“You’re not doing anything with those gloves, are you?”
“Hey, do you think you could give me some makeup advice?”
The sound reached Brandy’s ears, but fell and stuttered there. She purposefully blocked them out, allowing herself only to hear the sound of the blood rushing in her head.
“Leave us.”, said Chloe, to the surprise of all the Archers.“I want some private time with her.”

The Archers were now silent as they filed out of the room, one by one.
"Alright, take off her handcuffs", commanded Chloe to the Rascals. “She can't do what I tell her to if she can't move."
The Rascals removed her restraints, then left as well. And in that instant, Brandy formed a plan. She knew that she had only one shot at this. The way Veronica had treated Chloe earlier gave Brandy a hint that not everything was perfect for the young Princess. There might be a way to reason with her.
"Listen, Chloe... why are you doing this? Why is your father doing this?", Brandy blurted out before Chloe could start anything.

Chloe put her finger to her chin.
"Hmmm, well, I do it because it's the only thing I have for entertainment. I'm not old enough to be a field Princess or even a tower Princess yet. And my dad does it because, well... it's fun for him, I guess."
"For fun? He kidnaps people, tortures them, and then brainwashes them for fun?"
"Well, it's the end result that he wants. Once he hypnotizes someone, they like it more here than they ever did at their old castle. Here, I'll show you."
She turned, cupped her hands around her mouth, and hollored.
"Tabitha? Could you come out here again? I need you again."
One of the Archers that had been in the room before walked back into the room, and sat down in the same chair that she had been in just a minute earlier. "Anything I can help you with, Chloe?"
"Oh, I'm just trying to convince Brandy that it's better here.", explained the Princess.
Tabitha nodded. "Right.", she said. She walked over to Brandy and extended her hand. "But from what she was like earlier, I’m not sure you’re going to have much success.”

Brandy almost said something. She almost, almost grabbed the Archer by the throat, with intent to kill. But something held her back- some sort of odd, almost peaceful reassurance that if she just held herself back, everything would be alright.
Tabitha, her eyes slightly misted over, continued. "But really, life here, under Ryusei_Nakao69 is so much fun! You don't have to think for yourself, or worry about the future- you just do what everyone else tells you to, and you're good! I can't even remember my life before I was brought here. And just the other day, I..."
But Brandy had abandoned thought. And all that crossed her mind was the uncertainty of tomorrow, and the potential unthinkable horror of the day after that. If her clanmates didn't show up in time... she pushed the thought away. It was too horrible to even think about.

"Yeah, she looks like she's in babysitter mode tonight. You're lucky."
"Wait, what?", Brandy asked. "I wasn't listening."
Tabitha grinned. "I was just saying that Chloe typically has three modes. Sometimes she wants a toy, sometimes she wants a servant, and sometimes she just wants someone to take care of her. And it looks like she just wants the third mode for tonight. Lucky."
She stood up. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Have fun."
Tabitha left the room, and Brandy snorted. "Yeah, as if."
Chloe took a big bite of a chocolate muffin she had placed by her bedside and clapped her hands.
"Alright Brandy- actually, can I call you Bailey? I'm going to call you Bailey.", the Princess said.
"Why?"
"She's a Bandit I know. She reads me stories sometimes- hey! Can you read me a story?"
"No. I'm not going to read you a story, kid. And no, you can’t call me Bailey.", said Brandy.
Chloe frowned, and reached for a telephone by her bedside. "Hey, Daddy? The Bandit's not cooperati-"

Brandy experienced a momentary surge of panic, and threw out her hands. "Ah! Woah, woah, fine, I'll do it. Just don't call your dad. What... what story do you want?"
Chloe hopped out of her bed and opened a large chest. She sifted through it for a few seconds, then took out a book titled "The Three Mini Pekkas". "I want you to read me this one."
"Okay, Chloe. I will.", said Brandy with a sigh, and took the book from her. "But before I do, I just want to tell you something. Real talk. What you're doing here, what your dad is doing here- it's wrong. It’s sick, and twisted, and wrong."
Chloe looked up at her, confusion reflected in her innocent eyes. "Wrong? What do you mean?"
Brandy thought. "Well, have you ever gotten into trouble with your dad before?"
Chloe leaned back, and tapped her chin. "Well, there was that time a big huge mural all over the walls of his Clan Room. You should have seen him. He was furious!"
"Well,”, said Brandy, “Take how bad that was, and multiply it by a thousand. And that's not even close to how bad the things are that go on here."
Chloe was still confused. “I still don’t get it. What does he do that’s wrong?”

Brandy closed her eyes. She didn’t want to have to do this, but she saw no other choice if she was to get Chloe to listen. So she leaned in, whispered in Chloe’s ear, and told her everything. The way she was kidnapped, the way she was violated, the way she was tortured, the way she was held and treated like an object- all of it. Once she was done, and expression of pure shock crossed Chloe’s face.
"Oh. So... this is bad? And... Daddy's bad?"
"Right.", Brandy said with an affirmative nod.
Chloe’s eyes narrowed. "Hold on a minute. Why should I trust you?"
Brandy took a deep breath. "Because right here, right now, I have absolutely nothing to gain from tricking you, and every reason to tell you the truth."
“What does that mean?”, asked Chloe.
Brandy realized she would need more physical evidence to convince Chloe. So she rolled up the ends of her skirt and showed the Princess the part of her leg where Chad had carved his name into Brandy’s skin.
Chloe’s mouth formed a perfect “O” of surprise. It took a few seconds for her to come to terms with this, then all traces of it abruptly vanished from her face.
“Now read me the story.”, she pouted.
Brandy thought it had worked. But whether it actually had, or it had merely been lost on the complicated mind of youth, still was unknown. So Brandy opened up the book, and began to read. "Once upon a time, there were three Mini Pekkas. They all lived together in..."

In a different part of the castle, there was silence in a darkened room. Silence, except for a sigh. The sigh came from a Musketeer, sitting by her bedside. She had not had a good day. At least Chloe had been nice to her- everyone else had tormented her almost relentlessly. And she guessed that Bowler, Jobe, had been pretty nice too. But everyone else was cruel beyond belief. She was still pretty new- her king had just got her from a Silver Chest a few days ago. He had already unlocked Musketeer, of course, but there could always be a few extra troops. She thought that people were supposed to be nice to new troops, show them around, but that seemed to not be the case for her. Instead, she was harassed constantly. Everyone seemed to always take time out of their day to attack her, in one way or another. And she knew why- her hands. She looked at them- even now, they shook. No one wanted a Musketeer that couldn't aim. She wiped the tear that had fallen down her cheek, and climbed into her bed.

“Going to bed so soon?”, came the voice of another Musketeer at the door. She stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, illuminated by the light of the hallway. Another stood behind her, face twisted in a cruel grin.
“But you’ll miss the party.”, said the second. “Wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?”
“Does it matter if she misses the party?”, asked a third mockingly. “She’s used to it- she already misses everything else.”
“Guys, please, leave me alone.”, begged the lone Musketeer, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
The lead Musketeer grabbed her face and dragged her out of bed. “Oh, be a good sport. It’s time for your taxes.”
The second in command dug through the drawers of their victim, finding all the Gold and Gems that had been hidden away. “Looks like she’s got 500 Gold and 15- no, 16- Gems still. She’s been stingy on us.”
The third grabbed the bullied Musketeer’s cape, wrapped it around her face, tied it together, and shoved her back onto the bed. They all walked out of the room, laughing.
“See you later, loser!”, the leader said, and made an L on her forehead just before she vanished from sight. And in her bed, the lone Musketeer fell onto her side, tried not to cry, and cried a lot.

"...and so, with the Bowler’s help, the three Mini Pekkas defeated the big bad maxed out Dark Prince, and they all lived happily ever after.", said Brandy, and she snapped the book shut. As she moved her arm in doing so, Chloe, who had been leaning up against it, fell onto her, slid for a few seconds, and collapsed onto her bed.
Brandy blinked, and put the book on the shelf without taking her eyes off of Chloe. Was she asleep? Brandy waved her hand over the Princess's face. No reaction. She chuckled softly to herself, and heaved a sigh of relief. The ordeal was over- for now, at least.
Ah well. And then, to her own surprise, Brandy smiled a bit. But had it been an ordeal? a rouge thought thought as it crept suddenly into her mind. After all, the thought continued, what bad things even happened?
Brandy snapped back to attention. She realized her face had been twisted into a bizarre smile, so she turned to a scowl. What bad things had even happened? She had been kidnapped, for one thing. And that was agreed upon in most circles to be bad.
Very well then., the foreign influence said. See you later, Brandy. I’ll be waiting.

For a very brief second, Brandy could see the crazed face of a man right in her mind’s eye. His skin, his armor, the air surrounding him- all pitch black. His hair was wild, and blew in all directions. His eyes seemed to be staring past hers, past her physical self, past even her soul, and far into something deeper.
I’ll be waiting.
And then, he was gone. Brandy took a moment to try and wipe her memory clean of what she had just seen, with some success. As she did so, she noticed for the first time how truly exhausted she was. And hungry- she hadn’t had anything to eat for days. She had spent most of that time unconscious, true, but still she felt famished. There was no food in the room that she could see, however, so Brandy decided to just solve one of her problems. But looking around, she saw no place to sleep. All one of the beds were taken, and it’s not like she was going to sleep with Chloe. And of course there weren't any Logs in this room- all Princesses were heavily allergic to them. So, without any other options, Brandy just curled up on the floor and went to sleep.

Song: Yuuki Rendan

Meanwhile, far away, just beyond Builder’s Workshop, at the Clan Castle of LosDementosCT, Oticat and the rest of the clan were almost ready with their preparations. They were far more eager to help him then he had initially thought they would ever be. But pretty much the entire clan was eager to get back at TheEvilOverLords for cheating in war, and Oticat was generally agreed upon to be a nice member of the clan. Plus, the clan was very tight knit.
So far, they had managed to gather massive hordes of Minions, a whole army of Skeletons, sewing circles of Witches, parties of Wizards, teams of Bowlers, immense flocks of Bats, tons of Battle Ram teams, Rascal gangs, ridiculous amounts of Barbarians, passels of Hog Riders, various forms of Dragons, a battery of Sparkies, and tons more- even a few Lava Hounds. Their leaders for the upcoming assault were Edward, a Prince, his brother Antonio, a Dark Prince, and Yaga, a Night Witch. All of them were not only Level 13, but also Maxed Star Leveled, and trained in the fine arts of out-of-Arena combat. In the middle of the proceedings, ChupilickytwAT wrestled with a Dark Mirror.

Oticat noticed his struggle, and came over to him.
"What are you doing?", asked Oticat.
"I'm trying to get Orfox on the phone.", said ChupilickytwAT. "His help will be sorely needed."
"Who's Orfox?"
"A Barbarian King I met a while back. He still owes me a favor."
"But what's a Barbarian Ki-"
"It’s a huge, almost mutant Barbarian from the Clash continent. Now be quiet Oticat, I'm trying to talk."
He had managed to invoke just the right symbols in order to get the Dark Mirror's distance communication skill working, and the fuzzy figure of Orfox came into view.
"What? What is it?", grumbled the Barbarian King in a thick Gaelic accent. “Who in Clash is calling me this late at night?”
He scratched his head, adjusted his one end of the Dark Mirror, and peered closer. "Oh. ChupilickytwAT, me boy. 'Tis you."

"Good to see you, Orfox. The time has come, old friend. I need your help.", said ChupilickytwAT.
"Ah. What do you need me for, lad?"
"There's a Clan that we're attacking. One of our own has been kidnapped, and we're getting her back."
The Barbarian King’s immense eyebrows perked up at the mention of an attack. "Oh, an attack! That's wonderful, my boy!", boomed Orfox. "Their Gold and Elixir shall be ours!”
ChupilickytwAT politely coughed."Oh, it- it doesn't actually work like that over here.", he said. "Elixir is a temporary resource over here- you can’t steal it. Although I guess you could steal some of their Gold, if we have time. And their Gems."
Orfox's eyes lit up, and he slammed his mighty hand onto the table. "Gems? I can steal their Gems? Ay, that is a mighty offer indeed! I'll do it, Chupilicky! Ye can count on Orfox!"
Orfox waved his hand, and the image faded to black as the call ended. ChupilickytwAT sat back.
"Well. That's nice. Always good to have him on our side.", he said to no one in particular.

As Dan sat by his campfire, he couldn't shake the feeling that despite all their preparation, that despite their vast numbers and determination, that it still wasn’t enough. As he took shallow sips of his elixir, Agatha silently walked up behind him.
"Are you worried, Dan?", she asked, concerned. “You seem to be.”
Dan was so deep in thought she didn't even surprise him.
"Of course I'm worried. From what Zane’s and Jethro’s research says, this is one of the strongest clans in the world we're going against. Legendary League, with 48000 Clan Trophies. Can we really stand up to them?"
"You're listening to those two? Zane is the craziest Electro Wizard I've ever met, and Jethro's brain is a little frozen from all the ice he slings. We're gonna do great. Besides, we've got a secret weapon on our side."
Dan glanced up. "Remind me what it is, again? Cause I sure don’t remember."
“Operation Tremors."

"Oh, right." A hint of a smile showed on his face. “That.”
He glanced over his shoulder, and saw a bottle of Dark Elixir on the stone next to Agatha. Dan knew that he really wasn’t supposed to have any, but what was the harm? He slowly and stealthily reached for it, hoping that she wouldn't notice. But inches away from grabbing it, Agatha slapped his hand away.
"You know you're not supposed to have any of that, Dan. Come on."
As if to articulate her point, Larry sneezed and jabbed his leg.
"Aw, man." Dan sighed as the sparks from the campfire rose into the air.

Chapter Text

Inside of a dark cavern, ugly water dripped down the walls. Inside of a dark cavern, evil secrets floated on the stale wind. And inside of a dark cavern, and deep, deep, within the castle of Ryusei_Nakao69, Brandy awoke tied to a chair. Her first instinct was to get up, so she tried to do so. But the ropes holding her were not simply too strong- they quite literally did not even move. It was almost as if she was tied with stone. So Brandy tried to look behind herself, also to no avail. There was clearly nothing to be gained by observation, so she just tried to think.

How did I get here?, she wondered. I was just barely in Chloe’s room. Did someone already somehow move me?

She would have thought more about her situation, but stopped when a huge hand roughly grabbed her shoulder. She yelped in surprise, and cast her eyes upwards. But she immediately wished she hadn’t, as Brandy saw the evilly grinning face of Chad was staring down.
He gave a slow, quiet chuckle, lasting for a few seconds. Then it grew louder, and harsher, and his shoulders began to move up and down. Finally, he tossed his head back, and laughed with a torturous sound that seemed to scrape at Brandy’s soul.

"Oh, Brandy.", he said, and wiped away a tear of mirth from his eye. "You poor, sweet, in-no-cent Bandit.” His voice sounded even more evil than usual, with a certain bizarre quality that Brandy couldn’t quite place.
“You thought your clan would come and save you, didn't you? You really, actually thought that a pathetic clan like yours could possibly stand up to our incomparable might? Well, they tried, and they lost. We killed every single one of them, and drank their Elixir.”, he said, and took a deep swig from a bottle that was, horribly, labeled Agatha.

"No. No, you're lying.", she said to him. "You couldn't have." And Brandy hoped he was, but she had a deep fear that he wasn’t.
"Oh, we're not lying.", said another voice from the shadows, almost as intimidating. Rick stepped out of the darkness and casually spun his sword. "And now, you're going to join them."
Chad put a hand on the chair, and pushed it forward. Brandy could see a massive pit open up in the floor in front of them, seemingly out of nowhere. And then, to her horror, Chad started to tip the chair into it.
A second before he tipped her, she panicked into an idea. "Wait! Wait! Weren't you going to keep me alive?”, she said nervously. “To hypnotize me?"
Chad let the chair fall back on the floor, then smiled maliciously. He scoffed quietly. “Seems like you’re a little eager for that, aren’t you cutie pie?”
"But no.”, said Rick. “We decided to save that for someone else. So why don't you come forward?"
A figure stepped out of the darkness. His uniform was stained with dried Elixir, clearly a sign of ferocious battle. Even with barely any light, one could easily see that his eyes glowed a deep red. And as he took another step closer, slammed his hand down onto Brandy’s arm, tied to the chair, and looked directly at her, Brandy gasped with unimaginable terror. For that figure was none other than Dan.

Brandy struggled to get her words out. "Dan! Dan! What are you doing?"
Dan leaned in close and whispered in her ear. To the two Elite Barbarians, he seemed to be doing their bidding, but…
"Brandy! I'm fine!", he whispered. "I'm just pretending to be hypnotized!"
Relief flooded Brandy. "Really?", she whispered back.
“Yeah!”, Dan said. “They still don’t know.”
“Okay, that’s good, but, is what else they said true?”, she said, and looked into his eyes. “Is everyone dead?”
A shadow fell over Dan’s face. “Yes. We’re the only survivors.”
In an instant, Brandy’s heart fell apart, and was crushed. Dan didn’t lie- she knew that just as much as she knew him. And so that meant that almost everyone she had ever known and loved was dead, and now it was only Dan and her against an entire clan.
“Dan…”, she whispered, barely even able to get the words out. “What are we going to do?”

“Do?”, said Dan. The tone of his voice had suddenly changed. “Oh, we’re not going to do anything.”
“What do you mean?”, asked Brandy, a hint of suspicion sneaking into her voice. “Dan, what are you talking about?”
Dan withdrew himself from Brandy’s ear, and looked towards Chad. “Of course we’re not going to do anything, Brandy.”, he said as the evil smile crept across his face once again. “I like it here, like this.”
Brandy thought that this was just another ruse, that this was another part of the plan. But Chad shut that idea down within mere seconds.
“What, did you tell her that you were just pretending to be hypnotized?”, he said.
“Yeah.”, said Dan. “Little skank believed me, too.”
Any relief that Brandy might have been feeling immediately fell away and was forgotten. She tried to tell herself that Dan was faking it, but she wasn’t fooled for even a moment. As she saw Dan’s eyes, she knew without a doubt that her lifelong friend was gone, a heartless monster in his place. And perhaps even worse, she knew that now, she was truly, absolutely, alone.
Perhaps, at this point, she should let them push her into the pit. Perhaps, at this point, death was preferable to whatever they had in mind.
Dan placed his hands on her shoulders, and gave a vigorous squeeze.
"You see, Brandy, I used to be just like you. I somehow thought that you were my friend. I even thought Oticat was a good king. Imagine that."
He began to walk in a circle around her. "But now, under Ryusei_Nakao69’s tutelage, my eyes have been opened. With these fine gentlemen by my side, I have at last found what I sought after all these years. Perfection. You see, I have been..."
He stopped, and raised his sword into the air. A perfectly timed shaft of crimson light struck the blade from some unknown, evil, source.
"Purified."
The gaping pit in front of her began to darken, to deepen. An indescribable, horrible quality increased in some way. It opened like a maw into Hell, hungry for Brandy’s soul. Overcome with terror, she tried to say something, but no sound would come out of her, save a quiet, pitiful whimper. Dan grabbed the back of the chair and gently stroked the back of her head, determined to enjoy every bit of her last moments. "Goodbye, Brandy. It was never a pleasure."
Dan pushed the chair forward, and Brandy fell into the abyss.

With a jolt, Brandy awoke. Her eyes were still closed, and she did not move, but the cold cloak of sleep had been removed. She opened her eyes and took a quick glance around- yep, she was still on the floor. She patted herself- yep, fine. Brandy sighed with immense relief. It had only been a nightmare. A very realistic and terrifying nightmare, but a nightmare nonetheless. She wasn't dead, and neither was her clan.

But, Brandy noted with dismay, she was still trapped in an enemy castle with no good means or route of escape, and she was scheduled to be hypnotized in just a few hours. So that was still a problem. She looked to her right- Chloe was still sleeping. Brandy thought that she seemed like a pretty good kid at heart, not yet fully corrupted by the motivations of her villainous father. She looked to the left- the door was open.

Brandy laid back down, and tried to fall asleep again. There wasn’t much she could do to try and escape at the moment, so she might as well try and get some sleep. Then her thoughts moved to the front of her mind. The door was open. The door was open. The door was open.

Brandy looked again, and saw that it wasn’t just wishful thinking. The thick wooden door, reinforced with steel bars across its width, indeed hung wide open. So she very carefully stood up, making sure not to make any noise, crept silently to the door, and slipped out. But she stopped immediately when she noticed that next to the door’s opening, there was a Barbarian standing guard.

As she was still under shadow cover, Brandy was able to take a good look at him. He seemed very thin, and gaunt for a Barbarian. He was also completely absorbed in a small wooden object he held in his hand, tapping it furiously with both hands. His attention was so utterly focused on whatever it was, that he didn't even notice Brandy walk up behind him.

"What's that you've got there?"she asked him, and leaned over his shoulder. She tried to appear as nonchalant as possible, as though she actually belonged there.

"Oh, it’s just a little something I picked up on my vacation to a Builder Base.", he said excitedly. "It's a game- you're supposed to get the little Barbarian past the Teslas and have him hit the tower. See, look."

As he spoke, he flipped tiny switches on the object. And as Brandy leaned in to look, she could indeed see that somehow, a tiny wooden Barbarian was running across a tiny Arena, dodging tiny Tesla fire. Fascinating. It seemed the rumors were true- Builder Base science really was the world’s finest.
“A vacation, huh?”, said Brandy, offhandedly. “Cool. My king could never afford a vacation to somewhere like the Builder Bases.”
“Who’s your king?”, asked the Barbarian, still rather distracted.
Brandy paused for a moment to think. Should she keep going with this charade, or just take him out and run?
But her question was answered when the Barbarian's mind at last kicked into gear, and he looked up at her. "Wait a minute! I'm supposed to be guarding you-"

He was cut off by the sharp crack and impact of Brandy's fist connecting squarely with his jaw. Any further words he might have said were garbled and unintelligible as he fell to the floor. His wooden game rolled out of his hand, around a bench, and out of sight, disturbing a web of latent shadows as it went. “Nice talking to you.”, Brandy said. “Very insightful.”

Brandy grabbed the sword off of the bench where the Barbarian had left it and bent down, pressing it to the anti-dash collar still around her leg. With a grunt and a swift slashing motion, it was off. The mechanism blinked once as it clinked to the ground, then the red light within it died. The edge of the blade nicked Brandy's skin, and she winced as it drew a drop of blood. But the slight twinge of pain was soon offset by the feeling of her Dash returning to her, like a drink of chilled Elixir on a very hot day. She took a deep breath, savoring the moment.

But things like that could wait, she remembered. There was an evil castle to break out of. So Brandy turned to see that the Barbarian was still asleep. He was. So she stretched, took another deep breath, grabbed his sandwich, took a bite, and ran off into the dark.

Ryusei_Nakao69 kicked his feet back onto the couch in front of the T.V. He stretched in satisfaction, popped his back, and flicked the remote, turning the TV on. Today had been a highly successful day, he thought. His plan that he had been setting up for weeks had at last entered its final stage.

"Welcome to this late, late night broadcast of T.V Royale!", beamed the face of the Villager on his screen. "Or early morning, if you want to be technical." She enjoyed some half-hearted laughter with the other announcer, a Wizard.

"That's right, Trisha!"he said with an exaggerated voice. "But we don't want to waste your time. I'm sure whoever's even still up this late would just love to see the top matches of yesterday, right?"

The Wizard waved his hand, gaining the attention of the Goblin on the studio crew. With a swift click of a button, the screen switched to a video of Legendary Arena. Ryusei_Nakao69 settled down further in his chair, and took a sip of his soda. He was expecting to be able to watch for at least an hour. But his plans were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Come in!"he yelled over his shoulder and set down his soda. The door creaked open, and theSenate entered the room.
"Ah, theSenate.", said Ryusei_Nakao69. "What brings you here, old friend?”
"I have news, sir.", said theSenate, with his trademark crackle in his delightful voice. He approached the couch where Ryusei_Nakao69 sat, with a hint of trepidation.

"Good, good.", his Leader replied. "What news is it? Is it about Brandy? Did Chloe enjoy her?"
"That's just it, sire,'' said theSenate, and paused for a few long seconds. He finally managed to choke out his next words. "She's escaped."

The words reached Ryusei_Nakao69’s ears, but did not register. There seemed to be some sort of miscommunication at central processing. His ears delivered the information, but his brain said no, no, you must have heard wrong. His ears replied that no, they did indeed most definitely hear right, and if there was a problem, that the brain could take it up with central command. The brain replied that it was central command, and told the ears exactly where they could go and boil themselves. The screaming match continued for a few more seconds, until the eyes made an interjection and said that due to theSenate’s pose and mannerisms, perhaps there was some truth to what the ears had heard after all? The brain considered this, and finally admitted that okay, perhaps it had been wrong, and that the ears had heard correctly after all.

This entire process happened totally beneath the notice of the two Kings. The only thing that they observed was a brief second of silence, broken only by two words - “The frick?”

"But,- but- but the door was locked.”, stammered Ryusei_Nakao69. “I- I locked it myself. And you even left someone guarding Chloe's room, did you not?"
"Yes.", said theSenate slowly. “Yes, I did.”
"Although come to think of it, I didn't see who you left there. Who was it?"
"Ratool.", theSenate admitted.

Ryusei_Nakao pursed his lips together, and slightly stiffened. Without making any sound, he slowly stood up and turned off the T.V. He made no noise, no sudden movements, yet he was no less intimidating for it.
"Ratool? You left Ratool there?``, he yelled, and flung his arms upwards. “Ratool couldn't handle a headless Skeleton, much less a Bandit!"

"I apologize, my lord.", theSenate said. "He was just the only one available at the time. And I'm sure she couldn't have gone far."
"Well, when did you find out she had escaped?", asked Ryusei_Nakao69.
"About 15 minutes ago."
"Bandits are fast, you fool. She could be anywhere in the Castle by now. She might not even be in the Castle anymore!"
Ryuesi_Nakao69 quickly shrugged on his coat, and took out his Kingly Communicator that enabled him to instantly reach any Troops he owned. "I’m putting the entire castle on high alert.", Ryusei_Nakao69 growled. "We can't risk letting her get away. And come with me- we might be able to still catch her.”
“Ryues, wait.”, said theSenate quickly. “I have a better idea.”
“Well, what is it? It had better be good.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69.
theSenate quietly whispered his plan into Ryusei_Nakao69’s ear, then withdrew.

A smile came over Ryusei_Nakao69’s face, and he put his Kingly Communicator back into his pocket. “Oh, that is a good plan.”, he said. “Very nice, indeed. It’s very... you.”

Chapter Text

Drawing her cloak far over her head to hide her face, Brandy ran as fast as possible down a flight of stairs. She kept a close eye out for any movement, carefully scanning every single inch of her viewpoint. There was no one escorting her, no excuses for being out. She would have to be on full alert, using every bit of her skill in order to escape. Absolutely no mistakes.

Song: Danger Draws Near

The fiery light of torches suddenly lit up the wall in the hallway ahead of Brandy, and the sound of voices reached her ears. She stopped her forward movement, and seemed to almost melt backwards. But as she did so, she seemed to bump into something that hadn’t been there just a few seconds ago.
Brandy immediately swept her arm behind her, expecting to hit flesh- but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing at all, save a slight breath of wind. It must have just been her imagination. Brandy remembered the approaching enemies in an instant, and leapt into an outcropping in the wall.

From her hiding spot, Brandy could see a pair of Goblins walk past. They stopped, exchanged a few words in something in Goblin. One winked, then they both laughed, high-fived each other, and then finally left. Brandy couldn't understand Goblin, but if she could, she would have heard the following conversation.

"Ayy, you going to the Clan Party tonight, my dude?"
"Yeah bro, wouldn't miss it. We're gonna play spin the bottle. 1v1 Meg."
"The Musketeer?"
"Yeahaha, mate."
“What makes you think she’ll even be there? Meg’s never come to anything.”
“Oh, she’ll come, all right. If you… know what I’m saying.”
"Aw right, give me some. High four.”

Once Brandy was sure they were gone, she slithered from her hiding spot, crouched onto the floor, and looked as far down the hall as she could. Once her eyes adjusted, Brandy could see the faint hint of the door outside. Or, at least she thought it was the door to outside. There was a good chance it wasn’t. But if it was....
Hope swelled through Brandy, and she took off running.

But Brandy ran free, without the knowledge that someone had seen her. Down in the murky depths of another abandoned, nearly haunted hallway, someone had seen Brandy. That someone was Meg, the very same Musketeer that the Goblins had been talking about, and the very same Musketeer that had been ruthlessly bullied for days. And when she saw Brandy running away, she saw a chance to prove herself. She grabbed her gun, tiptoed down the hallway, and ducked behind a pillar. She adjusted herself just a second later to avoid rubbing against the huge, very bizarrely placed, almost overly detailed illustration of an extremely muscular man posing in the pillar.

Song: Approach

"Alright Meg, you got this.", she whispered almost internally, trying to give herself a pep talk. "Take her down, and people will like you. You'll be cool. Right."

Meg carefully looked around a pillar, and saw Brandy, silent as death, creeping through the room. Meg had heard about the things this Bandit was capable of, and she knew that she had to be careful. Apparently, she had rounded up the entirety of Kidnap Squad 6, and was seconds away from finishing them off when Chad and Rick had made their heroic entrance- and she had nearly managed to kill them, too. And-

Meg realized that if she thought about it for too long, she was going to miss her chance. Brandy had almost left the room. So Meg raised her gun and aimed, desperately trying to calm her shaking hands. With a cool breath inwards and outwards, Meg fired directly at Brandy's head- and missed by a good 6 feet.

Oh, shoot. thought Meg.

Brandy heard the bullet hit the wall behind her, throwing up a small explosion of shattered rock. Her head snapped sideways, and her eyes focused on Meg almost immediately. Meg’s hiding spot was not nearly as good as she had originally thought. Meg yelped and fumbled with her gun, nearly dropping it in the process. She tried to take another shot before- no, it was already too late. Brandy Dashed across the room and slammed into Meg, grabbing her by the neck before there was a second. Meg shrieked as Brandy pinned her against the wall, sheer undiluted hatred burning in her eyes.

"Well, looks like someone messed up.", said Brandy, her voice brimming over with uncharacteristic rage. Even she didn’t know what had happened to her, or what influence was causing her to act this way. "It'll be the last mistake you ever make, you pathetic little-"

Meg's hands shook until her arms spasmed, and she dropped her gun. It clattered on the stone floor, far out of her reach. "No- stop- please-", she squeaked. “Don’t hurt me-”

Brandy just squeezed, harder. Harder, and harder, and harder. She was going to squeeze the life out of this weakling Musketeer. How dare she try to shoot her? Brandy’s eyes narrowed, and a purple light began to emanate from her eyes. How dare that little-

Wait a second. What am I doing?, thought Brandy. Am I seriously choking her to death? Me?
Brandy’s grip loosened slightly, and her face softened. Brandy didn’t know what had suddenly come over, trying to just outright kill someone like that. The Musketeer had done her no real wrong.

"Hey...help...can't...breathe-", Meg choked out, her face turning increasingly red.
"Oh, right. I’m sorry.", Brandy said. She let go completely, and Meg collapsed to the floor. She put her hand to her chest and took a deep, gasping breath.
“I’m- I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”, Brandy admitted. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, really.”
But Meg wasn’t listening. She continued to mumble, to herself and to Brandy. “Please, don’t kill me. I just wanted them to stop hurting me… I just wanted-”
Brandy put a hand on Meg’s shoulder. “Woah, hey. I’m not gonna hurt you.
Meg looked up, her eyes wide. “You mean, you don’t want to kill me?”
“Of course not.”, said Brandy. “If there’s anyone I want to kill, it’s Ryusei_Nakao69, and those two Elite Barbarians.”
“Chad and Rick?”, asked Meg. “What did they ever do to you?”
Brandy told her, and Meg covered her mouth with her hands.

“Oh, my goodness.”, she said. “I didn’t know. So that’s why you’re trying to escape?”
“Yeah.”, said Brandy, then noticed something odd about Meg. On her shoulder pads, where Musketeers had their level proudly displayed, Brandy noticed a 3. Meg was still only the minimum level.

"Do you mind if I ask you something, um…”
“Meg.”
“Meg. Okay, do you mind if I ask you something, Meg?”
“Okay.”, said Meg. “You didn’t kill me, so I suppose I owe you something.”
“Why are you still minimum level?”, Brandy asked.
Meg sighed deeply, and the edges of her eyes watered. "Lechris, my king, just never upgraded me .", Meg said, then held up her hands, still shaking. "It’s probably because my hands always shake when I'm stressed. Makes it so I can't aim. Really, I'm… I’m kind of a liability." She hung her head in shame.
“Well, we all have our problems.”, said Brandy. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Tell that to everyone else.”, said Meg. “Doesn’t stop them from abusing me whenever they feel like it.”

Brandy looked at Meg, and narrowed her eyes. She was no expert, but Brandy could tell that Meg was clearly suffering from some form of abuse.
"Really?”, said Brandy. “So you don't like this clan either, huh? Well, can't say I blame you."
“No.”, said Meg. “I hate it. I wish I could just get out of here. I wish they wouldn’t hurt me anymore.”
Meg’s face reddened, and her eyes started to water.
“Woah, woah, don’t cry.”, said Brandy. “What if I told you… there was a way?”
Meg wiped her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Just leave.”, said Brandy. “Tomorrow, there’s going to be a huge battle. Just run away, and never look back.”
“But- but- but I can’t do that!”, said Meg. “I’m Red. I can never change that.”
“Well, why not?”, said Brandy. “What’s stopping you, Meg? What’s really stopping you?”
“Um, nothing, I guess.”, said Meg, and for the first time in her short life, hope started to grow within her. She looked up and stared deep into Brandy’s eyes.
“You know what, you’re right.”, she said. Meg grabbed her gun, and slung it over her shoulder. “Tomorrow, I’m going to take back my life.”

Brandy lifted her hand for a fistbump, and Meg took the opportunity. Meg turned to leave, when she remembered what she was going to ask Brandy before.
“What’s your name, by the way?”, Meg asked. Brandy looked over her shoulder, and grinned.
“My name’s Brandy.”, she said, and turned to leave. But then she looked over her shoulder. “And Meg?”
Brandy saluted. “Arrivederci.”

Once Brandy had left Meg behind, gone out of the room, and ran further down the hallway for a bit, she came to a split. Four tunnels, each running their own direction. Strange, she could have sworn there was just a straight path to the door before…

“Well, let’s see here.”, Brandy said. “From the light patterns on the first hallway, I can tell that’s a dead end. So no.”
She turned to the second hall. “And that one smells like a laboratory- so no.”
She turned to the third hall. “Smells like freshly cut grass? All right.”
Without even looking at the fourth hall, she ran down the third hallway. But it didn’t matter that Brandy had not investigated the fourth hall- because that one did not, technically, exist.

Brandy had hardly gone a few hundred feet when she instinctively skidded to a stop. Because right there in front of her, lovingly polishing his Hog, was a maxed out Hog Rider, all covered in shining gold. Brandy carefully lifted up one foot from the ground, determined not to make any noise. Silent as the night, she slowly moved backwards- and smacked directly into a decorative vase, which fell to the ground and shattered with unnatural speed. It hit the ground so astonishingly quickly it was almost as if it had been thrown.

But how the vase hit the ground mattered not- all that really mattered was that it did. With the crashing, piercing noise, both Hog and Rider looked up. Brandy met their gaze, and did a little wave.
“Hey…”, she said, and attempted a nervous smile.
But the Hog Rider was not fooled for even a second. He stood up, abandoning his cleaning, and patted his Hog on the head.
“Well, would you look at that, ACDC.”, he said. “Looks like we’ve got a real live escapee on our hands.”
Brandy briefly considered trying to talk to him, but given her previous track record, decided that that would only end up badly. She also briefly considered trying to fight him, but one look at his massive golden hammer almost forced her to reconsider. She would not stand a chance. So Brandy performed that most ancient of special techniques- she turned around, gave the Hog Rider a rude gesture, and ran.

Ryusei_Nakao69 almost slammed open the door to Chloe’s room, but then thought better of it. Instead, he gently eased it open, being careful not to make any sound, and he and theSenate slipped inside.
“There’s no need to be quiet, Daddy. I’m already awake.”
The voice came from far inside the room, all the way from Chloe in her bed. There she sat, legs tucked up against her, and a blanket pulled up to her knees. Rysuei_Nakao69 heaved a sigh of relief, and hurried to her bedside.
“Oh, Chloe, you’re alright.”, he said. “I was afraid Brandy might have hurt you.”
“No.”, said Chloe. “She didn’t hurt me. Actually, she told me weird stuff.”
Ryusei_Nakao69’s brow knitted. “Oh? What did she tell you?”
“She told me that you were evil.”, said Chloe innocently. “And that what we do here is wrong.”
An almost visible crack appeared down the King’s face. “Oh, she did?”

He put one hand on Chloe’s shoulder, and tried to plan exactly how to say this.
“Well, Chloe…”, he began. He contemplated saying something deep, and complicated, but then remembered he was dealing with a young child here. So he kept it simple.
“She’s wrong.”, he said. “That may be what she thinks, but we’ll bring her thinking around soon enough, alright?”
Chloe looked worried. “Oh. I hope you’re not angry I let her out, then.”

theSenate looked over Ryusei_Nakao69’s shoulder. “Did she just say what I thought she said, sir?”, he asked.
“Chloe?”, asked Ryusei_Nakao69, and slowly blinked. “Did you just say that it was you who let Brandy out of your room?”
“Yes.”, said Chloe, wide-eyed. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Well,”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, “When I lock a prisoner in a room, it means that I want them to stay there. You got that?”
“Okay, Daddy. I just wanted to see what would happen.”, said Chloe, and noticed that the two Kings were leaving. “Daddy? Where are you going?”
“We’re going to catch her, of course.”, proudly proclaimed theSenate, and the two left.
Chloe almost said “Hope you catch her,” or “Good luck”, or at least something along those veins. But she didn’t.

Song: Imminence

Brandy ran faster and faster down the hallway, trying as hard as she could to escape the Hog Rider. But it was no use- the Hog Rider knew the castle far better than she did. And he was faster. And his Hog could apparently see in the dark, for all the narrow turns he was constantly making without even looking. And she was getting a little winded, while he wasn’t even beginning to slow down. And also Hog Riders were the fastest troop known, and while Bandits were fast, Brandy did not even begin to approach her opponent’s level of speed.

Brandy jumped a hard right, and vaulted over a fallen chandelier. Surely, the Hog Rider wouldn’t try to navigate through all that broken glass. She sneaked a look behind her- no, he had come crashing through like a Battle Ram.

“You can run, but you can’t hide!”, he shrieked. “No one outspeeds the Hog!”

Brandy ducked behind a pillar, and Dashed to the other side of the room once it looked like the Hog Rider had blinked. Maybe he wouldn’t notice. She hoped that perhaps he would run past her. But he pulled up right next to her, and skidded to a stop.

Brandy didn’t try for a one-liner. She just Dashed over his head, and landed on the opposite side. Through a door marked Service, down the nondescript hall- and right into a dead end. Again. Seeing no other options, Brandy turned around, and faced her foe.

The Hog Rider skidded to a stop, and raised his hammer. “Are you giving up already? I thought we were having fun.”

Brandy raised her hand in front of her. “Well. What’s your name?”

The Hog Rider frowned. “My name’s Vern. Why?”

Brandy smiled. “Well, Vern, you may be faster than me. And stronger than me. And a higher level. And probably more experienced. But I know I can beat you.”

Vern didn’t get it. “What are you talking about?”, he asked in his oddly high voice.

“You see, I still have one last trick up my sleeve.”, Brandy said. “The secret weapon that can defeat all Hog Riders, no matter their strength.”

An instinctive, almost ancestral fear began to pick up from somewhere deep inside of Vern. He pulled on ACDC’s reigns, and pulled his hammer a little closer. “What? What are you going to do?”

Brandy’s eyes narrowed. “I’m gonna say the R-word.”

Vern’s eyes widened in terror, and he withcoiled. “No! Please! You can’t say the R-word!”

“Oh, but I can.”, said Brandy, and her lips parted slightly. “Ri-”

Vern dropped his hammer, jumped off of ACDC, and fell to the ground in a posture of fear. “Have mercy! Please, anything but that!”

Brandy, to tell the truth, was a little surprised. She knew that apparently, saying the word was supposed to have some sort of effect on Hog Riders, and Ram Riders. But she didn’t think that it would be so large to have them on the ground and begging for mercy.
“Alright, I won’t.”, said Brandy. “But only if you can do a few things first.”

Vern silently nodded.
“Alright.”, said Brandy. “First, slide your hammer over to me, where you can’t touch it.”
Vern did so with a slight sniff.
“Okay, now tell your Hog to leave.”
Vern met ACDC’s eyes, and told him to go around the corner for a bit, using the special telepathy that all linked troops have. But nowhere was it stronger than in the special bond between Hog and Rider. With a snort of seeming indifference, ACDC did so and sat down.
“Now,”, Brandy said, “I’m going to leave, and you’re going to forget you ever saw me. You got all that?”
Vern nodded. Brandy found that after so much abuse, she quite liked being in a position of power over somebody. She sure could get used to this. In fact-
Brandy blinked, and pushed the thoughts aside. Such evil thoughts had no place being in her mind. She had only one objective- and escaping didn’t really need to involve blackmailing people like this. So she walked slowly past Vern, keeping an eye out for any sort of rogue movement.
“Where’s the way out, by the way?”, she asked.
“Double doors down, to the right, continue for 6 doors, then on your left. Can’t miss it, marked Exit.”, he squeaked out.
“Thanks for your help.”, Brandy said, and went past him.

Okay Vern, you got this, thought Vern. Take her out, and Ryusei_Nakao69 gives you all the rewards you want. We could maybe even get a new saddle!
Steeled by his resolve, he leaned down, grabbed his shining golden hammer, and turned to face Brandy, Hog or no Hog. But what he found was her looking straight at him, about to say something. He immediately knew what it was, and tried to cover his ears, but it was too late. She was going to say it.

“Rider.”, whispered Brandy, just loud enough for Vern to hear.
Almost immediately, Vern’s eyes widened. He clutched his hands to his temples as if attempting to drown out the sound, but to no avail. There was a high-pitched scream, and the Hog Rider revealed what effect the word on him. He exploded, and sent a splatter of Elixir against the walls, ceiling, floor, and Brandy.
“Oh.”, Brandy remarked to herself. “So that’s what happens.”
She wiped the Elixir off of her face, and watched it melt into the ground. Vern would reform in about an hour, so she didn’t need to worry. But his Hog would still need to be taken care of.
So Brandy rounded the corner to where his Hog was parked, and saw that it was still sitting patiently, just waiting for its master to return.

“Hey, buddy.”, said Brandy quietly as so not to scare it, and slowly knelt down. “Hey, ACDC.”
The Hog grunted, but otherwise made no discernible response. So Brandy gently put her hand on the Hog’s head, and began to scratch. If Hogs could smile, ACDC would certainly be doing so. With just a few more scratches from Brandy, his ears curled, and his eyes closed shut.

“Yeah, that’s a good Hog.”, said Brandy. “You’re not so bad. If your Rider was like this, I wouldn’t have had to kill him.”
When Brandy said this, she thought that the Hog wouldn’t respond, that he couldn’t possibly understand. But she had underestimated the special bond between Hog and Rider that no other troop, even linked ones, could ever hope to truly understand. And so when Brandy said those words, they immediately registered in the mind of the Hog, and ACDC’s eyes snapped open.
He jumped to his feet, narrowed his eyes, and audibly growled. Brandy backed up, as ACDC walked slowly and menacingly towards her.

“Woah, nice Hog…”, Brandy said slowly, but ACDC was beyond that point. His chops frothed, and his eyes gleamed reddish-gold from the fury of the death of his Rider, even if but temporary. Brandy didn’t like what she was about to do, but she knew that it had to be done.

With a ferocious growl, ACDC leapt forward, his jaws flung forward and snapping. And in the same moment, Brandy Dashed, one fist outward, right towards the Hog’s chest. They met in midair, the force of Brandy’s punch blowing the Hog backwards and into the wall, where it fell and lay still.

Brandy took a single step towards it, but stopped when she saw ACDC roll over to one side, already starting to dissolve into Elixir. The Hog’s eyes, filled with mindless rage just a few seconds ago, now reflected a mixture of fear, loneliness, and oddly enough, betrayal. Then ACDC melted into purple sludge that spilled across the floor, and was gone.

Brandy watched the entire process. She didn’t like killing animals- she never had. Animals, in her opinion, were much less deserving of it than people. But some things just had to be done, and the convenience of a single Hog mattered much less than her freedom. So Brandy continued back down the hallway, in total, utter, silence.

Chapter Text

It was not but a minute later when Brandy felt a chill from behind her. She turned to look- and saw a door, barely open just a smidgen, far away across the hall. If there was a chill coming from the door, that meant the door led outside. She had found her path.
Brandy grinned, and looked around. Absolutely nobody was around. Good.
So she crouched, prepared to run, and was suddenly hit with a colossal impact that launched her backwards. Brandy grabbed the floor with her gloves, and managed to finally skid to a
stop.

Brandy didn’t get up from her crouch, choosing instead to stay in a good defense position. She looked into the shadows in the direction where she had been hit, and could barely see the outline of a Bandit. Brandy should have known what the receiving end of a Dash felt like. But then she realized that she actually didn’t- Brandy had never fought against another Bandit before. She knew exactly what to expect from this opponent- and yet, she knew nothing at all.

The Bandit slowly stepped out from the darkness, and her eyes glinted in the low light. She looked identical to Brandy, of course, as all troops did, except for a single detail- a single red feather sticking up from her hood. The Bandit put her hands on her hips and smiled maliciously.

Song: Clash

"What are you doing, Brandy?", she asked mockingly. "You're not supposed to be escaping."
“You know my name?”, Brandy asked.
“Of course I know your name.”, the Bandit said. “Everyone does. I was one of the first ones to see the video that Chad and Rick sent out.”
A chill ran up Brandy’s spine. “You don’t mean…”
“Oh, I do.”, said the Red Bandit. “Hey Bailey, look at this, Valeyrie said, and showed me. Boy, you were great. Really playing up the whole helpless, screaming act.”

Brandy knew that Bailey was just trying to demoralize her. But she would not have it.
"Listen, Bailey, you of all people should be helping me out here.", Brandy said.
"Why? Because I'm a Bandit like you?”, Bailey chuckled. “I'd hardly call that a reason."

Brandy shifted her arms up, and Bailey took a stance as well. Their eyes bored into each other, carefully scouting for any and all weaknesses. It was odd- they knew each other in some primal way, yet they had never met before today. They both took a stance, and sized each other up, slowly circling. Brandy slowly took a step to the right, and Bailey one to the left. The two Bandits circled each other, totally identical, except for the feather.

Bailey’s foot twitched, and she Dashed. Her aim was to strike Brandy off guard, and hopefully incapacitate her quickly. Maybe, if she did this right, theSenate would give her an allowance raise.

But Brandy had seen her prepare to Dash, and knew exactly what was coming. She ducked, pushed herself off of the floor, and Dashed as well. The two unstoppable forces met each other in the dead center of the room, sending out a blast of wind that blew away the dust and shook the ancient bookshelves. The fact slightly rattled Brandy- they had been standing in a hallway just moments before. What had happened?

The thought didn’t distract her, though, and she leapt backwards. Bailey did the same.
“So you can Dash. Adorable.”, Bailey said. “What’s next?”
“Next?”, said Brandy. “Next, you’ll probably say “You don’t stand a chance against me” or something like that.”
“You don’t stand a chance against me-”, Bailey said, then stopped in shock. “What? How did you know what I was going to say?”
“I don’t know.”, said Brandy. “How did I?”
“Are you mocking me?”, sneered Bailey.
“Oh, maybe-”, Brandy began, but was cut off by Bailey Dashing right at her. Brandy, in an instant, ducked and threw her shoulder upwards in an effort to throw Bailey. But Bailey had anticipated the move. She struck Brandy’s shoulder with her palm, launching herself upwards and Brandy down.

Bailey hit the wall, and her Dash ended. She immediately spun around and leapt towards Brandy, only to find that Brandy had rolled away. Rolled away, and right behind her. Brandy struck out with her right hand, smacking right into the fist of Bailey, extended right behind her.
Bailey turned around, and both Bandits let their hands drop.
"What's the matter, Brandy? Can't hit me?", smiled Bailey.
"Looks like you can't hit me either.", Brandy said.
"That may be true.”, Bailey admitted, then tensed. “But I do have one advantage over you."
"Really? What?"
"I'm a higher level."

And with that, Bailey vanished. Brandy spun around, anticipating what she thought would be her move, but she wasn't behind. Brandy looked up- not there either. She turned in every direction, but there was no sign of her foe. Brandy strained her ears, trying to listen for any sound that would give away Bailey’s position, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

Ryusei_Nakao69 slunk out from the pillar with the man on it, and motioned for theSenate to follow him.
“Why are you signaling?”, whispered theSenate. “I am right here.”
“Oh, sorry.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “Just habit, I guess.”
“Habit from what-”, his friend started to say, but he was cut off.
“Look.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, and gestured frantically forward. “Do you see that?”
He was pointing towards a crumpled shape on the ground, barely defined by a cape and the barrel of a gun.
“We must be on her trail.”, he said. “Come on, there’s not a moment to lose.”

Brandy felt, right behind her, just the slightest breath of wind.
She registered it in her mind, and began to turn. But before she could, a powerful force slammed into her from behind, skidded them both across the floor, and pushed Brandy into the ground. Bailey put one foot on Brandy’s back and held her there.
"How... how did you-", Brandy started to say, but her face was forced into the floor.
"You think I'm going to tell you what it took me months of training to figure out?”, sneered Bailey, gallons of utter contempt in her voice. “Not likely.”
Bailey grabbed Brandy's legs, yanked them underneath her own, and snatched the back of Brandy's hood, pulling her head backwards. Brandy tried to maneuver her arms into striking position, but she could not.
“Although, now that I think about it, I might end up teaching you. Once you’re ours.”

With a slightly over dramatic flourish, Bailey drew back her cloak, and started looking around for something. Brandy couldn't see what was going on, with her face still to the ground.
She grunted, and pushed harder, trying as hard as she could to rise. Brandy moved slightly, and Bailey almost shifted.
“Why are you still trying, Brandy?”, said Bailey. “There’s no point now. I defeated you.”
Bailey, having finally found what she was looking for, slipped a syringe out of her cloak and into her hand. She held it up maliciously over Brandy, and clicked the needle into place. A single drop of thick green liquid dripped from the tip, and onto the stone floor. It sizzled.

"You like it?", she said. "Poison X-367Z. Got it from my buddy Hauter the Dart Goblin. This’ll put you to sleep in no time.”
Bailey grinned, and her teeth glinted, even in the low light. “And then, the real fun begins.”

She clicked the needle one more time, jabbed it down at Brandy in a lightning fast motion- and missed. Bailey had missed.
The tip of the needle broke on the hard floor, poison spreading across it.
Bailey had aimed for what looked like Brandy’s arm, but it was just, in reality, an oddly shaped fold in her cloak. Brandy saw this, and decided to take the opportunity that now so clearly presented itself. She cried out, stiffened, trembled, and finally went limp. "No...", was the only word that escaped from her lips.

Bailey sat up, adjusted her hood, and looked down at Brandy's limp form. She didn’t bother to retrieve the needle. "Huh. That was easy.", she said. "From all the things I heard about you and all your all your tricks, I thought you would put up more of a fight."

She grabbed Brandy, one hand lifting her by the hood and the other hand lifting her legs. Bailey brought Brandy off of the ground, and right in front of her, grunting from the effort. "Oh well.", she laughed. "I'm not complaining. She’ll make a good servant.”

Bailey turned to leave, and take the pathway towards theSenate’s room. As soon as she did so, Brandy opened her eyes again- and struck. For a brief second, everything seemed to go into slow motion for her.
Brandy lashed out with her right fist, straight as an Archer's arrow, aiming for the spot behind Bailey's head. It only took a split second for Bailey to notice and recoil- but it took far less than that for Brandy’s punch to reach Bailey’s face, plow far into her, and keep on going. Her head snapped back, she dropped Brandy, and she fell to the ground. An arc of blood trailed in the air behind her. Brandy hit the ground in a crouch.

"Ow...", Bailey groaned, cradling her now-broken nose in her hands. A steady trail of blood ran between her fingers, dripping onto the stone floor. Her eyes quavered with tears. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up.
Brandy towered over her. Her eyes burned with hatred. "Well?", she whispered. "Is that more of a fight for you?"

Bailey tried to put her nose back into place, failed, and just dragged herself to her feet. "Well.", she panted. "If you want a good fight, then-"
Brandy did not wait for her to finish her sentence. She didn’t wait for anything- she just leaped, one fist outward. Bailey startled, and threw her hands up to protect herself. Brandy didn't even slow down. As soon as she reached Bailey, they both seemed to stop in midair. Yet somehow, Brandy had enough time to whisper a few words in Bailey’s ear.
“Good grief.”, she whispered. “What a pain.”

Brandy used one arm to move Bailey’s hands upwards, and the other to grab Bailey's cape. With a massive effort, she spun the Red Bandit around. Around, around, and into one of the bookshelves that lined the walls of the room. Bailey skidded down one, and then jumped into the air.

She’s tougher than I thought, thought Bailey. It’s almost like she knows what I’m going to do right before I do it…
Bailey stopped, and landed in a tight crouch atop the peak of one of the bookshelves. Brandy merely stood there, and watched her think.
So if she knows all my strategies…, thought Bailey, I guess I just have to fight without them! Time for something weird!

Bailey charged up her Dash, and leapt into the air. She hung there for a few seconds, then her Dash activated, and she rocketed back down. Bailey gathered up a fist, and aimed for Brandy.

Brandy saw her fall, and did nothing. She had already seen the major flaw in Bailey’s plan. Or, total lack of any plan whatsoever, as the case actually was. So when Bailey came within reach of Brandy, Bailey swung her fist, right as her Dash ran out.

Brandy could see the realization on Bailey’s face the second she felt her Dash fade. But she could do nothing about it. Nothing but fall. Brandy gave a mighty yell, and rammed her own fist as hard as she possibly could into Bailey’s stomach.
The force crashed into Bailey like a meteor, creating a miniature shockwave that kept on going, rattling the shelves that lined the walls. Bailey’s face contorted in shock and immense pain, and she fell noiselessly off of Brandy’s fist, hitting the ground.
She struggled to keep herself formed, to keep herself from turning into Elixir. But as Bailey saw her own arm begin to drip right in front of her, she knew it was a lost cause.

“Do you know why you lost, Bailey?”, whispered Brandy, and leaned in close.
“Because you called me a great servant. And that really made me mad.”, she said, and plucked the feather from Bailey’s hood.
“In other words, you lost for one reason. You really pissed me off.”
As Brandy turned to walk away, Bailey finally blacked out from the immense pain, and crumpled. The edges of her body started to slowly bleed into Elixir, but she did not fully fade yet.

As an afterthought, Brandy grabbed Bailey’s communicator from her back pocket. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but she just knew it would come in handy later. But as Brandy slid it into her own pocket, what she didn’t notice was Bailey slowly getting up off of the ground. The Red Bandit, barely keeping herself together, pulled a knife from out of her sleeve, and lunged towards Brandy.

Brandy didn’t have time to react. The knife hit her right in the side, sliding deep through her skin and out the other side. Fortunately, Bailey had not been able to aim due to her heavily weakened state, and so she had hit no vital spots, or really any part that would cause any damage. But it did hurt- a lot. And so Brandy gritted her teeth, spun around with a fist, and punched Bailey again, right in the jaw. And this time, there was no slow, melting transition. This time, she just splattered into Elixir all across the floor.

Brandy pulled her hood closer over her face, and slid the feather into the soft fabric. Hopefully, her disguise would hold. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to run anymore. Hopefully, she could find the exit door again. So Brandy ran off, hopefully, into the dark.

“Come on, let’s keep moving. The sun will be up in just a few hours.”
This came from Oticat, riding in the front seat of his cart. The cart belonged to a massive caravan, made up of all the forces from LosDementosCT and Orfox’s group. The Barbarian King had made sure to bring along some troops that weren’t native to the Royale continent, in order to give the element of surprise. These included Healers, Dragons, and even a huge Siege Machine- a Stone Slammer, to be exact. The plan was to surround TheEvilOverLords’ castle with a variety of different attack strategies- GoWiPe on the south, HoIgEr on the west, LaLoonIon on the east, etc. Of course, these were just the strategies that Oticat had been informed of. There were many, many different Kings all taking part in this attack, and information had been distributed to them strictly on a need-to-know basis. Their three troop leaders would all strike as part of Attack Group A, right through the front door.

“In a few hours? It’s the middle of the night.”
This came from Dan, walking right next to him. Mostly, he was worried. Worried about what was going to happen in that castle, and also what had already happened. What had they done to Brandy? Were they going to just hold her for ransom, or did they have something far more sinister in mind? Was she even still alive? If- when, he reminded himself, when they found her, would she be changed in some way?

“Yes, Oticat. Perhaps you should check the time again.”
This almost snide comment came from Agatha, acting as co-driver. For her, there was no worry. For her, there was only hatred. A deep-seated hatred, that smoldered within her like magma. Unlike Dan, she knew exactly what they had done to Brandy. Before the battle, she had put a small, magical tracker onto Brandy’s person. It was unaffected by anything that had happened, because it was ethereal. And Agatha had seen everything, from the moment that Brandy had first arrived at TheEvilOverLord’s castle. She ran her fingers up and down her staff, tracing the arcane patterns, and plotting exactly how she was going to kill every single troop that they had. Brandy had always been like a daughter to Agatha, and now her maternal rage coursed like a blazing river of gold.

Randy sat on Oticat’s head, staring directly at the road ahead. But he said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit. What he did do was tumble head over feet off of Oticat’s crown, onto his lap, and almost off of the cart, before Agatha reached out a hand and caught him by an icicle. The fall had come from a jolt, and the jolt had come from the cart’s sudden stop.

“What’s going on? Why did we stop?”, Dan asked, and craned his neck to look.
“I’m not sure.”, said Oticat. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything in the road. Just Orfox, looking around.”
Oticat stood up. “What did we stop for?”, he shouted.

“Quiet, Oticat.”, rumbled Orfox. “I’m trying to listen.”
The massive Barbarian King strained his ears, trying to find what had disturbed them earlier. It had sounded like the creaking of metal, and the loading of a round of bullets. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what it was, but that’s all it was. A suspicion. He didn’t really know. He was about to dismiss it as nothing, and give the order to continue, when he heard it again. It was closer this time, and louder. Bolder, more aggressive. Orfox slowly drew his sword, and stared into the bushes by the side of the path.

A massive hail of shotgun bullets erupted without warning, a cacophony of shrieks echoing around the bushes they had come from. Orfox swung his sword in a protective circle that blocked nearly all of them, but a few slipped through. They hit his skin, but failed to penetrate, leaving only miniscule red marks. Orfox growled, and jumped off of the wagon. He hit the ground with a boom, and spread his arms open wide.
“Who goes there?”, he yelled. “Who dares to attack us?”

As if to respond to him, a figure leaped out of the bushes, aimed her shotgun right at Orfox’s head- and stopped. Her eyes widened, and she stopped in midair, falling gently to the ground. She raised one hand and put it behind her head in a silent apology.
“Ah, sorry Orfox.”, she said in a heavy accent. “I didn’t know it was you, mi amigo.”

“Shelly.”, said Orfox. “I should have known.”
Shelly slung her gun onto her back and smartly saluted. “What brings you to the continent of Royale, Orfox?”
“I could ask the same of you, Shelly.”, said Orfox. “I’m here on a favor to my friend ChupilickytwaCT.”
“Oh really?”, mused Shelly. “Tell me more.”
The two continued to talk, Orfox explaining the situation. He had almost gotten to the part where they had gathered the troops when ChupilickytwaCT hopped down from his cart, marched up to Orfox, and demanded to know what was going on.

“Orfox, what’s going on?”, were his exact words. “Who is this woman that is almost like, but not entirely like, a Musketeer?”
Orfox turned around. “Oh, this is Shelly. She’s an old friend of mine. A Brawler, from the Brawl Desert. She’s here to help us.”
“Ah.”, said ChupilickytwaCT. “Good.”

Brandy tiptoed down the nearly pitch-black hallway, silent as a ghost. Her eyes and ears carefully scanned for any signs of anything, but there was nothing. She came to an immense flight of stairs, crimson colored torches lining the walls. Their light was not enough, however, to illuminate the stairs- they led down farther than she could see, into more darkness. The walls seemed soft somehow, almost like foam. Brandy thought about how huge and bizarre this castle was. It was nothing like Oticat’s castle. There, the halls were large and open, everything made sense, it was difficult for even Goblins to get lost, and things didn’t change. Here, however, there were mazes of empty rooms, seemingly pointless hallways, and Brandy could swear that the walls around her shifted nearly constantly into different formations.

Brandy leapt into the air, spun once in a frontflip, and Dashed down the stairs. The mysterious, unknown material that they were made of bent and swirled as Brandy passed in a blur, and reformed just as quickly. Once Brandy landed at the bottom, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw a door. The door was huge, and thick, but strangely shoddy. Brandy could hear extremely faint voices coming from the other side. She decided to put one eye to the keyhole, and check what was inside.

“Yeah, so I have a 16 of Princesses.”
“Wha- 16 of Princesses? Dave, what are you talking about?”
Dave tried to point to his card, and instead slid out of his chair and onto the floor. “See look. Right there. Right where I’m pointing. Right where…. Bees.”
“Dave, the number cards only go up to 10.”, said Phil. “And Princess isn’t a suite.”
These was the simply stimulating conversation coming from the five Barbarians known locally as Kidnap Squad 6- George, Dave, Phil, Joe, and Ed. They were right in the middle of a heated match of their favorite pastime- a card game they called BS. It, along with other card games, were their only non-battling, non-kidnapping, pastimes, really.
“Dave, if you’re not going to play by the rules, you don’t get to play.”, said George, without even looking up from the newspaper he was reading.
Ed plucked the empty 2-liter bottle of Elixir from Dave’s limp hand, and shook it. “I think he’s just drunk, George. Does he get a pass?”
“I don’t know.”, said Phil. “Does he?”
“No one asked you, Phil.”, said Joe.

Song: The Kakero the Bluff

Brandy recoiled from the door. She recognized these Barbarians- they were the ones who had tried to kidnap her. They seemed rather incompetent, but well-meaning. Well, about as well-meaning as anyone who kidnapped people could possibly be. Brandy thought about just sneaking- no, just walking past them. She was in the disguise of Bailey, after all, and she looked similar enough to the other Bandit to even fool herself. She tried to assume a smug expression- yep. Just like Bailey, down to the exact detail. So she put her eyes to the keyhole one last time, just to look around, and was immediately glad she did. Because Brandy saw that there was also a yawning Baby Dragon right in the middle of the room.

Brandy now had to change her plans. Even if the Barbarians didn’t notice that she wasn’t their Bandit, which they probably wouldn’t, given their current state and all, the Baby Dragon had a highly developed sense of smell. It would smell the Blue on her. Brandy thought about her options. Maybe, if she bust open the door, Dashed off the wall, brought down the chandelier, and…

Brandy shook her head. Who was she kidding? Even if she fought as hard as she could, there was nothing that she could do against 5 Barbarians and a Baby Dragon. If only there was something she could do- wait. Of course. It was so simple. She didn’t have to go through the door at all. There were tons of other ways through this absolute labyrinth of a castle. Brandy turned around to go back up the stairs- only to see that the flight had been replaced by a dead end. As well as every other wall in the room. Wonderful.

Well, in that case, there was just one thing to do. She figured that there was a reason why she had taken Bailey’s communicator, and this was it. Brandy withdrew the small device from within the folds of her cloak and tunic, and turned it on, flipping the setting to call. She scrolled through the caller ID until she saw what she was looking for- George. Or, more accurately, George with a small picture of a heart next to it. Interesting, thought Brandy. I was just going to ask him to move the Baby Dragon, but maybe I can do something a little more fun.

George’s communicator vibrated in his pocket, awakening him from his reading-induced stupor.
Vocal percussion on a whole ‘nother level…, it sang. Coming from my mind…
He groped randomly for it, grabbed the communicator in his hand, and saw that he had a text from Bailey. His heart jumped a bit.

I’ve been a naughty girl, come punish me please. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), it read. George’s eyebrows raised. He had always had a suspicion that Bailey wanted him, but she had never been so blatantly upfront like that. Oh well. He certainly wasn’t about to let a golden opportunity like this go to waste.

Where are you?, he texted back.

I’m in my room. Right on my bed.
Your room? You don’t live here.

Right, I meant my King’s room.
theSenate?
Yeah, theSenate. Come quick, and bring all your friends.
On our way.

George stood up, and slammed his hand down onto the table with a dramatic flourish, as he was often prone to do.
“Hey, what was that for?”, Dave mumbled. “I had a winning hand here!”
“One: No, you didn’t.”, said George. “You had a 2 and a 7. Two: Bailey just told us all to go… “punish” her. Right now.”
Dave sat up, suddenly stone-cold sober. “What? Like, right now?”
George showed him his communicator, and his conversation that he had had just a few seconds ago.
“Well, alright!”, said Dave. “Let’s go!”
“Kidnap Squad 6…”, shouted George, and they all struck a group pose. “Away!”
As Brandy, watching through the door, saw them all run away, she could not help but giggle.

She worked open the lock on the door, and slowly swung the monolith open. The Baby Dragon sat up immediately, and fixed his eyes on the strange-smelling Bandit that had just entered his territory. He was confused- did his eyes or his nose deceive him? She was definitely wearing a Red uniform, but the smell of Blue on her was quite strong. He decided to get a little bit closer, just to investigate.

“Hey, uh…”, Brandy said as the Baby Dragon kept closer, than noticed the name on his collar. “Rex. Hey, Rex.”
Rex tilted his head. She knew his name, which was good. But then why did still seem so unfamiliar? There had to be some explanation for this, he knew it. And Rex was going to get to the bottom of this, straight away. He started to sniff Brandy all over, ignoring her efforts to push him away. The smell of Blue was still on her. He sat back on his haunches, confused, then noticed her eyes. Unlike his own, and everyone else’s in the castle, they were ever-so-slightly tinted blue. That settled it, then, in his mind. She, a Blue spy, must have somehow snuck into his territory. She had fooled everyone else, but she wouldn’t fool him! She had to be stopped.
Rex growled, and fire began to build in his throat.

Brandy could very clearly see the thought process on Rex’s face. First the curiosity, then the confusion, then the “deep thought”, then the anger. Brandy sighed, and readied her Dash. She didn’t want to have to fight another animal, especially one as innocent seeming as this Baby Dragon, but she really had no other choice. So as soon as the ball of fire left Rex’s throat, Brandy Dashed right through it and landed a ferocious blow right in the soft spot of his neck.
Rex’s eyes went wide with confusion, and he slowly, awkwardly stumbled back. He tried to burp another fireball, but Brandy’s precise blow had temporarily disabled his sparkbox.

“Real sorry I had to do that to you, Rex.”, said Brandy apologetically, and winced. “But if you just let me pass, I don’t have to finish you off.”
Rex shook his head and growled. Let this invader pass? Never! Even though she had somehow figured out how to take away his fire, he still had his teeth and claws. He lunged forward, with jaws wide open- and stopped, Brandy’s fist planted quite firmly right through his throat. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her head turned away. Rex gurgled once, and collapsed into a flood of Elixir that spread across the carpet, lingered for a few seconds, and dissolved into the ground.

Brandy wiped her hands on her skirt, and sighed. How many enemies had she beaten now? 3? She counted- Ratool was one. Meg was another, but Brandy had let her go. Bailey she had killed, that was three. So if she didn’t include the Barbarians, which she really thought that she shouldn’t, that was four now with Rex. Nice, having a 4-4 record like that.
Brandy made her way through the rest of the room, noting the incredibly lush artwork hanging on the walls. There was a tapestry of an immense red Dragon on one side of the wall, and an even larger painting depicting a truly titanic Golem on another. Upon closer inspection, one could see that he appeared to actually be constructing the Arenas. But Brandy didn’t have that kind of time. She left the room as quickly as she had entered- but not before noticing one other piece of artwork. This one seemed rather new, perhaps only just a few weeks old. It showed a heavily stylized King, bowing before a shapeless black mass holding a basket of Gems in one hand, and a wispy red shape in the other.

Brandy looked over the mysterious painting. It didn’t seem to resemble anything she had ever seen, so it bore no further interest to her. She took off running, out the hallway- and stopped. She remembered that there was no need to run now. She still had the feather in her cap. As long as she was disguised as Bailey, surely nobody would try to stop her. So Brandy started to walk again, but this time casually and slowly, looking as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

A Goblin Gang sprinted out suddenly from an adjoining hallway, carrying doubtlessly stolen Gold, and stopped. A pulse emanated from Brandy’s heart, and she tried her best to stop it. But instead of attacking her, as so many other troops had done, they merely looked at Brandy, gave her a slight nod, and continued to run off.

Brandy silently sighed with relief. See, she thought to herself, there’s nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing at all. Surely, they’re not going to stop their own Bandit from just taking a step outside really quick, just to get some fresh night air?
And with that thought, Brandy walked, not ran, further into the dark, and hopefully, further towards the door. Too bad she couldn’t just ask for directions…

Chapter Text

Bailey didn’t know how long she drifted. She didn’t know exactly how long it was that she spun, head over heels over head, in the infinite darkness that was the limbo after temporary death. But she did know that when she finally came to, and felt her Elixir slowly pooling back together into the familiar shape of a Bandit’s form, she could feel something touching her. Bailey’s eyes fluttered open, and she saw the welcome sight of theSenate slowly shaking her awake.
“What…”, she moaned. “What’s going on?”
“Bailey, where did she go?”, asked theSenate quickly. “Did you see where Brandy went?”
“No…”, Bailey murmured, still only half-awake. “She killed me before she left.”
Bailey tried to stand up, then fell. theSenate caught her. “No, don’t move.”, he said. “You’re still broken.”
“But don’t worry, Miss Bailey. She will pay for what she’s done.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, and intricately ran his fingers down the scars that ran down his cheeks. They had begun to ache from the events of the night. “She will pay.”

Brandy swung open a door with a flourish, and saw a Prince leaning against the wall. He held a small device that seemed similar to the one Ratool had been playing with. When he heard the door open, he looked up and saw Brandy.
“Hey.”, he said, and raised one eyebrow. “I’m Kurizas. Want to see my lance?”
“Um… no thanks.”, said Brandy, raising her hands in front of her. “I’m good.”
Kurizas put away his device, and sauntered over to Brandy. “Are you sure? It’ll only take a second…”
“Really, I’m good.”, said Brandy. “I can use your help with something, though.”
Kurizas folded his arms. “You don’t want to? That’s what they all say.”
He bounced his eyebrows, and flashed a wry grin. “We can just go back to my room…”
Brandy’s nerves tightened, and she resisted the urge to punch Kurizas in the face. She so very much wanted to just deck him, but she knew it would only end up badly. There was simply no way she could take on a Prince, particularly one this high level. Kuriza’s armor glinted, and soft golden particles gently floated off of him.

“Really.”, Brandy said, making her voice as menacing as possible. “I’m good. But I could use your help.”
“Oh, fine.”, said Kurizas. “My help with what?”
“Would you happen to know where a girl can get some fresh air?”, Brandy asked, trying to calm her heartbeat. “I cannot manage to find the way outside tonight for some reason.”
“Oh, that’s easy.”, said Kurizas with a winning smile. “You see, where we are now, that’s the secondary off-galley auxiliary hallway. Now, what you need to do is go down these stairs, off this room, up this elevator, and…”
Kuriza’s explanation continued for a full half a minute. By the time he was done, Brandy had forgotten most of what he had said, and her head was spinning so badly she wasn’t even sure that she could have remembered if she had tried.
“...and then you should be just outside the southwest exit door.”, Kurizas finally finished, and looked up. “Did you get all that?”
“You know what?”, Brandy sighed. “Maybe I’ll just find my own way out.”
She started to walk around Kurizas, when he grabbed her shoulder. “Maybe I could show you the way?”
“No!”, Brandy shouted, then stopped, seeing Kurizas’s surprised expression. “I mean, you probably have lots of stuff to do, and what I really need is just some alone time. You know?”
Kurizas frowned. “Oh, right. But you’re sure you don’t want to see my lance before we part ways?”
“Yes. I am.”, Brandy said, and left.
Kurizas opened the door to one of his stable rooms, which was right next to where he was, looked at his little pony, and sighed. He took a lance off of the wall and looked at it.
“Nobody wants to see my lance.”, he said morosely. “And I just painted it, too…”

Further down in the Clan Castle, in somewhere approaching the middle, or whatever could be called the middle in such a crazy, noisy, bizarre Castle, there was a large room. All the lights were off in that room, and if one were to stand just outside, they could hear moans and grunts of pleasure coming from within. A sign on the door, crudely nailed, read “Chad and Rick’s room, don’t enter if you want to remain the way you currently are, which is most likely in good health”.
Finally, after several minutes of this, there was a wavering cry, and the lights flicked on. The door creaked open, and a Valkyrie walked out. Her bright red hair was frizzled and lay crooked. Her clothes struggled to contain her generous curves, large even for a Valkyrie. Various points of jewelry adorned her, in such places as her ears, her fingers, and her navel. She adjusted her top, wiped a bead of sweat off her brow, and turned to the room’s interior.
“Hey, there’s a soft alert for the prisoner.”, she said. “She just barely escaped. Thought you should know.”
“Thanks, Valeyrie.”, said a gruff voice from somewhere inside of the room. “I’ll be on the lookout. See you later, babe.”
“Love you. See you later, Chad.”, said Valeyrie, and closed the door. She continued out into the hallway, thinking about where she should go now. Perhaps she should help with party setup- it was only just a few hours away. Or maybe she should just take a walk. But Veronica seemed to be heading some sort of seance in the basement, that sounded fun. Or perhaps, Valeyrie thought coyly, maybe she should just go back into the bedroom for round 6 with Chad…
She saw a red Bandit walk quickly past her, and noticed the familiar feather in her hood. “Hey Bailey.”, she said offhandedly.

Brandy just kept on walking. Okay, I think I’m getting closer to the exit now, she thought. Just a few hundred more feet, and I’ll be free. Just another-
She stopped walking. Wait. Was I supposed to say something? Shoot, I was supposed to respond! I’m supposed to be Bailey!
Brandy felt a hand roughly grab her on the shoulder, and she flinched. She was suddenly spun around, to find herself staring right into the frown of a very angry Valkyrie, hands on her hips and leaning right into Brandy’s face.

“Alright everyone, we’re stopping here.”
Orfox raised a huge hand into the air, and the caravan train stopped. ChupilickytwaCT looked up in puzzlement. “Why? What’s going on?”
“It's always a good idea to take a small break every few hours.”, said Orfox. “We rest 10 minutes, and then continue onwards.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not sure we have enough time.”, said ChupilickytwaCT. “Every moment we’re not attacking their castle is a moment wasted, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Yes, but good luck attacking anything if you’re winded from the journey.”, said Orfox cheerfully. “Trust me. I do this kind of thing every day.”
“Well, if you say so.”, said ChupilickytwaCT, and turned to the rest of the train. “Alright everyone, take a break. Food, Elixir, just to stretch, whatever you need.”

“Ah, finally.”, said Dan, and stopped walking. His legs had been killing him for the last 8 miles or so, and a rest stop was greatly appreciated. He leaned back and stretched, then popped his arms and swung them in a circle to limber up. He grunted and popped his bottle of Elixir from his belt, taking a deep, refreshing swig.
“My, you seem oddly cheerful.”, said Agatha. “What’s got into you?”
“Do I seem cheerful?”, Dan asked. “Because I’m not. Not really.”
“Yeah, didn’t think so.”, Agatha nodded as she pursed her lips together. “How are you feeling, then?”
“Mad.”, Dan said. “I’m mostly just feeling mad.”
“Me too, Dan.”, said Agatha quietly, and again stroked her staff. “Me too.”

Song: Bouryaku no Hate

“Yes, rage.”, came the authoritative sounding voice of Bowza from somewhere behind them. “A powerful stimulant, to be sure, but useless without the proper training.”
Dan turned to see Bowza hovering several feet in the air, arms and legs crossed, his arrow of magical light floating just over his hands. “What are you saying, Bowza?”
“Exactly what it sounded like.”, Bowza replied mysteriously. “You must learn to harness your feelings, or they are all but worthless.”
“And I suppose you’re going to teach me to do so?”, Dan asked. Usually, Bowza didn’t actually help with anything he prescribed, choosing instead to sit quietly and watch.
“Yes.”, said Bowza, to Dan’s surprise. “I will.”
He slid back down onto the ground, and sheathed his bow and arrow. “Dan, it’s time you learned.”
“Learned what?”, Dan asked slowly.
Bowza was silent for a few seconds, then made a slight gesture towards a nearby river. “Come. Follow me.”
Dan did so, walking behind the silent Magic Archer. As they walked, Dan tried to guess what was going to happen based on Bowza’s expression and manner. But they did not or barely changed, as per the usual. Finally, they arrived at the river, and Bowza suddenly stopped. Dan lurched to a halt just behind him. Bowza was silent, until he spoke.

“There is a power, Dan, that is not understood by most.”, he began. “A mysterious power that flows through everything, brought by the magic of the sun, the stars, and even life itself.”
“What are you talking about?”, Dan asked. He had never heard of anything like this.
“It has many names, depending on where you are.”, Bowza continued, seemingly oblivious to hearing Dan. “The Force, the Ripple, the Wind- but for now, you can simply call it-
Bowza breathed in, and Dan could swear that he saw a faint flicker of golden light enter Bowza’s mouth. Then, he breathed out, and the exhaled breath multiplied exponentially into a rush of wind that bent the grass.
“The Star!”, Bowza shouted, and slammed his fist right into a turtle that lay sleeping on a rock. Dan cried out, but was abruptly silenced when the force of Bowza’s blow somehow continued on past the turtle, breaking the rock and dissipating as ripples in the water. Bowza turned, and slightly smiled at Dan’s shocked expression.
“Would you like to learn, Dan?”, he said. “I foresee that in your current state, you will be insufficient for what you plan to do.”
Dan outstretched his arms. “Teach me.”

“Yo. Bailey. What’s your deal?”, said Valeyrie, with a slight tinge of anger on the edge of her voice. One finger aimlessly ran down the side of her axe, tracing some design in the blade.
"Um, hey?", Brandy squeaked nervously, hoping her disguise would hold under such harsh scrutiny.
"Hey, what?", Valeyrie spat in annoyance.
"Hey... how you doing?", Brandy managed to say, tilted backwards as the menacing Valkyrie leaned towards her.
"What? Did you forget my name or something?", Valeyrie demanded. “Honestly Bailey, you’ve always been a bit of an airhead, but this is just a whole new level.”
“What? No, I didn’t forget your name.”, said Brandy, and scratched the back of her neck. “Of- of course not…”
“Really? Then what is it?”
Brandy had already been trying to remember. She had seen this Valkyrie before, she knew it. She just could not quite remember where. Somewhere else in the castle? No. In Chloe’s room? No. In the dungeons? No. And then, Brandy remembered. She had been with Veronica and her apparent boyfriend. Veronica had said her name- but Brandy could not quite remember it. It was right on the tip of her tongue, it was almost said, it was- it was- it was-
“Valeyrie.”, Brandy burst out. “I know your name’s Valeyrie.”

Valeyrie just snorted. The entire thought process had taken less than a second, so there was no reason for her to be suspicious. But even still, something about who seemed to be Bailey’s composure was off. Perhaps it was in the way she carried herself, or the way she spoke. Or maybe her movements. It was certainly something, however. Valeyrie silently cursed Bandits’ almost total lack of distinguishing features. Valkyries, such as herself, had different hair colors. Goblins decorated themselves almost to the point of indulgence. Even Royal Recruits usually had something to tell them apart- a badge, or some sort of mark scratched into their armor. But Bandits had nothing- save for the feather that Bailey always wore proudly. And it was most certainly there.

“Well, good.”, said Valeyrie. “Nice to see you still know your place, Bailey. Now step aside, I’ve got places to be.”
Valeyrie moved one arm to shove Brandy aside. But she did not move. Instead, she stood there, a silent fire slightly lit in her eyes.
Valeyrie tried again, slightly harder, but with mostly the same result. “Bailey, what are you doing?”
“Did you just tell me…”, Brandy said slowly, “to learn my place?”
She shakily raised a fist into the air, right in front of her face. “I don’t think you know this, Valeyrie, but…
Her eyes flashed, and sparks of purple floated off of her skin. “I know my place. And it sure isn’t below people like you.”
Valeyrie started to say something. Perhaps it was an outburst of indignity. Or perhaps a question of what exactly Bailey was going on about. But whatever it was, she never got a chance to say it. Because when Valeyrie saw Brandy’s eyes, she saw that they were shining a very, very light blue. Valeyrie leaned back, and moved her hands to grab her axe.

"Hold on a minute.", she said. "You're not Bailey. You're the prisoner, aren’t you.”
What she said was not a question. They both already knew the answer. Brandy, too, took a step back. She shifted into a battle stance, already searching for Valeyrie’s weaknesses. She searched for all the obvious ones- head. Blocked by one of her axe blades. Shoulders and hips- Cleverly protected by arm placements. Heart- covered by her axe’s pole. Perhaps she would have some more luck in the less obvious ones.
“So what are you doing out, Brandy?”, Valeyrie asked. “Oh, don’t look surprised. Of course I already know your name.”
But Brandy didn’t look surprised- she hadn’t even heard what Valeyrie was saying. For she was focused on one thing, and one thing only- getting out. There were more weak points to study. Feet- no, those boots looked rather tough. Midsection- ah, there it was. A diamond stud adorned her navel. If Brandy ripped it out, she imagined that it would be quite painful. Brandy looked up, and prepared to fight. But to her surprise, Valkyrie didn’t attack. Instead, she just chuckled, and slammed her axe into the ground.
“You know Brandy, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Valeyrie, the Valkyrie. Level 12, gonna be level 13 in just a few days. I’m also kind of the Princess behind Princess around here. Most people will do what I say. I’m also Chad’s girl- I’m sure you’re familiar with him?”
“More than I’d like to be.”, said Brandy, and took a stance. “Far more.”
“Really? All he did was kidnap you.”, said Valeyrie. “You must have been only conscious for just a few minutes.”
“Oh, he didn’t just kidnap me.”, said Brandy. “He did something far worse.”

Valeyrie’s eyebrow raised. “Oh? What?”
“I’m sure you know.”, Brandy hissed. “I don’t think he’s as faithful of a boyfriend as you think.”
Valeyrie’s expression remained motionless for several seconds, then the corners of her mouth cracked upwards in a smile. To Brandy’s surprise, Valeyrie threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, dearest! Do you not know what an open relationship is? We’d already agreed on this- if either Chad or me wants to fool around, it’s okay.”
“How disgusting.”, Brandy said. “What do you even see in a monster like that?”
And don’t call me dearest, Brandy thought but did not say. She didn’t think it was really that good of an idea to antagonize Valeyrie any further.
“Oh, lots of things.”, Valeyrie said. “He always brings home tons of new servants like you, he gets me almost more presents than I know what to do with, and he’s the only one I know who can handle this much thicc.”
Valeyrie curled her arm and kissed her bicep. “See, look at these muscles Brandy. I can practically taste your jealousy. Jealous of how I’m all big and strong, and you’re just so small and fragile.”
“Not really.”, said Brandy. “Honestly, I don’t really want muscles. They just slow you down, you know?”
She crouched backwards on one foot, preparing herself to Dash. The more she could catch Valeyrie off guard, the better.
“Oh- I suppose you haven’t introduced yourself yet.”, said Valeyrie with mock concern. “But don’t bother your little head with it- I’ll just do it for you.”
Valeyrie tilted her head, and pointed at Brandy. “Let’s see, you’re a scared little Bandit, only level 9, oh my, somehow managed to sneak this far in the castle without anyone noticing, unwilling to accept fate, and all in all, just a little wimp, with nowhere to run.”

“Oh? Is that what you think?”, Brandy asked, although she already knew the answer. “I guess we’re just going to ignore usage rates then. 20% for me, and a measly 7% for you. I’m more popular than you could ever be.”
“Really?”, asked Valeyrie. “More popular? Is that why you have no friends?”
She started to return her axe to her shoulder, and Brandy could sense that she was about to strike. “Perhaps you need to be taught a little lesson, naughty girl.”

“What are you talking about? I have friends,”, Brandy said. “Lots of them.”
“Oh really? And where are they now? Saving you? No? I didn’t think so.”, Valeyrie said, and shifted into a battle stance, ready to strike.
“By the way,”, Brandy said, determined to get in the last lick. She probably shouldn’t have said this, in retrospect, but it just felt so good. “There’s no such thing as thicc. It’s just fat.”
Valeyrie’s eye twitched, and Brandy instinctively leaped backwards.
She was immediately glad she did, for Valeyrie swung her axe in an enormous circle, almost too quickly for Brandy to keep up. The axe sang as its gleaming edge cut through the air, slicing off a bit of stone from the wall, and swung back into Valeyrie’s hands.
“Come here, you little twerp!”, she screamed. “I’m gonna beat you to a pulp!”

Song: Decisive Battle

Apparently, Brandy’s insult had touched a deeper nerve, causing Valeyrie to all but abandon her previous calm demeanor. This was good- Brandy would gladly take any advantage she could get, and keeping Valeyrie off-kilter was most certainly one of them.
But as soon as Valeyrie had her axe back in hand, she attacked again- this time swinging down. Brandy rolled to one side, spinning on her hands and just narrowly dodging the enormous weapon. The axe’s golden edge stuck in the stone of the floor, and stayed there.

“You know, I’ve been called a lot of things.”, Brandy said. “But until now, twerp has not been one of them.”
“What are you blathering about?”, Valeyrie grunted as she tried without success to wrench her stuck axe out of the stone floor.
“Oh, nothing.”, said Brandy. “Just distracting you.”
Then, for just a second, Brandy vanished- and reappeared as a blur of speed that flashed across the room in a second and planted her foot right into Valeyrie’s face. Brandy had landed a solid hit, and Valeyrie didn’t block it at all. So surely that had done some significant damage, right?
But it hadn’t- not really. Valeyrie grabbed Brandy’s foot and yanked it aside, revealing her reddened face of anger. With a mighty yell, Valeyrie swung Brandy into the floor, sending her skidding. She managed to right herself just before she hit the wall, looking up to see Valeyrie finally dislodge her axe from the floor. Valeyrie rushed forward, and spun herself into a red tornado that gleamed with the glint of deadly metal.

Brandy prepared herself to Dash once again, although it appeared to Valeyrie that she was just standing there. Distracted and blinded by anger as she was, she could not see the subtle vibrations that accompanied the pre-process. So Valeyrie swung her axe in a diagonal, aiming for maximum damage- and Brandy Dashed. As she did so, she aimed for a patch of the ground right behind Valeyrie, phasing right through her intangibly, and spun to a stop. But Valyerie had somehow predicted that Brandy would try something like this. She quickly pivoted around, and wasting no time, she threw her axe.

Brandy wasn’t ready for such a move- she hadn’t expected for Valeyrie to do such a thing. Valkyries didn’t throw their axes- it just wasn’t a thing that they did. Unless Valeyrie had been taking lessons from an Executioner or something, but that did not seem very likely. Executioners were typically introverts, not likely to get along with a Troop as outgoing as a Valkyrie. So Brandy’s eyes widened and she yelped in surprise, just barely managing to dodge out of the way and Dash upwards, into the ring of storage space that ringed the room.

Valeyrie’s eyes scanned the storage space, looking for any sign of movement that would betray Brandy’s position. But Brandy held as still as a statue, and Valeyrie saw nothing.
“Come on down from there, Brandy.”, she said, slowly and menacingly. “I won’t hurt you...much.”
Almost in opposition to what she had said, Valeyrie slowly swung her axe. Brandy decided this was a good time to start moving.
“You know, you sure seem to take a lot of pride in that axe of yours.”, Brandy said, trying to project her voice as much as possible. She started to slide around the elevated edges of the round room, in order to not give away her position if she had to. “I wonder how much you could do with it.”

“You really wanna see what I can do with it?”, Valeyrie said. “Just you wait. Just hold on a second…”
Valeyrie aimed her axe, trying to pinpoint Brandy’s position. Just one more solid throw would decide this match. That much Valeyrie knew. After all, she was a big, strong, high-level Valkyrie, and Brandy was just a small, weak, never-been-upgraded Bandit. Right?

“You can do a lot of stuff with it.”, Brandy continued, and started to break off loose bits of sharp stone from the ancient, crumbling walls around her. “Chop things, stab things, even throw it. But I wonder, how well can you deflect things with it?”
Valeyrie brought her axe up into a defensive position, and Brandy threw her makeshift knife, carved out of the rock she had been breaking. It sailed through the air, and was almost immediately smacked aside by the flat end of Valeyrie’s axe. It hit the wall, and shattered into pieces. Valeyrie slowly put her axe down, and Brandy continued to move.
“Oh, was that it?”, Valeyrie asked. “Looks like my deflecting game’s pretty nice.”

“Yes, for just one knife.”, said Brandy, and worked faster, almost at a fever pace. Each blow to the oddly fragile wall made a new shard of stone, a new knife, a new weapon, and Brandy was throwing a lot of blows. Within just seconds, there was a circle of ready to throw blades positioned around the top of the storage space. “But I wonder if even you will be able to deflect so many knives when I throw them all at once?”

“All at once, huh?”, Valeyrie whispered. “Come on then. Throw that handful.”
In an instant, Brandy Dashed. She managed to spin her way all around the circle, grabbing each knife where it lay and threw it right at Valeyrie. A storm of stone surrounded the Valkyrie, and she swung her own weapon. It swung and sang through the air, scattering, blasting, and smashing knives aside by the dozen. But even Valeyrie, with all her strength and all her speed, could not deflect them all, and two razor sharp slices of stone slipped through and stabbed her in the chest. A spurt of blood came from both the impact point and Valeyrie’s mouth, and she collapsed on one knee.

Gotcha!, Brandy thought excitedly, being able to see from her hiding place. That’s another enemy down, just who knows how many more to go.
But to Brandy’s surprise, Valeyrie did not fall, or splash into the sweet purple of Elixir. Instead, she drew a knife from her chest, licked off the blood, and flung it directly at Brandy’s position. Brandy just barely managed to yank her head to one side, and the knife continued on past her, scratching her cheek hard enough to cut through the skin and landing buried deep inside of a clay jar. However, the knife did not stay buried for long, because the jar exploded within a second, sending a rain of Elixir down from Brandy’s hiding spot and onto Valeyrie’s face.

“Oh.”, said Valeyrie, after a moment of thought. “I killed her.”
Then she realized exactly what this meant. Despite all that they had done to her, Brandy was still very much Blue. Which meant that in this Red territory, she wouldn’t respawn. Which meant that Ryusei_Nakao69 had just lost the Bandit he had been trying to get after for weeks. Even worse- Valeyrie belonged to him, so she had to tell him what had happened. She slapped her hands to her cheeks.
“Oh shoot!”, she whispered. “What do I do now? What do I do?”

Valeyrie was so caught up in her own thoughts that she failed to notice the slight sounds of Brandy creeping up from her hiding spot, over the railing, and preparing to leap. She did not notice the shadow that loomed overhead, nor the small blue sparks that spat from Brandy’s feet as she built up a charge.
“Maybe I should just say that she committed suicide.”, Valeyrie mumbled to herself. “Yeah, that’s it. No, he’ll see right through it. Maybe if I go up there and gather up all her Elixir, we might be able to reconstitute her? Maybe… maybe…”

Valeyrie squinched her eyes shut to think, and Brandy took the moment. She leapt off of the railing, towards Valeyrie, and Dashed all in the same moment, slamming into Valeyrie’s back with a force strong enough to break through stone. A startled cry flew from the Valkyrie, as the force of Brandy’s kick propelled them both into the wall, where the stone broke with a satisfying crunch. Brandy jumped back, and took another stance.

Even though her face was hidden from view, Brandy could still see the sheer anger practically steaming from Valeyrie. She flexed her muscles, and the stone around her broke. As she turned around, she wiped a trail of blood from her forehead and sneered. “You…”

Brandy shrugged. It looked like despite the stats gap, the level gap, and the probable experience gap, she was somehow winning this fight. “What?”

“Looks like you didn’t die back there after all.”, said Valeyrie, and lifted her axe. “But you’re sure gonna wish you had.”
Brandy prepared herself. Or so she thought she had. But faster than she could move, almost faster than she could see, Valeyrie jumped forward, and threw her axe. Brandy dropped to her knees, and the axe shone as it flew just over her head, striking the opposite wall. Brandy tried to slide to her feet again- but Valeyrie’s knee collided with her undefended face, sending a wave of pain through her nose and slamming her backwards again. There was another hard blow to her left shoulder, one that sent a resonant pop throughout the room. There was worryingly little pain.

Brandy half-jumped, half-staggered to the back wall. Her breathing was heavy, and her left arm hung uselessly by her side- now dislocated. But she still had one good arm left, and Valeyrie was a wide open target without her axe. Brandy was not quite sure why she had thrown it. So Brandy grabbed one of her fallen knives, raised it into the air, aimed, and-

Valeyrie’s axe, having bounced off of the wall, spun into the air, hung there for a second, and then finally bounced off of a different wall, came soaring through the air and knocked the knife right out of Brandy’s hand, returning to Valeyrie’s grip like the thrown axe of an Executioner. It appeared that she had been taking lessons after all. Brandy dropped her hand, and stared Valeyrie dead in the eye.

“Where’d you pick that up fro- ooph!”, Brandy said, as her sentence was interrupted by a hard elbow to the gut. Valeyrie didn’t even wait until Brandy had hit the floor- she grabbed her by the face and slammed her into the ground first, a loud crack coming from the impact of skull against stone. Brandy cried out in pain, and Valeyrie flipped her over.

Brandy planted her hand onto the stone floor, and tried to push herself up, but Valeyrie slammed her heel into Brandy’s hand, pinning her down. “Stay.”, she whispered, and drew back her other leg. Brandy’s eyes widened, and she tried to roll away, but there was no escape. Valeyrie’s boot slammed into Brandy’s stomach in a vicious kick, and pain spread throughout her body. Then there was another. And another, and another. Valeyrie had Brandy helplessly pinned to the ground, and was kicking the life out of her.

“What’s the matter, you little twerp?”, Valeyrie growled as she continued her savage beating.
“Don’t have any one liners to say? Nothing clever? Come on Brandy, don’t disappoint me now.”
Valeyrie hit Brandy’s chest with a particularly vicious kick, and Brandy coughed in pain. There was blood among the cough, blood that came flying out and landed on Valeyrie’s leather boots.
“Aw, look at that.”, said Valeyrie. “You got blood all over my boots.”
She withdrew the foot that was keeping Brandy pinned down, and kicked once more- this time as hard as she could. The blow flipped Brandy over again, and she could hear a sharp crack. Only once the immense pain started to flood into her chest did Brandy realize that it was one of her own ribs that had been broken by the attack.

“That’s it, then.”, Valeyrie said, as she loomed triumphant over Brandy, a beaten and bloody heap on the floor. “I win. You’re coming with me.”
She reached down to pluck Brandy off the floor. But right then, something happened. Brandy’s eyes opened, and stared directly into Valeyrie’s. Determination filled her, driving away the fear and pain. Remarkably, she jumped up, and sprang backwards on one foot. She still bled from the mouth, but the trail of blood was rapidly slowing.

“Huh. Could have sworn that would finish you.”, Valeyrie mumbled. “It’s not often you see a Bandit with your determination. Probably why Rysuei_Nakao69 picked you.”

“He picked me?”, Brandy asked, trying her best to sound confused. She had already known this, but anything to keep Valeyrie talking while Brandy charged up her Dash was something good.

“Oh, yeah.”, said Valeyrie. “Of course he did. He was after you for weeks. Took even a genius like him to formulate a plan this utterly foolproof.”

“I don’t think it’s as foolproof as you think it is.”, Brandy said. “You see, my Clan’s coming to rescue me in just a few hours.”

“Oh, they are?”, Valeyrie said. “Yeah, that’s not going to go well for them. Just like last time.”

“Last time?”, Brandy said with alarm. “What do you mean, last time?”

“Last time a Clan tried to rescue a Troop that we took.”, Valeyrie explained. “They just didn’t stand a chance against our might. Their clan was tougher than yours, too- a lot tougher. Took only a few minutes to finish them off- and then we slapped a good old protocol B on that Princess that we took.”

“Protocol B?”, Brandy mumbled. That sure sounded suspicious. She hoped she wasn’t protocol B. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, nobody’s told you yet, have they?”, Valeyrie mused, and smiled. “You see, we have a bit of a system around here. Whenever we steal someone, we usually have three options on what to do with them. There’s Protocol A, the most common one. We just send a little letter to their King, telling him what we’ve done, and that he’ll get his oh-so-precious Troop back if he just pays a little ransom. You know, nothing much, really only around a million Gold or so. If he doesn’t pay up, or we decide we don’t want ransom, we do Protocol B. We hypnotize them, and they become part of us. Willingly, and forever.”

“I see.”, Brandy noted. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know Protocol C. “So I guess I’m Protocol B, then?”

“Oh no, no, no.”, said Valeyrie with a knowing grin. “You’re Protocol C.”

“And that is?”

“Well first, we hypnotize you. Then we sell you to the highest bidder and they can do what they want. Then all traces that you ever existed are destroyed, and we remove everyone who could have possibly known you from the world. Personally, I like to call it the Redacted Protocol.”

“How many?”, Brandy said quietly, and noted the state of her Dash. Soon, it would be ready. But not quite yet- she still needed to stall Valeyrie for just a little while longer.

“What?”, Valeyrie asked. “How many what?”

“How many people have you taken?”, Brandy said, slightly louder this time. “How many innocent Troops have you bent to your will? How many lives have you destroyed?”

“You know, Ryusei_Nakao69 actually has an official statement on that.”, Valeyrie said.
Of course, Brandy thought.
“Yes, let me just try and remember it-”, Valeyrie said, then her eyes lit up as she remembered it. “Ah, yes.”
She pointed one finger into the air. “He says: Oh, be honest. Do you remember every cup of Elixir you’ve ever drunk?”

Brandy nodded. “I see.”
She mentally tested her Super-Dash. Yep, it was ready. “Well, you can bet he’s gonna remember me.”, she growled. “For better, or for worse.”

Song: Fight to Antagonize

And with that, she unleashed all of her built up momentum, and charged.
Valeyrie crossed her axe in front of her chest- but was too slow for Brandy’s overwhelming speed. Faster than even the near-max Valkyrie could respond, Brandy swung her leg and kicked the axe, knocking it to one side. She drew her fists forward, and could see the surprise and shock reflected in Valeyrie’s eyes. With her target wide open, Brandy attacked.

“Doraoraoraoraora!”, she roared, and threw a barrage of punches so fast they blurred. A shockwave appeared on Valeyrie’s skin every time Brandy struck. She hit various parts of Valeyrie’s body- her chest, her arms, her face- connecting squarely each time. Finally, Brandy drew her fist underneath her legs, and lashed upwards with a ferocious, mighty blow that snapped Valeyrie’s head back and launched the evil Valkyrie backwards into the wall. “Dorra!”

Valeyrie hit the wall, and fell to the ground. Her axe hit the ground next to her, spun around, and fell. A trail of blood started to flow from her forehead, and another from her nose and mouth. Brandy hit the floor, and also collapsed, her breathing heavy. That last Super-Dash rush had taken almost everything out of her, but it had been worth it in order to beat Valeyrie. Yep. Totally worth it. Good thing Valeyrie was beaten, though. Just, she hadn’t turned into Elixir yet. Brandy was sure she was about to, just about to, just about to-

Valeyrie trembled, and slowly stood up. “Frick.”, whispered Brandy under her breath. So did Valeyrie, only she said a different word.

At this point, Brandy couldn’t do a whole lot. Valeyrie had taken everything she had, and was even now still going. And Brandy knew she for sure could not take everything Valeyrie could dish out, especially with that axe.

“Well, well.”, said Valeyrie. “It looks like you’re all out of options.”
Brandy slowly raised an arm to fight, but it fell. She could feel the last of her energy start to run out, and knew she had to conserve it. So she lay still, and let Valeyrie approach.

“This was a lot harder of a battle than I expected, but it looks like I’m still the winner.”, Valeyrie said. “Too bad for you.”

Then she did something Brandy did not expect. Of course, it was not the sort of Oh my, you’re going to turn against your King and help me sort of thing, or Oh no, looks like you used the last of your energy too and so now you’re going to collapse and I can make my escape sort of thing, either. No, it was something far different from that.
Valeyrie leapt onto Brandy, covering her much smaller frame, and leering right into her face. She slowly licked Brandy’s cheek, her eyes becoming more bloodshot as she did so. “That…”, she hissed, “is the taste of a loser, Brandy.”

Brandy tried to say something. She wasn’t sure what- just anything, really. But Valeyrie slapped a hand over her mouth. “Shh. Shh, Brandy. Don’t say anything. You don’t deserve to. But you will, once we fix you up. Yeah, we’re gonna just wipe your mind a little bit, and then we’ll get you all situated. Maybe give you a nice piercing or two, just right where it counts.”

Then she jumped up, spun around, slammed her axe down into the ground, and slammed herself down onto Brandy’s face. Brandy coughed from the surprising impact, but there was nowhere for the cough to go. Valeyrie covered Brandy’s face completely. With a grunt, Valeyrie pushed Brandy’s head further into the floor. “Come on. Take it, wimp!”

Brandy felt like her face was going to pop. The constant pressure as Valeyrie moved up and down beat a brutal tattoo on her skin, and the total lack of air wasn’t helping, either. Brandy’s hands scrabbled against the stone, trying to find something, anything, to use against Valeyrie, but there was nothing. And even as she tried, Brandy could feel her hand start to slow due to lack of oxygen. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to move it at all. So after just a few seconds, Brandy stopped fighting.

Valeyrie stopped her assault as well. She peered over her shoulder, and saw Brandy’s listless eyes shut as her hand rolled to one side. “Huh. Looks like the little twerp couldn’t handle it. That’s fine.”, said Valeyrie, and got up. Brandy continued to not move.
Valeyrie chuckled, and took out her communicator. She selected the Camera function, and held it up in front of her, making sure Brandy’s broken body was in the shot. Valeyrie made a V sign with her fingers, stuck out her tongue, and snapped a photo. Just totally owned some twerp, she wrote as the caption. I think someone wants to come and claim her, right? Any takers?
She chuckled in satisfaction as she sent the picture, then put away her communicator.

Brandy could feel her heart beat. She could hear the dull thud of the castle’s rhythm, and her ears lay pressed against the floor. She could taste the dull, metallic blood in her mouth, and just barely see Valeyrie strutting in front of her camera, so proud of her victory.
Just like they had been. Exactly how Chad had behaved, and what Rick had done. In an instant, memories of the canyon filled her brain, every horrible moment etched into Brandy’s vision. Yet, oddly, they did not scare her as much as they should have. They were the echoes of unspeakable torment, yet Brandy felt no fear. She could only feel the boiling throes of pure, abject, rage.

“You know what we’re going to do now, Brandy?”, Valeyrie asked, and of course she got no response. “We’re gonna play a little game. It’s called go to the park. Ever played that one?” Again, she got no answer.
“Yeah, it’s where I put a collar on you and make you my bi-”
She almost finished her sentence, but stopped. Because Valeyrie saw, out of the corner of her eye, Brandy stir. She started to turn around, and Brandy’s eyes opened. The stone around her broke in a circle, bits of dust flying into the air. Her eyes, normally a very light shade of blue, turned purple, a faint glow coming from somewhere within. She slammed her hand to the ground, and slowly pushed herself up. As she did so, particles of purple light rose around her, and if one were to look closely, they could see a faint vestige of a purple flame around her body.

Valeyrie took a slight step back. She had no idea what was going on. First Brandy had been utterly defeated, just a barely conscious heap lying on the floor, totally submitted to Valeyrie’s will. Now, she stood again, surrounded by what looked like Rage. But that was impossible. Things like Bandits summoning Rage out of nowhere just didn’t happen. They didn’t. So until Valeyrie knew what was going on, she just decided to try and bluff her way out of this situation. She put her hands on her hips, and laughed.

“Well, Brandy. This I truly did not expect,” she said with a heartless smile. “I didn’t think you could possibly get up after I actually start to begin to try. Nice job.”
She would have said more, but Brandy did not wait. With a ferocious roar born of pure hatred, Brandy Dashed, one fist outstretched, right at Valeyrie’s head. Brandy’s vision blurred, the sides of it turning to a tunnel, focusing only on her target, intent to split it to pieces. As she drew closer, all in the fraction between a second, Valeyrie raised her one hand in defense, and-
She caught it. Valeyrie caught the punch that Brandy had put everything into, and grinned. Granted, the sheer force of the blow pushed her back a little bit, and maybe strained her muscles some, but for the most part, Valeyrie had caught the attack with ease.

“Huh? Wha… no. No.”, Brandy mumbled. “No.” The purple aura surrounding her faded. She dropped to the ground, and Valeyrie pushed her further in. Whatever power Brandy had temporarily been gifted with left, and she fell to the floor. Valeyrie leaned in close, even closer than she had been before, and stared right into Brandy’s eyes, a cruel look upon her face.

“You’re cute, Brandy.”, she said. “I like you.”
In that instant, an idea formed inside of Brandy’s mind. It was a remarkably stupid idea, and one that had practically no chance of working, but it was an idea nonetheless- and that was exactly what Brandy needed right now.
“Wait a minute.”, she coughed out. “What you just said. That I’m cute, and that you like me.”
Valeyrie slowly grabbed her axe, and spit to one side. “Yeah? What about it?”
“Well, you said all those things, and you licked my cheek, and you sat on my face.”, said Brandy. “So Valeyrie, wouldn’t that make you…”
Brandy’s eyes lit up, and she managed to pull herself together just long enough to barely sit up. “Gay?”

Now, normally, that had absolutely no chance of working. Had it been any other troop but Valeyrie, they would have just laughed it off, and then finished Brandy off. But Valeyrie actually had had some trouble with that in the past. Until she had met and formed a relationship with Chad, everyone had just naturally thought she was into girls. She had always said that just because she preferred subjugating them over guys didn’t mean anything, but no one had ever believed or listened to her. Now, once Brandy had reminded her of those “dark times”, everything that Valeyrie had forgotten, every memory she had intentionally blocked out, came flooding back, and it was simply too much for her already tilted mind to take.

“You...”, Valeyrie said, starting to shake. She unceremoniously dropped Brandy onto the ground, and clawed at her face. “You!”
She suddenly lunged for Brandy, pure anger crossing her purple face, grabbing her by the throat before Brandy could even respond. Brandy squirmed in her grip, but was unable to get free.
“You’re going down, you know that?”, she screamed, and threw herself forward. Brandy went down with her, and they slammed into the ground. “I’ll show you what I am!”
Brandy spat out another burst of blood, and Valeyrie yanked back her hood. She, strangely, decided not to go for some other, better target, and instead grabbed Brandy’s ears.
“Get ready, twerp.”, she spat. “Because I am officially about to make you my little tool.”
She twisted Brandy’s ears, and Brandy gasped. A strange feeling shot through her- one that was huge amounts of pain, but also more pleasure than she would care to admit.
Valeyrie grinned at Brandy’s pain, then took her hands off her ears. She shoved Brandy to the ground, standing tall and proud over her. “Now, let’s just get that stupid little dress off-”

Suddenly, something happened.
Suddenly, all of Brandy’s emotion vanished, becoming totally slate grey.
Suddenly, for a moment, all the colors of the world around her switched, dark becoming white and light becoming black.
Once the bizarre moment passed, Brandy saw her hand outstretched, quivering with some sort of strange power. She looked beyond her hand- and her eyes widened in shock.
There stood Valeryie, holding totally still. Her entire right arm was gone, having taken much of her torso with it. The severed line of her body dripped with both blood and the Elixir she was rapidly dissolving into.
Valeyrie screamed, and dropped to the ground. Her remaining arm flew to her stump, but it was too large to block. She gave one last, furious, gurgling wail before dropping completely into a pile of Elixir.
Brandy blinked. In all honesty, she had no idea that was going to happen. She hadn’t known how she was going to be able to get past Valeyrie. But it was a victory, in any case, and that was good enough for her. So Brandy, still hurting from wounds and bruises all over, lay down to just rest for a little bit.

As Brandy’s labored breathing grew longer and slowly deeper, she could feel her eyes start to close. Perhaps she could rest here for a little while. Maybe fall asleep for a few hours, and then continue her escape again. Perhaps she could-
Brandy shook off the thought. No. She had to keep going. She was so close to the blessed outside, she could almost taste it. If Brandy stopped to rest now, she was sure that she would be caught. The entire castle had to be on high alert by now, and her fight with Valeyrie had left her utterly exhausted. At this point, Brandy probably couldn’t even win a fight with a Dart Goblin. Even so, she decided to lay there for a few more seconds, eyes closed, back against the wall, arms slowly trickling blood, before she hoisted herself to her feet, and started back down the hallway.

Chapter Text

Brandy went in a sort of a half-run, half-hobble- her legs couldn’t really handle anything else. She still felt the immense pain of Valeyrie’s savage beating, the dull aching throb issuing out from her stomach with every step. Her torn muscles ached, and she could feel the wet trail of blood in various parts of her. A palpable chill ran down the length of her body, and she shivered.

But she had won. Brandy, despite such overpowering odds, had won. She had fought her way through everything that had been thrown at her, and she had won. A Barbarian, a Musketeer, a Hog Rider, a Bandit, a Baby Dragon, a Prince, a Valkyrie- she had managed to overcome all of them, one way or another. Her spirit lifted, and her heart swelled with hope, as it beat ever faster. And then, she saw something. A door hung slightly ajar, moonlight streaming through. And Brandy could just barely manage to see the blessed sight of grass just beyond. She had found the way out.

There was nothing between her and the door. Absolutely nothing at all. No traps, no Troops, no hallways, no false doors, nothing but a pure, blessed, clear path to the outside. So Brandy wasted no time. She took one long, ragged step, then another, and another. Almost to the door. Just 15 more feet. 13 more feet. 11 more feet. 9 more feet. 7 more feet. 5 more. 3 more. 1 more foot to freedom.
Brandy pushed the last of her energy reserves through her exhausted body, and-

Dan expelled all the air that was within him, pushing his lungs to the very limit of emptiness. His mind followed suit, ready to learn more of Bowza’s teachings.
“Good, Dan, good.”, Bowza said firmly. “Now breath in. Fill your lungs with the blessed air of The Star.”
Dan did so, arching his back as his lungs filled to full capacity.
“Excellent. Now take the latent energy that you have gathered, and concentrate it in your arm.”
Dan could feel the tingle of some mysterious force exit his lungs, and gather in the muscles of his shoulder. He pushed the sensation downwards, through his arm, into his tightly clenched fist, and then further onto the blade of his sword. As he did so, a soft silver and gold light appeared around the steel, sparking with raw power.

“Good.”, Bowza smiled. “Now strike with the power of The Star, and with your overdrive of strength you now wield. Be sure to say something while you do it.”

“Like this?”, Dan asked, and swung his sword downward into the ground. “Shining Silver Overdrive!”
The ground burst open in a sudden explosion at the force of the blow, chunks of grass and dirt flying in all directions. Dan recoiled and stumbled a few steps backwards from the sheer force of his own attack, covering his face with his other hand. Flecks and spirals of golden light sparked through the ground, heading away from the impact point before disappearing.
Bowza slapped a hand on Dan’s shoulder, his eyes twinkling while his smile slightly grew. “That, Dan, will do nicely.”

As Brandy leapt out into the cool night air, she felt like shouting for joy. She felt like dancing, or breaking out in song. But most of all, she felt like running home, burying herself in her room, and not coming out for several days, then spending as much time as possible with everyone she knew. Especially Dan. Especially him, the perfect friend. When she got home- she silently rejoiced in the fact that it was no longer just an if, but a perfect, glorious when- she would never complain about anything again. She would embrace life with a passion that she would never let go of, and never lose.

But as excited as she was, Brandy didn’t get to do any of those things. Because as soon as she leapt out into that cool night air, and thought about all those things, a ghostly, immaterial hand fastened around her throat and pulled her back inside, the door closing with the tormented peals of a funeral bell.

Song: Unwinnable Battle

Brandy felt herself get yanked away from the door, and away from her freedom. The door suddenly closed in front of her, and she was thrown back onto the cold stone floor into a prone position. She rolled violently, the blunt force aggravating her already aching body. She noticed a cold trickle of blood begin to fall from her forehead- she must have cut her head during the fall. Brandy looked around, but could see no one, or nothing that could have done this. She felt only a chill in the air, and a haunting sort of presence around her.

She tried to gather her strength, what little of it she had left, and Dash out the door, but she could not. The fights had just taken too much out of her, and Dashing was currently out of the question. So she just took another step towards the door- and felt a hard chop directly to the neck and a blow to the chest that knocked her back onto the ground. She groaned, and her eyes started to involuntarily close. Brandy realized that she might actually die right here.

But she had to keep going. She didn’t know what it was that was doing these things, but none of that would matter once she was outside. Once she was outside, everything would stop. Everything would end, and she could go home. That is what spun in her mind.
So she pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the heavy damage that practically every part of her had taken, and took one single step.

In an instant, a ghostly hand fastened around her throat, lifting her off the ground and into the air. She gasped, and the air flew from her lungs. The hand squeezed tighter, and Brandy raised her hand in a fist. She tried to beat on whatever was holding her, but her blows were weak and ineffectual. She had simply exerted herself too much, and now she was paying the price.
Brandy’s face started to turn red, even as her limbs started to turn white. Her arm dropped, seemingly of its own accord, and she could see the hand appear in front of her. It was covered in chainmail, much like the hand of a Knight or Prince, but it gave off an ethereal red glow. The hand expanded into an arm, then a shoulder. And then, once the head revealed itself, Brandy realized just what she was up against. For she found herself staring directly into the dead, lifeless eyes of a Royal Ghost.

Gratefully, inexplicably, he let go of Brandy’s throat, and dropped her onto the ground. She coughed, and inhaled a deep breath of blessed oxygen. She breathed for a few seconds, the Royal Ghost just floating in front of her for some reason.
“Come on, you wanna fight?”, she mumbled. “Let’s go. I can take you on.”
Brandy knew without a doubt that this Royal Ghost truly was the last obstacle. For real this time. If she won right here, she would have earned her freedom. After being denied it so suddenly, she was now ready for round two.

The Royal Ghost simply sighed. “Sitten putoat.”, he said, and vanished again.
Brandy took what was supposed to be a calculated shot to the neck, but instead turned into a wild swing that left her stumbling across the floor. She almost fell to the ground, but managed to right herself just in time. She spun around, and struck out randomly into the air.
The Royal Ghost suddenly became visible again, clutching his eye. Brandy’s fist had, against all odds, somehow found its mark. But the menacing spirit wasn’t disabled for long. With one swift movement, he moved forward and grabbed Brandy’s forearm, bringing it up high.

“Tama paattyy.”, he whispered, and brought Brandy’s arm down onto his knee with all the force he could muster.

There was a sharp crack. Brandy could hear it, even before she felt the pain. But when she felt it, she felt it. A wave of red-hot, searing agony quickly radiated outward from the Royal Ghost’s attack, and Brandy’s arm fell useless by her side. She knew it had been broken. Brandy barely even had time to gasp in pain before the Royal Ghost planted his knee in her back, sending her sprawling again across the floor.

For several long seconds, she lay there. Brandy wasn’t sure if she was even going to live or not. The pain kept on growing worse, and her previous injuries hurt only worse. She thought about just giving up now, and letting her soul drift away. But she knew, deep down, that that was simply not an option. She had to win here. She had to survive. And Brandy had to get back home. There was simply no other option.

Pure determination flashed through her, and with it, a spark of energy. She defiantly raised one fist into the air, and somehow gave a slow chuckle. “Is that… all you got?”, she whispered, although she tried to shout. Her lungs were damaged just as badly as the rest of her. “Come on, Ghost. I’ve fought harder things than you in… in… my sleep.”

She shakily pointed one finger at the evil figure. “And I swear I will beat you, and get out of here. Or my name’s not Brandy the Bandit!”

The Royal Ghost’s eyes narrowed. “Ei.”, he said. “Nimesi ei ole bändi Brandy. Se ei ole kukaan, orja.”

He lunged forward, and grabbed her foot. Without even a grunt, the Royal Ghost tossed her up into the air. Brandy spun, her eyesight blurring from the motion and the pain, and then she fell back down again right into the Ghost’s other hand. He caught her broken arm, and spun her around his head. The pain, already nightmarish in scope, increased exponentially as the fragments of bone in Brandy’s arm were crushed into powder by the friction. She screamed instinctively, even knowing that it would alert dozens of enemies.

Then, the Royal Ghost grabbed her leg, stopping her spinning, and looked her straight in the eye. His piercing gaze seemed to penetrate all the way deep into Brandy’s soul. “Se on ohi.”, he said. “Olet kadottanut.”
And with that, the Royal Ghost swung Brandy over his head one last time, and dashed her against the solid rock of the floor.

There was another loud crack, and a flash of red seared through Brandy’s mind. She could see it just as clearly as she could feel it- one of her ribs had been shattered to bits. The pain of two crushed bones was unbelievably intense. Brandy fought to maintain consciousness, hoping against hope that she could still somehow make it out of such an impossible situation. She tried to get up, but the most that Brandy could achieve was to flip herself over onto her back. And even that very nearly finished her off.

But then, she saw the worst sight she could imagine. The sight of a now oddly familiar pair of dark red boots. And another, next to it, very nearly the same make and model. She moaned, and tried to cover her eyes with her arm. But one arm was shattered to pieces and the other wouldn’t respond- it was a hopeless struggle. So she could do absolutely nothing as Ryusei_Nakao69 leaned over her broken body, and smiled directly in her face.

“Hello, Miss Brandy.”, he said. “I do hope you’re feeling alright.”

George slapped his knee, throwing his sword onto the ground. He leaned his head back against the brick wall, and groaned. “Man, where even is Bailey?”, he moaned.
He and the rest of his brothers had followed Brandy’s summons as quickly as they could, never even suspecting that it wasn’t actually Bailey who had sent the message. So they were just waiting in front of her room, expecting something that might never arrive.

“I don’t know.”, said Phil. “Maybe she got lost.”
“Got lost?”, said George. “How?”
Phil shrugged. “It's a big castle.”
“Yeah, but Bailey can find her way around.”, George said. “She’s smart.”

Ed looked up from sharpening his sword, and startled as he saw who was at the end of the hallway. “You guys! Look! There she is!”

Bailey limped down the hall, still holding her aching stomach. Even after she had reformed, the colossal might of Brandy’s blow still left a phantom pain. And Bailey wanted nothing more at the moment than to just crawl into her bed and sleep for a bit- 1, 2, maybe 16 hours. So when she saw 5 Barbarians all waiting for her at the entrance to her room, it surprised her a little bit.

“George?”, she wheezed. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Well, I, you, I mean-”, George started, then stopped. “You’re the one that wanted us to come here.”
“What?”, Bailey said, bewildered. “I never…”
“But look!”, said George, worried he might lose this opportunity. “I have the message right here!”

He dug his communicator out of his pocket, called up the appropriate conversation, and showed it to a confused Bailey. She read it, looked up into the faces of the eager Barbarians, then read it again. She sighed a bit, internally.
Brandy must have written this, she thought. I knew she didn’t just take my communicator just to steal it. She took it to steal it and to sneak her way past these guys. Well, I guess I need to somehow break it to these guys that I’m not going to-
Then a thought occurred to her. The only thing that she had really wanted was to climb into bed. So really, when it came right down to it, what exactly was the difference between getting into bed by herself and getting into bed with 5 guys? It would probably be pretty fun. Probably distract her from the pain, too. Definitely, in fact. Very fun, indeed...

Bailey managed to crack a grin, and looked slyly into George’s eyes. “George, I didn’t send that message.”
George’s face fell. “Oh, you didn’t? But- but- but I- we-”
She pressed a finger across his lips. “Shh…”, she said, almost giggling. “Don’t say anything yet. Just hold on.”
Bailey licked her hand seductively, and grabbed the doorknob. “No, I didn’t send that message. But now that I think about it, it might just be exactly what I need.”
And with that, she walked into her door, and all the Barbarians followed her inside.

Song: Dark Rebirth

Brandy felt like she was going to die. Her ferocious fighting spirit had all but left her, stamped out by the overwhelming assault of the Royal Ghost. Without it, Brandy could feel the strange tingling sensation of her fingertips slowly starting to turn into Elixir.
She closed her eyes, and tried to fight it, but the pain was too strong. Brandy could feel the tingling spread from her fingertips, to her palms- and then it stopped.

Brandy opened her eyes again, and saw a soft golden light dripping onto her chest. She followed the stream upwards, seeing that it came from a Heal Spell held by Ryusei_Nakao69.
The magic of the Heal started to knit her wounds shut, and heal her broken bones. There was a brief flash of red pain in her arm as the bone powder solidified, and then it was gone. Brandy experimentally moved her arm- it worked, just as it had before.

She felt theSenate pull her to her feet, and heard the empty bottle being cast aside into a recycle bin built into the walls.
Brandy blinked, and rubbed her eyes. The image of the two Kings in front of her slowly came into view, as well as Valeyrie and Kurizas standing behind them. Valeyrie looked furious, and Kurizas only looked a bit confused.
“What… why?”, Brandy mumbled. “Why are you helping me?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 smiled warmly. “It looked like you were in rather bad shape. I’m sorry if Morgan was a little too hard on you, I really am. I just don’t want anything to happen to your body. Your mind, I don’t care about all that much.”

“Of course.”, Brandy said. She took note of her surroundings. Valeyrie and Kurizas could both easily stop her, but they were behind Ryusei_Nakao69, not in a good spot to attack from. Morgan floated behind him as well.
“Morgan, thank you for your help.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69 with a wave of his hand. “You are dismissed.”
“Kiitos, heranni.”, said Morgan, and turned invisible once more. Brandy could no longer see him, but she could detect the dust of the hallway floor stir as he floated away. Well, that was one problem taken care of.
“Alright, theSenate.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “I can take her from here. And might I add- it’s been a pleasure hunting her with you. We haven’t done that for ages.”
theSenate stepped closer, still not letting go of Brandy. “Agreed, old friend.”
The two shook hands. And in that moment, theSenate temporarily let go of Brandy’s shoulder.

Brandy didn’t wait even a full second. She immediately charged up her Dash, and aimed for the door. With all or at least most of her strength restored by the Heal, busting through it would be no problem. Valeyrie was the first to notice. She tried to stretch out a hand to catch Brandy- but she was too fast.
Brandy Dashed away from the two Kings, still engrossed in conversation, and hit the door to the outside. The ancient wood splintered and gave way, and finally burst open in a shower of broken metal and rotting lumber. Brandy burst forth into the cool night air- and hit a wall.

Brandy fell backwards onto her back. Her mind tried to wrap its way around what had just happened. She had ran outside, then hit a wall where there wasn’t one. Was there an invisible wall? Had Ryusei_Nakao69 gained some Shield technology? Brandy wasn’t sure, but she knew she had to break through. So she stood up, once more.

Ryusei_Nakao69 appeared in the doorway. “Ah, miss Brandy. I see you’ve discovered our interior courtyard.”
Brandy turned around. “What?”
The King gave a low chuckle. “Oh, come now. Did you really think that you had come even close to escaping? No. You never even got anywhere near to the outside. We knew where you were all along.”
“You… you did?”
“Yes, of course. Why else do you think nobody tried to stop you, even in the midst of battle? We were merely using your escape attempt to calibrate our systems against better ones. So I suppose I have to thank you, Brandy. You were most helpful to me.”

Deep inside of her, Brandy felt something break at his words. Something shattered, at this new knowledge. Some fighting spirit, wherever it was in her, fell at last to the truth. Ryusei_Nakao69 had planned all this from the very beginning. He had had complete control over her from the start.
Brandy collapsed to her knees, and stared at the floor. What could she do now, she wondered. Brandy searched her mind for any plan, any idea, and any way to get out of this. But even as she did, she knew that there was nothing. The feeling of Ryusei_Nakao69 grabbing her neck only reinforced that fact.

“Ah, it appears she’s taken off her Power Suppressor.”, said the King. “Kurizas, my boy, could you put on a new one? And make sure it’s around her neck this time.”

“Of course, father.”, said the Prince, and began to grab a new one from the pouch on his belt. He approached Brandy while doing so, but was suddenly shoved aside by Valeyrie, sheer annoyance written on her face. She stomped over to Brandy, grabbed her by the cheeks, and held the defeated Bandit’s face to her own.
“You trying to take Bailey’s trademark, huh?”, she growled, and grabbed the feather out of Brandy’s hood. “Yeah, no.”

She yanked it away, and spat on Brandy’s face in disgust. “I’m taking this back where it belongs.”, she muttered, and pulled out her communicator. “Let’s see, where is she now?”
She typed a few words- where are you, bailey? I have your feather- , and waited for a response. Within seconds, she got one in the form of a picture- one that showed, in explicit detail, exactly what Bailey was up to at the moment. Valeyrie stared at the image for a few seconds, then put away her communicator and stared into the wall.

Brandy felt the Power Suppressor tighten around her neck as Kurizas snapped it into place, then turned it on. The Red light washed across her body, her eyes becoming a light shade of purple, and her skin slightly tingling. She felt the power to Dash once again leave her, and knew that there was no point in struggling anymore. It was over. She had lost.

Song: Irreversible Sadness

“Miss Brandy.”, came the voice of Ryusei_Nakao69 from somewhere behind her. theSenate and Kurizas had already left, leaving the two completely alone. “Now that if appears you’ve truly given up, I have a special job for you.”
“What?”, she replied, so quietly she almost couldn’t even be heard.
The King smiled. “The second day of the Clan party is almost upon us. I’m going to need you to be our main waitress. Do you think you’re up for it?”
Brandy scowled, although no one could see it but her. “Forget it.”, she said, pure anger tainting the edges of her voice.
“Oh, don’t be like that.”, he said, and started to walk behind her. “I think you’ll quite take a liking to it. Waiting tables is an honorable first position as a slave.”
“I’m not your slave.”, she growled, still refusing to look behind her, choosing only to stare into the cold, hard, ground.
“Oh, miss Brandy.”, the King said. “Don’t say things like that. You are, and there is nothing you can do about it.”
He leaned closer, and spoke directly into her ear. “In fact, by the time the Grand Feast is over, by the time the first light of dawn comes through the windows, you will be begging to be my slave willingly.”
Each word he spoke was perfectly punctuated, separated from each other- but no less smooth and elegant. “I promise you that.”

Brandy chose to say nothing.
“Or, if you like, you can simply spin The Wheel.”, he said slyly. “Why don’t you take a look.”
He waved his fingers, and a red wooden wheel appeared out of the shadows as if by magic.
Brandy slightly tilted her head to look at what she was sure was some infernal contraption- but it was just a simple wheel, one that wouldn’t look out of place at a festival or a carnival.
“Why don’t you read those options out loud, miss Brandy.”, said the King. “See if there’s anything you like.”
Brandy took in the words written all along the slices of the wheel, trying not to think of what they meant.
“Dragon Food. Deepest Dungeons. Experimentation. Body Swap. Elixicles. Free Use. The Machine.”, she listed off, and went silent. Those options, whatever they meant, seemed worse. But then, she saw a very thin slice of the wheel at the bottom, painted white. Freedom, it read, in bright golden letters. Brandy’s heart jumped, and her eyes widened.

“Ah, I see you’ve noticed the freedom option.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “Yes, very rarely does anyone land on that one. But it does happen- lost many a fine Troop that way. I had to let them go.”
“Re- really?”, asked Brandy softly. “If I land on it, you’ll actually let me go?”
“Yes.”, said the King. “I swear on my very existence.”
He gestured towards the wheel. “Now, would you care to spin?”
Brandy’s heart raced. If she pulled this off, she would be out of here, no questions asked. She put a hand on the wheel, prepared herself to spin- and then, she stopped.
Is this really worth it?, she thought. All these options look even worse than what I have now, and Freedom’s so small. Do I really want to do this?
As she was pondering, she saw something on the wheel that solidified her decision. A very small, simple, carving of a Knight. And she remembered- her Clan was still coming.

Brandy let her hand fall from the wheel without spinning, and she sighed. Ryusei_Nakao69 smiled. “Ah, you’re willingly giving up your only chance at freedom. That’s very good, Miss Brandy- we’ll make a good slave of you yet.”
He grabbed her roughly by the neck, and hoisted her up onto her feet. “Come now. Let’s go get you ready.”
And so it was that Brandy allowed herself to be led away, into the darkness. For even though she had been utterly beaten, she still held on to some phantom hope that her Clan would arrive.

Ratool slumped against the hallway just outside Bailey’s room, and cracked a grin.
I can’t believe I actually got Kidnap Squad 6 to make me their honorary 6th member, he thought. They just told me to wait here until they were ready for me…
He got up, tired of waiting.
“Well, if I’m going to be sitting around for 30 minutes, I’ve got nothing better to do.”, he said to nobody in particular. “It looks like the best place to wait is…”
He sneaked over to the locked entrance to Bailey’s room. “Right outside Bailey’s door.”
He looked around to see if no one was watching. Nobody was, so he leaned closer. “And if my eye just so happens to wander near the keyhole…”
He planted his eye right on the keyhole, and stared through. His heart almost ruptured as he saw exactly what was happening in the room, in full detail. Ratool couldn’t believe his luck again- he had been waiting for a sight like this for years.
He withdrew, and crossed his arms across his chest. “Nice!”

Chapter Text

A bush cracked, and fell. The leaves burned apart under a wave of golden light, and the entire plant turned into a shimmering Gem. Moments later, it was snatched up and hidden by a random Goblin in a place only they know.
Bowza nodded appreciatively. “Good, good. That’s very good, Dan. You’re definitely growing.”
Dan turned to the Magic Archer, still slightly huffing from the exertion. “You think I’m ready to take him on?”
Bowza thought for a moment. “No, not yet. You see, there’s still one more thing I have to teach you.”
He got up, and twirled his bow. “You see, true mastery of The Star is not only energy use. For there is known to its disciples - myself included - a certain battle cry. One that will increase your strength exponentially, with every punch you throw.”
Dan perked up. “Really? What is it?”
It took Bowza several seconds to respond. He was feeling even more terribly mysterious than normal today, and that was reflected in his behaviour. “The battle cry is… ora.”

“...Ora?”, Dan asked. “That’s it?”
“Yes, but repeated.”, said Bowza. “Over and over again, and said while you punch.”
He gave a small gesture. “Go ahead, try it.”
“Well, okay.”, said Dan, and closed his eyes. He raised one fist behind him and breathed in, gathering the latent energy from the air and the sunlight within him. Finally, he concentrated it in his now-glowing fist, and opened his eyes. He selected his target- a large Stone just 3 feet away from him. An easy distance for his Star-enhanced limbs to cover.

“Ora!”, Dan shouted, and punched. Once his fist hit the rock, there was a tremendous crack. A tiny fissure had appeared in the Stone with just one blow.
“Oraoraoraoraoraoraora!”, Dan yelled, and continued his flurry of blows. Each felt even more powerful than the last, and his fists seemed to speed up as well. With each devastating punch Dan landed on his target, the hard Stone split and fractured. Within mere seconds of attacking, the Stone barely held together.
“Oraaa!”, Dan roared, and gave one last, especially powerful blow. The rock shook at the force of it, and at last collapsed into a pile. The chunks of rock were absorbed into the ground, leaving behind only some small traces of rubble and another small pile of Gems, almost immediately snatched up by another Goblin. Or it might have been the same one- there wasn’t really any way to tell with how fast he ran.

Dan stood there for a second. He looked at his armored fists, practically smoking.
All that came out of me?, he thought. Seriously?
He clenched his fist and looked up into the sky. Awesome!
Dan heard a slow clap behind him. He turned around, still heavily breathing, to see Bowza slowly applauding. “Very nice indeed, Dan.”, he said. “I think you’re ready.”

An hour passed.

The door to Chloe’s room slowly creaked open. A shaft of yellow light flew from the hall and crept across the floor, only slightly illuminating the young Princess’s bed.
“Chloe?”, came the impeccabley evil voice of Ryusei_Nakao69 from the hall. “It’s time to wake up.”
Chloe sat up in her bed. “I’m already awake, Daddy.”, she said.
Ryusei_Nakao69 entered the room, and drew closer to Chloe. “Ah, so you are. What kept you awake?”
Chloe drew her knees to her chest. “I don’t know. What happened last night, I guess.”
“What happened last night?”, the King asked. “Why, what happ- oh. Right. You’re thinking about Brandy, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”, Chloe admitted. “I thought she was nice.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 sighed deeply, and put his hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “I know that’s how she was acting. But in reality, things could not be any farther from the truth.”
“What?”, Chloe asked, and looked up into her father’s eyes. “But- but-”
“I can see how you would be fooled by her clever pretense.”, the King said. “But do you know what she did, once she managed to escape from your room?”
Chloe shook her head.
“I thought not. You really shouldn’t be concerning yourself with these things, but I guess I have to tell you anyway. You know Bailey, right? And Ratool?”
Chloe nodded. “Yeah. They’re my friends.”
“Well, the very first thing Brandy did upon escaping was incapacitate Ratool, and steal his most prized possessions. Then, after knocking some random Musketeer unconscious and killing Vern, she killed Bailey. Then she killed Rex the Baby Dragon- you remember him, don’t you? - and then even managed to kill Valeyrie. In the end, only Morgan could stop her murderous rampage.”
Chloe’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Oh.”, she said. “I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t, Chloe.”, said the King. “That’s why I told you.”
He got back up again, and turned to leave. “Now get ready. The feast is going to start soon.”
“Already?”, Chloe asked. “But it's early morning.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 pulled at his collar, slightly nervously. “Yes, well… we rescheduled. Don’t ask why.”
He had almost left the room, and was about to close the door, when Chloe spoke up one last time. “Daddy?”
He turned. “Yes, Chloe?”
“I let her out. It was me that unlocked the door.”
The King’s face twisted slightly. Not enough for anyone to see, but twist it did. “I see.”, he said, and left the room.

Another hour passed.

“Hold still, Brandy.”, grunted a Dark Prince. “Just hold still.”
“I am holding still.”, said Brandy quietly. Her “training” - so called because most of it was just being yelled at by an increasingly frustrated Dark Prince - had taken several hours, and had also taken a lot out of her. It was only slightly her fault that the Dark Prince was frustrated with her. Actually, it was a lot her fault- she had been the one to manage to steal his shield while he was distracted, and sneak an ice cube down his armor without him noticing. She smiled internally- every little bit counted, when she was getting back at TheEvilOverLords.

“Well, hold still harder.”, he growled, and continued to fumble with the name tag. “Ah! There we go!”
He finally managed to pin the tag on- it was rather hard with thick metal-covered fingers- and stood back to admire his handiwork. He also took a brief second to squeeze Brandy’s chest, just because he could.

“Now remember.”, he said. “You are only the waitress. You ask them what you want, and that’s it. No mischief, no funny stuff, no anything. You got that?”
“Yes, I have it.”, Brandy sighed. She visualized her ripping the Dark Prince’s helmet off and spitting down his throat to help her restrain herself.
“Yes I have it, what?”, he asked.
“I don’t know.”, Brandy said. “What?”
The Dark Prince’s eyebrows furrowed. The action would have been easier to see, if he wasn’t wearing a thick metal helmet. But he was, and so nobody noticed.
“Sir.”, he barked. “You’re supposed to say sir. And to any King or Princess, say Master and Mistress. Remember?”
“I remember…”, Brandy said coldly, and spat out her words. “Sir.”
The Dark Prince crossed his right arm across his chest. “Good. That’s much better. Now get to the kitchen. You’ll meet your partner.”
He gave her a huge shove on the back, and Brandy stumbled. She caught herself just before she hit the ground, nearly scraping her hands in the process. She didn’t look back, but she did scowl.
“Come on, get off of the floor.”, the Dark Prince said one last time. “And just remember-”
The Dark Prince hissed his next words, trying to be as haunting as possible. “We already won.”

Brandy opened a layer of doors- there certainly were a lot of them in the castle- and saw a bustling kitchen. It was mostly staffed with Goblins and Skeletons, although there were a few other Troops.
A chaos of Goblins stabbed a large slab of meat over and over, under the pretense of “tenderizing” it. A yard of Skeletons danced on bars over an immense vat of pasta, each kick of their bony feet spreading more cheese across the mixture. A small team of Villagers worked on cutting boards, slicing vegetables into tiny pieces and tossing them up into the air. Every chunk was almost immediately grabbed by a Bat or a Minion, and dropped onto a plate. There were several Builders hard at work, busy upgrading various kitchen equipment. Above it all, almost obnoxiously loud rock music blasted from apparently hidden speakers, and a mysterious individual stood at the front of the room, delicately preparing a single meal.
Even if this Clan was practically the epitome of evil, Brandy almost admired their efficiency. Despite the apparent chaos, things all seemed to be in order. And she was almost glad she had been selected for the food team, instead of some other job.

“Hey, Max, she’s here.”, grunted a Villager, and jerked her head to indicate Brandy.
“Thank you, Trisha.”, said the mysterious figure kindly. “Gorge, bring her here.”
A Builder nodded. “Okay, sir. I will.”
He stuck out a hand towards Brandy, inviting her to follow. She shook her head. “I can find my way myself, thank you.”
She made her way to the figure, dodging a giant pot swung haphazardly overhead by a flying Mega Minion, and just managing to step her way over a sprinting trio of Fire Spirits. They were chased by a long, armored creature, legs sticking out of it every few inches. It chittered softly as it went. Brandy thought it just looked… unnatural.
But she at last arrived at the figure, and placed her hands on the counter. “Alright, I’m here. What do you want?”
The figure turned to her, revealing a pale, young looking face. He had a shock of blond, unkept hair, and a kind look in his eyes. Brandy had never seen anyone, or anything, that looked like him before.
“Pardon me,”, Brandy asked almost timidly, “but what are you? I’ve never seen anything like you before.”
He smiled. “Oh yes- I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I?”
He stuck out a hand, and Brandy slowly shook it. “You see, my name is Maximillion, but you can just call me Max. I’m the Senior Chef around here, cook meals for all the top Troops and Kings. And I was also a Dark Prince.”

“A… Dark Prince?”, Brandy asked. “Then where’s your helmet?”
“Oh, they took it away.”, Max said. “LeChris personally was curious to see what a Dark Prince looks like without his helmet- did you know he doesn’t actually have one?”
“No…”, said Brandy.
“Yeah, he actually doesn’t.”, Max continued. “I guess I just kind of know useless stuff like that.”
He returned to preparing the food, mixing a glass of red wine with a mysterious, slightly glowing substance. It appeared to be some form of Elixir, but Brandy had never seen Elixir like it before. It was thick, and poured with the consistency of barbecue sauce. It was a dark red, and almost appeared to be slightly glowing.
“So, you’re our new waitress?”
“Yeah, I guess I am.”, Brandy admitted. “But don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not here for long. My Clan’s coming to get me in just a few hours.”
Max sliced a carrot in half and pushed it to the side. “Oh, yeah. That’s what they all say. What I said, too. When they caught me, I thought my Clan would come and save me.”
“What… what happened?”, Brandy asked, not entirely sure if she wanted to know the answer.
“They did come.”, Max said. “But they didn’t stand a chance. TheEvilOverLords are used to this sort of thing- my clan was all killed within minutes.”

Brandy felt her throat catch a bit. “Well… that’s not gonna happen with me. You’ll see.”
“And that’s exactly what I thought.”, said Max, and gestured behind him. “Yo Rex, get me another bottle of BE.”
A Builder tossed Max another bottle of the strange red substance, and Max stirred it into a thick white mixture. “But to be honest, I’m fine with working here. I never did like the battling- it was too much stress. Too much noise. I like cooking more.”
“But Max…”, Brandy said. “Don’t you miss it? Don’t you miss the thrill of it? The roar of the crowds? The rush of battle? The excitement of winning?”
She slammed her hands down onto the counter, and looked into his eyes. “Don’t you miss that at all? How are you okay with this?”
Max calmly wiped down a knife with a damp cloth, then tossed it onto a plate. He looked downwards, purposely avoiding Brandy’s gaze. “No. No, I don’t, and I’m perfectly fine with it. Now go deliver these.”
He handed Brandy a huge tray, with several dishes loaded onto it. “They say who they’re going to on each one. And don’t worry, you’ll know who’s who.”
He gave her one last look before Brandy headed out the door. “And good luck out there. You’ll need it.”
Brandy, struggling a bit under the weight of the tray, turned to leave. Max watched her go. He did indeed genuinely enjoy cooking here, but what she said gave him just a little bit of pause.
“Hey, Max.”, said a Builder. “You stopped cooking. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, Rex.”, said Max. “Just a little thinking.”

A leaf crunched underfoot, the weight of Dan’s foot pressing down onto it. He looked up, trying to make out the distance shapes through the treeline. The light of dawn showed hints of beginning to creep over the horizon.
“What do you see, Dan?”, asked Agatha. “Anything?”
Dan frowned. “No, not anything yet. It looks like we’ve still got a while to go until we- huh?”
He had stepped on something odd. He leaned down, and plucked the strange object off of the ground. It was a small rectangle, covered with dirt. He held it up, and wiped the dirt off of its surface- to reveal a Card.
The small plastic rectangle was tinted orange, and a display of an Ice Golem was mounted somewhere within. Dan watched the light catch it, seeing patterns swirl around.
Brandy would have loved to find this, he thought. She would have loved to steal it.

He mentally chided himself for using such language in his thoughts. He couldn’t think of Brandy in the past tense like that. Agatha could tell she was still alive, with her special Witch-type magic, or something. Dan didn’t really understand any of it, but he did know that Brandy was still alive- no, is still alive. No, wait. Was actually was more grammatically appropriate.
But to Dan, keeping a positive mindset on the state of his best friend was far more important than proper mental grammar. Is it was, then.
He tucked the Card into his pocket to give to Brandy later, and looked up.
“Never mind.”, he said. “We’ve got to be close.”

Brandy swung open the heavy double doors to the Grand Ballroom, the rich crimson velvet glinting in the light of the massive overhead chandelier. As soon as she entered the immense room, Brandy could feel it.
A weighty sense of pure opulessence covered the room like a choking mold, and the red light only added to the sensation. Brandy could smell the raw evil, and taste the darkness. She could see the pride and lust that permeated the atmosphere, and feel the overwhelming corruption the entire Clan was doused in.

A Valkyrie pole-danced against a far wall. Overwhelmingly loud, aggressive-sounding music echoed as she spun around the metal pole, gazing into the audience of Barbarians with a look of false longing. She turned to face the wall, and backstage, then tore her top off and threw it into the cheering crowd. She rotated her head, blew a kiss, then strutted offstage.

Multiple gangs of Goblins crowded around a betting table, half or all drunk on tons of Elixir. A Goblin Brawler sat in the middle, shuffling betting chips from one hand to the other.
“I bet 500 Gold on the red!”, shouted a Goblin, slurring his words. “And I want the Archer!”
“Hey, no fair!”, moaned another. “I wanted her!”
The two erupted into a fistfight, right in front of the terrified Archer. She was tied to a board, behind the Goblin Brawler. She had been Kidnap Squad 6’s next target, after Brandy.
That was how it worked, for the Clan. As soon as one target was stolen, another was chosen. And even though Brandy had been a struggle, they had subdued her. Just as they had subdued everyone. She wasn’t anything special, to most of them. Just another job, in an endless series.

Brandy turned her head from these proceedings, and looked instead at her first delivery. It was a huge barbecue platter, set to be delivered to Kidnap Squad 8. Okay, then. It also said that they were a group of Sneaky Archers, usually found sitting at Table 68. Fortunately, that just so happened to be right next to Brandy.
Wordlessly, she took the plate off of the tray, and placed it on the table. One of the Sneaky Archers took notice, and looked up, but nothing more. Merely a raised eyebrow, and a slight movement of the hand. Brandy didn’t stick around to see if they would take it or not- she just walked away, and looked at her next assignment.
This one was for a Mega Knight and a Royal Giant, that were supposed to be sitting at Table 17. Brandy didn’t fancy walking all the way there, but she supposed she had no choice.

A figure sitting at a table across the room took a sip of his tea, and peered over the edge of his newspaper. His snow-blue, piercing eyes took in Brandy, and he read her plight. He knew he could only help her a little bit for now, but a little bit for him could be quite a lot.
He flicked his finger, and space contracted. With one step, Brandy felt the world fall around her. There was a roar in her ears, a snap of feeling against her skin, and then she was at the other edge of the room, right on Table 17.

Brandy looked over herself. What was that?, she wondered. It felt almost like a Dash, but… wasn’t. I definitely did not do that.
But, seeing no good explanation, she just chalked it up to some sort of experiment, and moved on. She had a table to serve.
There sat a Mega Knight and a Royal Giant, just like the card had promised. The Royal Giant seemed utterly engrossed with himself, staring deeply into a handheld mirror and murmuring things Brandy couldn’t quite hear.
The Mega Knight, on the other hand, wasn’t doing anything. Or saying anything, or even really looking at anything. He just stared straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought. Brandy could feel the power coming from him. It felt almost unnatural, a very menacing aura.

“Uh, sirs?”, Brandy squeaked. “Here are your dinners that you ordered.”
She waited a few seconds for an answer, but none came. Neither of them spoke, looked at her, or even really acknowledged that Brandy was there. So she just slid the huge plate of steak and fish onto the table, and looked up.

A Goblin tapped her on the shoulder, and Brandy turned. “Just leave it.”, he said, as he chewed loudly on both some barbecue wings and gum. At the same time. “They’re never gonna hear you.”

“Uh, okay.”, Brandy said. “Well, that’s that, I gue-”
She started to return to the kitchen, but a Royal Recruit blocked her way.
“Waitress, you need to take orders now.”, he said. “Not just bring food. There is a pen and paper tucked into your pockets- I believe they will prove most useful.”

Chapter Text

Meg stabbed her spaghetti with her fork, swirling it around on her plate. The red sauce glistened in the bright lights shining from overhead, lit by a hundred Teslas.
“Hey Meg, I’m gonna sit here.”, came a voice from in front of her, on the other end of the table. “That alright with you?”
Meg looked up in shock. As long as she had lived, almost a week now, nobody had ever asked to sit with her before. “Wha-”
“Okay then, guess it's alright.”, said Bailey, as she sat down. She held a plate full of antipasto, the rich red and green colors matching her uniform. She withdrew a special Gold-plated fork from her sleeve and began to eat.
“Isn’t that fork Daniel’s?”, Meg asked, referring to a Prince. “Where did you get that?”
“Stole it.”, said Bailey through a mouthful of food, then swallowed. “What did you think?”
“Oh.”, said Meg. “So, why did you sit here?”
“I don’t know. Just thought I should. You seem pretty lonely.”
“Oh.”, said Meg again, then took another look at Bailey. “Are you alright, Bailey? You seem a little off. You know, if- if you don’t mind me asking.”
“No, no, I’m fi-”, Bailey started, then stopped. “No. You know what- I’m not fine. I always pretend I am, but I’m not.”

She stiffened in her chair, and pushed her plate to one side, side-arming in the face a Goblin that tried to steal it. “You know something, Meg? Can I tell you something?”
“Uh, sure, I guess?”, Meg said. “I mean, no one’s ever really as-”
Bailey ignored her, and kept on talking. “I just feel bad about it, you know? The prisoners. Stopping them, I mean. Like, they all escape, and I stop them almost every time, but I just feel worse and worse about it each time. They always look so desperate- these last few times have been really getting to me.”
Meg slowly put another forkful of pasta into her mouth. “I… guess I know what you mean. I- I- I almost- I mean-”
“Just spit it out, Meg.”, said Bailey. “Come on, you can do it.”
Meg shook her head, and started again. “I mean, everyone always says that the best thing to do is what your King says, but… well…”
Meg looked up. “Can I tell you a secret?”
Bailey nodded, and leaned closer over the tables. Meg drew close to the Bandit’s ear, and opened her mouth to speak.
“I don’t want to be Red anymore.”, Meg whispered, and Bailey drew back in shock.
“Meg… what are you saying?”, Bailey hissed. “Here I am just not wanting to be as cruel anymore, and then here you are plotting… well… plotting full on betrayal!”
Meg leaned back in her chair, and spread her hands out. “Woah, not betrayal, no. Just maybe I could sneak away, and maybe go join a Blue King. You know, maybe. With a capital M.”
Bailey massaged her forehead. “Meg, that is full on betrayal! You can’t just-”
There was a cough from somewhere behind them. Bailey stopped talking, and looked up. “Okay, to be continued.”

To her mild surprise, she saw Brandy standing there, pen and paper in hand.
“Good morning.”, she said sadly. “Is there anything I can get you?”
“Oh, no,”, began Meg. “Sorry, but we just ate-”
Bailey waved her hand to silence her, and Meg dutifully obeyed the gesture. “Hold on. I want to talk with Brandy for a bit.”
Bailey looked up at Brandy. “So. You seem pretty capable.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”, Brandy said quietly.
Bailey leaned back a bit in surprise. The last time she had seen Brandy was just after she had beaten Bailey in single combat. She had managed to overcome the level difference, merely through pure skill and talent. Bailey knew it was possible, but she hadn’t expected it to happen to her.
“What are you talking about?”, Bailey said. “You’re strong.”
She motioned for Brandy to lean closer, and she did so. “In fact, I have a little offer for you. I’m putting together a little strike force- one to rob places all around the world. Not just the Royale Islands- I’m talking the Hay Day Farms, the Boom Beaches- everywhere. After the dinner, we can recruit you. What do you say?”

Brandy just shook her head sadly. “No. I can’t.”
“No?”, Bailey said. “What do you mean, no? I’m giving you the offer of a lifetime, and you’re throwing it away?”
“I’m sorry,”, Brandy said, “but it seems your group is only for exceptional people. And I’m not exceptional. I’m nothing. I’m nobody.”
Brandy left the table, leaving Bailey in a state of confusion and almost fear. Brandy had been such a proud, strong-willed warrior when they last fought. Bailey shuddered just thinking about what had been done to her to reduce her to such a willing servant.

But in fact, nothing had been done. Brandy still fought on, silently. She had come up with a plan- one to make everyone think she had been broken. But once the time was right, she would strike. She would strike, and bring down the whole Clan at once. All it would take was one single, precise, perfect blow.
But for now, there was still the dinner to attend to. And part of that dinner was taking the orders of a table of Bowlers.

“Good morning, sirs.”, Brandy said. “Very early morning. What would you like?”
A Bowler looked up from staring into nothing long enough to take in Brandy. Even though his eyesight was blurred and his mind even more so, he could still comprehend Brandy as a waitress.
“Yeah, can I get a… a… uhhhh....”, the Bowler said, struggling to remain consciousness. He had had a very long night, and the massive amounts of Dark Elixir he had already drunk didn’t help. “Boneless Dark Elixir?”
“Oh, shut up Jobe.”, said one of the others, and slapped the table. “You’re drunk.”
Jobe, Jobe… where have I heard that name before?, Brandy wondered, then suddenly remembered. Jobe was the name of Webert’s clone!
She took a closer look at the huge Bowler draped across the table- sure enough, he had a pale blue tint to his skin and a magnificent beard. This was her friend.
“Is your food already coming?”, she asked him, hoping he was lucid enough to get her hint. “If so, when will it arrive?”
Fortunately, Webert was mostly faking his drunkenness, and he understood Brandy’s message almost immediately. “Oh, it's coming alright.”, he said, and gave a big fat blue wink. “Probably just around 15 minutes before it gets here.”

Brandy’s heart jumped in her chest. 15 minutes? That was hardly any time at all! Just a bit more stalling, and then she would be out of here! But she contained her excitement, and politely bowed to Webert. “Alright, sir.”, she said. “Thank you for the information.”

Ryusei_Nakao69 pulled back his chair with a long screech, and sat down. He groaned as his old, tired legs were finally allowed to rest, and leveled his gaze to peer out on the entire room at once. He smiled in satisfaction.
All of his plans for that day were complete. Brandy had finally been subdued, the Clan Party was going off without a hitch, he had just gotten a Mega Lightning Chest that morning, and his benefactor wasn’t expecting payment for a few weeks. Yes indeed, life was good to him.

Chloe sat down next to him, followed by Veronica and Stacy. The two older Princesses cast a slight look of disgust at their younger sister- even more so than the look of revulsion they wore pretty much all the time.
Ryusei_Nakao69 clapped his hands, and a Barley appeared as if by magic. It wasn’t his, of course- it had been stolen. Right from the closet where it had been sleeping, deep in the heart of the Brawl Desert. He was quite proud of that job, seeing as it was one he had actually done himself. Once the Barley was captured, it had been a simple matter to reprogram it. It already wanted to serve by instinct- it was just a matter of telling it who to do so to.

“Your wine list is ready, sire.”, said the Barley in a clean, proper voice, only slightly ringing of its metallic origins. “Shall I show you?”
“Yes.”, said the King. “That would be lovely.”
“Excellent.”, said the Barley. “Here it is.”
He unfurled an old-looking scroll from his hand, and let it roll across the table. Ryusei_Nakao69, without even looking, picked one at random. Truth be told, he didn’t care much for wine. He would much rather just drink a simple soda- but he did have appearances to keep up. So wine it was.
“Ah, the Crimson Heart Wine.”, said the Barley. “That one’s hard to beat.”
The robot laughed internally at his own joke, then turned to address Chloe. “And what would you like, young miss?”
“I wanna 3-Crown Cola.”, she said.
“What flavor?”, the Barley responded.
“Um...Blueberry Bandit.”, Chloe said.
If one were to look closely, they could have seen Ryusei_Nakao69’s and Veronica’s face slightly twitch in unison.

The Barley dispensed a small can, and Chloe eagerly reached for it. But before she could pop it open, a huge form slammed into the seat beside her, almost causing her to drop the can onto the floor.
“Sorry I’m late.”, said Chad, and leaned back. “I was, uh, doing stuff.”
Valeyrie sat down in the seat next to him, and drew her finger across his shoulder. “I’m stuff.”
“Wait, wha-”, Chad started, but was interrupted by Rysuei_Nakao69’s laugh. “Chad, your girlfriend is awesome.”
The group’s missing member, Rick, spun out a chair next to Valeyrie and sat down. In his hand was a single black envelope. “Mail’s here.”
“Really?”, mused the King, and took it. “I wasn’t expecting anything.”
He sliced open the envelope with a small blade on one of his pointer fingers, and held the pitch-black paper up to the light. He didn’t see anything at first, but upon tilting the paper back and forth, he was able to make out some shining letters.

Song: Un’altra Persona

Expect me, they read. Ryusei_Nakao69 felt a shiver run down his back.
He turned the letter over, and saw more letters seemingly appear out of nowhere. Expect me like you expect the sun to rise.
The King turned the letter over again, but saw nothing else. He was about to drop the letter onto the table, when he saw the surface of the letter stir. The sight was only for him- nobody else sitting at the table had any inkling it was happening.
He saw the paper twist into an evil-looking face, its glowing eyes staring directly into his.
So expect me, mortal, it said through spiked teeth, eyes bursting with flame with every syllable. I’m coming.

And then it was gone. Not just the face, but the entire letter. The envelope had vanished too.
Ryusei_Nakao69 thumped himself on the chest, and breathed out. “Well then.”, he said under his breath. “I might have to hurry up.”

“Daddy?”, came the worried voice of Chloe. “What was that?”
“Yo, Dad.”, said Stacy. “What was that thing all about?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 waved his hand to silence them. “Nothing. It was nobody. Which reminds me, I have to go speak to theSenate.”
“How does that remind you-, Veronica started, but her father’s piercing glare stopped her from finishing the sentence. But behind the regular authority, there was something she had never seen before. Fear. In the eyes of Ryusei_Nakao69, there was real fear.

“Good morning, sir.”, said Brandy. “What would you like?”
"Oh, I'll have the Triple Elixir platter. And the Spell Valley special.”, said the Hog Rider she was talking to. Mercifully, it was a different one than the one she had fought earlier. Brandy was pretty sure the Hog would attack her on sight- she would. “And Baconator Jr. here will have the scraps.", he said, and petted his Hog. “And Baconator Jr. here will have the scraps.”
"Understood. Will that be all?", Brandy asked.
"Yeah.", he smiled. “But don’t forget the cheese.”

Alrighty, Brandy thought. Guess I should report back to the kitchen now… if I should even bother. I mean, Clan’s coming in 15 minutes. No, wait…
Brandy stopped right in the middle of the aisle. Webert said that, like, 15 minutes ago.
She looked at one of the clocks surrounding the walls. It had, in fact, been 14 minutes and 50 seconds since Webert had given her the time. Brandy’s heart swelled. Only 10 more seconds. Only 9 more seconds. Only 8 more seconds. Only 7. Only 6. Only 5...4...3…
theSenate and LeChris looked up from their respective meals.
“Do you hear something?”, theSenate said.
LeChris looked up, and frowned. “No.”, he said. “Why?”
“Oh, just wondering. I do think I heard something.”, theSenate said, and the two Kings went back to their meal.
2 more seconds, Brandy thought. 1 more second. And…

Nothing happened. Brandy looked around expectantly, but nobody appeared. No walls were demolished, no Clanmates swooped in to dish out justice. Brandy started to get a little worried.
“Where are they?”, she whispered underneath her breath. “Why aren’t they already here?”
Horrible possibilities flickered through her mind. Were they dead? Were they lost? Was Webert wildly off, and they wouldn’t arrive for 15 more hours?
The worst one of all briefly flashed across Brandy’s consciousness- that they were never even coming in the first place. That Brandy really was worthless to them, and Webert’s Clone was only there on accident. That perhaps, nobody cared about Brandy, and that she really was destined to stay here.
But that thought died quickly, as Brandy remembered that Webert had said that it would be about 15 minutes before they got here. Not exactly. There was a little bit of margin of error. So in the meantime, it was to be that she reported back to the kitchen.
Brandy looked to the side of the room. She started to walk, then stopped. Because two tables down, there was a… a…

Brandy didn't know what he was. He didn't appear to be any sort of troop she knew of, and he certainly didn't look like a king, either. He wore a long brown leather coat, accented with various pockets of various sizes and light tan lines running down the seams. He was wearing a top hat over his light hair, which couldn’t seem to make up its mind whether it wanted to be white, blond, or light brown. Two black gloves, much like Brandy’s own, covered his hands. His face was worn and weathered, but he didn't seem old at all- the way he carried himself, he actually seemed quite young. A powerful, mysterious aura of sheer mystery surrounded him- Brandy could almost make out the shapes of flame dancing around his table. Upon seeing Brandy, he put down the immense book that he was reading, and turned to face her.
"Ah, Brandy.”, he said. “There you are. I knew you would come around here eventually."
As soon as his voice his Brandy’s ears, her heart glowed, just a little bit. He sounded bright, yet cool. Exhilarating, yet calming. He just felt… right.
Brandy didn’t really know what to say to such an individual. “Um… can I get you anything? Sir?”, wasn’t quite right, but that’s what slipped out.
“Oh, no.”, he said softly. “I wouldn’t want you to work any harder than you already are.”
Brandy was quite taken aback by him. He seemed utterly calm here, despite the overwhelming evil. "Excuse me, but... who are you?", she asked, curious, and swallowed hard.

"That's not important right now.", he said, “Don’t worry about it. He then lifted his hand, and seemed to address some unknown, unseen individual. "Charlie, put it on pause for a little bit, would you?”
Almost instantly, the roar of the people in the room came to a halt. The frantic movement of the dancers, the revelers- they all came to a close. Any and all sound and activity halted, Brandy and the stranger suddenly becoming the only signs of life. The man, whoever he was, had just stopped time.

Brandy was about to ask how he could have possibly done such a thing, when she realized one thing. This was her chance. This man, whoever he was, had just freed her. With time stopped, she could escape at her leisure. Absolutely nothing could stop her.
Brandy jumped away- yet remained in the same spot. Even though her muscles strained, Brandy could not move either.
“You can’t move in stopped time, Brandy. Don’t try it.”, he said, and poured himself some tea.
“Just hear out my message.”
Brandy let herself stop trying to move, and resigned herself to listening.
“I know things look pretty bad right now.”, he said, and blew on his tea. “But really, they’re not. You might think your clanmates aren’t coming. But they’re practically here. You might think there’s no way out of this. But there are many. But most of all-”
He put down his tea, and stared directly into Brandy’s eyes.
“You might think you will never forgive. But you will. And it's always darkest before the dawn.”
And with that, the man set down his tea, snapped his fingers, and vanished.
Time resumed, and Brandy vanished too. But instead of vanishing to some higher realm, as He had certainly done, Brandy merely vanished and reappeared inside of the kitchen.

“Ah, theSenate.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “Just the person I was looking for.”
He sat down at theSenate’s and LeChris’s table, in the sort of way one would sit down in a sort-of, but not quite a, hurry.
“Did you wish to speak to me about anything in particular, Ryusei_Nakao69?”, theSenate replied.
“I just wanted to congratulate you on what a great plan you had earlier.”, his friend replied.
“Which plan?”, asked theSenate. “The one where even though we had lost Brandy somewhere in the castle, and had practically no idea where she had gone, we told her we knew all this time and were just using her to find out our weaknesses?”
“Ah, yes, that’s the one.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, and the two Kings laughed. LeChris laughed too, although not as much. It was really more of a chuckle.

Dan put his hand to his forehead to block out the sun, and peered over the treeline. He could see a massive, dark crimson shape in the forest of deadwood- the Clan Castle of TheEvilOverLords.
Even from here, he could feel the sheer darkness from within. He shuddered to think of what had happened to Brandy while she was in there, and almost hoped he would never find out.
He clenched his fist tightly, and sparks of pure Star Energy flew up and down his armor. He knew without a single doubt that this was going to be the hardest fight of his life- much, much harder than anything the Arenas possibly had to offer.
His main target was Chad. He was the one that had defiled Brandy, so he was the one that Dan had to kill first. After that, it was Rick. He hadn’t done as much, but he had still abused her plenty.

“Dan, are we there?”, asked Oticat. But he already knew the answer. He, too, could feel it in his blood.
“Yes.”, said Dan with an air of pure, grim determination. He set down his hand, and stared directly towards the monolith of corruption that was the Clan Castle. “We’re here.”

“Yes, Veronica simply must come over and meet my Tanya.”, said theSenate. “I think they’d get along just- oh?”
His Kingly Communicator was buzzing. “Hold on one moment, I have to take this.”, he said to the other Kings, and took it from his pocket to his ear. “Hello, TheEvilOverLords, dirty deeds done dirt cheap, may I help you?”

“No.”, said the voice of ChupilickytwaCT on the other end. “But we might be just about to help you.”

Then there was the buzz of a dial tone, and theSenate slowly set down the communicator. He felt a slight tremor run through his feet, and up his legs. He looked around. Judging from the looks on the faces of LeChris and Ryusei_Nakao69, they could feel it too.

“Ah, you’re back.”, Max said to Brandy. “Just in time, too. Here.”
He handed her an elegently done up plate, tender meat and cheeses dripped in a dark red liquid. “This one is going to the King.”
“The King?”, Brandy asked. She really already knew the answer, but she was hoping that she was wrong.
“Why, Ryusei_Nakao69, of course.”, Max said with a smile. “This is his special blood plate.”
Brandy looked once more at the mysterious sauce covering the entree, and hoped that the dark red liquid wasn’t what she thought it was. Although knowing Ryusei_Nakao69, it probably was.
“Do I have to it?”, Brandy asked, slightly nervously. “I don’t really want to.”
Max raised his eyebrows. “Yes. You have to. But you can do it, Brandy- come on. You’re brave.”
He pushed the plate into her hands. “Now go.”
Brandy was about to protest once more, when she realized that this actually was the best chance. Once everyone came, and the battle started, being close to Ryusei_Nakao69 was the best place for an assassination.
Brandy pulled her hood closer over her face, and took the plate with confidence. “Alright, then Max.”, she said, and started to walk. “I’m about to end this man’s whole career.”

Ryusei_Nakao69 looked up. “Do you feel that?”
“I do.”, said LeChris. “Do you think it’s somehow related to that call you got?”
“Perhaps.”, said theSenate. “I think it might be some stolen Troop’s Clan.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 massaged his forehead. “Brandy…”, he muttered from under his breath. “You really are proving a hassle. Those one million Gems I’m selling you for had better be worth it.”
There was a loud thud, and the three Kings looked up. They all saw Kurizas, almost out of breath. His vizor was flipped up, and he dripped with sweat.
“Kurizas, what is it?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 asked. “Tell me, quickly.”
Kurizas swallowed, and looked up. “Father, we’re under attack!”

Brandy swiftly strode through the tables, making her way to the table where Ryusei_Nakao69 sat. Her thoughts filled with all the ways she could possibly kill him. Once the wall fell, maybe she would grab a weapon from a nearby troop and stab him with it. There were lots of Royal Recruits around, a spear from them would do nicely. Or she could just jump onto his back, triangle-hold him into submission, and then punch him until his soul left his body. Or-
A sudden arm thrown out into the middle of the aisle blocked Brandy’s way. She stopped with a huff, making sure not to spill anything.

“Aw, where are you going, little Bandit?”, said a Barbarian slowly. He was very clearly drunk, his slow speech and unarticulated movements a clear testament. “I think you gotta stay.”
“Excuse me sir, but I need to get through.”, she said. “I have food to deliver.”
Even though Brandy looked calm on the outside, her heart was racing. If she couldn’t get to the King before her Clan appeared, the best chance for his death would be gone. She needed to get past this Barbarian. It shouldn’t be too hard…, she thought.

But the Barbarian had other ideas. He leaned over in his chair, almost seeming to ooze. Brandy noticed with a shock that his eyes were pitch black, and without features. He extended an arm, and draped it over Brandy’s shoulder. “Come here little Bandit… you don’t need to go over there…”
Brandy ducked under his arm, and tried to move past him. But one of his friends blocked the way. “You don’t need anything…”
Brandy’s breathing started to speed up, and her brow started to sweat. The whole scene was all too terrifyingly familiar. She knew what would happen next. It wouldn’t be stopped- it would probably just be encouraged. Encouraged, and seen by everyone in the room. It would probably be filmed, and cheered on.
One of the Barbarians eyed Brandy’s torso. “You don’t need this.”
With an unnaturally fast blur of motion, he slashed his hand across Brandy’s waist. A narrow strip of cloth came with his hand, exposing Brandy’s midriff. She yelped, and stumbled backwards.
The other three Barbarians seemed to tower over her. The air behind them seemed to turn red, and all their eyes were black. They chuckled infernally, and started to move in.
Brandy tried to cover her bare skin with her cloak, but is was ineffectual. She tried to look for a way out, but there was none. It was going to happen again, in front of thousands of people, and there was nothing that Brandy could do to stop it.
“Please, no.”, she whispered. “Not again.”
The lead Barbarian drew a knife, with intent to cut through cloth.

In that moment, a gaze focused on Brandy from far across eternity. It was the gaze of a certain man, one wearing a monocle, a hat, and a brown leather coat. He did not approve of the activities taking place at the moment very much at all.
In that moment, the knife flew from the Barbarian’s hand as if punched. His addled mind took a second to process this, until it too was struck. He flew from the chair as if hit by a Rocket, and landed unconscious on the ground. A thin flow of blood dripped from his jaw where he had been hit.
The other Barbarians stared at their fallen leader, slack-jawed. Until one fell to the ground with unnatural speed. Then another crumpled, and another was slammed to the floor with his jaw broken. The last one looked around, confused, and then tried to fall as well. But something stopped him.
If one were to look very, very closely at that moment, they could almost see a single, tiny, flash of what looked like the edge of a silver fist collide with the Barbarian’s skull, crushing it nearly flat. But nobody was looking that hard, and so the strange phenomenon went unnoticed.

Brandy stared in shock at the phantom violence that she had just witnessed. She could hear a faint voice in her ear- one that whispered something that sounded like “Mota.”
But whatever it was had vanished, and the Barbarians had been taken care of. So Brandy stood up, brushed herself off, and continued her way towards the table.

“Yes, so I told Kurizas to take all of his finest allies and defend.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, hurriedly explaining the situation to all the troops sitting at his table. “Against all of his elite, they shouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Is that why he’s not sitting with us, Daddy?”, asked Chloe, amid a sip of her soda. She had gotten Blueberry Bandit, as requested.
“Yes, it is.”, replied the King. “I hope he’ll be alright.”, he said, and ate a slice of cheese off of the appetizer plate. “It’s been, like, 6 whole minutes already.”, said Chad. “That’s enough time for a battle, right?”
“Yeah sure, in an Arena.”, Valeyrie replied. “I don’t know how long this one’ll take though.”
They all felt someone approach the table. Rick looked up. “Ah. There she is.”

Song: Stardust Requiem

Brandy stood there, the still undisturbed plate in her hands. Oddly enough, as she stared right at the troops that had caused her incredible suffering, she seemed very calm.
“Good morning.”, she said. “Here is your meal, Ryusei_Nakao69.”
She bowed, and placed the plate upon the table. The King took it slowly, and looked it around. His mechanically and magically enhanced senses could find no trouble with it- it had not been poisoned or tampered with in any way, save the stray hair of a Barbarian that had fallen onto the edge of the plate. The only substance that could even be considered suspicious was his secret sauce, but that was by his order. No harm was done.
He slowly placed a slice of meat and a slice of cheese into his mouth. “You know, Brandy, you’re doing quite well.” He swallowed, and his veins bulged. His skin turned a shade redder, and his menacing aura seemed to grow more powerful. “You’ve taken to being my slave well.”

But Brandy wasn’t listening. She was already picking out the best way to take a spear from a Royal Recruit standing next to her. Approach from the right, duck underneath, kick to the knee, grab, lunge, and then- stab, right through the heart of Ryusei_Nakao69. She grinned slightly in anticipation. All she had to do was wait for her Clan to arrive. And they should get here any second now…

A door slammed open at the far end of the room. The deafening sound echoed throughout the entire chamber, and all the Troops and Kings turned to look. A single wounded figure walked through. Brandy couldn’t quite make out who, or even what it was, but it seemed to part the crowd. Was it some King that was running from her friends? She sure hoped it was…
But then, the crowd in front of the table parted, and the smiling figure of Kurizas strode up. He put his elbow on the table and flashed his teeth.
“Father, I did it.”, he said. “They’re all defeated.”
“Really?”, said Ryusei_Nakao69 in surprise. “That easily?”
“Yes, I was a little surprised as well. They went down almost shockingly easily. But…”
He gestured to the sky. “The Clan of LosDementosCT is no more!”
Ryusei_Nakao69 cast a haunting look at Brandy. “Well, would you look at that. Your Clan isn’t coming to save you after all.”

Chapter Text

Brandy heard his words, but did not process them at first. It took a few runs through her mind, but then she understood what he meant.
Her heart snapped in two. An icy chill ran through her body, followed by the hot fire of sheer, absolute panic. A thick, choking wave of darkness spread throughout her soul, drowning out all light and leaving her in sorrow. Brandy felt like she was going to throw up. She felt like crying. She felt like she was going to die.
But even more than that, she felt an odd determination well up from within her. Because she also knew that in this moment, she was free. In this moment, she had only one thing left to do. In this moment, she no longer had anything to lose. Even if she was now doomed to live a life of slavery, she could make sure it wouldn’t happen to anyone else.
As if to bolster her insane courage, a boost of wild rage flowed up from her beating heart. Brandy’s skin flushed purple, and her eyes glowed. She roared, and with supernatural strength and speed, grabbed the sides of her anti-dash collar. She strained at the hard metal, her arms bulging with the effort.

Song: Virtuous Pope

“What is she doing?”, Chad yelled. “Is she breaking free?”
With a powerful grunt, Brandy ripped her collar in two, and flung the pieces aside. They slammed against two Guards that had ran up to stop her, ripping through them and scattering them apart. Her arms burned from the effort, but she no longer cared. She no longer cared about anything but death. Both Ryusei_Nakao69’s, and perhaps her own.
Now free to use her full strength, Brandy Dashed to the side of Royal Recruit. She hit him with a barrage of punches so powerful his armor was punched into bits, and his torso was torn to bits, shredded all at once. Her battle cry while she did so was so fierce, it didn’t even sound like a troop- almost like a volcanic eruption.
Chad moved to intercept her, but he was in slow motion compared to Brandy’s speed. She saw everything like it was happening at leisure, almost like a memory. She snatched the spear of the swiftly dying Recruit, and leapt forward, straight at the King.
Chad tried to block the blow. Rick attempted to intercept it as well. Valeyrie tried to swing her axe to cut the spear before it hit her King. The three Princesses ducked, thinking only of their own safety. Only Ryusei_Nakao69 was calm, sitting there elegantly, his hands folded together. The only expression on his face was one of pure joy.

But Brandy didn’t care. Even though everyone she knew was dead, she almost felt peaceful. Because she knew that she was going to go out avenging them, killing the sick bastard that had brought unspeakable pain to the lives of so many Troops, so many Kings that had never seen their favorite Troop return home. So much unspeakable darkness, all concentrated in this single individual, that now sat totally vulnerable.

Everything seemed frozen around her. She met the King’s smug gaze with a ferocious, raging glare. “Die, Ryusei_Nakao69!”, she screamed. With a mighty roar, and with a clear path, Brandy stabbed Ryusei_Nakao69 in the heart with the Royal Recruit’s spear, pressing all the way through, coming out the other end, and hitting the floor, the tip breaking on the cold hard stone.

For a brief, glorious moment, there was nearly absolute silence. No sound at all, save her heavy breathing, and the sound of the blood of the King slowly dripping out onto the floor. Every Troop, every King in the room stared motionless at their leader, stabbed through the heart.
“I did it.”, Brandy whispered. “I killed him.”
She collapsed to her knees, and looked down at the floor.
“I’m sorry, everyone.”, she said underneath her breath. “I’m sorry for getting you all into this. I’m sorry for making you all die.”

And Brandy wept. Tears partially born of sorrow, and tears partially born of victory, flowed from her eyes and onto the ground. Because she knew that there was no winner in this battle. Just one Clan destroyed, another leaderless, and she herself about to be left to whatever fate the universe decided.

Song: Golden Frieza theme

“Brandy, what are you crying for?”, came a dark voice. It was too familiar. A jolt ran through Brandy’s heart. No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t.
Brandy looked up, and saw Ryusei_Nakao69 staring back at her, still very much alive.
“Come now, Brandy.”, he said, and grabbed the spear. “Did you really think-”
He yanked the spear out of his chest, and tossed it aside. Brandy could see the pitch-black cut almost glowing with red energy slowly sew itself shut. “-that you could kill I, the great Ryusei_Nakao69, inside my own castle? With such a meager weapon?”
He lowered a finger towards Brandy. “Guards… you know what to do.”
Brandy just stared at him in shock, as the Guards restrained her exhausted limbs. “How?”, she asked. “I stabbed you right through the heart… how did you survive? You’re not a normal King.”

“Well, of course I’m not.”, he said with a wicked leer. “I have ascended far above that station. And now, I have power running through my veins other Kings would kill for.”
He affixed his stare upon Brandy, and she could feel an unnatural chill run through her. “And as for you…”
Ryusei_Nakao69 slowly stood up. He made his way towards Brandy, his hard boots clicking against the stone floor. When he reached her, he grabbed her cheeks, and stared right into her eyes.
“You were doing so well.”, he said with a slow shake of his head. “I thought you had accepted your place as my slave. And then, you had to go and throw it all away.”
He let go of her cheeks, and put his finger against her forehead. Brandy could instantly feel some dark, evil presence groping through her consciousness, reading every thought, exploring every cranny, taking notes of her most inner mind.

“Well, it seems as though you’ll never accept my rule willfully.”, he said, and stood up once more. “I do think it would be quite fun to slowly break you, but I’m a busy man, and I frankly don’t have time for that. Forced hypnotism it is, then. Yaga?”
As if by magic, a Witch appeared at his side. “Yes, my lord?”
“Prepare your most potent mind magics. We have a resister here.”
The Witch bowed. “Understood, my lord. Rest assured, her free will will be drained within a moment’s notice.”
She left, presumably to gather ingredients.

Song: Dark Rebirth

“Drain… my will?”, Brandy repeated to herself. The words felt alien coming out of her mouth, like they didn’t belong. “No. You can’t do that. That’s not possible.”
“Really?”, asked Ryusei_Nakao69 in mild amusement. “Than what do you call what we’ve been doing? What do you call all of our successful patients? What do you call… this?”
He snapped his fingers again, and another figure appeared next to him, out of a sudden dark umbra. This one was a Bandit, a totally blank stare upon her face.
Brandy instinctively jerked back. This one seemed too real to her. The others had been merely frightening, but to see an example made of your own Troop type was just too much.
“Miss Julia, why don’t you show Brandy what you can do?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 asked politely.
“What do you mean, your Highness?”, the empty shell of a Bandit responded.
“Hmmm, how about telling me who you serve?”, the King asked.
“I serve you, great Ryusei_Nakao69, master.”, Julia said, completely devoid of emotion.
“Mmm, good.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said. “Now tell me, do you have any free will at all?”
“None at all, sire.”, Julia said, almost robotically. “I am merely a tool for my master to use. I am no longer a person, merely an object to fulfill your wishes.”
“Very nice.”, said the King, and snapped his fingers again. Julia vanished back into the dark umbra, which also disappeared.
“Now do you see, Brandy?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 asked. “You are nothing to me. You are nothing to anyone. You are merely a bargaining chip between me and my debtor. Now know your place.”

Brandy started to panic. Even if it meant willingly becoming a slave for the rest of her life, she couldn’t lose her free will. She couldn’t end up like that… that… thing Ryusei_Nakao69 had brought out.
“Fine.”, she said. The King looked down at her in mild surprise. “I’ll do it. I’ll be your slave.”
Her shoulders heaved, and her eyes squinted shut. “Do whatever you want to me, just don’t take away my free will. I beg you, let me be your slave willingly.”
Then, the curtains stirred in some unseen breeze. The first light of dawn came floating in through the windows, and Brandy realized what she had said.
Ryusei_Nakao69 smiled. “I told you.”, he said. “I told you, by the first light of dawn, you would be begging for it.”
He waved his hand. “But, that time has already passed. You had your chance, Brandy- and you ignored it. Your mind will be erased- whether you like it or not.”

He pressed a button on his throne, and the entire seating area rose up on a huge platform, high enough so that everyone in the seating area could see.
“This is it, Brandy.”, the King said, and the Witch from earlier appeared next to him. “Say goodbye to your will.”
The Witch bent down, and moved the tip of her staff closer to Brandy’s forehead.

A tiny alarm sounded in Ryusei_Nakao69’s ear. “Wait.”, he said. “I have to take this.”
He pressed the device. “Yes?”
“Actually, sir, I’ve been thinking.”, said the voice of Max on the other side.
Brandy’s heart leapt. Max? Had he come to her rescue?
“What if we just removed her memories, like we did last time?”, he continued. “Wouldn’t that work just as well? Then you could actually have a Bandit to use.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 thought about this. Despite how good it would feel when he finally destroyed the mind of the Bandit that had caused him so much trouble over the last few days, Max did have a point. When he had first taken this job, he had been mostly in it because it would finally get him a Bandit of his own. Not to mention, Chloe had seemed to want her as a caretaker permanently, and that would be very difficult for someone who was really little more than a mindless doll.

“You know, Max, you’re right.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “I guess I keep you around for more than just your cooking.”
He raised his hand. “Yaga, cancel that order. Just go for a memory wipe instead of the whole mind.”
“Understood, sire.”, said Yaga. “I’m going in.”
She reached out with her hand, and grabbed the edge of Brandy’s mask. “But first, I’m just going to find out what a Bandit looks like without her mask. I’ve always wondered…”
Yaga yanked on Brandy’s mask, to no result. She did it again, but still nothing.
“It doesn’t come off.”, Brandy said. “Believe me, I’ve tried. It’s just part of my skin.”
The Witch frowned. “Hmph. Well then, let’s begin.”
Yaga touched her staff to Brandy’s forehead, and their mental duel began.

In an instant, the voices pierced Brandy’s mind. They swirled and howled as a black mist, filling her mind with like a dark shadow. The things they said radiated of evil, yet Brandy could not help but hear them. And there was another sound, too- a deep, pulsing, distorted thrum that shook Brandy’s head.

Join us, a voice hissed. You know you want to.
Your life will be better here, another spat. You have to accept that.
You’ve already been defeated. Face it, one roared, malice dripping off of its voice.
Brandy gritted her teeth, and tried not to listen.
This is what you deserve, one said menacingly. You brought all your friends to their doom- you should get yours.
Ever since you got here, this is what you’ve been dreaming of.
You want to lose. You want to lose all your memories, to start totally anew.
There is only one path to take here. Give in.
Bow to your master, Brandy. Know him, and revere him.
Finally, Yaga herself stared deep into Brandy’s soul. “Give in to me, Brandy. And I promise that when we rule the world, you will be at Ryusei_Nakao69’s side.”

Song: Cornered

Brandy snarled. “Fat chance.”, she whispered, and spat in Yaga’s eye.
The Witch screeched and jerked back, providing enough time for Brandy to break away from her spell. She fought to remove all traces of the hypnotism from her mind, while Yaga wiped away Brandy’s saliva from her face.
“Yaga, are you alright?”, asked Ryusei_Nakao69. “What happened?”

“The little brat spat in my eye, that’s what happened.”, growled Yaga. “She’s not going down as easily as I thought. She’s got a very strong will.”
Then she smiled, and gripped her staff tighter. “It will be a pleasure to break her.”
She looked into Brandy’s eyes. “Brandy, it seems this isn’t working. Perhaps, if I just show you what awaits you…”

Images began to flicker across Brandy’s mind. Images of what supposedly awaited her, once she gave in.
She saw herself, in a grand hall, surrounded by Troops that she assumed were her friends. She saw herself reading a story to Chloe, then tucking her into bed. She saw herself on a mission with Bailey, stealing a Loot Cart as best friends. She saw herself whistling with happiness as she prepared food alongside Max, then give him a loving kiss on the cheek. Brandy almost wished such things would come to pass- almost. But she knew she had to stay strong.
The scenes changed to those of battle. Brandy saw herself in the Arena, all maxed out and shimmering gold. She saw herself as part of a Bridge Spam deck, fighting alongside Chad, Rick, and Valeyrie. And then, she saw herself after a Three Crown, head back to the castle, and willingly climb into bed with them.
That image was enough. Any trace of acceptance she might have had vanished in an instant, replaced only by a blinding rage. She opened her eyes again, and audibly growled at Yaga.

But Yaga didn’t even flinch. She didn’t even say anything, having fully expected this. Yaga just ran her fingers up her staff, flicking a switch that read “Persuasion” to one that read “Combat.”
Oh great, Brandy thought. Here we go again.
“You may be strong, Bandit.”, Yaga said. “But I doubt you’ve ever been trained in mental combat.”
She touched the staff to Brandy’s forehead, and their second duel began.

Bailey whistled appreciatively. “Dang.”, she said. “Yaga’s really doing a number on her. Hope she’ll be alright- I could really use her in my gang.”
“Your… gang?”, Meg asked shyly.
“Sure.”, Bailey said. “We’re called the Passion. We do stuff. You wanna join?”
Meg’s face flushed. “Oh- um, yes. Yes, I’d love to!”
“Great to hear it.”, said Bailey. “Now zip it and watch.”

Chapter Text

Yaga awoke in a blank yellow field. Traces of blue zipped around it, and thin blue lines adorned the sides. A tunnel in the far back led to blackness, and parts unknown. Ah, her mind, she thought. Not a very developed place, is it?
In the center of the area, Yaga could see a glowing box. It looked almost, but not quite like, a Legendary Chest. It had a dragon and a sword decorating its outside, and grey and blue ribbons fell from its lid.
Hmm, her mind’s bounty is quite open, thought Yaga. No defenses of any kind. Once I get in there, it will be a simple matter to just remove her memories and be on my way.
She pushed off of the ground, and floated slowly towards the box. She reached out a hand to grab it and-

And it was suddenly crushed from above by a vicious flying kick. Yaga screeched and withdrew, seeing with shock Brandy land in front of her.
“You thought I couldn’t use mental combat, hmm?”, Brandy said. “Well, looks like today’s not your lucky day.”
“You…”, Yaga hissed, and leapt forward. Brandy charged up her Dash- she could use it inside of her mind. The Power Suppressor only had an effect on her physical body.
Brandy met Yaga’s staff with a powerful kick that knocked the Witch backwards. She grunted and hit the floor of Brandy’s mind, then slowly got to her feet. Brandy had disappeared.
Yaga looked around, and saw nothing. Absolutely nothing at all- until the bottom of Brandy’s boot collided with her face in a sharp crack.

Song: Virtuous Pope

It was, in a way, satisfying for Brandy. To hear such a solid blow connect, and to see such a hated enemy beaten decisively. Yaga may have been powerful, but she was in Brandy’s mind. The home arena advantage, coupled with the mental training that Agatha and Bowza had taught her, would surely yield her the fight. She had not seen the point in the training before, but now Brandy was glad it had taken place.

“Impudent, willful little girl…”, Yaga growled. “You’re just like all the others. So sure you can win, so confident in your abilities.”
Brandy conjured up a phantasmal stick, similar to the one that she would normally fight with, and threw it at Yaga’s head. The Witch’s hand struck out as fast as lightning, caught the weapon, and broke it into bits. Her eyes glinted with evil intent.
“But…”, she said. “I have never lost!”
With a wave of her staff, 6 more Yagas appeared. They swirled into a circle around Brandy, and slammed their staffs into the floor as one.
Brandy tried to remember what to do in this situation. If an enemy has you surrounded, you need to create a… a…
The Yagas all closed in on Brandy at once. She still could not remember.

Ryusei_Nakao69 had been watching the proceedings with mild concern. They had both been under for a few minutes now, and it was beginning to become disconcerting. Both Brandy’s and Yaga’s eyes had rolled back into their heads, showing the blue and red whites. He had no understanding of mental combat; it wasn’t his area of expertise.
“Yaga, what’s going on?”, he asked. “Is everything alright?”
Upon hearing no answer, he gently touched Yaga on the shoulder.

One of the Yagas struck Brandy’s knees from behind, forcing her to the ground. Another jabbed her staff into Brandy’s ribs, keeping her pinned there. And yet another placed her hand over Brandy’s mouth and covered her eyes. Against only one Witch, Brandy had been winning. But against 7, she simply stood no chance.
“Shh, don’t fight it, Brandy.”, Yaga said. “Just let it happen. Just let it happen.”
Another Yaga leisurely made her way over to the mind box. She placed one finger on the lid.
“I knew you couldn’t resist, Brandy.”, she said. “I knew it.”

Brandy’s heart beat. A pulse of pure rage flowed through her. Those were the exact same things that Chad had said to her, in that canyon, on that fateful night.
Her eyes glowed purple, and a thin laser streaked from them, through one of the Yaga’s hands, and through the arm of the Yaga touching the mind box.
“Why, you-”, Yaga began, but then was quickly cut short. She felt a physical intrusion, and was immediately yanked out of her trance.
“Ah, there you are, Yaga.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69 with a friendly smile. “I was just a little concerned.”
“You fool!”, she screamed, surprising everyone in the room. “You’ve broken my concentration! I have to get back in now.”
Her eyes narrowed, and her eyes rolled back in her head. She went back into her trance, and all traces of the physical fell away.

Once she re-entered Brandy’s mind, Yaga was disappointed to see that her clones had vanished. Usually, they would stick around- but then again, Brandy was not a usual victim.
Yaga looked around for any sign of Brandy- and then she found one. Hovering above the mind box, in the dead center of the room, was a feedback loop orb. It was the only defense against mind cloning, and Brandy had managed to build one. Certainly, it wasn’t a particularly hard move to pull off, but Yaga was surprised that Brandy had managed to do it so quickly.

“Come down from there, Brandy.”, said Yaga. “Come down, and meet your fate.”
“Come down?”, echoed Brandy’s voice from all directions. “I believe I already have.”
A savage kick collided with Yaga’s back, sending her spinning head over heels further towards the center of the room. Brandy had never been in the feedback loop orb- she had been waiting in the corner of her mind, ready to strike.
Yaga tumbled over herself, dropping her staff in the process. She skidded facedown to a stop- right next to Brandy’s mind box.
Brandy noticed first. Yaga’s position was dangerously close. With just one perfect move, she could wipe out all of Brandy’s memories in an instant. She had to strike down the Witch immediately.
Yaga noticed soon after. Partially from Brandy’s panicked run towards her, and her own taking note of her position. Brandy ran as fast as she could, but to no avail. Yaga flipped open the lid to Brandy’s mind box, and reached her hand inside.
“Stop running!”, Yaga yelled. “Or you lose your entire mind!”
Brandy reluctantly stopped running. She gritted her teeth, knowing that Yaga had the upper hand here.
“I win, Brandy.”, Yaga hissed. “Your mind is mine. You just forgot to keep it guarded.”
“Maybe so.”, Brandy said. “But you forgot one other thing.”
“Really?”, Yaga asked. “And what is that?”
“I did.”

Yaga looked down, and saw what Brandy meant. A small, blinking Mine had attached itself to Yaga’s arm, having crawled out from the open box. She hardly had time for her eyes to widen before the Mine exploded, blowing the Witch’s mental arm to bits.
Yaga screamed, and fell away from the box. She looked up, right at the moment that Brandy caught up to her. There was the noise of a savage punch, and Yaga was blown away to the side of the room once more.
“You’re 3-0, Yaga.”, said Brandy. “Looks like I win.”
“Oh, do you now?”, asked a voice behind her.
Brandy stiffened and turned around, but not quickly enough. Three different staffs all slammed into her, landing a solid blow on her forehead, ribs, and leg. She fell back, but caught herself before she hit the ground. In front of her stood even more clones of Yaga than last time- there had to be at least 12.
“You forgot to maintain your feedback loop, Brandy.”, they all said at once. “And now, you won’t have a chance to set them back up again. It was only Ryusei_Nakao69’s foolishness that spared you last time- and that will not happen again.”
As one, they all banged their staffs on the floor. As one, there was a familiar sound. And as one, a horde of 36 Skeletons all crawled to the surface.

Shoot, Brandy thought. What can I do now?
The sound of her thoughts echoed around the room, and Yaga laughed. “Your innermost thoughts reveal themselves, Brandy! I do indeed have you trapped!”
And I can now access your thoughts, the Witch then broadcasted. Soon, my control will be complete!

Brandy tried to take a step, but the vast, still-increasing Army of Skeletons kept her at bay. She knew she had only one chance to win here, or at least force a draw.
“You are indeed a tricky one, Brandy.”, said Yaga as she made her way once more to Brandy’s mind box. “But you’re all out of tricks now. I win.”
She grabbed the lid and flung it open. “I am… unavoidable.”
But Brandy was not out of tricks. She still had one more left. And in the split second between Yaga opening her box and her reaching inside, Brandy scraped her hand against a Skeleton’s hand at Dash speed. The leather on her gloves caught fire from the friction, and she held up her hand.
“And I…”, she said. “Am on fire.”
She stuck her burning finger inside of her mouth. The flame was extinguished, but the heat, and more importantly the idea of the heat, carried through to her brain.
Yaga flinched, as a roar built up in the dark tunnel at the back of the room. She hurriedly tried to plunge her hand into Brandy’s mind box, but something lunged out and bit her. She cursed and tried to grab it again, but it was far too late.
Yaga screamed as a vast sheet of flame roared into Brandy’s mind, and pure heat devoured her, her clones, and the entire Army of Skeletons. Brandy collapsed to her knees, among the great blaze, and her mind avatar vanished.

Yaga’s physical body recoiled in immense pain as she snapped back to reality, and her eyes returned to normal. Her hands flew to her face, and she screamed.
Brandy, too, returned to normal. But instead of resting, as she probably should have, she leaned forward, and laughed. She laughed at Yaga, aggressive and triumphant.
“Yeah!”, she yelled. “Suck on it!”

Yaga hid her face from view, and Ryusei_Nakao69 put his fingers together. “Interesting.”, he said. “You seem to somehow be able to resist Yaga’s methods. I simply must study you further.”
He snapped his fingers. “Yaga, hold off on her. Chad, Rick, take her to the dungeons. Or to your rooms, I don’t care. Her mind is clearly worthy of further study.”

Song: Unwinnable Battle

Upon hearing this, Brandy slightly relaxed. She instinctively figured that Yaga had given up, and that she could rest her mind now.
But as Brandy learned just one second later, she was wrong.
In an instant, Ryusei_Nakao69 barked an order. In an instant, Yaga swirled around once again, and pressed her staff to Brandy’s forehead.
Brandy had not been prepared for the attack. The force of Yaga’s enraged mind swept through her own like a firestorm. She tried to defend, but Yaga had reached her memories before she knew it.
She could feel the Witch’s full force bearing down on her. She fought desperately to keep her most precious memories- those of her family, her King. She was Blue, she was Blue, she was Blue- she had to remember that most of all.
But even as she thought of them, she thought how utterly hopeless it seemed to remember them. They were all dead now, anyway. There was no point in thinking of them anymore. Maybe she should just join this Clan, where there was a bright future ahead of her-
No. No, she couldn’t. That was Yaga talking, and Brandy knew it. She pushed back, as strong as she possibly could. Every single ounce of her mental strength, and every final bit of fortitude she had within her went towards one single, final, last push. And she could see it- the blue and gold fist of her will, pushing against the red and black tidal wave of Yaga’s.
“It’s over now, brat.”, Yaga hissed. “Give in!”
Yet she knew that Brandy’s will was intensely strong, and Yaga might actually not be able to defeat it. So she abandoned any semblance of fighting fair. Yaga smiled, drew back her fist, and punched Brandy in the gut.

That blow was all it took. Brandy spat, and lost her concentration. The storm of Yaga’s will poured over Brandy, forcing her down into the abyss. She tried to still push, but it was too late. Yaga’s force surrounded her like some infernal tentacle, wrapping around Brandy’s mind, pulling her down into oblivion, and-

Brandy’s head jerked upwards with a painful cry, then she fell limp. Her eyes closed, and her chin lay upon her chest. Yaga smiled, took Brandy’s chin in her hand, and held it up to her face.
"There... now isn't that better?", she said. “Now that you’ve finally given up?”
"Better... better...", Brandy mumbled.

The corners of Ryusei_Nakao69’s mouth turned up in a grin, then a smile, then a full-blown, insane wound. He threw back his head and laughed, an all-powerful ohohohohoho that echoed off the walls. All had gone exactly according to plan, minus maybe a few small kinks here and there. He was happy, his benefactor would be happy, and now he would have a brand new Bandit.

“Who are you?”, Yaga asked, just as a last minute test. She knew without a doubt that her spell had finally worked, erasing Brandy’s memories and leaving nothing but a clean slate. But just to gloat, she would do this.

“Who… am I?”, Brandy mumbled. “Who am I…”
So it had worked then, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Yaga started to stand up, when Brandy said one more thing.
“I’ll tell you who I am.”

Everyone on the podium looked down in shock. “What?”, they all said, or at least thought.
Brandy continued. “My name is Brandy the Bandit. My King is Oticat. My Clan is LosDementosCT. And you can never, ever, take that from me.”
She looked up, and everyone could see the sheer hatred that came from her. A faint purple glow surrounded her body as she spoke.
“Why, Brandy?”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “Why would abandon such a good life with us, choosing instead to side yourself with those you know are dead?”
“I think you already know.”, said Brandy. “But I will tell you. It is because I, at my very inner heart, am a fighter. I am loyal to those I love. And I’ll tell you right now- you might as well just give up with trying to make me yours. Because I will never, ever-”

Yaga performed a quick remote check on Brandy’s mind again, and gasped. She saw two glorious, glowing images imprinted on Brandy’s soul- one was of a mysterious figure in heavy armor, and the other was of a man in a brown leather coat.

“-stop fighting!”, Brandy yelled. “And I will never, ever, let you win!”

Ryusei_Nakao69’s face twisted into a harsh grimace. “Well,”, he said, “I suppose he really only wanted her soul. Her body was just a bonus.”

Chad and Rick both heard these mutterings, and looked at each other. “Uh, sir?”, said Chad. “What are you doing?”
The King’s face was a mask of sheer rage. “Vladimir!”, he roared. “Do your duty.”
On his command, a previously unseen figure rose from the seat at the edge of the platform. It was a menacing-looking Executioner, a hood covering his face.
Brandy saw him stand, and her blood ran cold.

“Sir, don’t!”, Rick shouted. “I thought you needed her alive!”
“Not anymore!”, Ryusei_Nakao69 bellowed. “Finish her, Vlad!”
The Executioner thrust out his arm, and took an enormous step to where Brandy was still restrained. A massive axe, leaning on the wall on the other side of the room, vibrated and then flew through the crowd and into his hands with a metallic thrum, cutting skin along the way.

Song: Roundabout

“You, Brandy, have been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day you arrived.”, growled Ryusei_Nakao69. “I frankly don’t even see why He wanted you specifically. But I do know this-”
Vladimir raised his axe, far above Brandy’s head, ready to strike. “It will be a pleasure to finally be rid of you.”

Ignoring the protests from the crowd and the Elite Barbarians, the axe fell, aiming directly for Brandy’s head.
Yet even as it did, Brandy was not afraid. Instead, her thoughts were of peace. For she could die happily, knowing that in the end, even their strongest efforts had been unable to break her.
She closed her eyes, and the last thing Brandy saw was Meg, far across the room, staring at her in pain.

And the last thing she heard was the indescribable, yet unmistakable sound, of a Clone spell sliding into place.

Chapter Text

North of TheEvilOverLord’s Clan Castle, one hour earlier

ChupilickytwaCT brought a pair of binoculars up to his face, and peered through. He could see, off in the distance, the menacing dark red Clan Castle of TheEvilOverLords. The entire structure simply radiated evil- he could almost see it.

“Well, there it is.”, he said, and put the binoculars down. “It looks heavily guarded.”
“By what?”, asked Oticat. “I don’t see anything.”
“Ah, but that’s because you’re only looking with your eyes, my boy.”, said ChupilickytwaCT. “You need to look with your spirit.”
“You’re starting to sound like a Magic Archer there, Chup.”, said Oticat. “What do you mean?”
ChupilickytwaCT simply waved his hand over Oticat’s face. “Here. Look again.”
Immediately, Oticat could see far more. A thin layer of blue covered his vision, and he could see small shapes of Troops surrounding the castle that had previously been hidden by the treeline.
“Wha- what was that?”, asked Oticat. “What did you do to me?”
“That’s Co-Leader vision, my boy.”, said ChupilickytwaCT. “I just promoted you.”

Oticat sputtered with a mix of confusion, gratitude, and pride before finally spitting out his next sentence. “You mean, all Co-Leaders can do that?”
“Of course.”, said ChupilickytwaCT. “And a lot of other things, besides. And that’s nothing compared to the powers of a true Leader… but that’s best to be explained some other time. For now, let’s talk strategies.”

He stood up. “Co-Leaders! Meeting!”
At once, several Kings materialized next to him- Gameremix, Stankyleg, Aurora, Digb, getusomeofthat!, Lord Farcuash, and Rockerc. They were all in various states of wakefulness, with Rockerc and Digb on wide alert and Aurora almost asleep. It was still extremely early in the morning, and the sun had not yet risen. It would not for another hour or so.
“Welp, guess I’d better go.”, said Oticat. “Leave you Co’s to it- wait! No!”
He had gotten up to leave, but then quickly sat back down. “I am a Co-Leader now. Right.”
“Alright,”, said ChupilickytwaCT, and pressed his hands together. “We need to talk strategy. Right now, if we just charge in there without a plan, we’d get destroyed.”

“I have a plan.”, said Rockerc. “But its a weird one.”
“Weird’s alright.”, said Stankyleg. “What is it?”
Rockerc’s face became animated, and he started to gesture wildly with his hands. “Okay, what if we traveled to the bottom of the ocean, found a pillar of the gods, and-”
ChupilickytwaCT raised his hand to stop him. “Too crazy. And also too time-consuming. We need something different.”
“I have a suggestion.”, said Digb. “And I guarantee you, it's not as bizarre as that one.”
“I’m listening.”, said their Leader.
“Well,”, said Digb, “I know from reports and my own research that this Clan does a lot of… experimentation. We won’t be up against just regular Troops, I can tell you that. We need a scouting mission, something to see what exactly it is that we’re fighting.”
ChupilickytwaCT stroked his chin. “I see… unfortunately, that would give away the element of surprise. And that just so happens to be our greatest weapon.”

“That is a problem.”, said Lord Farcuash. “Yes, if only there was some way to have a reconnaissance mission while simultaneously keeping the effect of total surprise. If only…”
Oticat couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not- it was always quite hard to tell with Lord Farcuash. But he happened to have the perfect idea, and so Oticat spoke up anyway.
“Well, what if we Cloned a batch of our troops and sent them in? That way we can force at least some response, and we trick them into thinking we lost already.”
He had said it quietly, but it had gotten everyone’s attention.
“Why, I think that’s a great idea, Oticat.”, said getusomeofthat!, a puff of smoke coming out of his pipe. “We get information and weaken their defenses, and then we can strike with even more surprise.”
He stood up, adjusted his pipe, and spread his arms. “I see this as an absolute win!”

ChupilickytwaCT stood as well. “Well then, it’s settled.”, he said. “Everyone, discuss among your own troops which ones will be Cloned. In exactly 20 minutes, we send everyone in. Once the Clones are destroyed, we will adjust our strategies according to information gleaned, and then take these buggers out.”
“And rescue Brandy, right?”, Oticat asked.
ChupilickytwaCT smiled. “Of course.”, he said, and then snapped his fingers. Or he was about to, when he was distracted by a very odd sound coming from above. “Hog Gliiiiider!”, came a distant call.
“What the…”, the King mumbled. “What are those?”
“I heard you’re going up against some pretty weird troops.”, said a voice he had not heard in months. It seemed to come from behind the trees.
“So we brought some of our own.”, said another. ChupilickytwaCT strained to place the two voices. They seemed so familiar, yet he couldn’t quite remember who they belonged to.
But then, when the two stepped out into the light, his memory was jogged.
“Vin-Vinsent?”, he gasped. “DestinedChild? You two came back?”
Vinsent and DestinedChild used to be dedicated Co-Leaders, but had both left the Clan for their own reasons. ChupilickytwaCT couldn’t believe they had come back.
The two Kings both posed on each other. “Yes! We are!”, shouted Vinsent.
“And we brought help, from far across the sea!”, said DestinedChild, and pointed up. The assembled Co-Leaders looked up, and saw a flight of Hog Gliders flying overhead, as well as several Dropships and Healers. “The likes of which you have never before seen!”
“Well, I guess I haven’t.”, said ChupilickytwaCT. “But I’m sure they’ll help.”
Then, he snapped his fingers, and the rest of the Co-Leaders were instantly teleported back to their respective tent-wagons. He had some things he wanted to talk about to DestinedChild and Vinsent.

Oticat felt himself dissolve, be remade, and then dissolve again as he was teleported. It was quite a disorienting feeling. Huh, he thought. I wonder if this is how Troops feel when they die in the Arena.
As a matter of fact, it was the exact same feeling minus the slight pain Troops underwent, but that fact was unknown to him. All he knew was that it felt very odd.
Once the effects had subsided, however, Oticat found himself facing all of his Troops in his tent-wagon, looking up at him expectantly.
“Well? What’s the plan?”, shouted Kars. “Come on, tell us!”
Oticat took a deep breath, and clapped his hands together. “Well. Who wants to get Cloned first?”

Chapter Text

Brandy felt an odd sensation, tingling through her entire body. It felt like an Arena death- no, it felt like being played- no. It felt like… like… a Clone.
She opened her eyes, and saw the last remnants of a shattered blue body fade into the floor. But even as it went, Brandy could make out the shape of two things: a mask, and a hood. Someone had Cloned her.
She looked up, and saw the Executioner staring at his axe in bewilderment. She had been Cloned at the exact same moment that the weapon fell, and the short-lived copy had been the one to receive the death blow instead of her.
Good thing Clones don’t usually have feelings, Brandy thought, Or I might feel kind of guilty about this.

“What happened?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 asked. “Vladamir, what was that?”
“I- I don’t know, your majesty.”, said Vladamir. “It looked like a Clone, but… there’s no one around who would cast it.”
The King’s eyes narrowed, the long black scars underneath them furrowing. “Indeed. It does seem to be a Blue spell. But who…”
He cast his furious gaze over the room. “Who cast this? Who dares disturb my commands?”
Nobody answered, awkward glances being exchanged. Nobody dared to say a thing. But Rick, in his seat so very close to Brandy, began to lean forward. He spun his sword, adjusting so that the flat of the blade would come down on the swing.

“Well then, do it again, Vladamir.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 growled. “Its got to be a fluke- and a fluke won’t happen twice.”
Brandy racked her mind for anything that could have caused the Clone spell. Could it have been Webert? No, there was no way he could cast spells. Could it have been the man in the brown coat? Perhaps, but he had already left the room. Perhaps, could it have been-
She stopped. Could it have been her Clan?
No, the more rational part of her brain replied. Kurizas said they were all dead.
But what if they weren’t?, she thought back. I’m sure Oticat could have come up with something to trick Kurizas. He does not seem like a smart Prince.
Yes, but there were others with him. Even if Kurizas is not the sharpest tool in the shed, one simple trick could not have fooled everyone.
Ah, yes, Brandy thought, but you are forgetting the most important thing.
What?
That stranger? The one in the brown coat? He said everything would be alright.
And you trust him?
Yes. Yes I do.

“Very well, your Majesty.”, said Vladamir, and raised his axe again. “This time, I won’t miss.”
He put down Brandy’s hood, in order to get a cleaner target, and his eyes lit up in glee, at the thought of a satisfying kill. But then Vladimir's gaze met Brandy, and he saw something he couldn’t quite comprehend.
Brandy was smiling. Here she was, literally seconds away from a painful death with no regeneration, and she was smiling.
Oh well, thought Vladamir. Not my problem.
He scoffed, and let his axe start to fall.

Song: The Hand Theme

Right then, in that moment, several things happened.
One was that Vladamir’s axe fell, slicing through the air like a hurricane right towards the top of Brandy’s exposed head.
One was that the entire North wall shook in a massive explosion, hurtling chunks of ornate masonwork outwards into the assembled crowd, turning several dozen weaker troops into puddles of Elixir instantly.
Another was the aforementioned explosion knocked dozens of other troops off of their feet, including everyone on the makeshift sacrificial altar that Brandy was on. To Brandy’s relief, Vladamir’s axe flew out of his hands, and stuck in the stone floor.
Another was that a thin line of Blue started to creep across the floor, through the now panicking audience, and began to make its way towards Ryusei_Nakao69. He could see it, one of his many powers as a Leader. His eyes grew wide.
And finally, the last thing that happened within that space of a few seconds was that a charged up shot from a Max Level Sparky blasted through the massive hole in the wall that even more Wall Breakers were still pouring out of, streaked over the heads of the crowd, and detonated with a titanic explosion right at the base of the altar. Everyone on it- Ryusei_Nakao69, Vladamir, Chad, Rick, Chloe, Kurizas, Yaga, Stacy, Veronica, theSenate, Odurawaz, LeChris, and Brandy- were all thrown in a dozen different directions, skidding across the floor from the force of the attack.
But even as Brandy hit her head on the stone, she was ecstatic. Because she knew that she had finally managed to hold out long enough, and that she had been right all this time. Brandy knew that her beloved Clan, LosDementosCT, had arrived at last.

Ryusei_Nakao69 coughed, and looked up through the dust. He could just barely see a trio of Sparkies roll through the hole in his castle’s wall, dozens of Battle Ram teams right behind them.
“What is this?”, he growled to himself. “What happened? Who are those people?”
He made some dark gesture with his right hand, and a Wizard appeared by his side.
“Give me answers, Timothy,'' he said. “Now.”
The nervous Wizard fumbled with his glasses, and stared at the invading Blue army. He made a few quick calculations in his head- he was good at numbers, but very little else.
“Well, sire,”, he said. “Those troops seem to belong to a Clan known as LosDementosCT. The very same Clan, if I may mention, as the Bandit you stole recently.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 clenched his fist. He had no idea how they were still alive. Kurizas, his own son, had promised him that they had all died. He knew Kurizas well- the Prince was far too unintelligent to lie.
He debated trying to figure out how such a thing could have happened, but decided against it. Far too much was happening for him to focus on such trivial pursuits. Instead, he just decided to gain some information.
“Timothy!”, he yelled. “What’s our current odds of winning this encounter?”

Brandy sprang up from the floor like she had been shot from a Cannon. Then her vision was overcome by a field of blackness, and she fell back down again, because she had stood up too fast and was rather dizzy. But then she stood up again, this time for real.
“Hey!”, she shouted, and jumped up and down, hoping that someone she knew would catch a glimpse of her. “I’m over here! Guys, I’m over here! Over he-”
Then she went silent, as the side of a blade smacked her on the side of the head with immense force that Brandy was knocked out instantly.
Rick scooped her up in his arms, and started looking for the best way upstairs. It wasn’t easy to pick one out, with half the Troops in the room running around randomly, and the other half actively trying to destroy everything they saw.
“Rick!”, shouted Chad. “What are you doing? We gotta go fight!”
“I’m looking for a secure place to take Brandy!”, Rick yelled back, trying to be heard over the immense din. “We’ll hide her until after this is over!”
“Why?”, Chad hollered back. “She’s just a Bandit, Rick! Why are you so concerned about her?”
Rick thought about telling his brother why, but decided against it. He had his own reasons, very good ones, for keeping her safe, but they were too complicated to share now. “Just follow me!”, he yelled. “Valeyrie, you come too!”
“Okay!”, Chad said. “But this had better be good!”
So Chad, Rick, and Valeyrie all ran upstairs, picking a path through the crowd. Then their going got a little tough, and they smashed their way through the crowd. Then they at last reached the back staircase and ran up as fast as they could, vanishing into the upper recesses of the Clan Castle.

A wave of Hog Riders entered the breach, with a line of Ice Golems heralding their approach. They shouted their signature battle cry all as one, and charged.
“We got em, Riders!”, shouted Vern, one of the leads. “Just keep on pushing!”
The Ice Golem in front of him said nothing. Most likely because it was an Ice Golem, and Ice Golems didn’t talk. Or do anything, really.
Chuck smashed his hammer into the head of a Goblin, which exploded into Elixir. A dozen Skeletons all tried to sink their swords into his Hog, but were blocked by the Ice Golem’s formidable bulk.

ChupilickytwaCT appeared at the edge of the breach, riding his Baby Dragon. Oticat and Dan were on opposite sides of him.
“I’ll meet you lads once this is all over!”, ChupilickytwaCT said with a jaunty salute, and took off into the middle of the room. “Let’s ride!”
“Dan, where’s Brandy?”, asked Oticat. “Do you see her?”
Dan quickly scanned the room. “Yes.”, he said. “I see her. Right against the back wall. Being carried up those stairs.”
His voice was filled with sheer rage, as it had every right to be. But there was more to his inflection- it was bursting with cold hatred, with dark justice.
“Good, go ge-”, Oticat started to say, but Dan was already gone. He had practically jumped into the fray, already slashing and hacking his way towards the back wall and the stairs.

“Um, well, your Majesty,”, said Timothy, “let me think. We were taken by total and complete surprise, but I think that has just about worn off by now.”
He was right- the Troops of TheEvilOverLords were no longer gripped in mindless panic. They had responded to the attack, and were now counterpushing in full force. LosDementosCT had already started to take some losses.
“So right now, I’d say 86%.”, Timothy finished. “Of course, that’s really just a rough estimate, but-”
Explosions rocked the room, and Ryusei_Nakao69 stumbled. He looked up, and his enhanced eyesight kicked in automatically. He could see the dust coming from the ceiling, almost certainly a by-product of something happening in the upper levels.
“What’s going on up there?”, he barked. “Timothy?”
Timothy checked his communicator, and his face paled a shade. “Sir, its not just a ground invasion! They’re attacking with Balloons, Lava Hounds, Minions- you name it up there! And there’s also this other thing- I can’t quite make it out- its a-”

“Hog Glider!”, shouted a Hog Glider as he flew in majestically through a stained glass window, punching it to bits in the process.
“Yes, that.”, said Timothy. “But my point is that this isn’t just a random invasion- these are real field tactics, orchestrated by someone with real experience in these sorts of things. Our chances of winning just dropped down to- to 81%!”
“Hmph.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “Who cares? That’s still an optimal percentage.”
“Yes,”, said Timothy timidly, “But it appears we won’t hold that percentage for much longer. Look!”
They both turned their attentions to the front of the room. The Troops under Ryusei_Nakao69’s rule had organized by now, and were beginning to fight back. There were Golems crashing against Giants, Ram Riders ensnaring each other constantly, Electro Wizards electrifying Pekkas, Knights vs Barbarians, and dozens of other battlefronts and duels opening up across the entire front of the room. And true to Timothy’s word, the attacking force of LosDementosCT did seem to be slowly, but surely, gaining the upper hand.
But despite this, Ryusei_Nakao69 merely closed his eyes, and chuckled to himself. “Oh, Timothy. Did you really think I had not prepared for such an attack? Behold!”
He swept his arms out. “Golems! Defense formation C!”

The Golems had been all up against the back of the wall before the attack had started, so they were currently the ones making up most of the front. Upon hearing Ryusei_Nakao69’s cry with their almost, but not quite non-existent ears, they took up formations as one, and stopped.
A solid wall of rock now blocked the entrance to the room.
“There, that’ll certainly buy us some time.”, said the King. “What’s our percentage now?”
“Um, well, it’s-”, started Timothy, but he never got the chance to answer. Neither King nor Wizard had been paying attention to the sounds of battle- if they had, they would have heard a slow, high-pitched whine begin to build, growing stronger and stronger until-

A huge torrent of shotgun bullets ripped through one of the Golems, spraying chunks of fractured stone in all directions. The hit Golem was destroyed almost instantly, splitting into two Golemnites, which were also turned into Elixir by the storm of sheer firepower.
Shelly strode through the gap in the Golem wall, and repumped her shotgun.

Song: Second Bomb

“Let’s go!”, she yelled, and took aim at a Dark Prince charging towards her.
Ryusei_Nakao69’s eyes widened. “Good Se’th, is that… a Brawler?”
“It would appear so, sire.”, said Timothy. “One of very high level, as well. Our chances of winning just dropped to 72%.”
Oh, that’s not good. Not good at all, thought Ryusei_Nakao69, then raised his arm into the air. “Concentrate all power on that Shelly!”, he roared. “I want her destroyed immediately!”
But then, something came through the breach that not only worried the King, but actually scared him. He felt it, really, before the massive presence even came into his sight.
A group of Archers all lowered their bows, about to all fire at Shelly simultaneously, when a huge hand, covered in golden armor, fell from above. The immense blow shook the ground, leaving a crater- and splattered the Elixir of the Archers for several dozen meters with the sheer force of the attack.
Orfox walked through the wall. He didn’t walk through the hole that was already there- he actually walked through it, crashing through the thick stone and mortar that had taken a dozen Wall Breakers to penetrate. But he didn’t even seem to notice, as he merely leaned down to address Shelly.
“Ay, saw ye were in a bit of trouble there, Shelly.”, he boomed, his massive voice echoing across the room.
“No I wasn’t.”, Shelly said. “I was fine. Those Archers were about to become tortilla soup.”
“Well, if ye insist.”, said Orfox, and stood back up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some bloody business to attend to.”
His eyes seemed to light on fire, and the power and fury of his voice flowed across the wreckage of the Grand Ballroom like an angry tidal wave. “Who’s in charge here?”, he roared. “Come and fight me, ya wee coward! I’ll break yer bones to nothing, and drink your Elixir raw!”

“Don’t say it.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, quietly, so only Timothy could hear him. “Don’t-”
“Um, 50, sir.”, Timothy said.
“Are those our chances of winning?”, the King asked. “For your own sake, Timothy, they had better not be.”
“Oh, no.”, Timothy said. “Of course not. That’s the level of that Barbarian King, sire.”
“So what are our chances, then? Hmm?”
“49%, sir.”, said the Wizard even quieter. “Those are our chances of winning.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 blinked. He looked at the chaos unfolding in his Castle, then considered his options. If he stayed here, he would almost certainly be killed. If he fought, even with his new personal guard alongside him, he would still fall to that thing besieging them. At this point, there was really one thing he could do.
“Timothy,”, he said. “Wait here.”
“Sire, where are you going?”, Timothy said.
“To use that thing my benefactor gave me.”
Timothy gasped. “But sire, surely, you couldn’t possibly mean-”
Ryusei_Nakao69 looked the Wizard straight in the eye. He was determined to win, and if that meant potentially damaging the fabric of all reality, then so be it. “I do. I mean the Scrambler.”
And with that, Ryusei_Nakao69 took off from the shattered head table, and towards a small, decorative pillar in the back of the room that glowed with malevolent light.

theSenate pushed the wreckage of a table off of himself, and erupted into a violent coughing fit that lasted for several seconds. Once it was over, he looked around for any of his troops.
“Hello? Is anyone around me?”, he asked. “Could someone carry me away? I believe I hurt my foot quite badly.”
After several seconds of silence, a slice of broken rooftop was pushed off of a makeshift shelter. Bailey rose up from within. “I’m here, theSenate.”
“Ah, Bailey. I knew you would be here.”, said theSenate. “Could you help me? I can’t quite move.”
Meg stood up from the last-second shelter. “I can help… I think. Here, let me take a look at it.”
“Bailey, who is this?”, theSenate asked. “I’ve never seen her around before.”
“There really isn’t a lot of time to explain, I’m afraid.”, said Bailey as, with a massive exertion, managed to lift her King up onto her shoulder. “But this is Meg. She’s LeChris’s, and she’s my friend now. Now let’s go. This is a dangerous place.”
Bailey and Meg both ran towards the back of the room, frantically searching for a way out, theSenate in tow.

Max stood in the middle of his kitchen, pondering. Even though it was mostly untouched at the moment, Max knew that the main heat of the battle would soon find its way here. And once it did, everything in it, everything that he had worked for, everything that he had worked so hard to preserve, would be gone. That old photo he had of his old life, that he kept secret in a locked drawer he claimed was full of “secret ingredients”? Gone. His mace, that he kept for absolute emergencies? Gone. He could not allow that to happen.
So he did the simplest, yet most effective thing he could have done in that situation. He flipped the sign on the outside window from “Yes, we’re Open” to “Sorry, we’re closed”, shut all the lights off, calmly selected a knife from the drawer, and began to chop vegetables as if nothing was going on.

ChupilickytwaCT lashed out with a borrowed sword, tearing a Guard’s head clean from its shoulders. A Goblin took a flying leap and tried to land on his Baby Dragon, but a swift blast of fire took care of it almost instantly.
He wiped the sweat from his kingly brow, and saw something alarming. He saw, at the very back of the room, Ryusei_Nakao69 grasp the sides of a menacing-looking stone pillar, and begin to make strange movements- no doubt some sort of incantation.
“Edward!”, he shouted to his son, fighting below him. “I’m going after their Leader! Cover me!”
Edward smartly saluted. “Understood, father!”, he said. “I will fight ever the harder!”
King and Prince smiled at each other warmly. Then King took off on his Baby Dragon, and Prince pulled down his vizor, and charged. Or he was about to, before a shape crossed his path. The shape of a Prince. The shape of Kurizas.
The two Princes instinctively began to circle each other, looking for any weaknesses in the other’s armor or stance. But both found none- they were both very good Princes, of very high level.
“I can sense it in you.”, said Edward, ever gracious. “You know not what you do. Stand aside, and you may yet be spared.”
“On the contrary.”, Kurizas countered. “I know full well what I do now. I defend my Clan, I defend my father, and I defend the honor of Red.”
“Hmph.”, Edward said. “Ones that call themselves Red have no honor to speak of. Only cheap tactics, and underhanded trickery.”
Kuriza’s arm stiffened, and he adjusted the grip on his lance. “I’ll make you regret those words, fiend.”
“The only thing I’ll be regretting,”, said Edward as he armed his own weapon, “Is that you will be such a short battle, and totally without enjoyment.”
Kurizas didn’t have much of a comeback for that one. He wasn’t really all that smart. So he just lowered his lance, flipped shut his vizor, and charged. Edward charged as well.
The two Princes streaked towards each other, all the sights and sounds of the intense battle fading to nothing around them. This was a proper joust, a Prince’s sacred territory, and nothing would interrupt it.
In their eyes, as they charged towards each other, both Edward and Kurizas could see no fear, or hatred. Only pride, and ferocity. They smiled underneath their vizor, both knowing that their opponent was one they would most likely very much like to meet someday, when they were not too busy hacking each other apart in a kidnapping-induced feud.
The two Princes met each other in a huge crash of steel, edge of spinning lance against rounded plate. The sheer force behind such a charge was one that would knock down a Giant, and it sent both combatants for a loop. Edward and Kurizas both fell off of their horses, rolled across the floor, and dropped their lances. They lay there for a few seconds, and breathed.

Edward could feel the hole in his chest, that was even know growing wider. The edges slowly became Elixir, his lifeblood draining away onto the floor. Fortunately, due to his father’s plan, there was enough Blue presence here in order to designate the Castle, however temporarily, as neutral territory. Everyone that died here would regenerate.
He looked up, and saw Kurizas with the same wound, looking right at him. Edward gave him a thumbs up. “Well done.”, he said.
Kurizas repeated the gesture. “You too.”, he said.
And with that, both Princes dissolved into Elixir and into the floor.

Rick made one last lunge, and reached the top of the stairs. Almost out of breath, he handed Brandy’s unconscious body to Chad. “Here, hold her. She’s getting heavy.”
“Why did you even bring her?”, Chad grumbled. “Ryusei_Nakao69 needs her, not us.”
“I have my own reasons, Chad.”, said Rick. “Just trust me.”
“You say that, but you haven’t actually told me why.”, Chad replied. “Why do you want her so badly?”
Rick started to say something, held up a finger, then stopped. “Okay, can I talk to you for a moment? In private?”
Chad nodded. “Here. Valeyrie. Hold her.”, he said, and handed Brandy off to Valeyrie, who awkwardly scooped her up.
Brandy’s eyelids started to flutter open. “Wha-”, she said, and then Valeyrie smacked her in the face with the flat of her axe, knocking her once more into unconsciousness. “Stay out, you little twerp.”
Chad and Rick reached the far side of the room. “Okay.”, said Chad. “We’re here, in private. What do you have to tell me?”
“Okay.”, said Rick. “I’m not sure you’ll understand quite where I’m coming from, since you have Valeyrie. But me? I have nobody. I want someone. Therefore, if I just take Brandy for my own, I can finally have a girlfriend.”
“Oh.”, said Chad. “Well, if that’s what you wanted, then why didn’t you just tell me, bro?”
“I dunno.”, said Rick. “I thought that you would think it was stupid.”
“Nah.”, said Chad. “You’re good.”
They bumped fists, smiled, and turned back towards Valeyrie. The first thing they noticed was that Brandy was no longer with her.
“Uh, Valeyrie?”, asked Chad. “Where’s Brandy?”
Valeyrie picked her teeth with one long fingernail. “Huh? Oh, her. Yeah, I just dumped her in a closet somewhere. Door’s locked, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“You what?”, Rick shouted.

Song: Third Bomb

ChupilickytwaCT flew as fast as he could on his Baby Dragon, towards the back of the room. The wind whipped at his face, and his crown almost blew off, but he refused to slow down now. Whatever Ryusei_Nakao69 was trying to do with his dark arts, it would almost certainly spell doom for LosDementosCT.
Ryusei_Nakao69 finished performing the unlocking ritual to the Darksafe, and his eyes lit up with maniacal glee. He reached in, and took out a long metal rod. It was the Scrambler, a mysterious otherworldly device given to him by his mysterious, otherworldly benefactor. Ryusei_Nakao69 wasn’t quite sure exactly what it did, but he was sure it would help him here.
He reached for the top of the rod, flipping back the glass lid as he did so, and saw a large red button.
But he was interrupted by the feeling of something landing behind him, shaking the floor. He turned ever so slightly, and saw ChupilickytwaCT. He jumped off his Baby Dragon, drew his sword, and pointed it at Ryusei_Nakao69. “Drop the device.”, he said. “You’re cornered.”

Dan swung his sword with a mighty flourish, taking a Goblin’s head clean off and sending it flying across the room. He was almost to the stairs, just a few more feet to go. He could almost taste the blood of Chad on his blade, almost see the fear in the Elite Barbarian’s eyes. Almost. He just had to get there first, to wherever in the Castle those scum had taken Brandy, had taken his best friend. With a pounding heart and burning will, he knew he had to follow through. As he flexed his muscles, and the Star activated, every pulse rippled through his very soul. His veins overflowed with bravery. He was ready to rise, free of doubt, and accept fate.
But then, a Giant stepped in front of him, just as he was about to go onto the stairs.
“Hey, little guy.”, said the Giant. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Dan didn’t waste a second. He breathed in deeply, concentrating the latent energy in the air. It was tainted by the overpowering presence of Red, but it would still do. Once the particles were gathered, he moved them down to his fist, and it began to sparkle with pure energy.
“My heart burns… with the force of a raging Inferno!”, he shouted, and brought his fist behind his back. Flames started to grow around it, but he did not burn.

“Wait, wha-”, said the Giant, but Dan didn’t let him finish.
“Raging Crimson Overdrive!”, he shouted, and plunged his Star-infused fist right into the Giant’s leg. Powerful spasms of energy traveled through skin, muscle, and bone, igniting the Giant’s body as they went. The arcane power of the Star overwhelmed the titan in mere seconds, and he burst into Elixir with a wail.
The purple liquid splashed against Dan, and he growled. Next time, he thought. Next time, it will be him.
And Dan ran up the stairs to finally rescue his best friend.

“Oh, am I?”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “It certainly doesn’t look that way.”
He held up the rod, and it glowed black under the overpowering red light.
“You see, in my hands, I hold a weapon.”, he continued. “I don’t know exactly what it does, or where it came from, or even who made it. But I can find out one of those things.”
“You’re a madman.”, said ChupilickytwaCT. “You have no idea what that thing could do. You could kill us all.”
“And if I don’t use it, I’ll die anyway.”, said the Red King. “That is a risk I’m willing to take.”
ChupilickytwaCT flinched. Such a statement was a twisted version of his own personal philosophy, that there was never any good reason to quit. Because if you quit, you lost for sure. But if you didn’t quit, there was still a chance that you might win.
It was that philosophy that drove him now, trying to reason with such an insane individual.
“But who says you’ll die?”, he said carefully. “If you just turn yourself in now, you’ll only go to jail. No death.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 was silent for a few seconds, until he finally spoke. “Are you trying to reason with me?”
“Perhaps.”, said his opponent. “That really just depends on whether or not you respond well to being reasoned with.”
But ChupilickytwaCT could see in Ryusei_Naka69’s eyes that it was impossible. There quite simply was no reason in reasoning with the reasonless. So he lunged with his sword, aiming straight for Ryusei_Nakao69’s head- and was stopped.

The Red King held up a single hand, making a single evil gesture. A dark wave of force held ChupilickytwaCT in place, courtesy of Ryusei_Nakao69’s nearly demonic powers.
“A bold attempt, mortal.”, he said, with a voice larger than himself. “But my plans will not be so easily thwarted!”
On the other side of the platform, Kars the Lumberjack jumped into view. He was soaked with blood and Elixir, although most of it was not his own. He saw exactly what was going on, and charged right for the rod. He didn’t know what it was, but it looked extremely dangerous.
Ryusei_Nakao69 noticed Kars sprinting towards him at the speed of Rage, and raised an eyebrow.
“You’re too late, Lumberjack!”, he shouted. “Though you and your King have made indeed a valiant effort, there’s no longer anything you can do!”
He flipped back the lid on the rod once more, revealing the big red button. ChupilickytwaCT strained as hard as he could to escape the darkness- and noticed a crack in the shield. Kars put on an additional burst of speed, and got ever closer to Ryusei_Nakao69.
“This is it!”, shouted the Red King triumphant. “I’m pushing it… now!”
His thumb clicked down on the button.

There was a clap of thunder, and the entire Castle began to move. Rooms flew through one another, staircases rearranged themselves, hallways disappeared and were made. Entire sections of the Castle teleported, and the Grand Ballroom was completely scattered. Ryusei_Nakao69 caught a passing beam, and flew off into the chaos.
“I- I did it!”, he shouted. “It activated!”

Chapter Text

Sadie and Elizabeth had been fighting near the entrance, using their Field Longbows to snipe foes with bursts of flaming arrows from across the entire room. But now, once the torrent of confusion had concluded, and the room stopped shaking and moving, they knew not where they found themselves.
“Um, Sadie?”, asked Elizabeth. “Where are we? Where did Dad go?”
Sadie pushed her sunglasses up her face. “I don’t know. We know not where we find ourselves, remember?”
“What?”
“Never mind. But look, we need to find out what happe-”
Sadie’s words were cut short by the sound of scrabbling bones, and chuckling Goblins. She motioned for Elizabeth to get down, and the two Princesses dropped down to the ground, behind a stack of boxes.
“There’s not much room in here, Elizabeth.”, Sadie said. “We’ll probably have to change weapons.”
“Right.”, said Elizabeth. They both slung their Longbows onto their backs, and withdrew instead their Tower Shortbows.
“We won’t have any splash.”, Sadie muttered. “Good thing the fire rate can make up for it though… I hope.”
Elizabeth knocked an arrow in her bow, and peeked out over the edge of the boxes. A horde of Skeletons and Goblins were pouring through a hole in the wall, and coming straight for them.

Kars fell out of the air and landed directly onto the already smashed ruins of a table, scattering the pieces even further. He looked around, and scratched his head. It sure didn’t look like any place he had ever seen- just hallways stretching into total darkness on either direction, bookshelves lining the walls. Traces of dried blood lined certain parts of the floor, and signs of many, many struggles were evident as well. This was clearly a dangerous part of the Castle- but Kars did not care. Lumberjacks were all insane, really, but Kars especially so. He didn’t just not fear danger, but actually relished in it.
“Hey!”, he shouted, as he shouted everything he said, even when he was whispering. “Anyone there? Foe, I’ll tear you to bits! Friend, we can go find someone to tear to bits! Yee ha!”
But as he shouted, he did not notice a mysterious, ominent shadow sneak up behind him, and raise its sword into the air.

Agatha swirled out of her protective bubble, cast at the very last moment. It had been a hasty protective measures against the surely demonic powers of the mysterious object that had warped the Castle so, and seemed to offer at least some physical armor as well. She put her hand to her ear, tapping twice to access the communicator that an Electro Wizard had given her before the journey. It enabled her to speak with everyone else that wore one- about 50 other Troops.
“Hello?”, she said. “Can anyone hear me?”
There was no answer. “Hello? Anyone at all? Oticat? Dan? Shelly? Orfox? Kars?”
But still, there was no answer. The power of the Scrambler had cut off all remote communication.
“Blasted thing… won’t even work.”, she frowned, and turned the device off. It was fortunate that she did, because in that exact moment, Agatha could see a dark shape loom out of the darkness ahead of her, thrusting aside broken bits of stone, and rise to its feet.

“I can smell your mind from here, Agatha.”, said the figure. “It smells…”
Yaga leaned forward into the light, and smiled an unnatural grin that almost seemed to spread from one ear to the other. The sight was repulsive, exactly as it had been precisely calculated to be. “Delicious…”
Yaga hobbled forward, and Agatha could very clearly see that her leg had been damaged in the fight. But her staff and eyes glowed ever the stronger for it.
Agatha took a stance. “You... “, she growled. “You’re the one that tried to erase Brandy’s mind. I saw it.”
“Oh, did you now?”, Yaga smugly mused. “Well then, I’m sure you’re familiar with the process. It will be a simple matter to erase yours.”
Agatha’s staff lit up, and a trio of Skeletons magically appeared around her. Yaga seemed to be almost totally inexperienced in out of arena combat, judging from her paltry stance- but Agatha could not be too careful. Everything in a Clan like this was considered a trick.
“Mmm,,,”, said Yaga as she moved closer, and licked her lips. “I’ve never had another Witch as my pet before… I wonder what it’s like.”
Agatha clenched her staff tighter, pulled her cloak around herself, and approached Yaga with fury in her step, and menace in her eyes.

“You think you stand a chance against me?”, she asked. “You couldn’t even break Brandy.”
Yaga slightly flinched. “What do you know about that?”
“I trained her.”, Agatha said. “She may be strong in mental combat, but I am even her superior.”
Yaga muttered something to herself, then stabbed her staff into the ground. With a familiar sound, a trio of Skeletons clawed their way out of the ground and stood to face Agatha.
“Perhaps.”, Yaga said. “But one thing is certain-”
She held up a single finger in front of her face. “I am one level your superior.”

Song: Overdrive

Bowza sat, cross legged, in the ruins of what looked like it used to be somebody’s bedroom. There was a crushed bed in one corner- that would be a strong indication. But Bowza could never be sure for sure. After all, to him, many things were seen that were not necessarily there to others, and many things understood only by him. Perhaps he was merely imagining the bed, and he was in fact in the quiet wreckage of a library. Either way, however, he was doing something very important.
He was waiting. Waiting for someone to come along, maybe. Waiting for the signal to be given so that he could finally unleash the process that would instigate Operation Tremors, most certainly indeed.
Soon, one of those things did come along. But it was not a signal, it was someone. And that someone was a Troop, and that Troop was an enemy Troop, and that enemy Troop was a Giant, one of particularly high level.
The Giant shuffled forward, close to the ground, his small eyes trying to pick out any foes.
“Hey, anyone here?”, he asked slowly. “Cause if there are, come on out. I wanna hurt you real bad.”
Bowza felt another presence behind him, simultaneously scrambling and creeping across the rocks. With an icy chill that proceeded it, Bowza could tell it was their own Ice Spirit, Randy.
“Randy.”, Bowza whispered in Spirit. “There is a very strong Giant just up ahead. Once I tell you to, I need you to jump directly into its eyes. You got that?”
Randy said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit. But he nodded, because deep in his ice block of a brain, he understood.
“Good.”, said Bowza. “Now let’s go.”
He floated back down to the ground, out of his cross legged hovering position, and drew back his bow. The Giant was only mere meters away from him.
The bulk turned, in midst of throwing a rock against the wall, and smiled a grin of sadistic glee. “Aw look, there’s the tiny person! Hello, tiny person!”
Bowza took aim, without moving any part of his body. The Giant’s ear seemed to be inflamed, most likely because of another previous attack. It would be the best place to attack- if he wanted to only annoy the Giant. No matter how badly such a spot was injured, it would only cause superficial damage at most. So he looked other places- and saw the perfect target. Over the Giant’s chest, there was a ripped spot in his tunic, and a swollen bit of skin beyond.
Perfect, thought Bowza, and aimed.
As the Giant lunged, Bowza fired the arrow of light precisely at the point where it would hurt most.

Sadie nocked another arrow. She gritted her teeth, poked her upper body above the boxes they were hiding behind, and fired randomly into the horde. She heard the cry of a Goblin fall, be trampled under his fellows, and get flattened into Elixir. She shuddered a bit. Even if these Troops were evil, destroying them forever was a horrible thing to do.
“Sadie, pay attention!”, Elizabeth said. “There’s still more of them coming!”
She fired an arrow through a hole in their makeshift wall, and pierced a Skeleton right through the ribcage. It shattered from the force, and vanished almost instantly.
But for every foe the sisters struck down, there were a half-dozen more still coming. The rip in the wall that they poured through seemed to have almost no limits to its capacity, nor the source of the tide of enemies.

Sadie dared a longer look over their wall. She slowly raised her head above the rim, and yelped in surprise. Before, there had been almost 100 feet between them and the wall. Now, the nearest rushing Goblin was only about 8 feet away.
She knew there was no time to run away, or space. She also knew that even if they kept firing to the end, it would have no dent on the massive amounts of Troops. There was only one thing they could do.
Sadie swallowed hard, and turned to Elizabeth. “Elizabeth, they’re here.”, she said. “There’s only one thing we can do.”
“What?’, Elizabeth asked. She almost didn’t want to know the answer.
“We have to surrender.”, Sadie said. “Surrender, and hope they don’t hurt us until someone comes.”
She stood up over the box wall, and put her hands into the air. “Hey! Hey! We surrender! We give up.”
Elizabeth slowly nocked another arrow, until Sadie shot her a look. Then she dropped the bow, and stood up as well. “Uh, yeah. We don’t have any weapons, so I guess you can just leave us alone. Go fight someone else.”

Nice touch, Sadie’s eyes seemed to say.
Hey, thanks, was Elizabeth’s silent reply.
Their plan worked, in their heads. The horde of troops would see that the two Princesses were now no longer a threat, and leave them alone. Then they could escape, and rejoin the fight somewhere else.
But they had underestimated their foe. The Troops of TheEvilOverLords didn’t know mercy, or decency. They only knew victory- the crueler, the better. And they were notorious for doing things to defenseless girls who gave themselves up.
The Goblins grinned, and extended their arms forwards. Their eyes glinted with a hungry glee, and drool came from the corner of their mouths.

Elizabeth noticed first. “Uh, Sadie?”, she said. “I don’t think-”
“-that this plan worked?”, Elizabeth finished. “Yeah, I don’t think so either.”
The Goblins in the front of the group leaped towards them. The Princesses grabbed each other, and couldn’t help but scream.

Song: Jonathan Joestar theme

A wave of yellow energy rushed across the front of the Goblin ranks, burning their skin. They fell back, screeching, but were quickly dissolved by the rush of Star. The two Princesses looked up, and saw the glowing figure of Dan in the doorway, illuminated by the bright energy coming from his body.
The lead Goblin, a large Goblin Brawler, hissed at him. “Get him!”, he screamed. “They’re defenseless, he’s the main threat!”
The horde started to run towards them, and Dan did nothing but close his eyes. Close his eyes, and breathe in.
He felt the latent energy of the room, increased by the heat of battle, fill his body. “My body swells…”
He concentrated on the force of the Star, and directed it to his hands. “With pure, unyielding light!”
As one, the horde rose up to attack him, crazed eyes and crazier screams filling the doorway. Dan opened his eyes, and thrust his hands outward. “Storming Yellow Overdrive!”

A huge flash of energy blasted the front fist of the tidal wave, turning the Goblins and Skeletons into purple splatters within the space of a second. It continued, never slowing down, burning the rest of the army like paper in an Inferno. Finally, it reached the Goblin Brawler, who was trying to get away as fast as he could. But it burned over him just as easily as it did all the others, and he, too, dissolved in a flash of yellow Star.

Sadie and Elizabeth watched in shock, then cheered. “Dan!”, they said in unison. “What was that?”
“That?”, Dan said. “Oh, that was the Star. Bowza taught it to me. Did you two not see that?”
“No…”, giggled Sadie. “But maybe you could show us some more.”
“Yeah.”, said Elizabeth. “Show us some more.”
“Maybe some other time.”, said Dan. “Right now, I’ve got to find Brandy-”
He stopped. He looked up, and sniffed the air. He could smell the scent of true evil, not that far away. “He’s near.”, Dan said. “You two, hide. Right now.”
The two Princesses also felt something was wrong. They simultaneously ducked underneath their line of boxes, and both got quiet. They didn’t know who “he” was, but from the way Dan said it, they could tell he was someone bad.

Song: Shoot Towards the Decisive Battle

The door on the right side of the room swung open. An invisible, almost imperceptible dark wind blew from it, Dan’s senses picking it up almost immediately. A single horned figure stepped through, followed by another. Dan’s body bristled. It was him.
“Yo, what was that?”, Chad grumbled, as he brushed debris off of his arm.“It was like a frickin Earthquake, only way bigger.”
“I bet he used the Scrambler.”, said Rick. “Don’t know what else could have caused it.”
“You think?”, said Chad. “Cause I sure don’t-”
He looked up, and saw Dan, standing in the middle of the room. “Oh. Hello.”, said Chad.
Dan had no doubt. This was the one in the picture. This was the- the thing that had taken and violated Brandy. He was sure of it.
“Where’s Brandy?”, Dan said.
“Brandy- oh.”, said Chad, and chuckled. “You're him, then. Dan. The one she was begging for, the whole time.”
“Where is she?”, Dan screamed, and Chad moved back.
“Woah there.”, he said. “Easy, now. We just put her to rest a bit. She’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
“You’ll be dead by then.”, Dan growled, and raised a fist. Star faintly swirled around the metal gauntlets. “With the power of the Star, I will-”
“Wait, Star?”, said Rick. “The frick is that?”
“With the power of the Star, I can kill Giants and Skeletons Armies with but a single blow.”, Dan continued. “I will make short work of you.”
Chad smiled. “Oh, come now Dan. We both know that the Star is exponentially more powerful the larger and more numerous your enemies are. I’m only about your size, and there’s only one of me. It won’t be that strong. I, on the other hand…”
He curled his arms, showing off his prodigious muscles. “I am Chad the Destroyer, finest of all Ryusei_Nakao69’s Troops. With one mighty hand, I can hold back Pekkas, and with the other, bring down towers in seconds. Many have tried to face me, to avenge their precious friends, but all have failed. I’ve killed all of them, and forced the ones they tried to help to drink their Elixir. I’ve taken stronger opponents than you hundreds of times. I know full well that now won’t be any different.”

Dan didn’t even wait a moment. He didn’t really listen to what Chad was saying. Instead, he just started a slow, intense walk towards Chad. This took the Elite Barbarian rather by surprise.
“Oh?”, he said. “You’re approaching me? Even after all I said? Rather than running away, you’re coming closer?”
“I can’t kill you without coming any closer.”, said Dan simply.
Chad chuckled. “Oh ho! Come as close as you like, then.”
Chad took a step towards Dan, and Dan took a step towards Chad. The fire reflected off their eyes, and focused into each other’s hearts. Their souls met for a moment, and pushed off of each other again. This meant little to Chad, but Dan had been pushing himself towards this moment for days without rest. This meant everything to him.
Finally, the two met in the middle of the room, right up next to each other.
“Do you have anything to say before we begin?”, asked Chad.
“I do.”, said Dan quietly. “My name is Dan the Knight, of King Oticat, of Clan LosDementosCT. You kidnapped and raped my best friend. Prepare to die.”

Kars stepped up onto a destroyed wall, and stopped. He carefully scanned the area for any sign of any enemy, but found none. Any yet, he could still feel the danger that surrounded him.
Morgan slowly floated towards Kars, approaching him from the back. He was utterly confident in the knowledge that only Kings could see a Royal Ghost once invisible. The Lumberjack had no chance of stopping his assault.
“Where should I go?”, Kars shouted to himself. “Maybe I should just go to the front, where all the action is.”
Morgan hovered over the rubble, and up to Kars. He slowly raised his sword, over the head of his victim, light glinting off of the edge of the blade.
“Or maybe I should just run around in the back, see what I can find.”, Kars hollored thoughtfully, and brought his axe up to his head to help him think.
Morgan brought his ghostly blade down with a mighty slash. It cut through the air with a mighty swing, and hit Kar’s axe, which had been accidentally raised to block, with a mighty thunk. The sword bounced off and slid across the ground, just out of Morgan’s immediate reach.

Song: Stardust Crusaders

Once Morgan had attacked, he became again visible, much to his slight embarrassment. Nobody had ever been able to block his first strike, or get the drop on him- and now, this Lumberjack had done both sheerly by pure luck.
Kars turned his head all the way around, slow as curiosity, and saw Morgan blinking back at him. And he smiled, a crazed grin that said “hey buddy, I’m just as crazy as you are.”

“Hee ha!”, shouted Kars, and slashed forward with his hatchet, slashing downwards across Morgan’s face. The Royal Ghost screamed in agony, and retreated, holding his face in his hands. Morgan’s mind reeled with confusion- how did this Lumberjack deflect his strike so effortlessly? How did just one attack cause him so much damage? And where was this bizarre music coming from?

Kars wasted no time. Almost instantly upon seeing Morgan retreat, Kars advanced. He grabbed his axe and made another swipe, slicing open the ethereal fabric of Morgan’s tunic.
Morgan scowled, and held out his hand. Magically, the blade that had been knocked out of his hand vanished, and reformed in his grip. He swung his sword at Kars- but he was just far too slow. Kars ducked out of the way and slashed again, this time targeting Morgan’s lower torso.
Morgan’s face twisted from the attack, and swung around. This time, he managed to catch Kars by the leg, and send him sprawling across the floor.
But within a second, Kars pushed against the stone ground and sprung back up onto his feet. He spun his hatchet around in his hand, and gave a maniacal laugh.

Morgan decided it was time to disappear. This battle wasn’t going too well, and he needed a little bit of time to readjust himself. So he thought of emptiness, of nothing, and of the cold stone of the dark hallways that he spent so much time in. Within seconds, all visual traces of his physical, Elixir-fueled body had vanished, leaving only his ethereal soul.
Kars carefully scanned the room, looking for any signs of Morgan. The Lumberjack was practically a battle genius, and knew all the telltale signs of a hidden enemy. Usually, there was some sort of trace- dust on the floor being disturbed, the smell of life moving around, the ever so faint echoes of footsteps, trying their best to not exist. But for Morgan, he could find none of these.
Morgan carefully considered his next course of action. It would be foolish, of course, to continue the attack. Kars’s raw physical might was on a whole different level from Morgan, and seemed to be far too much in a fight. He would have to escape, obviously- but from where?
The south door was too obvious- everyone expected you to flee south. It was the direction the loser King always went; going south for Morgan would practically be instinct. Going west was out as well, because there was a huge rock collapse that was blocking the area. Going east was impossible, because there was no east exit, and Morgan didn’t think he could make one. That left only one way- north. There was just one small problem. Kars was standing right in the middle of the north doorway, gleaming axe in one hand, clenched fist at his side.
Morgan knew that he stood no chance against Kars in an open battle. But he also knew that if he just managed to take him by surprise, then it would be a bit more even. It had only been a fluke last time that Kars had managed to block, a complete accident. And, as Morgan thought as he drew closer to Kars, drawing his sword, A fluke won’t happen twice.

Kars had no idea that Morgan was coming. There was literally no way that he could detect the Royal Ghost. Not only that, but the strength of Morgan’s blows far outclassed those of Kars’s. Just one shot to the head to finish it. Just one clean strike, and the Lumberjack would be no more.
So when Morgan raised his sword to strike, his surprise when Kar’s fist suddenly streaked forward and slammed into Morgan’s cheek was immense. The blow was clean, the line of impact clear and defined. A crack appeared in Morgan’s cheek, and he staggered backwards through the air, suddenly again very much visible.
“Millä tavalla…”, he gurgled. “Miten lakko maa?”
Kars grinned. “I just took a random shot.”, he admitted. “How nice of you to wander right into it!”

Morgan stopped moving, and his eyes narrowed in sheer hatred. How dare this upstart Lumberjack deliver such pain unto him? How dare he attack him so randomly, and receive such luck? How was he, the great guardian of the halls, going to be bested by some Arena-only Troop?
Morgan yelled in fury, and dug his sword out of the ground. He swung it at Kars, only for Kars to totally sidestep the blade, and dig his axe into Morgan’s shoulder. Morgan swung again, upwards this time, intending to cleave Kars right in half, only for him to parry the blow with a skillful swipe of his hatchet and fling the weapon aside.
Morgan stretched out his hand again, trying to recall his sword, not even stopping to realize what an open target that made him. Kars did, however, and his eyes twinkled with jolly, murderous intent as he spun his axe around in his hands, and thrust downward.

Their eyes met, for just half a second. Oh, I’ve really messed up this time, haven’t I?, Morgan’s seemed to say.
Yep, replied Kars. I think you have.
The razor-sharp axe blade sliced directly through Morgan’s arm, separating it from the rest of his body with barely even a whisper. The detached arm flopped onto the ground and melted, yet Morgan did not yet become Elixir. He gasped at such a massive injury, and he pulled his arm closer. But even as he did so, even as he cradled his stump in his arm, he could see the menacing shadow of Kars fall over him.

“Vara ... varaa minut ... Juoksin vain pois ja piilotan jossakin täällä linnassa.”, gasped Morgan. “Sinun ei tarvitse murehtia minua vastaan, lupaan. Ole hyvä, älä tappaa minua.”
“Oh, please,”, said Kars, and dropped his axe. What he was about to do required both hands. “I’ve seen what you did to people.”
He leaned closer, and Morgan’s eyes grew wide with fear. “Did you really think such a fate…”
Morgan saw his chance, and he took it. He slashed at Kars’s face with his extra long fingernails- and they shattered into bits upon contact with just Kars’s cheek. The Lumberjack didn’t even flinch- he just kept on talking. “...awaited scum like you?”
“Sinä - olet hirviö!”, Morgan shouted, and tried again to stab Kars with what he had available- nothing more than just a broken piece of rock that he had found on the ground.

“Chop chop!”, Kars bellowed, and hit Morgan with two punches, both at lightning speed. They hurt, but it was just a taste of what was going to happen next.
“Chopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchop!”, Kars roared, and flung a torrent of punches. Each one hit Morgan on either the face or the chest, each one flinging him around like a sack of potatoes.
“Chopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchop!”, Kars yelled, and pummeled Morgan again, this time alternating strikes on each side of the head, with both fists. Blood sprayed from the Royal Ghost’s mouth as his jawbone and skull were shattered, but Kars was not even close to being done.
“Chopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchop!”, Kars screamed, and directed his punches towards Morgan’s chest. Every few punches, the smack of the hard blows was accompanied by the harsh crack of another rib being broken.
Kars paused for only a second to collect himself, and take a deep breath, before jumping back in. “Chopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchopchop!”, he roared, slamming wild fists onto Morgan’s already shattered body with reckless abandonment. He knew that the Royal Ghost had no chance whatsoever of surviving this, but he wanted to be absolutely sure.
Kars grabbed Morgan by whatever mangled hunk of flesh counted as his hand at this point, and threw him up into the air. “TIIIIMMMMMBBBEEEERRR!”, he shouted as he barraged Morgan’s collapsed and shattered torso with yet more punches, each faster and more enthusiastic than the last.
Once Morgan was launched into the rafters, Kars jumped up after him. He grabbed the front of the broken Ghost’s shirt, flung him down with Kars actually riding on top, and resumed his barrage.
“ChopchopchopchopchopChopchopchopchopchopChopchopchopchopchopChopchopchopchopchopChopchopchopchopchopChopchopchopchopchop!”, he yelled, anger tinting his blows, each strike propelling both him and Morgan downwards, then through the floor and onto the level below, right next to a large stone column that looked an awful lot like a Crusher.
“Hee ha!”, Kars screamed one last time, and delivered one final punch to Morgan, using up the last of his ferocious energy for now to do so. The mangled near-corpse of the Royal Ghost flew towards the Crusher, various holes across his body and streaming ribbons of blood, and landed right in it. The stone pillar fell with a mighty crack, and the body of Morgan sprayed into nothing but purple rain across the entire room.

Kars dropped to his knees, and breathed in and out. His colossal attack rush had taken a lot out of him. He put his hand out to his side- his axe would come flying to him, soon enough. In the meantime, he could just take a deep, refreshing drink from his bottle of Rage, and he would be all ready to go again. Just as soon as he took a drink. But before that, he thought he would close his eyes a bit. Just to rest…

Song: Throwing

Shelly leaped off of an overturned bookcase, loading her gun with a fresh round of bullets as she did so. Once she landed, a door fell in front of her, split down the middle. The one glowing eye of a Mini Pekka illuminated the dark room with an eerie red light. “PAN. CAKES.”, it said metallically.
“Yeah, you’re not getting any.”, said Shelly, and lowered her gun. “Maybe next time, though.”
The Mini Pekka raised its sword as it clamped closer. As soon as it was within striking distance, Shelly pulled the trigger on her shotgun, and fired. A hail of bullets blasted from the barrel and ripped through the air, slicing right through the metal of the Mini Pekka’s skin. It screamed in all the agony it could feel, them fell to the ground.
“PAN. CAKES….”, it said sadly, then fell apart and dropped through a fracture on the ground, just a flow of purple liquid.

Shelly pumped her fist in victory. “Yes!”, she said with excitement. “That makes 50! I can’t wait to tell Orfox, he’ll freak!”
She swung her gun up to her shoulder, preparing to run. A bolt of pure electricity suddenly arced from behind a crushed doorway and struck Shelly in the face, sending a sharp bolt of pain through her and sending her backwards a couple of feet.
Hastily, Shelly refound her bearings, and drew herself to her feet. With a quick scan of the room’s crumbled interior, it soon became apparent that there was something hiding behind the door frame. She couldn’t actually tell what it was- but she would find out soon enough. She just needed to reload her gun, then blast the door open, then kill whoever was behind it, then make another list of things to do. Shelly liked lists.
She pulled back the bolt action on her giant shotgun, born of her half-Hunter heritage. A chamber opened deep within, and another load of bullets would have ratcheted neatly into the firing chamber had twin bolts of lightning not fired from the wall and into her gun, resetting the entire process completely.
“You…”, Shelly spat. “What are you?”

Unknown to her, there was a chamber behind the door that was just barely large enough for one person. Inside it was Ryusei_Nakao69’s own Level 11Electro Wizard, Tsarsus. He had his hands placed on some torn wiring, able to fire bolts of thunder anywhere in the room. With another devilish grin, his hands pulsed white, and two more electric charges hit Shelly in the arm.
But even though it hurt to do so, Shelly raised her gun, and swept her vision across the room. She couldn’t see anything, or anyone, that moved. Her life’s experience had taught her to be wary of any sign of danger, but there was nothing. Nothing at all, except…
Except for a faint yellow light, coming from somewhere next to the door. Even though this castle was indeed very odd, Shelly reckoned that a glow like that had to come from a complex source. And whatever source was complex enough almost certainly was whatever was attacking.
Shelly raised her gun again to fire, but it’s loading process was interrupted once again by Tsarsus’s electric interference. Soft, maniacal laughter echoed from somewhere unmarkable, maddingly just outside Shelly’s reach.

“You think you’ve got me trapped, huh?”, Shelly said, and raised her gun. Tsarsus quickly reset the loading- but Shelly wasn’t going for shooting this time. Instead, she swung her gun around like a club, smashing a hole in the drywall and exposing the spot where Tsarsus lay in ambush. Upon seeing her, the grin on his face vanished, replaced with the slowly dawning face of regret.

Bowza’s arrow pierced through the Giant, right in the middle of his lower stomach. It roared in pain, and staggered backwards. The middle of a Giant’s lower stomach was notoriously sensitive, and having a burning arrow of light stuck in the middle wasn’t probably helping much.
“You dare hurt Fred?”, he bellowed. “Fred no like being hurt! Fred smash you!”
Bowza leaped backwards, just over the top of Randy’s head. “Unusually stupid, isn’t he, Randy? Even for a Giant.”
Randy said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit. But he nodded in agreement, and fixed his eyes on Fred’s head. He had only one shot, and he knew it. He knew it as a spirit.
“Remember Randy,”, said Bowza, “hitting the right spot is absolutely key. Without it, our whole plan falls apart.”
Randy laughed.
“It’s not funny, Randy.”, said Bowza. “Really, it’s not that funny at all.”
He nocked another arrow, because Fred had recovered from the blow and was now coming closer. “Fred beat you to a pulp!”, he bellowed, face red from the sheer animalistic fury. “Fred rip you into tiny bits!”

“Sure, buddy.”, Bowza said, and prepared to fire. “Sure you will.”
He let loose his magical bowstring, and the arrow of light shot forward and pierced straight through the Giant, leaving a hole about the size of a coin. Fred’s face tightened in pain, and he lashed out. He didn’t care that he was not even remotely within range of Bowza, he just wanted to attack.
But even though he was still around 30 feet away, the sheer force of Fred’s mighty blow still had an effect. The ground rippled as if hit by an Earthquake, and the vibrations reached all the way to Bowza. He jumped up into the air to avoid the strike, and landed on a broken windowsill that led out into open air.
He took another look at the Giant. Now that Bowza thought about it, Fred certainly didn’t look like a regular Giant. His muscles bulged with unnatural force, and what appeared to be small pistons and wires adorned certain parts of his body. He must have been subject to some of Ryusei_Nakao69’s bizarre Troop experiments.

“Crush you!”, Fred screamed, and turned a small knob on his chest all the way to the right.
Oh, that can’t be good, thought Bowza. And he was right.
As soon as Fred stopped turning the knob, a pulse of red flowed out from it, covering his entire body. His muscles swelled to even further proportions, and his eyes glowed with sheer, uncontained Rage.
“Uuuurrraaahh!”, Fred bellowed, being unable to even form words at that point. The pure adrenaline flowing through his body was too much to contain. He leapt straight for Bowza, one hand outstretched in a colossal fist.
Bowza watched him grow closer, each mighty step pushing him further along the floor. Craters formed with each step, and a fire broke out mysteriously from somewhere behind him.
Closer…, Bowza thought. Closer… come on…

Finally, Fred was within mere meters of Bowza. He roared something incomprehensible and threw his fist straight at Bowza’s head.
“Randy, now!”, shouted Bowza, and ducked to the side. Randy appeared from behind his cloak and hopped right into Fred’s eyes. There was a confused bellow, and Fred grabbed his eyes. But they were already frozen, and Fred’s vision had been temporarily stolen. Still storming ahead, he crashed through the spot where Bowza had been just moments earlier, groping randomly for him, only to break through the window behind, slip through, and fall screaming out into open air.
Bowza listened to the bellow of confusion and pain as Fred fell seven stories, then smashed into the ground. When he heard the wet slap of an Elixir splash, he was sure his foe had died.
Bowza turned, closed his eyes, and pushed out his hand into the air. “Good job, Randy.”, he said. “Once I get back home, I will give you my personal congratulations.”
He turned to leave, and go to the next room. But he never got the chance.

At the bottom of the fall, Fred lay, still very much alive. The Elixir pop had come from an unfortunate bundle of Archers that he had landed upon, crushing them all to splatters instantly. His head pounded from the fall, and blinding rage still refused him judgement. He couldn’t even control himself at that point- one arm just randomly lashed out, slamming into and across the wall. The blow shook the foundations of the tower, and the walls began to crumble.
Bowza felt the room shake, and he looked out the window. He saw Fred bash the wall again, and slowly start to get up.
How did he live?, Bowza thought. I heard him die. Such a thing seems quite bizarre…
But there was no time to just sit around and think. Fred still needed to be killed.

Song: Fight to Antagonize

Tsarsus raised his hands in defense, and conjured up a beam of electric force. It slammed into Shelly, and almost sent her reeling backwards. But with sheer force of willpower, Shelly managed to stand her ground. “You know, Electro Wizard...l-“ she began, “Really don’t think that you thought this through.”
Tsarsus took a visible step backwards. His fingers ran with electrical energy, sparks flying off nervously. “Oh?”, he asked, in a voice that seemed damaged by electrical force.
“Yeah.”, Shelly said. “You see, even though you can reset my gun, you can only do it every few seconds. Which means that if I just set it to rapid-fire mode, there’s nothing you can do.”
Thinking quickly, Tsarsus launched a blast of electricity at Shelly’s blaster. But unlike before, nothing happened. What?, he thought.
Shelly pointed her gun right at Tsarsus’s face. “Wondering when I could do it, Are you? Yeah, I already have.”
Tsarsus realized, in that half-second, that of all the things he could have done, Random Sniping Crew was most likely not the most important.

“Arrriariariariariariariariariariari!”, Shelly shouted as she squeezed her guns’s trigger, sending a cyclone of bullets directly into Tsarsus’s chest. He screamed, and started to fall apart. “Ari!”, yelled Shelly one last time, and fired a particularly vicious blast that split Tsarsus wide open, sending his Elixir splatting against the walls. His scream of pain hung temporarily in the air before fading into total oblivion.
Shelly Set her gun on the floor and leaned up against it, stopping to take a breath. After such a loud, enthusiastic barrage of attacks, a good rest was in order. “I wonder how Orfox is doing.”, she thought. “He’s probably doing pretty well.”
She waited for several more seconds before silently getting her gun into battle position and running off again, into the darkness that was Ryusei_Nakao69’s Castle.

Chapter Text

Agatha locked eyes with Yaga. “You think that matters?”, she said quietly. “You boast about your higher level, when I have an advantage that matters far more?”
“Oh? What?”, Yaga asked.
“There’s a Lumberjack right behind you.”, she said. “And he wants to kill you.”
Yaga spun her head around, and saw, running at top speed right at her- nothing. There was nobody there. No Lumberjack, and certainly not one that wanted to kill her.
“Oh, I don’t think so-”, she started to say, then stopped, as she immediately smacked in the cheek by the head of Agatha’s staff. The blow forced her to stagger backwards a few steps.
“Oh, you think you’re tricky?”, she snarled, and lowered her own weapon. A blast of purple, more red than blue, shot out from it and connected right with Agatha’s own shot, which was more blue than red.

“I am tricky.”, Agatha said. “I have far more tricks up my sleeves than you can possibly handle.”
She spun her staff, shooting a small storm of miniature bullets of magic. They smacked against Yaga, tearing small rips in her clothes and skin.
“You think tricks matter to my power?”, Yaga growled. “Take a good taste of this!”
She spun her staff around, and smacked it against the ground. Normally, such an action would have summoned only three Skeletons, but this was not a normal battle, and Yaga was not an ordinary Witch. Her special technique, honed from years of practice, summoned a horde of 6 Skeletons instead. “Take a good taste!”

“Yaga, do you really think that I would be bothered by mere Skeletons?”, Agatha asked. “Watch.”
She fired a few quick blasts from her hands that streaked into the bony ranks, destroying all of them at once. Then she gave her own staff a twirl, and summoned her own trio.
“It’s the same to me.”, said Yaga. “I don’t care about your little buggers, either.”
She flicked her hands, and shot just one thin beam that broke all of Agatha’s Skeletons to bits, their Elixir vanishing instead of just seeping into the ground.
“Well then.”, said Agatha, and raised her hands in front of her. Light purple lightning began to accumulate within them. “Let’s settle this like real Witches.”
Yaga raised her own hands, and dark purple lightning began to crackle around her.
“Yes. Let’s.”
They both paused for a moment, taking in as much energy as they could. Then they shouted angrily simultaneously, and fired.

Song: Virtuous Pope

Dust rained down from the low, narrow ceilings, right onto Meg. She peered ahead through the smoky darkness, but couldn’t really see anything. She squinted her eyes- still nothing, save some random sparks from a cut wire.
“Meg, you see anything?”, came the voice of Bailey from behind her. In a Dash and a flash, the Bandit appeared, still holding theSenate. “Any way out of here at all?”
“Uh, no, I’m afraid.”, Meg admitted. “I don’t really see much of anything at all, besides just dust and smoke…”
Bailey squinted her eyes, and moved up closer. Meg awkwardly got out of her way, and Bailey leaned theSenate up against a broken dresser. He groaned, and almost fell over.
“Don’t worry, he’s just unconscious.”, said Bailey. “He’s fine. Let me see…”

She stared through the darkness, looking for anything that might be important. Bandits had very keen eyesight, especially in dark places and when looking for anything shiny. So the shine of an Outside doorknob, through a haze of smoke in a dark hallway should have been easy for Bailey.
And it was- through the purple haze, she could see a door to Outside.

“Okay, I found one.”, she said, and pointed forward. “Meg, grab him. Let’s move.”
Meg tried to hoist theSenate into her arms, but she was far too nervous. Her hands shook like there was an Earthquake, and she couldn’t quite grab hold.
“Meg, let’s go!”, Bailey shouted, exasperation in her voice.
“I’m trying, I’m trying!”, Meg shouted back, but she wasn’t really getting anywhere. The more she tried to hold on to theSenate, the more nervous she got, and the more her hands shook. It was clear that she could not do it.
“Meg, you’re useless.”, said Bailey harshly. “Let me do it.”
Meg recoiled, and Bailey could see the hurt etched on her face. The Bandit immediately regretted her choice of words.
“Hold on, I didn’t- I didn’t mean it like that-”, Bailey said, but she could see Meg’s eyes already watering up. “Hold on, you’re fine-”
“No, no, you’re right.”, said Meg. “I am useless. I can’t shoot, I can’t fight, I can’t even pick something up right!” Her face reddened, and Bailey winced.
She pulled her helmet on tighter, and slapped her gun against her chest. She looked up, and tried not to cry. “Bailey, go on without me. I’ll just fight until I die.”
Bailey grabbed Meg’s gun, and set theSenate aside. “No, no, hold on. You’re not useless. You’re my friend, remember?”
“I… I am?”, Meg asked. Her fragile countenance struggled between breaking and holding, and her fingers started to tremble. “Really? But I’m so useless…”
Bailey stared Meg right in the eyes. “Meg, listen to me. I want you to listen to these words, and really listen to them.”
“I’m listening.”, said Meg, and met Bailey’s eyes. Her heart started to beat faster, as she stared deep into the green and slight red.
“You. Are. Not. Useless.”, said Bailey, making sure to carefully enunciate every word. “You are valuable, and you are appreciated. Now let’s get out of here.”
Meg’s face turned slightly redder, and a small grin crept up her face. “Okay.”

Bailey let go of Meg, and grabbed theSenate. “Let’s move!”
Meg saluted sharply. “Yes, ma’am.”, she said, and started to run after her friend.
The two sprinted as fast as they could through the rapidly collapsing hallway, only narrowly managing to avoid chunks of falling stone and twisted metal. A Goblin fell screaming out of a broken window, and splattered into Elixir right in front of them. Shouts of battle echoed from all around them, each indistinguishable against the general chaos and noise. Finally, they reached the door, and Bailey grabbed the doorknob. She took a moment to breathe, just to rest.

She turned to Meg, and grinned maniacally. “Well Meg, we did it. We’re saf-”
But Bailey never got the chance to finish her sentence. Because as she was talking, both she and Meg forgot to keep a close eye on their surroundings. A huge chunk of stone had come loose from its bearings with a mighty crack, and came down directly onto Bailey and theSenate with an equally mighty thoom, killing them both instantly.
It took Meg just a moment to comprehend what happened. Here, her friend that even though she had only known for a few hours, was already feeling like a sibling to her, had been crushed and killed. Completely out of the blue, right in the middle of her sentence, just as they had been about to escape. And Meg knew that TheEvilOverLords was losing this battle. Their influence would be destroyed, and Bailey would be gone forever.

Meg kneeled before the huge chunk of stone that had stolen her friend’s life. “Bailey…”, she whispered hoarsely. “No…”
She slammed her hand against the stone, and screamed. “Bailey!”
Meg screamed her heart out, until her lungs were exhausted. And then, the tears started to flow. Thick, ugly tears that ran down her heaving face, and dripped upon the floor. They mixed with the flowing Elixir that was once her best friend, ran down the leaning ground, and poured off into parts unknown. And Meg covered her face with her hands, and sobbed on the grave, as sparks flew around her, and battle continued, not caring about her sorrow.

Dan and Chad stared at each other, for several long seconds. Pure hatred poured from Dan’s eyes, unmatched in its fury across the entire planet. Chad stared back, a massive force of sheer evil, a cruel uncaring gaze dancing across Dan. Finally, he spoke.
“So, are we gonna do this or wha-”, Chad began, but was swiftly cut off. Dan’s sword cut upwards, slicing towards Chad’s face. He quickly brought up his own, and blocked the blow. The ring of silver steel rolled across the room, shaking the windows. Dan growled, and pushed upwards, slowly forcing back the Elite Barbarian’s blade.
“You disgraced a maiden’s honor, beast.”, Dan spat. “For that, you will be erased.”
“All I did was work.”, Chad said back. “Any delusions of a Bandit’s maidenhood are yours and yours alone.”
Chad lunged back and swiped upwards, sending Dan back. He swung his sword in a circle and brought it up near his face, and Chad did the same. Both of their fighting styles seemed to be equally matched- but Dan had not yet even begun to fight.
“My sword is burning…”, he said, and breathed in. The Star filled him once more, and a soft blue and gold light started to stream into him from all directions. “With the force of a thousand raging suns!”
Chad cast a sideways glance at Rick. He wasn’t sure exactly how this battle was going to go, and if he needed Rick to step in, he had to tell him now, before things got too out of hand.
Yo, Rick, he said with his eyes. If I give the signal, you and Valeyrie help me.
Really, bro?, Rick blinked back. You, need help against just a little Knight? He’s not even level 10!
Yes, but…, thought Chad, that Star of his certainly seems formidable. I’m not sure what it is, exactly, but it doesn’t seem like anything I’d like to mess with.

“May the gods and the Star guide my blade,”, Dan finished up, “and bring me victory today!”
The Star that he had been building up flowed into his sword, and it glowed a brilliant gold, flooding the room in holy light. He swung it into an attack position, and shot a fierce glare at Chad. “Let’s begin.”, he said.
Chad slowly approached him, swinging his own blade by the base of the hilt. “Your powers may be impressive, Dan.”, he said, trying to intimidate his opponent. “But you are still just a Knight, one with 50% less HP than before. And I am an Elite Barbarian, the strongest of the strong, the quickest of the quick. Do you really think you can fight me, Dan? Can an insect ever fight a man?”
Dan concentrated power in his arm, preparing to strike. A bead of sweat dripped down his brow, as the heat from his Star-infused blade reached him. “My Star training has pushed me far past the limit of any normal Knight, Chad. I have even managed to overcome the nerf you mentioned. You are the insect here.”
Chad smiled. The two had reached each other once again. “Really? Do you really think your meager training could help you? The product of a few short days, while I have had a lifetime to perfect my strength and skill in combat? Your Star training is useless! It’s useless, useless, useless!”
They sized each other up once again, trying to look for any weaknesses. But upon finding none, they both swung into attack.

Song: Virtuous Pope, KiraraMagic remix

“Oraoraoraoraoraoraora!”, Dan yelled, and swung his sword in a flurry of movements that would have confounded even a Lumberjack with their strength and speed.
“Useless, useless, useless, useless, useless!”, Chad roared in return, swinging his much longer, heavier blade in order to block Dan’s attacks.
The two masters of combat threw their blows at each other with such incredible force that shockwaves began to be produced. Strength far beyond what they would have in any mere Arena collided with the other, silver swords clashing in a flurry of angry steel. Yet through the storm, they stared at each other’s eyes. One was still filled with hatred, and the other with mere evil glee.
Sadie and Elizabeth could feel the power surging from the center of the room, but they did not dare to look. They could sense that if they drew any attention to themselves whatsoever, bad things would happen. Very bad things.
“Should we help him?”, Elizabeth whispered. “Does he need it?”
Sadie put out an arm to stop her sister from doing anything potentially rash. “No. There’s still two more people out there. Remember, we sense that if we draw any attention to ourselves whatsoever, very bad things will happen, right?”
Elizabeth gave Sadie a confused look. “What?”
“Eh, just forget it.”, waved Sadie. “We should really just shut up and watch.”

Dan was the first to break off his attack rush. He backflipped onto a broken bed, and raised his sword into the air. A deep sound came from his throat- not quite a yell, not a roar, not a scream- it was something else. The Star started to cycle around his sword, off of the blade, and into his fist. Veins of yellow became visible in his arm, and his eyes glowed with sheer strength.
Chad tried to run towards him, but he wasn’t quite fast enough, and he didn’t get too far. By the time he had reached the bed, Dan already had a fist pointed at him, and ready to fire.
“The Star runs through me, like a river of blood!”, Dan shouted, and his hand glowed. “Cannon Fist-”
Chad grabbed Dan’s hand, and yanked him off of the bed. Without letting go, he smashed the Knight into a pillar, sending bits of wood flying across the room, then slammed him onto his back onto the ground.
“You shouldn’t make such big speeches while you’re fighting, boy.”, said Chad. “It leaves you vulnerable-”
Then he noticed something. Even though he had just slammed and threw Dan around like a sack of potatoes, Dan still had a grip on his arm, and his own arm was still glowing. And he was also still conscious, even barely hurt, and looking up at Chad.

Song: Jonathan Joestar theme

“Overdrive!”, Dan yelled, and directed the energy outwards from his palm. It slammed directly into Chad’s arm with a crack, sending painful waves of energy through the rapidly burning flesh. Intense pain shot through Chad, and he groaned unwillingly. Smoke rose from his arm, now half cooked. “Why, you little-”, Chad spat through blood, and swung his sword. It connected firmly with Dan’s own, brought up just in time to block the blow.
“Metal is a perfect conductor!”, he said, and narrowed his eyes. “The Star flows through me, through your blade… and right into you! Metal Silver Overdrive!”
In a flash, even before Chad could blink, pure energy rippled outwards from Dan’s body, through their touching swords, and into Chad’s unburned arm. The skin on it ripped, bits lifting off and turning to ash. Other parts melted into boiling flesh, sizzling as they fell to the floor.
Chad yanked his arm back and howled in agony. His mind swirled as he thought of how this could have happened. Dan was just a Knight, and an underleveled one at that. The Star seemed easy enough to avoid, yet still Chad had just been hit by two equally devastating blows.
But the why and how aside, it was clear that Chad couldn’t win this fight honestly- so it was time to do exactly what he did best, and cheat.

“You know, you’re pretty strong.”, he said through gasps to Dan. “Do you think… that maybe… after this is all over… you could just join us?”
Dan snarled, repulsed at the very thought. “How dare you even suggest such a thing?”, he roared, and slashed the air in front of him. “I would never join a dead man’s side!”
“The only dead man here, Dan…”, said Chad slyly, “is you!”
He grabbed a half dozen bottles of Elixir from a smashed open cupboard, and flung them at Dan. Dan spun his sword, smashing the bottles to bits, but this was exactly what Chad wanted. The magical liquid within them was freed by the destruction of its container, and splattered all over Dan’s face. It got in his eyes more than any other place, forcing them closed and useless.
“How do you like being blinded by Elixir?”, Chad shouted, and lunged forward. He could still use his burnt arms, although it was very painful to do so. “I’ve won! Die!”
He swung his sword right at Dan, aiming for the heart. Dan somehow managed to raise his sword in the exact right place to partially block the blow, turning Chad’s sword so the flat of the blade would knock him backwards instead of the edge cutting him open.
Dan staggered backwards, and fell against the wall. The trail of Elixir from the spilled bottles reached all the way to Chad in a thin purple ribbon across the floor.
“Look at all that Elixir, wasted.”, Chad said. “Just like you. You tried so hard to get me.”
Dan raised his sword in defense, and slowly stood up. “Elixir…”, he said.
Then, despite the ferocious sting of the Elixir, he opened his eyes, and glared at Chad with all the force he could muster. “Elixir is a perfect conductor!”

Dan plunged his hand into the pool of Elixir by his side, and it lit up gold. “Elixir Purple Overdrive!”, he yelled, and channeled as much energy as he could muster.
Oh great, not again, thought Chad. It was an oddly calm thought, despite the circumstances.
The flood of Star energy punched through Chad’s foot like a Spear, then continued up his body. It affected everywhere that had been covered by the Elixir, burning away the skin and damaging the raw tissue underneath. Chad roared in pain, and collapsed to his knees. His eyes flew shut, and his muscles clenched in agony.
Dan got up, and heaved a huge breath. Using so much Star energy in such a short time had taken a lot out of him- maybe he could take some more lessons from Bowza later. Right after he rescued Brandy- come to think of it, where was Brandy? He had come up here because he had seen Chad take her, but now, she was nowhere to be found.

Okay, are you sure you don’t want help?, thought Rick. Because it really looks like you do.
Oh, don’t worry bro, thought Chad. Believe me, I got him on the ropes.
Rick looked at Dan, heavily winded but otherwise fine. Then he looked at Chad, approximately 3/4th of his skin burned off and blood dripping from his entire body. He didn’t think Chad had the situation even remotely under control, but Rick did trust his brother with his life. So he would stay back, and just see what happened.
Dan slowly walked up to Chad, gathering some more Star energy in his hand. He had almost been out with that last attack- he would not make the same attack again. Once he reached his foe, he grabbed Chad by the neck and leaned down to look in his face. “Where…”, he hissed, making sure to inject each word with as much menace as possible, “Is... Brandy?”

Ryusei_Nakao69 landed on his knees on a floor of burnt ash, sliding backwards among the dust. There was no sound around him, no movement, and nearly no light- no evidence of battle of any kind. And yet, he could sense the chaos going on in his castle. He could see within his dark mind’s eye dozens of separate fronts opening up, all across the entirety of the property, and several outside as well. But that small fact didn’t bother him- no, what did was that somehow, the forces of Red seemed to be losing.
“This is certainly a situation…”, he muttered to himself, and stood up. He brushed the ash off his sleeves, and peered ahead into the darkness. “I wonder if I can get anyone on my communicator.”
He checked his Kingly device, quickly pulling up the contacts of all his co-leaders. The communicator had a function in which it told him the current status of all his contacts, ranging from active to dead.

theSenate- Dead
LeChris - Currently unavailable
Odurawaz - Currently unavailable
Thebaldbalancer- Currently on vacation

Ryusei_Nakao69 cursed inwardly, and outwards as well. He scrolled down the list to see his Elders, hoping that perhaps one of them could be reached.

JohngotHurt - Dead
Markhammak - Dead
TImeERaser- Currently unavailable
WLIAS - Currently unavailable
PerfectCell - Dead
Scarred Iron - Currently unavailable
BlackPhantom - Dead

Ryusei_Nakao69 scraped his hands across his face in frustration, leaving a thin trail of blood. He almost couldn’t believe that all of his co-leaders and all of his elders were unreachable all at once. Then again, he almost couldn’t believe that his castle was being invaded by a Clan several thousand trophies lower than them- and losing to the invaders. These certainly were strange times…
He was about to scroll down to his Members, when he saw one of the readouts change. He cast his eyes upwards- LeChris was currently online and available.
Hurriedly, he scrolled back upwards, positioned his thumb over the area, and was about to press- when he saw a flash of movement out of the upper corner of his vision. He looked up, and saw a Baby Dragon touch down. ChupilickytwaCT hopped off of its side, drew a sword, and charged.

Veronica drew back her bowstring until it was taut, took aim, and released. The arrow flew straight and true, right through a hanging sheet, underneath the arm of a Giant, and hit a Barbarian right in the face. He groaned and fell over, then dissolved.
“Alright, sister!”, Stacy said, and they high-fived. “That’s one down, only around… a lot more to go.”
“Less talk, more firing!”, snapped Veronica, and Stacy’s encouraging smile faded. They both started to shoot again, in silence.
Then Veronica saw a Bowler stumble down a staircase behind them, and look around in semi-drunken confusion. She quickly checked the rocks on his ball- he was Red. That was good.
“You there! Bowler!”, she shouted, and waved her hand towards herself in a kind of come here gesture. “Get over here and support us, you useless idiot!”
Webert glanced at the two Princesses, currently sniping down from a spotlight lookout and down onto a huge room, filled with clashing Troops. He looked down at his ball, then back at the Princesses, then he grinned.
“Quite right, your Majesty!”, he bellowed. He saluted smartly, picked up his ball, took a massive step towards them, hoisted the huge boulder up into the air, and then let it fall, crushing them both into flat puddles of Elixir.
“Hey, you guys!”, he whispered, not quite sure why he was doing so. “It’s safe to come out now.”
An Archer peeked around the corner, scanned the area, then turned back to her newfound friends. “Let’s go.”, she said, and a bunch of different Troops, all in various states of disarray, sneaked out of the door that Webert had just come from. They had been prisoners just until a half hour ago, when Ryusei_Nakao69 had activated his Scrambler and thrown the entire Clan Castle into utter chaos.
There was, in addition to the previously mentioned Archer, a Hunter, a pair of Rascal Girls, an Ice Golem, a very tired Barbarian, several Ice and Fire Spirits, a single Dart Goblin, and a Mini Pekka. But behind all of these was a familiar Musketeer, cloak drawn over her tear-stained face, and her helmet abandoned long ago.

Brenda put her finger to her earpiece, and squinted, trying to see ahead in the dark. She was a level 12 Bandit, belonging to SpaceKrakenX, one of LosDementosCT’s Elders. He was renowned, or at least known, for his near-constant tech experiments, and Brenda’s earpiece was no exception.
“This is Brenda.”, she said quietly. “I have a visual on the target.”
“Subarashii.”, said SpaceKrakenX through the communications channel. “Is anyone guarding it?”
“No, sir.”, she said. “It appears to be completely left alone- emphasis on appears.”
“Good.”, said her King. “Approach with caution.”
“Understood, sir.”, she said, and began to creep forward. She knew without a doubt, just from her instincts as a Bandit, that the floor and walls were absolutely littered with traps. Fortunately, due to those same instincts, she also knew just how to avoid them.
Giant Bomb to her left- just a quick step over could avoid setting it off. Trio of Bombs just in front of her? A swift Dash across the trigger point, and they never even got a chance to explode. A Spring Trap? That one was particularly easy- just step on the edge and allow its spring to propel you even further forward. A Push Trap, trying to fling her into a wall of spikes? Its push may have been strong, but it couldn’t even come close to the force of her Dashing in the opposite direction. There were many traps, but none of them could outwit Brenda’s intense training.
After the course of traps had been beaten, Brenda found herself in the center of the room. A golden altar rested under a pillar of golden light. There was gold trim on the stone, soft flecks of gold floated through the air- really, there was just a lot of Gold.
Ryusei_Nakao69 must have spent a fortune on this, she thought. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I relieved him of some of it…
She stabbed her stick into a soft-looking hunk of Gold on the pillar, and broke it off with a grunt. WIth a single motion, it had been deposited into one of the dozens of pockets that lined the insides of her dress. Brenda smiled to herself, thinking of what such a chunk of Gold would be worth on the open market. 20000? 25000? She wasn’t sure, but it was almost certainly far more than she needed for a new coat.

Song: Overdrive

Then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A single floorboard was shoved aside, and a dark brown coffin rose out of it. The lid banged open, and a trio of Skeletons danced out from within.
Oh, I can handle this, Brenda thought. Just a trio of-
Then another Skeleton Trap activated just to the right of the original, then another, then another, and finally another. They all deposited three Skeletons, all eager to try and rip Brenda to shreds.
Brenda bit her lip, and looked around nervously. Three Skeletons- she knew she could handle those. Six Skeletons- maybe, if they weren’t too high level. But an entire Skeleton Army? There was no way… or was there?
As the Skeletons closed in, their tiny bones chittering and waving their swords, Brenda touched her earpiece. “Sir?”, she said, hoping her King was still online. “What do I do here?”
“Brenda,”, said SpaceKrakenX through the line, “I thought you knew. Remember what I taught you? The Steel Wind maneuver?”

Brenda grinned. “Quite right, your Majesty.”, she said as she remembered. “Really, I don’t know how I forgot.”
She smartly saluted, and affixed the Skeletons with an unapproachable glare. “You fools.”, she said with pride. “My King’s training is truly the finest in the entire world! There is no equal!”
The Skeletons all jumped for her at once. Brenda closed her eyes, breathed in, and the entire world seemed to slow down. Once she opened them again, all the Skeletons seemed to be frozen in time.
Brenda backflipped away from the Skeletons, and reached into one of her many pockets. She pulled out a storm of knives, around a dozen in each hand. With a deep breath, and the Skeletons still near-frozen, she threw the knives in a steel wind.
The Skeletons had never seen it coming. One second, the Bandit was right underneath them, and the next, she had Dashed away, launched a barrage of knives, and then Dashed in front of them, all within the space of far less than a second. Once they realized what was happening, the knives had already sliced into all of them, cutting them apart as they fell to bare Elixir.

Brenda hummed a tune as she stepped over the ruins of the Skeleton Traps, which she had made sure to break, just in case. She placed her hands on the glass box that held her target, and, using the custom Sticky Fingers technology woven into her gloves, lifted it without a noise. There it was, resting on a scarlet pillow, all hers to take. Well, all hers to take, and all SpaceKrakenX’s to own. But that was for another time- all that mattered to this Bandit, at this moment, was the thrill of the steal.
Brenda took out a 34/257th weight from her pocket grid, one of the many tools of her trade. Then with a single Dash-infused moment, she switched the weight and the prize, put back the glass, and started sprinting away.
“Did you get it?”, asked Norbert, her Executioner friend through the communications channel.
“Was the operation successful?”, asked SpaceKrakenX.
“Yes.”, said Brenda, and smiled, looking at the soft golden slip of fabric and paper she held in her hand. She had heard a lot about these, and it certainly looked impressive enough. Quite the valuable prize, indeed. “I got his Pass.”

The blue rope of Agatha’s magical force twisted around and against Yaga’s red, in a brilliant show of force that spat like a wounded flame. Sparks of purple flew off of their midair collision, lighting up the room as it slowly began to burn.
“My my, Agatha.”, mused Yaga. “Looks like you’re starting to tire.”
She cackled maniacally, and pushed ever harder. Agatha was forced slightly backwards, and she grit her teeth in frustration.
“Are you sure about that, Yaga?”, she asked. “Because it looks to me like I’ve barely begun.”
Yaga chortled to herself. “Oh really? Then why am I…”
She took a step forward, and Agatha was forced backwards again.
“Beating you back so easily?”, Yaga continued. “There’s no way you can win, you second rate, under leveled, fool of a wimp!”
With an added burst of effort, Yaga practically threw herself at her foe. The additional surge of energy knocked Agatha off of her feet, and onto the shattered floor.
Agatha raised her staff in defense, and threw up a light blue shield in defense. Yaga’s sadistic eyes flowed red, and she slammed the head of her own staff downwards. The two fields of Magic met with a sharp crack, and a small shockwave spread throughout the room.
“It’s over, Agatha.”, Yaga hissed. “Once I break through your shield, I’ll bring you down instantly- and you’re certainly in no position to launch a counterattack!”
“Well, Yaga,”, Agatha managed to grunt out, “I know something you don’t know.”
“Ho?”, Yaga asked. “And just what, pray tell, is that?”
Agatha chuckled, and narrowed her eyes in defiance. “There’s a Lumberjack behind you.”
For a few seconds, there was nothing but the sound of silence. Well, that and the sounds of the two Witch’s magical forces hitting each other in a ferocious, purple particle storm, and the general noise and chaos of the castle under siege and generally just falling apart around them. But other than that, there was no noise at all. Until, of course, Yaga burst out laughing.

“Oh, please.”, she started to say. “Do you really think I’m going to fall for that old on-“
She would have finished her sentence, and then gone on to finish Agatha, had the razor- sharp axe of a Lumberjack not come speeding through the air, leaving a ferocious yell behind it, and sliced her arm clean off.

Song: Clash

For a second, Yaga’s eyes shot wide open in immense pain, but no sound came out. Her concentration was utterly shattered, and her assault upon Agatha’s energy sphere was as well. And then, about a second after that, she dropped her staff, clutched the stump of her arm, and fell to the floor. And then, the screaming started.
Agatha looked to where the axe had come flying in from, and saw an aggressively posing Lumberjack.
“Kars!”, she said. “You got my message!”
The Lumberjack ceased his excellent posing, and walked down the stairs. “Kars? I’m not Kars!”, he shouted happily. “I’m Lars!”
Agatha shot a brilliant blue blast at Yaga, hitting her directly in the head and knocking her over into the floor. “Oh. I thought you were Kars. You look exactly like him.”
Lars put his hands on his hips and smiled proudly. “Nope! We may look alike, but I assure you, I do not enjoy dubstep anywhere near as much as he does. I tell you, he is not okay.”

But as they talked, Yaga wasn’t quite finished yet. She gathered all of what little energy remained in her, and yanked herself upwards to a sitting position. She put all of her power into her staff, not even caring that her body was dissolving by the second.
“Looks like you came just in time, Lars.”, Agatha continued. “That spellhoarder was about to-“
Yaga shrieked in near-animalistic fury, flinging her crackling staff forward like a sword, aimed directly for Agatha’s heart. Both she and Kars, upon noticing the surprise attack, tried to stop it, but it was already too late. Even as the last of her body turned to purple liquid scattered across the floor, Yaga stabbed Agatha right through the chest, sending tons of destructive power along with it.

Blood spurted out of Agatha’s mouth, and she cursed with vigor and vim. Her eyes widened in shock, and her gaze turned to Yaga’s arm, the last of her body as it fell to liquid.
“You…”, Agatha mumbled. “You’re clever…”
Then she saluted Lars with a grim expression, as one professional does to another, and fell to puddles of purple among the Elixir-stained stones.
“You’re…”, she managed to spit just before death. “You’re a clever one…”

Chapter Text

Shelly wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, and jumped through a broken window. But unknown to her, the glass that the window had held had been a freshly made batch straight from the Laboratory, and whatever had broken it had unleashed its strange magical properties. She landed on the other side in a crimson parlor room- and a bolt of electricity shot from an open interior window and hit Shelley directly in the back, sending her flying with a sharp cry of pain. She managed to twirl back onto her feet again, but not before traveling several meters.
Shelly spat onto the floor, and reloaded her gun. “Come on, who was that?”, she shouted into the seemingly empty room. “You wanna come out here and fight?

As if to answer her summons, a shining Electro Wizard stepped out from behind a broken door. His eyes twitched with fury, and lightning coiled around his fingertips like high-voltage snakes. He had actually moved so he could get a better shot, but he would pretend that he had been brave enough to meet Shelly’s summons. In truth, Tsarsus the Electro Wizard was a bit of a coward.

“It is I, Tsarsus, who meet your summons, uh…”
He stared at Shelly in confusion. She didn’t resemble any troop he had ever seen. With her purple hair, shotgun, and strange clothing, Tsarsus thought she resembled some odd cross between a Musketeer and a Hunter. He was right, but neither of them knew this.

“You again?”, Shelly said, and lowered the barrel of her gun to directly face Tsarsus. “I killed you.”
“Well, Yes, but actually no.”, Tsarsus said. “Something happened very recently to rewind time for my personage. I’m not sure what it was, but I am glad for it.”
Tsarsus grinned, and fired. Twin bolts of lightning shot from his hands and hit Shelly’s gun, resetting the charge. “And this time, I will not be so careless in our fight. For although you may possess great qualities of sheer destructive strength, I can also see that your gun takes a bit of time to charge up. I can make sure that it never will.”
Shelly tried to fire again, only for Tsarsus to reset it again. “Yes,”, she said, “But you can only hit either me or the gun. Eventually, you’ll tire out.”
“Yes.”, said Tsarsus. Even though he could fire two bolts at once, it took the power of both to keep Shelly’s gun in check. “However, this is my home, which you are so rudely intruding upon. In this Castle, in this place, my stamina is unlimited.”

“I see.”, Shelly grimaced. “Then tell me, how good are you at head protection?”
The devious smile vanished off of Tsarsus’s face. “What?”
Shelly got up from the floor and charged at Tsarsus, holding her gun like a shield. “Because you’re about to need it!”
Instantly, Tsarsus switched targets. His lightning flowed not into the gun, but into Shelly herself. She grunted in pain, but managed to suddenly drop to a crouch.
“You know,”, she said. “I thought Electro Wizards were supposed to be smart.”
For a second, Tsarusus wondered what she meant by that. Then he noticed that although Shelly had stopped her forward charge, she had managed to get enough charge on her gun to fire, and was actually doing it right then.

And it was at that moment that Tsarsus knew. He knew that he had messed up.

Shelly pulled the trigger. A firestorm of metal erupted from the end of her gun, tearing Tsarsus into bits. He screamed as he died, and spread all across the stone floor.
Shelly blew the smoke off of the barrel of her gun, and set it on the ground. She took a moment to rest, leaning on her weapon, and wiped her sweaty brow. “And another enemy falls.”, she said, “To the wit and might of Shelly.”
She looked up, and looked around.”I wonder how everyone else is doing right now.”

Bowza backflipped onto another rock. He drew back his bowstring, and aimed towards the rampaging hulk that was even now making his way towards him. Red burned all around them in sparkling flames, almost a nightmare as the castle continued its collapse. Fred loomed humongous in the shadows, his muscles bulging almost to bursting point. His eyes boiled over with sheer, primal fury, and his teeth almost seemed to be growing longer.
“Crush you!”, Fred bellowed, or so he seemed to say. His words had started to slur together into a massive roar, continually sustained. “Fred strongest there is!”
Bowza knew that Fred had to be stopped. Given his current rate of growth, it was only time before he became too strong for anyone to handle. Whatever dark, evil experiment had been done on him, it was clearly a good one.
Bowza also knew that his ordinary arrows wouldn’t work on the enormous beast. He had to use the Star. Even though his abilities in it were less combat oriented and leaned more towards special operations, the force behind such techniques could still most likely bring Fred down.

Bowza slowly breathed in, calm even as Fred barreled towards him like an avalanche. Concentrating all the energy he had collected from the air in his magical arrow of light, he aimed straight for Fred’s forehead. A clean shot to the brain would be most effective.
“Focused Piercing-”, Bowza started to say, then stopped. He sensed that Dan was about to need as much Star energy as he could get, and fast.

Chad coughed, and managed a weak smile. “Where? Why, she’s exactly where you’re about to be…”
In a flash, his arm flew to his side, and grabbed his sword. Dan raised his own, anticipating the attack, and snarled.
“Exactly where I want you!”, Chad roared, and swung his blade in a powerful arc that seemed to cut the very air. Even though his arms looked burned to dust, he was using them as easily as he had done before the fight had even begun.
“You think you had me beaten, didn’t you?”, Chad bellowed, as he spun around, flashing his sword around and around in a blur of silver steel. Dan, being forced backwards, only just barely managed to block his fearsome blows. “But no one can truly defeat me. You were a fool, Dan, to challenge me on my own turf!”

Song: Fight to Antagonize

Dan breathed in, his breath short from the fighting. But it didn’t matter, he would take what he could get. As the particles of energy collected into his lungs, he-
“Oh no!”, Chad shouted, and kicked him in the chest. “Oh no you don’t! I’m not going through that crap again!”
Dan flew backwards, propelled by Chad’s mighty kick to the chest, and landed among a heap of boxes. They crumbled around him, collapsing onto and covering his torso. He coughed, and a few drops of blood came out.
He looked up, and saw Chad slowly coming towards him, menacingly swinging his sword side to side. His face seemed to simply radiate evil, and the burns on the rest of his body only added to the look. “I told you, Dan! Your feeble attempts make no difference! They’re useless, useless, useless, useless!”
“As long…”, Dan groaned, and curled his hand into a fist. It started to glow, with whatever stored Star energy was left within him. “As long as there is breath in me, I swear-”
He pushed himself off of the stack of boxes with a massive effort, and stared right into Chad’s face. The sheer rage contained within the gaze was enough to give even the Elite Barbarian pause. “I swear, I will make you pay for everything you’ve ever done!”
He breathed in again, and felt the Star, even more powerful now, pour into his body. He raised his fist, and it started to glow a brilliant gold, as yellow as the sun. “My heart resonates…”

But Chad wasn’t about to let that happen again. Quick as a flash, he dropped to his knees and swiped his sword across Dan’s legs, opening a thin long cut. Then he lashed out with his foot and caught Dan right in the knees, sending him sprawling backwards, back onto the boxes. Pain rushed through Dan’s body, but he wasn’t down yet. “Heat enough to burn…”
“I’ve got you now!”, Chad yelled, and threw his hand over Dan’s face, covering his nose and mouth. “You need air to use your Star! If I cover your face, you can’t breathe in! I win!”

Dan tried to breathe in, but the rough skin of the Elite Barbarian stopped him from doing so. He tried to attack with his sword, but there was no good angle of attack, with Chad pinning him down to the boxes. He tried to get free, but the pin position was too good. There was no way to counterattack. He tried to say something, in order to continue the Star technique, but he couldn’t- it only came out as mumbles.
Dan’s face grew red with rage, and his muscles strained to escape Chad’s grip. Here he was, helpless to fight against the villain that had taken Brandy’s honor, and was about to take Dan’s own life. He had been training almost non-stop for days on end, but it was not enough, in the end.
“Aw look, he’s gonna cry!”, Chad said, fake worry oozing over the edges of his voice. “Guys, look!”
From across the room, Rick and Valeyrie put their heads in their hands. “Awww!”, they said in unison.
Dan tried to say something again, but it was mumbled. Chad frowned and put his hand to his ear. “What was that, Dan? I’m afraid I can’t hear you. You’ll have to speak up.”
Dan screamed his words, and this time they finally made it through the Elite Barbarian’s armored hand. “My blood’s beat is razor sharp!”

Chad almost sighed. “Okay, why do you keep on doing that? Saying some big, dramatic speech before you start attacking? Its weird. Seriously, who does that?”
He looked around, and raised his arm for approval. “I mean, really, who does that?”
Dan was about to try again. He was about to put in one last attempt to break free of Chad’s monstrous grip, but something stopped him. And that something was an image of Bowza, floating right in front of his head. Bowza?, he thought. Wha-
I can see you need help, Dan, the image of Bowza said silently. So I’m giving you my Star. Take it!
Bowza reached out his hand, and Dan grasped it in his mind. At once, he felt all of the Star energy of Bowza flood into him, like the gates of a dimension of pure light bursting open in glorious song.

Bowza felt the last of his energy drain away from him, put to a far better use- he hoped. If Dan couldn’t defeat Chad, then it would have all been for nothing. He looked up, and saw Fred almost on top of him. Bowza stood shakily back up, and drew back his bow.
“Come on, you big bugger!”, he yelled, and fired. “Let’s finish this!”
The arrow pierced straight through Fred’s chest, hitting and exploding upon the rock wall directly behind him. Then another, and another, and then many more, as Bowza hurried to unleash a storm of silver fire.
But Fred merely laughed, and raised his fists, joining them together. “Your arrows no hurt Fred!”, he bellowed. “Fred strongest! Fred is the fricking strong!”
Bowza fired one last arrow, looked up, and smiled. “Your move, big guy.”, he said, a mere moment before Fred’s joined fists came crashing down onto where he stood, splattering the Magic Archer into a puddle of purple that spread across the entire room, miniscule droplets covering everything.
“Huh huh huh… I got him.”, Fred chuckled to himself. “I got little magic man!”
But then, he heard a crack, and a creaking sound behind him. He turned around, and his tiny, Hog-like eyes turned wide. Every single one of Bowza’s shots had had a definite effect- just not on Fred. No, they had been instead meant to disturb the massive statue of an Executioner just behind him, that was even bigger than Fred was. Bowza’s attempts to lure the fight to the Hall of Primals had been for a reason. Everything he had done in the entire fight had been perfectly calculated- and none more so than this. What Bowza had lacked in strength, he had more than made up for in perfect planning and wit.

Fred shrieked, and tried to cover himself with his hands as the immense statue, at least 60 feet tall, fell towards him with axe in front. But such a defense failed, as it would, and the axe sliced into him, cutting a deep gash from head to foot. The Giant berserker fell to the ground with a mighty thud, and began to die. But even as he did so, he had just one thought running through his head- Why? Why hurt Fred? Why did rock Vlad hurt Fred….
And that was the last thing going through his head at Fred’s moment of death. Except for, of course, the actual humongous stone axe.

Dan’s face heated up- and not in the regular sort of embarrassed way. It heated up with a fire born of rage and the Star, but mostly the Star. A ruddy red and gold glow emanated from Dan as Bowza’s energy was added to his own. And his face got very, very hot- hot, in fact, to the point where Chad instinctively let go of Dan’s mouth and nose with a yelp, and whipped his hand behind his back.
There was a brief moment of silence, as the realization of what he had just done sank into Chad, and the magnificent golden light surrounding Dan multiplied ten-fold. He raised his fist, poured almost every last scrap of Star into it, and attacked.

Song: Jonathan Joestar theme

“SUNLIGHT YELLOW OVERDRIVE!”, Dan yelled, and immediately struck Chad with such a powerful barrage of blows that even a Pekka would be impressed. Each and every punch was precisely, automatically calculated to cause the maximum amount of damage possible, all striking Chad in several vital areas simultaneously. Each attack moved almost faster than the eye could see, all compounded by Dan’s ferocious Oraoraoras. The huge barrage of punches continued for 6 long seconds, with Dan screaming in righteous fury and Chad roaring in pain.
Then with one last, supreme blow, Dan struck Chad right in the sternum, snapping it in two and sending the evil Elite Barbarian flying against the wall and into a closet, crashing through the wooden door and landing in a bloody heap.

Song: The Hand

Ryusei_Nakao stared down his opponent. What did he know about this King, ChupilickytwaCT? Besides, of course, the obvious- that he had a sword, and was his enemy, and was currently coming straight for him.
“You dare to face me, mortal?”, bellowed Ryusei_Nakao69, and raised his hand. “In my own Castle, on my own turf, my own terms? Such a foolish action will indeed be your doom!”
With a single dark gesture, he fired a bolt of black Lightning that struck ChupilickytwaCT’s sword, shattering it to bits. The shards of metal flew out of his hand, and stuck into the broken ground. But the Blue King did not falter.
“It is you who is the fool, Ryusei_Nakao69!”, he shouted nobaly. “For you thought my sword was my weapon.”
He spread his hands, revealing what seemed to be a holographic display full of cards. They were all spells, not a single troop or building among them. “Come, foul one. Let’s settle this like Kings!”
Ryusei_Nakao69 smiled. “Fine then. I’d gladly fulfill a dying man’s last wish.”
With an exaggerated gesture, he too summoned a board full of spells in front of him. The two Kings looked up, met each other’s eyes, and got ready to Clash.

Brandy found herself awakening. Her eyes slowly opened, encrusted with dried blood and bled Elixir. There was a foul taste in her mouth, and her movements still seemed slowed. Where was she…
Then, once her vision stabilized, and her eyes began to adjust to the dark in which she now found herself, she found out. Sort of. It looked like a closet that she was in, a very dark and full one.
“Um, hello?”, Brandy asked to no one in particular, hoping someone was there to hear her. “Is anyone there?”
But there was no sound, save for a seemingly omnipresent low rumble. Brandy was totally alone. Whoever had tossed her in this closet had chosen its location well.
Well then, guess I’ll just get myself out, Brandy thought, and slowly, shakily stood up. Fortunately, there was no rope or chain around her, and her limbs were beginning to wake up again. Very soon, she would be able to move freely again. She started to look for a weak spot in the door, somewhere to break through without hurting herself too much in the process.
There! There was a small area, just below the doorknob, where the wood seemed to have been splintered some time previously. That was perfect. Brandy drew back her fist, positioned it to hit right behind the splintered wood, and-

The door swung open, much to Brandy’s surprise. She managed to stumble backwards again, and do a sort of half-Dash to back inside the closet, barely staying on her feet from all of her unspent forwards momentum. Then she looked up, and gasped. There, in the doorway, stood the titanic figure of Orfox, frowning down at her. He scratched his head, then grinned and drew his sword.
“I found another hider!”, he yelled, and brought his massive iron sword above his head to smite Brandy off of the face of the world.
Panic surged through Brandy, and she frantically gestured for him to stop. “Wait!”, she shrieked. “Stop! It’s me! I’m Brandy! I’m the one you’re looking for!”
Orfox stopped, and his face scrunched up in confusion. “But… you’re wearing a Red uniform. You can’t be her.” Then he swung his sword, right at her with force that could level a building.
Brandy jumped into the air, Dashing over the blade and right next to Orfox’s feet. “Listen, you big idiot! I’m Brandy! You have to believe me!”
Orfox turned his gaze downwards to look at her. “Really? I’d expect tricks coming from a Red Bandit like you. All tricky ones.” He raised his immense Iron Fist, ready to crush her to a pulp.
Brandy Dashed again, this time to the front of the closet, out of the range of Orfox’s blows. Dashing twice within just seconds of each other so soon after waking up was tiring her, and she didn’t know how many Dashes she had left. Maybe none at all. “But I am Brandy! They just put me in this uniform because they tried…to make me their own.”

Her voice quieted, and she stood still. Orfox was given pause at this, and set his sword down on the ground. “Very well then, I think I believe you. But in order to make sure…”
With a flourish, Orfox pulled a large scroll out of his belt. “You must first answer this questionnaire!”
“What?”, Brandy said. “Are you serious?”
“Look!”, said Orfox, and pointed to a small line of print near the top. “It’s written by your friend Dan himself.”
Brandy felt her heart race faster. “Dan? Where is he? Is he alright?”
“Well, I don’t know.”, Orfox said. “I saw him run up the stairs about, I don’t know, maybe half an hour ago?”
Brandy’s eyebrows reached a point where, if not for the laws of both hair and physics, would have gone flying off of her face. “Okay, okay, whatever. Just give me the questionnaire, and we can be out of here.”
Orfox straightened the scroll, squinted at the small writing so he could see better, and began to read.

“Alright, question one: What is your full name?”, said Orfox. “Just to begin.”
“Brandy the Bandit.”, said Brandy. “Are we done?”
“Good. And no.”, said Orfox. “Okay, question two: Who is your King, and what is your Clan?”
“Oticat, of LosDementosCT.”, said Brandy. “Okay, that’s all the information you need, right?”
Orfox held up one finger. “No, not yet. You see, that’s all just basic, surface information. But this next question- now, that will truly determine whether you’re Brandy or not. Now, for your third and final question- what is the... Mustache Incident?”
Brandy was a little taken aback by this one. She was, frankly, shocked that Dan would tell about the Mustache Incident to anyone, let alone some Barbarian King. But if she was to get out of here alive, and not underneath the crushing force of Orfox’s siege blade, she would have to tell him.

So she did.

Orfox’s eyes widened, and he laughed. “So that’s the Mustache Incident, eh? Fancy! Well…”, he said as he wrapped up the scroll and threw it into his belt again, “... that does indeed match the result we got from everyone involved. Looks like you’re really her.”
He took a small communicator from his belt, and held it up to his ear. “Everyone, this is Orfox. I found her.”
“What?”, the device squawked. “Orfox, I can’t quite hear you.”
The Barbarian King sighed, and put the communicator to his mouth. “Everyone, this is Orfox.”, he said a little louder. “Brandy has been found, and is currently safe with me. I repeat, Brandy has been found.”
“Good work, Orfox.”, said whoever was on the other side. “Now, commence operation-”

Orfox shut off the device with a click, and gave it to Brandy. “Here, you take this.”, he said. “I don’t like it that much.”
“Uh, shouldn’t you be doing operation whatever?”, Brandy said, stashing the device in one of her many pockets. “I mean, thank you for finding me and all, but that sounded important.”
Orfox shook his head, then drew his sword. “Nope, we’ve got no time, and more important things to do. Now come on-”
Brandy got ready to run, and Orfox’s eyes narrowed, eagerly anticipating the bloodshed that was about to be unleashed. “Let’s go save your friend.”

Dan stood there, his breathing heavy from the exertion, one arm hanging by his side, and covered in many places with blood. Most of it wasn’t his. He stared at the entrance to the closet, mentally daring Chad to come out of where Dan had punched him, but really wishing he wouldn’t. 10….9...8...7… come on..., he thought. Don’t get up….
But sure enough, the Elite Barbarian’s seemingly impossible strength and durability won out. There was a small flash of red light, and Chad rose from the crash site.
“My my, Dan.”, he said. “That was quite a powerful strike there. Sunlight Yellow Overdrive, you called it?”
Dan stared at him, not quite sure what Chad was getting at. But he began to concentrate energy in his lungs, just in case.
“But…”, Chad continued deviously, “... no matter your strength, you cannot beat me on my own turf. It is impossible!”
He opened his eyes, and smirked. With a slap of his hand against the side of the wall, Dan’s side of the room seemed to come to life.

Song: Virtuous Pope

Sharp spikes of metal erupted out of the floorboards, stabbing Dan in the foot. The bricks opened up, and started dispensing dozens of miniscule darts. They didn’t quite manage to get through Dan’s armor, but they were starting to. Dan tried to rush Chad, sword outstretched, but a pair of flailing metal pipes blocked his way, thrashing madly around.
Dan growled, and slashed ferociously through them. The two pipes fell to the floor and shattered, but 4 more appeared within moments. The metal spikes finally burst through Dan’s shoe, and pierced his skin. The corners of his mouth pulled downwards in pain, as he tried to fight off the hydra-like pipes that were still coming.

Chad laughed. “Oh, how pitiful! You spend so much time trying to come after me, training to become… what? Some sort of ultimate warrior? And then you can’t even get past some training drones! What happened to your Star?”
Dan would have thrown back some sort of witty comeback, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t think of one, and he couldn’t waste breath. He was currently concentrating as much Star as possible in the back of his arm, for when that one final strike came.
But as the nearly endless pipes closed in, he thought he might need it…

“So this is how it ends.”, said Chad, with an air of smug certainty. “You fail, just barely before you finish. But meanwhile I, Chad, will continue to have whoever I want, whenever I want, for the rest of my long, happy life. Whether its girls like Valeyrie or cheap trash like your precious Brandy, my wishes cannot be denied!”
The words Chad spoke reached Dan’s ears. He stopped fighting for just a moment, as the phrase cheap trash like your precious Brandy found their way into his brain, and were comprehended. Then his grip tightened hard enough to crack stone, his eyes practically lit up with hatred, and he turned to face Chad. A pipe dived for him, but one of Dan’s fists shot out without any thought at all and crushed it to bits.
“And come to think of it, Dan?”, Chad said, and raised his finger. “Even though Brandy was just some trash, she was good at one thing.” He ran his finger down his cheek, as if crying. “She was just so good at sobbing.”

Dan felt his mind snap. Pure Rage, mixed with all the Star that he had concentrated, rushed through him like a boiling river, and he roared. With a mighty sweep of his arms, he threw aside all the pipes that surrounded him, and they shattered like onion skin glass.
He pushed power to his legs and fists, and jumped. Scraping across the ceiling of the room, he almost looked like a fabled Mega Knight, soaring like a holy meteor about to do justice.
Oh, thought Chad. I think that was the wrong thing to say.
Dan landed near the Elite Barbarian, creating a small shockwave that almost blew Chad off of his feet. But even as soon as he touched down, he came out swinging. The force of his sword stroke collided with Chad’s like an avalanche collides with a dead tree, and the Elite Barbarian’s blade shattered into a thousand pieces.
“You dare defile her?”, Dan screamed, and his sword lit up with the force of the Star. The metal screamed from the heat, sheer energy radiating from it. “Take this, Chad! In the name of all the Star…”
Chad tried an underhand kick to the chest, but the attack actually bounced off of Dan’s armor. It looked to both of them as if nothing could stop Dan’s rampage. But that didn’t mean Dan would waste time- no. He was not like that. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“I, Dan the Knight, for the honor of Brandy….”
Dan grabbed both of Chad’s arms in the space of less than half a second, and threw them upwards. The shock and terror on Chad’s face was eminent, a total opposite to the blinding rage on Dan’s. He swung out his sword behind him, and it glowed with the fury of a thousand suns.
“Strike you down!”, Dan roared, and swung his sword upwards. Chad had no way to block the blow, and it sliced through his neck, severing his head from his body.

Chad’s head rolled away for a few seconds, the helmet still staying on. The body fell backwards, and dissolved into chunks of Elixir. The head persisted for a few more seconds, until it, too, vanished. Only the helmet remained, the last reminder of the monster that Dan had slain.
Dan dropped to his knees, and breathed a sigh of relief. He had done it. All of his training had finally paid off. It had been a long, hard battle, but Chad was dead. Brandy had been avenged.

His gaze wandered upwards, to Rick and Valeyrie leaning against the side of the wall. They almost seemed to be… laughing. That was odd, Dan thought. Even though he knew them to be monsters, certainly even they would be horrified by their friend and brother’s death. There had to be something more going on here…
And then, Dan saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, and everything made sense.

Chapter Text

ChupilickytwaCT and Ryusei_Nakao69 carefully sized each other up, making sure not to make the first move. Neither knew exactly what the other would be using- although Chup could guess that his Red foe had some pretty underhanded tactics up his sleeve. He was right.
Ryusei_Nakao69 flicked one hand, that spun with the purple of Elixir, and the red of him. A card vanished from the magical display in front of him, and reappeared in the air- a Tornado.
Then it vanished again, and the air began to move. It spun around, concentrating into a grey whirlwind between them.
“How odd of you.”, remarked ChupilickytwaCT. “Playing that Tornado, when there’s no troops around. Did you mean to play tha-”
A swarm of Blue Bats flew in through a nearby window, and saw Ryusei_Nakao69. They chirruped as one, flew to attack, and immediately burst upon the flawless prediction Tornado.
“In response to your question, Chupilicky…”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said as he smiled evilly. “Yes. Yes I did.”
ChupilickytwaCT gulped, and prepared his own card. Here was an opponent that didn’t seem normal. No. He didn’t just not seem normal, he wasn’t normal. There was something far too sinister about Ryusei_Nakao69 that Chup wanted to get to the bottom of- but he couldn’t. Because after this battle, the Red King would be dead… with any luck.

Cooly, Chup selected a Fireball from his own display, and held up his hand. The flame began to concentrate in his hand, sweat beading on his brow from the heat.
“Oh, using a Fireball, are we?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 mused, and selected another card. “Fortunately, I have a little number here that will-”
He was going to say “put that right out.” He had a Freeze in his hand, and was ready to play it, but ChupilickytwaCT put a small wrench into those plans by not actually launching the Fireball. Instead, he flicked his other wrist out with a small burst of electricity, shooting a high-level Zap that smacked into Ryusei_Nakao69’s leg. He grunted in surprise and dropped his Freeze.
“-will do nothing!”, Chup shouted. With a wave of his hand, the Fireball changed into a bottle of Lightning, and he chucked it at the Red King.
Ryusei_Nakao69 winced, and crossed his arms. The holographic board folded up to match his actions, and a pair of black wings appeared across his front. The Lightning hit in three devastating bolts, but they were absorbed by whatever Darkness Ryusei_Nakao69 was using in order to protect himself. “How feeble…”, he whispered, and uncrossed his arms, the board going back to normal. “I was expecting more than just a cheap trick.”
“A cheap trick, you say?”, ChupilickytwaCT said. “That wasn’t a cheap trick- this is a cheap trick!”

With a great flourish, he pulled a card from his row and flung it at Ryusei_Nakao69. He braced himself for impact- but nothing happened. Slightly curious, he peered down to where the card had fallen, and saw nothing printed. The card, upon closer inspection, was just a slip of paper.
Ryusei_Nakao69 looked up, annoyed at being tricked in such a manner, and saw ChuplickytwaCT laughing. “How’s that for cheap tricks?”, said the Blue King. “You should have seen the look on your face.”

Song: Third Bomb

Ryusei_Nakao69 growled, and clenched his fist so hard it began to bleed. He cast aside his board of cards, and placed one hand upon his chest. ChupilickytwaCT’s eyes grew wide.
“It seems you are nothing but, ChupilickytwaCT.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “Some leader you are.”
His hand suddenly burst into swirling black energy, and he gasped in pain. “It does not matter what strategy you throw at me, for my dark power is unrivaled. I will beat you.”
ChupilickytwaCT merely smiled. “Oh, don’t go counting on that just yet. You see, I do still have one trick left.”
“And what is that?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said, and thrust his hand into the air. A new board of cards, some that had never before been seen by anyone, appeared in front of him. “A prediction Rocket? Multiple cards played at once? Bringing in troops? What? For you, it can’t be very good…”
ChupilickytwaCT waved his hand in dismissel. “No, no, none of those.”, he said, and narrowed his eyes. “Cheddar.”
“Cheddar?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 asked. “What does cheese have anything to do with-”
But his question was answered when something just sort of appeared behind ChupilickytwaCT. Although it wore the standard uniform of a King, it wasn’t quite one. The silver skin and highlights gave that much away. And he realized that when he said cheddar, he wasn’t talking about cheese.

“Apprehend this one for me, will you?”, ChupilickytwaCT asked. “I’ve got to go.”
The robotic figure stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. “Certainly, sire.”, it said with a metallic voice. “He will be defeated. All who stand before I, Trainer Cheddar 3, always will be.”
ChupilickytwaCT gave a short whistle, and his Baby Dragon ran up to him. With a jump, he was on, and flying away. Ryusei_Nakao69 tried to bring up a card with his Dark Elixir, but Trainer Cheddar 3 had already summoned a half-dozen maxed out Troops, all ready to attack. There was a Bandit, a Mega Knight, a Night Witch, a Sparky, a Lava Hound, and a Lumberjack- all robots, just like him.
Trainer Cheddar 3 had never really felt emotion before. He was a robot, after all- all the Trainers were. But now, as he was finally about to use his raw, unmatched power outside of a Training Camp, where he was about to do something with actual consequences, he felt something resembling happiness creeping up inside of him. And as the steel fist of his robotic, maxed Lumberjack connected squarely with Ryusei_Nakao69’s face, the curve of a smile began to creep up his face.

Dan spun, bringing his sword up to protect his face, and Chad leapt out from where he had been hiding. The real Chad, not his cleverly deployed Clone that he had made after Dan’s Sunlight Yellow Overdrive. It had been quite a good play, and Dan had only figured it out at the very last second.
“Hey Rick, Rage me!”, Chad shouted, and swung downwards. Dan swung upwards, and their swords met in the middle, sending the peal of colliding steel through the room like the ripple of a bell. Dan growled, and his hands started to glow. “Chad… you…”, he muttered, and breathed in.
“Sure thing, bro!”, Rick yelled in response to Chad’s request. He dug through what little pockets he had, and grabbed a bottle of Rage. “Watch this.”, he said to Valeyrie. “It's gonna be good.”
With a small grunt of exertion, he tossed the bottle in Chad’s direction.

“My might pushes…”, Dan said, building up for another overdrive. “With strength unparalleled, towards your heart!”
His arms and sword lit up with a golden glow, and Dan’s strength instantly doubled. With a ferocious expression on his face, he pushed downwards, slowly forcing Chad down to the ground. Either he would end up on the ground, where he was vulnerable, or his sword would slip, leaving him wide open. Either way, Chad was dead- or so Dan thought.
But as soon as the Rage thrown by Rick hit the ground, it flowed into Chad’s body. He gasped in what seemed like pleasure as his muscles grew larger, and his skin glowed purple. And Dan watched in horror as Chad slowly pushed off his sword, and flung Dan backwards. The Star fled from his arms, and back into the air.

Song: Cornered

“You thought you were enough, didn’t you?”, Chad asked, and swung his sword in a circle, slicing off part of the floor. “You thought your Star and your training was enough to beat me, didn’t you? Well, it was…”
He ran his sword down his arm, slicing open a thin cut that dripped blood. He licked the blood off of the sword, and stared Dan in the eye with a gaze that defied sanity. “Until I started trying.”
“You-”, Dan said, and rushed forward. Chad raised his sword to block the blow, Dan’s movements seemingly in slow motion compared to the Rage-fueled Elite Barbarian’s.
“I what?”, Chad said, and flicked his blade in such a way that spun Dan back. “I win? I’m better than you? I’m about to end your miserable little life? Because all of those are true, but…”
He raised his sword above his head, and Dan raised his blade to block. “Metal…”, he said, “Metal is a perfect conductor! Metal Silver-”

Chad swung downwards, and Dan attacked up. But at the very last second, just before the two swords hit, Chad withdrew for just a second, pulling back his blade. Dan’s stroke continued upwards, missing Chad’s head, and sending Dan falling back. The unspent Star energy flew into the rafters of the room, lighting up the wood with a golden flame. Chad scoffed, and slashed his sword across Dan’s chest. Dan grunted in pain, and brought his hand up to the cut. He winced, and gave a low, ragged breath.

Chad threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen. What fancy words and shiny tricks will you try now, Dan? Or will you accept the inevitable, and die?”
His words were punctuated by another slash, this time across the arms. Dan growled, and glared at Chad as hard as he could. I swear, he thought. I swear, beast, I will bring you down!
He yelled, and gathered all the energy he could in his arms. Even though he was bleeding from multiple places, he still found the strength to fight on at his fullest. He swung his sword upwards, right towards Chad’s smug face.
“Chad!”, Dan roared. “You may be stronger. You may be quicker. You may be more experienced. But I will-”
With a single lightning-fast, lightning-strong blow, Chad swung his sword underneath Dan’s. The blades met in an instant- and with a horrible sound of screaming metal, the entire top half of Dan’s blade shattered into a thousand pieces.

Dan staggered backwards, and stared at his sword in disbelief. It had served him dozens of battles in the Arena- he didn’t think anything could actually break it. But Chad’s raw power had managed to do what even direct clashes with Pekkas could not.
“Your sword is broken, Dan.”, Chad said. “What will you do now?”
He leapt forward, and Dan shifted into a defensive stance. But with half of his sword missing, it didn’t do much. Chad slammed a hard elbow into Dan’s chest, sending him sprawling backwards onto a broken dresser. The wood dug into Dan’s arms, a thousand tiny cuts all sending twinges of pain through his body. Chad smiled evilly, and raised his sword. “This ends here.”, he said. “Consider yourself lucky. You won’t have to see what happens afterward.”
He swung his sword downwards, intending to cleave off Dan’s head.
But the heroic Knight wasn’t finished yet. Even with half a sword, he still managed to match Chad’s assault, their metal clashing with a mighty clang and flash of sparks.
But even though Dan was struggling mightily, Chad’s raw strength was still massive and overwhelming. And with the Rage boost on top of that, he was simply far too much to handle. He pressed downwards, advancing slightly further every second, getting closer to slicing Dan in half.
Beads of sweat dripped off of Dan’s brow, mixing with the blood that still flowed. There was no air in his lungs, nothing to use The Star with. Chad was stronger than him, more experienced, and didn’t even seem to have been winded by Dan’s strongest attacks. And then, Dan realized something.

He was going to die. Right here, right now, there was no way for him to get out of this situation. In mere seconds, his grip would falter, or the rest of his sword would break, or something, and Chad would kill him. But that was alright. He would just respawn back at Oticat’s castle. His life didn’t matter- all that did in this operation was Brandy. And Dan knew, somehow, that someone had already rescued her. So even if he died, Dan would be happy. But that didn’t mean he still wasn’t going to fight, as hard as he possibly could.
Chad pressed harder in a sudden burst of energy, and Dan felt his sword start to press against his chest. This was it.
“I must congratulate you, Dan.”, said Chad with a false warmth. “You’ve given me the best fight I’ve had in ages. Nobody has ever before put up this kind of resistance- not your precious Brandy, not anyone. So, thanks.”

Thanks?, Dan thought. I’ll show you thanks, you sadistic, callous, basta-
A trio of flaming arrows hit Chad directly in his unprotected shoulder, sending him for a loop and off of Dan. A shocked expression hit everyone’s face, and Chad growled. “Who the-”
Dan didn’t waste a moment. He saw that Chad had finally let his guard down, and so he seized the golden opportunity.
“ORA!”, he yelled, and stabbed the remnants of his blade into Chad’s exposed stomach, as deep as it would go. Blood spurted from Chad’s mouth, as his eyes widened in shock. His hand flew to the wound, and he tried to move backwards. But Dan’s sword still stayed in him, and did not let him escape.

Rick and Valeyrie turned to where the arrows had come from, and saw Sadie, a defiant expression on her face, with a now empty bow. At the very last second, she knew what had to be done, and had overcome her usually timid nature.
But now, as she saw an Elite Barbarian and a Valkyrie looking at her, anger etched on their faces, she thought perhaps she should have ducked down again after firing, instead of posing dramatically like Elizabeth had told her to do. Intimidation my bowstring, she thought. I should have hid.

Song: Shoot towards the Decisive Battle

Dan swung his arm around, dislodging Chad and sending him flying. The Elite Barbarian lay bleeding on the ground, one arm to his stomach, one eye closed in pain.
“I tell you Dan,”, he groaned, “that right there? That’s a lot more damage than your girlfriend ever did.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”, Dan spat, and prepared to strike again.
“Really?”, Chad asked. “Cause that is one fine piece of meat you’re missing out on, let me tell you.”
Dan roared in anger, and rushed forward. Although Dan couldn’t see it, Chad smiled to himself. He had played Dan right into his trap like a record. As soon as Dan reached him, and swung with his broken sword, Chad struck out with his own, sending Dan’s blade spinning away.
It flew out of sight, past a hole in the wall, and fell into the inferno that was the war-torn castle below.
Dan barely had time to react before Chad reached out and grabbed his arm, yanking him to the ground. Dan tried to raise an arm in defense, but Chad stomped on his hand and pushed him into the floor. Even though Chad had been beaten down repeatedly and was bleeding from the stomach, he still managed through some unholy power to keep on fighting like he was fresh. “Rick!”, he shouted. “There’s a couple of Princesses over in the corner! Bag them and save them for later!”
“Already on it, bro!”, Rick shouted back, as he strode casually towards Elizabeth and Sadie, now trapped in the corner. “Nice of them to show up to the party.”

“I think I hear bones outside.”, Valeyrie said. “I’ll go check it out.”
Chad gave her a thumbs up, and Valeyrie ran off. If somebody had sent a Skeleton Army to stop them, Valeyrie could take care of it easily. “You do that, babe.”, he said, then looked down at Dan. “Now, for you…”, he said.
Sadie drew back her bow, and Elizabeth fired a volley of arrows right at Rick, but they had little effect. He was ready for the attacks, and brushed them aside like paper. Sadie fired, but the arrows missed. She was too scared to fire, focusing only on what would happen to her and Elizabeth next.
“Come on girls, don’t fight it.”, said Rick slowly. “Just give in, come with me. We’ll have a little fun…”

Dan, although pressed against the floor, tried to take a deep breath, to gain some Star. But his lungs were ripped, and flattened against the ground. He couldn’t take more than a few ragged gulps of air. Chad grabbed his face, and twisted it upwards to see Rick grab Sadie by the collar and lift her into the air. Elizabeth tried to run, but Rick grabbed her too.
“Look what you’ve done, Dan.”, Chad whispered. “If you hadn’t tried to fight me, perhaps you might still be alive. Perhaps those two Princesses wouldn’t have to meet this fate.”
“You…”, Dan mumbled. “How? How are you… so strong? It doesn’t make any… any sense...”
Chad raised an eyebrow. “You want to know? Really? Well then, seeing as how this is the end of your life, I’ll tell you.”
He drew his blade along his tongue, and black blood dripped out, pooling on the floor in front of Dan. “I’m not just a normal Elite Barbarian anymore, Dan. I rejected my humanity long ago, along with my King. Now, we are far more. The power of Him flows through my veins like Elixir.”
He stomped on Dan’s head once more, pushing his face into the ground and away from the sight of Rick tying the two Princesses together and hanging them on the wall, then snapping their bows in half.
“But you know what, Dan?”, Chad said with a cruel glow in his eyes. “I think I’ll keep you alive. Your Star has many secrets that I’d like to know for myself, and the only way to know how it works is to torture it out of you.”
Chad looked down at Dan. Even though his eyes were closing, and blood dripped from his mouth, his hand still twitched in the direction of the door. “Brandy…”, he mumbled, almost too quiet for Chad to hear. “Brandy… be safe…”
“Oh, you’re worried about Brandy?”, Chad asked. “Don’t worry about her, she’s alive. We want to keep her in good physical condition, you know? And you know what?”

Chad leaned in close to Dan’s head, making sure he heard every word of what Chad was about to say. “Once this is all over, we’ll be sure to make her very, very happy tonight. And if you’re good, you might even get to watch. Who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll even let you help.”
Chad whispered diabolically into Dan’s ear. “You’re not a virgin, are you? Don’t worry if you are- we can fix that right now.”
Dan’s mind snapped. His anger was too much to hold- but sadly, this time, it did not help. Even though sheer rage pulsed through him like air in a gale, his body was too devastated to even move. The only thing he could do was scream. Scream, as Chad pressed down on his skull. Scream, as Rick slowly started to pull apart Sadie’s clothes. Scream, as-

Scream as the door slammed open, and the snapped off handle of a Valkyrie's axe flew in, slamming into Chad and sending him spiraling into the ground. And not even a second afterwards, the axe itself came spinning towards Rick, sending a deep gash up his back.

Song: Jonathan Joestar Theme

There, in the doorway, stood the enormous figure of Orfox. He held Valeyrie in one huge hand, and his sword in the other. His eyes lit up with purple fury, and he gave a tremendous roar that seemed to shake the room.
“Chad…”, Valeyrie whispered, naked terror in her eyes. “Help.”
“Valeyrie?”, Chad said as he got up from the collapsed wall that he had been launched into. “Valeyrie!”
“Holy Se’th.”, Rick said, and turned from the Princesses. “What is that? What the frick is that?”
Orfox snarled, and squeezed tighter on Valeyrie. She screamed as thousands of pounds of pressure slammed into her on all sides, and then- she popped. Valeyrie popped like a big, Elixir-filled Balloon, spraying everything around Orfox with droplets of the stuff.
Chad roared, and swung his sword. “You’re gonna die for that, you-”
But even Chad was nothing compared to the towering titan that was Orfox. In one swift motion, he grabbed Chad with his iron-plated gauntlet, snatched Rick with his other, and held them both up to his face. “Daniel, my boy.”, he said. “Are you hurt?”
“Hurt?”, Dan groaned. “What do you think?”, he said, as he barely managed to roll himself over.
“You dare restrain us like this?”, Chad yelled, and pushed as hard as he could. “Just watch. Within mere seconds, you will-”
Orfox looked both Chad and Rick straight in the eyes, and they stopped. Stopped moving, stopped talking, just stopped everything. “Impudent gnats…”, he growled. “Begone!”
And with that, he squeezed harder, and the two Elite Barbarians popped into pure Elixir.

Dan smiled weakly. The work was done. Chad and Rick were dead. And there was the Valkyrie, too, but she didn’t matter as much. Brandy had been avenged at last, for real this time. As he saw the purplish-red of the floor change to a brilliant, beautiful blue, he knew that all Red presence in the room had been truly eliminated.
He coughed up blood, and rolled over on his side. He was still dying of his injuries- that was bad.

Brandy appeared from behind Orfox. “Did you do it?”, she asked timidly. “Are they de-”
Then she saw Dan, almost dead on the floor. “Dan!”, she yelled, and Dashed over to him. She put her head on his chest, relieved to see that his heart was still maintaining a healthy beat. “Dan, are you alright?”, she asked frantically. “What happened? Oh, Dan…”
Dan opened his eyes, and turned his head to look at her. “Br- Brandy?”, he asked woozilly. “You’re alright…”
“Dan, we did it.”, she said. “We’re winning. We’re forcing them back.”
“Oh… good.”, Dan said, and his eyes started to shut again.
“Dan! Dan! Stay awake!”, Brandy said, and shook him. “Dan, Orfox is going to Heal you. Hold on.”
A second later, a steady stream of Heal came down onto Dan. He felt the golden light as his dire wounds were knit shut and reversed, but many cuts, bruises, and burns still remained. But to Brandy’s immense relief, he managed to stand up. He saw Brandy- cut, bruised, a black eye, burned in at least one place, exhausted, covered in dirt, sweat, grime, and who knew what else- but alive. Brandy saw Dan- and exactly the same.

Brandy pitched forward and hugged him, wrapping her arms around as tight as she possibly could. “Dan, you’re alright…”, she said. “Brandy, you’re okay…”, he said. The two hugged each other for several more seconds, not wanting to let go.
“Brandy,”, Dan said, “I’m- I’m sorry. I couldn’t save you. I wasn’t strong enough.”
“No.”, Brandy said. “It’s alright, Dan. You’re strong enough for me, and that’s all that matters.”

Orfox watched them for a few more seconds. But once the time hit 8 seconds, he decided that the standard limit for heartfelt, emotional reunions was over, and that it was time to get back to business. “Right!”, he said, and clapped his hands. “Let’s go.”
He clenched his massive Iron Fist, and a purple light roared out from within him. At once, a team of Barbarians popped into existence, and saluted him. “Sir, Orfox, Sir!”, one of them shouted. “Orders, sir!”
Orfox pointed to Sadie and Elizabeth, still tied up and hanging from the wall in one corner of the room. “You lads see those two? Free and secure them at once.”
“Sir, yes, Sir!”, the group of Barbarians shouted as one, and ran off. Once they reached the two, they immediately began untying, distributing Heals, repairing weapons, and admistiring jackets to compensate for torn and destroyed clothing.
Orfox pointed to a shattered window, leading out into a hallway. “You two, head outside.”, he said. “Brandy, Chuck and Brenda be waiting to pick ye up. Dan, head with and protect.”
Slowly, Dan and Brandy broke off their embrace. “Well, let’s go.”, Brandy said.
“Yes,”, said Dan. “Let’s.”
They both ran towards the window, and leapt out towards freedom.

Brenda slid down a banister standing up, aiming right for the group of Skeletons bunched at the bottom. They were a swarm, yes, but if she had just enough momentum- and she thought she did, based off of some random last second calculations that she was even now doing in her head- then she could take them all out at once. Her earpiece beeped, and she put one finger to it.
“Brenda, I’m in trouble.”, came the voice of SpaceKrakenX from the other side of the line. “Got in a little over my head, and they have a Dragon. Not a Baby, an actual, full grown Dragon. Deliver Brandy to Chuck at once. Go.”
“Wait, wh-”, Brenda said, but the line went dead. She turned off the device, and turned her attention to the Skeletons below. Tucking Ryusei_Nakao69’s stolen Pass in her pocket, she leaned further in, waiting until the very last second, and-
She Dashed while leaping off of the banister, surfing across the Skeleton ranks like a Fish on a wave, knocking them all apart. They dissolved behind her, and soaked into the floor. She rolled to a stop, then stood up again. Deliver Brandy to Chuck, hmm?, she thought. Well, I know where Chuck is, so Brandy should be somewhere near there. I hope…
Taking a quick look at her pocket compass, she saw that she was currently facing North. Chuck was to the West of her, so she turned and started to run.

It was a good thing that Brenda just so happened to be very observant and quick-thinking, even for a Bandit. Because had she not seen the glint of gunmetal poking out from behind a fractured door, the avalanche of shotgun bullets that followed might have killed her, and the events of the next few minutes would have played out quite differently. But as it was, she did notice, and Dashed to the side just as the hidden Hunter behind the door unleashed his attack from point-blank range, reducing the wood to bits and tearing a few small holes in Brenda’s cape.
Brenda stopped sliding, now able to take a good look at her foe. From the looks of him, the Hunter appeared to be only level 9, far below Brenda’s level of 12. An easy target.
She drew her club, and prepared to attack.

Dan and Brandy landed on a fragile catwalk, suspended over a blazing fire that consumed an entire grand ballroom. The heat from the blaze reached them, almost an Inferno in its intensity.
“Brandy!”, Dan said. “What do we do?”
“Do?”, Brandy asked. “Well, we just walk across it. Look.”
She started to walk out on the narrow beam, but Dan held back. He looked at the raging fire down below, then back up at Brandy. “I’m too heavy.”, he said. “It can’t hold me.”
“Oh, come on.”, Brandy said. “How much do you weigh?”
“280.”, said Dan. “Same as always, and 180 more than you. I can’t make it.”
Brandy hopped backwards. “No, look. Just follow my steps.”
She slowly walked forwards, across the catwalk, Dan carefully copying her every move. “See, just nice and slow, take it nice and easy-”
Up ahead, the board cracked. A column of sparks rose up from it, and the wood started to snap. Brandy’s eyes widened, as she saw the structure of the entire beam weaken. It was going to fall, with them still on it.
“Dan, hold on.”, she said. “I’ve never done this before, and I’m not sure it’ll work.”
“Wait, done what-”, Dan started to say, but his sentence was cut off by a huge burst of air. Brandy dashed from the board they were on just as it fell into the blaze, Dan in tow, and landed on the one next to it. The rush of energy had been quite unlike anything Dan had ever experienced. Brandy had also not ever carried anyone with her when she Dashed before- good thing it had worked.

“What made it break?”, Dan asked. “It looked fine when we got on it.” He wiped the sweat and blood from his brow, then looked forward into a dark maze of rafters.
“I don’t know.”, said Brandy. “It did look fine…”
Then she saw it. A vicious-looking pair of glowing red eyes loomed out from the darkness, and a low rumble sounded from in front of them. A chill of primal fear ran down Brandy’s spine.
“Oh, what is that?”, Dan said to himself. But once the beast moved forward, he got his answer.
A fully grown, adult Dragon heaved itself forward, the specialized glimmer lines of on the side of its body full of flame. An evil look gleamed in it’s eyes, and it’s teeth dripped with drool and Elixir.
“Holy frick.”, Brandy said. “Is that a-”
“Yeah.”, Dan said, and gulped. “I think it is.”
The Dragon pushed itself further out of the scaffolding, and pulled back its head. The scales on its belly began to glow red, signaling that it was about to breathe fire. Dan held up his arm, and Brandy a piece of wood she had found, but both of them knew that there was no point in trying to block a flood of plasma.
“Dan, do you have anything that could help us out?”, Brandy said. “Because I know I don’t have anything.”
Dan breathed in, the bleeding in his throat making the task tough. But he still managed to collect enough energy from the air surrounding him to work, and Star glowed from within him. “You know…”, he said, “I think I do.”
The visible base of the Dragon’s neck turned orange and red, as the fire came closer. “With one final breath…”, Dan said. “What are you talking about?”, Brandy hissed. “Whose final breath?”
“My heart rings, and space bends.”, Dan continued, and closed his eyes. He held Brandy tight, not wanting to take any risk of losing her on the way. She stared up at him in confusion. “ Dan, what’s going on?”
The Dragon moved the fire up to his mouth, and closed his eyes in preparation to attack. The huge burst of flame would turn all the beams in the area to dust, leaving anyone on them to fall to their almost-certain deaths. Almost certain, because Fire Spirits would still survive.
“For the honor of the fallen!”, Dan said, as he completed his Overdrive Verse. “I whisk away, to a safer place.”
The Dragon unleashed his attack, white-hot flame flying over every surface at higher speed than it was possible to run away from. Brandy closed her eyes, and held on to Dan tighter. “Secret Technique Overdrive!”, Dan yelled, and both he and Brandy vanished in a twinkling of golden light.

The Hunter pulled a small switch on his giant shotgun, and a roll of bullets slotted into their chambers. He closed one eye and aimed right for Brenda. But she was already crouching, steam rising from her body as she prepared to Dash. The two faced each other, knowing that it would all come down to who attacked first. If the Hunter fired, then Brenda could activate her Dash in response and easily take him down. But if Brenda attacked first, then the Hunter could attack, leaving her heavily injured if not actually dead. It was quite an RNG matchup.
“My, nice mustache you’ve got there.”, Brenda suddenly blurted out. “Do you wax it?”
“What-”, the Hunter grunted, and his grip on the trigger of his gun relaxed for just a second. That was all Brenda needed. In less time than it took the Hunter to realize his mistake, Brenda Dashed, bursting through the rubble on the floor, and straight for him.

The Hunter hurriedly adjusted his grip and took a haphazard shot, the bullets flying just to the right of Brenda. A few of them did manage to hit her, but they were destroyed upon contact with her Dash Field. Brenda slid underneath the broken doorframe between them, and slammed a foot right into the Hunter’s stomach. He grunted in pain, and almost dropped his gun. He tried to reload again, knowing that a direct shot from this distance would deal immense damage to Brenda. But he never got the chance- instead, he got his skull smashed in by a quick axe kick, and he dissolved.
Brenda looked up. It had taken her exactly 13 second to dispose of the Hunter- 13 seconds wasted. 13 precious seconds that could have been used to get into position. And if she knew anything from her many battles, it was that timing was everything.
“Chuck!”, she said into her earpiece. “I’m gonna be a bit late! Is everything going alright on your end?”

Chuck the Hog Rider stared dreamily off into space. His fingers absentmindedly stirred themselves around in his pot of ink, and his quill pen tapped out random patterns on the back of his Hog. “Let’s see, what rhymes with flower?”, he thought, and stood a little straighter. “Maybe… power? Yeah, power.”
“Chuck!”, Brenda suddenly yelled in his ear, and he snapped out of his stupor. He very nearly dropped his equipment, but managed to keep it all on Trigger’s back. Fingers still shaking from the shock, he put one finger to his earpiece. “Uh, yeah, I’m here.”, he said. “And I am most definitely ready, yes ma’am.”
“Good.”, said Brenda as she strode quickly through a burning hallway. “Get ready. I’ll be with you in just a few seconds.”

Dan and Brandy reappeared in a quiet corner of an attic. There was a thick dust that covered everything, and looked as though it had not been disturbed in years. A detailed illustration of a massive red Dragon covered the floor, and the walls were decorated in old, faded papers.
“Dan?”, Brandy asked, looking around. “Where are we?”
“Exactly where we needed to be.”, said Dan, panting from the exhaustive effort of teleporting both Brandy and himself. “Just a little… off.”
He pointed to a section of wall. “They’re expecting us, just on the other side. We’ll have to break through.”
Brandy nodded, and raised her fists. “Right. Just punching?”
Dan breathed in, and his hands glowed with golden light. “Right.”
The two both paused for a second to gather strength, then attacked.
“Oraoraoraoraoraoraora!”, Dan shouted, pummeling the stone wall with a barrage of high-intensity, Star-fueled punches that cracked the rock.
“Doraoraoraoraoraoraora!”, Brandy yelled, lashing out with weaker, but more precise blows that further fractured whatever Dan broke.
The combined attack of both of them soon caused the wall to crumble, revealing the open air beyond. Brandy had almost started to jump through instinctively, but Dan caught her by the cloak and she managed to pull back.
“What- what?”, Brandy asked. “Are we just supposed to jump?”
“Yeah.”, Dan said. “But don’t worry, there’s someone waiting to catch us. This is the plan, I went over it with them like a thousand times.”
Brandy looked through the hole, trying to catch a glimpse of the ground, but the angle was too tight. She couldn’t see anything. “You can’t tell if there’s anyone down there.”, she said. “What if there’s not?”
Dan just smiled. “Don’t worry, Brandy.”, he said. “Just jump. Its a leap of faith.”
He grabbed Brandy’s hand. To her surprise, he jumped right out the window, and she fell after him.

Song: Third Bomb

Orfox grabbed his earpiece, almost yelling into it. “Oy, Bowza!”, he roared. “It's time! Activate Operation Tremors!”
There was no answer, because Bowza was dead at the moment. It would still be a few more minutes before he reformed, in his room, back at Oticat’s castle.
“Bowza? Bowza!”, yelled Orfox, but there was still no answer. He growled in frustration and punched a few buttons, trying to change the communication channel to All, but his fingers were too big. The small, fragile device broke and fell to the floor. Orfox growled in frustration, and slammed his fist into the wall. It broke.
“Curse it…”, he mumbled to himself. “Bowza went and got himself killed. Who’s gonna set off Tremors now?”

Inside of the room where Fred and Bowza had killed each other, there was quiet. A few shreds of blue cape and red glass stirred in the hot wind, but that was it. No movement at all, until a Battle Ram burst into the room from outside, and a loud crack echoed throughout the whole space. The Ratzo Brothers fell from their now broken Ram, and stumbled into the room.
“Where’s Bowza?”, one of them said as he scratched his head. “He was supposed to meet us here.”
“I dunno.”, said the other. “But I found this weird button, next to this random cape.”
He held up a flashing blue button, labeled Operation Tremors. It also said “WARNING! DO NOT TRIGGER UNLESS SITUATION DIRE!”
“Cool.”, said one of the Ratzo Brothers. “What does it say? I can’t read.”
“Shoot, neither can I.”, said his brother. “I’m gonna push it.”
His brother gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up, and the Barbarian pushed down on the button.

As Brandy fell, she could see Chuck scrambling to put away what looked like a set of stationary. That was odd. She could also see a streak of blue, blazing at top speed towards where it looked like they would land. That was good, she guessed. But what was it?
Dan pulled her tighter to him, and she knew there wasn’t much time to find out. They were going to hit the ground in just a few seconds. Just in enough time to look up Dan, and ask him exactly what he thought he was doing, and why he had decided to fling them both to their deaths.
But as it turned out, there actually wasn’t enough time to even do that. Brandy and Dan covered the last few feet to the surface of the earth, and landed in somebody’s arms.
Brandy opened her eyes. She had closed them, because that is the standard thing to do before you hit the ground while falling. And she saw, looking down at her, the face of Brenda, maniac energy radiating from her.

Song: Killer

“Whew.”, she said. “Looks l caught you just in time, my thief.”
“Heh, yeah.”, Brandy said, and groaned. “How did you do that? Catch us, I mean.”
Brenda gently set them both down, and shrugged. “Just a neat trick with my Dash I thought up. Maybe I could teach you sometime. That’d be cool.”
“Yeah.”, said Brandy. “It would.”
“Thief?”, Dan asked, confused. “Why did you call her that?”
Both Brandy and Brenda looked awkwardly at each other, then at Dan. “Well, thief’s sort of our word.”, said Brenda. “But you can say…”, Brandy said, trying to think of some sort of abbreviation for it, but gave up after a few seconds. “You know what? You can say it.”
Dan slowly nodded. “Um, thanks. I guess.”
Brenda pointed to Chuck, who was making some last minute preparations to Trigger. “Brandy, go get onto Trigger with Chuck. He’ll take you home. Dan, can you still fight? You look like you’re in pretty bad shape.”
Dan tried to roll his arm, to show that he was fine, but it caught in a weird position and he winced in pain. “Yeah, I’m- ow. Okay, maybe I’m not okay.”
“I think you should come with me.”, said Brandy. “You’ve done enough.”

The two got onto Trigger, and Chuck scratched the Hog’s cheek. “Alright, old boy, ready to run?”, he said. “Because you gotta run like you’ve never run before.”
Trigger snorted, and pawed the dirt with his hoof in agreement. He was ready.
“Come on, you two.”, said Chuck. “Let’s get you home.”
And so it was, that as the four rode off into the distance, that Brandy the once-innocent Bandit, covered in blood, sweat, tears, and sorrow, finally headed back towards home.
And Dan put his head on her shoulder and fell asleep, knowing that he had at last brought the ones who had taken her to justice.
And Chuck swung his hammer and yelled “Hog Rideeerrrr!”, at random intervals. Because that is who he was.

LeChris wiped the Elixir from his eyes, and pointed through the haze. With Ryusei_Nakao69 currently missing and presumed dead, he had taken the lead. “My warriors!”, he shouted, trying to spur on what Troops he had remaining. “They think they’ve beaten us, but they do not know the true glory of TheEvilOverLords! They attack us through trickery and deception, but our power is overwhelming! We shall defeat them today!”
The Troops he was speaking to gave a cry of aggression, and charged forward. He could not actually see what they were, because of the thick, choking smoke that filled the entirety of the room. The fight, although it had spread to practically every inch of the Castle, had not left the Grand Ballroom- indeed, that was where the fighting was thickest. A layer of Elixir coated the floor like water in a wetland, troops slipping and slogging through it, not caring about anything but killing.

ChupilickytwaCT put his hand to his eyes, trying to peer through the gloom. After leaving Trainer Cheddar 3 to deal with Ryusei_Nakao69, he had come back here to lead his troops. “Come on, guys!”, he shouted to try and rally everyone around him. “Just hold them back for a little while longer! We’re trying to get Operation Tremors online!”
The Kings behind him, including Oticat, sheltered themselves from the onslaught of dusty wind. “We can’t, Chup!”, shouted Stankyleg, another Co-Leader and ChupilickytwaCT’s closest friend. “The chosen instigator is dead!”
Oticat turned to him in shock. “Bowza’s dead?”, he asked. “What happened?”
“Well, I don’t know.”, said Stankyleg. “He probably fell victim to some abomination just roaming around this place.”
Oticat’s earpiece suddenly rang, and he swiped it to answer. “Yes? Hello?”, he said.
“Hey, boss!”, shouted one of the Ratzo brothers at the top of his lungs. “We found this weird blue button, and we pressed it! What do you think will happen?”

As if in response to his question, a Giant Skeleton briefly became visible through the gloom. He threw a Goblin off of his face, and stomped on a Musketeer, then a harness on his chest suddenly blinked. A hatch opened in the middle, and a half-dozen Clone spells fell out and hit the floor. Almost instantly, six Clones of the Giant Skeleton appeared next to the original.
ChupilickytwaCT saw it, and grinned. That meant that somehow, they had done it. The fact that it was happening right in front of him meant that it was happening all over the Castle. Operation Tremors had started.

There was an audible echoing screech that could be heard from everywhere in the Castle as hundreds of Clone spells all triggered more or less simultaneously, creating many hundreds of Giant Skeletons- or more importantly, their Bombs, all ready to explode at the slightest touch.
“Everyone, fall back!”, ChupilickytwaCT said into his earpiece. “If all goes right, the whole Castle’s about to collapse, and nobody wants to be inside!”
Everyone that had an earpiece on- all the Kings, all the Troops fighting, Kars, the Ratzo Brothers, Orfox, Brenda, Trainer Cheddar 3, everyone- all heard his warning. And they all, no matter their condition, pressed a special button on their harnesses. With a soft pop, the bizarre technology wired to them activated, and they all just teleported away. This left many enemy Troops very confused.
LeChris punched the air, and cheered. “We’ve done it!”, he cried triumphantly. “They’re leaving! We’ve won! Everyone except those pesky Giant Skeletons…”

Ryusei_Nakao69 had been mere seconds away from being flattened by a robotic Mega Knight. When the stroke did not fall, he opened his eyes in curiosity, and saw that all of Trainer Cheddar 3’s Troops had oddly vanished. But instead of celebrating, he knew instinctively that there was something going on. So he opened up his Kingly Communicator, and opened a direct chat with LeChris. “LeChris!”, he barked. “What’s going on?”
“You’re alright, my lord!”, said LeChris happily. “We won! They all left, except for a few Giant Skeletons. But don’t worry, we’ll get those cleaned up right away…”
A surge of alarm pulsed through Ryusei_Nakao69’s heart. Even if LeChris, for some strange reason, had forgotten how Giant Skeletons worked, old Ryus had not. “LeChris, wait!”, he yelled. “Don’t attack them! Don’t even touch them!”
“Why not?”, LeChris asked.
“Have you forgotten, you idiot?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 practically screamed at him through the communicator. “Giant Skeletons explode!”
“Oh, right.”, said LeChris, silently but frantically motioning for his Troops to stop whatever they were doing and stay absolutely still, and especially not to attack the Giant Skeletons. “How silly of me. I seem to have forgotten-”

And then, he saw it. Everyone saw it. A single boulder slowly rolled across the room, as fast as a Golem taking its evening stroll, but no less devastating- it popped each and every Giant Skeleton Clone in the entire Grand Ballroom. All eyes followed to where it had come from, and they saw Webert’s Clone, still maintained. “Jobe!”, shrieked LeChris. “Why?”
Slowly and methodically, though still in the space of just a few seconds, Webert’s Clone took off his makeup, and cast aside his false beard. He shrugged, and grinned. “Oops.”, he said.

In the second that followed, everyone tried to escape. But in the second that followed, the timer on the Bombs had already expired. And in the second that followed, the Bombs exploded with a blast of near-volcanic proportions, utterly destroying everything in the Grand Ballroom, collapsing the entire ceiling, and setting off a huge chain reaction through the upper and further sections of the whole Clan Castle that finally culminated in a gargantuan explosion that blew the entire superstructure to bits, utterly annihilating any Red Troops and Kings still inside, and sending up a column of debris that apparently reached all the way to Legendary Arena, if the news stations covering the story the next day were to be believed.

Oticat and ChupilickytwaCT sat on a rocky outcropping overlooking the destruction. More Kings sat down on the ledge beside them, some putting on 3-D glasses and opening bags of popcorn. The 3-D glassed didn’t make much sense in retrospect, but they looked cool at the time.
“Well boys, we did it.”, said ChupilickytwaCT, his voice bursting with pride. Here was his tiny little Clan, hand-raised and hand-grown, that had just successfully managed to take down a near-legendary Clan with 3000 more Clan Trophies than them at least. And Oticat’s Bandit had been recovered as well, so that was nice. What was her name? Brandy? Ah well, very nice. And they had done it with nothing but grit, determination, skill, planning, the element of surprise, magical breathing powers, and a lot of help- a lot of help. “TheEvilOverLords are no more.”

Chapter Text

“Sources are all still unclear about just what it was that turned the Clan Castle of TheEvilOverLords to rubble yesterday morning, but we can all agree on one thing- it was tremendous. The sheer power required to pull that off could have only come from a Clan at least in Legendary League.”

The Wizard in the studio turned to his partner, a Villager. She affixed the camera with a worried look, and continued talking where he had left off.
“Reports are still coming in from our on-sight reporters, but for now we are going to assume no survivors. The Red presence around the Castle was completely broken up as well, so they’re not ever coming back. Just who is responsible for this? Find out… well, probably as soon as we do.”
Brandy clicked the remote, and changed the channel, hoping to find one that wasn’t covering the incident. But there was no such luck- a Clan Castle didn’t get blown sky high and not get noticed by pretty much the entire continent.
This time, it was the all-Goblin news channel. Brandy didn’t speak Gobbish yet, but she could more or less tell what they were saying by the gestures, tone, and pictures behind them. If she could speak Gobbish, this is what she would have heard:
“My, my, what an unfortunate accident seems to have befallen them.”
“Yes, yes. How unfortunate indeed. But you know what is fortunate?”
“What?”
“They may have been destroyed, but all their Gold and Gems weren’t.”

But she could not understand what they were saying, and so Brandy didn’t exactly know what the two Goblins were doing when they suddenly stood up from their chairs, grabbed a pair of sacks from the wall, and ran off camera, hordes of set crew in their wake.
She tried another channel, hoping it would just be talking about something normal, but knowing that it wouldn’t be.

“-and just to prove my point, this happens!”, shouted an angry, red-faced Giant. “I’m telling you, Frank, there’s no end to what They will do to keep us quiet! Destroying a Clan Castle? That’s small stuff. Next, they’ll probably try to use their army of physic lobsters to take over the world! Are you listening, Frank? Frank?”
Frank, not listening to Alex’s famously nonsensical rant, just stared straight ahead into space. Thinking was not his strong point. Neither was talking, or anything that required any sort of intelligence at all. Frank had been created for one thing and one thing only- and that was smashing pesky Brawlers. So he picked up his massive hammer and walked away, leaving Alex sputtering in anger and confusion.
“Well folks, you heard it here first!”, he said, turning to the camera in a desperate attempt to keep face. “Frank knows the truth, so should you. Remember, keep on watching Infowars-”

Brandy frowned, and clicked again. This time, the channel was of two Archers and a Knight.
“Why, I think that’s an interesting viewpoint on the situation, Tabitha.”, said the Knight with a very forced grin. “Emma, what do you think?”
“Well Mike,”, said Emma, aimlessly painting her nails, “I don’t think we’re really considering the gravity of this situation. One Castle got destroyed as a punishment by the gods, what happens when its another? What happens when it’s us?”
She spread her arms, and turned to the camera. “What happens when the gods decide that we’re not worthy?”
Tabitha, not wanting to hear Emma’s crazy rants anymore, stood up and pulled down a screen. “Well, Emma, I don’t know about that. Let’s just focus on the facts, shall we?”
Mike stood as well, and pointed to a very grainy image of Orfox on the projection. “Yes, Emma, let’s. As we can see, this appears to be proof that a Barbarian King was one of the major players in the attack. We don’t know who he is or what this means, but trust me, it has significance.”

Brandy sighed, and turned off the T.V. There was nothing on, not really. Just more footage of exactly what she didn’t want to be reminded of. That, and old replays of T.V Royale from 3 months ago.
It was Tuesday. It had been 12 hours. 12 hours had passed since the battle to reclaim her, and Brandy could still hardly even believe that the entire experience had happened. It all seemed like a nightmare, one that kept pounding on the insides of her vision every time she tried to close her eyes.
Once the battle had been concluded, Orfox and his strange Troops had gone back to their village across the sea, and the members of LosDementosCT had all gone back to their various Castles, Troops in tow. But before she had left, Brenda had given Brandy something. It was a thin golden needle, with intricate carvings of insects covering its surface. Brenda gave no clues as to what it was, only that Brandy should keep it secret, and keep it very, very safe.

“How’s the soup, Brandy?”, came the voice of Agatha from somewhere behind the couch.
“It’s good.”, Brandy said, and picked up the bowl of soup that she had left on the end table. “What’s in it?”
“Oh, nothing much.”, Agatha said. “Just some chicken stock, some spices, a few vegetables, and a drop or two of Zap to give it some kick. Want me to make you another bowl?”
“Um, no, this is fine.”, Brandy said, then thought for a moment. “Actually, yes, but take out the chicken. Just leave the vegetables.”
“Okay.”, Agatha said, and tapped her staff on the ground. In a flash of purple light, Larry jumped from the floor, which sealed behind him, and tipped his nonexistent hat. He gave his heels a little click, and flipped down onto the couch next to where Brandy sat. He started to tug at Brandy’s blanket, but two stern looks from both Brandy and Agatha told him to stop it.
“I’m going to the kitchen to make more, then.”, said Agatha. “Tell Larry if you need anything, and I’ll hear it.”
She walked away, leaving Brandy with no one but her single bony attendant. She thought about telling Agatha that she needed something, but she didn’t know what it was that she needed. Only that she desperately needed something that could not quite be put into words.
It was an itching feeling, almost- to know that deep inside of her, there was some sensation, some feeling yearning to be set free, yet Brandy could not tell what it was. So she stared into the fireplace below the T.V, hoping that something would happen to tell her.

“Brandy, you okay?”, Webert asked from the right side of the couch. “You look a little down.”
Brandy stopped blowing on her soup and looked up at Webert, with honestly a little disgust. “No, I’m not okay. Of course I’m not okay. I just got brutally kidnapped, tortured, and repeatedly beaten up and violated for almost half a week. What part of that is okay?”

Webert stepped back and stared at the ground in embarrassment. “Oh, sorry.”, he mumbled. “I didn’t mean it to come out like that.”
Brandy immediately regretted lashing out at him like that. Webert was a nice Bowler, he probably hadn’t meant to say what he said like that. She reached out an arm for him, and gestured for him to sit on the couch next to her. “No, no, it’s okay.”, she said, and Webert looked up at her. “I didn’t- I didn’t mean it like that.”
Webert flopped down onto the couch, bending it a little bit, and placed his ball in front of himself for a nice footrest. “No, I’m sorry.”, he said. “I shouldn’t have said something like that.”
Brandy was about to counter with another “I’m sorry”, but she thought for a moment first. If she said that no, she was the one who was sorry, then Webert would just say that no, Brandy had it wrong, and that in fact Webert was the sorry one, then the cycle would continue onwards, getting more and more awkward with every pass. But on the other hand, if Brandy just accepted his apology and left it at that, then there would be no cycle. Besides, Brandy needed the apology more- or at least that’s what she thought. So she quietly nodded, and the two resumed silence.

“Brandy, why are you wearing your hair down like that?”, came another voice. This one was the voice of Sadie, who was just about to leave for battle. “You don’t usually wear it all in front of your face like that.”
“Sadie?”, Brandy asked, totally ignoring the Princess’s question. “Are you going somewhere?”
Brandy stood up, spilling her soup in her hurry. Larry, who had just been about to doze off, or meditate, or whatever Skeletons did when they weren’t doing anything else, panicked and jumped up, then ran off to tell Agatha about the whole situation. “Sadie, is Oticat about to go and battle? Without me?”
Sadie tried to choose her next words carefully, but what Brandy had said was indeed the exact truth. There was no way around it. So she sighed, and winced. “Yes…”
Oticat stopped in his tracks, just shy of going out the door. All the Troops behind him, some Rascals, a Giant, a Goblin Gang, a Wizard, and a Musketeer, halted as well. Besides those five, a Tombstone, a Fireball, and a Zap made up his secondary Battle Deck.
Oticat had tried to sneak out without anyone noticing, but Sadie had, at the very last second, made that impossible. Now he was going to have to explain to Brandy that-

Brandy sat back down on the couch again, and put her hands together. “Well, if you really want to, I suppose it's for the best. I’m not much help anyway.”
Sadie blinked, then leaned down. “Hold on, Brandy. Did you just say you were no help? The Brandy I know would never say that. The Brandy I know would beg to come along and fight.”
Brandy didn’t even bother to meet Sadie’s eye. “The Brandy you know is dead.”
Her eyes misted over, and her head fell into her lap. “She died three days ago, in that canyon. Then she died again, yesterday in that Castle. Then she died again, and again, and again. She is no more.”

It was a full fifteen seconds before anyone moved, or said something, or did anything. Nobody wanted to disturb Brandy, not when she was crying like this. But eventually, someone did take it upon herself to say something.
“Look, Brandy.”, said Agatha, who had reappeared. As soon as Larry had told her, Agatha had returned to Brandy’s side as soon as possible. Brandy pulled herself back to a sitting position, and opened her tear-streaked eyes. “You’re not dead. We rescued you from that evil castle, and you are alive. You have to remember that.”
She put a hand on Brandy’s forehead to brush her hair out of her face, but Brandy grabbed Agatha’s fingers to stop her. She slowly pushed Agatha away from her, and turned to face the wall.
Brandy, what’s wrong?, thought Agatha, making sure that Brandy could hear.
Don’t touch my forehead, Brandy snapped. Don’t you dare.
Agatha pursed her lips together in worry. Brandy had never been so aggressive. Well, admittedly, she had, but it was a good, energetic, ready-to-battle type of aggressive, not this angry, territorial bitterness.
Brandy, why are you hiding your forehead?, Agatha thought again. What’s wrong?
I don’t have to tell you, Brandy thought. I don’t have to tell anyone anything.
Everyone else watched this mental exchange with varying levels of confusion. Webert knew that Agatha and Brandy could both communicate telepathically. So did Oticat. But nobody else knew. To them, it just looked like a staring contest in which neither player was actually looking at each other.
It’s alright, Agatha thought. Brandy, you can tell me. No one else can hear. It's alright.
Brandy turned her head to face Agatha, hurt and fury in her eyes. No, she said, and turned off the link.

Agatha had made up her mind. Brandy was clearly hiding something that she didn’t want to be revealed, and she would respect that. As a Witch, she always maintained a high level of professionalism in all things she did, and this was no exception. So it surprised her that much more when Larry leapt up and pulled off Brandy’s hood, scattering her bangs and revealing her forehead.
Brandy gasped, and tried to cover it up again- but it was too late. Everyone had already seen it. Everyone had already seen the huge tattoo inked across her forehead that said “Property of Ryusei_Nakao69” in bright Red letters.
Again, everyone froze. Except for Oticat, the two Princesses, and all the members of the Battle Deck, who thought that now would be the most opportune time to sneak out the door and leave. The Giant, trying to leave in such a hurry, forgot to take the Large Troop Door on the right of the regular one and hit his head on the wall. Then he remembered to take the right door, but the damage was already done, both to the wall, his head, and the silence of the moment. Soon, only Webert and Agatha remained by Brandy’s side. Then only Agatha, as Webert detected that now would not be the best time to be in the room.

Agatha struggled to find words, trying to take in what she had just seen. It hadn’t been there when they had rescued Brandy, had it? No. Agatha had repaired Brandy herself, and she would have seen such an obvious marking. Neither Orfox or Dan had said anything about it either, and Brenda and Chuck had not seemed to have noticed anything.
“Brandy...honey…”, Agatha managed to get out, but it was too late. Brandy was already crying. It was the big, ugly kind of crying, the kind that turns your face red, and the kind that drips onto the floor.
“I- I don’t know… where it came from.”, Brandy choked out. “It just appeared… it just appeared… when I woke up.”
Agatha gently put Brandy’s head on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Brandy.”, she whispered. “It’s okay to cry. You’re a gentle Bandit. You’ve been through too much. It’s okay to let it out.”
And as Brandy cried herself to sleep on Agatha’s shoulder, the Witch wondered what was going to happen next. Next, in the sudden drama that had been thrust into all their lives with the force of a dark storm.

Chapter Text

One year earlier

Chrisintheair pulled out his best swivel chair, and sat down in front of his Clan Chat Screen. He was the King destined to become Ryusei_Nakao69- but he wasn’t there yet. No, at this point, he was still just a regular King. He had not yet begun to commit the evil acts that he would eventually be known for. He was the leader of his clan, but it was not yet called TheEvilOverLords. It was, for the moment, known as Me and the Boys. It was still a fairly new Clan, only about 2 months old. And right now, Chrisintheair had some business to attend to- some very important business indeed.

“Alright, what’s happening?”, he asked into his microphone. “How’s everyone doing?”
His closest friend, sheerpalpatations, responded with a Thumbs Up King emote. He was the one that would eventually become theSenate. “We’re all well over here, Chris. How about you?”
Chrisintheair typed out a reply, but before he could send it, TheWhiteWizard
interjected. He was the one to become LeChris. “Oh, I’m doing well. And my Troops are too, thank you for asking.”
Chrisintheair smiled warmly. He always did like to see all of his Clanmates getting along so well.

“Okay, let’s talk business.”, he said. “I have in my hand, at this very moment, a Legendary Trade Token.” He held up his hand to show a shimmering token, dripping with multi-colored mist. “And in my other hand, I have a spare Electro Wizard.” In his other hand, he held up an Electro Wizard card, also giving off soft, color-changing hues that lit up the small room he was in. “Guess what I’m going to do with them?”
Sheerpalpatations slapped his hand down onto his dashboard. “Trade it? I’m up for it. I could use an Electro Wi-”
“No.”, said Chrisintheair. “Oh no no no no no. You see, friends, I have something very… different… in mind.”
“You’re not going to trade?”, asked TheWhiteEizard. “Then why did you show us that Token?”
“Oh, just to flex a little bit.”, shrugged Chrisintheair. “They’re hard to find, you know.” He leaned into his camera, as if sharing a deadly secret. “I’m going to sell it.”, he whispered. “I’m going to sell this Electro Wizard card.”

Sheerpalpations’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “But- what- no- you can’t. You can’t do that.”
“I can, and I will.”, said Chris. “Now, what will the bidding start at? I’d say… I don’t know, maybe around 50K?”
“But how?”, sheerpalpatations continued asking. “What do you even mean, sell it? You can’t do that…”
“I, too, am questioning about the logistics of that operation.”, said TheWhiteWizard. “How would one sell a card to their clanmates, exactly?”
“Just show up to my Castle tomorrow, whoever buys the card.”, explained Chrisintheair. “I give it to you, you give me the Gold, simple as that.”
Sheerpalpatations and TheWhiteWizard looked at each other through the Clan Chat video call. As did Diegobrand, another member of the Clan that had just joined. In time, he would become the one known as Odurawaz. Sheerpalpations gulped, and raised his hand. He had always gone along with Chrisintheair’s crazy schemes before, and he saw no reason not to try this one.
“Well, 50K, I guess.”, he said. “I will start the bidding at 50K.”

“Excellent, excellent.”, said Chris, and starting thumbing through a notebook. “I’ll mark you down for 50K, unless, of course- anyone wants to top that deal?”
He looked through the assembled Kings, which now included several more members, including Joshthevoice, affricccub, and WarofStars. There were several awkward glances between several of them, but no takers.
“Very well then.”, said Chrisintheair. “I guess that sheerpalpatations gets the Electro Wizard card for-”
“60K.”, said TheWhiteWizard. “I bid 60K.”
Chrisintheair took a look at him, then burst into a wide smile. “Good, good!”, he said, and set down his notebook. “I would expect nothing else of you. But…”, he said as he took another look at the assembled members of his Clan, “...does anyone care to beat that offer?”

Sheerpalpations didn’t even blink. “80K.”, he said, and snapped his fingers. “I bid 80K on that card. I’m just 2 more away from max.”
“Ooh, skipping 70K, are we?”, said Chris. “Bold.”
“100K.”, said TheWhiteWizard, without skipping a beat. “I bet 100K on it. Because I, sheerpalpatations, am but 1 away from an upgrade.”
The reactions of everyone in the Clan Chat successfully managed to mask another entrance. But this one wasn’t a member of the Clan. He wasn’t a King. He was something else, something… wrong, that dripped darkness wherever he went and exuded an aura of raw malice that seemed to eat light and devour souls. And he smiled as he appeared, an even darker crescent in a sea of inky black that almost looked like a hole in reality itself.
“I bet 120K.”, said sheerpalpatations, getting a little bit desperate. “Chris, I will give you 120 thousand Gold for that Electro Wizard card.”
Chris leaned back in his chair, and put his fingers together. “Oh my. That’s quite a high number. Would anyone care to try and top that?”
TheWhiteWizard almost said something, but could not. Even if he did have that much money at the moment, he would rather spend it on something other than a single Electro Wizard. Like maxing out his Rascals, or buying himself a new wing of his Castle.
“Well then, it's settled.”, said Chrisintheair. “This Electro Wizard card goes to-”

Song: Un’altra Persona

“One million.”, came a voice. It had the grating texture of rock, yet was as smooth as water. It sounded like if pure darkness was given a sound. “I will pay you one million Gold for that Electro Wizard.”
As one, all of the Kings in the Chat tilted their visions to look at the one who was speaking. His profile showed no image, nothing but an inky blackness. There was no name given underneath his window, either. Whoever was speaking, nobody knew.
“Ex-excuse me?”, Chrisintheair asked. “One million Gold? I’m trying to run an auction here, and you think you can come in with such ridiculous claims?”
“Ridiculous?”, said the Voice, and chuckled. “Really, mortal? Do you doubt me that easily?”
A tendril of darkness extended out from his window, and two glowing yellow eyes became visible against the void. “I’m not asking you again. Do you accept my offer or not?”
“Well, I don’t know who you are.”, said Chrisintheair. “So I don’t know if I should.”
The darkness withdrew a little bit. “Oh, yes, of course. I suppose I have not yet introduced myself. How foolish of me. Chrisintheair, I will speak to you personally. No one else will listen.”

Chris looked around at the floating images of his Clanmates. He trusted each and every one of them, and knew that he would rather have them with him when speaking to this… this… whatever it was. It certainly wasn’t a King. “No.”, he said. “Everyone-”
The darkness made a miniscule movement, almost as if he were brushing away a fly. In an instant, every single window of every single King vanished, disconnected instantly. Chris gulped, and looked at the one remaining window. It had grown larger, and now seeped outside of its screen. It seemed like it was coming out of the Clan Chat computer, and right into Chrisintheair’s room.
“I’m- I’m…”, he began, but his voice caught in his throat. Whatever this mysterious entity was, it did seem extraordinarily powerful. The raw aura of fear that it radiated was unmistakable- this was no King, or Troop. Chrisintheair had only ever felt this level of energy in the presence of the gods. But finally, he worked up enough courage to finish his sentence. And as he did so, he bowed a little bit in the presence of this great being. “I’m listening.”

Chapter Text

Present day

It was Wednesday. A dark and cold Wednesday morning, or at least that was what it seemed like to Brandy. She had not actually gone outside to check the weather, of course, she would much rather stay in her room. So she did, and she did not try to go outside. There was nothing to be found there.
She sat on her bed, staring. Staring at the wall, staring at the empty, cold fireplace- but not really. She was facing them, but her mind’s eye was too full to see what was in front of her. Every second of that day that she could remember played out in her head, on constant repeat, and there was no turning it off. Every time she closed her eyes, Hell greeted her with open arms.
There came a knock at the door. Without even turning, Brandy knew it was Dan. He had always knocked three short, one long. He was a Knight of routine. “Come in.”, Brandy said.
Dan jiggled the doorknob, but the door didn’t open. “It’s locked.”, he said, voice slightly muffled through the wooden frame.
“Oh.”, said Brandy, and did not get up. “So it is.” Normally, she would have just Dashed over and opened the door, but this time, she didn’t really feel like it. She didn’t know why, she just didn’t.
“So, are you going to open it, or…”, Dan asked. He waited a few seconds for a reply, but there wasn’t one. That was weird. Usually, Brandy would have opened the door by now. The only reason he could think of why she wouldn’t was if she was hurt…

Dan breathed in, focusing a small amount of power in his fist. It would be just enough to turn the locks of Brandy’s door without breaking anything- he hoped. Bowza had only just begun to teach him how to use the Star in delicate amounts, rather than just violent Overdrives. He drew back his fist, took aim, and -
Brandy leisurely swung open the door, and was almost immediately struck by Dan’s Star finger. Luckily, he managed to pull back his strike just in time, narrowly avoiding damaging Brandy’s skull. He stumbled backwards, then forwards, then fell past her, landing in her room on a pile of wood. He spit out a splinter, and slowly got up.
“Good morning, Dan.”, Brandy said with as much of a smile as she could muster. It wasn’t much. “Any particular reason you wanted to see me?”
Dan swallowed. He still wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to go through with this. But he had thought all night, and most of the morning. Even if it was a very difficult decision, he had to go through with it. For not only his sake, but Brandy’s. It was time to tell her exactly how he really felt.

“Listen, Brandy.”, he said. “It’s not easy to say this. But I think I have to.”
Brandy walked closer to him, and they both sat down on the bed. “No, it's alright.”, Brandy said. “You can say it, whatever it is. It’s all good.”
Dan’s face twitched nervously. He exhaled, and began to speak. “Brandy, when I tried to save you… I wasn’t enough. I couldn’t beat him.”
He clenched his fist, and slammed it down onto the dresser, cracks appearing in the wood. Brandy put her hands on his arm, trying to calm him down. “No, no, Dan, its okay. He’s dead now. There’s nothing to worry about anymore.”
“No, you don’t understand.”, said Dan. “I wasn’t strong enough to save you. Orfox was the one that took them down. I needed to be.”
“Dan, you were strong enough.”, said Brandy. “You were strong enough to fight them until we got there.” She put her head on his shoulder. “You were strong enough for me.”

Song: Stardust Requiem

Dan stood up, and Brandy almost fell over. “No.”, he said. “I’m not good enough- not yet. I have to get better.” He turned to look at her, tears almost in his eyes. He knew that doing what he was about to do pained him, but he also knew he had no choice. “I have to go.”
“G...go?”, Brandy whispered. She looked up at Dan. “What do you mean, go?”
Dan stood for a second in silence. Their eyes met, staring into each other. He saw the hurt in Brandy’s eyes, and his heart ached with guilt. But he had already made his decision. Brandy didn’t know what Dan was talking about- unless he meant leave Oticat’s castle, and not come back. But he couldn’t do that, could he? Would he?
After a few more seconds of staring, Dan fell forward into a hug. He squeezed Brandy so hard she almost couldn’t breathe, tears running down his face. “I’m sorry, Brandy.”, he said, so quietly that neither him or Brandy could barely hear. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Dan, what-”, Brandy managed to squeak out. Dan pulled away from her, Star still sparking from his fingertips. He was crying full on now, his heart breaking in two. Brandy tried to move, but realized that she could not. Dan had paralyzed her using the Star, knowing that she could stop him if she really tried.

Shakily, he put his hand to his forehead, and golden energy flowed around his fingers. He locked eyes with Brandy one last time, and gave a sad smile. “Brandy, I know that you don’t know what I’m doing. But I assure you, it is for the best.”
“Dan!”, Brandy screamed, trying to break the Star wound around her, but it was far too strong. “Dan!”
Dan started to flicker in and out of space, his Secret Technique Overdrive going into effect once again. “I’m sorry.”, he whispered. “Goodbye.”
And with that, Dan vanished. Brandy could only watch, helpless, as the best friend she had ever known, the Knight she had shared her life with as long as she could remember, disappeared without a trace, gone to somewhere that Brandy didn’t know.
It took a few seconds for the Star around her to vanish. It took a few more seconds for the feeling to sink in that she would probably never see him ever again. But after that, it took almost no time at all for Brandy to sink to the floor, and scream. She screamed in anger, and sadness, and immeasurable pain. The tears mingled with her screaming, the sound coming out of her mutated into the tortured sound of pure sorrow.

Oticat burst into the room, panting frantically, and saw Brandy lying in the center of the floor. “Brandy, what is it?”, he asked, rushing to her side. “What happened?”
“He’s gone.”, Brandy choked out, through a flood of tears. “He left.”
“Who left?”, Oticat asked. “What are you talking about?”
A faint shimmer of purple appeared around Brandy. It went unnoticed by both of them, seeing as how they both had different things to focus on at the moment. But it was there, floating over Brandy like an ethereal courascent of flame.
“Dan left.”, she said. “He left us. Left me. He just vanished.”
She punched her fist into the ground, cracking the wood. “Just like that. He’s gone.”
Oticat bit his lip, and looked up. He didn’t know what was going on. His life had gotten insane lately. What had happened to the days where he could just donate and do wars, and everything would be fine? Not even a week ago, his biggest problem was Hog Cycle decks on Ladder. But now, he was watching his Bandit break down right in front of him, still suffering the massive PTSD from being kidnapped and almost hypnotized, and her best friend, his own Knight, had just departed for parts unknown using some ancient martial art that Oticat hadn’t even heard of until yesterday.
My…, he thought. Things are not going well.

Chapter Text

One year earlier, again

“I’m listening.”,, Chrisintheair said again. “What do I have to do, to gain such power? As I now sense that you control.”
“First, mortal,”, the Voice said, making sure to stress Chrisintheair’s comperatively lowly status as much as possible, “You must address me by my proper name. Call me Lord Grrshknn.”
“Yes, Lord Grrshknn.”, said Chris. “I will.”
“Good, good.”, said Grrhsknn. “And as you may have already guessed, I’m not exactly from around here. I am, in fact, what you might call a demon.”
As Chrisintheair watched, Grrshknn slowly oozed out of the screen entirely, becoming a shapeless black mass that covered Chris’s computer. The King slowly backed away, giving Grrshknn room to maneuver. He slowly formed from dark sludge into a hulking, muscular mass, reminiscent of a titanic bear. “Ah, that’s better.”, he said, looking at his shadowy, trailing paws. “I always did like this form most of all. Such a joy I get to assume it…”

He admired his shape for a few more seconds, then became aware of Chrisintheair standing just next to him. He seemed to be working up the courage to ask for something.
“Yes?”, Grrshknn asked. “What is it?”
Chrisintheair put his hands together, trying not to show the intense fear coursing through his entire body. “Well, uh, Lord Grrshknn, sir, I do believe that you promised me some Gold for that Electro Wizard card. One million, in fact.”
Grrshknn huffed in slight amusement. “Oh, yes. You mortals and your riches. Especially here, in this odd place.”
He waved a paw, in some random direction. A single tendril of dark power shot out and vanished through the wall, then disappeared entirely. “There you go.”, he said. “The sum of one million Gold is now in your vaults.”
Chrisintheair heard a loud thud from somewhere downstairs, and the unmistakable sound of breaking metal. Hurriedly, he pulled his Kingly Communicator from out of his pants pocket and put it to his ear. “Chet?”, he asked, referring to a Builder that worked on that floor. “What’s going on down there?”

Chet, although he had received the call, didn’t answer. He couldn’t help but keep on staring, transfixed, at the immense wealth that had suddenly graced his King. Before him lay more Gold that he had ever seen in his entire life. It spilled out of the vaults, the doors shattered wide open. It spilled all across the room, packing it to near-bursting with precious metal. The entire pile glimmered with promise, promises of untold wealth. Slowly, carefully, as if it might have been an illusion, Chet leaned down and ran his hand through the pile. It was real.
Expertly maintaining his excitement, Chet put his own Communicator to his face, and spoke as slowly as he could manage. “Uh, Chrisintheair, sir?”, he said. “I think you might want to come take a look at this.”

“What is it?”, Chris asked frantically. “What’s going on down there? What was that sound?”
Chet scratched his head. “That was the sound of our vaults exploding, sir. They just sort of filled up, and then kept on going. They weren’t meant to hold this much Gold.”
“Really?”, Chrisintheair asked. “How much do you think there is?”
Chet squinted, and took another, closer look at the enormous stack of Gold on the ground. “I don’t really know, but… probably around a million.”
Grrshknn smiled. Such a display of power would no doubt win the King over. And once he did, then his true plan could at last be put into motion. He had been searching for a way to get his work done without doing it himself- and at last, he had found it. In the form of one very greedy, easily corruptible King.

Chrisintheair hung up his Communicator, not even bothering to hear what else Chet had to say. Because at this point, he had already made up his mind. If this Grrshknn fellow, intimidating as he was, would gladly offer up this amount of Gold for free, then Chris could become the richest and most powerful King in the world. And his fledgling Clan could grow to become truly legendary, the elite among the elite. He might have to change the name though- Me and the Boys just didn’t sound good enough anymore.
“Well, Chrisintheair?”, Grrshknn purred. “Is that enough?”
Chris looked up at his new benefactor. He still didn’t know who he was, really. Nor did Chris question how Grrshknn knew his name. He was just too blinded by power and greed to care. “Yes, Lord Grrshknn.”, he said. “That will do nicely.”

He heard a small tap on his door, and turned around. There stood a familiar face- his favorite Princess Veronica. He would never tell Stacie that Veronica was his favorite, but she was.
“Dad?”, she asked, and looked forward in confusion. “Who are you talking to?”
Chrisintheair almost panicked, for he thought that Grrshknn was still there- but to his immense relief, it seemed that Grrshknn had already left. That was good- Veronica would remain safe.
“No one, dear.”, said Chrisintheair, and stood up. “I was just uh… just wondering out loud. What the next balance changes would be.”
“Oh.”, said Veronica, and blinked. “Oh, is that all? Because you just dropped out of the Clan Call, and now everyone’s worried. Also Kurizas told me to tell you that he wants a bigger allowance.”
“What?”, asked Chrisintheair, and scowled. “A larger allowance? The boy gets enough as it is. But I suppose it doesn’t really matter- now that you know I’m alive, you can go about your business. Easy enough.”
He put on his best smile, and posed slightly- he hoped very much that Veronica would leave. For although he did indeed love her, he wanted to know more about exactly what Grrshknn was, and how he could attain such power. But she didn’t leave- she had other plans.
“Dad, come with me.”, she said, a worried look on her face. “You’ve been spending a lot of time in your room lately ,and we need to get you out of it. Besides ,we just got a million Gold for some reason, and you need to help keep the Goblins away from it.”
Chrisintheair closed his eyes, and sighed. “Fine. If I must.”
As her father walked closer, Veronica bit her lip. She knew he was joking- at least she hoped it. She had to hold on to that hope- it was the only thing she had.
As they left the room, neither of them noticed that Grrshknn in fact had been watching them the whole time, from an invisible space. He looked at a very specific part of his vision nas they passed out of the doorway, and licked his demonic lips.
“My, she looks tasty indeed.”, said Grrshknn. “I do hope her father will succeed in his mission- I’ll keep her if he does. But if he doesn’t, well.”
He laughed to himself ,remembering his other minion. “There’s always the Dragon.”

Chapter Text

Present Day

It was Friday evening.
“This soup is too hot.”, Brandy muttered under her breath. “I can’t eat it.”
It was dinnertime, and all of Oticat’s troops had sat down to eat. The cook, a Builder named Cook, had made a huge vat of soup. But for Brandy, apparently, it was too hot to eat.
“Voin jäähdyttää sen sinulle, Brandy.”, said Gunther, an Ice Wizard sitting next to her. He offered up his hands with bright eyes, but Brandy had no idea what he had just said.
“Um… what?”, she asked, trying to guess what he meant. She knew that it probably meant something along the lines of give it to me, but she wasn’t really that sure.
“Sanoit, että se oli liian kuuma. Anna se minulle.”, Gunther said, forgetting for a moment that no one but other Ice Wizards and Royal Ghosts could understand what he said. He offered up his hands again, but Brandy had no real response.
“Give.”, he said in broken English. “Give bowl to me. I make cold.”

His words were heavily accented, but Brandy could tell what he meant. “Oh. Sorry, I couldn’t understand you.”
She gave her steaming bowl to Gunther. “Kukaan ei koskaan.”, he said under his breath. He breathed out, and a wave of frost slowly started to creep over the bowl. The steam vanished in seconds as all of the liquid inside of the soup bowl was frozen solid. Proudly, Gunther handed Brandy back her bowl. He thought that he had done exactly what she wanted, so he was a bit surprised when Brandy, upon seeing her frozen soup, slammed her head down onto the table and groaned.
“Why, Gunther?”, she mumbled. “Why can’t things just work out?”
“You… want bowl cold?”, Gunther asked. “I thought?”
Brandy looked up just long enough to fix him with an exasperated glare, then retreated back into her folded arms. “Not that cold, Gunther. Just a little bit cooler.”
Gunther frowned, and Brandy held up her hands. “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. Just-”

Song: Killer

A sharp shock ran through Brandy’s body. It felt like a stab wound, but came from her stomach. She clenched her teeth instinctively and grabbed the edge of the table, digging into the wood as much as possible in order to help with the pain. After a few seconds, it faded- only to be replaced with another shot, this one even worse. Brandy held a ferocious curse on the tip of her tongue. She didn’t exactly know why she even bothered- maybe it was because there were young Troops nearby.
“Gaaa…”, she whispered underneath her breath. “What the…”
Brandy hobbled to her feet, using one hand to clutch her stomach, and pushed back her chair. She pushed it back a little too hard, however, and it fell spinning across the floor. The commotion earned her several odd looks from several members of the table, including one of concern from both Bowza and Agatha.
“Sorry, just gotta-”, Brandy said, then another shot of pain flashed upwards from her stomach and hit her throat, erasing her next word. “Oh frick.”

She staggered to the bathroom just down the hall, trying not to collapse. Her head swam with colors, her stomach was still under heavy fire, and for some truly bizarre reason, she had an intense craving for sharp cheddar cheese.
What is wrong with me?, Brandy thought. She slammed against the door to the bathroom, then haphazardly swung it open. Am I sick?
She closed the door again after limping inside, and stopped in front of the counter. She leaned over it, using her arms for support. Brandy felt like she was going to faint, yet she really, really wanted to go outside and run around for a full day.
No, I can’t be sick, she thought. I’ve never been sick before. Not even once.
“Brandy, are you okay?”, came the muffled voice of Agatha through the door. Her question was punctuated by three sharp raps, each from a different Skeleton. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”, said Brandy, as she almost fell, staggered to the toilet, and very nearly collapsed. She stared into the water, noticing how red her face looked. “I’m fi-”
But she was not fine at all. Before she had even finished saying how fine she was, Brandy threw up.

“Oh my.”, said Bowza, who was also listening in. “You know, for some reason, I don’t think she’s very fine at all.”
Agatha ignored him, as she often did. He had some useful stuff to say sometimes, but most of it didn’t really mean anything. “Brandy, you don’t sound so good. Why don’t you come on out?”
Brandy just stared at the wall of the bathroom, feeling the tingles of illness run across her skin. Acid still dripped from her teeth a little, and her arms shook. Her knees felt weak, and her arms felt heavy. There was vomit on her tunic already, and she was missing what they were serving- spaghetti.
“Brandy?”, Agatha asked again, concern tinging her voice. “Are you okay in there? Answer me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”, Brandy said. “Well, as fine as I can be.”
She stood up, and opened the door. Her face was still red, and her eyes looked a little glazed over. Her hair, usually pure white and clean, was a dirty cream and riddled with tangles.
“I think we should get you to the doctor, Brandy.”, said Agatha. “Bowza, what do you think?”
Bowza raised a finger to speak, but Brandy interrupted him. “Yeah, that sounds good.”, she said, and started walking towards the stairs. Dr. Jethro’s office was located on the 17th floor of the castle, roughly near where all the other Wizards hung out. “Sounds good.”

Dan blinked, trying to adjust to the light. He couldn’t quite tell where he was. When he had teleported away, his only direction was to somewhere where he could get stronger. He hadn’t bothered with specifics. But gradually, as his eyes became accustomed to the intense brightness in front of him, he could see the gracefully hovering figure of a Healer.
“Welcome.”, she said, in a voice that reassured Dan immediately. “Who are you, Where did you come from, and What have you come here for?”
Dan brushed himself off, and stood at attention, sword by his side. “I am Dan, of King Oticat, of Clan LosDementosCT. I have come to get as strong as I can, to better protect those who I love.”
The Healer nodded, and bowed in respect. “A noble cause, dear Knight.”
She made a grand sweeping motion with her arms and moved aside, revealing what lay beyond her. “Welcome, seeker of Strength.”

Dr. Jethro sat huddled over his notebooks, miles deep in thought. He had a study currently going, one that detailed the long-term effects of Dark Elixir consumption upon regular Troops. So far, the data was short, and there wasn’t a whole lot to work with. But according to what they did have, the constant drinking of Dark Elixir, constant being at least one pint every day, would always lead to death. Permanent death, not the kind of death you just regenerated from. He and his colleagues would have to talk to someone, perhaps issue a PSA over T.V Royale or something.
The door creaked open, and Dr. Jethro was pulled out of his stupor as if there was a Tornado in his room. He spun in his chair to look, and saw the miserable form of Brandy shuffle in through the door, Agatha and Bowza behind her. He knew his research for the time being would have to wait- there was a patient to treat.

“Ah, Brandy.”, he said. “What brings you in today?”
“I don’t feel good.”, Brandy mumbled, with a voice as deadpan as a rock tumbler.
“Really?”, said Dr. Jethro, and motioned for Brandy to come sit in his official Doctor’s Inspection Chair. She complied, flopping down like a slug. “You’ve never been sick before.”
“Yeah, I know.”, she said. “Lots of firsts happening lately. First time being sick, first time being kidnapped and almost dying multiple times repeatedly, first time lifelong friend suddenly and literally vanishing from my life for no good reason.”
Well, it appears your sense of humor is as functional as ever, Dr. Jethro almost said, but then he realized that Brandy was probably not intending it as a joke. So he just nodded, said “Hm-mh”, and took out a thermometer. “Alright, I’m going to take your temperature. So just hold still, it’ll be over in a second…”

Brandy flinched at such language, but she did manage to hold still, as Dr. Jethro held the thermometer up in front of her. He kept a neutral expression, but he was relieved that it read a perfect, normal heat. “Okay, looks good.”, he said. “Now on to the other tests.”
He started to rummage around in his pocket, looking for his other tools. Brandy cast her gaze upwards at Agatha. “How many tests does he have to do?”, she asked.
“Oh, that’s right.”, said Agatha. “You’ve never done this before… just as many as he needs to, until he finds out what’s wrong with you.”, Agatha said, and put her hand on Brandy’s shoulder. “That’s how many.”
After several seconds of more searching, Dr. Jethro retrieved a thin metal rod from somewhere in his mine of pockets. “Ah, here it is!”, he said. “There’s my favorite multi-tool.”
He flipped the switch to Measure, and held it up to Brandy’s face. “Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit.”, he said. “Just try not to think about it- not that there’s really anything to think about, at least not in the sense of hurting you, of course. Plenty of stuff to think about, but don’t-”
As he stumbled through his words, everyone stared. “Okay, just forget what I said.”, Dr. Jethro said. “I kinda forgot where I was going with that.”

He tapped Brandy’s arm. “Hmmm.”, he said. Now, in the medical profession, hmmm did not always mean hmmm. Sometimes, it could mean oh, that’s nice, or aha, I think I’ve found your problem. Of course, it could also mean oh no or you know, I think I saw something once like this, but it hadn’t advanced anywhere near this far. It all just depended on the context.
He ran the tool down Brandy’s cheek. “Aha…”, he said. Oh, sweet Se’th have mercy on this poor Bandit, he thought. He really, really hoped that this diagnosis wasn’t what he thought it was, but it looked like it was indeed.
Lastly, he waved the tool outside of Brandy’s stomach, reading and extrapolating upon her latent energy. “Okay…”, he said. I was right, he thought. I hoped to all the gods that I wasn’t right, but here we are. Maybe, if I take another round of testing- no. This is the diagnosis. I have to tell her.

Dr. Jethro slowly, calmly tucked his multi-tool into his front pocket. He cleared his throat, and looked up at Agatha. A bead of sweat formed on his brow, and he nervously clicked his pen. If only my assistent were here to break the news, he thought. But unfortunately for him, his assistant, a Goblin, was downstairs eating dinner with everyone else.
“Brandy, there’s no easy way to say this.”, he said, and swallowed hard. He looked her in the eye- if he had to deliver such news, there was no way to do it but honorably. “You’re pregnant.”

Song: Irreversible Sadness

Brandy’s heart almost stopped. Her breath caught in her throat. A raw, scraping feeling erupted from somewhere deep inside her, a rich crimson that felt like hellfire. Her mind reeled with the revelation. She almost didn’t hear Dr. Jethro’s next words, but they managed to trickle through.
“And you seem to be suffering from a very severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder as well- not really any surprise there, given what happened to you. You also have several regen-resisting scars, but I might be able to-”
Brandy stood up off of the inspection chair. “What?”, she screamed at Dr. Jethro, almost causing him to drop his tools. “What do you mean I’m pregnant?”

“Well- I mean, um…”, Dr. Jethro stuttered, and looked up at Agatha. “That’s the diagnosis. I don’t know how it happened. Were you and anyone you know, um…”
He twiddled his thumbs, and shrugged. His work here was mostly done, as far as he was concerned.
“It was him.”, Brandy said quietly. “He did this to me.”
Her mind flashed backwards in time, to the Canyon. It had been almost a week, and so much had happened since then. But still, out of all the nightmares Brandy had endured, those 10 minutes in Hell stuck with her the very most. Even now, at the very mention of it, every detail came flooding back.
“Who?”, Bowza asked. He already knew the answer, but he could sense that Brandy wanted him to ask all the same.
“Chad.”, said Brandy, spitting out the name. It left a foul taste in her mouth, like blood and tar. “Chad got me pregnant. He said he would.”

Agatha tried to say something, to comfort Brandy in some way. But what could she say? What words could help here? What could Agatha do, to ease such pain? She searched her mind for something, but she knew that really, there was nothing. Nothing Agatha could say could help Brandy, and that hurt her most of all.
Bowza bowed his head, and ran his fingers up and down his bow. He had been afraid of this. Ever since Brandy got back, he could feel the lingering presence of Red leaking off of her, and now he knew why. Even from beyond the grave, Chad still managed to hold Brandy in his evil grasp.
Brandy’s skin crawled. Crawled with fear, yes, but it crawled with hatred more. Sheer, black hatred that oozed around her soul like lava. It hurt, but in some odd way, it comforted. And then, in an instant, she knew what to do. It almost didn’t feel like she was thinking it, the idea just came to her out of the sky.
“Take it out.”, she said, stomping up to Dr. Jethro. “Take the baby out of me, right now.”
Dr. Jethro recoiled. “Wha- take it out? I can’t do that. That’s not possible, not without permanently damaging you. In a way that regenerating can’t fix.”
“I don’t care.”, Brandy said. “If it means erasing every last trace of him from the world, I will wear those scars with pride.”

But Dr. Jethro shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”, he said, seeming to regain his composure, if only temporarily. “Its against my principles.”
Brandy stared at him. She didn’t see the friendly Castle Doctor, who had helped all of Oticat’s troops whenever they got sick. She didn’t see good old Dr. Jethro, who would never dream of hurting anyone- he had retired from the Arena for exactly that reason. But those morals were what kept him from taking the baby out of Brandy. So to her, Dr. Jethro was her enemy.
“Fine.”, she said, and reached into her pocket. “I’ll just do it myself.”
She withdrew the golden rod that Brenda had given her, sharpened on one end like a miniature Spear. The insectile carvings glinted in the harsh light of the room, seeming to beckon to Brandy. Yes…, they whispered. Use me… remove all your troubles.
“Brandy, wait!”, Agatha shouted. So did Bowza, and so did Dr. Jethro. A trio of Skeletons plunged forward to try and stop Brandy, but it was too late. Brandy held the rod aloft, and plunged it into her torso.

Larry’s head fell off, and he went chasing after it. Agatha almost screamed. And as soon as the metal plunged into her stomach, Brandy immediately wished that she hadn’t tried it. The pain spread instantly throughout her entire body, far more than what a simple stab would have been. She had undergone worse at the Red Castle- much worse. She had been beaten, stabbed, undergone mental assault, and had her bones crushed into powder. Yet somehow, this pain was worse than anything she had ever felt. It was as if her soul was getting stabbed, then lit on fire, then stabbed again, then finally ripped to shreds and scattered into the sea to be eaten by fish.
Brandy screamed, let go of the rod, and fell to the floor. The artifact suddenly shattered, and the pieces flew across the room with a loud bang. Then they dissolved into the ground, vanishing without a trace. The pain lessened as well, lowering to the normal level of what a sharp object stabbed into your stomach would be.
Brandy lay on the floor, her breathing heavy. Blood trickled from her tunic to the floor, forming a small red puddle on the slightly blue tile. Agatha dropped to Brandy’s side, trying to pick her up.
“Brandy, what were you thinking? What did you do?”, she asked, motioning with her eyes to tell her Skeletons to grab some bandages. “What even was that?”

“I don’t know…”, Brandy mumbled, and coughed. “Brenda gave it to me. She told me to be careful with it… whoops.”
“Indeed, I’m quite curious about that myself.”, said Dr. Jethro. “The explosion that that artifact caused made it seem quite powerful. The effects it will have you on will be interesting indeed- in fact, could you let me run a few tests?”
Agatha’s death glare gave Dr. Jethro his answer, and he turned around. “Fine then.”, he said.
Bowza stared at Brandy’s soul. It was different, somehow. He didn’t know exactly how, it just felt bizarre. Perhaps it was the texture, or the color, but whatever the strange object had done to Brandy, it had changed her soul in a way that Bowza had never before thought possible.
“I don’t know what that was.”, Bowza said. “But I do know that we’ll have to keep an eye on you, Brandy.”

The two led Brandy out of the room, the Bandit still shaking. Out of the corner of her eye, she could almost see a dark shape crawl along the edge of a room. But she dismissed it as nothing, and continued to walk downstairs.

Chapter Text

Eleven months earlier

Chrisintheair put his feet up on his brand-new diamond recliner, shuffled his newspaper, and reached for a glass of soda. It was the most expensive kind on the market, as it was made from a special blend of water that could only be found from a waterfall that had since collapsed. But the King could afford it, what with his one million Gold and all. Giving the Electro Wizard card to Grrshknn had been a simple matter, and once he had, Chrisintheair’s fortune was made. He hardly even had to battle anymore. Not that he particularly wanted to push past 4000 trophies anyway. If he could already get all the Cards, then what was the point? Just stay where it was easy, and grind 2v2 all the time- that was his strategy.

He took a sip of his soda, and absentmindedly scanned the paper. Oh, that’s interesting, he thought. There was a story of a Clan’s leader mysteriously going missing, after running out into the streets near Goblin Stadium ranting and yelling about some hideous darkness that was going to consume them all, and a Dragon that wanted to take over the world. Pretty odd stuff.
He chuckled at the foolishness of some Kings, noting that the one in question had been Blue.
“Heh, typical Blue.”, he said to himself. “Nothing going on in their heads but defeat.”

“Blue?”, came a familiar voice from somewhere behind him, in front of him, and all around him, all at once. “What do you mean by that, Chris?”
“Oh, that’s just the other color of King.”, said Chrisintheair without looking up. “I’m Red, the best, and then a lot of other Kings are Blue. Only opposite colors of Kings ever fight each other. I do often wonder about the matching system on that one, to be honest.”
He felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck, and turned around. He saw Grrshknn hovering over and behind him, with an expression on his face that suggested, ever so subtly but not really, that if Chrisintheair did not comply with some unspoken command right now, that the tingling would escalate to something far more painful very, very quickly.
“Ah, it appears you’ve forgotten your place, Chris.”, Grrshknn hissed. “Because when someone of a higher rank speaks to you, especially one such as I, you are normally supposed to assume some sort of submissive position. And right now is no exception.”
Chrisintheair thought for exactly no seconds, and realized that Grrshknn was right. So as quickly as possible, he flipped out of his chair that he lay sprawled across and onto the floor in a downwards facing bow. “I’m sorry, Lord Grrshknn.”, he said, his voice muffled by the carpet floor. “Is this more to your liking?”

“Hmmm…”, Grrshknn said, hand to his chin, pretending to be indecisive. He often did it when mortals presented him with something, even if he immediately liked it, just to freak them out. It was fun when mortals panicked, made Grrshknn feel more in power. But finally, he waved his hand. “Yes, that is fine. Now get up, I have another assignment for you.”
Chrisintheair scrambled to his feet. “You do? Wh-”
Grrshknn motioned for him to drop again. “No. You got up too fast. Go down again. Try again.”
Chrisintheair resumed his previous position on the ground, then slowly rose. “I’m sorry, Lord Grrshknn. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
Grrshknn smiled. “You had better hope so. Now, about your next work…”

Unbeknownst to either of them, Stacy, Chrisintheair’s daughter, was right outside the door. She was followed by Chad and Rick, all three of them straining not to be heard. At this point in their lives, none of them had yet grown into the pure evil they would one day become. One would call them normal, or even nice.
“Okay guys, just be very quiet.”, Stacy whispered. “It would be best if I ask him alone.”
“Got it.”, said Chad, and gave her a right-handed thumbs up. Rick matched his gesture with his left hand, and Stacy almost giggled. She managed to hold it in, though.
Carefully, she eased the heavy wooden door open. She winced when it made a noise, and froze- but Chrisintheair did not notice. So she opened it the rest of the way, and looked in.
She had been expecting her father to be just sort of lounging about, reading the newspaper and relaxing, studying strategy, speaking with his clanmates, or maybe just taking a nap. That was what he did normally on most days. So Stacy was totally unprepared to see her father deep in conversation with what appeared to be a huge, black, bear-shaped storm cloud hovering violently in the room with him.

“-and you are to speak of no one you know about this.”, Grrshknn finished. “Not your Clanmates, not your friends, no one except the ones that will accompany you on this mission. Do you understand?”
Chrisintheair nodded. “Yes. I understand. We find the target, we go in, grab the target, and turn it in to you. Hey, what are you looking at?”
His last words were directed towards Grrshknn, who was looking over Chris’s shoulder at something. “Oh my.”, the demon rumbled. “It looks like we have a visitor.”
Chrisintheair turned to where Grrshknn was looking, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He saw Stacy standing at the entrance to the room, staring up at Grrshknn’s menacing form, frozen in fear. She quavered in his presence, not daring to make a sound.
“How annoying…”, Grrshknn said. “I’ll have to remove her.”
The storm of darkness hanging in the air dripped down to the floor, and coalesced into the shape of a hulking bear. Grrshknn’s teeth jutted from his jaw like railroad spikes, and his eyes glowed a deep yellow. Stacy shrieked in terror, and turned to run.
“Grrshknn, stop!”, yelled Chrisintheair, throwing out his hands. “Don’t!”

Grrshknn did stop in his tracks. However, he also turned to face Chris, shocked that he would even dare to give orders to someone like him. “Stop?”, Grrshknn said slowly. “Do you really think you are in any position to give orders here, Mortal?”
“I’m- I’m sorry, Lord Grrshknn.”, said Chrisintheair, and slowly dropped to the floor in a bow. “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. But she’s my daughter, and I would rather not you kill her.”
Grrshknn sat upright, and stroked his chin. “Hmm, yes, I suppose that you mortals do tend to put odd amounts of priority on these things you refer to as children.”. He snapped his fingers, and resumed his previous shape as a storm cloud. Very well then, I will spare her. If…”
“If?”, Chris asked. “What’s if?”
“If your daughter joins you on your quest tonight. And she, too, follows my orders.”
“Okay.”, said Chris. “Thank you, Lord Grrshknn, for sparing her. I promise, she will not disappoint you.”
He slowly walked towards Stacy, making sure to not accidentally scare her. “Stacy, I have someone to introduce you to.”

Chapter Text

Present Day

Song: Hesitation

It was a balmy Saturday evening. It was also a lonely evening, as Oticat had left to go battle. The only Troops that were left in the Castle where the ones he was not using, which was many of them. But even though many were there, the Castle still somehow managed to seem empty. A Hog Rider wandered the halls, looking for something to do. A Goblin Giant wordlessly chomped down on a Cheez-n-Onion Monstroburger, while his two Spear Goblins played Go Fish. A trio of Fire Spirits danced in a fireplace. A dark shadow roamed the corridors invisibly, searching for someone, or something. Brandy sat alone in her room.

After much deliberation and advice, she had at last taken up a hobby that didn’t require her to go outside, or talk to anyone. That hobby was painting, and she found that she quite enjoyed it. There was no one she had to talk to, no one to bother her, just her, the paints, and the smell of oil gently wafting through her room.
She ran her brush through a patch of cadmium red, and slowly dragged it across the canvas. Dr. Jethro had given her three weeks. Just three weeks until her pregnancy entered its final stages. Brandy’s own attempt at removing the unborn baby had been unsuccessful, and the stabbing with the mysterious artifact had only made things worse. Now, she saw things that weren’t there, and heard things that had never been spoken. Secretly, she feared that she was going insane.

Brandy washed the red off of her brush, and dipped the bristles in a pool of green. With long, broad strokes, she outlined and filled in a cape. It was her cape, in fact- this latest painting was a self portrait.
Nobody knew what to do. Nobody knew how to fix her. Even though TheEvilOverLords were all dead, their presence and consequences still hung over everyone like a curtain of darkness. Nobody mentioned them, but everyone knew exactly what everyone else was talking about- when a conversation ended abruptly. When someone erupted into a coughing fit, and had to rush from the room. When someone stared uneasily into a corner, everyone knew exactly what was on their mind.

With fingers trembling from the effort, Brandy oh-so-carefully dipped a single hair of her brush into a drop of blue that lay on her pallet. She brought it up to the canvas, trying not to let the paint get anywhere but its intended mark, right in the center of her eye. She concentrated, letting her absolute attention fall on what she was doing. Almost, almost there, almost-
Then a slight scratching sound on her bed behind her jolted her out of her trance, and the brush slipped, sending a tiny scratch of blue all the way down the painting.
Brandy turned around and huffed. “Excuse me, do you mind?”, she said. Then her eyes registered what exactly it was that she was looking at, and she almost nearly screamed.
On her bed sat a man. He did not resemble any troop she had ever seen- the closest would be a Royal Ghost. And even that was only because of his near-translucence. A long black cloak ran down from his neck to his feet, and under that he wore an elegant suit. But the oddest- and to Brandy, the most terrifying- feature was his face. It was covered with a simple mask, quite like hers. Only his, instead of being black, was a pure ivory white.
“Hello, Brandy.”, he said. “I do hope you are feeling well.”
That was when she did scream.

Downstairs, Kars was busy working out. He had just finished his daily regiment of 75 bar presses at 300 lbs each, and was just about to go to his secondary cooldown of 100 leg presses, each at 480 lbs each. It was a magnificently grueling workout, but it took a lot of effort to maintain his prime Lumberjack physique. He had to, if he was to go around without a shirt all the time. He slammed a stack of iron weights onto the bar, then heard a high-pitched scream from upstairs.
“Woah.”, he said to himself after a few seconds. “I wonder what that was.”
He looked around to see if anyone else was in the gym, and he saw that there was. Webert lay passed out across a pulley complex, snoring, empty bottle of Dark Elixir still in his hand. Until Kars started to shake him. Then he woke up, ceased his snoring, and dropped the spent glass to shatter on the floor. “Hey! Webert! Wake up!”

Webert scratched his stomach and burped. “What? What is it?”
Kars gestured wildly and aimlessly to somewhere upwards. “I just heard a scream. Wanna go check it out?”
“A scream?”, Webert asked. “What kind of a scream was it?”
Kars scratched his head, and took a quick, refreshing swig from his bottle of Rage. “I don’t know, but it sounded high-pitched. Sounds like it came from the 17th floor.”
Webert’s eyes snapped open with alarm. He was suddenly stone-cold sober. “17th floor.”, he whispered. “Brandy.”
Without even bothering to explain, Webert grabbed Kar’s arm, and took off stomping across the floor, dragging the Lumberjack behind him. Kars was a little surprised, but overall took it in stride, and gulped down another drink of Rage as they ran.

“Hey, Double.”, said Trouble, a Rascal Girl. “What do you think that was?”
She looked up from their game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to where the scream had come from, the floor above them.
“I dunno.”, said Double. “Maybe someone found our spider.”
She tapped her fingers on the ground in a beat, and popped a piece of gum into her mouth.
“No, I don’t think so.”, said Trouble. “We hid the spider on the 18th floor, remember?”
She stood up, and adjusted her eyepatch. She, too, grabbed another piece of gum.
“Oh yeah.”, said Double. “What do you suppose it was, then?”
They looked at each other, and locked eyes. Before, they had been using words. But between Rascal Girls, words were but a mere familiarity. They knew each other so well, talking to the other was like speaking into a mirror. Information was communicated nigh-instantly between them, ideas thrown back and forth, arguments proposed, paths of action shot down, rebuttled, and revised, and finally a plan arrived at in less time than it took until they simultaneously blinked. They both smacked their brother on the head, and he awoke from his nap.
“Doug, wake up.”, said Trouble.
“We’ve got something to do.”, said Double.
“Is it something to mess with?”, asked Doug, not skipping a beat from their usual banter.
Then the three all locked gazes, and smiled.

“Wha- what-”, Brandy said, stumbling over her words, and almost fell backwards. She pointed at the mysterious figure, her hand trembling. “What are you?”
The man on her bed smiled warmly. “What am I? Well, I don’t think that’s the right question to ask here. Now, who am I? That I will answer gladly.”
He stood up, and offered out his hands. “I’ve been watching you for some time, Brandy. Ever since you stabbed yourself with that arrow shard. That was a good thing to do, by the way.”
Brandy made no movement. “Arrow?”, she whispered.
“Ah, yes.”, said the figure. “That artifact that your friend gave you? The one you tried to terminate your child with? That, Brandy, is what’s known as a Stand Arrow. Or, at the very least, a tiny fragment of one.”

“What are you talking about?”, Brandy asked. “What does any of that mean?”
The figure took a look over Brandy’s shoulder, and his face hardened. “Hmmm… it doesn’t appear you actually have one. The Arrow fragment must have been too small for you to get one. It only enabled you to see me.”
He furled his cape around himself, and touched his fingers to Brandy’s forehead. “Yes, you have more than enough fighting spirit. If you were to be hit with a full Arrow, you would develop quite the Stand.”
Brandy tried to push him away, but her hands went right through as though he wasn’t there. “Okay, sir, man, whoever you are, I’m sure that’s all cool, but what is a Stand? Who are you?”
The figure withdrew, and smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I haven’t quite introduced myself. You may call me-”

The door burst open, and Webert stomped through. Kars swung into the room from Webert’s arm, and landed in a fabulous crouch. Behind the two were the Rascal trio, puffing from lack of breath. “Woo.”, gasped Trouble. “I don’t know-”
“How you all can run like that.”, finished Double, without missing a beat. “It’s hard.”
“Brandy, what happened?”, Webert asked, and ran to her side. “Are you alright?”
“Webert, why are you asking me what happened?”, Brandy asked. “Look! He’s right there!”
She pointed at the figure, still unnamed, who had gone back to sitting on her bed. “Get him!”
Webert stared at the spot were Brandy was pointing. He blinked, then again, then finally rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. But then, he was sure. There was nobody there.
“Oh, Brandy.”, said the man. “I suppose I should tell you- you are the only one in this Castle that can see me, or hear me. It’s just me and you.”
He began to float upwards, and bowed. “And Brandy? You may call me-”
Right before he vanished, he stared deep into Brandy’s eyes. She felt the deep, deep red, so deep it was almost black, penetrate her seagreen irises, and stab right into her soul. “The Phantom.”
And with that, the Phantom was gone, vanished just as mysteriously as he had appeared.

“Uh, Brandy?”, Webert said. “I don’t see anything. Are you sure there’s someone there?”
Kars, from across the room, poked his head up from behind an empty Giant Chest. “Can confirm!”, he shouted. “Nothing there here, either!”
Brandy just waved her hand, and closed her eyes. “Of course you don’t see anything, Webert. There’s nothing there, not anymore. He left.”
“Who left?”, asked Webert. “Who was there before?”
“I’m still not sure.”, said Brandy. “But he called himself the Phantom.”
There were several long, mostly noiseless seconds. Brandy contemplated what this mysterious stranger and his incomprehensible lingo could mean for her. Webert wondered if this was it, and Brandy had finally gone truly insane. Kars had found a hidden stash of Gems, and was wondering if he should tell Brandy, or just leave it because she already knew it was there. And Double stepped in between Brandy and Webert, holding up a piece of gum.
“Gum?”, she asked Brandy. “It’ll help.”
Brandy looked at the gum. Then she looked down at Trouble, up at Webert, towards the wall where the Phantom had vanished, then back at the gum again. She sighed, and reached out a hand. “You know what?”, she said. “Yeah. I’d love some.”
She popped it into her mouth, feeling the odd flavor roll around on her tongue. “Mmm, what flavor is this?”, she asked Double. “I’ve never had it before.”
“Oh, you know.”, Double shrugged, and Trouble stepped in to finish her sentence. “Gum flavor.”

Far, far away, in a place nobody knew for certain, someone stood hunched over a camera’s screen station. On it, they were rewinding a recorded video of Brandy meeting the Phantom. Over, and over again. A sly smile lit up their face.
“Well?”, came a voice from behind. “Have you got it working?”
The figure didn’t turn around, but they could feel who was behind them. There was no mistaking the overwhelming aura of someone like Grrshknn.
“Yes, Lord Grrshknn.”, said the someone. “He is in place, and the haunting has begun.”
“Excellent, excellent.”, Grsshknn said appreciatively. “And you are sure this will work? Don’t forget what happened to the last mortal I entrusted with a job.”
“Oh, don’t worry.”, said the figure, eyes glinting with pride. They pushed a small switch, and the viewpoint zoomed into Brandy’s eyes. One could see, if they looked closely, a small marking of a Red Crown, almost imperceptible to the eye. Pleased with their work, the figure leaned back, and pointed into the air. “[Phantom of the Opera] has no weaknesses.”

Chapter Text

11 months earlier

Penny the Archer walked alone, huddled alongside the treeline, trying to escape the pouring rain. She had little success. “Where is she?”, she whispered to herself. “Where did Suzie go?”
She was referring to her sister, who was supposed to come on a walk with her. Penny had assumed that Suzie had been right behind her as they went outside, and had just been quiet for some reason. But when Penny arrived at an unfamiliar patch of trees, and had tried to ask Suzie for help, she had realized that she had been alone for several miles.

A twig snapped, and Penny jumped. One hand flew to her bow, and the other outwards in some token gesture of defense. There was no telling what could be out here in the dark woods, especially now that it was nearing nightfall. As Penny stared into the treeline, keeping a close eye out for any movement, she thought she could hear whispering. Whispering that sounded evil.

Song: Himeru Omai

And then, Penny did see something. A Red King, in a long black cloak, step out from behind a mossy oak tree. His eyes glinted with something evil, and he held a long sword in one hand.
“He- hello?”, Penny said to him. “Who are you? Can I help you?”
Chrisintheair stepped closer to Penny, bringing his sword behind him. “There you are.”, he said, and smiled. “Penny, was it? Yes, your king was wondering where you were. He called me to come and pick you up.”
Penny took one look at Chrisintheair, and knew immediately he was lying. For one thing, her Clan was only 17 members, and she knew every King. For another, she had told their King exactly where she and Suzie were going; there was no reason for him to call. But the most obvious reason was that she was Blue, and Chrisintheair was Red. So rather than waste time, she just turned and ran.
Chris watched her go, then realized his mistake as her Blue clothing became more obvious in what little light there was. He cursed himself mentally, then drew his sword and ran after her, vowing to make up something better in the future.
He put a finger to his ear, activating his communicator. “Chad. Rick.”, he said. “You’re up.”

Penny sprinted through the dark forest, keeping a close eye out for roots, boulders, bones sticking up out of the ground, discarded empty Chests, anything that might trip her up. She fully expected to run into something. But she expected to run into a Goblin, or maybe a Skeleton- not two Elite Barbarians, looming in the treeline over her.
“There she is, Chad.”, said Rick. He loosened his grip on the tree branch, preparing to fall.
“Yeah, I know, Rick.”, said Chad. “You don’t really have to tell me.” He loosened his grip all the way, then fell with a soft thud onto the dirt. Rick followed suit soon after.
Penny stopped running, and skidded to a stop. In front of her were two Elite Barbarians. Behind her was an angry King with a sword. And she was just a level 6 Archer, in now way suited for melee combat. She was trapped.

“Listen, little Archer.”, said Chad. “I know this looks scary, but it’s really not. All you need to do is just come with us. Just follow us, come back to our castle, everything’s gonna be okay.”
“Yeah.”, said Rick. “What he said.”
Penny just cowered in fear, too scared to even speak. Her mind swirled, and her feet felt like they were going to collapse underneath her. Was this even happening? Was this real?
“N- no.”, she managed to squeak out. “I’m not.”
“Oh, come on.”, said Chrisintheair from behind her. He walked out from behind a tree, twirling his sword. “I really do think you are. You see, you only have two options.”
He took another huge step towards the tiny Archer, and stuck his sword underneath her chin, tilting her gaze upwards. “You either come with me and the boys, or…”
Quick as a Zap, he ran the blade of his sword across Penny’s chin. A thin cut appeared in a flash of pain, and a drop of blood hit the ground. “You die.”

Hating that she did so, but not seeing any other options, Penny gave in. Very slowly, she took her bow from off of her back and dropped it onto the ground. It was immediately snatched up by Bol, Rick’s Goblin friend that he had brought along with him, and stuffed into a sack. Penny eyed it fearfully- all Troops that had a weapon hated being without one, in almost any circumstance. But, true to his word, Chrisintheair put his weapon down, and put an arm around Penny.
“See, that wasn’t so hard.”, he said. “I’m glad you cooperated, otherwise I might have had to put on the force a little bit… and no one wants that, right?”
Penny shook her head, and Chris shoved her into the waiting arms of Chad. He stared down at Penny with a slight smile, and slammed her against his waist.
“Well everyone, let’s go.”, said Chris. “Mission accomplished.”

Back at the Castle, Grrshknn waited. He waited for Chrisintheair to return, to see if he had what it took to carry out his mission. He hoped that he could do it. It had taken so long to select a King that would be willing to do the sorts of things that Grrshknn demanded. Perhaps, through Chrisintheair, Grrshknn could finally complete his mission… but that was something to think about later. For now, he would wait to see if Chris could complete the most basic of tasks. Luckily for him, he did not have long to wait.
Chad was the first to burst through the door, holding a triumphant fist in the air. “We did it, Lord Grrshknn!”, he shouted. “The operation is done.”
Next was Rick, who shared an enthusiastic fistbump with his brother. After that was Chrisintheair, a proud smile on his face and an eerie glint in his eye.
“Where is the target, Chris?”, asked Grrshknn, hovering over a newly built obsidian throne. He casually lit his finger on fire, then snuffed it out. “Show her to me.”
“Oh yes, her.”, said Chris, then beckoned to the door. “Come on in, Penny. We need you.”

Penny slowly walked in, her arms bound with ropes. She was almost paralyzed with fear, but her mind was starting to get working again. She would get out of here somehow, she knew it. Get back to her King, and get back to Suzie.
“See, Lord Grrshknn?”, said Chrisintheair. “I told you I could do it.”
Grrshknn reclined in the chair. “Ah, so you did. Excellent.”
Chrisintheair waited for a second for Grrshknn to say something else, but he never did. He waited a few seconds for something to happen, but nothing came to pass. He tapped his foot on the floor, then spoke. “So, what now?”, he asked. “Did you specifically need an Archer for anything, or…”
Grrshknn waved his hand. “Oh, no, you can untie her now.”, he said. “I have no further use for her.”
Rick, immediately upon hearing this, knelt down next to Penny. With one swift slice of his razor-sharp sword, her ropes fell to ribbons, and she was free. Almost.
“Alright, guess you’re our Troop now.”, he said, with an exorbitant flex of his muscles. “You can wander the castle, or make friends, or-”

Penny would have used this opportunity to politely decline, then escape. But she never got the chance to. Because faster than anyone could blink, faster than anyone there could move, Grrshknn stretched a tendril across the room and snatched Penny, bringing her to his mouth. She tried to scream, but there was no air in her lungs. She tried to struggle, but Grrshknn’s grip was tight enough to break mountains and bend rivers.
“And one more rule, Chris.”, Grrshknn spat, and narrowed his eyes. “You are free to do as you wish. But never forget-”
His eyes glowed, and locked with Chrisintheair’s. A chill ran through the King’s body like corrupted ice. “I make the rules around here.”
Then he uncurled his tendril that was wrapped tightly around Penny, opened his mouth wide, and tossed her in. The poor Archer didn’t even have time to scream before her body met the destroying void that was Grrshknn’s mouth. Her atoms were torn to pieces in less than a second, killing her instantly, and her soul was absorbed into Grrshknn’s for what would surely be an eternity of torment. A thunderclap shook the room with the force of the death, and a black shockwave spread out from the obsidian throne.
“Never forget that I make the rules, Chrisintheair.”, said Grrshknn once again, and began to fade away. “Or next time, that could be you.”
Then he disappeared, leaving everyone in the room with a shocked silence that seemed louder than the clap of thunder he left with.

Chapter Text

Present Day

It was a peaceful Thursday, somewhat in the early evening. It was around that mark of the day in which one would start to get a little restless, fearing that nothing would be done with the day, but knowing that there was still a lot of time left to do it.
Several Troops had chosen to spend the time at the table, playing a rousing game of Desert’s Gambit. The rules were simple- draw a card, and perform several actions based on what card you drew. If you couldn’t, then you were out.
Chez, a Dart Goblin, drew the top card of the deck- a 6 of Elixir. This meant that he had to mimic any Troop that costed exactly 6 Elixir.
“Well Chez, 6 Elixir Troop.”, said Agatha. “Hmmm, I wonder what you’re going to do.”
Chet immeidatly tucked his blowdarter underneath his arm, and strode off across the table in a manner like the walk of a Giant Skeleton. He swung his jaw back and forth in a mock underbite, and then stopped at the edge of the table.

Chet stopped right in front of Brandy, who didn’t even blink. She showed no indication that she had noticed, and she might not have. Her eyes were glazed over, staring into some imagined or unimaginable distance. She looked directly ahead, not taking in anything that her senses told her.
“Uh, Brandy?”, Chet rasped, his voice horse from all the time he spent blowing bubbles and shooting darts. “What am I?”
Brandy didn’t move, still deep inside of her stupor. Chet spread his arms open wide, but there was still no answer.
“Hey, Brandy?”, he asked again, tapping Brandy on the shoulder with his blowdarter. “You awake in there?”
Brandy startled and turned around sharply, almost knocking Chet over. “Oh, yeah, sorry. I’m fine.” She rubbed her forehead, and her eyes started to close again. “Just a little tired, that’s all.”
Agatha noticed the state of Brandy’s hair. Normally, it was bright white and clean, flowing like wind. But today, it was flecked with streaks of dirty cream and grey, hanging in strings and clumps. Brandy’s face also seemed less smooth than normal, and her mask had begun to collect dust.
“Brandy, when was the last time you took a shower?”, Agatha asked. “You look awful.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”, said Brandy offhandedly. “Probably about a week ago?”
“Go take one.”, said Agatha. “I really think you need one.”
Brandy stood up and pushed her chair outward, not bothering to put it back in. “Okay.”, she mumbled, and headed upstairs. Bowza and Agatha both watched her go.

“I’m worried about her, Agatha.”, Bowza said. “She’s not acting like herself.”
“Cut her some slack, Bowza.”, said Agatha. “She’s still trying to recover.”
“But she’s not.”, Bowza said.
“Not what? Not recovering?”
“No. Not trying.”
“What are you saying, Bowza?”, Agatha asked. “Of course Brandy’s trying to get better.”
“Oh, no, not her.”, Bowza explained. “She’s not the problem here. No, there’s something… else. Something within her that keeps her from progressing. I’m not sure what it is.”
Agatha frowned. “Do you think it could have something to do with that thing she stabbed herself with?”
Bowza ran his fingers up and down a magic arrow. “I certainly think it does.”

Brandy turned the knob of the water to Hot, and a cascade of liquid poured down onto her. Warmth flooded across her skin, and she relaxed a little bit. She had heard that people who didn’t get enough warmth from those around them took longer showers and baths to compensate. That made sense to Brandy.
Perhaps she needed someone. Someone that could love her when she needed it. Someone to hold her, and tell her everything would be alright.
“You don’t need anyone.”, a voice in her head whispered. “It’s better to be alone.”
“No.”, another voice rebutted. “You’re right. Surround yourself with others. Lose yourself in them.”
But Brandy ignored them. Besides, she wasn’t just taking a shower purely for the sake of taking one. No, she had to get clean. Perhaps if she got cleaner, she would feel better. Anything would help at this point, to ease the ever-present ache within her.
Brandy looked down, and saw the swell of her pregnancy. Despite all of her efforts, she had been unable to remove it. The one person that could, Dr. Jethro, would not. Brandy didn’t know what to do if her pregnancy finished. She refused to even think about it.
She poured a smallish dollop of shampoo into her hand, and rubbed it vigorously across her scalp. She brushed her bangs out of the way, and turned to get a better angle. But as she did so, Brandy saw herself in the mirror, her forehead now bare.

Song: Himeru Omai

With all that had happened in the last few days, Brandy had almost forgotten about the tattoo. But still, there it was. Taunting her, calling out to her. They had tried everything to remove it- Heal Spells, vigorous washings, even lightly scraping away the skin itself - but still it remained, stubborn as the dusk. Without even thinking about it, Brandy’s fingers moved to touch it. She noticed that there was another part to it, above the previously existing text. It now read “Brandy the Bandit, property of Ryusei_Nakao69” in deep crimson letters.
Brandy was so focused on staring at it that she almost didn’t notice the shape enter the room. But notice she did. And the first thing she noticed were the distinctive helmet horns of an Elite Barbarian.

Instantly, Brandy pulled the shower curtain back and tried to cover herself up as much as possible. Her mouth went dry with sheer, numbing fear. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a weak-sounding squeak.
You’re cute when you squeak, came a voice inside of her head. When you’re scared. I like that.
A huge, sweaty hand grabbed the edge of the shower curtain, and prepared to rip it aside. Brandy’s legs almost gave out from under her, and she scrabbled to get away- but there was nowhere to run. Brandy was trapped.
The Elite Barbarian nonchalantly pulled the shower curtain aside. Upon seeing Brandy, her face as white as her hair, his look was one of genuine surprise.
But Brandy didn’t have time to notice. A dark shadow swooped down from the ceiling, delivering a savage kick into the middle of the Elite Barbarian’s chest. He stumbled backwards and crashed into a cabinet, as the formless shadow coalesced into the Phantom.
“Fear not, my angel!”, he shouted, and brandished a silver sword. “For I, the Phantom, shall annihilate this menace, and save you!”

Song: Capture the Target

“Wait, what?”, Brandy asked from behind the curtain, but her words went ignored. The Phantom soared out the door with a flourish, leaving Brandy alone in the bathroom. After thinking for a moment, she took the opportunity to put on a clean tunic.

The Phantom swept through the air, looking for the Elite Barbarian. His gaze lingered across various parts of Brandy’s room- her bed, her dresser, her collection of empty Magical Chests. Normal Bandity stuff. At last, after a few more seconds of searching, he found his target, trying to extract himself from a hole in the wall. He had flown straight through the brick after hitting the cabinet.
“Don’t think you can hide from me, villain!”, the Phantom bellowed, and flew towards the Elite Barbarian. “Your fate is certain!”
The Elite Barbarian finally managed to extract himself from the wall, and flopped out onto the floor. His helmet almost came off, but he managed to keep it on.
“Whew, what a hit.”, he mumbled, and rubbed his forehead. “What even hit me? I didn’t see anything…”
The Phantom reached his foe’s position, and raised his glittering rapier over his head. “There’s no escape!”, he yelled. “It’s time to meet your maker!”

But to the Phantom’s disappointment, the Elite Barbarian didn’t look even remotely scared. In fact, it was as if he hadn’t even noticed the Phantom’s threat. But then he realized that he actually hadn’t- the Phantom was a Stand, and thus not visible to anyone but other Stands and their users. He mentally slapped his own forehead, then sheathed his sword and whipped his cape around himself. Among his other abilities, the Phantom possessed the unique power to make himself visible to anyone he pleased.
He appeared in the Elite Barbarian’ vision, and once again drew his sword.
“Lament your own sins, villain!”, he roared. “For your time has come!”
He swung his blade downwards, and it slammed against the Elite Barbarian’s in a crack of metal, ferocious grinding cracks screaming out across the room. The Elite Barbarian struggled mightily, but the supernatural force of the Phantom made jest of his efforts.
“You may be strong, monster, but I, the Phantom, am far, far stronger.”, he said, with a look of righteous, yet slightly bored fury. “As long as I live, you shall never lay a hand on my angel!”

He pushed harder, and the Elite Barbarian’s defense almost broke. The Phantom’s sword reached bare chest, and began to cut into the skin.
“Who… are you?”, the Elite Barbarian managed to squeak out. “What are you? What are you talking about?”
The Phantom ignored him. “You don’t get to know that, filth. Die!”
He prepared to push harder, and to cut his opponent in half, when Brandy’s shout rang out across the room. “Stop!”
At once, at her command, the Phantom not only immediately raised his sword, but also vanished, reappearing at her side. “What is it, my love?”, he asked. “Do you not want me to destroy this foul beast, the one who would harm you thus?”
Brandy turned to look at him. “Well, no.”, she said. “He may be an Elite Barbarian, but look what else he is.”
She pointed at the coughing, gasping figure on the floor, and the Phantom understood. “He’s Blue.”

Brandy leaned down, reaching one hand out towards the Elite Barbarian. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, my friend here didn’t know you were Blue.”
He blinked, and slowly got up. “Mate, what are you?”, he said. “Like, what even?”
The Phantom started to respond, but Brandy silenced him with a wave of her hand. “He’s… someone. But who are you? Why are you here?”
Her face grew red, and her voice grew higher and louder. “And why were you poking around in my private bathroom?”
“Oh, shoot, that was yours?”, asked the Elite Barbarian. “Sorry, I didn’t know. I’ve never been here before.”
“Are you new?”, Brandy asked. “No, you can’t be. Oticat’s still in Arena 9.”
The Elite Barbarian stuck out his hand for Brandy to shake. “Naw, I’m Chup’s. Name’s Dave, and my brother is Dujanovic. Both Level 13.”
“Huh.”, said Brandy, and shook, slight nervousness itching across her skin. “I’m Brandy.”
Dave blinked, and realized who he was talking to. His eyes widened, and he pulled back, tripping over a pile of Gold, but managing to catch himself before he fell. “Oh, you’re Brandy!”, he stuttered. “You’re the Bandit who was- oh, I am so, so sorry! I apologize!”

He regained his composure and straightened his helmet. “I didn’t know. Me and Dujanovic were just staying over- you know, for fun, and I needed to go to the bathroom, but I didn’t know where any were, and so I just found some random room that looked abandoned- I didn’t know you were in the bathroom when I opened it, really.”
“Abandoned?”, Brandy asked, slightly indignantly. “My room doesn’t look that bad, does it?”
“No,”, Dave began, “But there’s dust over everything and all the windows are closed and it doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for a while.”
Brandy was about to respond, when she realized that Dave was right. For days on end, all she had done was sit. Sit in front of the fireplace, or at a table, or in front of the T.V, or on her painting stool, or in her bed. She realized that it had been over a full week now that she had gone outside, or partied, or explored the castle, or even stolen something. She just didn’t feel like herself at all.
“Oh.”, said Brandy quietly. “I guess you’re right. Say, you weren’t trying to look at me in the shower, were you?”
Dave waved a hand, as if to brush the notion off. “Naw, Brandy.”, he said. “I’m gay.”
“Cool.”, Brandy said. “Well, it was… interesting. But I should be alone now.”
“Okay.”, said Dave with a flick of his finger. “See you later.”
He turned, and walked out the door. Almost immediately after he did so, the Phantom swooped down in front of Brandy’s face and crossed his arms.

“It seems you were getting quite… casual with him, hmm?”, he said, and leaned down to stare into Brandy’s eyes. “Certainly you of all people would not allow an Elite Barbarian to come between us, right?”
Brandy backed up. “Okay, for one thing, he just said that he was gay. For another-”
“Gay?”, asked the Phantom, and moved forward to match Brandy’s retreat. “What does that mean?”
Brandy backed up further, running into the pillar set in the middle of her room. She looked up into the massive figure of the Phantom, his emotions mostly hidden by the porcelain mask that covered his face. Was that what she looked like to other people? Brandy hoped not.
“Well, uh, he’s not attracted to me.”, she said. “He’s attracted to other guys.”
For a moment, the Phantom stopped moving forward, thinking about this new revelation. “Interesting…”, he said to himself. “I wonder what causes that. Clearly, this is a phenomenon that warrants further investigation…”
“And for another thing,”, Brandy said, interrupting the Phantom’s train of thought, “what do you mean, us? I don’t even know you.”
“Why, I’m your Phantom.”, said the Phantom, and spread out his arms. “And you’re my angel. Don’t you see? We were made for each other…”
The sight of the Phantom’s immense, billowing sleeves looming over her triggered Brandy’s memory, and she lashed out. A quick blow caught the Phantom’s cheek, and he recoiled in shock. Brandy growled, and raised a fist.
“No.”, she said. “Do you hear me? No. I don’t know you, I don’t want to know you.”

The Phantom ran his long fingernails down his cheek, feeling where Brandy had hit him with what seemed like some sort of weird fascination. His eyes grew dark, and he rose into the air. “You have no choice, Brandy!”, he said. “Behold, everything I’ve done for you! All of our memories together- do they mean nothing?”
“What memories?”, Brandy said, her voice raising to that of a near-scream. “What have you done for me? Nothing! I don’t know you!”
“Please, just love me!”, the Phantom shouted, small crackles of lightning billowing throughout his robes. “Please, it is all I ask of you!”
For a moment, the sheer desperation in the Phantom’s cries gave Brandy pause. Perhaps, this creature, whatever he was, did deserve at least something. But then her reason won out over the strange emotion, and she swiped again at the air.
“Go away!”, she yelled. “Leave!”
The Phantom recoiled into the corner of the room like a slapped child, and hid his face. “Fine.”, he said quietly. “Then, my love, I will leave you. For that, truly, is devotion.”
Brandy watched as he vanished into the crack where wall met ceiling. And for the first time in days, she felt something other than sadness, fear, and rage. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but it definitely felt yellow.

Chapter Text

10 months earlier

It had been one month since Grrshknn had sent Chrisintheair on that mission. It had seemed to be innocent at the time- well, as innocent as kidnapping a random Archer could be. But within mere seconds of the group’s successful return, Penny had been obliterated by Grrshknn, for no apparent reason other than to show off. Her last scream still haunted Chris, stuck in his mind like a bleeding itch that wouldn’t go away. He could barely believe that he had permitted such a thing to happen. He was the Leader of his Clan, the top King- but Grrshknn radiated such an overwhelming aura of might that Chrisintheair was almost afraid to find out what would happen if he crossed the demon.

“Uh, Dad?”, came the voice of Stacie, and the door to Chris’s study creaked open a little bit. “Someone’s here to see you.”
Chris slowly swiveled in his chair, turning to face his daughter. She looked worried, most likely for good reason. “Ah, I’ll be there in a minute.”, he said nervously, and placed his hands on both sides of his chair.
From behind Stacie, a cold wind swept into the room. It was imperceptible at first, but quickly picked up in intensity. At first, it felt like a cool breeze, then the winds of Frozen Peak, then a dark winter night, then a Freeze shot from a Cannon. Particles of ice began to form on the walls around the door, and Stacie’s eyes widened in alarm. She tried to step away from the door and into the room, but her feet were stuck to the floor from the frigid cold.
“Dad, what’s going on-”, were her last words, before the ice froze the rest of her into a block, and she stopped moving.

“Stacie!”, Chrisintheair shouted, and leapt up out of his chair. He ran over to where she stood, and stared at her frozen face. He could see her eyes moving in panic, but there was otherwise no response. “Stacie, can your hear me? If you can hear me, look up.”
Stacie’s eyeballs looked upward, and Chris heaved a sigh of partial relief. “Well, at least that’s one good thing. But how do I get you out…”
He thought for a moment, then got an idea. “Aha! Certainly Timothy could get you out of this. He’ll be able to melt this ice.”
He pulled his communicator out of his pocket, frantically thumbing through the directory in order to find his most trusted Wizard. But as he scrolled ever downwards towards the T’s, he saw a blinking notification in the corner of the screen. Low Battery.
A quick, random glance at Stacie sent a pulse of panic through Chris’s heart. He could see the bottoms of her feet dissolving, turning into Elixir. She was dying, both from the cold and the lack of air. Her eyes frantically looked back and forth, pleading for her father to help her- but he could not. There was not anything he could do to save her.

Song: Guardia

But as Chris placed his hands onto Stacie’s icy tomb, another wind came from the hall. This one was as hot as the summer wind over Bone Pit, and it roared with a fiery intensity. It rushed over the block of ice, and cracks appeared all over the surface. Chris backed away, and covered his face with his arm as the ice both blew apart and melted, all at the same time. Stacie fell to the floor, gasping for breath, unable to stand. Chris looked up, to see a now-familiar black shape take form in the doorway.
But before he addressed the newcomer, Chrisintheair crouched to his daughter’s side, holding her up. “Stacie, are you okay?”, he asked, his face bent with worry. “Are you alright?”
As her feet slowly knit back together, Stacie held up a dazed thumbs up, her arm trembling. “Yeah.”, she said. “Yeah, I think I’ll be okay.”
“Good.”, said Chris. “Let’s get you on the couch.”
Holding her by the back, he walked Stacie over to the couch and lay her there. “Okay, let me know if you need anything.”, he said cautiously. “I’ve just got to talk to Grrshknn real quick.”

Grrshknn was watching these proceedings with something at least resembling interest. He was a demon, he had never had a family. But to him, the dynamics of mortals, most particularly that of friends and loved ones, were sources of endlessly fascinating study. It was one of the only things that he did not understand, connection.
“Ah, Lord Grrshknn.”, Chrisintheair said politely. “For what reason have you come?”
“Spare me the pleasantries.”, growled Grrshknn. “I have many things to do, and in very little time. I don’t even know why I bothered to spare your daughter from a stray Freeze…”
“Oh, that was you?”, Chris asked with wonder. “Where did the Freeze come from?”
“I have enemies, Chris.”, said Grrshknn. “Let’s just say it was one of them, and leave it at that.”

“Oh. Okay.”, said Chris. “But, why have you come?”
“Simple.”, Grrshknn said, and held up a massive claw. He expertly sketched out a picture in mid-air, which drifted precisely through the air and came to rest on Chris’s outstretched hand. Holding it up in front of him, he could see it was a picture of a Witch.
“Get yourself one of these,”, Grrshknn said, “And I will give you great rewards indeed.”
Chrisintheair stared at the oddly drawn picture. Part of him wanted to say “Yes sir, thank you sir, right away sir,”, and take some random Witch from anywhere at all. But another part refused. The part that still held his conscience. He had seen, in every horrible detail, exactly what had happened to Penny. The two halves of him argued for a while, until he made up his mind.
Chrisintheair folded the paper into four parts, and tucked it into his left jacket pocket. He cleared his throat and, with immense bravery, stared Grrshknn straight in the face.
“No.”, he said. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do it. I will not allow another Troop to meet the same fate as the Archer.”

Chris fully expected Grrshknn to get angry. Maybe a verbal tirade, maybe a slap, maybe he would just disappear. But Grrshknn did something that Chrisintheair did not expect at all- he smiled. Smiled widely, and spread out a bundle of arms in strange, unknowable shapes.
“Oh no, you misunderstand, Chris.”, he said. “I said get one for yourself, not for me. And in return, I will give you a small bit of my own dark power.”
Chris thought this over for a bit. “So, I get another Witch, and also some cool demon powers? What’s the downside here?”
“There isn’t one.”, Grrshknn said. “It’s a fair trade, really- for one as powerful as I, giving you a little power is almost stress removal.”
“It’s a deal, then.”, Chris said. “I accept.”
He extended his hand, and Grrshknn offered one of his own tendrils of inky smoke. The two beings shook. One faded back into darkness, and the other stumbled back into his chair and wondered just what exactly he had gotten himself into. They both thought that the bargaining session went rather well, and had managed to gain some real benefits for himself. But, of course, this is what we all think sometimes.

“Charles, did you brush your teeth yet?”, asked Yaga. She stirred her coffee, and cast a stern look at one of her Skeletons before resuming her gaze outside the living room window. She was a Witch, and a fine one at that. She had recently begun to explore a Witch’s innate power of mind magic, and was getting quite good at it. She was still only level 8, but there was a lot of room to go.
“Yes, mother, I brushed my teeth.”, said Charles the Knight, mustering up as much sarcasm as he possibly could. “What do you think?”
“I think you didn’t.”, said Julia the Bandit, as she walked out of the stairs. “I think you’re just making it up, and that you brushed your teeth with butter instead.”
Charles turned to look at her. “Butter? Honestly, Julia, I don’t even know how you come up with this stuff.”
Julia shrugged, and frontflipped downwards next to Charles and Yaga. “Dunno. Just good at it, I guess.”
“Hey, everyone!”, said Deadfreance II, their King, as he swung open the big double doors to the living room. “Who’s all ready to battle today?”
“I know I am.”, said Julia with a mischievous smile. “Been working on some new slides.”
As if to demonstrate, she slid across the floor, Dashing at the last second to disappear through a table leg.
“I’m ready.”, said Yaga, and tilted her staff forward. “I haven’t-”
She stopped. The latent energy of the room had somehow just changed. She wasn’t sure quite what it was, but it was something, she could feel it.
“Yaga, what’s wrong?”, Deadfreance II asked. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, exactly.”, growled Yaga. “Just be careful-
A sudden vision came into her mind, a few seconds into the future. One of the walls imploding, and dark, menacing figures coming through. “Everybody get down!”

Julia instinctively ducked. Charles was a bit slow on the uptake, but he soon dropped to the floor as well. Yaga was already on the ground when she had shouted, but Deadfreance II didn’t hear her quite right. It took him a few more seconds to drop once he saw everyone else doing it. But by then, it was already too late. The wall burst open with a terrifying crunch, and Chrisintheair leapt from the impromptu portal. Flanking him were Chad and Rick, with Stacie and Veronica right behind them. “Greetings, mortals.”, Chris said in a tone of voice he had silently picked up from Grrshknn. “Do not fear, I’ve only come for your Witch. And maybe some Gold, I don’t know. You got any?”
“Like frick you are-”, started Yaga, but Chrisintheair flicked out his hand. A spastically twisting rope shot out from his sleeve, and wound around Yaga like a constricting snake. Her arms couldn’t even move to use her staff, the grip was so tight.
Julia screamed in anger and Dashed forward, but Chad was already there. He absorbed the brunt of Julia’s blow with his stomach, then picked her up and tossed her into a stone box behind him, towed by a team of Hogs. She twisted in the air to try and lessen the impact, but she was blown into unconsciousness the second her cheek hit stone.
Charles stood still for just a moment, then made his move. It was more out of fear and blind panic than anything else- Charles had never been very sociable. He raised his sword to swing at Chad, then stopped. He grunted in pain, and staggered backwards as a line of blood ran from his mouth. He collapsed against the wall, the trickle from his mouth flowing downward to match the river from his chest where Chad had, with a single blow, cut him wide open.
“Deadfreance II…”, he mumbled, and stretched out a single hand. “Help…”
Then he fell entirely into a puddle of Elixir, and was no more.

Deadfreance II was panicking, both inwardly and very much outwardly. The sudden attack had left him with no time to think or prepare, and now two of his Troops had just been kidnapped right in front of him, with another temporarily dead. He tried to say something, but the words died in his throat. He tried to do something, but his body would not respond. All he could do was stand there in silence, as Chrisintheair loaded up the cart with Yaga and Julia, two of his favorite troops.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”, Chrisintheair said, and saluted. “As such, I’ll leave you alone, and I will not kill you.”
Not even such a bold-faced provocation was enough to break Deadfreance II’s fear-induced stupor. All he did was watch, utterly helpless, as Chrisintheair sped away.

Chapter Text

10 months later

Song: Sekibetsu

It was not a good Sunday. The weather was dull, and uninteresting, a blank sheet of almost rain covering the sky. Oticat had gone on a 6 battle losing streak, and the general mood had spread throughout the entire castle. But it wasn’t the only thing to do so- Grapak the Spear Goblin had caught a rather nasty cold, and several Troops were bedridden because of it.
Brandy stared out of her window, gazing at the grass below. It lay flat upon the ground, weighed down by the heavy dew. Occasionally, a bird would flap past, but even that spot of color would disappear after just a second. The leaves were turning, as late summer headed into early fall. Soon, the snow would come, and the world would be white. But before that, there was the rainy limbo to slog through, the middle ground of grey.
Brandy slumped down onto her arm, and huffed. She pulled her hood further over her face, trying not to think about the future or what it held for her. She didn’t know what was going to happen. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. Most of all, she had no idea what she was going to do with a child.

There came a knock at her door. “Come in.”, Brandy mumbled, and turned her eyes to see who it was. She thought it would probably be Agatha again, coming to check on her for the third time that day. But instead, the door opened, and no one came through. The air wavered for a bit, and the door closed.
“He-hello?”, Brandy asked, and shifted in her seat. “Who’s there?”
The air frizzled again in front of her, and then dropped to reveal the tall, dark figure of the Phantom. He withdrew the rumpled air from the ground into his cloak, and drew closer to Brandy.
“You again?”, Brandy snapped. “What? What do you want?
Hurt flashed across the Phantom’s face, but he tried not to let it show. Instead, he opened his arms for an embrace, his cloak opening as well.
“Please, Brandy.”, he said. “I know you don’t know me, but that can all change. I know what you feel, and I wish to cure you of it.”
“You don’t know what I feel.”, Brandy said. “Nobody does. You can’t understand what I went through.”
“But I do, Brandy.”, the Phantom pleaded. “I can feel the pain of others, and draw it into myself. I just want to help.”

Brandy carefully considered her options here. If what the Phantom was saying was true, then maybe he could help. Maybe he could fill the hole inside her soul. Maybe things could finally start to look up. But if he was lying, if he was trying to trick her, then opening herself up would be disastrous indeed.
“Please.”, the Phantom said, gesturing towards himself. “I know what you dream of, Brandy. I know what horrors scar your mind. I know what visions haunt you, when nobody else can. I am your Phantom, and you are my angel. Please, just try to see that. Just give me a chance.”
Brandy didn’t say anything. She slowly moved one arm, into the ideal position to jump up and dash away. She fully expected the Phantom to try anything- to grab her, to chase her. But instead, he did something she did not expect. He began to sing.

Song: All I ask of you

“No more talk of darkness.”, he crooned, his rich, smooth voice echoing throughout Brandy’s room. “Forget these wide-eyed fears…”
Brandy slowly relaxed her arm, looking up into the Phantom’s gentle face. His eyes seemed to glow with a blue-green light, just like hers.
“I’m here. Nothing can harm you… my words will calm and guide you…”
He reached out his hand, his eyes telling Brandy to take it. She slowly, cautiously did so. His words felt right, resonating inside of her head.
“Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears…”
Slowly, with immeasurable gentleness, the Phantom lifted Brandy off of her feet. He didn’t try to push her against himself, he just let her stand.
“I’m here with you beside you, to guard you and to guide you…”
He extended his other hand, and Brandy took it. Ethereal music began to play from somewhere unknown, and they began to sway together in the darkness of the room.

“Say you’ll love me, every waking moment… turn my head, with talk of summer time…”
A small, nearly imperceptible pulse of energy thrummed outwards from him, coating the walls of Brandy’s room with richly painted vines and flowers. The green grew, replacing the default blue.
“Say you need me, with you now and always… promise me, that all you say is true...”
He lifted his arm, and Brandy spun around in a slow circle. She grabbed his hand again, and looked up. Even though he was almost two feet taller than Brandy’s slight five foot frame, she felt like she was staring right at his face.
“That’s all I ask of you…”, he sang, and at last pulled her closer to him. She hesitated, then let herself be pressed to the Phantom’s chest. The music swelled, and his voice almost cracked with emotion.
“Let me be your shelter, let me be your light…”

He turned Brandy around to face the room, first making sure to surround her with deep black fabric. With a wave of his hand, a vision appeared.
“You’re safe, no one will find you… your fears are far behind you...”
It was of her, several years in the future. She looked happy, a smiling young Bandit sitting next to her on the grass.
“All I want is freedom, a world with no more night…and you always beside me...”
As Brandy continued to watch the vision, she saw that her uniform was a solid green, instead of the mixture of blue and green that it usually was. The Phantom came and sat beside her, and the two lovingly embraced.
“To hold me and to hide me, then say you’ll share with me… one love, one lifetime…”

The music faded, and he put his arms around Brandy. A faint vestige of struggle fought to be heard, but Brandy let it fall. Strangely enough, she felt at absolute peace with the Phantom, odd as he was. His presence felt right, like he was the key that would open the lock on her mind.
“Please.”, he whispered, and Brandy felt her heart jump. “Think of it. No more teams. No more battling. No more strife, or pain. Just rest, and love. Forever.”
Brandy’s eyes closed, and she relaxed. As she fell limp in the Phantom’s arms, his cloak spread out and solidified, to form a makeshift bed. He lay next to Brandy, and slowly ran his hand across her face.
“Sleep, Brandy.”, he said. “It’s alright. You can rest now.”
Brandy felt herself fade into unconsciousness, but she did not try to fight it. And as she did so, the Phantom folded himself up next to her, hiding her with his cloak, protecting her from the world as they fell asleep as one.

Several minutes later, when they were both asleep, another knock came at the door. This time, it really was Agatha. “Brandy?”, she asked. “Are you awake?”
But there came, for obvious reasons, no answer. Agatha knocked again, to the same result.
“Brandy, could you answer me?”, she asked, with increasing worry. There were several seconds of silence, broken only by the subtle undertones of the castle settling down for the night.
“Okay, I’m coming in.”, Agatha said finally. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She twisted the doorknob and entered the room. Her eyes were already naturally adjusted to the dark, so she immediately scanned the room for Brandy. But Agatha was not a Stand user, so she could not see the cloak of the Phantom, nor where Brandy lay.
“Huh.”, Agatha said after a few seconds. “Guess she must be somewhere else. Oh well…”
She walked away from the door, still holding a photograph in her hands. “I was going to tell her the truth. It’ll have to wait…”

Chapter Text

10 months earlier

Song: Golden Frieza theme

Slowly, Julia awoke. She blinked the crust of sleep from her eyelids, and the blurry shapes in her vision began to form into those of Red Royal Recruits, standing guard slightly below her.
The sight registered in her brain, the shock giving her a boost to adrenaline that woke her the rest of the way up almost immediately. She blinked and opened her eyes all the way, taking in the bizarre sight before her.
Okay, let’s see what we got, she thought, trying to stave off the panic. There’s a bunch of Royal Recruits all standing guard in front of me, and a huge crowd of Red Troops, and I’m stuck on a pedestal, and there’s Yaga next to me, in the same situation.
Julia carefully considered the implications and details of this predicament, then came to a conclusion about her current state of being. Well, frick, she thought.
“Yaga!”, she whisper-hissed to her right. “What happened? Where are we?”
“We were both kidnapped, I think.”, the Witch replied. “It happened so fast, I don’t quite remember anything very clearly.”
Julia started to say something, but was cut off by the loud blare of a trumpet. Her vision was naturally drawn to a King, looking down at the chamber from the top of a flight of stairs. Red and purple smoke curled around him, while he menacingly posed. Even from here, Julia could feel a strange, evil aura leaking off from him.

Chrisintheair began to slowly walk down the stairs, making sure that each step was as full of power and presence as possible. Once he reached the end of the flight, he spread his arms open wide, as if to welcome Julia and Yaga. A pair of Pekkas stepped behind him.
“Friends!”, he shouted, and widely grinned. “Do not fear, rejoice! For your meaningless lives now have new purpose.”
Julia’s breath caught in her throat. Even though she tried to fight it, she could feel the overwhelming fear cast by the general situation crawl up her back, and gnaw at her chest. Fortunately, Yaga, always the brave one, spoke when Julia could not.
“Who are you?”, she snapped. “What is this place? Why did you take us?”
“I told you.”, said Chrisintheair. “I took you to give you a new life, here in the best clan, under the best king. I’m sure you might be feeling a little confused, but don’t worry- everything’s going to work out for the better. I promise.”
“You know, you got some nerve-”, Julia cried, finding her voice, but was suddenly cut off by a Royal Recruit slamming his shield across her face. She fell backwards, hitting her head on the hard plastic of the podium.
“Now, now, don’t be like that.”, Chrisintheair said. “Remember, these are our new friends. Don’t hurt them.”
Yaga tried to reach for Julia, to comfort her somewhat, but she could not move from the magical restraints that held her in place.

Song: Un’altra persona

Chrisintheair turned to the air, and put his hands together as if in prayer. He fell to his knees, and shouted into nothing. “Lord Grrshknn, look! I’ve done it! I’ve gotten them.”
Yaga watched him with morbid fascination. Who, or what was he talking to? There was no such troop as a Grrshknn, and it seemed like an odd name for a King. But maybe, if Yaga kept on watching, the mysterious recipient of Chrisintheair’s plea would show himself.
Almost immediately upon thinking these words, a searing headache flew to the front of Yaga’s mind. She dropped her staff as her hands flew to her head, trying to lesson the immense pressure.
“You want to see me?”, a voice boomed inside of her thoughts. “Good. Get used to the sight.”
The air over Chrisinthair swirled with darkness, and Yaga’s headache only increased. A low, evil hum sounded from all directions, and a portal opened in mid-air. And as Chrisintheair watched excitedly, the demonic force that was Grrshknn slowly moved out of it, and into the normal world. The crowd gasped with both shock and horror, as the otherworldly form of the demon hovered in the middle of the room. Grrshknn pondered the situation in front of him for a second, then arched an eyebrow in pleasant surprise. “So you have, Chris.”, he rumbled. “So you have.”

He floated over to Julia and Yaga, picking them both up with storm clouds of arms. He held them in front of his massive, tusked maw, then let them fall onto the pedestals on which they were bound. “Good.”, he said, and turned to leave. “Do with them what you wish.”
But before he could, he heard Chrisintheair cough behind him. Grrshknn stopped, his trail of smoke coming to an abrupt halt. “Lord Grrshknn, sir?”, said the King. “Didn’t you forget something?”
Grrshknn instantly went from a tall, dark cloud to an overly muscled bear, arms folded, on the floor in front of Chrisintheair. Even though he was pressed up against the ground, he still towered over Chrisintheair like a Pekka over an Archer. “Oh, did I now? Tell me, Chris, what did I forget?”
Chrisintheair gathered his thoughts, trying to hide his nervousness from the demon looming over him. It was hard to think, with the intense yellow eyes of Grrshknn boring into his soul.
“You promised me power, Lord Grrshknn.”, he finally said. “You told me that if I completed this assignment, you would give me power.”
Grrshknn mockingly tapped his chin with his claw. “Oh yes, I suppose I did. Totally slipped my mind, that one… very well then. Here you go.”
One of his claws lit up black, and he slowly brought it towards Chrisintheair’s forehead. “Hold still now, this won’t hurt a bit-”
The second Grrshknn’s claw touched Chrisintheair’s forehead, there was a great flash of red light, temporarily blinding anyone in the room.

Once the light subsided, Chrisintheair lay on the floor, utterly still. His eyes were open, although no signs of life flickered within them. Murmurs spread throughout the crowd, Troops pushing their way to the front to get a better view of what seemed to be their King’s death.
Rick nudged Chad on the shoulder. “Yo, did he just-”
“No.”, Chad said. “No, he couldn’t have. Yeah, there’s no way. Why would he?”
They looked at each other. Would he?
Grrshknn looked at the anxious crowd, and sighed. Mortals clearly had no idea about the process of imparting demonic power. The gifted would typically show no signs of life for several hours at first, then would the bonuses start. But he knew that this crowd didn’t have that kind of attention span. So Grrshknn decided that, really, it wouldn’t be all that big of a problem if he sped up the process a little bit.
With a wave of his paw, and a massive surge of effort, Grrshknn grabbed the latent time strings around Chrisintheair’s body. Growling from the energy it took to do so, he yanked on the fabric of reality, sending Chrisintheair’s personal time stream through a short boost that served as more than enough time for the King to awaken.

Song: Dark Rebirth

Chrisintheair tasted blood. His vision was blurry, and his hearing faint. Yet despite this, he could feel something else surging through him. Something dark, ancient, and very very powerful.
He opened his eyes, and saw Grrshknn staring back at him. A faint overlay ran across his vision, displaying Grrshknn as Friendly.
“Yes, I’m alright.”, Chrisintheair said, knowing that that would likely be the first question everyone would ask him. “In fact, I’ve...never....felt...better…”
Even as he spoke, Chrisintheair could feel it. He could feel Grrshknn’s demonic power flowing through him, turning his blood to magic and his skin to iron. His fingers tingled with the urge to destroy, and his heart beat with an unnatural swiftness.
His head turned on its own, and he saw himself in a mirror. Running down from his eyes to his mouth were two long, black strips of charred flesh. He tenderly put a finger to one, but felt no pain, only a strange pleasure.
“In case you were wondering, I put those there.”, said Grrshknn. “Think of them as a reminder of where you got this power.”
“Yes…”, Chrisintheair said. “This...power…”

Without even really thinking about it, he ran his fingernails down his cheek. They swiftly drew blood with an inhuman sharpness, but the wound closed almost instantly. He scratched again, with the same result. Intrigued, he slashed all the way down to his shoulder as hard as he could. A spurt of blood jumped out of the wound, but his skin automatically knit shut without trouble.
Chrisintheair began to laugh. It started out as a low chuckle, then a harsh bark, then an aggressive cackle, then finally ended as a demonic ohohohohohoho that echoed beneath the bones of every Troop in the room.
“This power…”, he said. “I’ve never felt anything like it before! This strength… this vigor… this raw, untempered might!”
He looked at his hand, crawling with tendrils of dark mist. His mind became filled with names he had never known before- he assumed they were names of cards, but he didn’t really know- yet. He would find out, he promised himself. Void Wizard. Rakastamos. Blackness. Rakshadanore. The Dark Torrent.

“I have to try it out.”, he whispered. “I must… this power cannot be wasted.”
He looked down the room, and saw Julia. “You.”, he said. “You will be my first test subject.”
Julia’s heart spiked with fear. She saw the half-King, half-Demon creature lock eyes with her, and her body automatically scrambled to get away. But the magical restraints held her in place, and all she could do was scream.
“Don’t worry, Julia!”, Yaga said. “I’m sure everything will be fine. Just hold on.”
Julia looked at Yaga, her eyes trembling with terror. “You really think so?”
Yaga tried to give her best reassuring smile. “Julia, I know so-”
Then, in a flash, Chrisintheair was upon her. He grabbed Julia’s head, his claw-like nails digging into her flesh. “Hmmm, you seem to have a strong mind. Let’s just take a little look, shall we?”
Yaga screamed, and Julia lashed out with her leg. The impact connected firmly with Chrisintheair’s stomach, but if he felt it, he gave no indication. He squeezed tighter, and his hand began to glow red. “I think I’ll start with maybe a hard reboot.”

“No!”, Yaga and Julia shrieked as one, but it was too late. The pulse of destructive mental force burst outward from Chrisintheair, and into Julia’s soul.
“Julia, fight it-”, Yaga began, but she could already tell it was too late. Within a mere second, the power of the evil King had spread completely throughout Julia’s mind, and completely destroyed it.
When Chrisintheair let go of Julia’s head, the Bandit fell face forward. Her eyes, although moving, showed absolutely no emotion. Yaga could tell that there was absolutely nothing within her mind anymore. The Bandit she had known and loved was gone.
Chrisintheair picked her up, and looked into her blank eyes. “Oops, seems that I went a little overboard.”, he said. “I’ll have to be more careful next time. Now tell me, Julia, a little bit about yourself.”
“Julia?”, Julia asked robotically. “Is that my name?”
Oh, I really did do a number on her, Chrisintheair thought. “Yes, that is your name? Now, could you tell us about yourself?”
“I cannot.”, Julia said. “I am nothing. I have no memories, I cannot say who I am.”
“Huh.”, Chrisintheair thought. “Interesting indeed…”

As Yaga watched, her blood began to boil. She affixed her glare of rage on Chrisintheair, and clenched her fist. He would pay for what he had done, she would make sure of it. Even if it meant she died from the effort, at least some justice would be done. This monster had to die before he erased anyone else.
“And you, Witch…”, Chrisintheair said, and turned to Yaga. “You will be taken to the dungeon. I’n not sure what I’ll do with you, but I will do something. I’ve just got to get these powers under control.”
“You...you…”, Yaga said, shaking from pure anger. She looked up, and her eyes flashed. “You won’t get away with this!”
She lunged forward, right into the waiting arms of Nidavaleer, the Mega Knight. He looked to Chrisintheair, who nodded assuredly, and the silent titan carried Yaga off towards her doom.
“Chris.”, said Grrshknn. “Before I leave, I have one more thing to say to you.”
“What is it, Lord Grrshknn?”, Chrisintheair asked. “What more do you have to give me?”
“Your name is no longer fitting of your new stature.”, Grrshknn said. “You need a new one.”
“I do.”, said Chrisintheair. “I think I do… but tell me, what shall I know be known by?”
“Hmm…”, Grrshknn said, thinking. “How about you take a knee, while I decide?”
“Certainly, Lord Grrshknn, sir.”, said the currently nameless king, and kneeled down into the correct position. “I will wait.”
“Okay, I’ve got it.”, said Grrshknn, after about ten seconds of thinking. “I know your new, eternal, name.”
He put his claw on the King’s shoulder, then beckoned for him to rise. “Arise, my champion.”, he said with pride. “Arise… Ryusei_Nakao69.”

Chapter Text

Present Day

It was a very sunny Monday morning. As the light drifted in through the window into Brandy’s room, she slowly woke up. Sleep fell off of her, and she sat up. It was a bit odd, to her, that she was on the floor. She wasn’t on the Log, leaning up against the wall. She hadn’t been sleeping in her bed, either. She tried to think about why she was on the ground, then she remembered. The Phantom…
Brandy rubbed her eyes, and got up. She flipped her hood onto her head and adjusted her cloak, remembering the night before. How the Phantom had sung to her, how he had drawn her in, covered her in adoration. His promises of peace and safety still echoed in her mind, like sweet Elixir.
She pulled on her boots, opened the door, and looked out. It seemed as though everyone else was already awake, given that most of the doors were wide open, and those that weren’t were only that way because there was no door at all. Some Troops were like that. Brandy sniffed the air, and smelled the aroma of pancakes coming from downstairs. Her stomach unexpectedly rumbled. Dang, when was the last time I ate?, she thought, and hurried down the stairs.

Song: Silver Twist

Crink the Mini Pekka joyfully flipped another batch of pancakes from off the griddle to the ready plate with one arm, and used the other to expertly pour a helping of batter onto the stove. He chirruped with happiness at the opportunity to do what he liked best- making a ton of pancakes. He wasn’t sure why he liked it, but he did all the same.
“Oy, Crink!”, shouted Webert happily. “Could I get another round?”
Crink rotated on his torso, picking up a stack of 36 as he did so. “PAN. CAKES.”, he said, and stabbed his sword through the stack, leaving a neat hole. With masterful precision, he flung the stack onto Webert’s plate, where they slapped down with a pleasing smack.
“Thanks, dude.”, said Webert, and started to eat them. He didn’t need or want for silverware.
Crink grabbed his sword with one hand, twisting it to free it from the socket. It fell to the table, and he grabbed a bottle of maple syrup. He twisted the bottle into his hand socket, and smiled as much as his unchangeable robot face allowed him to.
Bending down, Crink grabbed his feet- or were they shoes?- and flipped the bottom off, revealing a pair of roller skates. He gently glided out of the kitchen and into the dining room, where almost all of Oticat’s troops had assembled to eat. The only empty chairs were the ones that belonged to Brandy- and of course, Dan. It had still been days since he had left, and he had sent back no word. Some were beginning to believe that he would never return.

Brandy arrived at the bottom of all seven flights of stairs, and looked out over the scene. A small spark lit inside her heart, and a bit of the dark cloud of despair that had hung over her for days began to break apart. Maybe, with the Phantom guarding her and loving her, everything would be alright. Maybe… but she could only hope.
“Hey, Brandy!”, Agatha said, and waved her over. “Looks like you’re finally awake.”
“Finally?”, Brandy asked. “What do you mean, finally?”
“It’s 10 o’ clock.”, said Agatha. “And judging from your face, you only woke up… 3 minutes ago. Speaking of which, where were you last night?”
“I was just in my room.”, said Brandy. “Asleep. Why do you ask?”
“Really.”, Agatha said. It wasn’t much of a question. “Because when I came to check on you, you weren’t there.”
“Oh, his cloak must have hidden me.”, Brandy realized. “And when he left, that’s why I was sleeping on the floor.”
Agatha’s mind lit up with alarm instantly at these words. “Him?”, she asked. “Brandy, were you… sleeping with someone?”
Brandy’s face slightly reddened, and she waved her hand. “Oh, no, not like that.”, she said. “We were just sleeping. That’s all we did. Nothing else.”
“Okay, but who?”, Agatha pressured. “Who was it?”
Brandy hesitated a bit. She wasn’t sure if the Phantom would like her telling anyone, but she did it anyway. “It was the Phantom.”, Brandy said. “In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came… he’s wonderful.”
Agatha racked her mind for anyone that could possibly be named “The Phantom.” A Royal Ghost, perhaps? But Oticat didn’t have any, and judging from what happened the last time Brandy was around one, she wasn’t likely to be sleeping with any anytime soon. Royal Ghosts were terrible singers, besides. “Is… he a Troop?”, Agatha ventured.
“No.”, Brandy said. “I think he said he was a… a Stand? Yeah, that was it.”

“A Stand…”, said Bowza, placing his plate on the table. “I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before.”
“Oh, good morning Bowza.”, Agatha said. “Perhaps you could help me figure out what Brandy is talking about.”
“Well, what are you talking about?”, Bowza asked Brandy. “What’s been going on in your life lately? Besides the obvious, I mean.”
“Well, I met this wonderful man.”, Brandy admitted. “He calls himself the Phantom. I don’t know what he is, but he wears a cloak and a mask. Just like me…”
Bowza and Agatha met eyes, and exchanged a bit of mental conversation.
Do you think she’s hallucinating?, Bowza asked. I don’t know what else could be going on.
No. Agatha answered. I think this is real. Do you remember that thing she stabbed herself with a few days ago?
The spear? Yes, I do, Bowza replied with a flick of his eye.
But that’s just the thing, Agatha said. It wasn’t a spear. It was an arrow. It was called…
Bowza’s memory jogged, and his eyes widened imperceptibly in shock. Agatha nodded.

A Stand Arrow, they both thought in unison, and turned once again to look at Brandy.
“Um, hello?”, she asked, startling the two back to reality. “Did you guys hear me?”
“Oh, sorry, no.”, Bowza said. “We were… thinking. What were you saying?”
Brandy sighed. “I said that I think I want to go for a walk this afternoon. I’m feeling better today.”
“I think we could do that, Brandy.”, said Agatha. “It’s good to see you’re improving.”
“Yeah.”, Brandy said wistfully. “It’s because of the Phantom.”
Bowza was about to say something, but was cut off when Plap the Goblin slapped his hand on the side of the table. “Letter for you, Brandy.”, he said. However, he said it in Gobbish, so nobody but Bowza understood.

Song: Himeru Omoi

“Ah, a letter.”, Bowza said, quickly snatching the letter out of Plap’s hands before he had a chance to eat it. “And for Brandy, how delightful.”
He handed the letter to Brandy, who took it with excitement. She delicately retrieved a letter opener from somewhere within her cloak, and held it to the fold of the envelope. “I bet it’s from Brenda.”, she said. “Asking me about something random, probably.”
She slit open the envelope, tipping over the letter into her hand. She took the folded up piece of paper in between her fingers, opened it, and gasped. Her face turned white, and the paper fell out of her hand.

“Brandy, what is it?”, Bowza asked with alarm. “What’s wrong with the letter?”
With lightning speed, one of Agatha’s Skeletons grabbed the falling paper, and briefly glanced at it. His jawbone fell to the floor, and he showed his two siblings. Their jaws dropped as well. Bowza extended his hand towards them, silently asking for the note. They dutifully handed it over, after taking another awe-struck look. Bowza unfolded the letter, and his eyes widened in shock. “Oh, in T’im’s honor.”, he whispered, and before Agatha could even ask, handed it to her. She took it, saw it, then crumpled it up, her face turning a lighter shade of purple from the anger.
On that letter were two things- both words and a picture. The picture was of Chad, wearing nothing but his helmet and posing dramatically. The words were “You’re looking nice today, Brandy. Thinking of you.”

Brandy grabbed her head in her hands, pressing it against the table. “No.”, she whispered. “This can’t be happening. They’re dead, I saw it. They’re all dead.”
“Larry.”, Agatha snapped. “Check the date on that envelope. When was the letter sent?”
Larry gave a smart salute, and grabbed the torn envelope from Plap just before he took a huge bite. Ignoring Plap’s protests, he scanned the paper for any numbers. It was only after a few seconds of staring that he remembered he couldn’t read.
I read? No., he signed to Agatha, because he also couldn’t speak. You read? Yes. Read paper.
Agatha grabbed the envelope from him, and saw the date- the letter had been sent almost 3 weeks ago. For unknown reasons, it had arrived only today.
“Brandy, it’s okay.”, she said. “This letter’s old. They’re still dead. Don’t worry.”

But Brandy didn’t respond. Even if it was just for a moment, the picture on the note had sent a dark torrent of evil memories running through her mind. Her skin tingled, and her heart beat faster with the recollection of her trauma. She gripped the sides of the table, and tried not to freak out any more than she already was.
“Brandy? Did you hear me?”, Agatha asked. “Can you hear me?”
“What?”, Brandy asked breathlessly. “What is it? What?”
“I said that this is an old letter.”, Agatha explained. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
Brandy’s breathing slowed, and her muscles started to unclench. The tingles running up her spine lessened, but did not stop completely. The memories stopped coming, and she was able to barely push them to the side. She pushed her chair outwards, and stood up.

“Okay.”, she said, but the dark aura of the past still clung to her soul. “I- I think I’ll go to my room.”
“That’s fine.”, Agatha said. “I understand. Do you still want to go on that walk?”
Brandy hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Agatha was about to say something else, but Brandy abruptly Dashed up the stairs, ending the conversation. A gust of wind blasted outwards in her wake, blowing Larry’s head clean off his shoulders and into a pile of maple syrup.
“Should we try talking to her?”, Agatha asked, but she already knew the answer.
“No, not yet.”, Bowza replied. “At this point, it will only make things worse.”
His glowing white eyes narrowed, and he turned towards the rightmost door- the way that lead to the massive downstairs library. “Right now, I think our time will be better spent researching.”
“Researching what?”, Agatha asked, but she thought she might have already known the answer to that as well.
“Stands.”, Bowza said. “We need to learn about Stands.”

Brandy made her way up the stairs, her heart still beating in her chest. Even if the letter was old, the sight of Chad naked had sent memories pulsing through her head- memories that she would much rather forget. Even if the letter was-
She stopped. The letter was old, yet it seemed as though it had been sent that day. Which, Brandy realized, meant that Ryusei_Nakao69 and TheEvilOverLords had been spying on her for weeks before they actually took her. They had clearly been planning her capture for a long time.
The thought made Brandy uneasy. “Why?”, she whispered to herself. “What did I do to them? What is it about me that made them want me so much?”
But she refused to lurk on the thought any longer. She pushed it out of her mind, and continued onwards towards her room.

Once she reached the door, she sighed. Even though it had been around a week since she had been rescued, sending the entire enemy castle into the stratosphere, the time she had spent there still haunted her. Even in death, Ryusei_Nakao69’s influence still remained.
She opened the door, and flipped on the light switch. Dave had been right- her room was an absolute mess. Dust covered everything, and half the floor was strewn with random objects. Her collections of random things, once carefully ordered and organized, now lay strewn across tabletops with no semblance of order. An entire empty Giant Chest lay shattered against the wall. It was time to clean up.

Song: Approach

“Ah, visitors.”, said Tef the Library Goblin. “What can I do for you today, Bowza and Agatha? Check out a book? Find some references? Anything, all you need to do is ask.”
He propped his elbows up on a desk, looking up at the two that had just entered the front of the vast room.
“We’re just here to do some research, Tef.”, said Bowza. “Nothing more.”
“Ah, research.”, Tef sighed. “Wonderful thing, that. Anything in particular that you’re looking for?”
“Stands.”, Agatha said. “I don’t suppose you’d have that, would you?”
Tef’s pupils diluted in thought. “Well, this library has information on such a vast amount of subjects I don’t even know it all. I’m sure we have something, over there in the S section.”
He pointed his thumb towards the left-back of the many stacks of bookshelves, and Bowza gave a quick nod. “Thank you, Tef. Your help is most appreciated.”

“Hmm, let’s see…” murmured a deep, rich voice in the middle of the B section of the library, although nobody heard. “Where’s the Bandit book…”
An ethereal hand thumbed through the rows of books, searching for the one he needed. “It should just be here, but it’s not…”
A Wizard came strolling through the aisles, books on Spells stacked up over his face. He couldn’t see where he was going, but made up for it with sheer memory. But his memory was foiled when instead of going through a normally clear space in the aisle, he bumped into something. He mumbled out an apology, then craned his neck to look at whoever he had bumped into. But to his surprise, there was nothing there.
“Ah, this one will be helpful.”, said the Phantom. “Tell me, friend, where is the book on Bandits?”

But the Wizard was not a Stand User, and thus did not see him. He just kept on trying to get past the invisible figure of the Phantom, with increasing frustration and no results. The Phantom realized his mistake, and with a wave of his hand, made himself visible.
“Tell me, friend,” he said, his words slightly more strained than before, “Where is the book on Bandits?”
Had the Wizard been a little less distracted, he would have reacted to the Phantom in terror. But his thoughts were somewhere else, so he just pointed to the bottom of the shelf, grunted, and left.
“Thank you, sir.”, said the Phantom, although the words fell on no ears but his own. He knelt down into the floor and ran his gaze across the bottom shelf, reading such titles as A Bandit’s strategy guide, The Story of Juno, the Primal Bandit, and Physiology of a Bandit. It was that last one he was looking for, and he pulled it out with a smile.
He thumbed through the pages quickly, only bothering to read the headings at the top of each page. “Average weight… average height… average names… aha! Here we are, intimacy.”
He opened the book to its full width, and began to read. Unique or special erogenous zones… he thought. Around the hollows of the eyes, yes, the small of the back, the bottoms of the feet, the ears…
He withdrew a little bit, and frowned. The ears? That certainly was a weird spot, but…
If this is what will make Brandy happy, then so be it, he thought, and slammed the book shut.
He briefly considered reading some of the rest of the book, but then though against it. He had no time. He was supposed to report back to his user.

“Stands… Stands… Stands…”, muttered Bowza to himself, running his finger along the line of books. “Hmm, don’t see anything- Agatha, is there anything on the right side?”
“No.”, Agatha said, who was looking at the right side of the bookshelves while Bowza checked the left. “Not yet.”
“Do you think any book exists?”, Bowza asked. “I’ve never even heard of Stands until recently. There’s most likely very little information on them at all.”
“Yes, but a little is still something.”, said Agatha. “And if there’s something, than there’s a book on it.”
Bowza nodded in agreement, and looked forward. His gaze almost passed over a very small, weathered book on the bottom shelf- almost. But a small piece of silver glinted off the spine, catching his eye. Oh?, he thought, and leaned down. He extracted the book from its shelf, and smiled. He wasn’t sure exactly what he had been looking for, but “Everything we know about Stands” seemed to be it.

“Is that it?”, Agatha asked. “Did you find it?”
The book was thin, probably only about 20 pages. The cover, which accounted for most of the book’s weight, was covered in raw chunks of gold, silver, and platinum. A strange light hummed off the pages, and distant whispers seemed to be coming from within. “It is.”, Bowza said.
He opened the book, cleared his throat, and began to read aloud so Agatha could hear as well.
“A Stand is the physical manifestation of one’s spiritual and mental energy.”, he said with curiosity, learning even as he spoke. “There are several different types- close-range, remote, bound, and ability Stands, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. One can only have one Stand.”
There was too much information on the rest of the page for Bowza to read aloud, so he stopped talking and just scanned the page. The information excited him- he had no idea there was such an odd thing in existence.
“Bowza, what does it say?”, Agatha asked, slightly impatient. “What did you find out?”
Bowza read for a few more moments, then looked up. “Well, I found out what’s going on with Brandy. Sort of.”

Song: The Stardust Man Appears

Brandy rummaged around in her dresser, reaching for anything that wasn’t a spare uniform. She had started cleaning- well, sometimes cleaning and sometimes finding something from months or years ago, staring at it, then putting it back without cleaning anything. Also, she had found several spiders.
Her hand hit wood, signaling that she had hit the back of the dresser. It was clear of anything that didn’t belong there. Brandy pulled her arm out, and set her sights on a Super Magical Chest leaning against the wall. It was in good condition, fortunately for her. Even though it was empty, a Super Magical Chest would fetch quite a bit on the open market. Ever since their phasing out and replacement with Mega Lightning Chests a few months back, they had become ever more desired by collectors. But Brandy couldn’t remember what she had been using it for. She would just have to find out.

Brandy cracked open the lid to the immense Chest, sending up a huge puff of dust as she did so. Coughing, she waved the dust away, and looked inside. Dozens of black boxes, all stacked up, filled the Chest to the brim. “What are those?”, Brandy whispered to herself, and reached in.
She grabbed one of the boxes, feeling around for any sort of lock. There wasn’t one, just a button to be pressed for opening. She did so, and the box cracked open, revealing dozens of thin white sheets. “Cards?”, she mumbled. “Are these Cards? Did I just hit the motherload?”
But as she pulled one out to inspect, she realized they weren’t Cards at all. A pang of memory hit her heart as she realized that they were photographs.

“The Phantom that Brandy keeps on talking about seems to be a long-range Stand.”, Bowza said. “His user could be anywhere, most likely far out of our reach. The reason we can’t see him is because we’re not Stand users. I don’t know what plans he has for Brandy, but they most likely aren’t good.”
“Didn’t that say that Stands are given to those who are stabbed by an Arrow?”, Agatha asked.
“Yes, it did.”, Bowza asked. “Why?”
“Well, Brandy stabbed herself with it.”, Agatha said. “And then the Phantom started appearing. What if he’s her Stand?”
The two were silent for a moment, as they considered this implication. The only sound that could be heard were the various coughs and hums of Wizards studying and books being moved around.

“Yes…”, said Bowza finally. “That could be. Especially once you factor in the fact that Stands are typically born from whatever their user wants most.”
“And the Phantom seems to want to bring Brandy comfort, and protection.”, Agatha said, catching on. “And those two things do seem to be the things that Brandy wants most right now.”
“Well then, we’ll leave the Phantom alone.”, Bowza said. “We don’t want Brandy getting hurt.”
The two stood up, and shook hands. Their study session had concluded in a most positive manner.
“Say, do you think we’ll ever run into one of those Stand Arrows again?”, Agatha asked. “I think I might want a Stand.”
“Perhaps.”, Bowza said, and put his arm around her. “If the stars are right.”
As they left the library, they did not sense a pair of curious eyes watching them. They couldn’t, for they could not sense the Phantom.

“Aw, this one’s of me.”, Brandy said. “This looks like one of my very first battles- look how excited I am.”
In the picture, Oticat had just won. Trevor, the Giant that Webert had replaced, was hoisting a Golden Chest above the group, with Brandy riding on top. She had both fists raised to the sky, and her expression was wilder than a Hog on Dark Elixir. Brandy sighed wistfully, placed the photo to the side, and pulled out the next one.
“Oh, and this one’s of me too.”, she said. “Huh, this one was taken just a few weeks ago.”
This one was of her, pouring herself some Elixir from the cooler in the workout room, during a party. It was from the back, and it seemed totally candid. It was, Brandy thought, honestly a little creepy. She put that one to the other side and pulled out another.

“And this one’s of me, too.”, she said, suspicion clouding her voice. “And it’s of me sleeping?”
Trying to fight the alarm growing within her, Brandy began frantically pulling out photographs from the box, taking a moment to look at each one before dropping them to the side. Each and every one of them was of her- in various, seemingly random times of her life.
“Okay, maybe that’s just my box.”, she said, trying to calm herself. “Maybe if I take out another one, it’ll be of someone else.”
With shaking hands, Brandy pulled out another box. And then, she noticed something that she hadn’t noticed before. On the box from before, it read in white chalk “Subject collection 8.”
She checked the box that had just barely been pulled out. It read “Subject collection 9.”

Brandy took a step backwards in shock. Had someone been taking pictures of her without her knowing? How had they stored them here, right underneath her nose? Who would have done this? It would have taken her entire life in order to catalog this many photos.
Brandy thought she was about to put the rest of the pictures away, and go ask someone about it. But to her surprise, she found that her body was instead drawing out another picture. This one was of her, same as all the others- but in this photograph, Brandy was young. Very young, in fact- judging from the photo, she couldn’t have been more than 6 years old.
Brandy’s mind raced. 6 years old? How was that possible? She had only been unlocked about 2 years ago, and Brandy knew that she was more than a mere 8 years old. No, wait.
She wasn’t. Or was she? Her mind swam with questions. What was she thinking, about age? Troops didn’t have real ages, they were born fully formed out of Chests. But if that was true, then why was age even a concept that Brandy understood so naturally? She had never heard anyone talk about it. How did age even work? Why were some Troops just naturally more mature than others?
With a sharp mental shock, Brandy realized that more and more of her world suddenly started to not make sense. Was it natural for Troops to be born from Chests? Or was normal birth more common, and Brandy just didn’t realize it?

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and Brandy looked up. She hurriedly shoved the photo into a random box, and shoved the Super Magical Chest against the wall. “Yes, come in.”, she said.
A dark shadow slipped through the door, and Brandy’s heart lifted. Maybe the Phantom could explain it. He seemed to know quite a lot. She stood up. “Oh, Phantom.”, she said. “I’m so glad you came-”
But then, the shadow revealed its face, and Brandy’s relief turned to icy fear. The figure wore not the benevolent masked face of the Phantom, but the helmet and curved horns of an Elite Barbarian. He smiled, and cracked his knuckles. “Hello, cutie pie.”, he said.

Chapter Text

Song: Shoot Towards the Decisive Battle

“You… you…”, Brandy tried to shout, but her words came out as a damaged whisper. “You can’t be here. You’re dead.”
The ethereal figure of Chad spread out his arms. “So I am, Brandy.”, he said. “So I am. But fortunately, that just opens up more room. You see, in this form-”
He drew his sword, and tossed it to the right. With a glimmering whine, it flew back to his outstretched hand. He ran his tongue across the blade, a wicked leer in his eye.
“I have many more things I can do. More places I can go.”, he said, and drifted forward towards Brandy. “No defense can stop me, no wall can bar me entrance.”
Brandy backed up, looking for something to throw. Her hand scrabbled around her desk, finally landing on a folded piece of metal- Dan’s old mustache trimmer. This detail went unnoticed by anyone, however, as she curled her fingers around it and held it up.
“Stay- stay back.”, she stuttered. “I’m warning you. I’m-”
She tried to say not afraid of you any more, but deep down, she knew that wasn’t true. Intense, blinding fear still radiated through her like a plague, bubbling up from her subconscious.
Chad spread his arms open wide, and dove towards Brandy. She quickly rolled to the right, and he smashed through the front of her bed. She got up and started running for the door, trying to make it out before he got her. If she found someone, anyone, they could help.

“Thinking about leaving, Brandy?”, Chad boomed, and folded in on himself. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”
Brandy kept on running, not looking back. She was just footsteps away from the door when Chad reappeared in space right in front of her, and spread his cloak like a billowing wind. Brandy yelped and immediately backpedaled, trying to run in whatever direction Chad wasn’t. She wasn’t thinking clearly, her mind racing with overwhelming terror.
“Where are you going, Brandy?”, Chad chuckled. “Don’t you want to say hi?”
He raced after her, his massive shadowy form growing. His eyes glowed crimson, and he left a trail of near-visible evil as he went. Brandy turned around, and saw the nightmare bearing down on her faster than she could run. There was only one chance for her now.

As Chad closed the distance, Brandy breathed in. She concentrated the energy of her Dash into her fist, setting it vibrating with light blue waves of force. She moved her hand behind her, getting ready to punch. If such a powerful technique didn’t take Chad down, nothing she could do would.
Chad’s ghost crossed the rest of the room in a second, and reared up in front of her. A deep scream could be heard from somewhere within him, almost as if there was something trapped inside. “Brandy, put your fist down. You know you want to come with me.”
Brandy’s eyes narrowed. “Like death.”, she growled, and threw her fists forward in a rapid-fire barrage of punches that tore the air around them. “Doraoraoraoraoraora!”
But even as the blows tore through Chad’s ethereal form, they did nothing to harm him. He merely sighed and grabbed both of Brandy’s arms. “And here, I thought we were doing so well.”

He twisted Brandy’s arms behind her back, and she grunted in pain. He flowed onto her bed, bringing her with him, and pressed her into the mattress. With both her arms restrained by his weight, he withdrew his hands and held them up.
“Go ahead, Brandy.”, said Chad. “Scream all you want, there’s no one that can hear you. I already dampened the door’s sound. Nothing will get through.”
Brandy squirmed and kicked, but the pressure of Chad’s body over hers was too much to escape. He savagely forced one hand inside her mouth, yanking it open, and started to slowly run the other across her stomach. Brandy’s heart beat faster, and she tried as hard as she could to escape Chad’s grasp. But there was nothing that she could do.
“Oh, poor, poor, Brandy.”, Chad crooned mockingly. “If only all that strength we gave you meant anything against my power. But it doesn’t…”
He forced Brandy’s mouth further open, and started to slide his other hand lower, past Brandy’s belt. He saw her terrified eyes, with a hint of confusion in them. “Oh? What’s that? What do I mean by the power we gave you? Well, since I’m such a nice guy, I’ll tell you.”

Drool dripped from Brandy’s mouth, and Chad’s finger ran up and around her inner thighs. A tendril of darkness grew from the umbra of evil that made up Chad’s body, winding around her legs and arms. At the edge, it carried a thick leather strap, a hard plastic ball in the center.
“When you almost fought your way out of our Castle, you showed astonishing strength for a mere level 9 Bandit.”, said Chad. “And why do you think that is?”
Chad jabbed his lower hand higher, and Brandy screamed. But the sound was absorbed by the door, and was heard by nobody but the two.
“We gave you that power.”, Chad explained. “During those two days before you woke up, you weren’t really unconscious. Your mind just naturally redacted the memory, because what happened to you was too mind-breaking for anyone to stand.”
The tendril of darkness slapped the ball gag against Brandy’s mouth, tying it in within a second. Now free, Chad’s other hand traveled down Brandy’s face, drawing a line of ink as it went.

“We decided to experiment on your body.”, Chad said. “For almost two straight days, you were continually almost destroyed, then rebuilt. Almost no part of your body is the same, now. Once our curiosity was satisfied, we rebuilt you- into the perfect little slave.”
Chad’s lower hand started to move faster, sending spasms of panicked energy throughout Brandy’s entire body. She strained against the gag, but it only dug deeper into her. Chad’s other hand reached her chest, and began to squeeze random areas.
“You see, you may look Blue on the outside.”, Chad said, and the cloak of shadows around Brandy began to close in. “But on the inside, where it really counts-”
A pulse of dark power traveled through both of Chad’s hands, and into Brandy. She felt her control on her own body weakening, and her vision turning a sickly shade of crimson.
“You are nothing… but… Red!”, Chad growled, and the cloak covered Brandy completely. She couldn’t see. She could barely hear anything happening outside, which was nothing. The only thing that was happening to Brandy, from her point of view, was Chad’s total violation of her body and mind. His upper hand, quickly bored of Brandy’s chest, moved down to her stomach, and felt around. His evil face lit up with sadistic glee.
“My, did I do that?”, he asked. “What delightful handiwork. Once I take you, you’re going to help me raise him, and however many other children I choose to fill you with. I think I’ll call him L-”

Song: Fight to Antagonize

Chad stopped in mid-sentence. He choked on his words, and the darkness began to withdraw. The gag dropped from Brandy’s mouth, and she breathed in a massive breath of much-needed air. The tendrils of darkness vanished abruptly, and Chad fell backwards onto the floor. He looked up, and snarled in rage. “You’re…”
Brandy looked over her shoulder, and saw the most welcome sight she could imagine. She gasped with relief, and hope flooded her mind and body. “You’re…”
The sword hanging in the air where Chad had been withdrew, and floated neatly back into the scabbard of its master. Black eyes glinted nobly, and the low light shone off the white of a mask.
“The Phantom!”, shouted both Brandy and Chad, with either happiness or rage.
“You filth…”, the Phantom growled, with barely contained fury. “What are you doing to her?”
“That’s none of your business, boy.”, Chad said, and stood. The wound in his chest slowly closed, and the darkness appeared around him once again. “Now if you do-”
The Phantom didn’t wait for Chad to finish his sentence. Instead, he ducked under Chad’s reach, drew his sword in a flash of light, and swung upwards, severing the ghostly Elite Barbarian’s arm. Chad bellowed in pain, and tried to reach for his sword with the other, but the Phantom was already on it. Almost vanishingly fast, he switched the sword to his other hand, and cut off Chad’s other arm.

Chad roared in pain, but he wasn’t done yet. He concentrated his dark energy, and his arms began to regrow, shoot by shoot and tendril by tendril. “Phantom…”, he growled. “What… what are you?”
“You don’t get to know that information.”, the Phantom replied, and raised his sword. He slowly rotated it behind him, in a stance that everyone there recognized as the Cutter’s Folly. It was incredibly destructive, but only if you couldn’t defend against it. And judging from Chad’s current state, it looked like he couldn’t.
The Phantom’s eyes narrowed with hatred. Pure silver light flickered on the edge of his blade, and he slowly brought it forwards. “Goodbye.”
A terrifying storm of sword strokes hit Chad full on, right in the face and chest. With his arms still regrowing, he had no way to defend. “Horahorahorahorahorahorahorahorahorahorahorahorahora!”, the Phantom screamed, each upslash and downfall of his blade slashing open Chad’s ghostly skin in some new place. Light purple Elixir flowed from the wounds, puddling up on the floor, until Chad had been cut to ribbons by the attack rush that the Phantom had unleashed.
He stood there for a few seconds, then wiped the blood and Elixir off his blade. He gently sheathed it, turned, and put two fingers to his forehead.
“Arrivederci.”

He stood there for a few more moments, then turned to Brandy. She slowly got up, and walked over to him. She looked up into the Phantom’s face, her eyes trembling.
“You… you just saved my life.”, she whispered. “You killed him.”
But the Phantom just stared over her, into a distance only he could see. “Alas, it is not so.”, he said. “For that was not the ghost of your dead tormentor, but something else.”
“It wasn’t him?”, Brandy asked. “Well then, what was it?”
The Phantom folded his arms. “It was another Stand.”, he said. “It appears that there’s an enemy Stand user somewhere afoot. I think it’s long range.”
Upon hearing these words, faint flickers of meaning echoed at the back of Brandy’s mind, but not really anything she could get a grip on. She would have to find out more about Stands later- maybe Bowza would know. For now, the dark pain that gripped her mind would have to be healed.
She lay against the Phantom’s chest, to his somewhat surprise. “Hold me.”, she said. “I need you to hold me.”

The Phantom was a little taken aback by her suddenness, but recovered quickly. “Okay.”, he said, and wrapped his arms around Brandy. “I will.”
His long arms grew even longer, twirling around Brandy like vines. His tall, lanky figure towered over her, yet he felt cozy as a fireplace. His delicate, watch-maker fingers traced a pattern around the edges of Brandy’s mask, sending strange twinges of delight through her body.
“Why…”, she whispered, even as he did it more. “Why does that feel so good?”
“I don’t precisely know.”, the Phantom admitted. “But according to my research, the borders of your mask are just one of the special pleasure zones on your body.”
“Re-really?”, Brandy asked, blushing. “What… what are the others?”
“Well, did you know your ears are one?”, the Phantom said, and slowly drew his fingers up towards Brandy’s earlobes.
“My ears?”, Brandy asked. “But that doesn’t make any se- oohhh….”

The Phantom gently ran his finger along Brandy’s earlobe, sending a wave of strange ecstasy through her. He barely squeezed, and Brandy’s body tightened involuntarily. “See?”, he said. “Your ears…”

Brandy let out a small moan, and her eyes closed. Passion, awoken from despair by the Phantom’s loving embrace, surged through her. Slowly, one of her hands worked its way down the Phantom’s torso, towards his legs.
“Phantom.”, she whispered, trying to remain in control of herself. “I…”
“What is it, Brandy?”, the Phantom asked. “Go on, tell me.”
Brandy smiled, and her face turned red. “I love you. I want you. Take me.”
She leaned in further into the Phantom’s depths, and uttered the words she thought that she would never say. “I’m yours.”
“No.”, said the Phantom, and covered her eyes. “I’m yours. And yet, you are mine. You see, Brandy, love is not just one way. It flows equally, like a sacred river. Neither side can exist without the other, granting their utmost devotion. So don’t say you’re mine. Because we are each other’s.”

Brandy listened, taking in every word like it was the last gulp of Elixir in the desert. “You’re right.”, she said, and turned around, burying her face in the Phantom’s cloak. “You’re so right…”
They stood there, for a moment, until Brandy looked up. “Please.”, she whispered, her voice warm. “I want to… want to…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but the Phantom knew what she was asking. He stroked her face, and smiled lovingly. “I know, Brandy. I want to, too.”
He began to slowly walk towards the bed, carrying Brandy with him. “So let’s do it.”
He lay down, and Brandy with him. They stared at each other. Brandy knew that for the first time, she wanted to do this. All the other times, it had been forced. But now, this time, it was to be pure.
The light turned off, and the door locked automatically. And they loved each other, until night fell over them like a warm blanket, and peace filled their souls.

Chapter Text

8 months earlier

Song: Dark Rebirth

“Chadwick.”, said the voice of Ryusei_Nakao69. “Richard. Tell me, what have you brought me today?”
“Oh, just another Night Witch, my lord.”, said Chad, and smartly saluted. Rick tossed up the unconscious body of the Night Witch onto the table where Ryusei_Nakao69 sat. “We found her in the woods, just sort of wandering around.”
“Hmph.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 sat. “She’s not the best, but she’ll do.”
He stood up, pushing his chair off the platform where he sat. Shadows pooled around him like water, coming from both the low light and his own evil presence. “Besides, I have much more… important… matters to attend to.”
He looked at himself in the mirror, and ran his fingers down the long black scars that now adorned his cheeks. Sometimes, when no one was around, he would just sort of sit there, and wonder what he had become. What kind of King he was, consorting with demons, and kidnapping innocent Troops. But then, the dark power of Grrshknn would return to him, and the thoughts would be eliminated completely.
“Call a Clan Meeting.”, he said to no one in particular. He knew that even if he addressed nobody, someone would answer all the same. “I have some big news, for the future.”

“Yes, sir.”, Chad said, and sharply saluted. “I will.”
He and Rick both left the room, leaving Ryusei_Nakao69 with his thoughts.
I wonder…, he thought. I know I can destroy things with this power, but what can I create?
He waved an experimental hand, and thought of that most basic of objects- a single Gold coin. As he did so, he felt his hand slow in mid-air, as if he was trying to wave it through molasses. He almost stopped, but when he saw a shining coin slowly appear on the table, he continued with redoubled effort. Once he moved his hand all the way to the side, the Gold coin lay complete on the table. Ryusei_Nakao69 picked it up with curiosity, gave it a quick examination, and saw nothing wrong. He had just created a completely legitimate Gold coin out of nothing, with his sheer power.
A pity a single Gold coin is worth hardly anything, he thought. Perhaps if I tried it with a Gem, or a Card, or a Trade Token. Yes, that would be a far more worthwhile use…
He tried to make something again, this time using both hands. He just so happened to be quite hungry, so he thought of a plate of freshly cut cheese. As he yanked his hands through the air, a nondescript white plate appeared, with strips of equally white cheese on top of them.
Reaching for one, he found that it did not crumble to the touch- no, it felt like a fine mozzarella. He picked it up, and took a delicate bite. Ryusei_Nakao69 started to chew on it, not noticing in time that his finger was still in his mouth.

But even as he bit down on his own fingertip, cutting off the end and sending blood spilling into his throat, Ryusei_Nakao69’s eyes widened with delight. The taste of blood filled his mouth and covered his tongue, but he was not repulsed. In fact, he found that he quite liked the taste. It sent a strange feeling coursing across his skin, some form of demonic power.

“Er, Lord Ryusei_Nakao69, sir?”squeaked a small voice from somewhere nearby. “We’re ready for you now.”
He looked down, to see a Goblin cowering behind a curtain, clipboard in hand. He seemed very afraid, for good reason. But to Ryusei_Nakao69, that reason was no reason at all.
“Glarb,”, he said, and bent down. “Why are you afraid of me? I’m still your King. I haven’t changed. Well, I have, but not in any large fashion.”
His fingertips lit up black, and he ran them down the scars on his cheeks. “I may look different, but inside, I’m still the King you’ve always known.”
Yet even as he spoke, Ryusei_Nakao69 tried to convince himself of this fact. The truth was, he hadn’t fully felt like himself since Grrhsknn had given him his dark rebirth. Every day when he woke up, the sensation of demonic strength would flood through him. It felt stranger each time, yet also seemed more familiar.

“I- I guess you’re right, Chris.”, said Glarb, then realized his slip. “I- I mean Ryusei_Nakao69. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.”, said the King, with a wave of his hand. “Now open the curtain. I have a speech to make.”
He moved past the still nervous Goblin, and onto the stage. Glarb obeyed orders, and pulled on a hidden rope. The thick, blood-red cloth of the curtain moved upwards, revealing Ryusei_Nakao69 at the podium. He didn’t know it, but blood still dripped from the corners of his mouth, giving him a truly ghastly appearance.
“Everyone, thank you for coming.”, he said with an evil grin. “I have some important news to discuss. Yes, very important indeed.”
He spread his arms open wide, the flickering torches on the walls hiding his face under a blanket of shadow. Yet his eyes shone through, casting an eerie red light.
“With Lord Grrshknn’s help, I have ascended far past the lowly station of King, and become something far more.”, he said. “And now, I would like to do the same to all of you.”
There were reactions among the audience at once. Some of them recoiled, the very thought of being transformed hideous beyond belief. Others leaned forward in their chairs, not wanting to miss any opportunity at power. A few didn’t know what to think about it, looking around at their neighbors for guidance. But no matter what anyone thought, Ryusei_Nakao69 definitely had their attention.
“I’ve already made plans to upgrade the Castle.”, he said, attracting the panic of several idle Builders. “But don’t worry Builders, you won’t have to do a thing.”
They relaxed, if a little confused, and Ryusei_Nakao69 continued. “Lord Grrshknn will work his magic on the entire structure, and make it a Castle worthy of one such as I. Speaking of which…”
He pointed at the audience. “Co-Leaders, choose your favorite Troop. And come with me.”

He walked off the stage, leaving the audience in confused ranks. The current Co-Leaders- sheerpalpatations and TheWhiteWizard- both looked among their assembled Troops. It was hard to pick one as their favorite. But the Troops weren’t entirely sure that they wanted to be Chosen. They did not know what would become of them if they were.
“Er, um…”, sheerpalpatations stammered, trying to choose. He soon realized that he couldn’t, and so he just pointed to someone random. “Bailey.”, he said. “Come with me.”
“Fred.”, TheWhiteWizard decided. “I have chosen you.”

Bailey blinked, and pointed to herself. Sheerpalpatations nodded, and waved his hand in beckoning. Well, hope nothing bad happens, Bailey thought, and hopped over a row of chairs to follow her king.
“Uh, okay, sir.”, Fred said, and cracked his knuckles, slamming one fist against an open palm. “Let’s get this.”
TheWhiteWizard followed sheerpalpatations and Bailey up the stairs to where Ryusei_Nakao69 was waiting, the huge figure of Fred in tow.

Once the two had caught up with him, Ryusei_Nakao69 opened a hidden door on the wall with a flick of his wrist, and ushered them inside. “Quickly.”, he said. “We don’t have much time before he gets here.”
“Before who gets here-”, Bailey began, but her words were cut off. For the darkest shadow she had ever been in the presence of suddenly spilled into the room, instantly dousing the lights and burying them all in darkness.

Song: Un’altra Persona

A face emerged from the nothing. Long, gaping tusks flashed into being, illuminated by vicious yellow eyes. Thick, matted fur formed from the inky shadow, and the hulking form of Grrshknn landed on the floor. He made so sound or vibration, but the hard stone floor buckled underneath him, all the same.
“Ah, I see you’ve brought me the chosen.”, he said. “But, tell me, where are yours?”
“You- you mean Chad and Rick?, asked Ryusei_Nakao69. “Oh, they’re right here.”
The two Elite Barbarians walked out from the wall, in full formation. “Hey, what’s up?”, Chad almost asked, but decided against it. One look at Grrshknn convinced him otherwise.
“So everyone’s gathered, then.”, Grrshknn growled. “Good- now we can begin.”
His face grew, and split. It spun around to each and every Troop and King, staring them each into the eye. “Yes… yes…”, he said. “You will do nicely indeed.”
His claw lifted, then refracted into a dozen different angles. Each one hovered over a forehead, then began to move down. Bailey sucked in her breath, and TheWhiteWizard flinched.
“Now, now.”, Grrshknn said. “Hold still, or I won’t be able to complete the process.”
He gently touched his claw to each forehead of the Chosen, and there was a massive, deafening explosion of red.

Song: Another face, same mind

Once the energy cleared, and the Troops and Kings began once again to open their eyes, Grrshknn was nowhere to be found. But his power still remained, buried deep within a certain six individuals.
“Are you alright?”, asked Ryusei_Nakao69, seeing his two closest friends in such a state of shock. “Bit of a knock there, wasn’t it?”
Sheerpalpatations looked up, his hand on his forehead. His skin stung with power, and his head swam with visions of demonic vigor. “I…”, he said.
“I am sheerpalpatations no longer.”, he finished. “From now on…”
He clenched a fist, and crimson flowed from his hand to his forehead. “I am thesenate.”
“I agree, thesenate.”, said the King known formally as TheWhiteWizard. “Because I, too, have changed my name. From now on, you may call me…”
He stared forward, with a hard gleam in his eye. “LeChris.”

Fred clenched his muscles, marveling at their newfound strength. He had always been very strong, because he was a Giant, but this was just on a whole other level. He felt like he could bring down a Princess Tower with a single shot. He felt like he could take on an Army, and win. He felt invincible.
Chad, too, had been changed. Most of the power had flown from Rick into him, and he was thus now far stronger than his brother ever had been. The edges of his helmet’s horns twisted into enraged shapes, and his sword slightly glowed blood-red. He affixed Rick with a look, and they both bumped fists and grinned.
Only Bailey, staring confusingly at her hands, had seemingly not been affected. She didn’t feel any different at all, just a little exhausted from the ordeal. What’s wrong with me?, she asked herself. Am I not worthy? Did I do something… wrong? Is Grrhsknn going to be unhappy about this- about me?
But a voice in her ear soon lessened her fears.

“Don’t worry, Bran- I mean, Bailey”, Grrshknn rumbled. “Your power will come, eventually. You have the potential to be stronger than all these others, but you are not ready to handle that yet. But I assure you, when you need it most, your powers will manifest.”
And then he really was gone, leaving in the air only dust, darkness, and the stench of rotting souls.
Ryusei_Nakao69 clapped his hands together. “Well then!”, he said with authority. “Now that we’ve renamed ourselves, I think its only fitting that we rename the Clan.”
“I say we call it the Chad Fan Club.”, said Chad, but no one really heard him. It sent a little twinge down his face.
“Yes, meandtheboys just doesn’t really cut it anymore, now does it?”, said LeChris, stroking his beard. “We need something… better…”
Ryusei_Nakao69 got a sudden, inspired idea, and put his finger up in the air. “I’ve got it!”, he said, and everyone turned to look. “Meandtheboys is no longer! From now on, we are…”
The tip of his finger lit up with a miniscule fire, adding just the right amount of dramatic effect to his words. “TheEvilOverLords.”

Chapter Text

Present Day

It was a quiet Tuesday. The sky was blue, unsullied by any clouds or rain. It had, however, rained last night, and the air was cleaner for it.

Brandy stumbled out of her room, pushing her bangs from her eyes. She didn’t really remember a whole lot from the night before, only that it was soft, and warm, and comforting, and that the Phantom came. In fact, she could still see his kind face, seemingly glowing in her memories.
She walked down the hall, then stopped in front of a gaping hole in the floor. “What the…”, she muttered, and bent down to take a better look. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that next to the hole, there was a torn fragment of green cloth. That could only mean one thing- this was the work of Goblins.
Brandy stood up again, hands on her hips, and looked around. She would have normally called for a Builder to come and fix it, but she noticed the room that she was closest to- Kars.

Kars lay snoring in his bed, a thousand tiny and a hundred not-so-tiny cuts adorning the wooden bedpost. His axe barely hung from his right hand, and his bottle of Rage from the other. His beard was in a tangle from his sparring with Webert the night before.
A single knock came from his door, but he did not stir. Although he could hear it just fine, he didn’t want to get up from his splitting headache.
Another, more persistent knock sounded, this time followed by 5 more. Kars opened one eye, but continued to snore.
There were three aggressive taps, and Kars finally rolled out of bed. He fell to the door, and yanked it open to see Brandy standing there, a tentative smile on her face. “Hey Kars.”, she said, and gave a little wave. “There’s a big hole in the middle of the hallway. Wanna help me fix it?”

Song: Killer

“Uh, sure!”, Kars yelled, as he yelled everything. “Let me just grab my axe, and I can go!”
“But you’re holding your axe, Kars.”, Brandy pointed. “See, it’s just there in your hand.”
Kars looked down, and indeed saw that he was already holding his weapon. “Oh!”, he shouted in surprise. “Okay then!”
He strode out the door, Brandy quietly following. Next to Kars, anyone was quietly doing anything. He reached the hole, knelt down beside it, and took out his axe. With a fierce chop, he sliced through several stray planks of wood, casting them aside in dust. “Little buggers!”, he yelled. “Gotta get rid of them while you can!”
Brandy giggled, and a shadow leaning across the room suddenly stood up straight at attention.

Bowza sat in his favorite chair in the reading room, in front of the fireplace. He aimlessly nocked, loosened, and nocked again an arrow, running his fingers up and down the bow. Something was bothering him, scratching away at the back of his mind, but he didn’t know quite what. Something…
A heavy footfall sounded at the entryway, and Bowza turned his head. There stood Webert, with a quizzical look on his face. The tips of his ears were slightly red with second hand embarrassment. “Uh, Bowza?”, he asked. “Did Brandy, um… invite anyone over?”
“No, I don’t think so.”, said Bowza. “Why?”
“Well, I was going to see if Kars wants to work out with me, and I passed her room. And I heard sounds that sounded like, well…”
He made a series of gestures with his hands, not wanting to say the words aloud. Bowza’s eyes widened, and he stood up. “You- you don’t really mean that-”
Webert nodded. “I do. I don’t exactly know what’s going on, but I know what I heard.”
Bowza slammed his fist into his open palm. “This cannot be right.”, he said to himself. “This clearly warrants further inves-”
His words were cut off when a deep cry of pain came from above. It seemed to be coming from the Legendary floor, based on the echo and fadeaway. It sounded like…
“Kars.”, Webert said with alarm. “That sounded like Kars.”

Kars screamed again, as a shining silver blade pierced his throat. He slashed the air in front of him, but could not see what he was trying to attack. The axe slipped harmlessly off ethereal robes like water off of glass.
Brandy quickly saw what was going on, and gasped in horror. “Phantom?”, she shrieked. “What are you doing?”
If the Phantom heard her, he gave no acknowledgement. He just gritted his teeth, stabbed his sword in further, and wrapped a gloved hand around Kar’s torso. Rage filled his eyes with a purple twinge, and his ghostly muscles bulged underneath his long black sleeves.
“Phantom, stop!”, Brandy screamed in desperation, and the Phantom blinked. He looked at the dying Lumberjack held at swordpoint in the air in front of him. He saw Brandy clinging to his robes, begging to let Kars go. His scowl of rage immediately turned to a gasp of regret, and he withdrew his sword.

Kars fell to the floor, holding his throat and trying to breathe. He tipped his bottle of Rage to his mouth and drank heartily, the resulting rush of energy healing his wounds.
“Phantom, what was that?”, Brandy asked, furious. “Why did you attack him for no reason like that?”
“I’m- I’m sorry.”, the Phantom said. “I just saw you a man I’d never seen before, and I thought that he was dangerous, and, well…”
Bowza, Webert, Randy, and Agatha rounded the top of the stairs, and saw a strange sight. Kars lay bleeding but recovered on the floor, and Brandy appeared to be arguing with nothing. Randy closed his eyes and sadly giggled.
“Phantom, I appreciate the thought, I really do, but-”, Brandy gestured wildy. “But you can’t do that! You can’t just go around attacking people because you don’t like them!”
“Really? You seem to do it all the time.”, the Phantom almost said, but he didn’t. Instead, he closed his eyes and bowed, his hands in front of his face. “I see.”, he said to Brandy. “I recognize my mistake, and will not do it again. Thank you, Brandy, for teaching more about the society in which you live.”
And with that, he vanished into thin air.

Song: A Lurking Evil

“Uh, Brandy?”, Webert asked. He was the first to speak. “Who were you talking to?”
Brandy turned around, and saw the group. She stammered, and put up her hands. “Um, well, you see…”
“That was the Phantom, wasn’t it?”, Bowza asked. “That’s who you were talking to.”
“Yes.”, said Brandy. “Yes, it was.”
“Who’s the Phantom-”, Webert asked, but Bowza kept on talking. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Brandy- you said the Phantom was a Stand. Is he yours?”
Brandy shook her head. “No.”, she said. “He said that the Arrow fragment wasn’t complete enough to give me one, just to let me see them. He must be someone else’s.”
Bowza and Agatha traded worried looks, Bowza stroking his chin in thought. “Hmmm…”, he mumbled to himself. “Very, very interesting.”

In the castle of SpaceKrakenX, someone was always rushing off somewhere or other. A level 12 Castle was very large, very full, and often very chaotic. This time, the one doing the rushing was Brenda, his Bandit.
“Hey, Brenda.”, said Marc, a level 12 Giant Skeleton. “Where are you going? There’s gonna be a battle in soon minutes.”
“Sorry Marc, not now.”, Brenda apologized, and ducked into a closet. “I’ve got to go somewhere.”
As Brenda closed the door, Marc scratched his head. He wasn’t exactly the brightest of Giant Skeletons, but even he wondered where Brenda had been going every day, every few hours, for this past few weeks or so. It was enough to make anyone suspicious- well, almost anyone. Probably not an Ice Golem.
Oh well., he thought, and walked away. Bandits are strange ones. Now come along, Bomb. We have much to discuss.
His Bomb chittered, and Marc gave it another treat. It would be useless to try and explain how.

Somewhere, far away

“Mistress?”, the Phantom said, to a shadowed figure in an elevated chair. They sat in void, nothing surrounding them for an uncountable distance. “I’m here, and ready to report.”
“Ah, good.”, said the figure in the chair, and leaned forward. “I’m listening.”

“I did what you asked.”, said the Phantom, the corners of his mouth pulled down in a scowl. “Brandy trusts me completely. Her guardians suspect nothing. The plan to take her soul for Grrshknn shall be completed within the week.”
“I see.”, said the Phantom’s user. “I hate to do this to her, but I see no other choice.”
The figure in the chair stood up to reveal the worried face of Brenda. “She’s always been my friend. I remember when Oticat first found her. Watching her first battle.”
She placed her hand on a tall, limitless sheet of black glass, barely able to see her reflection within. “But… that was a while ago. Things have changed.”
The Phantom stood up again. “Should I-”

Song: Un’altra Persona

A massive door hundreds of feet in size swung open, revealing a billowing shadow within. Brenda and the Phantom both turned in surprise and mild panic. There stood two figures- one tall and muscular, the other shorter but no less powerfully built. The shorter one was the familiar bear of Grrshknn, the other was unknown to Brenda. The two appeared to exchange words, then the taller figure vanished and the door slunk back closed.

“Lord Grrshknn, you’ve returned.”, Brenda said nervously. “I- I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”
“What I do is none of your concern.”, Grrshknn rumbled, striding past Brenda and onto the front of the nearly invisible platform. “How goes the plan?”
“Um, well, my lord.”, Brenda said. “I gave her the Stand Arrow. And as expected, she used it on herself. And my Phantom of the Opera is currently working his magic.”
“And what of her Stand?”, Grrshknn inquired. “Is it any threat that needs to be taken care of?”
“No.”, said the Phantom. “In fact, she does not have one. The fragment of the Stand Arrow was incomplete and damaged. She is only able to see Stands, not manifest them.”
Grrshknn thought about this for a moment, tapping out some blasphemous rhythm on the glass table in front of him. “Good.”, he finally said. “That’s a pleasant surprise.”

Brenda watched him think, and silently reflected on how she had come to be in this situation. It wasn’t exactly her fault that she had developed a Stand. She had just been poking through SpaceKrakenX’s attic one day, and found the Arrow. She had put it in her pocket, and had just so happened to land on it during a backflip over the stairs. Once the Phantom of the Opera had appeared, however, it only took a short amount of time for Grrshknn to find her. And after that, he had almost instantly forced her to work for him. He had given her a choice- either work for him, eventually giving him Brandy’s soul- or have him slowly and brutally murder every single member of the LosDementosCT. Brenda, ever the logical one, had reluctantly made her decision. Why Grrshknn didn’t just take Brandy himself, Brenda didn’t know- but she suspected that it had something to do with the taller demon that showed up occasionally. She did have a plan- one that would get her, Brandy, and the Clan out safely. But it was a very long, complicated plan, and she needed to play the long, complicated game.

“Carry out the final steps.”, Grrshknn growled with a wave of his paw, and began to disappear into the ambient darkness. “Remember, I will supervise you in the last phase.”
“Understood, my lord.”, Brenda said, but Grrshknn had already disappeared. She sighed, and sat down on the translucent steps. The Phantom appeared at her side instantly, worry etched across his face.
“Don’t worry.”, they both said. “We’ll get out of this… somehow.”

Chapter Text

Back at Oticat’s castle

“Whose is he?”, Agatha asked. “Do you know?”
“No, I don’t.”, Brandy said. “I’ll ask him the next time I see him, I guess.”
Bowza exchanged a few choice mental words with Agatha, their conversation flickering like wind.
We should get rid of him, Agatha thought. He may seem nice, but who knows his real motives?
No, not yet, Bowza argued. It is imperative that we find his user. If we don’t, then nothing else we do here will really matter.
Well, a third voice interrupted, what I really think is that we should just leave him alone.
The voice was so casual, and so smooth, that neither Bowza nor Agatha even registered that it was a newcomer to the conversation for a second. But after a few seconds, they did notice.
Who’s that?, Bowza asked, and looked around for any possible third person. Where did that voice come from?
It’s me, the voice said, the very picture of impeccable, evil charm. Of course.
What do you mean, me?, Agatha asked, also trying to search for the source. Who are you?
Oh, you know…, the voice said. ME.

For a microfraction of a second, an image flashed across both their minds. It was of a demon, with long flowing hair, spiked black armor, and a grin that dripped insanity. They only saw him for less than a blink, but the sheer presence of the image caused them both to cry out, and slump against a wall.
“What… was that?”, Bowza moaned, and slowly got up. “Who was he?”
“I- I don’t know.”, Agatha said, leaning on her staff for support. “But he seemed powerful. More powerful than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“Who is this?”, Brandy asked with somewhat alarm. “Who are we talking about?”
Bowza raised a finger to answer, but no words came out of his mouth. He thought for a bit, then realized why that was happening.
“I don’t know.”, he admitted. “There was just this… image of an individual I’ve never seen before. And I hope to never see him again.”
“But he’s gone now.”, Agatha said, and Bowza nodded in agreement. “Hopefully, that’s the end of it.”
“Actually, Agatha, I was going to ask you something.”, Brandy said nervously. “Bowza, you too.”
“Sure, Brandy, what is it?”, Bowza asked.
“I… found something.”, Brandy continued, nervously fidgeting her hands. “While I was cleaning up my room. It’s something weird.”
“There’s been a lot of weird things happening lately.”, Agatha sighed. “One more couldn’t hurt.”
So they walked towards Brandy’s room, fear and trepidation following close behind.

Song: Stardust Requiem

Bowza opened the door, flicking on the light with the edge of his bow. A large spider ran away from the center of the floor, and was impaled by Agatha’s staff.
“What was it you wanted to show us?”, Bowza asked. “I do hope it was not that.”
“No, no.”, Brandy said, and walked over to the Super Magical Photograph Chest still leaning half-open on the side of the wall. “It’s this.”
With hands trembling from the fear of the unknown and unexplained, Brandy lifted out the photograph from the night before, the one that showed a much younger version of herself. She held it in front of Bowza and Agatha, and their eyes widened. “Could you explain this?”

Bowza looked at Agatha, who stared back. Both of them could explain the situation, but neither of them wanted to. No matter how it was worded, this was not something that could be explained away easily. But finally, Agatha closed her eyes- and with maternal obligation, opened her mouth to speak.
“You know, I was wondering myself when the best time to tell you the truth would be.”, she said. “But I guess that if you’re asking about it yourself, then the best time is now.”
She put a hand on Brandy’s shoulder, and breathed in. “The truth is, Brandy… we didn’t get you from a Legendary Chest.”
“Is… that it?”, Brandy asked. “That doesn’t seem that bad-”
“In fact, we didn’t get you from any kind of Chest at all.”, Agatha continued. “We found you on the path home, after a battle.”
“But- but- what do you mean you didn’t get me from a Chest?”, Brandy asked. “How was I born?”
“You were… born.”, Agatha said. “From natural parents. We’re not exactly sure, but we think that they’re an Archer and a Wizard. The note that they put on your forehead didn’t exactly reveal much.”
“I- I don’t think I follow.”, Brandy said. “What exactly happened?”
“Brandy, you’re adopted.”, said Agatha. “We found you on the side of the road, at the age of 3 weeks, crying your little mask soaked, with a note on her forehead that said: Please, someone take her in. We cannot raise her.”

Brandy stared down at the floor. She had no idea what to think. Cascading emotions swirled around inside of her like a hurricane, yet none of them came to the front of her mind. The only thing that filled her immediate consciousness was a strange, unsettling emptiness. Her mouth kept on talking. “Tell me more.”, she said. “I- I have to know.”
Agatha started to speak, but Bowza raised his hand, signaling that he was to take over. “You grew quickly.”, he said. “As all born Troops do. Within months, you went from walking around the Castle to Dashing. You stole so many things we lost count. You calmed down a little bit once you met Dan, though. And within a year, we decided that it was time to take you, for the first time, into battle.”
“Then why don’t I remember anything?”, Brandy asked. “If I was alive during that time, I should have memories about it, right?”
Bowza shook his head. “The mind is an odd place, Brandy. It can completely obscure entire times of your life that you would wish to remember, yet scrape every detail of a darker time into your memory like a carving in stone.”
Brandy sighed. “I guess that’s true.”, she said. “Especially for me.”

There was a small bit of silence.

“As long as we’re at it…”, Brandy said. “I have another question to ask you guys.”
“That’s okay.”, Bowza said. “Ask us anything.”
“Well, another Stand appeared last night.”, she said. “It wasn’t the Phantom- it looked like Chad. And it-”
She stopped, but Agatha understood. She motioned for Brandy to continue, and she took a deep breath before doing so.
“He told me that while they had me, they, um… experimented… on me. That they rebuilt my body. That they-”
Brandy’s next word choked in her throat, and tears welled up in her eyes. Agatha put out her arm, and Brandy sat next to her on the stairs. “They they turned me into what they wanted. A slave. That now I’m more Red than Blue.”
Bowza closed his eyes, and examined Brandy’s aura. He frowned at the results- not totally in sadness, but in interest as well. Her color was not the light blue it had always been, but a light purple, swirling with more concentrated chunks of both blue and red.
“So I wanted to ask, since you guys can see Auras… is that true?”, Brandy asked, looking up with hopeful eyes. Agatha looked to Bowza, knowing that he had already checked. Bowza opened his eyes again, and slowly nodded. Brandy’s face fell.
“Well, yes.”, Bowza said. “Sort of. You see, he told you that you were more Red than Blue- that’s not true. You are still more Blue than Red, but they’ve… mixed. You are now a sort of curious Purple, a fusion that I’ve only heard of once before.”

“Agatha.”, Brandy said. “You can read memories. Can you tell me… what they did to me?”
Agatha stretched out her hand to Brandy’s forehead, but hesitated before the touch. “Are you sure you want to know? I don’t think you need any more of this.”
“I do.”, Brandy said. “I want to know what they did to me. I need to.”
“Okay…”, said Agatha, and put her hand on Brandy’s forehead. Brandy let Agatha’s mind in, as their two consciousnesses flowed into one. Within seconds of the joining, Agatha reached Brandy’s memories. This time, the box was held open by Brandy’s own mind avatar, as Agatha’s dived in. There was a flash of purple light, and the box shut.

Agatha found herself swimming down a deep tunnel, full of boxes on the walls. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the boxes were labeled with a picture, a date, and a few words, signifying the memory. Agatha could see the most recent memories, of her and Brandy’s conversation floating around at the top, and memories from just a few days ago sifting around deeper. But Agatha needed to find one very specific set of memories, from over a week ago, locked away by Brandy’s subconscious. Fortunately, she knew exactly what to look for.
Agatha held her staff in front of her and dived deeper, scanning the sides of the tube for any locked boxes. After about a minute of diving, the sides of the tube changed color, to a deep, dark, Red. Agatha could tell that these were the memories formed during the time that Brandy was held prisoner at TheEvilOverLord’s castle, but there were a great many of them. The one she was searching for still remained hidden.

But then, as she dived even deeper, into a place where the walls were black and raw, there was only one memory on the walls. It thrashed and bellowed behind a thick black lock, the chains rattling in its anger. Agatha mentally prepared herself for whatever she would find, and put her finger on the box.

Red light filled the room, torches covering the walls. Blood and body parts hung from various spots around the room, from weapons and hanging machinery. Ryusei_Nakao69 placed one finger on the lever, pushing it forward ever so slightly. Brandy, suspended from some infernal machine, screamed in immense pain. A digital readout from behind her showed her vitals and pain levels, the bar going down on one and up on the other.
“My, that certainly seemed to do the trick.”, he said, and smiled. “But what about this one?”
He pushed a button, and the needle in Brandy’s forehead retracted. A ray hovered itself over her torso, and gave a shrill blast of noise. Brandy buckled and writhed in her restraints as unimaginable pain shot through every single one of her nerves like a white hot flame.
Her vitals shot up, but not as high as her pain levels, which had now gone past the limit of the readout.
“Don’t quit yet, Brandy, we’re just beginning!”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, and flipped another switch. “There’s still the skinning and surgery to do…”
A huge scalpel came down from the ceiling, and positioned itself over Brandy’s stomach. She screamed in absolute terror, but could do nothing but watch.
“My lord, won’t that kill her?”, asked LeChris, from behind in the control panel.
“Not if I have this going at the same time.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said. “Watch.”
A black light flowed over her, and the scalpel slashed. Brandy screamed again as a line appeared in her stomach, and-

Agatha recoiled, her mind burning. The sight was embedded into her vision, the screams still echoing in her ears. She gasped at the revelation of the sheer, incomprehensible horror that Brandy had been subjected to. It was worse than she had ever even imagined. With a heavy heart and slow movements, Agatha put back the box and began the long swim back up.

Bowza could see Agatha and Brandy twitching in the trance, but knew not what was going on. He knew that they were searching for a memory, but beyond that, nothing. He just waited for them to emerge from their search- until finally, they did. Agatha’s eyes opened with a gasp, and Brandy’s with a cry of pain. They stared at each other, then fell into a deep embrace that lasted for many seconds.
“You were right, Agatha.”, said Brandy. “We shouldn’t have gone so deep.”
“No, no.”, Agatha whispered. “You know now. You know the full extent of your pain, and that is the first step to recovery. Real recovery.”
“That’s good to hear.”, said Brandy, and slowly broke off the hug. “I do see now, the depths of their depravity. I know exactly what they did to me. But you know what? I’m fine with it. I’m fine with all that, and with knowing what I now know.”
“You are?”, Agatha asked. She found it a little hard to believe.
“Yes.”, Brandy said. “It may be hard news, but it proves something. I took the worst they could offer, and I survived. I made it out. And even though there are effects, they will fade, with time. With you guys helping me, and the Phantom by my side, I know that I’ll make it out of here alright.”
Bowza gave a gentle smile, and they all stood up. The three hugged one more time.
“I’m glad to hear that, Brandy.”, he said. “I think we all are.”

But as the three stood together, they were unaware that another was regarding their conversation with great interest. A shadow slipped from the corner and into a closet, then formed into the shape of the Phantom. He sighed, and traced the sides of his mask with his hands.
It had pained him. To hear Brandy talk about him being by her side. Because he knew that one way or another, they would soon be apart. Either Brenda’s plan would succeed, and Brandy’s soul would be Grrshknn’s for all eternity, or Brenda’s plan would fail, and she would die, taking the Phantom with her. It was a lose-lose situation, but it was also one he saw no chance of escaping. If it were up to him, he would rather die and leave Brandy alive. But he was Brenda’s Stand, so he had no choice but to follow her orders. Reluctantly, he began to speak to her.
“Mistress?”, he said. “The plan is ready. Operation Soultake will begin in just a few hours.”
“I see.”, said Brenda. “Then if all is set, proceed when you are ready.”
“Yes, mistress.”, said the Phantom, and tried to disguise the aching in his voice and heart. “I will.”

Later that evening, Brandy sat at the table, finishing up the last scraps of her dinner. The rest of the day had gone fairly well. She had finally gotten outside of the Castle for the first time in a week, and the sun on her face had felt very refreshing. Dinner had also been nice- Barry the Builder/Cook had served her favorite food, Worcestershire salad. And now, she was looking forward to her nightly visit from the Phantom.
“Oticat? Agatha?”, she said quietly, gaining the attention of both Witch and King.
“Yes, Brandy? What is it?”, Oticat asked, with a forkful of food held halfway to his mouth.
“Well, I’ve been thinking, and…”, Brandy said, and looked up. Her eyes brightened. “I’ve been feeling a lot better lately. I think I might want to try battling tomorrow.”
Oticat smiled. “That would be just fantastic, Brandy. I’m so glad you’re feeling better. But if you’re battling tomorrow, you really should get some rest. In fact, it’s-”
Oticat pulled back his sleeve and glanced at his watch, his eyes widening with mild surprise. “Why, it’s already 9:00. Best be in bed.”
“I agree.”, Brandy said, and got up. A wry smile came across her face, and her heart fluttered with the thought of seeing the Phantom again. “I really should.”

She Dashed up the stairs, leaving behind no trace but the ruffling of other’s clothes and a skid mark on the floor.
“I wonder why she’s so eager to go to bed.”, Oticat said. “Is she late for something?”
“I think she just wants to see the Phantom again.”, said Agatha, a slight twinge of worry in her voice. “She seems so utterly infatuated with him.”
Oticat choked on his soup. His eyes bugged out, and Sadie gave him a hard whack on the back until his throat cleared out. He sputtered in confusion a few more times, and took a deep breath.
“What?”, he asked, his eyes frantic. “Did you say… the Phantom?”
“Yes.”, Bowza said. “From your reaction, I take it that you know him.”
“Well, sort of.”, said Oticat. “SpaceKrakenX always talks about someone named the Phantom that follows his Bandit around wherever she goes. I don’t exactly know who he is, but I do think we’re talking about the same person.”
Agatha and Bowza looked at each other in shock. They had found the Phantom’s user. But then, they both realized that this was a good thing. Brenda and Brandy were friends, and Stands always followed their user’s commands. If the Phantom truly was Brenda’s Stand, then there was nothing to fear.

Brandy sat alone on the edge of her bed. She had brushed her teeth, washed her face, and combed her hair- everything to get ready to go to sleep. But she was missing one now important thing. The Phantom had not appeared.
“Hello?”, Brandy asked into the quiet room. “Phantom? Are you there?”
But there was no answer, just the soft, almost unheard sound of the wind whistling through the outside trees. Brandy strained her eyes, trying to see into the darkness, but saw nothing but the shadows of her room. She blinked, wondering why he had not appeared. She checked the clock on the wall- it was 9:12, 12 minutes past when he usually appeared.
I guess he’s not coming, Brandy thought sadly. The edges of her eyes watered, and she wiped them with the back of her hand. Why? Why did he abandon me like this?
But such questions would be better left for tomorrow. So Brandy pulled her blanket over herself and went to sleep.

Chapter Text

“Brandy… Brandy....”
Brandy sat up in a field. The sky, although the sun blazed brightly overhead, was as dark as midnight. A tree behind her began to grow, stretching upwards into infinity. Tiny bottles of Dark Elixir streamed from a broken Pump in front of her, then coalesced into a metal hand.
“Brandy… Brandy…”, the voice said again. Brandy stood, looking around for the source, but found nothing. The ground shook underneath her feet, and a crack opened in the air.
“Who’s there?”, Brandy asked, still looking around. “Anyone?”
A woman in grey armor leapt from the crack in the air, and looked around. She put her fingers to her head, and spoke into a shining metal box just above her eye. “This is Kelen.’
Then she broke apart into thousands of drops of steel, and reformed into a Wizard and an Archer. They looked worried, holding a green cloak in their arms.
“Brandy? Brandy?”, said the Archer. “Where are you? Come home!”
Brandy started to run to them, but the ground buckled underneath her feet. It tore open into a vast chasm, and Brandy fell into darkness.

As she fell, a well-lit green meadow flashed by. A very tall, older Bandit sat on a stump, slowly plucking at the strings of a lyre. She hummed out a melody, copying it on her instrument.
“As I’m filled with silver fire…”, she sang, plucked out a note, then frowned. “No, that one isn’t right.”
Then she looked up at Brandy, a stern look in her eyes, and vanished.

Brandy landed on her feet at the bottom, looking around at her surroundings. There was a huge pedestal, with a gigantic chalice resting on top. Evil-looking red liquid bubbled over, an occasional drop landing on the floor with a shrill hiss.
“My world will be perfect.”, a deep, titanic voice rumbled from everywhere at once. “My world will be-”
The chalice cracked open, and the image along with it. Brandy’s vision was replaced with one of Ryusei_Nakao69, scratching wounds in his face with a sharp knife. He seemed worried, almost afraid, although Brandy did not know of what.
“Please, just give me more time.”, he said, his voice distorted through the gurgles of blood. “That’s all I need.”
“Your time is no more, mortal.”, bellowed a deep voice, and a dark claw appeared over him. Ryusei_Nakao69 cowered, but the claw did not fall. Instead, it turned to Brandy, with a pair of glowing yellow eyes behind it. “You now belong to me.”
Brandy tried to run, but it was like running through stone. The claw rose into the air, then turned into an impossibly huge figure. It was covered entirely in a black cloak, through which a scythe and a skull could barely be seen. It pulled back the hood, revealing for a bare moment a young man with deep orange skin and short tan hair. Then it turned again to the skull, and swung the scythe downwards.
Lights Out, it said, and Brandy could feel herself being pulled into the void.

Brandy awoke with a start, very nearly yanking herself out of bed. Breathing heavily, she instinctively struck up a fighting pose and Dashed to the far side of the room, then stopped when she realized there was nothing to fear. Her hands still shaking with fear, Brandy sat down on the nearest thing to present itself, which was an empty Gold Chest stacked against the wall.
“Brandy?”, said a familiar, comforting voice. “What happened? Are you alright?”
Brandy looked up, and saw a friendly shadow gliding across the room. Her eyes brightened, and her face lit up in a smile. “Phantom!”, she said, and hopped down from the Chest.
He met her next to her bed, and they hugged. “Where were you?”, she asked. “What happened?”
“I’m sorry, I was just a bit late.”, said the Phantom. “Stand business and all that. But Brandy, now that I’m here…”
Brandy looked up. “Hm?”
“I have something I want to ask you.”, the Phantom said, and his eye twitched. He knew fully well the outcome of this situation, and it was one that he did not relish. But if Brenda ordered it, he could not disobey.
“What is it?”, Brandy asked. “You can ask me.”
“Do you want to leave?”, he said. “Leave it all behind?”
“Leave… what behind?”, Brandy asked. “My room? Because we could do that- go somewhere else, I mean.”

“No, I mean your life.”, said the Phantom, and gave a grand sweep of his arms to emphasize his point. “All of it. The battles, the rivalry between colors, all the constant, unending conflict and hatred. Wouldn’t you like to leave it?”
“No.”, Brandy said. “I like it here. I’m feeling a lot better.”
“You may feel that way.”, the Phantom said. “But reality has other plans.”
He pointed to Brandy’s stomach. “The birth of your child is not far off- just one or two days, I’d suspect. Once it is born, what will you do?”
“Well, I’ll raise it, I suppose.”, Brandy said. “And everyone will-”
“No.”, said the Phantom, cutting Brandy off. “They will not. They have too many problems of their own to help you with it. And, if the truth must be told, they somewhat tire of supporting you.”
Before Brandy could speak, the Phantom waved his hand, showing an image of Bowza still in the dining room.
“You know what, Agatha?”, he said. “I think that Brandy should stop leaning on us. She’s not a little kid anymore, she needs to grow up.”
“I agree.”, Agatha said almost automatically. “If she comes to me with one more pointless question, I’ve half a mind to just tell her to go away and get somebody else.”
“Wha-”, Brandy gasped, but the Phantom closed the portal. “And certainly, you cannot raise it on your own. Not if you hope to have anything approaching your old life back. A child is fantastic amounts of work. Why do you think your parents abandoned you?”
Brandy recoiled, hurt. “Phantom…”, she said, “Why are you saying these things? What’s gotten into you?”
The Phantom sighed. “I know, Brandy. I’ve never been anything but nice to you. But sooner or later, the truth has to come out. And the truth is that only I can help you. Come with me.”
He stretched out his hand, but Brandy hesitated. “I- I don’t know.”, she said. “I don’t want to go.”

The Phantom had expected something like this to happen. But just like so many other things, he had a contingency plan. So he put on some light, slow, music from beyond, opened his mouth, and began to sing.

Song: Music of the Night

“Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation…”, he crooned, and magic flowed from him into the room. It surrounded Brandy like a cloud, and she felt her hesitation begin to fade.
“Darkness stirs and wakes imagination…”
Brandy blinked repeatedly, feeling her eyelids grow heavier. Her thoughts began to grow fuzzier under the Phantom’s calming influence.
“Silently the senses abandon their defenses…”, the Phantom sang, and reached out his hand once more. Brandy felt herself slide upwards, and slowly take his hand in hers.
“Helpless to resist the notes I write… for I compose the music of the night…”

The Phantom slowly floated off of the floor, Brandy following him into the air. Some part of her thought that this was wrong, that she shouldn’t be doing this. But whatever part of her was leading decided to go along with it anyway.
“Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor… grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender…”
The Phantom spun Brandy around, and dipped her underneath his cloak. The shadows covered her, and Brandy’s eyes closed.
“Hearing is believing, music is deceiving…”
The Phantom stood up straight again, removing his cloak. Brandy wobbled on her airborne feet, but the Phantom put his hand on her back to steady her.
“Hard as lightning, soft as candlelight…”, the Phantom sang, and leaned in close to Brandy’s glowing face. “Dare you trust the music of the night?”

Brandy slowly gave an imperceptible nod. The final vestige of her resistance screamed at her from the back of her mind, but it was ignored.
“Close your eyes for your eyes will tell only the truth… and the truth isn’t what you want to see…”
The Phantom leaned in further, and Brandy kissed him. They hung together for a moment, then pulled slightly apart.
“In the dark it is easy to pretend, that the truth is what it ought to be…”
They slowly floated down again onto the ground, touching down lightly without a sound.
“Softly, deftly, music shall caress you… hear it, fear it, secretly possess you…”
Brandy was too under his spell to realize it, but the Phantom was telling her directly what he had done. Over the past few days, everything he had done- the saving, the singing, even the illusion of the enemy Stand- had all been leading up to this one, final moment. The one where he would take her soul for Grrshknn, and then his angel would be no more. It pained him to do so, but he knew it had to be done.

“Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind…”
He reached across Brandy’s face to her ears, giving them a gentle caress. Waves of unburdened pleasure rushed through her, and she moaned out loud.
“In this darkness which you know you cannot fight... “
The Phantom’s cloak grew to fill the room, surrounding Brandy with soft waves of blackness. “The darkness of the music of the night…”

Upon hearing the word “night”, a back area of Brandy’s brain lit up a little bit. She had heard Knight, and that reminded her, for the first time in days, of Dan.
But as the Phantom continued to sing, sending his strange magic into her heart and mind, the memory collapsed into nothing.
“Close your eyes, journey to a strange new world… leave all thoughts of the life you knew before…”
The Phantom gestured upwards, and a sky appeared on Brandy’s ceiling. Hundreds of stars flared to life, revealing totally new constellations.
“Close your eyes and let music set you free… only then, can you belong to me…”

The Phantom floated over to Brandy’s bedside, pulling her gently in tow. From within the seemingly endless folds of his cloak, he retrieved a glittering silver knife.
“Floating, falling, sweet intoxication… touch me, trust me, savor each sensation…”
He put Brandy on her bed, sitting up. He gently offered her the knife, and looked deep into her eyes.
“Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in…”
Brandy saw the knife, and knew what she had to do. She would leave everyone behind, but they didn’t really care about her. And if she got to spend forever with her Phantom, then everyone would be happy.
“To the power of the music that I write… the power of…”
Brandy took the knife, and slowly raised it to her chest. She took a deep breath, and prepared herself.
“The music of the…”
Brandy hesitated for just a swift second, saying a brief goodbye to everyone she had ever known. She looked up, into the Phantom’s face, and he gave her a single nod.
“Night....”
Brandy plunged the knife downwards, and into her heart. The ambient music swelled to a magnificent chorus, bolstered by the burning sensation coursing through Brandy’s head. She dropped the knife into her lap, as the blood rushed downwards. It was red at first, then began to turn purple. She reached out for the Phantom’s hand- and he took it, as Brandy collapsed into Elixir.

A tear rolled down the Phantom’s cheek. He knew that with her body destroyed underneath his spell, her soul had gone straight to Grrshknn. It was over. He would never see her again.
“Only you could make my song take flight…”, he sang to an empty room, slowly shuffling along the ground. He looked up, and let the sadness flow. “Helped me make the music of the night…”
Then he vanished, leaving the room as dark and empty as a tomb.

Brenda stared in disbelief through the Phantom. He had done it. His song had actually convinced Brandy to give up her own life, just to follow him. It was a little hard to believe.
The Phantom materialized at the bottom of the black steps, one knee folded in a somber crouch.
“It is done.”, he said, with a heavy voice. “She is no more.”
“I know.”, Brenda said, not looking up. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”
As Brenda stared downwards at the floor, silently mourning her friend, a tendril of a shadow crept around her leg.

Song: A lurking evil

“Have you done it, Brenda?”, asked Grrshknn.
“What?”. Brenda asked in surprise. His voice was far higher than it normally was, without the normal menacing edge.
“Uh, I mean- have you done it, Brenda?”, Grrshknn asked, the barest hint of nervousness sneaking into his voice. “Have you collected her soul?”
“Yes, Lord Grrshknn.”, Brenda said. “The operation is complete.”
“Good, good.”, said Grrshknn. “Now, when can I expect her soul to arrive?”
“There is a slight delay.”, said the Phantom, echoing Brenda’s thoughts. “But she should appear right where you’re standing in 3...2...1…”
There was a glimmer of blue and green light. Then it faded, and nothing happened.
Grrshknn ever so slowly swiveled his head to stare at Brenda, and she felt a bead of sweat drip off her brow. “Brenda?”, he asked. “Where is she?”
“Um… I don’t know.”, Brenda said. “She should have just appeared.”
Her mind raced, trying to find out any way this could have happened. She was excited that Brandy had found a way to circumvent it at the last second, but she had no idea how.

“Well, you should know soon.”, Grrshknn said, lazily sharpening his claws on a nearby blank surface. “For your own sake.”
Brenda bit her lip and stared at the emptiness in front of her, wishing she had a digital readout of some sort to mess with. “Phantom?”, she whispered. “What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know.”, the Phantom said, just as quietly. “But I’m glad it did.”
Grrshknn stopped tapping. His giant ears perked up, and his eye rolled down from the front of his face to his cheek to get a better look at Brenda and the Phantom. “What?”, he asked. “What did you just say?”
“I- I said that I figured it out, Lord Grrshknn.”, said the Phantom with an elaborate bow. “When Brandy’s soul was removed from her body, we all assumed that my power would bring it to you. But the natural regenerative ability of the Blue territory in which she resides prevented that from happening. I expect that she will be reforming in just a few moments.”

Grrshknn’s claws hung in the air for a few terrifying moments before he once again began to drum on the glass. “Good, good!”, he said with a wide smile. “Now go. Collect her soul manually. No songs this time.”
“But sir-”
“What?”
“I can’t do that. It has to be willing.”
Grrshknn frowned, and tapped his claw against his forehead. “Hmm.”, he said, then his face perked up with an idea. “Very well then.”, he said, and waved his hand in the Phantom’s direction.
A bolt of dark lightning flashed between them, and the Phantom suddenly lit up a violent black. He fell to the floor, groaning in agony, and Brenda crouched at his side.
“There you go. I’ve boosted your powers, and you will now be able to take souls manually. But I had to remove some of your durability to do so, so you’ll have to be careful.”
The Phantom looked up, his eyes smoldering. “I will.”

Brandy felt herself being pulled back together, with the strange regenerative magic of Blue. It was the same magic that was used in the Arenas, only not as strong.
A massive headache pounded in her skull as Brandy’s spilled Elixir came back together, and her muscles ached as they were knitted into one piece. But within a few seconds the process was finished, and Brandy sat alone in her bed.
“Hello?”, she asked. “Phantom? Where did you go?”
But there was no answer. None, except for the gentle scratching of something underneath Brandy’s bed.
“What…”, Brandy whispered, and looked down to see what it was. There was a single Skeleton, scratching around on the floor in an attempt to relieve the boredom.
“Larry?”, Brandy asked. “What are you doing here?”
Larry looked up, shrugged, then resumed his self portrait.
“Huh. Strange.”, said Brandy, then registered something in her peripheral vision. She turned to look, and saw the worried figure of the Phantom, black smoke leaking from his eyes.

“Phantom!”, Brandy said, relieved. “What happened? I did what you asked me to, but-”
The Phantom swooped over her, uncharacteristically aggressive. “Your soul.”, he said. “Give it to me. Now.”
Brandy’s heart stopped for a second. “What?”, she asked. She desperately wanted what she had just heard to be a trick, or an illusion, or at the very least a prank. She did not want the Phantom to turn on her.
“Your soul, Brandy!”, the Phantom screamed, and drew his sword. “If I don’t have it now, everyone will die!”
Brandy jumped up onto the back of her bed, trying to escape from the mad phantasm. “I don’t understand.”, she said, trying as hard as she could to remain calm. “Why?”
“Give me your soul, Brandy!”, the Phantom screamed in pain and fear, and lunged. “Now!”

That was all Bowza, stationed in a warrior’s crouch outside the door and listening in through Larry, needed to hear. Quick as Lightning, he threw open the door, nocked an arrow, and fired.
The Phantom turned in response, but he was not fast enough to dodge the magical arrow of light. It pierced him in the cheek, went all the way through, and exploded on the other side.
The Phantom screamed in pain as his hands flew to his cheeks, then fell. “Your… soul…”, he coughed out. “If I don’t have it, everyone you know will die.”
But Brandy wasn’t listening. She just screamed at the sight of her Phantom lying on the ground, defeated, and about to die.
Bowza nocked another shot and fired, shooting the Phantom straight through the back of the head. The Phantom gasped in pain, and closed his eyes. It was clear he would not be able to get Brandy’s soul, and he refused to take it manually. Before he died, he would at least explain.
“It’s not my fault.”, the Phantom said. “Nor Brenda’s. We were forced to do it. By someone named…”
Brandy crouched by the Phantom’s side, tears welling in her eyes. “Phantom, I don’t understand.”, she said. “Please, don’t die!”
She looked up, and saw Bowza for the first time. Her heart beat faster with the discovery of betrayal. “Bowza!”, she screamed. “Don’t!”
But it was already too late. Before Brandy could get the words out of her mouth, Bowza had nocked another arrow, and fired directly through the Phantom’s heart. He gasped in pain, grabbed Brandy’s ear, and pulled her closer to his mouth. “Grrshknn…”, he whispered, and disappeared into thin air.

Song: Irreversible Sadness

Brandy stared in utter disbelief as the Phantom vanished from reality in her arms. His last words had certainly been some sort of message, but Brandy hadn’t really been listening. She had been panicking too much, and now she regretted it. She would get no more chances to hear it.
Brandy looked up at Bowza, sheer, undisguised hatred blazing in her eyes.
“You…”, she said, and Dashed forward. “You killed him!”
Bowza tried to dodge out of the way, but Brandy was too fast. She landed a solid kick on his chest and a hard punch to his jaw, and Bowza slammed into the wall. Brandy kept going and landed on him, then grabbed his shirt.
“I hate you!”, she screamed, and raised a fist to strike. Bowza did not try to block the blow, for he could already feel the Phantom’s spell fading from Brandy’s mind, and knew that the attack would soon be over.
“I won’t ever forgive… you for… this…”, Brandy said, then blinked. Where exactly was she? What was she doing? What had happened in the last few minutes?

She let go of Bowza’s shirt, and slid down to the floor. She Dashed in place to try and jog her memory- ah yes, that was it.
“Oh Se’th…”, she whispered to herself. Only now, once she was free from the Phantom’s spell, did she realize exactly what had happened over the past few days. She could see that Ryusei_Nakao69’s plan to get her had only slowed down somewhat, not completely stopped. Even though he was dead, he had somehow gotten this Phantom to take Brandy for him. And he had come so close.
“I was so stupid…”, Brandy mumbled. “All the songs, all the declarations of love…”
She sat down, all the now-painful memories flooding into her mind. “Oh Se’th, I had sex with him! While I’m pregnant! What was I doing?”
She felt Bowza’s hand on her shoulder, and looked up. He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you have questions, Brandy. Let me answer them.”

“Yeah, I have questions.”, Brandy said. “First of all, what was he? I don’t really remember anything from the past few days.”
“He was a Stand.”, Bowza said. “The physical manifestation of one’s energy- specifically, your friend Brenda’s.”
“You mean- that was Brenda talking to me?”
“More or less.”
Brandy sobbed into her gloves. “First Dan leaves me, then Brenda betrays me and almost kills me, what’s next?”
“Now, Brandy, don’t-”
Brandy looked up, and shot a look at Bowza that would have cut open steel. “I’m going to get some sleep.”, she huffed. “Don’t talk to me.”
Bowza stood up, knowing that sleep was, in fact, the best thing for Brandy to get in this situation. Brandy climbed into her bed, pulled all of her covers all the way over herself, and was asleep within moments.

The Phantom reformed, coughing and sputtering, next to a pale-faced Brenda. Grrshknn loomed over her, palpable anger written across his face.
“So.”, he boomed. “I see how it is. You pretend to work for me- and then when it suits you most, you sell me out to the very targets I assign you to take?”
Brenda and the Phantom looked at each other. Do you have a plan?, the Phantom’s eyes said.
Oh, trust me, said Brenda’s. I certainly do.
Brenda looked up at Grrshknn. WIth bold faced determination or foolishness, she spoke.
“Yeah, pretty much. Honestly, frick you.”
As if to top off the insult, she performed the rudest gesture a Troop could give- one pointer finger under her chin, and the other drawing a small circle around her nose.

“Why, you little brat!”, Grrshknn bellowed, and drew himself up to his current maximum height of 84 feet. His massive claw swung downward towards Brenda to crush her, the glass melting around her feet to prevent any escape.
“Phantom of the Opera!”, Brenda yelled. The Phantom disappeared, then reformed again in full battle armor, ready to protect Brenda at all costs. He raised both his sword and shield to block Grrshknn’s blow, but they were ineffectual against a demon. The pillar of Grrshknn’s arm slammed into the ground like an avalanche, crushing Brenda to Elixir and the Phantom to mere black smoke.
“Hmph.”, said Grrshknn. “Looks like I’ll have to get new servants… again.”
He folded himself together into a singularity, and vanished.

But unknown to him, Brenda’s plan had worked. Upon seeing what had happened to Brandy, she had immediately come up with it- almost immediately, anyway. Once Grrshknn had crushed her, her spirit had just gone back to her room back at SpaceKrakenX’s castle. But Grrshknn still thought she was dead, which meant she was finally free. Free, and safe.
Brenda appeared in the middle of the air over her floor, but swiftly dashed to her bed. The Phantom appeared beside her, still looking worried.
“Hey, relax.”, she said. “We all made it out safe.”
“Yes.”, said the Phantom. “But Brandy still believes you have betrayed her. We’ll have to tell her the truth.”
Brenda frowned. “Yeah.”, she said. “We will. But not right now.”
She closed her eyes and, utterly exhausted from the day’s events, fell asleep almost instantly. All that it took was 5 minutes and a gentle lullaby from the Phantom.

Chapter Text

3 months ago

Song: Himeru Omai

Ryusei_Nakao69 sat alone in his room, slowly counting his Gold. The coins clinked softly as they fell from one hand to another, the sheer decadence of the room almost physical.
“Hmmm… 140750, 140760…”, he hummed, counting in stacks of 10. The Gold from his last assassination had been delivered uncounted- the payment had been agreed on as “all I have” from the King he had been hired by. So far, there was still a lot more uncounted than counted. Rysuei_Nakao69 was beginning to think that he might have been a little overpaid. Which reminded him...
“Barley?”, he asked. “Set aside enough money for my Princess’s allowences.”
A nearby modified Barley unplugged itself from the wall, which it didn’t need but it really needed someplace to stay anyway, and rolled over to the King’s table. “Certainly, sire.”, it said cheerfully. “And just to make sure, that is Veronica, Stacy, and Chloe, correct?”
“Yes.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69 without looking up. “Veronica, Stacie, and the new one. Veronica gets ten thousand Gold and 25 Gems, Stacie gets the same, and Chloe gets whatever Troop we captured last until I either wipe them or sell them.”
“Understood, sire.”, the Barley said, and bowed. “I will deliver them posthaste.”
Still bowing, it rolled backwards out of the room until the door shut behind it automatically. It would get lost, with the current state of the demonic castle.

“Ah, there’s nothing I have to today.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “All my Chest slots are full, no Tournaments command my attention, and I already have started the Clan War today. Yes, nothing to do but just sit back, relax, and count my money.”
He started to stack his coins again, when the hair on his arm began to pick up. His heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly stood up and pushed his hair and beard into place. He had already learned what the hair meant- Grrhsknn was coming.

Song: Un’altra Persona

The door to the room slammed open in a cold wind, almost coming right off its hinges. An ethereal howl from beyond ripped into the counting room, giving a random Goblin a near heart attack. It was more of a lung attack.
A dark mist poured into the room, and assembled itself into the shape of a bear. It stood behind Ryusei_Nakao69, who had not dared to move since Grrshknn had arrived.
“Good time of day, Ryus.”, Grrshknn purred. “I have another job for you. Should be easy, it’s just kidnapping.”
“Ah, good.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said, and allowed himself to move. “So what is it this time? A Night Witch? A Pekka? A Sparky? Because I assure you, we can handle them all.”
Grrshknn summoned a floating square of glass in his left hand, and showed it to Ryusei_Nakao69. “This Bandit.”, he said, pointing to a picture. “I want you to get this Bandit.”

“Ah, a Bandit.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, not really listening. “Don’t you worry Lord Grrhsknn, I can-”
“I don’t think you heard me.”, Grrhsknn growled, and Ryusei_Nakao69 instantly sat up straight. “I said I want this particular Bandit. Not just any.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 took the picture, read the information on it, and looked up. “I see.”, he said hesitantly. “This will be quite a job. I hope I’m getting paid well?”
“You choose your hopes well, Ryus.”, Grrhsknn said. “For I am paying you the very modest reward of one million Gems.”
Ryusei_Nakao69’s ears popped, thinking that something must have gone wrong with the input. There was no way that Grrshknn was actually offering to pay him one million Gems… right? Such a sum was unheard of anywhere. No one had that much- no one.

“One- one- one”, Ryusei_Nakao69 stuttered. “One million gems?”
“Yes.”, Grrshknn said. “But this is to be very special one. Here are the details…”
Grrshknn pressed his claw to the back of Ryusei_Nakao69’s neck, and mentally transferred to him the plan, the specifics of location and date, and where she would be going after capture. Specifically, with Ryusei_Nakao69 for a month, then her soul would be given to Grrshknn for his own purposes.
“I understand, Lord Grrshknn.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69 slowly. He clenched his fist, and grinned maniacally. “I will take her.”
“Good, good.”, said Grrhsknn, and disappeared. “Take her for me.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 closed his eyes, and again went over the plan in his head. “I wonder why Grrshknn was so specific about her.”, he said. The image of the chosen Bandit popped into his vision, and he turned it over and around. “I wonder what sort of challenges you’ll pose… Brandy.”

Chapter Text

Present Day

It was a darkened Wednesday. The sky had gone overcast at dawn, and had remained so until the present hour, 4:00 in the afternoon. Oticat was off battling, grinding for his 35th crown reward just before the season ended. He was using a sort of Giant Skeleton bait deck, inspired by SpaceKrakenX. He didn’t think it would work, but he was trying it anyway. “Go ahead, try it!”, SpaceKrakenX had said. “It works for me, it’ll work for you!”
But he wasn’t doing the full deck- because that required a Bandit. And Brandy was in no condition to battle at the time. She was still back at the castle, with the cold blanket of sorrow still draped across her.

Brandy tapped a button on the remote, and the channel on TV Royale changed again, this time to the Upcoming channel. On it were ads for upcoming Challenges, new Cards, occasional new updates to the rules of the Arena, and a new Season every month.
As Brandy watched, motionless, a smiling Princess appeared on screen with a pair of sunglasses on her forehead. She flipped them downwards onto her eyes, smirked, then flipped them back up. The words “Season 3: Be Legendary” briefly flashed across the screen, before it went dark.
Be Legendary, Brandy thought. Is that what the gods are up to these days? I wonder what it will be…
She flicked the remote again, this time changing to the news channel. A frantic Villager stared into the camera, still shaking from something. Brandy could see a massive gash torn through trees, smoke still rising into the air.
“As you all can see, there’s something that happened here.”, she said nervously. “Something large. We’re not sure what it was- but we think it was a Dragon. Not much else that could burn through 100 meters of woodland like that.”

“Actually, Trish, we’re kind of moving on from the whole Dragon idea.”, said another reporter, a Bandit. “You see, we investigated the area further, and it wasn’t burnt by fire.”
“It wasn’t?”, asked Trish. “Then what burned it?”
“We don’t know.”, the Bandit said as she scratched her head. “Maybe a-”
Brandy pressed another button, and the TV turned off. She didn’t need to listen to this. News nowadays was nothing but scandals and sensationalism, made to bring in views and very little else.
She got up from the couch, mildly stretched, and slowly walked over to the kitchen. No one else was around. She wasn’t sure where they were. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle ticking of a clock, Brandy’s own breathing, and a scratching sound at the door.
Her attention turned to the door, looking through the glass in the middle. Her muscles tensed, expecting the worst, but she sighed in relief when she saw that it was just Brave, Oticat’s Baby Dragon, begging to be let in.

“Oh, Brave.”, she said. “I thought you were inside already. Who let you out?”
She stood up and walked over to the door, opening it to let Brave in. She looked down to scratch his forehead, and gasped in shock when she saw what was hanging from his jaws.
It was the severed head of… something. It was really too mangled and burned to tell what it had been, but it had clearly died in pain. Its mouth hung open in an expression of shock, several teeth cracked to bits.
“Brave!”, Brandy yelled. “What is that? Go! Go! Get out of the Castle with that!”
She pointed out the door, and Brave hung his head in shame. He turned, dropped the head on the porch, and kicked it backwards. He turned around, sat down, and looked up at Brandy expectedly.
“Wait.”, Brandy said, “What was that?”
She moved past Brave, giving him a small pat on the head. She looked around for the head, and found it lodged underneath a bush from the force of Brave’s kick. The lower jaw had broken off and lodged into the ground, leaving the rest of the head in ever worse condition.
Brandy delicately picked it up and held it in front of her face, looking for any identifying markings. Weird, she thought. Why hasn’t it dissolved into Elixir yet?
But open tapping on the skull a few times, she found her answer.

This is wood, Brandy realized. This is just some wooden dummy.
Her heart lifted in relief. It would have been a terrible fate, for anything to have been burned to death this way. Horrible, that is, for anyone but an Elite Barbarian. All of them except Chup’s surely deserved whatever they got-
But then upon closer inspection, Brandy realized that that is what it was. Once she swept the grime and burned grass off the top, she could quite easily tell that it was the half-destroyed skull of a wooden Elite Barbarian.
“Interesting…”, she whispered. “I wonder if this has anything to do with what was on the news earlier?”
She was about to go and tell someone, when she remembered that there was no one around to tell. So she just tossed the head back to Brave and went back inside.

Once inside, Brandy flopped down at a table in the kitchen. This room, too, was abandoned.
Except for Brave, who sat eagerly by her side, panting as if waiting for something.
Brandy caught his eye, and he closed his mouth.
“What is it, Brave?”, Brandy asked. “You want a treat?”
Upon hearing the word Treat, Brave’s eyes lit up, and he started jumping around on all fours. He yelped in excitement, and a puff of flame came out of his nose.
“Alright, calm down.”, Brandy said. “I’ll get you something.”
She stood up and walked over to the fridge, going to get some meat for Brave. He followed her, right on her heels, waiting for the blessed moment when he would finally, after almost a full hour of not getting one, get a blessed Treat.

Brandy opened the door, and scanned the shelves for a treat. Her eyes fell on some sliced meats- and beyond that, a half-full bottle of Dark Elixir. Instantly, her mind flashed back to weeks ago, before the whole thing had started, when Dan had been drinking Dark Elixir to try and cope with his depression. What was it he had said?
“It’s the only thing that takes away the pain anymore.”
Ah yes, that was it. Brandy took the meat in one hand and, looking around to make absolutely sure that no one was watching, took the Dark Elixir in the other.
“Here’s your treat, Brave.”, she said, tossing the meat to the Baby Dragon, who began to gulp it down almost instantly. “And…”
She popped open the cap on the Dark Elixir, and tilted it back. “Here’s mine.”
The Dark Elixir poured down Brandy’s throat, and she almost spat it out. The strong taste that assaulted her tongue was nothing like the sweet, fruity taste of regular Elixir she had drunken before- it was more like spiced up sand, or flavored stone. But strangely enough, the sensation did seem to dull the constant pain that flowed through Brandy’s mind and soul.

Brandy took the bottleneck out of her mouth and gasped, breathing in the air. The Dark Elixir seemed to be working, but even so, Brandy knew that she shouldn’t be drinking it. It was deadly for her, and she knew it. But then… why did it feel so right to be doing it?
She turned for the stairs, heading for her room. She took a single step into an entryway, took another swig of the Dark Elixir- and paused in midair. Webert was sitting at a table, back to her, mumbling softly to himself as he prepared another gallon barrel of his own Dark Elixir.
“Oh, hey Agatha.”, he said drunkenly. “Whassup?”

Shoot, thought Brandy. Why is Webert here? Why is he the only one here? And why does he think I’m Agatha?
Then she saw the massive pile of Dark Elixir empties on the table next to him, and realized it was because Webert was stone drunk.
“Um… not much?”, Brandy said, trying her best to mimic Agatha’s voice. “I guess.”
“Same.”, Webert said slowly, and poured himself another glass. “Just downing my nightly requirement. We Bowlers have to drink a lot, you know. In fact-”
He started to turn around, and Brandy’s heart skipped a beat. As quick as she was able, she Dashed up and grabbed onto the lip of the upper doorframe, swinging around to brace herself against the wall and hide from sight.
“I need to drink at least 25 gallons of Dark Elixir every day or I’ll-”
Webert paused. Even in his drunken stupor, he was confused how who he had assumed was Agatha had just vanished from sight. He looked around to try and see where she had gone, but his vision was blurred from the Dark Elixir. He couldn’t see anything but a vague blur.

“Uh, okay.”, he said. “See you later, I guess.”
He turned around again, and resumed his drinking. Brandy waited for a few more seconds until she heard him gulping down the Dark Elixir, then slowly, carefully dropped from the doorframe without making a sound. She scrambled up the stairs, bottle still in hand, and vanished. Black drips fell as she went, making a telltale trail of guilt on the stairs and floor. But there was no one around to see them- at least, not yet.
Once Brandy reached her room, she stopped before opening the door. She had been going to go to bed, but a thought interrupted her from doing so.
“Is there a point?”, she asked the empty hallway. “Is there a point in going to bed? I’ll just wake up again. I’ll just sit around the Castle again. I’ll just go through the same cycle again, not changing, not progressing, not-”
There was a sharp pain in her stomach. Brandy fell onto her knees, and grasped at her torso. There was another shock of feeling, and Brandy realized what was happening.
It’s coming, she thought. The baby’s coming.

Webert downed one last barrel of Dark Elixir, wiped his mouth with his chin, and shakily stood up. Alright, that’s enough for now, he thought, and fell to the floor with a loud crash because not only was he drunk to the sky, he had also stood up too fast.
The door opened, and Agatha entered the room. Larry ran in front of her and immediately began to stab some wooden paneling on the walls.
“Don’t touch that, Larry.”, Agatha said, and recalled the Skeleton to her. She saw Webert sitting on the floor, a look of both confusion and bliss across his face, and her brow knitted in confusion.
“Agatha?”, Webert asked, rubbing his eyes to make sure they did not decieve him. “How did you come in through the door? I was talking to you just like, 30 seconds ago.”
“What?”, Agatha asked, confused. “No you weren’t.”
Larry slowly, silently sneaked out from underneath Agatha’s dress, and ran over to the stairs. He didn’t know why, but he did. His run was halted, however, when he stepped in something dark and sticky. He lifted up his foot. Had he had eyes, they would have widened. The eye sockets he did have, however, could do something better.

His magical eyesight detected footprints of a boot, size 8, rushing up the stairs in a very distinct pattern. Within seconds, he knew who it was.
“But you were talking to me.”, Webert said, pointing to the spot where Brandy had been. “And then you vanished for no reason.”
“I think you’re just drunk, Webert.” said Agatha. “I assure you, I wasn’t- hm?”
Larry tugged at her dress, pointing urgently towards the stairs. “What is it, Larry?”, Agatha asked.
Larry, because he could not speak, quickly moved his hands to communicate. First he put two circles around his eyes: the sign for Bandit. Then he mimed drinking with three fingers: meaning Dark Elixir. Finally, he pointed towards the stairs again, and made a little figure run across his hand.
“Brandy?”, Agatha asked. “Drinking Dark Elixir? You really think so?”
Larry frantically nodded his head, and tugged at Agatha’s hand. Agatha turned to Webert, and raised her staff.
“Webert, I’m going to go talk to Brandy. You stay here, keep a watch out for everyone else.”
“Okay.”, Webert slurred. “Where is everyone else, by the way?”
“At the Clan Meeting.”, Agatha said. “I was just in the woods.”
If given enough time, Webert would have thought up a response, something witty or clever. But only a second later, Agatha went up the stairs to go give Brandy a talk.

Brandy lay in her bed, listening to the wind outside. After a few short kicks, the baby had calmed down, leaving Brandy with no distractions anymore. Nothing at all, to distract her from the slow existential sorrow that gnawed at her soul. She tried to think of anything to cheer her up, but there was nothing. Her best friends? No. One had abandoned her, and the other had tried to take her soul. The rest of the Troops? They clearly didn’t care about her. They had all gone somewhere else, and left Brandy behind to rot. Oticat? Of course he didn’t care. If he did, he would have upgraded her, or at the very least taken her into battle. The Phantom? Even if he had cared for Brandy instead of just putting her under a subtle spell, he was dead.

But as she mentally eliminated everyone that she knew from the list of people that cared about her, another influence began to work its way into her mind.
“There’s still us, Brandy.”, came the sinister, yet perfectly polite voice of Ryusei_Nakao69. “We’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”
“Go away.”, Brandy mumbled, turning over. “You’re dead. We killed you.”
“Yes, that much is true.”, the voice continued. “But you can always still join us. All it takes is one good blow, somewhere a little outside of your comfort zone…”
A sudden vision of a rocky cliff leapt into her vision, and Brandy’s eyes opened. She sat up out of bed, to see Agatha standing at the open door.
“Brandy?”, Agatha asked. “We need to talk.”
Normally, such words would have sent Brandy into a small panic. But she didn’t feel much of anything from it at the moment. She didn’t feel much from anything at all. “What?”
“I noticed you were drinking some Dark Elixir.”, Agatha said, and walked closer to Brandy’s bedside. “Why?”
“Why?”, Brandy mumbled. “Maybe because it’s all that helps.”

Song: Irreversible Sadness

Agatha reached Brandy’s bedside, and noticed an empty bottle of Dark Elixir that had been haphazardly kicked under. “That isn’t a good thing to say, Brandy. Not a good thing to think.”
Brandy stood up in anger. A thin purple line rose from her arc of motion to the ceiling. “You think I care?”, she said loudly. “Does it matter what’s good or not?”
Agatha pondered her next words. This was one of the telltale signs of depression- violent mood swings, substance abuse, not feeling. Not feeling was the worst one. “Yes-”
Brandy didn’t let her finish. “No. No, it doesn’t. It used to, but not anymore.”
She sat down again. “Look at me, Agatha. I’m ruined. The baby will probably be born tomorrow morning, and then I’ll be nothing but a stay at home mother, to the baby of the one who destroyed me. I can’t do this. I can’t.”
“We’ll… help you, Brandy.”, Agatha said, and tried to put a hand on Brandy’s shoulder. But it was slapped away before there was a second.
“Oh, that’s it.”, Brandy said. “You’ll help me. Sure. Just like you’re all helping me now. You leave me alone while you all go off who knows where, no one talks to me, no one helps me with anything.”
“What about yesterday?”, Agatha asked. “Kars helped you with the hole in the floor.”
“That doesn’t count.”, Brandy said bitterly. “That wasn’t really me- that was me under the Phantom. Once he’s gone, everyone starts avoiding me like death. Figures that the one time anyone wants me is when I’m not myself.”

Agatha couldn’t believe what Brandy was saying. This was the not the Bandit she knew. Alien emotions flowed out of her like a dark torrent.
“Brandy, what’s gotten into you?”, she asked. “The Brandy I know would never-”
“Hmph. The Brandy you know?”, Brandy snapped. “And who’s that? A sweet, gentle soul that would never hurt anyone? That Brandy doesn’t exist anymore. I grew out of that.”
Agatha closed her eyes, and looked into Brandy’s mind. She was expecting to find some sort of influence, some sort of spell, anything that would be making Brandy act this way. But she found nothing. The chaotic emotions that Brandy was feeling were all hers.
“Brandy, you’re being ridiculous.”, Agatha said. “You’re doing this on purpose.”
Brandy’s eyes narrowed, and Agatha knew that that was the wrong thing to say. A thin line of purple flashed across Brandy’s eyes- then vanished. Suddenly, all the rage drained from Brandy’s mind, leaving behind only a deep well of sadness.

“You’re right.”, Brandy said, just loudly enough for Agatha to hear. “I did do this to myself. It is my fault.”
“What? No.”, said Agatha. “Nothing about this is your fault.”
“But it is.”, Brandy said. “I stole that sword for Dan, and then I got left behind, and then I had to take the footpath. If I hadn’t stolen it, if I didn’t steal, if I- if I wasn’t a Bandit, then-”
Agatha put her arms around Brandy to steady her. “Woah, woah.”, she said. “Brandy, hold on. You’re thinking out of control here.”
“No I’m not.”, Brandy said. “It really is my fault. I shouldn’t have dragged you all into this. Maybe I should have stayed at their castle.”

Song: Dark Rebirth

Agatha hurriedly checked Brandy’s mind again. This time, she did see faint strings of Red creeping their way in.
“Brandy, don’t think that.”, she said. “You cannot think that way.”
“Or maybe…”, Brandy said, and reached out a hand for another bottle of Dark Elixir, cleverly hidden by her bedside. “Maybe I should just drink the rest of this.”
Agatha grabbed Brandy’s wrist, stopping her hand in midair. “Brandy, you can’t. You can’t possibly drink all that. You’ll die.”
Brandy locked eyes with Agatha, her deep blue and slightly red matched with the light purple of the Witch. “I know. That’s why I’m doing it.”
Larry, having snuck his way out into the world again, heard this statement. His head fell off in utter shock, and he ran across the room trying to put it on again. The corners of Agatha’s eyes watered, her heart filled with sorrow at Brandy’s words.
“No.”, she said. “Brandy, you can’t, and you won’t.”
She stood up, bringing Brandy onto her feet. “Brandy, listen to me. You are not ignored. You are not hated. We all love you- everyone in the castle. For weeks now, we have done nothing but let you rest, and sleep, and recover from what happened.”
She stood over Brandy, looked right into her soul, and poured as much mental magic as she could into her next words. “Brandy, how can you say we don’t care about you when we literally created an entire army just to get you back?”

Brandy’s eyes turned fully blue for a second, then the Red crept back in. She sat down on the bed and stared into empty space. “Because… because…”
The Red part of her tried to find an empty space in Agatha’s logic, but it was having a hard time. The influence began to fade from her, until the Blue part of her mind made a tactical error, and the Red gained the mental high ground once more. A purple light grew around her, and she stood up.
“You might have cared about me once.”, she spat. Agatha knew what was about to happen, but she did not quite belive it.
“But not anymore.”, Brandy said, and struck. Quick as a Zap, her fist flew forward with the power of Dash, hitting Agatha in the jaw. The Witch flew back in shock and pain, bracing herself with the bottom of her staff. She saw Brandy jump from the floor to the window, and slide open the glass.
“Brandy, what are you doing?”, Agatha yelled, and quickly summoned a trio of Skeletons. As fast as they could, they all swarmed forward, trying to stop Brandy before she leapt- but it was too late.
“What I should have done a long time ago.”, Brandy said, and Dashed out the window.

Chapter Text

Song: In the Air Tonight

She fell through the air outside of the Castle, her Dash protecting her from the impact when she hit the ground. But due to her jarred mental state, it wore off half a second too early, and a sharp jolt of pain shot through Brandy’s legs upon impact.
Agatha leaned out the window and reached out her arm, Larry almost falling as he leaned alongside her.
“Brandy, come back!”, she yelled. “What are you doing?”
Brandy shakily got up, and looked back at Agatha. A brief expression of shock crossed her face, before it was buried in the fury. Ignoring Agatha’s cries, Brandy crouched, and took off into the woods as fast as she could. She didn’t know where she was going, but that didn’t matter. All that did was that she had to get away.

Agatha leaned back into Brandy’s room, and put her hands to the side of her head. Momentary panic surged through her, before she calmed down and assessed the situation.
Alright, what do I do?, she thought. I just made Brandy so mad she ran away, I have no idea where she’s going, and me and Webert are the only ones here. There’s Brave, too, I guess, but he hardly counts.
She threw open Brandy’s door and ran downstairs to the kitchen, her cloak blowing behind her.
“Webert!”, she shouted once she reached the bottom of the stairs, looking around frantically for the Bowler. “Webert, where are you?”
Webert looked up from the couch that he lay sprawled across, slowly gnawing on a leg of chicken. “I’m here.”, he said. “What do you need me for?”
“Brandy ran away.”, Agatha said. “We need to go after her.”
Webert dropped the chicken leg into his lap. He nodded, and lumbered off towards the door.
“Webert, where are you going?”, Agatha asked, and summoned her Skeletons. She silently gave orders, and all three of them ran off to carry them out.
“I’m going to get Oticat.”, he said. “He’ll know what to do.”

“Oticat’s an hour walk away.”, Agatha said. “We don’t have that much time- and you’re drunk anyway. You shouldn’t be having any ideas. Here-”
Agatha pulled her communicator out of her pocket, and gestured for Webert to do the same. “Start making calls. I’ll call Oticat, you call everyone else. See if Brandy went to another castle.”
Without saying another word, Webert pulled out his communicator and dialed the number for the first king he had on dial- SpaceKrakenX.

“Yes, yes, Brenda’s doing well.”, SpaceKrakenX said to Oticat, at the Clan Meeting. “She seems very much relieved about something, although I can’t imagine what. Would you like any more punch, perhaps?”
Oticat waved his hand, “No, no, that won’t be necessary. But I think I might know what Brenda’s so happy about.”
“Really? Wha-”, SpaceKrakenX began, then his communicator rang. “Excuse me for one second.”
“Of course.”, said Oticat, and SpaceKrakenX pulled out the device from his pocket. He held it up to his ear and scowled. “Who is this? Whoever it is, it had better be good.”
“Hey, man.”, came the slurred voice of Webert. “Is Brandy at your place?”
“How should I know?”, said SpaceKrakenX. “I’m not there.”
Shoot, thought Webert, and nearly hung up. “Can I speak to Oticat?”, he said.
“Sure.”, SpaceKrakenX said, and handed his communicator to the mentioned. “Here you go, Oti. He’s one of yours.”
Oticat took the device and saw the caller ID. “Hello, Webert.”, he said. “What can I do you for?”
“Brandy ran away.”, Webert said flatly. “She took off into the woods, and we don’t know where she went.”
Oticat’s heart stopped cold. “What?”

Brandy ran through the woods, vines and branches slapping at her face. She had no idea where she was, or where she was going. In the far distance, she could see the glowing peaks of Spell Valley, some Kings still battling despite the late hour. She wished she was there, just a bit.
A huge tree suddenly came up in front of her, and Brandy stopped. She charged up her Dash, drew back a fist, and launched herself forward to cleave right through.
But something odd happened. Instead of her fist striking the tree in a powerful blow, it slipped intangibly inside. She could see the glowing blue outline of her arm moving around inside the wood, illuminating the bug-eaten twists and turns. Brandy pulled it out just before it became solid again, taking a chunk of wood along with it. She stared at the hole she had made in the tree in amazement for a second, before throwing the chunk aside and running even faster through the dark woods.

A deep ravine appeared behind some bushes, and Brandy leaped over it without a thought. Landing on a roll on the other side, she sprang up and gave a bush a flying kick. She didn’t know why, but a Gem rolled out of the flattened Bush and came to rest by her shoe.
Brandy regarded the Gem with disinterest. The green, inviting glow would normally have given her an urge to steal- but not tonight. Tonight, the only thing that was on her mind was running. So run she did, past the group of trees, and further on into the night.

As she ran, a gaunt, haggered figure watched her go. A cloak was pulled closer to guard against the cold night, and the figure shivered. She wanted to stop Brandy running, but she knew that she wasn’t fast enough. Her hands shook as she pulled her gun closer to her chest. She too only slightly knew where she was going. But Brandy’s direction told her that she was on the right path.

“What do you mean, she ran away?”, Oticat asked, trying to keep his voice down. “Why would she do that?”
“I dunno.”, Webert said. The shrug in his voice was almost visible. “Maybe Agatha knows. I’ll put her on the line-”
“Hello? Oticat?”, Agatha asked suddenly, having finally gotten her old, run-down communicator to work. “Don’t worry. I can explain everything.”
“Do it.”, Oticat said. “Tell me.”
“Brandy’s… not herself.”, Agatha began. “There’s some other influence controlling her. We just had a conversation, and it must have angered her for some reason. She attacked me and ran away, and-”
“Wait, she attacked you?”, Oticat said in disbelief. “Really? Brandy?”
“I can hardly believe it either.”, Agatha said, shaking her head. “But that’s what happened.”

Oticat looked up, eyeing the room for his troops. To his relief, he saw Chuck leaning against his Hog on the far wall, enjoying a drink with his fellow Riders.
“Chuck!”, he said, motioning for the Hog Rider to come over to him.
“Oh, sorry fellas- gotta go. Hee hee!”, Chuck said, and rode over to Oticat. “What is it?”
“Brandy ran away from the Castle.”, Oticat quickly said. “I need you to go search for her. Take whoever of your friends you want. She was last seen heading-”
He turned back to the communicator- “Which way was it, Agatha? West? Okay, thanks.”- then back again to Chuck. “West, towards the sea. Go and find her.”
Chuck smartly saluted, and whistled towards his group. They all rode over, and he quickly explained the situation. They all nodded, and raised their hammers into the air. “Did someone say…”, Chuck began, and they all reared up on their mounts.
“Hog Riiiiiiiiidddeeerrrr!”, they yelled as one, and rode off through the double doors. Somewhere in the room, more than one Villager covered her child’s ears at the use of such language.

Brandy burst, gasping and heaving from the exertion, through the dense treeline and into a narrow clearing. She sucked in the night air, trying to calm down her lungs before they exploded. Even for her, 15 minutes of running at top speed through thick forest was exhausting.
But within a few minutes, her altered body righted itself, and her breathing returned to normal.
But what did not return to normal was her heart. It still hurt, with the sorrow of a broken soul.

Tears dripped down Brandy’s face, and she slowly leaned forward. Her mind wandered, searching for anything nearby to connect to, but there was nothing. There was no Blue presence here, or Red, or anything. This close to the sea, it was only wilderness.
“Please.”, she said quietly, directing her plea to anyone who would listen. “I…”
A deep sadness gripped her heart, as everything that had happened in the last few weeks came flooding back into her mind. The kidnapping, the torture, the terror, the slow, aching depression, all of it. Brandy started to cry, her shoulders heaving from the sobs. She fell to the ground, and took a deep, hoarse breath.
“Please… I can’t take it anymore.”, she said, just loudly enough for her to hear. “Please, if anyone’s out there listening, someone…”
She stared upwards into the sky, looking at the infinite, uncaring stars overhead. “Take this suffering away from me.”
She took a look forward, and saw the sea.

Lights glinted off the surface of the water, small ripples of fish and squid breaking the top of the waves. She could almost see the huge swarms of tiny animals rising to feed, as they did every night. The moon hung overhead, huge and full. Brandy sat down on the grass, and took a minute to just exist.
The night sea air smelled quite pleasant. The sounds of the wind and water soothed Brandy’s ears and mind, like a massage after a hard day. And if she looked very closely, so hard that she strained her eyes, Brandy could almost see the explosions from the Continent of the Clans, across the sea.
Her aching mind began to calm down from the soothing atmosphere of the seacliff, and she thought. What had been so bad, back in the castle? What was it, exactly, about Agatha’s words that had made her so furious? Why had she run away? Why had she abandoned her family?

As soon as she thought the word “family”, a vivid memory flashed through her mind. It was of her, albeit a very young version, splashing in crystal-blue waves. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and a tall, bearded man stood watch over her.
“Honey, don’t let Brandy wander out too far.”, came the cautious words of who assumed Brandy was her mother, relaxing on the seaside. “It could get dangerous.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t.”, said the man, and leaned down. “I’m not letting you go anywhere, am I, my little sunshine?”

Then the memory faded, and Brandy returned to the field of night. She stood up, wondering when that had been. Sometime before her parents had gotten rid of her, she assumed. But why would they leave her like that, if they seemed to love her so much? Why would-
“It’s simple.”, a voice hissed. “They got sick of you.”

Song: A Fearsome Foe

“What?”, Brandy whispered, and looked around. But there was nothing, and nobody. The voice came from inside of her own mind.
“Of course they would.”, the voice said again. “Why wouldn’t they? Who would ever want to be around you?”
“Who’s there?”, Brandy yelled, but there was no one to respond. “Who are you?”
“You were their mistake.”, another voice bellowed, deeper and more powerful than the last. “They got rid of you as soon as they could.”
Dark crimson winds started to pick up around Brandy’s feet, the grass bending in unnatural ways around her.
“Just like you left your King, and your Castle.”, a third voice screamed, like sharpened nails on a chalkboard. “You had to leave them. It was only your nature.”
Brandy slammed her hands against her head, trying to drown the voices out, but they were too loud, and too persistent.

“There’s only one thing to do now.”, said one. “To finish the job.”
“Throw yourself off the edge.”, rumbled another. “The ocean calls for your soul.”
“You call yourself a Bandit?”, screamed a particularly vicious one. “How pathetic!”
“You don’t deserve to be called anything.”, one said, frightfully calm. “Quite simply, you don’t deserve to exist.”
Brandy closed her eyes, and tried to enter her mind to fight off the intruders. But ghastly visions of death and suffering crossed her vision as soon as she did so, and Brandy automatically opened her eyes again.
“Do it.”, one said. “Throw yourself off the edge, and save the rest of this worthless world from your misery.”

Far away, in his lair, Grrshknn heard faint sounds. He heard the sound of Brandy screaming in pain and anger, and the winds of evil spirits swirling around her soul. He got up from the table where he sat, and looked to where Brandy was. His crooked mouth curled up past his face into a cursed smile, and he laughed.
“Yes!”, he bellowed. “By Rakshadanore, we’ve got her now!”
He pumped his fist into the air, then a thought occurred to him. “I should join them.”, he said out loud. “Yes, that would be quite fun.”

“You’re finished.”, screeched one of the voices. “You have no hope.”
“Death is the only way out.”, another shrieked. “Use it.”
The cacophony of Brandy’s mental assault had began to spread, attracting demons from many dark places. More and more swirled around her, all uniting to get her to end her own life. Most of them had never seen Brandy before now, but to them, that mattered not. All that they saw was a soul to take for themselves.
“Give in to me!”, Grrshknn shouted, at last joining in. “It is the only thing you can do!”
Brandy tried harder to shut out the voices, but she could not. She looked down, trying to focus on the grass, the water, something natural- but her terror was only compounded when she saw that her legs were moving. The influence of so many demons had at last moved beyond her mind, and into her body.
Brandy screamed, as her body walked steadily towards the edge of the cliff. This is it, she realized. This is how I die. There’s nobody around to see it.
As Brandy was pushed to the edge of the cliff, all the demons combined gave one last roar of satisfaction. The ground underneath her began to crumble, and all Brandy could think about was how her desperate plea, her most humble prayer, had not been answered.

“Beautiful night, isn’t it?”

Song: Legend Unicorn Theme

The words came quietly in the dark torrent of demons, yet cut through them like a blade through butter. All at once, they vanished, and the ground stopped crumbling. Brandy regained control of her legs, and she backpedaled away from the edge as fast as she could. Turning, she saw the one who had spoken the words of her salvation.

It was the man from Ryusei_Nakao69’s castle, the one in brown. The one who had given her those words of encouragement, the one who had stopped time and bent space. He wore a monocle over his right eye, and even now was pulling what seemed to be thrashing red string out of Brandy’s head. He wound it together into a ball, crushed it between his hands, and threw it over his shoulder into the sea. It screamed as it fell, before hitting the water with a splash and falling to bits.

“Wh- wh- what was that?”, Brandy asked in sheer astonishment. “Who are you?”
The man in brown brushed off his suit jacket, looked at her, and smiled. “That, my dear, was the last vestiges of a mutated hypnotism spell. Very potent, nasty stuff that. Good thing you held on for as long as you did, or I might have not gotten here in time. And as for who I am, well…”
Having finished dusting himself off, he adjusted his suit jacket, tipped his checkered top hat, and gave Brandy a wink. “I’m afraid my true identity is a little beyond your comprehension at the moment. But if you wish, you may call me God.”

Chapter Text

“I… I mean… wow. God.”, Brandy said. “Okay.”
She looked at the man in brown, still walking toward her. The aura of calm surrounding him seeped into the grass, and it grew taller and stronger with every footstep.
“Which one?”, Brandy asked. “I know there’s Se’th, and Dr’ew, and T’im, but which one are you?”
God winked, and stood next to Brandy. Even though he had seemed much taller before, his height had mysteriously adjusted to be as tall as Brandy was. “Oh no, I’m none of those. You see, I am no mere god of balance- I am the god of the entire Royale Continent. My power is absolute over its entirety.”
“God of this continent…”, Brandy said. “Does that mean that there are gods of all of the other continents, too?”
“Yes.”, said God. “But it's been such a long time since I’ve seen them, I’ve quite forgotten their names. I’m currently the only one awake.”
“Awake?”, Brandy asked. “Are the others asleep?”
“Yes.”, said God. “They’re taking their routine centennial slumber, while I keep watch. And before you ask, no, they’re not asleep because the world is dying, or an ancient evil is awakening, or anything like that. So don’t worry.”
“Oh. Good.”, Brandy said. “I wasn’t thinking so, but that’s good to know.”

“I suppose you’re wondering why I came.”, God said, and waved his hand. There appeared a small blanket, just large enough for the two of them. On it was a magically bubbling teakettle, two full tea sets, and several small, multicolored pouches.
“Sit down. Have some tea.”, he said, and gestured to the set. “I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Should I?”, Brandy asked. “I don’t really drink tea.”
“Oh, don’t worry.”, God said. “It’s fine. My own specialty blend.”
With another flick of his finger, a teacup floated into Brandy’s waiting hands. He gave a small nod, and the bubbling kettle rose off its stand and poured a nice steaming pool of tea.
Brandy looked to God for encouragement, and he nodded. “Drink it, Brandy. I shouldn’t have to tell you.”
Brandy tipped the teacup into her mouth, and drank the slightly glowing tea. Instantly, a warm, comforting sensation filled her, spiraling down through her torso and into every part of her body. But the tea affected her not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. She felt the aching that had been part of her for weeks melt away, fading into the night and the warmth. The aura of confusion that had taken such firm root in her mind shriveled and withered to nothing, leaving only calm thoughts and tranquil order.

Brandy lifted the now empty teacup from her lips, and gasped. If she could see herself in that moment, she would have seen the Red fade from her eyes, a slight blue glow spreading over her skin as the last evil influence was banished from her at last. But even though she could not see it, she felt it- real, true, peace at last.
She turned to God, tears of joy welling up in her eyes. “You…”, she said, and gently set the teacup down. God opened his arms, and Brandy nearly tackled him in a hug.
“I… I didn’t know what I was doing…”, she sniffed, and pushed harder. “I…”
“No, don’t worry Brandy.”, God said, giving her a pat on the back. “It’ll be alright. Everything will. Don’t worry. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. They’re gone. Everything will work out.”
The hug lasted for 8 more seconds, then Brandy broke it off. She sat down on the grass next to God overlooking the ocean, and took a deep breath of the salty night air.
“I heard you, Brandy.”, said God. “I heard your plea.”
“Wait, what?”, Brandy said. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you, I was telling you why I came.”, said God. “I heard your plea, muffled as it was through the voice of demons. Now, I had some business to attend to, but I put it on hold. Saving an attacked soul was far more important.”
“Then… why didn’t you help me earlier?”, Brandy asked. “When all the other stuff was happening? Why didn’t you save me in the canyon?”
“You didn’t ask.”, said God. “That’s all you have to do. Ask, and it shall be given onto you.”

Brandy quietly pondered this. “Oh.”, she said, then reached for her teacup. “Say, do you have any more of that tea?”
God laughed, and poured her some more. “Take as much as you like. I have no limit.”
Brandy took a gentle, deep sip from her cup, and God prepared one of his own. For several seconds they sat there in silence, just enjoying the atmosphere, the moonlight, each other’s company, and, of course, the exotic flavors of the tea.
“What is this flavored as?”, Brandy asked. “I can’t quite tell. It doesn’t seem like anything I’ve ever tasted.”
God looked up into the sky, and pointed towards a bright star. “It’s Fylanamar flavor. It comes from that star, right there.”
Brandy looked up, and saw where he was pointing. “Huh. You mean, you just got it off of the star?”
“Oh, no.”, God said. “I can see that my choice of words was not very specific- no, I got it off the third planet of the star. Tymonias.”
“What do you mean, planet of the star?”, Brandy asked in confusion. “Stars are just stars. There’s no planets.”
“Is that what they’re teaching kids these days?”, God whispered underneath his breath, then reached into a cookie tin that had appeared out of nowhere. He cracked open the metal lid and pulled out a spool of thread, then a shortbread wafer. He handed it to Brandy, who took it without hesitation. “Here.”, he said. “Eat this. Then you’ll see.”
Brandy popped the shortbread into her mouth. It began to dissolve on her tongue, just as Brandy’s sight dissolved into a vision.

She saw the stars above, what she had always assumed were just lights in the sky. But as the cosmic knowledge flashing inside her mind told her, they were in fact other suns, surrounded by other planets, with just as much fullness of life as her own.
“Woah…”, Brandy said once the vision had faded. “I didn’t know… that the universe was so big!”
“It’s very big.”, God said. “There’s so much happening. Speaking of which…”
He stood up, and the blanket folded up, taking the tea things with it. Brandy quickly drank the last of her cup, before it too was folded into the blanket and into thin air. “I have to go now. Lots and lots of stuff to do. But before I do, do you have any questions for me?”

“Yes.”, Brandy said. “Yes I do.”
God sat down again, and Brandy got a misty look in her eyes as she recalled the events of the last few weeks. “Why me?”, she asked. “Why did everything happen to me? What did I do to deserve this?”
God thought the best way to word his answer for Brandy’s specific situation. He knew the answer, of course, knew it like the top of his own hat. Everyone he met or rescued asked this question sooner or later, and so he thought it would be best to have a specific answer ready.
“Because, Brandy,”, he said, “It was part of the The Plan. You see, everything, even those things as awful as the ones that happened to you, happen for a reason. Nothing is without reason, and nothing is without consequence.”
“But…”, Brandy said. “But I’m a good person. Did they really have to be that awful?”
“Are you asking why bad things happen to good people? Because I have an answer for that too.”
“Well-”
“Really, you’re taking some very hard assumptions about the whole thing. You’re assuming that things happen to people based on how good they are alone. But that’s not true at all. Yes, ones who are good will find themselves on top in the end. But the real reason? You see, without bad things, there wouldn’t be good people.”
“What do you mean?”, Brandy asked.
“Take, for example, your friend Dan.”, said God, and waved his hand. A still image of Dan appeared in midair, hovering blue. “Before everything started, he was a fine young gentleman- but that’s all he was. Then, once the bad things began to happen, he was motivated to become better. And that’s the same way with you. Once everything blows over, Brandy, I guarantee you will be a better person because of this experience.”

But Brandy was only halfway listening to his speech, eye-opening as it was. As soon as the holoimage of Dan had appeared, Brandy had been focusing on it alone. She hadn’t even really thought about him for days- she had just been wallowing in her own depression. And now, once the cloud had been lifted, it occurred to her just how much she missed him. Her heart and soul ached, suddenly wanting nothing more than to see him again.
God stopped his speech, seeing the look of longing in Brandy’s eyes. He slightly smiled, and the image vanished. He slung the tea things into nothing, and tipped his hat.
“I see you’re thinking about your friend.”, said God. “Good, that is what’s supposed to be happening. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really do have to go.”
“Wait!”, Brandy said, and threw out her hands. “But- what about him? Will I ever see him again?”
She gestured to her torso. “And what about this? How is this going to work out?”
God spun on one heel, and gave her a mischievous grin. “The answer to all of those questions, Brandy, is yes.”
And with that, he folded up, and vanished.
Brandy just stared at the air where he had been, in sheer amazement. The air still slightly sparkled, and the grass still waved with exuberant life. A small green and yellow bird flew past, gave a slight nod, and vanished into the trees.
Brandy smiled at the little bird, and looked up. The moon shone brightly overhead, its angle signaling that it was almost 9:00. The realization hovered around in Brandy’s mind for a little while before it sank in.
“Oh, T’im!”, she yelled out loud. “I’ve been gone for almost 2 hours! What was I thinking? I gotta head back!”
She turned to face the forest, and prepared to run- but she realized that she didn’t actually know the way back. She had run blindly through the trees, not really caring about anything. Strangely enough, even though it had been less than 10 minutes ago, the time before God’s help seemed so far away…

But those were thoughts for another time. Preferably when she was home, and not lost on the edge of the continent. Looking around to gather her bearings, Brandy saw that she was somewhere near Spell Valley. She put her hand to her ear and thought.
“Let’s see…”, she muttered to herself. “If I’m south of Spell Valley, and Oticat lives near Builder’s Workshop, then…”
Brandy took a few measurements of the sky with her hands, and got the best path. She crouched down, and prepared once more to take off. “I just need to head southwest. I’ll be there in no time.”
Brandy sprinted off towards the trees, not aware that deep within, a pair of glowing green eyes watched her very carefully.

Only mere seconds after she had vanished into the treeline, Chuck burst through a line of bushes. He pulled on Trigger’s reins, bringing him to a sharp, screeching halt. Trigger reared up as the rest of the search party came to a stop behind him, milling around in circles as they scanned the area.
“See anything, Trevor?”, asked T, ChupilickytwaCT’s own Hog Rider. Gold dust gently drifted down from his hammer as he expertly checked the ground for any tracks.
“No, not yet.”, said Trevor, the Hog Rider of SpaceKrakenX. “But I’ll tell you when I do- no! Wait! There’s something!”
He pointed to the ground where Brandy had been, and Chuck looked. He saw the footprints that Brandy had left on the way to the cliff, but not the ones she had left going away. Those ones had been erased by the massive spurt of grass growth caused by the presence of God.
Chuck took into account two facts. One was how close the footprints were to the edge of the cliff. The other was how they seemed to end. He put two and two together, and instantly assumed the worst.
Tentatively, he inched forward on Trigger and peeked over the edge, hoping that he would not see a splash of Elixir that had once been Brandy. He did not, for obvious reasons, but he did see something else.
“You see that, T?”, Chuck asked, and pointed out to the water. If one looked hard enough, they could just see a churning trail of water, created by something swimming. The something was actually a Fisherman, thoroughly enjoying himself during his nightly swim. But Chuck did not know this, and automatically assumed that it was Brandy.
“Brandy!”, he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Where are you going? Come back!”
But the Fisherman, distracted as he was, only turned up the volume on his private stereo, putting on Alex Jones the Giant’s greatest karaoke hits of Season 1, and cast out his net for what was sure to be a fun-filled night.

Chuck turned back to the group, his eyes wide with trepidation. “I have some bad news, fellas.”, he said, and started mentally preparing what he was going to say to Oticat when he got back. “Brandy has jumped off the cliff, and is now heading for the Continent of the Clans.”
T’s eyes widened. Trevor gave a long, slow scratch down the side of his Hog’s back. Another Hog Rider, Germal, merely fainted.

Chapter Text

Song: Out of Control

Brandy ran through the forest, trying to look for her previous path as she did so. If she managed to pick it up again, then finding her way back would be a cinch. Unfortunately, however, the forest was chaotic and cruel, and any traces of her previous path had been erased.
Brandy slowed to a stop, pausing to catch her breath. A sharp pain shot through her torso, and she was reminded of the child she still carried.
“Hoo boy.”, she breathed, and sat down on a log. Not The Log, just a log. “Let’s just rest for a moment, shall we?”
As she sat, breathing in the cool night air and trying not to make any harsh movements, a thought occurred to her. She wasn’t sure where it came from, or what it had to do with the situation, but it was a thought nonetheless.
Why do Kings have such weird names? Regular Troops all have names like Robert, or Brandy, or Mike, but then Kings have names like Nineinchnails or Butterinthepan or Auroraborelais. Doesn’t really make much sense, does it?
“No.”, Brandy said out loud. “I suppose it doesn’t.”
Brandy? Is that you?, the thought said again. Am I reading this right?
Brandy blinked in confusion. Were the thoughts coming from someone else? Was there someone around to put the thoughts into her head?
Who is that?, she thought back. Who’s there?
Brandy, it’s me!, the voice said urgently. It’s-

But then a rolling pain shot through Brandy’s mind, and the voice disconnected. She sat in silence for a few more seconds, wondering who it could have been, when she heard the faint sounds of crying. It sounded, from that distance, like a Goblin.

Song: Killer

Brandy got up, and looked around. She didn’t see anywhere where a Goblin was, but if there was anyone in need, Brandy would help them.
The crying grew louder as Brandy walked forward, indicating that it was coming from somewhere in front of her. She squinted, trying to look for the source, and the moon shifted up above. A small beam of light fell from the sky to illuminate a single scarred Goblin, softly sobbing behind a rock.
Brandy crept up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump and screech.
“Woah, woah, don’t freak out.”, Brandy said. “Don’t worry, I’m here to help. What’s wrong, little guy?”
The Goblin looked up at her, wiping away no tears. He sniffed deeply, then said something in Gobbish that Brandy didn’t understand in the slightest.
“What?”, Brandy said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite get that…”
The Goblin took a deep breath, and tried again in broken English. “Grug lose friend.”, he said. “Grug and friend walk in tree. Grug look at shiny rock. Friend gone. Grug sad.”
“Oh, that’s terrible.”, Brandy said. “Something like that happened to me once- but don’t worry. I’ll help you. Here-”
Brandy helped the Goblin to his feet, and she looked around for a sign of any more. A faint warning bell rang at the back of her mind, but Brandy didn’t really notice. “Where did your friend go?”, she asked. “Did you see at least which way?”
The Goblin’s grip on her hand grew tighter, and Brandy looked down to see why. Her mouth dried up, as she saw that the Goblin was grinning.
“Grug see friend.”, he said. “Friend right behind you.”
I knew it, Brandy said. I should have known.

She jumped backwards, away from the Goblin’s grip, and saw another Goblin, running up behind her. He held a sharp knife- and from the look in his eye, intended to use it.
Brandy spun around on her foot, delivering a sharp kick to the Goblin’s hand and sending the knife flying. She grabbed Grug by the neck and threw him into his friend, and they both collided with a rock.
“Any more friends I should know about, Grug?”, she asked. “You little bugger? Tried to trick a Bandit in the forest? Really, you should know better.”
Grug lifted his hand, shakily pointing a finger to somewhere behind Brandy. “Grug have… lot of friend.”, he said. “Grug have many friend. Bandit make Grug friend… angry.”
His arm fell, and he closed his eyes as he fell unconscious. Brandy looked around, and her eyes widened in shock. “Oh, crap.”, she said.

There, among the treeline, was a veritable horde of Goblins. Some of them had already made it into the small clearing, others were hanging from the trees, and still more were hanging back, slowly running towards the front. They wore various tattoos of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and jeered at Brandy with expressions of jovial anger. There were Spear Goblins, Dart Goblins, old Goblins, Goblin Brawlers- but mostly just regular Goblins, the ones with knives. But soon enough, the crowd parted, and a huge, potbellied Goblin Giant stepped into the front. He dropped to one knee and squinted, taking a good long look at Brandy.
“Well, well, well.”, he said in a deep, ragged rumble. “Lookie here, boys! I’d say we got ourselves a new one!”
The wall of Goblins cheered, some of them losing themselves in the raw excitement and falling down unconscious. A Dart Goblin blew some stray shots into the air, arcing away into the night.
“Now, miss, why don’t you introduce yourself?”, the Goblin Giant asked. “Before we start, and all.”
“Now hold on.”, Brandy said. “I think I know what you’re going to try and do here.”

“Oh really?”, the Goblin Giant chuckled, and the two Spear Goblins on his back looked up from their game of poker to look at what was going on. “What, then, am I going to-”
“First, you’re going to say- which shall it be, miss, your money or your life? Which is kind of ironic once you think about it, since I’m a Bandit and all. I’m the one who’s supposed to be robbing people. And after that, I’m going to fight- of course, and I’m going to beat you, because I’m an expert fighter, and you’re just a bunch of little forest buggers. Except for you, you’re a big fat forest bugger. Then your last words will be: But… how? You were just one little Bandit… after which I will stab a branch through your head, kill your hitchhikers, and be on my way. Am I right?”
The Goblin Giant stared for a second, trying to remember everything Brandy had just said. But he gave up after a while, because he wasn’t exactly that smart. He just grunted, and got up.
“Well, sort of.”, he said. “You missed the part where since its clear that you’re not going to give up, we just kill you with sheer force of numbers, after taking whatever you have on you. Which, by the way, is what?”
The Goblin army began to creep forward. Brandy concentrated Dash in her arms and legs, getting ready to strike. “I don’t have anything.”, Brandy said. “Nothing… but death.”
Her eyes glinted, and she tensed. A group of Goblins rushed forward, spears and daggers in hand, and shrieked a battle cry.

Song: Overdrive

Brandy Dashed forward, planting her fist right through the nearest Goblin. His eyes twisted in shock before he popped into Elixir, sinking into the ground within seconds. Brandy ducked underneath the swung spear of another, and lashed out with her leg, snapping his leg off and killing him almost instantly. A Dagger swung at Brandy’s throat, and she ducked. The blade landed in the face of a third Goblin, and he went down.
The Goblin Giant watched these proceedings with disinterest. It didn’t really matter if his boys died- they were all Wild Goblins, after all. They would regenerate. Otherwise, things would be quite bad.
Brandy grabbed another Goblin right as he was about to swing, and plunged her hand right through him. Her fingers went transparent, and she grabbed his heart. She squeezed, popping the Goblin into Elixir- but so focused on the technique was she, that the dagger swung by the fifth Goblin of the group managed to stab her in the leg.

Brandy grit her teeth, and delivered a vicious backhand into the face of the offending Goblin. He flew backwards, turning into Elixir midair and splattering all over the face of his comrades. Several of them licked it off, loudly declaring that it “tasted like chicken.” However, in reality, it tasted like rotten fruit. To a Goblin, everything tasted like chicken.

Once the Goblin Gang had been defeated, Brandy spun around to face the Goblin Giant, definitely spitting on the ground. “Is that all you got?”, she asked. “Have you lost enough Goblins for your liking?”
The Goblin Giant waved his hand in dismissal. “Oh, I’m not worried about them. They’ll reform soon enough. You, on the other hand…”
He narrowed his eyes, and swung his arm downwards. “All units! Charge!”
The entire horde of Goblins ran forward, screeching in a furious battle cry. Brandy’s eyes widened, and she Dashed backwards, but the horde grew closer within moments.
“You are skilled, Bandit?”, said the Goblin Giant. “But are you skilled enough to overcome such overwhelming numbers? I suppose the real question is… will you last? Will you last, Bandit?”

Song: Shoot towards the Decisive Battle

Brandy said nothing, merely pulling herself back into a battle stance. The wall of Goblins didn’t seem to have any defenses of any kind- it was just a huge, meaty wall to hit. Brandy had always wondered what it would be like to be an area Troop- but now, she was about to find out.
“Doraoraoraoraoraoraora!”, she yelled, throwing forward her Dash-enhanced hands at fantastic speeds. The force of the blows slammed into the tide, breaking apart half a dozen Goblins, but many more remained.
“Doraoraora! Doraoraoraoraora! Doora!”, Brandy shouted, firing punches into the Goblin wall like rain onto the ground. But it didn’t matter how many she punched, dozens more kept on coming.
“Dddddora!”, Brandy roared, and swung her fist upwards. It punched right through the chest of a Goblin Brawler, sending him flying in death, but it did almost nothing to the swarm. Within seconds, 8 had grabbed her right arm, 16 had grabbed her left, and all the rest of them forced Brandy down to the ground, lying on a suspiciously flat rock. The Goblin Giant strode forward, taking a long, sharp sword from one of his subordinates.

Brandy felt, for just a second, her heart beat more. She heard it in her head, and felt it everywhere else. I’m not going to die like this, Brandy thought. Not after all I’ve been through. Not to Goblins.
The Goblin Giant drew closer, and raised the knife. Whatever he had planned to do with Brandy, it could not be good.
I’m not going to die to Goblins, frick it, I’m not going to die-
In that moment, something happened. Something which happened too fast for the Goblins to see, and for Brandy to even realize that she had done it.

For a split of a split second, Brandy’s hair ruffled in some nonexistent wind.
For a split of a split second, a faint mote of silver flashed in her eyes.
And for a split of a split second, Brandy rushed through the Goblin ranks faster than she had ever gone, slicing every Goblin in half with a single well placed chop, cutting down dozens upon dozens of them to bare Elixir.
And then it was gone- whatever Brandy had just done could clearly not be easily done again. She cried out in pain and fell to her knees, gasping from the massive effort.
The Goblin Giant slowly lowered his arm that he had raised in order to protect himself, and looked down at Brandy, shaking on the ground.
“I- I don’t know what that was.”, he said, confusing many Goblins in his group that had always assumed he knew everything. “But it is over now.”
He reached out to grab Brandy across the waist, then reconsidered. Instead, he just flipped Brandy over, her legs burning from the movement, and gave a harsh whistle.
“Go get her, boys.”, he said. “Steal everything that she has, then kill her.”
The Goblins rushed forward ecstatically, and Brandy shut her eyes. She tried desperately to summon back up whatever had caused her to power up so much, but there was nothing.

The first Goblin reached her, grabbing hold of her mask. He tried to pull it off, before Brandy lashed out with her still functioning arms and threw him into a tree, where he splattered apart.
More and more Goblins piled upon her, chattering gleefully, looking into pockets, scratching apart cloth, desperately searching for anything valuable. But so distracted were most of them in their quest for Gold, that they could not sense the imminent danger.
An immense shadow fell across the group, and a low, underlying “HHHHRRRMMMM” could be heard from above.
One of the Goblins looked up. He saw what was coming, and his jaw dropped in utter astonishment. “Holy Se’th.”, he said. “What is that? What the frick is tha-”

Song: Jonathan Joestar theme

A colossal armored figure crashed down onto the Goblin Ranks surrounding Brandy with a shaking of the ground, a mighty “WWRRMMUUU”, and a burst of golden energy that spiraled across the whole area in the form of lightning, shocking the entire Goblin army into purple stains.
The Goblin Giant looked up in utter shock at the huge figure now before him. He tried to think of something to do, or to say, but words were lost next to the figure in armor.
Brandy picked herself up off the ground, and stared in raging hope. There was only one person that could have made the energy wave like that. That person had also left to become better just about 2 weeks ago. And what way for a troop like him to become better, than becoming a-
“A Mega Knight.”, breathed the Goblin Giant. “Where did you come from?”

The Mega Knight ignored him, folding his arms and then adjusting his helmet.
“What were you doing to her?”, the figure rumbled, and raised a fist. “Tell me.”
“Um. well…”, the Goblin Giant said, desperately looking around for help. “I don’t know. We’re just on vacation, I guess?”
“As if.”, said the Mega Knight, and his golden eyes glared with unrelenting rage. “We both know what you were about to do.”
He started to move forward, each gigantic fist crackling with massive amounts of energy. The Goblin Giant tried to back up, but ran into a particularly huge and sturdy tree.
“I- I tell you what.”, he said. “We have a huge pit of Gold in our secret lair. If you spare me, I’ll give you some of it.”
“Good grief.”, said the Mega Knight. “You truly are the lowest scum in history.”
He raised a fist, and golden energy flowed from his torso to his arm. A single bolt snapped onto the Goblin Giant, burning a mark onto his face.
“What you were about to do.... can’t be paid back with money!”

The Goblin Giant’s Spear Goblins both fired their Spears, trying as hard as they could to fight for their master. But the Spears bounced harmlessly off the Mega Knight’s thick armor, breaking in two and falling to the ground.
“Ora!”, shouted the Mega Knight, and threw his first punch. It smashed into the Goblin Giant’s face with a thunderous crack, and Brandy knew that her suspicions of the Mega Knight’s identity had been all but confirmed.
“Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!”, the Mega Knight continued, hitting the Goblin Giant with a flurry of blows that sounded like the strike of a meteor. Each blow was fast enough that it blurred, yet powerful enough to break down a stone wall. The Star energy wrapped around his fists flowed into the Goblin Giant as well, and the force, within seconds, became too much.

The Goblin Giant screamed in pain and terror as his body was ripped apart, the screech fading into the night air as a huge puddle of Elixir fell to the ground and dissipated. Even if he did reform, such a savage beatdown would be an experience that he would never truly forget.
The two Spear Goblins that he had left behind fell to the ground, picking up their spears as they went. They stared at the towering, powerful figure over them, and then back at their Spears. Deep within their crazed, Goblin brains, some primal instinct took hold over duty, and they took off into the trees.

Both Brandy and the Mega Knight watched them go, screaming away until all of the Goblins had left the clearing. Brandy looked upwards, and stood up. “Dan?”, she whispered. “Is that you?”
The Mega Knight flipped his vizor upwards, revealing a changed, scruffier, but still very recognizable, face. “I don’t know.”, said Dan. “Is it?”
Brandy’s lip quivered, and she Dashed forward. Dan stumbled a bit as Brandy collided with his leg, wrapping herself around him in a fierce hug.
“I knew it!”, she said. “I knew you’d come back, and that you didn’t leave me, and…”
Without breaking off the hug, she looked up. “Where were you?”
“Well, uh,”, Dan said. “I was training. To become a Mega Knight.”
“Where?”
“Royal Arena. That’s where they come from, you know.”
“Oh. But... if you’re a Mega Knight, then does Oticat still have a Knight?”

Dan looked confused at this. “I don’t know. I didn’t really think about it that way. It would be weird for him not to have one. I guess that we can check when we get back home.”
Home…, Brandy thought. It was a welcome idea. “Yeah. That’d be gre-”

A sharp pain struck Brandy in the torso, and she fell to her knees. She felt the muscles of her lower body start to shift, and she realized with a shock what was happening. “Oh crap.”, she said. “It’s coming.”
“What’s coming?”, Dan asked, dropping to one titanic knee. “Brandy, what’s wrong?”
Only then did he notice her torso. His eyebrows shot upwards in shock, and his vizor fell shut. Opening it again, he took another astonished look. “Brandy, are you pregnant?”
“Not for long, no.”, Brandy said, and almost threw up. “Shoot, here it comes.”
“Wait, hold on.”, Dan said, and stood up. “I know someone who can help.”
“Good.”, said Brandy. “They better, or I’ll kill them.”
Dan shot a beam of light into the sky, like a homing beacon. It illuminated the trees for miles around, shedding light onto the nearby clouds.

Far away, a cold, wet, tired figure, on the brink of collapse, looked up in fear at the light. Her hands and arms shook, and she gripped her gun tighter.
Don’t let that distract you, she thought. You have to keep going.
She pulled her cloak tighter to shield from the cold, gritted her teeth, and continued her slow, stumbling walk.

Chapter Text

“Don’t worry, Brandy, she’s coming.”, Dan said. “She’ll be here in just a few more seconds.”
“Ooh, she better.”, Brandy burped. “Or else I’m gonna-”
She briefly lost control of her arm, and fell to the ground. With a groan of pain, she managed to roll herself over, and stared up at the sky. She felt a pair of gentle arms grasp her, and lift her to a seated position.
“There.”, Brandy heard a gentle voice say. “Isn’t that better?”
“Oh, good, she’s here.”, Dan said, relieved. “She’ll help you, Brandy.”
Brandy looked over her shoulder, and found herself staring into the kind face of a Healer.

Song: Approach

“Hello, Brandy.”, the Healer said. “Your friend Dan has told me all about you. My name is Hailizi. Now, what seems to be the problem?”
“The problem?”, Brandy asked. “The problem? The problem is that I am minutes away from giving birth in the middle of the forest!”
“Now, there’s no need to shout.”, Hailizi said, and raised her hands in front of her as they began to glow a soft white and gold. “I have something that will fix all that, if you just hold still-”
Brandy tried, among the pain, to hold still. She closed her eyes, and Hailizi fired. A powerful healing ray hit Brandy dead-on, augmented with every possible upgrade that Hailizi thought would help the situation. For almost 10 seconds, Hailizi’s healing continued, Brandy no longer feeling anything but what seemed like a warm bath.

Once Hailizi’s arms fell back to her side, and the light and warmth faded, Brandy once again opened her eyes. Her first sensation was one of lightness.
“What did you-”, Brandy asked, and looked down. To her utter astonishment, the child that she had been carrying for weeks had vanished.
Brandy’s heart skipped a beat. Even if she hadn’t wanted it to exist, the thought of actually just losing it like that made her oddly upset.
“Hailizi, what did you do to it?”, Brandy asked. “Where did it go?”
Hailizi smiled, and pointed to the South. “Do not mourn the fate of your child. I simply put him… elsewhere. Somewhere where he shall be raised. Once the time is right, perhaps he will meet you.”
“Okay.”, Brandy said. “I guess that’s okay.”
Inwardly, she sighed with relief. She had known that she was unable of caring for a child, especially a son. Whoever he was, or wherever he had landed, Brandy knew that he would be getting a better life than the one she possibly could have given.

“But that’s not all I did.”, said Hailizi. “Look upon yourself, Brandy, and rejoice.”
Brandy’s hand flew to her forehead, where she had discovered the raised tattoo. But now, upon running her hand across her skin, Brandy only felt herself. The same results happened on her thighs, where Chad had carved his initials. And on her cheek, where a scar gained in the Raid on TheEvilOverLords had persisted for weeks. This truly was a powerful Healer.
“You… got rid of everything.”, Brandy said. “You healed me.”
Hailizi shrugged. “That’s what I do. I’m a Healer.”
Dan crouched beside them, taking a quick look in the direction of Oticat’s castle.
“Thank you for your help, Hailizi.”, Dan said. “But I think that there are people who need you now.”
Hailizi slowly rose into the air, giving Brandy a slow wave- which she returned. “You are right, Warrior Dan. I bid you good luck on your future training. Farewell, and good luck.”
She flew off into the night, towards the West, leaving Brandy and Dan alone.

Song: Peaceful Sightseeing

There was silence for several seconds, until Brandy gave a long whistle. “Dan!”, she said. “Look at you! What kind of training did you do?”
Dan threw his arms outwards. “What kind of training did I not do? I was training the whole time they had me there!”
“No way.”, Brandy laughed. “You were there for weeks!”
“Yeah.”, Dan said, and posed. “Does this not look like weeks of nothing but training to you?”
He flexed exorbitantly, Star flashing around him. “When I went in there, I was just a Knight. Now? I’m like… the ultimate warrior!”
Brandy giggled, and Dan reached out to her. She took his hand, then let it go and Dashed onto his shoulder. “And I wasn’t alone, either. There must have been at least 20 other Students of the Star there.”
“Really?”, Brandy asked. “Say, you never told me- what exactly is Star, anyway?”
Dan opened his mouth to speak, but he did not. He fished for a good answer inside of his thoughts, but failed to come up with anything. “I… don’t really know. Exactly.”, he said. “Bowza knows though, maybe he can tell you.”
“What were they all there for?”, Brandy asked. “What would they need to train for?”
“I don’t know.”, Dan shrugged. “Something something about a Dragon is all I remember. I just focused on getting strong.”
“Do you think you could teach me Star?”, Brandy asked. “It looks very handy.”

Dan awkwardly blinked. Underneath his helmet, his face slightly reddened. “Yeah, about that…”, he said, then trailed off. “My teacher said that only male Troops can learn Star to any effectiveness. Female Troops have something else.”
“Really?”, Brandy asked, a little bit perturbed. “What?”
“They’re more sensitive to some other sort of power.”, Dan said, trying to remember. “It was something called, um… Stan?”
“Stands?”, Brandy asked, it being the first thing to pop into her head. “Was that it?”
“Oh, yeah!”, Dan said. “It was Stands? Do you know what they are?”

Brandy thought it would be best if she didn’t tell Dan about the Phantom. “Not really. Just something that Brenda told me about once.”
“Oh.”, said Dan, and looked up at the moon. “Uh, we should be getting back now.”
“Right.”, Brandy said, pointing towards Builder’s Workshop. “Agatha’s wondering where I am. Shoot, I bet they all are.”
“Why?”, Dan asked. “Didn’t you tell them you were coming out here?”
“Eh, no.”, Brandy admitted. “I kind of ran away. Without telling anyone.”
Dan gave her a look, and Brandy winced. “Look, I’ll tell you everything once we get back.”
“Okay.”, Dan said. “Onward!”
With Brandy on his shoulder, Dan lit up the bottoms of his feet with Star, and took off into the night.

Agatha paced back and forth in the entryway of Oticat’s castle, sick with worry. There had still been no word from Chuck and his friends, and Oticat was considering sending out another search party of Bats and Minions. Agatha’s mind swirled with possibilities of the worst, desperately hoping that none of them had come true. But dread still gnawed at her heart, the pulse of her heart beating like a drum.

Song: Himeru Omai

“She’s dead, you know.”, came a voice from another room. “That much is certain. Or at the very least, she very soon will be.”
Agatha stiffened. The voice sounded like no one she knew, yet at the same time, it sounded very, very familiar. An evil aura emanated from the kitchen, palpable as physical touch.
“Webert?”, Agatha asked. “Do you feel anyone? In the castle?”
But there was no answer- Webert had fallen fast asleep. Agatha, however, was never alone- she summoned her Skeleton trio and slowly crept towards the kitchen.
Once she looked around the corner, she silently gasped. There, on an oddly placed couch, sat a sprawling dark web. The edges of it sizzled and ate at the floor, barely audible screams coming from all around it. In the center reclined a tall figure in elaborate armor, every bit of him black as the darkest night. Smoke rose from his upper body, burning designs of demonic symbols into the ceiling above.
“I know it.”, he said. “You know it. But will you admit it, that’s the question.”
Agatha held up her staff, even though a ferocious aura of fear swirled throughout the entire room. Larry held up his sword, trying to maintain a fierce composure.
“Who- who are you?”, Agatha asked. “Where did you come from?”

“Mmm-mmm, wouldn’t you like to know…”, the demon hummed, and flicked his hand. A dark door opened in space, and he stood up. “But don’t worry. You will… soon.”
He raised his finger to his lips, and blew. All the light in the entire castle vanished, then reappeared again at his fingertip. With a single flick, it was gone, along with him. Only the insanity of his eyes remained lodged in Agatha’s mind, a mosaic of pure evil that would most likely never truly go away.
Agatha stood there for a second, and gulped. The lights slowly came back on, flickering with the exertion required to do so. The couch that had appeared from nowhere slowly melted into the ground, leaving behind a puddle of what appeared to be liquified darkness.
“Agath?”, came the half-conscious voice of Webert, from the kitchen. “Who was there?”
“I don’t know, Webert.”, Agatha said. “I’m not sure I want to.”
Larry grabbed her skirt, pulling anxiously. He had just gotten what he considered to be The World’s Greatest Idea, and was eager to tell someone before he forgot it somewhere inside of his empty skull.
“What?”, Agatha asked, looking down. “What is it?”

Larry mimed taking a communicator from a pocket, drew a mask across his face, and held his hand up to his jaw. He clicked and clacked his teeth together to imitate speech, then jumped up and down as fast and high as he could.
“What- what are you-”, Agatha whispered, before Larry’s message clicked into place. “Oh! You want me to call Brandy. Larry, you’re actually pretty smart.”
Agatha dug her own communicator out of her pocket, flipped through speed dial, selected Brandy’s button, and waited for her to pick up. “Of course she has her communicator on her. Why didn’t I think of that?”
But, alas for poor Larry and his Fantastic Plan, Brandy had lost her communicator several miles back. It was one of the things that the Goblins had taken from her, and as such, was now ringing muffled under a puddle of Elixir, half buried in the ground.

Agatha waited for a few more seconds, then hung up. Her face turned ashen white, and she gripped her staff tighter.
“Webert?”, she asked. “Is there any word from Chuck’s group?”
“Let me check.”, Webert said. He wandered over to the door, looked at the doorknob, grunted, and sat back down. He thought he was looking at his communicator, but he was still stone drunk. “Nope.”
Agatha leaned against the wall. “Larry, call Oticat. Tell him to send out the Minions. We need to find out what’s going on.”
Larry saluted, and ran over to the table. He grabbed Webert’s communicator and hit the King button, setting up a direct line between him and Oticat.
“Webert?”, Larry could hear Oticat say from the other end of the line. “Is there any news?”
News?, Larry thought, and tried to say. I’m calling you for news! Of course we don’t have news! We’re not the ones that sent out a search party!
But, he realized too late, he was a Witch’s Skeleton. And thus, he was totally incapable of spoken speech. He flapped his arms about, grabbed the larger model communicator in his arms, and ran over to Agatha. He dumped the device in front of her, looked up, and shrugged.
“Oh, right, I forgot you can’t speak.”, said Agatha. “I guess in the moment, it sort of just… slipped my mind…”
She picked up the communicator. “Oticat, this is Agatha, and it was Larry. Is there any words?”
“Oh, that’s who it was.”, said Oticat. “And no, Chuck and his group are not yet back. I’m considering sending out the Minions.”
“Do it.”, Agatha said. “For Brandy’s sake.”

Brandy did not know of this conversation. The only thing that she knew at the moment was the wind whistling through her hair and slamming into her face, as Dan ran across the open ground with Star-enhanced steps. She gripped his shoulders tightly, her hands digging into the collar for support. She squinted her eyes nearly shut- both to defend against the wind and to get a better look. Her heart leaped as she began to just barely make out the towering wood and brick spires of Builder’s Workshop in the far distance. They were getting close.
“Dan!”, she shouted, trying to be heard against the howling wind. “We’re getting close!”
Dan looked up, slowing down just a bit as he did so. He, too, saw Builder’s Workshop.
“Oh!”, he said. “Awesome!”
Then he crouched down and sped up again, blazing through the marsh, each footstep a small explosion.
“I’ll call Agatha!”, Brandy said. “That way she’ll know that we’re coming!”
“Good idea!”, Dan shouted, not taking his eyes off the path for a moment. At this speed, it would be very bad for both of them if they were to crash.
Brandy put her hand into her pocket where her communicator was. She felt around for a little bit, and frowned. It wasn’t in there.
“Hey, what-”, Brandy said, then slapped her own forehead as she remembered. The small, shiny device had been one of the very first things the Goblins had taken, along with the keys to the basement, a fistful of Gems, some art supplies, and- wow, the Goblins had taken quite a lot. As soon as she got some free time, Brandy would have to go back and find everything.
“Never mind, I lost it.”, Brandy said. “It’ll just have to be a surprise.”
“You lost your communicator?”, Dan yelled. “Aren’t those expensive?”
“Eh.”, Brandy shrugged. “I’ll just have to take a little Gold out of my stash and buy a new one.”
“How much do you have?”, Dan asked.
“I don’t know. Rude to find out all the way.”, Brandy said with a flick of her finger.
Dan nodded, and they continued on the path towards home.

Song: Third Bomb

Oticat rushed across the room, to the group of Minions he saw hovering in the air. He waved his arms a few times to get their attention, and they all turned towards him with curiosity.
“Hey, listen.”, he said. “You’re all fast, and you can fly. Go find Brandy. She left towards the coast.”
The Minions could understand what he said- an average Minion was on the same level of intelligence as a Raven or Crow. They knew that Oticat was worried, and that he had told them to find a specific person. They could work off of that. So they rose into the air as one, and took off towards the place that he had pointed.
“Please, guys, find her.”, Oticat whispered under his breath. “We can’t lose Brandy again.”

“Hey, what’s all this?”, Brenda asked, having suddenly appeared behind Oticat. “What about Brandy?”
“She’s missing.”, said Oticat. “You wouldn’t happen to know where she is, would you?”
He gave Brenda a look. He thought that he knew for sure that she had been the Phantom’s user. And even though nothing could be proven, he also deeply suspected that Brenda, in one way or another, was still out to get Brandy.
“Say, could your Stand help us?”, he asked.
“What?”, Brenda asked. “What are you talking about?”
Her mind raced. How did he know about the Phantom? The only ones that knew her secret were herself and Grrshknn… she thought.
“Hmph.”, Oticat said. “Playing-”
A great cry went up from the entryway of the room. Both Oticat and Brenda turned to look, their conversation forgotten. For there in the doorway, was the figure of a Hog Rider aboard his Hog, both dripping with exhaustion.
“I have news about Brandy.”, he said. “It’s bad.”

“What?”, said Oticat. He rushed over to the Hog Rider. “What is it? And where’s everyone else?”
“Everyone else is behind me.”, the Hog Rider said. “I’m just the fastest out of anyone. And the news is-”
He stopped for a moment to think. “You know, I’m not actually sure. They just told me to deliver the news, but no one ever told me what the news was.”
“That’s not good.”, said Oticat, stroking his beard with worry. “I hope everyone’s alright.”
He turned to continue his conversation with Brenda, but she had managed to sneak away during the chaos. In her place, there stood a Knight, looking rather confused.
“Ah, Oticat.”, the Knight said as soon as Oticat had turned. “There you are, I’ve been looking for you.”
“What is it?”, Oticat asked. “Who are you?”
“Why, I’m Dave.”, said Dave. “Your new Knight.”
“What? My new Knight?”, Oticat asked in confusion. “But that doesn’t make any sense. I’d only get a new one if my old one… was… gone…”
He looked up, removed his crown, and placed it over his heart. “Oh, Se’th.”, he said. “What is going on?”

Song: Overlapping Fate

Agatha rose from her chair, and looked out the window. She could see the gentle glow of moonlight slowly flowing across the landscape, the faraway Arenas glowing with magical light. And under the illumination of the moon, there appeared a shape. Agatha squinted, trying to make out what it was, but she could not.
The hulking black figure stomped across the ground at tremendous speeds, throwing up a huge burst of dirt with every footstep. There seemed to be something riding on its shoulder, although Agatha could not tell what it was. But as the thing came closer and closer with every passing second, Agatha knew that she had to do something about it.
“Larry, go outside and see what that is.”, she whispered. “Tarry, wake up Webert. Harry, stay by me.”
The three Skeletons sharply saluted, and ran off to perform their appointed tasks. Except for Harry, of course- he stayed by Agatha’s side as he was told. Larry ran out the special Small door in the kitchen, and Tarry jabbed his sword into Webert’s arm. The Bowler gave a snort of surprise and sat up, looking out across the room with bleary eyes. “Wha…”
“Webert, we’ve got something.”, said Agatha, not taking her eyes off the approaching monster. “I need you to help me with it.”
Webert went over to the window. He took a good, long look at the approaching figure. He looked away, looked back, and at last saw it. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped a little.
“Holy frick.”, he said. “What is that?”

Larry ran outside, flailing his sword, ready to eagerly take on whatever the monster was. Screeching threats in Skeleton, he bounded towards the figure even as it drew closer. Larry looked with his magical eyes, assessing exactly what the threat was, and almost stopped in confusion. The signals were familiar, friendly. He knew the monster- or were there two of them? And yet, they both seemed different, somehow, like they had grown.

Brandy saw Larry standing blankly in the middle of the road. Dan didn’t, however, his thoughts focused entirely on covering the last few steps towards home. “Dan!”, Brandy suddenly yelled, tugging on his neck armor. “Look out!”
Dan slammed one foot into the ground, sending up an explosion of dirt that reached fifteen feet behind him. He almost fell forward on his momentum, but was able to catch himself just in time.
“What?”, he gasped, almost entirely out of breath. “What is it?”
“It’s Larry!”, Brandy said, and pointed. Dan looked towards the ground far below him, and saw Larry standing beneath him.
“Oh. So it is.”, Dan said. “Hello, Larry.”
Larry flung his sword over his head, extended a hand, and ran off towards Oticat’s castle before anyone had had a chance to shake it. With a clatter of bones, he opened a small side door and went inside. Dan and Brandy looked at each other, Brandy sliding down from his shoulder onto the ground.
“Well, this is it, I guess.”, Dan said. “I’m finally home.”
“You are.”, said Brandy. “And I’m glad.”
And so the two both went for the door, at the same time, trying to get in first. Because that’s just the way that they did things.

Agatha saw Larry enter, his skull shaking with pure excitement. Webert stood behind Agatha, boulder in hand, waiting for something to throw it at. “What is it, Larry?”, Agatha asked. “What did you find?”
It took Larry a bit to get himself under control, but once he did, his hands and fingers started flying at breakneck speeds. Bandit, he signed, drawing a mask around his eyes. Brandy, he fingerspelled.
“Brandy?”, Agatha asked. “She’s back? But- what was that thing with her?”
Dan, Larry spelled, and Webert and Agatha looked at each other in shock. Giant, Larry spelled, bringing his hand up above his head as far as it would go.
“What are you talking about?”, Webert asked. “Dan’s a Knight, not a Gia-”
The door creaked open once again, and a familiar Bandit entered the room. Agatha’s hands flew to her face, and Brandy waved with a weak smile. A huge dark shape lurked behind her, taking up the doorframe and then beyond. “Hey.”, Brandy said.

“Brandy?”, Agatha almost shouted. “Wha- where were you? And what’s that behind you?”
“Oh, it’s just me.”, said Dan, and crouched down. He wiggled through the doorframe, then stood up. “Only better.”
“Dan?”, Webert asked, and blinked in disbelief. He strode past Agatha, who was still frozen in place, and extended his hand to shake. Dan gave Webert a hard fist bump, and the Bowler grinned. The two titans both jumped forward, slamming against each other’s stomachs and back onto the floor in some ancient ritual of manhood.
“What happened?”, Agatha asked. “Brandy, where were you? Dan, where were you? How did you two find each other?”
Agatha took another wide-eyed look, and saw that Brandy was no longer pregnant. “Where did the kid go?”
Brandy looked at Dan, and Dan looked back at Brandy. “I think you should sit down.”

Agatha almost fell to the couch, Webert slamming down next to her. Larry, Harry, and Tarry all leapt up into the air, grabbing hold of Dan’s arm and dancing around on his shoulders.
“Tell me everything.”, Agatha said, leaning forward intensely. “Then we can go to the Clan Meeting. We have search parties out looking for you.”
“Oh, that’s where everyone is?”, Brandy mused. “Alright. We’ll make this quick.”

“Sir, I don’t… I don’t understand.”, Dave said with bewilderment. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no.”, Oticat said. “You are innocent here. But if you exist, then that means that my old Knight, Dan, has passed on. May his soul rest in peace.”
“Oh.”, Dave said, then put a hand on Oticat’s shoulder. “Well, I hope I can-”
The immense double doors at the front of the main room swung open with a loud crash, and a dozen Hog Riders all slowly trotted in. Their heads hung low, and their Hogs shuffled dejectedly along the floor, their moods reflecting those of their masters. Chuck gave a heavy sigh, and Trigger neighed to match the sound. T looked up, and scanned the room for Oticat. He was the one that had been chosen to break the bad news.
“T.”, Oticat said. “You’ve returned.”
His voice was thick with worry. He knew that the way that the Hog Riders carried themselves could only mean bad news. “Is Brandy… is she…”
T dropped his hammer, the traditional gesture of a Hog Rider’s acceptance of defeat. In his eyes, he and his team had failed. “We found her. But not in any good way.”
“What do you mean?”, Oticat asked, but he already knew what T was going to say.
“Once she hit the coast, she didn’t stop.”, T sighed. “We saw her swimming towards the Continent of the Clans. We all know that the only Troops that can swim all that way are Fishermen and Hogs. We tried to call to her, but it was no use. We can only assume that she drowned.”
Oticat stared down at the floor, heartbroken. He had tried so hard to protect Brandy, mounting a massive investigation to find her after she had been kidnapped, taking on an entire enemy Clan that wielded what were probably demonic powers- all for it to end like this. With Brandy commiting suicide, and drowning in the sea. And with Dave’s existence, he knew that Dan had died somewhere as well.

“Farewell, Brandy. Farewell, Dan.”, Oticat said, and looked up to the sky. He placed two fingers over his heart, and pushed them upwards to represent the souls of the fallen. “May you meet again, on the other side.”
“Why wait?”, came a voice from the side door. “We could just meet each other now.”
Oticat almost choked on air. His face reddened as he fell to the floor, whacking himself on the back. After a few seconds of this, he looked up in utter shock at the side door. He was the last one in the room to do so.
His eyes fell on a welcome sight, dressed in a long green robe. Next to her stood an armored titan, characterizing golden energy flickering around him. Even though Oticat did not have one, he knew a Mega Knight when he saw one, and could recognize Dan anywhere.
“Brandy?”, he almost shrieked. “Dan? You’re alive?”
“I think so.”, Brandy said. “You wanna check?”

Chapter Text

As the entire room stood, watching in shock, Brenda alone Dashed up to Brandy. She grabbed her hand, shook it, and turned to the audience. “They’re alive.”, she said, and winked.
The assembled Clan, as one, let out a cheer, and then turned back to their various activities.
“But...but how?”, Oticat sputtered, running up to Brandy and Dan. “I mean, I guess that I know how Dan and Dave worked out, but Brandy- Chuck and the others saw you drown! How are you alive?”
Brandy shrugged. “I don’t know what they saw. I never even stepped foot in the ocean.”
Oticat pondered this for a second, then he broke out into a wide, ecstatic, ear-to-ear smile.
“Go and join the party, you two.”, he said. “You’ve earned it.”

Brandy and Dan looked at each other, grinned, bumped fists, and both left to join the festivities.
“Let’s do this.”, Brandy said. “Hopefully, this will go better than the last Clan Party I went to.”
“What do you me-”, Dan began, then stopped as he remembered. “Oh yeah. I don’t think that’ll be hard.”
Brandy laughed, and Dashed over to the bar. There was a pyramid of Skeletons tending it, at least where she was. It was a very long bar, with multiple tenders. Dan crashed down right next to her, the bench very nearly buckling under his weight.
“Hey, rattlers!”, Brandy said. “Give me something good.”
The pyramid of Skeletons flipped over to her, looked supernaturally among themselves, and made a decision. The one in the back bent over and grabbed a totally random bottle, then tossed it to one in the front. He caught in his bony hands and gently tipped it into Brandy’s cup, then threw it into her hand.

Agatha tapped Oticat on the shoulder. “Excuse me, sir?”
“What is it, Agatha?”, Oticat asked. “I hope you can tell me what all happened.”
“Well, it’s a bit of a long story.”, Agatha said. “But I guess I can tell you roughly what they told me.”
Oticat sat down on a nearby lounge chair, and Agatha slammed her stick down onto the ground.
“So, Brandy ran through the forest…”

Song: Silver Twist

Brandy almost drank what was in her cup, then took a closer look. She had assumed it was just Elixir, but it wasn’t. It was a thick, murky liquid- and it was green.
“Excuse me, what’s this?”, she asked, and the Skeleton pyramid halted. It slowly grinded around to face her, and all the Skeletons blinked.
“They say it’s grassbeer.”, a Goblin next to them drawled. “The strong stuff.”
“Oh. Okay.”, Brandy said. “Hey Dan, you got some too?”
Dan took a look inside his cup, then realized that there was nothing in it. “I don’t know. I drank all of mine.”
Brandy giggled, then threw back her cup. She drank all of the grassbeer in one giant gulp, then dropped the cup onto the floor. Almost instantly, her vision clouded. The sights and sounds of the party around her faded into fizzy darkness, and Brandy lost consciousness.

Nearby, Brenda was sitting at a small table. She had been having a riveting conversation with a Dark Prince, who had seemed to come out of nowhere.
“So, uh, what’s your name?”, she asked, taking a sip of her grassbeer.
“My name is Mike. I'm 33 seasons old. My house is in the northeast section of My clan, where all the troops are, and I am not married. I work as a troop for my king MegaBanditx, and I get home every day by 8 PM at the latest. I don't smoke, but I occasionally drink. I'm in bed by 11 PM, and make sure I get eight hours of sleep, no matter what. After having a glass of warm Elixir and doing about twenty minutes of stretches before going to bed, I usually have no problems sleeping until morning. Just like a baby, I wake up without any fatigue or stress in the morning. I was told there were no issues at my last check-up. I'm trying to explain that I'm a person who wishes to live a very quiet life. I take care not to trouble myself with any enemies, like winning and losing, that would cause me to lose sleep at night. That is how I deal with society, and I know that is what brings me happiness. Although, if I were to fight I wouldn't lose to anyone.Not even level 13 e barbs.”, he said, in one long breath, then looked up. “I’ve got to go.”
He stood up and left, leaving Brenda wondering what had just happened.
“Yeah, okay-”, she said, then saw out of the corner of her eye Brandy fall to the floor.

“Hello, Brandy? Can you hear me?”
“What?”, Brandy thought. She saw herself, yet she was still in her own body. She floated upside down in a huge red space, with only a small turquoise river running through it. Looking around, she could see no one, yet she recognized that voice.
“Ah, it appears that you can. Fortunate.”, said the voice again, then God appeared in front of her. Next to him was a floating mannequin head, wearing a totally blank expression, yet still somehow managing to look pleased.
“Thank you for your company.”, the head said, and spun on its axis. It vanished into thin air, and God clapped once.
“Brandy.”, he said. “There’s something very important that I forgot to tell you. It’s about me, and my power.”
“What?”, Brandy asked. “What is it?”
“I told you that no matter what happens, my power would protect you from harm. But that’s only as long as you stay on the Continent of Royale. If you go anywhere else, I can no longer help you.”
“I… don’t think that’ll be a problem.”, Brandy said.
“That includes Legendary Arena.”, said God. “I can’t reach there. So if you ever go there, do it knowing that I cannot help you.”
Brandy’s heart raced. Did that mean that she would go to Legendary Arena soon? But why? Oticat was only in the Jungle Arena. Why was God telling her this? Was it important?
“God, wh-”, she began, but God tipped his hat and vanished. The vision spun out of control, and Brandy woke up almost on the floor, lying prone in Brenda’s arms.
“Woah.”, said Brenda. “Looks like someone can’t hold their drinks.”
Then she looked up, and gasped.

“What?”, Brandy asked woozy, and pushed herself up to grab the edge of the counter. “What is it?”
Brenda didn’t answer, only staring at the cornucopia of blue lights, dancing above Brandy’s head. They jumped and twirled in patterns, flowing around like a halo.
“What is that?”, she asked. “Does anyone else see that?”
“See what?”, Dan burped. Brenda looked to the Goblin behind the counter, who shrugged. She looked to Webert, who had just sat down next to Dan, with more or less the same result. And then, Brenda realized. If she was the only one that could see it, then it must be-
A Stand?, Brenda thought. Brandy has a Stand?
“Brandy?”, Brenda asked slowly. Her mind raced, trying to think how this could have been possible. Yes, Brandy had been stabbed with the Stand Arrow, but the Phantom had said that the dosage was not enough to give her a Stand. And yet…

“What?”, Brandy asked. “What is it? What did I do?”
Brenda slapped her own knee. “Brandy, I don’t believe it. You have a Stand!”
“I do?”, Brandy asked. “I have… what you have?”
“It’s crazy, right?”, Brenda said. “I could have sworn you never got one.”
“Then where is he?”, Brandy asked in confusion. “If I have a Stand, then where’s my own Phantom?”
“Wait, that’s- that’s not how it works.”, Brenda said. “Not all Stands look like that. I’ll tell you more about it later, but-”
She leaned in close, and the arm of the Phantom reached out. He felt the air around Brandy’s head, retreated, and gave his report.
“You seem to have a passive Stand, able to foretell the future and grant visions through dreams.”, Brenda said in wonder. “Nice…”
“Should I name it?”, Brandy asked. “I think it needs a name.”
“Well, of course.”, said Brenda. “All Stands need a name, after all.”
Brandy put a finger to her temple, and thought. “I think I’ll name it… The Dreamer.”

“Good name.”, Brenda said. “Very fitting.”
Then Brandy’s sort of drunken mind kicked into a higher gear. She suddenly remembered what the Phantom had tried to do to her, and under whose orders he’d been acting. She didn’t want to, but there was no better time to confront Brenda about it than now. “Hey, speaking of Stands…”
“What?”, Brenda asked, but the anger in Brandy’s eyes told her what she was about to say.
“Yours tried to take my soul. On multiple occasions.”, Brandy said. “What, may I ask, was the reason for that?”
Brenda’s face darkened. She looked down onto the bartop, and spoke very quietly. “That… wasn’t my fault. I didn’t want to do it. But I had to.”
“Why?’, Brandy pushed. “What do you mean, you had to?”
“I was kidnapped by a being named Grrshknn.”, Brenda said. The lights in the room momentarily flickered, but it was noticed by no one. “I don’t know how he found out about me and the Phantom, but he did. Once he took me, he told me that either I gave him your soul, or he killed everyone in the Clan. I didn’t want to do it, but I had to.”
Brandy felt the anger drain from her. She nodded, knowing what that was like.
“But it’s all good now.”, Brenda said, and noticeably brightened up. “I managed to trick him into thinking I was dead, and I haven’t heard from him in days. Hopefully, he left to wherever he came from.”
“Hopefully.”, said Brandy. “Does that mean that Ryusei_Nakao69 was working for Grrshknn too?”
“Based on what I saw around his Castle while we were raiding it? Probably.”, said Brenda. The long arm of the Phantom emerged from her back, snagged a bit of chocolate from a desert cart, and brought it to the table in front of the two Bandits, still engaged in conversation.

“Makes sense.”, Brandy said. “Ryusei_Nakao69 had to get his powers from somewhere. This Grrshknn seems pretty cowardly, though. Always making people do his work for him.”
“He’s got stuff to back it up.”, Brenda shivered. “I’ve seen some of his power in action- and I don’t doubt for a second that he couldn’t follow up on his threat. Chocolate?”
Brandy looked down at Brenda’s outstretched hand, seeing the small chunk of chocolate that the Phantom had taken.
“Chocolate… I’ve never had any.”, Brandy said. “What’s it like?”
“Oh, it’s great.”, said Brenda. “Tastes real good, and helps with headaches too. Try some.”
“Okay.”, Brandy said. She took the chocolate from Brenda’s outstretched palm, popped it into her mouth, and began to chew.

Instantly, Brandy’s entire mouth lit up in a fireworks show of flavor. Her cheeks reddened, and her eyes opened wider.
“Woah…”, Brandy moaned, and chewed harder. The rich flavor of the chocolate ran through her mouth, lighting up her tongue like a bonfire. She shut her eyes, not wanting something like sight to get in the way of her enjoyment. She let out a small squeal, slowly swaying back and forth.
“This is… incredible…”, Brandy breathed, and swallowed. She felt a tingle run from her head to her toes, and she let out a deep, satisfied sigh.
Brenda looked in shock and mild worry, as Brandy finished the chocolate.
My, I haven’t seen anyone react that way before, said the Phantom. To... anything.
Me neither, Brenda thought. It’s a little freaky. I mean, I like chocolate just as much as the next Bandit, but…
“Hey. Brandy.”, said Dan. “You okay?”
Brandy opened her eyes again and looked up at Dan. Her cheeks flushed unexpectedly, and she suddenly found it hard to talk.
“Um…”, she said, and tried to formulate a response, but it was impossible. The combined influence of the beer and the chocolate had opened a direct gateway to her heart.
She saw Dan, not as anyone else saw him, but almost glowing. Her gaze lingered on his face, then slowly traveled downwards. Dan saw the way she was staring at him, and it suddenly grew very stuffy inside of his helmet.
“I have to go to the bathroom.”, he said abruptly, and stood up, slamming a passing Goblin into the floor with his arm. He walked at a high speed towards the far end of the room, Brandy watching him all the while.

Chapter Text

A Valkyrie watched him pass, and the Prince sitting next to her raised his eyebrow. She cracked a wide grin, and took another sip of wine.
“Did you see the way those two were looking at each other?”, she asked.
“I did.”, said the Prince. “They totally look like they would be the cutest couple together.”
“We should get them to bang.”, the Valkyrie said.
“Totally.”, said the Prince. They gave each other a fistbump, and then walked off- Valia the Valkyrie towards Brandy, and Terrence the Prince towards Dan. Valia accidentally bumped into a King, who nearly fell off his stool.
“Oh, sorry sir.”, Valia said, and the King turned out indignantly.
“No, no, it’s no problem at all.”, said the King, then turned back to his partner.
“So, as I was saying, MalaysianCitizens, our best next target would be the Rush Islands.”
“I like the way you think, Ledanos.”, said his partner, and they both clinked their glasses.

Brandy took another sip of her drink, finishing the last gulp. She set the cup down with a satisfied sigh, and looked at her fingertips. Strangely enough, she felt them start to tingle.
“Hey there, Brandy.”, said Valia, and slid in right next to Brandy, smooth as a greased Dart Goblin.
“Hey.”, said Brandy, and looked to see who it was. Upon seeing that is was a tattooed Valkyrie, she flinched a little bit. Despite her recovery, Brandy had still not totally gotten over what had happened. “Uh, who are you?”
“The name’s Valia.”, said Valia, and raised her hand. “Gimme the strongest thing you got. And the 17th strongest for Brandy here.”
The Skeleton Pyramid tending the bar chittered, and ran off to get whatever those things were. Valia spun her axe around, then dropped it onto the floor. “So. I saw the way you were looking at Dan.”
“What?”, Brandy asked, as her face reddened a little bit. “I wasn’t-”
Valia put her finger on Brandy’s lips. “Shh. There’s no need to hide it. I know what you were thinking about him. I don’t blame you. He’s hot.”
“Well, I-”, Brand stammered, and tried to collect her thoughts. It was difficult through the haze of the grassbeer.
“And let me guess. You’re new to this kind of thing, and you just don’t know how to express it.”, Valia continued, looking at Brandy with a sly eye. “Don’t worry, I’m an expert here. And seeing as how you’re both drunk, neither of you will remember anything in the morning. Perfect time to practice!”

“Well…”, Brandy slowly said. “I guess so.”
“Good.”, said Valia, and propped her legs up on the stool. Brandy felt a little intimidated by her presence, but didn’t show it.
“Now, the first thing. Knowing your attraction type.”, Valia said. “And the first thing you need to know about that- you’re not sexy.”
“What?”, Brandy asked. “What do you mean, I’m not-”
“Hush, Brandy.”, said Valia. “I’m the one talking here. What I mean is that you’re not sexy, you’re cute. There’s a big difference there.”
She brought up her hand, poking in the air in front of her with each word. “And you have to play. It. Up. To the max.”
“I’m not sure what you mean…”, Brandy said. “What do I have to do?”
Valia sighed. “Just- be you. Be the small, hyper, cute one. It’ll be the perfect counterpart to Dan- he’s the huge, slow, strong one.”
She gave Brandy a strong slap on the back, almost knocking her off the stool. “Now come on. Give me your best smile.”

Brandy smiled nervously. Valia took one look, and her eyebrows arched so highly that they almost needed to register for airspace. “That’s a decent smile, but not a cute one. Try again.”
“Well, what’s a cute smile?”, Brandy asked. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Um… think of some time in your life when you were trying to be flirty with someone.”, Valia said. “Maybe he- or she- was being flirty with you. Think back to that.”
Brandy’s mind automatically flashed back to the Phantom. Even though she knew that she probably shouldn’t, she focused on the way he held her, the way he sang to her, the way he-
Valia’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Yes! Yes, that’s it! That glowing smile! Hold it!”
Brandy held her face in place, and Valia placed her fingers over her own face like a camera. “Yeah, just like that. Most adorable little smile I can imagine.”
She stood up off the barstool, and Brandy stumbled down with her. “Alright, go get em.”, Valia said, and pointed across the room. Brandy could see Dan exit the bathroom, and start walking over to her. “You got this.”

At the same time as Brandy’s conversation with Valia had been taking place, Dan was recieving a few lessons of his own, from Terrence.

Song: Overlapping Fate

“Oh, man.”, Dan whispered to himself as he slumped against the wall of the bathroom. Several wall Goblins popped out of their holes and started to yell at him, then immediately withdrew once they saw his sheer size. “Why was Brandy looking at me that way?”
“I think I know why.”, said Terrence, as he sat down next to Dan. He calmly stroked his beard, and took a sip from a cup of tea.
“What the- who are you?”, Dan asked, scooting away a little bit.
“I’m Terrence.”, said Terrence. “Lady’s man and lover extraordinaire. And you, my friend, look like you need some help.”
“What? No.”, Dan said. “I- well, I mean- Brandy’s a friend. My best friend, but still just a friend.”
Terrence shook his head, and cracked a mischievous grin. “Aha, you may think so. But…”
He abruptly rose to his feet, and Dan did the same. He wasn’t sure why- perhaps it was the sheer confidence that radiated from Terrence in droves.
“I ask you, Dan- when you rushed headlong into an enemy Castle to save Brandy, was that action of friendship, or was it of love?”
“I-”, Dan said, but Terrence would not let him speak.
“When the rage filled you in that canyon, was that the rage of a friend, or the rage of a lover? When you fought for her honor, do you really think that was the act of mere friendship? No, my friend, it was not!”
“But-”, Dan sputtered out. Terrence raised a single finger, indicating that he was not yet done.
“When you took it upon yourself to become better, you did it for her!”, he said louder, very nearly shouting. “That is not what friends do, my boy! No, that- that is the action of a lover!”

“I-”, Dan said. He began to slowly see what Terrence was talking about.
“Dan!”, Terrence shouted. He grabbed Dan by the arms, and looked up into his face.
“The way you feel for Brandy- do not seal it away, as if it were something to be lost! No, you must embrace it! Do you embrace it?”
“Well, um…”, Dan said, sweating under his helmet. It was a gigantic commitment, one that he still wasn’t quite sure of.
“Do you want to hold her?”, Terrence yelled, his brow knitted in excitement. “Please her?”
Dan thought for a moment more, then made up his mind. “Yes!”, he shouted. “I do!”
“Do you love her, Dan?”, Terrence shouted. “Do you at last see now, that everything you’ve done for her has been love?”
“Yes!”, Dan shouted, and threw his fist upwards. A bolt of Star flashed from it, destroying parts of the ceiling and giving a random Miner quite a shock. But neither Prince or Mega Knight cared.
“Then go to her!”, Terrence yelled. “Go to her, and confess!”
“Yes!”, Dan bellowed, and turned around. He flexed his gigantic muscles, and threw open the door.
A Goblin had been washing his hands at the sink during the length of the conversation, watching all the while. As he watched Dan grow more and more excited, he began to fear for his life, until Dan finally broke off the talk and left. Shakily, he gave a small thumbs up. “Good on you, bro.”, he said, although he said it in Gobbish, so it sounded more like “Glubasha boor tala.” But it was the thought that counted.

Brandy walked nervously towards Dan, who was still all the way across the room. She passed a table where sat a short figure in a black cloak. He gave off a pungent stench, and his head turned to give Brandy a look.
“Hi.”, he said meltingly. “My name’s Epic_Gamer_Jeff. I love you.”
“What?”, Brandy asked in shock. Valia winced, and motioned for Brandy to keep walking, but she didn’t see it.
“Are you a virgin?”, asked the creature. “Because I think a delightfully innocent virgin like you deserves a nice guy like me.”
He slicked back the 6 hairs on his head and leaned forward, his cracked lips puckering as he aimed for Brandy’s hand.
“Yeah, I’ll get my Elite Barbarian friends to help me.”, it said. “They’ll pin you down while I turn your insides into-”

“Dorra!”, Brandy yelled, and swung her fist. Halfway on its course, her Dash activated, turning her punch from regular to subsonic. The blow connected with Epic_Gamer_Jeff’s face, cracking open his skull. As Brandy’s fist continued on its path, brains were blown out and fragments of head sprayed across the table. Epic_Gamer_Jeff’s body flipped backwards, dissolving into Elixir from the feet up. It flipped across several tables before splattering into nothing, right onto the dinner of a very disgruntled Giant. His head rolled underneath Kars’s feet a dozen tables away, where he and Lars were having a very intense drinking contest. Almost subconsciously, Kars stomped downwards, crushing the head into Elixir.
Brandy wiped her fist off on the tablecloth, and huffed. “Disgusting.”, she said. “Wonder who that was.”

Then she looked up, and saw Dan staring at her from across the room. His eyes lit up a brighter blue, and his arms lit up gold as he struggled to contain his emotions. Brandy started walking faster, and they met in the center of the room. Valia and Terrence watched closely from the sidelines, both hoping that their training would pay off.
“Uh… hey.”, said Brandy, and flipped back her hair. She flashed her best smile like Valia had taught her, and she felt her heart flutter.
“Hi.”, said Dan. He tried not to be nervous, but what could he do with Brandy right there in front of him like that? She was just so adorable, he felt like picking her up and just squeezing her as hard as he could.
“You… wanna sit down?”, Brandy said, not knowing what else to say. She gestured to a nearby empty table, with half a plate on it. The plate, along with all the food on it, had a bitemark out of it the shape of Goblin jaws.
“Sure.”, Dan shrugged. He tried to think of something to say. He had rehearsed some lines as soon as he got out of the bathroom, but he couldn’t remember them now.
Brandy slid into one of the chairs, and Dan slammed down onto the floor. Even though he didn’t use a chair, he towered over the table like a mountain over a plain.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Terrence signing something. It looked like he was mimicking… eyes? No, a smile. Sparkly? Dan thought for a moment, then understood.

“You’re looking cute tonight, Brandy.”, he said, scratching the back of his armor.
Brandy gasped in mock surprise, and Valia pumped the air with her fist. Brandy smiled internally- the plan had worked.
“What?”, she asked. “You really think so?”
Dan sweated a little bit. Had “cute” worked? Was she messing with him, or was that something that he wasn’t supposed to say? He didn’t know- why couldn’t girls just be straightforward about things? Why did they have to mess around with things?
“Yes!”, he said proudly, and slammed his fist onto his leg. “I do!”
Brandy was a little taken aback by his straightforwardness. From the way Valia had taught her, Dan was supposed to follow with her, play along a little bit. Why couldn’t guys just mess around a little bit? Why did they have to be so straightforward?

But such thoughts were soon forgotten, as Brandy and Dan looked at each other once again. They stared into each other’s eyes, the sparkling blue colliding.
“Oh, this is it.”, Valia whispered to herself. “I think it worked.”
“Come on, man.”, Terrence said, putting his arm around a passing Goblin Brawler. So overflowing was his aura of confidence that the Brawler stopped, and watched the show. “Do it!”

“Brandy, I…”, Dan said, and stopped. Was he sure that he could do this? Was he…
A surge of confidence filled him, and he grit his teeth. Of course he could do it! He was Dan the Mega Knight, the ultimate Star Warrior, and nothing could stop him, let alone the truth. But as he looked into Brandy’s starstruck face, hesitation still gnawed at him.
Brandy knew what Dan was going to say. I love you, she thought. She knew that he was going to say it- but she still wanted to hear it out of him.
“I-”, Dan said, then an unusually loud doorbell interrupted his words. Both of them turned to look at the same time.
“I… think you should get that.”, Dan said, and Terrence groaned. He slapped his hands to the side of his head, and almost fell over. “Oh no!”

“Right.”, Brandy said quickly, and stood up. She Dashed over to the door, opening it as fast as she could.
“Trick or treat!”, came a small voice, and Brandy looked down to see a Villager Child. She was, to Brandy’s amusement, wearing a Bandit costume and holding a green bag.
“I’m sorry about this.”, came the weary voice of her mother, and Brandy looked up. “I know that it’s still only September, but she really, really wanted to.”
She leaned forward, and whispered. “And I needed to get her out of the house. She’s been tearing up the walls lately.”
“Hiya, Brandy.”, said the little Villager shyly, swinging her bag back and forth. “I remember you.”
“How do you remember me-”, Brandy asked, then stopped. “Oh! You’re…”
She snapped her fingers, trying to remember the kid’s name. She had met her at the gift shop outside of Frozen Peak almost a month ago. Her name was… was…
“Cookie!”, Brandy finally said. “Nice to see you again, Cookie.”
“My mommy said I couldn’t ever be a Bandit.”, said Cookie. “But look at me now.”
Brandy laughed, and reached inside her pocket. She felt around for anything to give Cookie, and grabbed on to something random.

“Well, you know what would make it even better?”, Brandy asked playfully, and charged up her Dash in whatever hand held the object. “Some candy to go with it!”
With a burst of pure Dash energy, Brandy temporarily turned her hand intangible. She waved it inside of Cookie’s pocket quick as a flash, leaving the treat inside- which upon inspection, turned out to be a small piece of hard candy and a musket ball.

Cookie felt the weight in her pocket, and instantly grabbed what was inside. Holding the loot up to the light, she gasped. “How did you do that?”
“Bandit magic, kid.”, said Brandy. “Like this. Watch.”
In a flash of Blue light, Brandy Dashed back inside. She grabbed a random candle off a random table and Dashed back to Cookie, the flame extinguishing with the speed.
“Here you go, Cookie.”, she said, and dropped the candle into her bag. “Have fun with that.”
“What is she supposed to do with a candle?”, Cookie’s mother whispered to Brandy. “Don’t you have any more candy you can give her?”
“Oh, maybe.”, said Brandy. “Although…”

With a blur of motion as fast as she could possibly manage, Brandy flicked her hand towards Cookie’s exposed neck. There was a flash of light reflected off of metal, and Cookie’s skin raised as the fragment of Stand Arrow cut her skin, ever so slightly. To mask the action, Brandy dropped a roll of wrapped caramels into Cookie’s bag. “There you go. The greatest gift.”
Cookie’s mother looked up at the sky, and the full moon. “Well Cookie, it’s getting late. We better be getting back home. Now, what do you say to Brandy?”
“Thank you, Brandy.”, said Cookie. “For the candy. And the musket ball.”
She started to go, when something very interesting caught her eye. “Woah!”, she shouted, pointing into the room. “Who’s that?”
Brandy followed her gaze, seeing that it fell on Brenda, attempting to balance 7 trays of food at once. Brandy could see that she had summoned the Phantom to help her. “Oh, that’s my friend Brenda.”, she said. “She’s nice. You want to meet her?”
Despite the stern looks from her mother, Cookie refused to pull away. “No, who’s that behind her? The tall man, in the mask and coat?”

Brandy felt her heart jump a little bit in her throat. Cookie’s mother gave her daughter a strange look, and Brandy smiled a bit. She could see a small, red tentacle slowly sweep around Cookie’s leg before vanishing.
“Oh, that’s just her friend. Don’t worry about it.”, said Brandy. “You should be getting to bed though, it’s getting pretty late.”
Cookie finally allowed herself to be turned away from the castle, and her mother sighed in relief.
“By the way…”, Brandy said. “I think you might want to look after Cookie a little more carefully now. She’s… gonna be harder to handle.”
“What? Harder to handle?”, the Villager said in fear, before Brandy winked, and closed the door.

She waited a bit before turning around again. “Okay, uh, let’s get back to-”
She startled a little bit when she saw that Dan, while she had been talking to Cookie and the Villager, had silently appeared right behind her. Even though he was crouching, his gargantuan 18 foot frame still towered over her.
“Brandy.”, he said, in a voice as serious, yet tender, as he could muster. “I need you to listen to me.”
“What is it, Dan?”, Brandy asked. She slowly leaned against his leg, knowing what he was going to say. “Tell me.”
“I…”, Dan said, and swallowed. He saw Terrence and the Goblin Brawler both giving him a thumbs up from across the room, and a swell of courage filled him.
“I love you, Brandy.”, he said. “I always have. I… I thought it was just friendship before, but now I know the truth.”
Brandy’s eyes watered, and she threw herself forward into a tight embrace. She wrapped around Dan’s waist, burying her face in his armor. “I love you too.”

Valia and Terrence both took out their communicators, and furiously typed out a message.
Operation Lovebird is complete, typed Terrence.
Move on with Operation Lovenest?, Valia replied.
No, not yet. We should wait and let them enjoy the moment, Terrence typed, then hung up. He looked outwards with a smile, and his gaze fell on a lonely looking Barbarian in the corner. He was staring longingly at a Musketeer, sitting at a table alone.
Hold on, I found someone else, he messaged quickly. Agent Valia, report to my position.
Affirmative, Agent Terrence, Valia replied, and looked to where Terrence was. She too could see the Barbarian, and the Musketeer. A sly smile crawled across her face, and she slicked back her hair. A matchmaker’s job was never finished.

Chapter Text

Brandy and Dan stayed in the embrace for several more seconds, not wanting to let each other go. But soon enough, Brandy had to come up for air, and she moved her head out of the thick armor of Dan’s torso.
“So… what now?”, Dan asked. “What happens now?”
“I… don’t know.”, Brandy said. “Maybe we… go celebrate?”
“That’s a good idea.”, Dan said. “To the bar again!”
Brandy Dashed up onto Dan’s shoulder, and he pointed in the direction of the bar. But before they could go, there came another knock at the door. This one sounded very worn, and tired, each knock a struggle. Brandy’s attention snapped towards the door, as did Dan’s.
“I’ll- I mean, we should go get it.”, Brandy said. “It sounds important.”
“Right!”, Dan said, and stomped over to the door. He opened it with a flourish, and his eyes widened.

Song: Approach

“And then once she arrived back home,” Agatha said, finishing up her relation of the night’s events to Oticat, “She told me what I just told you. But we were rather late for the Clan Meeting, so I used those teleportation pads SpaceKrakenX gave you.”
“What?”, SpaceKrakenX shouted, as his head popped up from behind a couch. He somersaulted over to Oticat and Agatha, picking up his crown as it fell. He looked with wild eyes across Agatha’s person, scanning for any sign of dimensional wear. “You used the teleportation pads? But they weren’t tested! At all!”
“Well, we’re fine.”, Agatha said. “If they weren’t tested, then why did you-”
“You’re fine?”, SpaceKrakenX asked, and one of his eyes began to twitch. “Then that means they’re perfect! Haha, they worked! I’m a genius!”
He flung his hands into the air, and somersaulted away again, vanishing behind the couch.

The door hit the wall from the force of Dan opening it, sounding with a loud crack. A worn, haggered figure collapsed onto the floor, her cloak covering her head. The long gun by her side fell beside her, spinning before coming to a rest.
“Help…”, she moaned, and Brandy’s head ticked with recognition. “Please…”
Dan looked closer, and his eyebrows narrowed. “She’s Red.”, he said. “Who the-”
The nearly dead Musketeer somehow managed the strength to lift her head, and Brandy gasped. “Holy frick? Meg?”
She Dashed down from Dan’s shoulder, grabbed Meg, and lifted her to her feet. “Hold on.”, she said. “We can help you. We’re gonna get you food, and Elixir, and some new clothes, and-”
“Brandy, what are you doing?”, Dan asked in bewilderment. “She’s Red!”
“And?”, Brandy said. “Dan, this is Meg. I met her back at Their castle. She said that she doesn’t want to be Red anymore.”
“Oh.”, Dan said. “Are… are you sure?”
“She is.”, said Webert, coming up from behind Dan. “I met her as well. She was one of them, then chose to leave.”
Meg looked up at Webert, nearly collapsing from the effort, and managed a weak smile. “You’re Webert.”, she said slowly. “You’re the one who rescued me.”
“He did?”, Brandy asked. “But how? How did you survive? The entire Castle was blown to dust.”

Meg started to say something, but instead gave a violent cough. Brandy supported her more, and Webert decided that he would say what happened. “I, as my Clone, went around the Castle rescuing prisoners. I found her sobbing in front of a large fallen rock, and she said that she wanted to come. So I let her. Once we were outside and out of the blast range, I used the recall button on my communicator. I thought it would grab her too, but she was still Red. It left her behind.”
“I…”, Meg coughed, having worked up the strength to speak again. “I wandered the forest for days, looking for you guys. I finally found where your Clan Castle was, and when you would be there, and just barely managed to make it here in time.”
“I’m glad you did, Meg.”, said Brandy. “I think we all are.”
Meg tried to take a step forward, but almost pitched forward onto the floor. “Oohhh.”
“Webert.”, Brandy said. “Get some Elixir. Get some food, too. She needs some.”
“Right.”, said Webert, who had already returned with a platter of sandwiches and a gallon jug of Dark Elixir. “I thought she might.”
Brandy took a look, and arched an eyebrow. “Webert, that’s Dark Elixir. We just need the regular stuff.”
Webert took another glance, and frowned. “Ah, yes. Sorry about that. Guess I just wasn’t looking.”
He opened his hand, and called to a passing Goblin Gang. “Heyo, I need some Elixir! Y’all got any for me?”
The Goblins looked at each other, and shrugged. But one of them crowed triumphantly, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out half a bottle of Elixir, and all the other Goblins ooed and awed.
“Yeah, thanks bro.”, Webert said. “Toss it here.”
The Goblin wound up and threw the bottle as hard as he could. Webert stretched out his hand, but Brandy Dashed up into the air and grabbed it before he could, then gave it to Meg.
“Here, drink this.”, she said. “It’ll-”
Before Brandy could even finish her words, Meg snatched the bottle out of her hands. She broke the cap off and poured the Elixir down her throat all at once, the color returning to her skin as she did so. Brandy could see her limp arms grow stronger, and her tarnished armor start to shine.
Meg ventured a careful step away from Brandy’s arms, managing to take a few steps. With uncharacteristic fierceness, She grabbed a sandwich off the platter and ate the entire thing in one bite, then another. Within seconds, the number of sandwiches had gone down by 6.

Meg downed the last sandwich, and heaved a sigh of relief. “Whew. Thought I wouldn’t make it for a second there.”
She looked around, and saw the party. “Wow, this is… a lot different from the last party I went to.”
“Yeah, Blue parties are a lot different from Red’s.”, Brandy said with an awkward smile. “More casual conversation, lot less consorting with demons and random criminal acts.”
“Demons?”, Meg asked. “What?”
“Yeah, turns out Ryusei_Nakao69 was using the power of a demon.”, Brandy said. “Brenda told me.”
“Who’s Brenda?”, Meg asked, and her hands started to shake. “I’m sorry, I’m just so lost…”
But Brandy simply gave her a warm smile, and took her hand. “Dan, come with me. Meg, I think I have people to introduce you to.”

Song: The Stardust Man Appears

Kars roared in triumph, and slammed down his 73rd consecutive glass. His opponent, Lars, at last keeled over onto the floor and fainted dead away. The small crowd around them cheered, and Kars beat his chest with both fists.
“Yeah, who wants to take me one?”, he yelled, as he yelled everything. “I am the ultimate drinker!”
He reveled in his victory for a little bit more, until he felt a firm tap on his shoulder. He turned around, nearly slapping Brandy’s face in the process.
“Hey, Brandy!”, he shouted. “What can I do ya for? You wanna go?”
“No, not right now.”, Brandy said. “I just want you to meet someone. This is Meg.”
Meg shyly stepped forward, and gave a small wave. “Hi, I’m-”
Kars grabbed Meg’s hand, and gave it an aggressive shake. Meg vibrated up and down from the force, her glasses nearly flying right off her face.
“Nice to meet you, Meg!”, he shouted. “I’m Kars! Kars the Lumberjack! As you can see if you look at me!”
Kars broke off the handshake with a wild downwards throw, and Meg readjusted her glasses. She looked at Kars, but then turned away when she saw that he was, after all, a muscular, shirtless man, sweaty from drinking his body weight in Elixir. “I see.”, she said.

Brenda propped her feet up onto the table, picking her teeth with an iron toothpick. “So, what was your name again?”, she asked the Night Witch sitting in front of her.
“My name is Lilian.”, the Night Witch said, and put her arm around the Prince next to her. “And this is SilencePriest, my lover.”
“Really? That’s your name?”, Brenda said, and sat back down in her chair. She leaned forward with subtle curiosity. “Sounds like the name of a King.”
SilencePriest shrugged. “It’s just my name.”
“Hmm…”, Brenda hummed, and waved her finger ever so slightly. The Phantom appeared above her, looming over Lilian and SilencePriest like a shadow.
“I don’t sense anything suspicious about them.”, said the Phantom, after a few quiet moments of inspection. “They both belong to Keegladiator.”
Awesome, Brenda thought, so that the Phantom could hear. For some reason, I thought they were bad.
“Hey Brenda.”, said Brandy from behind. The Phantom instantly withdrew, and Brenda leaned her head back. “Oh hey, Brandy. What’s up.”

“I want you to meet someone.”, Brandy said, and ushered Meg forward. “Brenda, this is Meg. “I met her in TheEvilOverLord’s castle. She used to be Red, but now she wants to be Blue.”
“Nice.”, said Brenda. “You know, I think I might have seen you while I was raiding there. It looked like you were running away from a room that I had been looting from right before it collapsed.”
“Oh.”, Meg said, and looked down at the floor. “That must have been my room. I guess nothing in it survived, then?”
Then she looked up again, suddenly realizing the fullness of what Brenda had said. “Hold on a minute. You said you were looting stuff from there, right?”
“Yeah.”, Brenda said. “Next you’ll ask me if there was any chance I found a journal, right?”
“Is there any chance that you-”, Meg began, then stopped. She stared at Brenda in bewilderment. “How did you do that?”
“Eh, just a Bandit thing.”, Brenda said, and gave Brandy a subtle wink. “But yeah, I found this.”
She reached inside her cloak, and withdrew a battered leather tome. An imprint of a musket was scratched across the front, and some parts of the spine had seen better days.
“Oh, thank you so much!”, Meg said. Her hands shook as she grabbed the journal, and held it to her chest. “This means so much to me- I don’t know what would have happened if I had lost it.”
Brenda stood up, flipping her chair to another table. It was instantly swarmed upon by Goblins, and sat on by 16 of them at once.

“You look like you need a new uniform, Meg.”, Brenda said. “How about after we all get some food, I can go help you with that?”
She looked at Meg’s torn shoulder patch, and read the 3. Her eyes widened, and she flicked Meg on the shoulder. “And then we need to get you upgraded! No one should be minimum level in a Clan like this!”
A Clan like this. The words echoed inside of Meg’s mind, and she smiled. No more would she be abused. No more would her nights be filled with terror, or not even knowing if she would survive the next day. For the first time in her life, Meg was at peace.
She didn’t even notice, but as she thought that thought, the shaking in her hands calmed down a bit.

“Meg, did you hear me?”, Brenda asked.
“Oh, sorry, what?”, Meg stuttered, snapping back to reality. “What did you say? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“I said, what would you like to eat?”, Brenda said again. “We’re all ordering.”
Meg blinked, and looked around. Somehow, while she had been deep in thought, the four had all sat down at a circular white table. Meg was holding a menu- odd, she had not remembered taking or opening one.
“Uh, um…”, Meg said, flipping through the menu at random. She opened to the third page, and her finger fell on a block of text. “That. That looks good.”
Brenda leaned over, and arched an eyebrow. “You’ll have… Goblin Catering Services, all forms of payment accepted, including Gold, Gems, and tickets to MMA tournaments?”
Meg nearly dropped the menu, and tried to hide her embarrassment. “Uh, I mean, that.”, she said quickly, and pointed to some caesar salad. “I meant to point to that.”
“Okay, that’s one caeser salad…”, said the Builder that had arrived at their table. “Brandy? Dan? What about you two?”
Brandy looked up from snuggling in Dan’s arms, and thought. “Um…”
“I’ll have the double-decker steak tower.”, said Dan. “With all the sauces, and all the sides. Extra meat, with a tall drink and two pieces of toast. Cook it until Fireballed, toss it and cover it with a blanket of lettuce.”

The Builder had been writing down his order, but stopped halfway through. When Dan was done ordering, the Builder gathered all the sarcasm he could possibly muster, and put his hands on his hips. “We serve food here, sir.”
“Oh, uh, I’ll just have the steak Tower then.”, said Dan. “Brandy, what do you want?”
Brandy tapped her finger to her chin. “Can I get that as a vegetarian option?”, she asked. “I don’t eat meat.”
The Builder stared for a bit. He slowly massaged his head with his hand, and muttered angry, bitter things to himself. But then he put on an appropriately chipper face, and gripped his notepad just a little harder. “You want steak. But a vegetarian option.”, he said.
“Yeah.”, Brandy said, and sunk deeper into Dan’s arms. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh, nothing.”, said the Builder. “Just a… little hard to prepare, is all. It will take longer.”
“Ah, that’s alright.”, said Brandy with a wave of her hand. “I can wait. I have all the time in the world…”
She slowly put her hand above her head, then let it fall. Ah, that would explain it, thought the Builder. She’s drunk.

“Next you’ll say, and what would you like this evening, Brenda?”, Brenda said, twirling a cup around on her finger. The Builder turned to her, and raised his pencil.
“And what would you like this evening, Brenda?”, the Builder said, then with a deep frown, realized what she had already said. Brenda slightly stuck out her tongue, then opened up the menu. “I’ll have the fish fillet. No sauce.”
“No sauce…”, said the Builder, and wrote it all down. He flicked a switch on his coat, and his wheely shoes activated. He sped away towards the kitchen, wondering just what it was that ever made him take this job.

“Dan?”, asked Brandy, looking up at him.
“Yeah?”, asked Dan, gulping down another pitcher of Elixir. A few drops fell onto Brandy’s face, and she licked them up.
“Could you teach me Star?”, she asked. “I want to learn.”
“Why, sure.”, Dan slurred, forgetting what he had said earlier. “It’s actually pretty simple. You see, you just breathe in-”
Dan breathed in as deep and long as he could, Brandy doing the same.
“Then you focus the energy in the air into some part of your body. Say your fist-”, Dan huffed out through the fullness of breath. He did what he had done so many times before, and Brandy did what she thought, in her drunkenness, she was supposed to do.
“And then just- expel it!”, Dan said, and golden light flickered around his arm. “Like this!”
A nearby King, Digby, noticed what he was doing, and raised his hands in panic. “No wait don’t do that in here-”
But it was too late. Dan and Brandy both punched the air in front of them, sending out twin shockwaves that punched through the wall, revealing the cool night beyond.
“Overdrive Beat!”, Dan yelled, the golden Star rippling outwards.
“Haaaa!”, Brandy yelled, the force of her Dash projecting through the air, then through the wall.

Brandy looked down at her hands in disappointment, then back up to Dan. “Aw, I didn’t do it.”, she said. “What happened?”
“It takes time to learn.”, Dan said. “Everything does. But I’m sure you’ll get to do it eventually.”
“You think so?”, Brandy asked.
Dan smiled underneath his metal helmet. “Brandy, I know so.”
They embraced again, before being interrupted by the oddly familiar voice of the waiter. “Good evening, everyone. Here’s your food, cooked to perfection by yours truly.”
Brandy looked up in shock. Instead of a Builder holding the food, it was a tall man in black armor, his hair a shock of spiky blond. Brandy gasped. “Max?”

She scrambled to a seated position, and stared in shock. “You’re alive?”
Meg took off her glasses, gave them a rub to make sure she wasn’t seeing things that weren’t there, and then put them back on. The sight of Max in front of her remained unchanged.
‘Max?”, she asked. “How did you survive? You locked yourself in the kitchen as soon as the fighting started. I saw you.”
But Max merely gave a wry smile, tapping his finger on the side of his head. “Let’s just say… I found a way out.”, he said. “I put many secrets in that kitchen. Glad I could use at least one before it went out.”
“Brandy, who’s this?”, Dan asked. “Someone else you met at the Red castle?”
“Yeah.”, Brandy said. “He’s a Dark Prince. He actually convinced Ryusei_Nakao69 not to wipe my mind. He… probably saved my life.”

Brenda extended her hand, and Max gently shook it. “Nice to meet you, Max.”, she said. “I’m Brenda. I didn’t kill you, did I?”
Max shook his head. “No, I didn’t fight anyone during the raid.”
“Okay, good.”, Brenda said. “Because I know I took down a Dark Prince at one point, and it would be pretty awkward if it was you.”
“Yes, it would.”, said Max, then leaned over. He placed the platters of food onto the table- Dan’s perfectly cooked steak Tower, Brenda’s fish fillet, Meg’s caesar salad, and a large slice of watermelon for Brandy. He thought that it would be the closest thing to a meatless steak they had.
“What is this?”, Brandy asked. “I didn’t order this.”
“You ordered a vegetarian steak.”, said Max. “This was the closest thing we had to meatless meat.”
“I ordered that?”, Brandy said. “Oh. Guess I forgot.”
She giggled, and accidentally spat some Elixir she had drunken earlier out of her nose. Dan snorted, and a flash of Star came out of his own nose, frying bits of the tabletop. The two collapsed into laughter, drawing the attention of an Ice Wizard at the table next to them.
“Miksi käänsit tämän?”, he said. “Se ei oikeastaan sano mitään.”
But he was quiet, and no one heard him.

Dan and Brandy got up, picked up their food, and dug in voraciously, as neither of them had eaten for many hours.
Meg carefully took her salad from the center of the table, and picked up her fork. But before she could begin to eat it, the ceiling shook above her from some friendly brawl, dislodging a rock that fell directly onto the table. It landed in the middle of her bowl, breaking it in two and sending the salad flying in all directions. Meg stared at it for a few seconds, then looked up to gain the attention of a waiter.
“Do you hear that?”, Brenda asked.
“Hear what?”, Meg replied.
“It sounds like… screaming.”, said Brenda. “And… opera music?”
Meg listened for a moment, but could hear nothing but the party. “I don’t hear it.”
“Oh well.”, said Brenda. Hey Phantom, do you think you could do something about the salad?

The Phantom materialized for a moment, looking over the broken bits of bowl and scattered leaves. He shrugged, then slunk back into Brenda.
I possess many powers, he said. Salad repair is not one of them.
“Oh well.”, Brenda said, accidentally out loud. “Thanks for checking.”
“Who are you talking to?”, Meg asked.
“Um… no one.”, Brenda said. “I just, uh, talk to myself sometimes. Don’t listen to me.”
There was the cough of a Builder at the side of the table, and Meg turned.
“What is it?”, he drawled, the very picture of It’s been 17 hours since I started my shift and there is absolutely nothing more I’d like to do than go home and die written all across his face.
“Um, a rock fell onto my caesar. Salad, I mean.`` Meg stammered, trying to keep her hands under control.
“It’s fine.”, said the Builder. “Here is another.”
He reached down onto his cart and pulled out another bowl of salad, placing it on the table.
“Oh, thank you-”, Meg began, but the Builder had already vanished.

Brandy leaned back in her seat, wiping the watermelon juice off her mouth with the corner of the tablecloth. She gave a small burp, and flipped her plate upside down for no reason.
“Well, looks like I’m done.”, she said. “Anyone else done?”
Dan looked up in surprise from his steak Tower, still only halfway through. “You’re done already?”, he asked. “How?”
“Well.”, Brandy said, and pointed somewhere in the general vicinity of Dan’s plate. “That is probably at least 10 more food than what I have. And I eat fast, because Bandits naturally have a fast metabolism, and this is the first food I’ve had in probably 16 hours. So if you put all that together, that’s why I ate fast.”
“Brandy, how many drinks do you have?”, Brenda asked. “You don’t sound too coherent.”
“Oh, I only had one.”, said Brandy. “Why? Is that a lot?”
Brenda looked at Dan, and he shrugged. “Looks like you can’t really hold your drinks.”
“No, I drop em.”, Brandy said. Her frayed attention wandered over to the center of the room, where she could faintly see a group of Barbarians setting up a bunch of chairs. Surrounding them were dozens of various Goblins, helping as they saw fit. Even though most of those ways involved jumping up and down on random Barbarian’s heads.

“Holy Dr’ew, are they setting up for-”, Brandy shouted, and rose to her feet. But she stood up too fast, and fell back down again into Dan’s arms. Despite this, she didn’t even miss a beat with the rest of her sentence. “Karaoke?”
“Are they?”, Dan asked, craning his neck to look. “Is it Karaoke night already?”
“Looks like it.”, said Brenda. Silently, she dispatched the Phantom to go and inspect the area. “And I take it you want to go?”
“Absolutely!”, Brandy said. “I love Karaoke!”
“Really?”, asked Dan. “Since when?”
“Since… uh… now, I suppose.”, Brandy said, and tapped her chin. “Actually, I guess I’ve never done it- but I do want to try it.”
She suddenly felt Dan’s massive arms squeeze her tighter, bringing her up to his chest. She was about to say something, when she saw tears slowly drip from his face. For some reason, Dan was crying.
“Dan, what is it?”, she asked, bringing her hand up to his face. “Why are you crying?”
Dan sniffed, and flipped open his vizor. His bright blue eyes shone, and he tried to summon up words.

“I just... “, he said. “I’m just so happy that you’re here, and safe, and I’m here, and we’re all here, and there’s nothing wrong anymore, and that I love you, and you love me, and…”
He tightened his embrace, squeezing Brandy just hard enough to count as a hug. “I’m not sure how to put it.”, he whispered. “I just want to say… I’m happy. I’m happy now. I’m not sure what I was before all this started, but I know it wasn’t as good as this.”
“I know what you mean, Dan.”, Brandy said. “I never thought I would be saying this, but… after seeing how everything’s played out, I guess that it was sort of a good thing. This whole adventure. I mean, you learned your Star powers and became a Mega Knight- that wouldn’t have happened. Max and Meg were able to get new and better lives. I got a Stand. TheEvilOverLords are all dead now. If we hadn’t brought them down, who knows what they would still be doing?”
She looked up towards the ceiling, thinking of what God had said to her. “Now obviously, some parts of it didn’t have to happen. But if you just weigh the good and the bad, well… I guess that even though there was suffering, great joy was born because of it. And really, what better thing in life is that?”
“I can think of something better.”, said Dan.
“Really?”, asked Brandy. She had a sneaking feeling that she already knew what Dan was going to do. “What?”
“This.”, he said, and leaned in for a kiss.

“Hey, what’s going on?”, came the voice of Bowza from behind them. Dan’s head instinctively snapped up, and Brandy’s lips landed on solid metal. She thought of trying for it again, but somehow knew that it would be better if saved for another time.
“What?”, Dan asked. “What’s going on?”
“That’s… what I asked.”, said Bowza. “Do you not know?”
Brandy sat up next to Dan, smoothing back down her ruffled hair. She straightened her hood, and snapped her gloves back to their right position on their hands.
“There’s a Karaoke contest going on over there.”, said Bowza. “You all want to participate, I’m guessing.”
“Sure.”, said Dan. “Most of us do. I don’t think Meg would want to, though.”
Brandy reached out with her mind, trying to find Dan’s. She was trying to ask him why he had turned away from the kiss- but then she realized. Dan had never learned telepathy. Agatha and Bowza had only taught her, as far as she knew.
Oh shoot, right, came his voice unexpectedly. I’m sorry, I can’t really remember anything right now. I’m drunk.

Wha- Dan, you can use telepathy?, Brandy asked in confusion. Since when?
They taught it at the place where I learned to become a Mega Knight, he said. Thought that I might as well take it.
Where exactly was that?, Brandy asked. You never said.
I don’t think it actually had a name, said Dan after thinking for a bit. All I know is that it was nestled in a small valley, somewhere around Frozen Peak. And there was a burrito place nearby.
Huh, Brandy thought. Think you could find it again?
I’m not sure…, Dan said. But perhaps.
So, are we gonna kiss again?, Brandy asked.
When the time is right, Dan thought. I want it to be special.
“Right.”, Brandy said out loud, and stood up. “Well, I know I want to go sing in front of people for a prize. Who else does?”

Brenda stood up as well. “Sure.”, she said. “I’m pretty good at singing.”
“I’ve never done it.”, said Dan. “But I’ll do it now.”
It was only Meg that declined. “You guys can do it.”, she said. “I’ll… I’ll just watch.”
Bowza’s eyebrows knitted together. “Who’s this?”, he asked. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen her before. And she’s Red.”
“Hi, I’m-”, Meg began, then Bowza put his hand on her forehead.
“Hold still.”, he said. “I’ll just read your mind for a bit.”
“Hey-”, Meg squeaked out, but the process had already begun. Quick as a flash, Bowza took a quick trip through her memories, of which there weren’t many. After a few seconds, he broke off contact, leaving Meg in a slight daze.
“I see.”, he said. “Well, you’re welcome to be with us. Good luck.”
He folded up his arms, golden Star crackling around his feet. With a flash of light, he teleported away and reappeared in the steel seating in front of the stage.

“Meg, come with me.”, Brenda said. “Let’s get you a new set of clothes while Dan and Brandy try to sing.”
“Okay.”, Meg said, and finished the last bite of her salad. “Where’s the-”
Brenda put one hand on Meg’s lower back, and the other on the back of her head. “Hold very still.”, she said. “If you don’t, this will hurt.”
Meg’s eyes widened, a half-second before Brenda Dashed up the nearest flight of stairs, a silently screaming Meg in tow.
“Come on, let’s go.”, said Dan. “It’s just you and me now.”
Brandy Dashed up onto Dan’s shoulder, nuzzling against the side of his head. “Right. It’s just us.”
Dan walked away from the table, and towards the center of the Grand Ballroom, where the first contestant had already taken the stage.

Chapter Text

The door to the Uniform Room blasted open, and Brenda stopped a few feet in. Meg stumbled out of her grasp and fell onto a stool, breathing hard and trying not to throw up.
“Please, never do that again.”, she said. “It was traumatizing.”
“Oh. Sorry.”, said Brenda, and began to run her finger along the various uniforms that hung up on the walls. “What size are you?”
“Uh, a size three.”, Meg said. “I think.”
“Okay, size three…”, Brenda muttered, and Dashed along the large selection. Once she came to the Rares aisle, she slowed a bit. Once she arrived at the Musketeer section, she slowed down more, and once she hit size three, she stopped. She pulled out a wrinkled bag, the uniform of a Blue Musketeer within.
“Okay, I got it!”, she shouted, then Dashed back to where Meg was sitting in the center of the room. “Does this look alright?”
Meg took the bag, and held it up to the light. “Yes, that looks good.”
Brenda sat down on a stool, and motioned for Meg to open the bag. “Okay then. Change. We’ll see how it looks on you.”
Meg’s face turned a deep red, and she looked down at the floor. “I’d rather not.”, she said quietly.
“What?”, Brenda asked. “Is there a problem? Is it just that you’d rather not take off your clothes when there’s another person in the room?”

“Yes.”, Meg said, looking down at the floor. “Last time I tried that… I didn’t get them back for hours. My clothes, I mean.”
“I see.”, said Brenda. “You can trust me, though. I promise I won’t steal anything. Even though I’m a Bandit.”
But Meg still didn’t move, or say anything. She just stared at the slatted wooden floor, her face remaining a flushed crimson.
“And besides, we’re both girls here.”, said Brenda. “So what’s the problem?”
“Well, that’s the biggest problem.”, Meg said, and shuffled her feet along the floor. Her hands trembled, very nearly leading to a dropping of the bag. “That you’re a girl. You see, I’m… uh… attracted to them. Girls, I mean.”
Brenda thought for a moment. “I see.”, she said, and held her fingers in front of her mouth. “Yes, I can see how that would be a problem.”

She stood up, and flicked her finger. “Well, guess I’ll leave for a bit. Go change, and get me when you’re done.”
Brenda Dashed at Lightning speed out of the room, leaving Meg alone.
Meg cracked open the bag, and looked down at her torn Red uniform. “Well, this is it.”, she whispered. “The moment when I finally cast aside my old life, and become Blue.”
She took the bright Blue fabric in her hand, letting it slowly cascade down.
“But… it feels wrong.”, she said. “I don’t know why, but…”
“Of course it feels wrong.”, came a voice.
“Wha-”, Meg said, and spun around. She saw no one, but she could tell that there was someone there. “Who said that?”
“I did.”, said the Phantom, and he stepped out of space. “I said that of course it feels wrong.”
“Who are you?”, Meg said hoarsely, trying to force her voice to be louder. “Where did you come from?”
“Don’t worry, I’m a friend of Brenda’s.”, said the Phantom. “I’m just here to tell you that everything new feels wrong at first. Every change, every new action feels different, which you naturally perceive as wrong- even if the net change is good. So don’t be afraid. Put on that uniform.”
He leaned forward, and gave her forehead a single light tap. “Become who you are.”
And with that, he faded.

Meg stared again at the uniform. She swallowed hard, looked up, and grit her teeth with an unexpectedly ferocious resolve. “I can do this.”, she said. “And I will.”
Not waiting to hesitate, Meg ripped off her old uniform, straight down the middle. She cast both sides of it aside, then threw the Blue one over her head. It fell down onto her body straight as an Arrow, sliding neatly in to fit her. She briefly inspected the package- it was, indeed, an automatic model.
With another quick burst of actions, Meg attached the cape and shoulder pieces. Her level still read a dull 3, but that would soon change. With one final motion, Meg took the helmet out of the bag, and slammed it over her old one. The Red helmet cracked and split apart under the pressure, sending the last shattered pieces of Meg’s old broken life spinning across the floor.

She picked up her gun. That had no color markings, so it would stay. She gave a little twirl, surprising herself. She took a step forwards, and saw herself in the mirror.
The Musketeer that Meg saw was undoubtedly her- and yet, not. She shared the same face, yet the person that Meg saw was totally new. No longer was she Meg the easy, Meg the wimp. No, starting today, she was going to be who she knew she was- and that was Meg the Musketeer.
“Dang, girl.”, she whispered to herself. “You look good.”

Chapter Text

Behind the curtains of the stage, Sadie was frantically going through some notes.
“Elizabeth!”, she hissed through clenched teeth. “Help me out here!”
Elizabeth didn’t even turn around. She was busy helping a Goblin Brawler tie bits of the stage together, her long hair tied back into a bun. “What?”, she said, trying to talk through the nail in her mouth.
“We start the show in like, no minutes and I’m missing 3 pages of speech!”
“Oh, that’s a problem.”, Elizabeth said. “But don’t worry. Just do what I do.”
“What do you do?”, Sadie asked, frantically gesturing to a Goblin stagehand to keep the curtain closed.
Elizabeth spat out the nail. The Goblin Brawler caught it between two outstretched fingers, then carefully placed it into a chalk X. He drew back his fist like a hammer and punched the nail directly into a slab of wood.
“I make stuff up.”, Elizabeth said nonchalantly. “It works for me all the time.”
“But I’m not you!”, Sadie whisper-shouted. “Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean that we’re-”
“I can’t hold it!”, the Goblin Stagehand screeched, and his fingers let go of the rope. The curtain fell open, revealing a shocked and slightly embarrassed Sadie standing center stage, still holding her notes.
“The...same...person…”, Sadie groaned, then turned to the audience. Even if she couldn’t improv like Elizabeth could, she would have to try, all the same. She took a deep breath, and-

“Hey, everybody!”, Elizabeth said, running out in front of Sadie and giving a giant wave. “Thanks for coming, it’s great to have you here!”
The audience cheered, in various ways. A Giant waved tiny flags. A Bomber threw his Bomb up into the air, where it was caught by a Balloon. Dan fired a small bolt of Star, which erupted into a firework-like blast. A Valkyrie twirled her axe on fingertip. A Goblin tried to eat his own nose.
“I know you all want to get started, so I won’t keep you waiting any longer.”, Elizabeth said, subtly gesturing for Sadie to get behind the scenes. “Let the party commence!”
Saide tucked and rolled, sliding into a tech booth cleverly hidden behind a statue of a pine tree. “Yes, and we have…”, she said, trying to sift through her frazzled notes. “A free-for-all Rap Battle as the first event!”
The crowd cheered, and a Night Witch rose from the back. Looking across the audience, she could see her previously assigned partner, Marc the Giant Skeleton slowly get up from sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“The two competing first will be…”, Elizabeth boomed through the microphone, sweeping her hand in a wide arc. “Tabitha the Night Witch and Marc the Giant Skkkkeleton!”

Tabitha lifted up her legs, allowing herself to float up towards the stage. Marc took a single ginormous step, slamming onto the stage with a loud crack.
“Somebody lay down a beat!”, shouted Sadie, attracting the attention of two Goblins that were supposed to do exactly that. They had actually forgotten all about it, and only did it because they were bored and had figured eh, why not?
The two jumped up and down on either side of an old minecart, making a low boom each time one of them hit the floor. Elizabeth threw down her hand, signaling that the rap battle had started.
Tabitha smirked, and raised her staff. “So throw your hands up, cause it’s time to get down! You better make way, I’m the new kid in town!”
There were a few cheers from the audience, but not much. They had seen better.
“I float on mist-”
A Bat flew out of Tabitha’s hair, ruffled itself, and sat on the microphone. “With her big battle axe!”, he said in an oddly deep voice, and the crowd began to get more interested.
“And I always roll deep…”, Tabitha said, and summoned the rest of her flock. They harmonized with her as she said “With a gang of bats!”
“So throw your hands up if you’re ready to clash- it’s the bat signal, baby, you know where it’s at!”

The crowd cheered. It had been a pretty good performance. But they all focused their attention on Marc, as he picked up his own microphone. Supposedly, he had never, ever, been defeated.
He took a deep breath, as deep as his nonexistent lungs would allow, and opened his eyes. They glinted, and the upper bit of his jaw cracked open in a smile.
“Heywhat’supitsyourboyI’maGiantSkeletonandI’vecometoknockyourshelloffandturnthisbattleintoaroutyeahthat’swhatI’mallaboutyoulooksoproudlikeagoodmama’sgirlwellI’mheretoringyourdeathbellI’veneverbeendefeatedneverhaveneverwillcauseI’minvinciblejustlikeeveryonetellsyouthoughtitwasagoodideatogoupagainstmebutyouseethatwasyourfollythere’snowayyoucaneverreachmyheightsI’mclimbingtoohightoofastsoforyouitsgoodnight.”, he said in one deep, long breath, then dropped the mike.
Tabitha blinked, and her mouth hung open in shock. She had always thought of herself as a pretty good rapper, but Marc was… he was just something else. Hanging her head, Tabitha knew that she had been defeated.
Slinking back down to the audience, she passed Elizabeth, who was even now scanning the crowd for volunteers. “Does anyone want to take Marc on?”, she asked. “Anyone?”
Various Troops in the audience looked around, scratching their head, looking down, sighing, and trying not to attract attention. Marc was just beyond any of them.
“Not even for a prize pool of…”, Elizabeth said, and gave a wry smile. “500 Gems?”
Brandy’s eyes lit up. She stood up off her chair, and raised her hand.
“Brandy, what are you doing?”, Dan whispered. “You can’t beat him!”

“I could try.”, Brandy said. “This is 500 Gems that we’re talking about. I have to at least-”
But even as she spoke, she could see a small, frosty figure run its way onstage. It grabbed the microphone from where Tabitha had left it, and somehow managed to balance it in between its stubby little arms.
“Wha- Randy?”, Brandy said, squinting to see. “What’s he doing up there? He can’t even talk!”
Elizabeth looked down, seeing Randy beaming up at her. “You… want to try?”, she asked, and Randy nodded. But he said nothing, because he was an Ice Spirit.
“Well, go ahead.”, Elizabeth shrugged, and backed up. She threw her hand down, and the match began.
As per the rules, Randy rapped first. He pushed the microphone up to his face, opened his mouth, and for the first time that anyone could remember, spoke.
“Ş̵͍̟̞̱̳͈̻̙̖̝͈̭͍͔ͤ̏̽̂̔̑̒̌͌ͥ̋̚ ̵̓̽̂̎͐͗̾ͮ̄ͭͨ̆͞͏͖͙͍̘͇͇̘̻̯̳̠͎̟U̡̧̧̥̲̻̟͇͙̪̻̠̹̹̺̯̱̪̘ͭ̄͆ͩ͌ͬͯ̏ͥ̾̿̔ͦ́͝ͅ ̶̴̤̪̖͇̖̼̪̤͕͈̞̫̬̬ͪ̇̑ͩ͋͐̿̆̆̃̾̀ͅC̴̴̻͖̥̺͚̦̯̗̦̥̮̫̦͙̫͚͈̬ͬ̐͗̂͋̿̉̅̿̇̓ ͋ͤ̏͛ͥ͌̓ͭ̐͒̾̚̚̚͏̧͇͔͈̭̗̱̫̞͎̟͕̲͔̲͓̣C̫͉̤̞͓͓̱̠̟̳̩̟̫̥̱͙͖ͩ͌ͧ̓ͤ̽̉̐͐͋̊̇̆̓̀͢͡”, he boomed, and the world went dark.

Meg stumbled in the upstairs room, grabbing a dresser to steady herself. All the lights shut off at once, leaving the room in near pitch-black darkness. She held on to her helmet and tucked her gun to her chest. “What the…”
Brenda slammed open the door. “Meg, you alright?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”, Meg said. “But what just happened?”
“I don’t know.”, said Brenda. “Something, that’s for sure.”
Phantom, could you-, she thought, but the Phantom answered her before she could finish.
It appears that a blast of sheer chaotic force came from somewhere downstairs, he said. I’m not sure what it was, but it was not malevolent in intent.
“Well, that’s good.”, Brenda muttered, and Meg gave her a weird look.
“Who are you talking to?”, Meg asked, and Brenda blinked.
“Uh, myself.”, she said. “Just myself.”
The lights slowly flickered back on, and they both heaved a sigh of relief.
“Whatever it was, we should go check it out.”, Brenda said. “Now come on. Meet the rest of your life.”
Meg nodded, and she followed Brenda as they both ran out the door and downstairs.

The lights slowly came back on in the Grand Ballroom, revealing an audience in the beginning stages of mass panic. Several Goblins had already began to go around and loot random Troops’s stuff. A Bowler was crawling over the lap of a Giant Skeleton. Dan had charged up some Star in his hands, and had been using it for light. But it had been only a few seconds since Randy shattered reality, so the panic hadn’t progressed too far.
Elizabeth slowly peeled herself off of the back wall of the makeshift stage, having been blown backwards by the force of Randy’s incantation. Her hair stood up as if shocked, and black soot covered most of her body.
“Ah, sorry about that…”, she nervously stammered, trying to collect herself. “I’m not entirely sure what happened, but I think that was it.”
Randy giggled, proud of his work, and ran away. But just before he did so, he made sure to bow to Marc, yielding him the victory.
“Uh, I guess I win.”, said Marc, scratching his head. “If, you know, no one else wants to challenge me.”
The audience looked around, and collectively chose not to say anything.
“That’s it, then!”, Sadie said from up in her control booth. “Marc wins the Rap Battle tournament!”
Elizabeth motioned to the side of the stage, and to Jack the Goblin Brawler. He grabbed the handles of a wheelbarrow of Gems, and pushed it up onto the stage.
“Congratulations, Marc!”, he said. “Now take your Gems and leave.”
Marc reached a giant hand towards the wheelbarrow, and stopped. Do I really want Gems?, he thought. I do not eat. I do not sleep. I have no need for material possessions besides Bomby. Maybe…
He grabbed the wheelbarrow, lifting it up over his head. “I don’t need these.”, he said. “You guys can have them.”
He flicked the stack of gems high over the head of the crowd, and they all gasped.

“I got it!”, Brandy yelled, and Dashed right out of her seat. She spread her arms open wide, slamming into the rain of Gems at high speed. Her Dash shield protected her as she shot through them and to the floor, rolling to a stop. There was a great amount of shouting and struggle, then the rain abruptly ended. Each Troop’s eyes flew to their hands, trying to count how many they had managed to catch.
Brandy looked at her arms, and the green glow of the Gems reflected off of her eyes. She had caught 8- no, 12, no- 18 Gems. 18 Gems. That was a good amount.
“Brandy, how many did you get?”, came the voice of Dan from behind her. “I didn’t try to catch any.”
“I caught 18.”, said Brandy. “That’s a lot, right?”
Dan looked at Brandy’s pile, and raised a single eyebrow. “That’s not 18. You only caught 9.”
“No I didn’t.”, Brandy said. “Look, 18.”
“I think you’re seeing double, Brandy.”, said Dan. “Are you sure you only had one drink?”
“Pretty sure…”, Brandy said, trying to think. “Yeah, just one cup of grassbeer. The green stuff.”
“Okay.”, said Dan. “I guess you’re just-”
He stopped, and realized what Brandy had said. “Wait, the green stuff?”
“Yeah.”, said Brandy. “Why?”
“Brandy, grassbeer’s clear! It’s not green! If it’s green, that means it’s expired!”

Brandy tried to think about that, and she just barely managed to. “Oh.”, she said. “Is that… bad?”
Dan shrugged. “Well, not like bad bad. More like just ‘10 times the strength’ bad.”
“Is that why I’m drunk?”, said Brandy.
“Most likely.”, Dan nodded, and picked Brandy up by the waist. “Come on. Let’s get back to our seats. I think the next thing is about to start.”
“What can we buy with all these gems?”, Brandy asked. “Maybe like a…”
“Let’s talk about it later.”, Dan said. “You probably shouldn’t make any important decisions right now.”

Sadie shuffled through her notes, trying to find the next event. “Alright everyone, next up is…”
She went faster, trying to find the right paper. Where was it, come on…
“Is…”, she muttered, flipping as fast as she could through the stack. “Is…”
With a sigh of relief, she found it. Holding it up to the light, she read clearly into her microphone.
“A Dance Battle!”, she said. “Between our very own Rascal siblings and Digb’s Guards trio!”
Double, Trouble, and Tim all popped their heads around the stage, and Double blew a large bubble. “Did someone call us?”, Trouble asked. “Because we’re here, and we already signed our names backstage.”
“Onto Jack.”, Tim added, smiling at his accomplishment. It hadn’t been easy to cover the Goblin Brawler with paint, but they had done it.
“Yeah, yeah, come onstage.”, Elizabeth said with a wave. The trio ran up the stairs, and posed.
“We are here as well.”, said the Guards, all at the same time. “And ready to dance.”
They had suddenly appeared behind Elizabeth, and she jumped when they spoke. She readjusted her microphone, and backed up behind them.
“Okay then.”, she said. “Sadie, hit us with some music, and let the dance-off…”
Elizabeth swung her hand downwards, and Sadie flipped a switch. “Begin!”

Song: Canzoni Preferite

The Guards began their dance first. One of them, Ay, flipped his shield onto his head and spun around. The other two, Bee and See, locked spears and spun each other around, then collided elbows and dropped to their knees. Ay crossed his arms in front of himself, while Bee and See stood up and spun around to either side of him. Ay gave a signal, and Bee and See dropped to their knees. Ay backflipped onto Bee and See’s shoulders, their weapons and armor balancing off of them in bizarre shapes.

“Nice.”, said Double. “But don’t think you’re even close to winning.”
She swung her legs back and forth, doing a moonwalk without going anywhere. She stopped, and snapped her fingers as her arms hung outwards from her body. Slowly bobbing to the right, she stopped, threw her arms out in front of herself, and then crossed her limbs in an X. Placing one arm on her hips, she repeated the snapping move, drifting to the other direction. Slowly waving to the right, Trouble came up behind her.
As Double continued to drift across the stage, snapping her fingers, Trouble began to imitate her moves. The two simultaneously bent both arms upwards, then back down again, then bent at the waist and folded their arms over their knees. Tim looked up, and joined his sisters at the front of the stage.
As the crowd began to cheer and chant along to the song, all three Rascals raised their arms like the wings of a chicken. They slapped them down to their knees, and hopped back and forth in both directions. They leaned back and jutted their arms in front of them, Double sliding both her feet in a split. Trouble slowly unfolded her arms, put them on her hips, and looked upwards to the sky. All three of them jumped sideways across the stage, rhythmically snapping their fingers, then threw their arms upwards, to the front, and behind, tilting their necks up to the sky.
With a large, sweeping movement, all three of them swung their arms in front and to the floor, then spun around and crossed them in a downwards facing X. They all raised their left knee, bringing their arms up to their shoulders, and threw them downwards to their knees, bopping their legs up and down in quick succession. Then with a lightning fast movement, they were back to the finger snapping, going the opposite way across the stage this time. They turned back and crossed arms once more, then Trouble faced the cheering crowd.

“I guess we normally use that one for interrogating people…”, she said. “But it works fine as just a regular dance too.”
“Yoooo!”, shouted a Bull from the back of the room, who was stone drunk and there for some reason. Then he collapsed face-first into a potted plant and was forgotten for the rest of the evening.

“And… the winner of that, I think we all know…”, Elizabeth said, “Is our very own Rascals!”
She swung her arm around with each word, riling up the audience more with each movement. “Let’s hear it for Double, Trouble, and Tim!”
Double took a bow, and Trouble didn’t miss the chance to push her in the back. Double gave a cry as she stumbled forward and almost fell off the stage, before Tim reached out a hand and grabbed her by the back of her shirt.
Double glared at Trouble, and lunged. Tim pulled her back, and grabbed the back of Trouble’s shirt as well. Holding them both off the ground as they scrabbled for each other, he huffed, blowing his hair out of his eyes. They always did this.

Tim walked off the stage, and out of sight. Elizabeth pulled her microphone closer to her mouth, and whispered into it. “Sadie, we’re going through these faster than we thought. What’s the next event?”
“Uh…”, Sadie said, flipping through the stack of papers. But as this point, it was far too jumbled to make out, so she just made something up. “The Karaoke contest.”
“Are you sure?”, Elizabeth said. “Wasn’t that supposed to be the last event?”
“Yes, and yes.”, Sadie said. “Let’s just go through with it.”
“If you say so.”, Elizabeth whispered, then smiled to the audience. “Alright, it’s somehow time already for the next part of the show.”
She pointed her finger up into the air, and bent at the knees. “The Karaoke contest!”

Brandy tapped Dan on the shoulder, and he leaned down. “Dan, let’s go up there. I want to do it.”
“I wanna do it too.”, Dan responded. “That’s why we came over here, remember?”
“Oh, right.”, Brandy said, and tapped her chin. “I forgot.”
Dan smiled underneath his helmet, and stood up, knocking over a stack of Goblins that had been about to steal his plume. “Then let’s go!”

Elizabeth looked around the audience, searching for volunteers. The Karaoke contest was open, unlike the others which select Troops had preregistered for. But now, there was no shortage of volunteers.
“Okay, we got Brandy and… excuse me, who are you?”, Elizabeth said, as her eyes fell on Dan for the first time since he had returned.
“Oh, right.”, Dan said, and flipped up his vizor. “I’m Dan. Just a little bigger now.”
“I see.”, Elizabeth said, and turned her attention back to the crowd. “And there’s Brenda and a Musketeer, and Kars and Webert. Alright, that’s 6, we can start the first round.”
“Meg?”, Brandy gasped, and turned to see Brenda and Meg coming up the side of the stage. “Oh, you’re Blue now!”
“Does it look good on me?”, Meg asked, tapping her fingers together. “The uniform?”
“It looks great!”, Brandy said. “You look like you’ve always been Blue.”
Elizabeth stared, dumbfounded. “What are you all talking about?”
“Uh…”, Meg started, before Kars broke in.
“This is Meg!”, he shouted. “She’s a Musketeer, as you can tell if you look! She used to be Red, then she came here for some reason and now she’s Blue!”
“Aha.”, Elizabeth muttered, then perked up. Even if that was weird and suspicious, there was a show to finish up.
“Sadie.”, she whispered into her microphone. “Start the music on my command.”
“Understood.”, Sadie said up in the tech booth, heating up some noodles. “What’s the song, and what’s the command?”
“The Song.”, Elizabeth whispered. “And don’t worry, you’ll know.”
“Oooookay.”, Sadie said, and took a long sip through the straw of her drink. “I guess that’s fine.”

Elizabeth pointed up into the air and closed her eyes, screaming into the microphone. “Alright everybody! Meet our contestants!”
Then her voice dropped back to normal, and she gave the crowd a low stare. “I mean, you all already know them. But you know what I mean.”
The crowd cheered, and Elizabeth gestured to the wings. Several Goblin Stagehands rushed out from either side, distributing a microphone to each singer.
“The rules are simple.”, Elizabeth said, strutting from one side of the stage to the other. “All three duos sing a selected song. Once all three have sung, you guys cheer the loudest for whoever you thought did the best.”
A Goblin, deep in the dizzy stupor of drunkenness, stood up and screeched at the top of his lungs when he heard the word “cheer”. Then he fell down, somehow into the same potted plant as the Bull, and he too laid there unconscious for the rest of the evening.
“Our first team will be Kars and Webert!”, Elizabeth yelled with excitement. “Singing a song of their own creation, ‘Rage and Bowling Combo!’”
Kars and Webert took center stage, and Sadie flipped a switch. Loud, nonsensical music began to blare from the speakers, and Kars opened his mouth to sing.

“Should I believe it?”, he bellowed. Webert stepped up to his side.
“Just believe it!”, he sang, a bit more on key than Kar’s drunken yell. They bumped up against each other, and sang in harmony.
“Rage… Bowling… Combo!”
The music kicked in harder, and a dozen Goblin backup dancers emerged from the wings, all frantically and randomly throwing their arms in various directions.
“My name is Kars, the user of an aaaaaaaaxxxeee….”, Kars said, drawing out the last note. He swung his axe for dramatic effect, the sound of the swing echoing through the microphone and off of the walls. “My card is the Lumberjack, and I work best in a pair!”
“With others, I shine!”, he sang, hoisting up his bottle of Rage. “But with a Bowler? Will I be alright?”

The spotlight swung to focus on Webert, who put on an almost overly exaggerated frown.
“I am Webert- I throw a giant baaaaaallll…”, he sang, holding up his huge rock. “I’m horribly slow, but I’m going to be very fast!”
He pointed to the sky, and a hologram of a Skeleton Army popped into view. “I’ll take down all the swarms! My ball kills them, 100%!”
Kars and Webert swung around to face each other, bumping arms in a manly gesture. They held up an oversized Odds Card, one typically used by bet runners in the Arena.
“That says- that says-”, they sang together, “Everything will go our way, right?”
Kars faced the audience, and slapped both hands to his face in an exaggerated gesture of shock. “That’s amazing! I can hardly even believe it…”

“Our combo is indisputably good!”, Webert sang, waving his hands to get the crowd more excited. “But what will the Arenas decide?”
“Everything will go our way…”, Kars sang, and sliced his axe across the floor of the stage. “If only there’s no air…”
“And if we fight exactly right!”, they sang together, Kars taking a quick gulp of Rage before continuing. “We both believe in it! Rage… and Bowling… Combo!”
“Believe in me, bro!”, Webert said, extending a hand.
“Okay! I believe in you!”, Kars shouted back, fist bumping it in what sounded like a veritable explosion of thunder. They folded downwards, and dramatically posed.
“Rage… and Bowling… Combo!”
A bunch of Minions flew onstage, diving swoops and swirls around the two’s heads. They mocked terror and started to slow-run offstage, still singing as they went.
“Even though our combo is great…”, Kars sang.
“The fate of it is still decided in the air!”, Webert finished, and the two vanished backstage.

Elizabeth stared, more than just a little shocked at the bizarre display that had just unfolded. She cleared her throat and stepped forward to the front, sweeping her arm out open wide.
“Well, that was certainly...something.”, she said. “But hold your applause til the end- we still have two more acts to do. So get ready for Meg and Brenda, with…”
She was expecting music to start blasting from the speakers, but nothing happened. She quickly pulled her microphone up to her mouth, and spoke into it furiously. “Sadie, where’s the music?”
Up in the tech booth, Sadie was flipping randomly through piles of records. “Uh...um…”, she said. “I’m looking for it!”
“Well, you better find it.”, Elizabeth said. “Because-”
A massive bass note blasted out of the speakers, and Elizabeth fell. She blinked and straightened her crown, then looked up to see the speakers physically vibrating with the force of the sound.
“I see you’ve found something.”, she said dryly. “Wonderful.”
“I don’t even really know what it is.”, Sadie said through the mike. “I think it’s labeled, uh, am I reading this right? Echoes?”
“Yeah, probably.”, Elizabeth said, then stood up. “So get ready for Meg and Brenda-”, she shouted again, “With… Echoes!”

Song: Domastic and Anna Yvette- Echoes

As soon as the music picked up, Brenda went on the aggressive. She shot Meg a look from across the stage, and Meg startled a little bit. She wasn’t used to this much attention, of any kind. Even her persecutors had gone after her at night, or in a rarely used hallway, or some other secluded place.
“Throw a rock into a pond…”, Brenda sang. She had actually quite a good singing voice, with the Phantom having taught her. “Ripples fade away…”
Meg hesitated, not knowing what to do. She didn’t know the words of the song, or how to sing, or what to do with her body. But she trusted Brenda, and she would try.
“Human hearts aren’t so lucky…”, came the words out of her mouth, surprising her. She hadn’t consciously sung those words- there was some other force at work. “Love’s battle scars remain…”

Brenda began a slow walk towards Meg, staring straight ahead the whole time. Meg almost cowered out of instinct, but found the resolve to stand her ground.
“I’m chasing echoes…”, Brenda said, and held out her hand.
In that instant, the Phantom flew from Brenda’s head into Meg’s. The words of the song appeared plastered across Meg’s vision, and she sang with confidence.
“Echoes of your ghost…”
Boldly, Brenda grabbed Meg’s arm and pulled her around, their backs touching. Meg’s eyes widened, and her face turned red. “Can’t let go of the one thing I wanted most… chasing echoes…”
“Brenda, what are you doing?”, Meg whispered, not loud enough for the microphones to pick up. “I- I thought you were-”
“Maybe I am.”, Brenda slyly whispered back. “But who knows?”
Then she sang, loud and clear. “Echoes of your ghost!”
“La da da da da da…”, Meg sang, and spun her arm around. Brenda let herself fall, landing in Meg’s arms and almost on the floor. “La da da da da…”
Brenda licked her lips, and brought the microphone to her mouth. “La da da da da da da…”
She briefly Dashed, yanking herself off the floor and threw her arms around Meg, reversing their positions before there was even time to blink. “La da da da da da da da da…”

“What- what are you doing?”, Meg whispered. “I don’t know about this.”
“Don’t worry.”, Brenda said. “It’s fine.”
Then the music erupted into a massive burst of sound, and Brenda spun Meg around on one foot. Meg closed her eyes, feeling one of Brenda’s hands take her glasses off, and the other support her in a low dip. “Echoes…”
Sadie watched them with great interest. She didn’t know who the Musketeer was, but she had barely known Brenda for some time. She didn’t really know her- but she did know the dance they were doing was not a “let’s dance for fun”.
So focused on watching was she, however, that Sadie failed to notice a single Fire Spirit that had snuck into the control booth. He looked around, and saw an interesting looking lever.
Giggling madly to himself, he ran for it, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. Too late, Sadie noticed. “
“F̷͠҉͝r̴̷̀́͡r̶̸͘͘I̵̵̧ķ̶̴̢͢s̷̵̛͢h̷̡͠i҉̴̕l̡̕ỳ͟͞҉!”, she screamed, lunging for the giggling Fire Spirit. “Get away from there!”
F̷͠҉͝r̴̷̀́͡r̶̸͘͘I̵̵̧ķ̶̴̢͢s̷̵̛͢h̷̡͠i҉̴̕l̡̕ỳ͟͞҉ stopped on the control panel, right before hitting the lever. He looked up, covered his mouth with his stubby arms, and giggled.
“Okay, now step away from the lever.”, Sadie pleaded, gesturing towards herself. “Nice little Fire Spirit, good little F̷͠҉͝r̴̷̀́͡r̶̸͘͘I̵̵̧ķ̶̴̢͢s̷̵̛͢h̷̡͠i҉̴̕l̡̕ỳ͟͞҉-”
F̷͠҉͝r̴̷̀́͡r̶̸͘͘I̵̵̧ķ̶̴̢͢s̷̵̛͢h̷̡͠i҉̴̕l̡̕ỳ͟͞҉ giggled once more, jumped on the lever, and turned it all the way to max. Now that he was on it, he could see that it read Bass.

“I’m chasing…”, Brenda sang, looking into Meg’s eyes. “Echoes…”
Meg stared back, transfixed. She couldn’t look away. She couldn’t move, or think, or even hardly breathe. The intoxicating atmosphere, the song, the way Brenda held her, it all combined to turn Meg into putty. “Echoes…”, Brenda sang again, and drew closer. “Echoes of your-”
The speakers erupted in a titanic blast of pure sound, augmented by the bass boost provided by F̷͠҉͝r̴̷̀́͡r̶̸͘͘I̵̵̧ķ̶̴̢͢s̷̵̛͢h̷̡͠i҉̴̕l̡̕ỳ͟͞҉ and his antics. The song ended as the speakers broke down, Meg and Brenda both falling to the stage. The crowd both screamed and cheered, several of them instantly losing consciousness.
Meg blinked and shook her head, the spell broken. Brenda picked her up off the stage, and handed back her glasses. “Uh, sorry about that. Didn’t quite know where I was going there.”
“No, no, it’s fine.”, Meg said, and Brenda raised an eyebrow. “I- well, I think I liked it.”
“Oh, you did?”, Brenda asked, and the Phantom appeared behind her from the mental and emotional activity. “Well…”
She put her arm around Meg, who tried, and failed, not to blush. “Come on, Meg. After the contest is over, I’ll go buy you a drink.”
“I’d like that, thanks.”, Meg said, brushing her hair behind her ears. “Let’s do that.”

While they had been talking, Bob the Builder had already fixed the speakers. With one last whack of his magic hammer, he grunted in age-old approval and gave a thumbs-up to Elizabeth.
“Okay, everyone, we’re ready to begin!”, she shouted, and pointed towards Brandy and Dan. “Please, everyone, give a great big hand to our third group, I’m sure you all know them, Brandy and Dan!”
Dan stepped out into the middle of the stage, and slammed his foot forwards in an intimidating pose. Brandy Dash-flipped onto his shoulder, and struck one of her own.
“Their song will not be revealed until it starts to play!”, Elizabeth said. “You know, for fun. But don’t worry you two, I’m sure you both know it.”
She pointed up to the ceiling, and gave a big wink towards the control booth. Sadie knew, as sure as the two Princesses were sisters, that that was the signal.
“Here goes.”, she breathed to herself, and slid in a single, dusty record. With a flip of the switch, the speaker system came to life, and the song began.

Chapter Text

Song: Be my Lover

“Holy frick, I love this song!”, Brandy screamed, as the first few iconic notes echoed across the room. It had been her favorite ever since it had started to be played on the radio, when the gods had announced Star Levels almost a year and a half ago. Brandy stood there for a second, soaking in the warm, rich notes, until she remembered that it was a karaoke contest, and that she had to sing. “Ah, sorry.”, she said to no one in particular. “I’m just a little drunk, ha ha.”

“La da da dee da da da da…”, Brandy hummed, sliding down from Dan’s shoulder. “La da da dee da La da da da dee da La da da dee da da da da da…”
She took a step forward, then swung back into Dan’s arms. She looked up at him, and smiled.
A sudden burst of confetti fell outwards from the ceiling, showering the wowed audience in sparkles of blue.
“Be my lover, wanna be my lover…”, Brandy sang, running her fingers up Dan’s hand.
The song swelled, and Dan grabbed Brandy by the waist. Passion surged deep within him, fighting for some way to be released.
“Looking back on all the time we spent together- you oughta know by now if you wanna be my lover, wanna be my lover…”, Brandy sang again, letting herself be embraced by Dan’s immense arms. “Go ahead and take your time boy, you gotta be secure, before you make me mine, baby, you have to know you’re sure, wanna be my lover, lover, lover…”

Dan decided that it was his turn to sing. He brought the microphone up to his mouth, channeling some Star energy into the space in front of his face. He hoped it would make his voice sound better. “La da da dee da da da da, la da da dee da da da da...”, he sang, looking down at Brandy. Even though the audience was cheering loudly, Dan ignored them. In the moment, he could hear nothing but her.
“La da da dee da, la da da da dee da, la dee da da da da da…”, they sang together, in perfect harmony. Golden light ran off of Dan’s back, excess from the sheer emotion he had built up inside of him. Several moments passed where they should have been singing something else, but they were too locked up in each other to notice, until the seconds had gone. But Dan noticed in time for the next verse to start, and lowered his microphone to his face.

“I must confess, my thief, yes, I wanna be your lover, take a chance my love is like no other, on the dance floor getting down, hold tight I’ll never let you go! My love is strong as it can be, I went from boy to man on bended knee, loving you all over, yes I wanna be your lover.”, he rapped in one long breath, golden trails leaking from his mouth due to the exertion of oxygen.
Brandy breathed in, and a single blue light flickered behind her head, invisible to all but three. “I hear what you say, I hear what you do, I know everything I need to know about you! And I want you to know that it’s telling me -”
She jumped up, onto his arm shoulder, wrapped herself around his neck, and hung there, staring directly into Dan’s face. “I wanna be your lover.”
“La da da dee da da da da, la da da dee da da da da, la da da dee da la da da da dee da, la dee da da da da da…”, they again sang in harmony, and Brandy dropped to the floor. She spun around on her hands and knees, Dan booming out loud with his enormous voice.
Brandy closed her eyes, and swung out on her knees to the front of the stage. She continued to harmonize with Dan, trying to hit the last few notes of her favorite song just right.
“A ha ye heyee wanna be my lover… A ha ye heyee wanna be my lover… A ha ye heyee wanna be my lover… A ha ye heyee…”

The last few notes of the song faded away, leaving Brandy and Dan exhausted. “Be my lover… please?”, Brandy whispered, just loud enough for the microphone to pick up. Dan looked down, and nodded. “Yes.”, he said.
The crowd erupted into applause, and Elizabeth let out a loud whoop. Dan lifted Brandy to his face, and stared deep into her eyes. Now, he thought. Let’s do it.
Brandy understood immediately. Let’s, she thought back, and they both leaned in for their kiss.
They drew closer to each other, and Elizabeth squealed with excitement. Far across the room, Terrence happened to look up. Nearly spitting out his cinnamon roll, he quickly elbowed Valia, who looked up as well. She, too, dropped her cake.
Oticat was across the room as well, but he did not look up. He was too busy trying to get wine stains out of his beard. For whatever reason.
Dan and Brandy were within mere inches of each other, when a stray bit of Star decided to make its move. It leapt from Dan’s metal armor to Brandy’s bare skin with a sharp crack, and her head snapped backwards. The crowd gasped, until Brandy gave a random thumbs up. She looked up, the shock of the electricity having blown her hood down. Brandy’s hair stood a full 9 inches off of her head, the static rendering it a massive puffball.
Shoot, that didn’t work, Dan thought. Should we-
No, Brandy thought back. Remember, we do need it to be as romantic as possible.
Right, Dan replied.

Elizabeth cleared her throat, and stepped forward to the front of the stage. “Well alright, everyone!”, she shouted, and the crowd leaned forward on the edge of their seats. “I’m gonna just wave my hand over-”
She looked at the size of Webert and Dan, and realized that with her height of just 4’3, there was no way she could do that.
“I mean, wave my hand towards, each group, and you guys cheer the loudest for whoever you think won! Ready, go!”
Elizabeth gestured towards Kars and Webert, who had gotten back onto the stage. “Was it Kars and Webert, with Rage and Bowling Combo?”
The crowd cheered loud, but not overly so. They had been funny and entertaining, but their song had been kind of terrible. And they couldn’t sing.
Elizabeth waved her hand towards an empty space. It was where Meg and Brenda would have been, if they hadn’t let for the bar almost immediately after their song. “Was it Brenda and Meg, with Echoes?”
The crowd cheered louder. Both of them had sung very well, and the sheer electricity of what seemed to be their burgeoning relationship was almost palpable. Most of the audience had been thrilled by it, save one old, homophobic Goblin in the back.
“Or was it…”, Elizabeth asked, and bent at the knees. She threw her hand towards Dan and Brandy, still posing. “Dan and Brandy, with Be my Lover?”

For a moment, the crowd went silent, and Brandy’s heart dropped. Had they done badly? Why was no one cheering for them? Were-
But her questions broke apart and faded, as the entire audience, even the old Goblin, erupted into a standing ovation that echoed off the roof. For a brief moment, no one could hear anything but the wall of sound from the deafening applause. Elizabeth shouted something that was lost entirely, then bent down into her duffle bug. She withdrew a pair of small trophies, which she held in front of Brandy and Dan.
Finally, the crowd quieted down, and returned to their seats. Dan took one of the trophies, and Brandy the other. They were polished so sharply, Brandy could almost use it as a mirror. So she decided to do so- pushing her hair behind her ear, rubbing off a bit of frosting that had gotten onto her cheek, seeing the checkered top hat behind her-

Brandy turned around in shock. There, behind her on the stage, sat God. He appeared not to notice her, and took a sip of tea.
“You- what are you doing here?”, Brandy asked. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, no, nothing wrong.”, God said. “I was just checking up on how you were doing. And I’m glad.”
“Of… what?”, Brandy asked. “What did I-”
God suddenly went from sitting to standing, with a firm hand on Brandy’s shoulder. “You won.”, he said.
“The- the karaoke contest? What does that matter?”
“No, not that. Although I suppose you did win that too. But what I’m talking about is far more important.”
All around her, Brandy could see everyone and everything slowly grind to a halt. She realized that God must have stopped time, and put all her effort into listening to what he was going to say next.
“I was… curious about whether you were going to successfully pull out of it or not.”, he said, and took another sip. “Of course I thought that you would, but I was not quite sure. And judging from this evening’s events, I say that you have, for the most part, moved beyond your trauma.”

“I did?”, Brandy asked. “But… I still have all the memories. Of what happened.”
God nodded. “Yes, you will remember. The scars of what happened to you will never truly fade away. But with any luck, it will affect you no longer.”
He sat down again, and slung his teapot and cup behind him into nothing. “The experience has changed you, that much is undeniable.”
He started to flicker in and out of reality, and a sound like a slowly snapping rubber band came from everywhere at once as time started to flow once more. “But in time, I’ll think you’ll find…”
He winked, and tipped his hat. “That it has changed you for the better.”

Then he was gone, as time and the stage went back to normal. Brandy almost fell forward, but Dan caught her just before she hit the floor.
“Okay, who’s ready to dance?”, Elizabeth shouted, and the crowd got more excited. “Sadie, hit that music!”
Up in the control booth, Sadie flipped a switch with all the grandiosity she could muster, and sat back down. It was the final switch of the night.

Song: Dancin (Kronos Remix)

The song came thumping through the bass speakers, and Elizabeth gestured to Dan and Brandy. “Come on, lead them.”, she whispered. “Whoever wins the contest gets to lead the audience in dancing. It’s tradition.”
“Uh, okay.”, Brandy said, and listened to the music, trying to find the right dance for it.
“Dan, how do we dance to this song?”, she whispered, and Dan shrugged.
“I don’t know.”, he said. “Maybe we just…”
He tried to kick out his legs, and some members of the crowd kicked along with him. But nothing else much happened.
“Sway.”, came the voice of the Phantom in Brandy’s ear. “Just sway.”
Brandy’s eyes widened in shock, and she looked behind her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Brenda give her a wide smile and a big thumbs up.
And Brandy swayed. Holding her arms above her head, she started to sway back and forth, bent at the knees. Dan noticed her, and started to do the same thing. The synchronized movement picked up momentum in the crowd, as more and more Troops began to sway back and forth. Kars and Webert started to sway, as odd of an image as that was.

The Ratzo brothers, in the audience, held their Ram above their heads and swayed back and forth. Agatha and Bowza, even across the room, held hands and did the dance as well. Dozens of members of the audience, all swaying as one, followed Brandy’s every move. She smiled, and a single tear of joy dripped its way down her cheek. And then, out of the blue, she knew it. She knew that right here, right now, with the atmosphere of celebration surrounding her like a warm, comforting blanket, with her best friend turned lover by her side, that after so much trauma and pain, she had at last found happiness. It wasn’t the cheap, fragile peace that she had taken for granted before the whole thing started. No, this was real joy, born of victory, and progression, and above all, love.
And so it was that the dance escalated into levels never before seen, and Brandy danced the rest of the night away, surrounded by her friends and loved ones, free from pain at last.

Chapter Text

Far away, over the Clash ocean

Hailizi flew over the water, lost in thought. It had been quite some time since she had left her village, and they had to be missing her by now. Her time as a trainer and trainee at the Star encampment had helped her more than she had ever thought possible, but it was time to go back now. Oh well. At least she had been able to help one more poor soul before she had left. Dan’s friend, the Bandit. She had been suffering from such a damaged mind-
Halizi stopped. She floated in midair, and realized what a terrible mistake she had made.
“When… when I saw that she was pregnant, I-”, Hailizi thought aloud, realizing what she had done- or, more accurately, forgotten to do. “I just focused on her body. I didn’t heal her mind. No, I…”
She grabbed her head in her hands, wondering how she could possibly have been so stupid. “I automatically pushed all of her negative feelings deep down into her. All her fear, all her guilt, all her Rage… it’s condensing inside of her.”
Hailizi swallowed hard, and looked toward the horizon. To her Healer vision, the Continent of the Clans appeared as a green smudge on the edge of the water, even though it was actually quite close- only 30 miles away. “But I have to get home now.”, she said. “I’m sure nothing bad will happen…”
She flew away faster, praying silently to anyone who would listen. “I hope.”

Even further away, in an evil place

Song: Un’altra Persona

Grrshknn stood over a control panel, its seemingly infinite depths flickering with dark lights. Dozens of appendages, tentacles of shadow, ran over it, tapping readouts and pulling switches.
“I thank you, TheBaldBalancer, for telling me of the situation.”, he rumbled, addressing the Red King that sat somewhere behind him.
“It was really the least I could do.”, TheBaldBalancer said, taking another look around the otherworldly room. “When I came back from vacation to discover my entire Clan dead, I knew that you would be the one to tell.”
“Yes, I was quite busy.”, Grrshknn replied. “Without your information, I wouldn’t know what to do next.”
“Ah, about that…”, TheBaldBalancer said, and Grrshknn turned a single feeler towards him. “What are you going to do next? I’m just wondering.”
“What am I going to do next?”, Grrshknn asked. He looked up, dark lightning building around the bottom of his cloud of mist. “I have entrusted this job to my minions so far. However, as you can see, they have failed me.”
His feelers withdrew, and Grrshknn drew himself together into the shape of a snaggletoothed bear. “So I’m going to do it myself.”
TheBaldBalancer swallowed. To be in the presence of such overwhelming power was frightening, to say the least. He knew that if he said the wrong thing, it might be his death.
“I see.”, he said, trying to play it safe, and Grrshknn raised a single paw. TheBaldBalancer flinched, but Grrshknn only smiled. “Go back to your home, King.”, he said. “Build something new out of it.”

TheBaldBalancer bowed his head and vanished by Grrshknn’s spell, leaving the demon alone.
“So, they want to defy me.”, he said quietly, and dark spikes jutted out of his back. “They wish to defy me, Grrshknn, the great slaughterer, eater of monarchs, breaker of worlds!”
He reared up on his hind legs, and focused on LosDementosCT’s Clan Castle in his mind. With impossible precision, he started to fold and weave the fabrics of reality, making the beginnings of a portal. “They may be powerful, but even they are not strong enough to withstand the world-shattering might of Grrsk-”

Song: Arrest the President (instrumental)

Grrshknn stopped, and let his paws fall. His bear form dissolved altogether, fading back into a dark cloud. He could feel the intense bass of a theme all too familiar to him, one that was played wherever He went.
Grrshknn slowly turned around, and saw a tall figure in black armor looming over him, arms folded, a curious leer on his lips.
“Lord- Lord-”, Grrshknn squeaked, and bowed. “Lord Blackness!”
The demon lord known only as Blackness stared for a few more seconds, then let out a low chuckle. He ruffled Grrshknn’s forehead, and let him look up.
“Grrshknn, what did I tell you about this mission?”, he asked, almost like a father scolding his child.
“That- that I couldn’t interfere personally, Lord Blackness.”, Grrshknn said, his voice trembling with fear. “That I had to do it only by my minions.”
“Very good, Grrshknn!”, Blackness said. “That is correct. So tell me, then…”
He leaned in close to Grrshknn’s ear, causing him to let out an involuntary shiver. “Why were you just about to go after them yourself?”
“I-”, Grrshknn said, and squeezed his eyes shut. “My minions couldn’t do it, sir. I made some bad calculations, and now they’re all dead.”
Grrshknn braced himself for a mighty blow- that never came. Instead, Blackness just reared back his head and laughed, his long curled hair blowing in an invisible breeze. “Did you forget that you’re a demon, Grrshknn?”, he said. “To you and I, raising the dead should be easy!”
“Oh.”, Grrshknn said. For some odd reason, he had entirely forgotten that he could do that. “Well, I guess I did.”

Blackness rose up into the air again. “Then do it, my student. Raise your minions to fight once more. Take the girl’s soul, for me.”
He pulled one fist up into the air, gathering strings of the deepest red. “And let the Crimson King be…”

He vanished, leaving behind echoes of sinister drumbeats and the smell of dark nothing. “Reborn.”

Chapter Text

It was a lovely sunrise.

Song: Morning Mood

Pure golden sunlight spilled in through the stained glass windows of Oticat’s castle, covering the walls and floor in rich greens and blues. The joyful chirps of songbirds floated through the air, and the smell of sunflowers wafted through the peaceful halls.
After the party had ended, somewhere around 3:58 in the morning, and a few hours after Brandy had passed out on Dan’s shoulder, Oticat and SpaceKrakenX had quietly figured out a way to use the teleportation pads to bring everyone back to their respective castles. None of them had realized it, of course, because they were all asleep.

Brandy, sprawled out upside down on her bed, slowly became aware of her own consciousness. It was an odd feeling, yes, yet still one that everyone went through every morning. She had been having a bit of an odd dream- one where there was some sort of party, and there were many, many people. She had been… dancing? In front of a huge audience, with Dan by her side- she thought. The dream was fading now, giving way to a splitting headache.
“Oh…”, Brandy moaned, and sat up. Her hood fell off her head, revealing a huge poofy ball of hood hair. “What even happened last night?”
Brushing her stray hair out her eyes, Brandy’s gaze fell upon the back of her hand. There looked to be some sort of marking, but it was too faded to make out in its entirety. There looked to be a 7, a 9, and a 12, but the rest of it was too worn to read.

Brandy rolled out of bed, sliding into her boots where they were waiting on the floor. The same thing happened every morning, but this time it felt… different somehow. Like she was bigger, without actually being so. Stronger, in some way, although Brandy couldn’t imagine why.
Rubbing her eyes, she saw a small, green and yellow bird perching on her windowsill. It chirped twice, then pecked at the brick.
“You…”, Brandy said, pointing at it. “I remember you. You show up a lot.”
The bird tilted its head in a 90 degree angle, and squeaked. “Whatcha doin?”, it said, and fluffed its feathers until it was round.
Brandy was a little taken aback. The small bird had just spoken to her. “You can talk?”, she asked in amazement, and slowly drew slightly closer. “What are you?”
The bird bobbed its head, and closed its eyes. “Budgie.”, it said. “Budgie, budgie, budgie, budgie.”
“I’ve never heard of a Budgie before…”, Brandy breathed. “Where did you come from?”
She took another step, and the Budgie suddenly opened up its eyes again. It noticed how close Brandy had gotten, and instantly slimmed down in fear. Before Brandy could make another move, it turned and hopped off the windowsill, flying off into the morning light.

Brandy frowned, and stepped back from the window. Whatever the small bird was, she would have to find out later. Maybe someone from the library would know. But for now, it was time to head downstairs. She could smell breakfast cooking…

The snoring of Dan was tremendous. Even from the next room over, it could still be heard like a chainsaw, splitting through logs like a Pekka on Rage. Fortunately, however, Dan’s left neighbor was Kars, and he slept through anything. Even right then, he was sleeping on his back, bottle of Rage in one hand and axe in the other, somehow barely holding on to both.
Dan’s neighbor on the right was Bowza, who was actually having quite a bit of trouble sleeping. For although he could control his senses at will, using that ability to block out Dan’s snoring, he was just a little worried.
Something’s coming, he thought. I can feel it in the air.

Floating above his bed in mystic meditation, Bowza appeared calm on the outside. But on the inside, he was anything but. I can taste it upon the wind.
He absentmindedly ran his fingers up and down his bow, his fingertips tracing patterns even older than the Arenas. A worried frown creased his face, and his brows knit with tension. He could sense that something was upon the horizon- something big. But for the life of him, he just could not tell what it was…

Dan opened his eyes automatically, as the clock struck 8:00. The time had been drilled into him as the time to wake up by his time training, and his biological clock had learned fast. It had only been a day since he had left, so it had not even begun to wear off. He groaned and sat up, causing the entire front part of the bed to bend over and break.
Man, how do Giants manage being so big?, he wondered. Everything just seems so tiny. And I break stuff.
He stood up, and the bed automatically snapped back into place with a neat twang. Dan looked behind him, and realized that that was how Giants managed it.
His stomach roared unexpectedly, another side effect of being big. Dan estimated that he had to eat at least 40000 calories every day, or he would faint. And so far, he had eaten nothing.
Dan took a deep sniff, and a memory flickered on the edge of his mind. It was of him and Brandy, on some sort of stage. They were… dancing? And for some reason, an entire crowd of Troops was dancing in front of them. Was that what had happened at the party last night? Dan couldn’t remember anything that had happened past just a few minutes in.
But such thoughts were best to be left for later. For now, it was time to go downstairs and eat.

Meg woke up face down on a couch in the entry room, her helmet on her back and her cloak wrapped around her left arm. She blinked, seeing nothing but dark blue fabric. She reached out one arm experimentally, and by chance grabbed her gun by the hilt.
She used it to push herself upwards, looking out bleary-eyed across the nearly empty room. There was a single Fire Spirit swaying back and forth in some sort of ancient dance, but Meg was the only other one in the room.
“What… happened?”, she muttered, raising one hand to her forehead to try and block out a growing headache. But as she did so, she happened to see some sort of marking on the back of her hand.
“What the…”, Meg mumbled, and turned her hand over to look. It was still sort of shaking, although not enough to stop her from reading. It said “Meg, 7. Brandy, 9. Brenda, 12.”

“What? What does that mean…”, Meg wondered out loud, then looked up and saw herself in a mirror. Her sight went to the level of her shoulder patch, where her level was proudly displayed, and then everything suddenly made sense. No longer did it read 3. No longer was she just a poor, helpless minimum level Musketeer, barely even able to fight for herself. No, Oticat had gotten custody of her during the night, and had enough spare Musketeer Cards in order to raise Meg to a glorious- well, not quite glorious, but respectable- yes, respectable level 7.
“Hey Meg, what’s up?”, came the voice of Brandy from the stairs, and Meg instinctively sat up at attention.

“Uh, nothing.”, Meg responded. “Nothing at all. I just barely woke up.”
“Oh. Cool.”, Brandy responded. “Me too.”
She turned towards the kitchen, making a quick gesture that was just a little Dash-boosted, and thus too quick for Meg to see. “Yeah, I was just gonna go grab a bite to eat. You wanna eat?”
“I…”, Meg said, and smiled weakly. “I’d love that, thanks.”
She stood up, and nearly tripped on where Jack the Goblin Brawler lay sprawled across the floor. He was still dead-out drunk, and thus did not even notice, but Meg nearly fell to the floor before Brandy Dashed across the room and caught her.
“Sorry about that, Brandy.”, Meg found herself apologizing. “I just-”
“You don’t have to apologize for that, Meg.”, Brandy said. “You just tripped. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Oh.”, Meg said. “Right.”
She got back up, and the two kept on walking into the kitchen.

“Hey, Brandy. Hey, Meg.”, said Dan, who was somehow already there. “What’s up?”
“The sky.”, said Brandy automatically, before sitting down. “What’s up with you?”
Dan had been about to say something, before Brandy had hit him with the “the sky” retort. But he lost in his throat, and just sat there awkwardly for a second before he remembered what it was.
“Yeah, uh, do you remember anything from last night?”, Dan asked. “I think there was this huge party, but I can’t quite remember.”
A little more of Brandy’s memory clicked into place, but not really anything that she could get a grip on. “Oh yeah, there was a party.”, she said. “I thought there might have been one, but I couldn’t quite remember. And we were… dancing?”
“Yeah, I think we were.”, Dan said. “But not with each other.”
“Oh, no.”, Brandy said. “Yeah, we weren’t doing that.”

They each expected the other to say anything, but neither of them did. So they just sat for a moment, feeling the tension of the moment slowly heat up. There wasn’t really a lot, but it still increased, all the same.

“Good morning, everyone.”, came the voice of Oticat, as he strode in through the Official Kingly Double Doorknob© that he had had installed last night for some reason. Sadie and Elizabeth flanked him on either side, both their bows at the ready, but still frantically getting ready to go everywhere else. Oticat slapped his hands down at a random table, and looked up with an excited grin. “Who’s ready to Battle?”
Brandy and Meg exchanged a glance. Meg’s was nervous, but Brandy’s was full of excitement. Dan looked up, and bits of Star flickered around his arms at the prospect of finally, after so much time away, fighting in the Arena.
“I’m ready.”, said Brandy. “Meg?”
“Uh… not right now.”, said Meg, and pushed herself further away from the table. “I’m underleveled, besides. If you want to use a Musketeer, you should really use Kelly.”
Kelly was the name of Oticat’s first Musketeer, who was 2 levels higher than Meg was.
“Yes.”, said Oticat in agreement. “But I’m not going to be using Musketeer this time around.”

“Who’s going?”, Dan asked, slamming his formidable bulk onto the ground next to where Oticat was talking.
“Well…”, said Oticat, and his face lit up. “You, and Brandy, and Agatha, and Bowza, and the Ratzo Brothers, and Randy, and Webert, and The Log. Just like old times.”
For a brief moment, Brandy was lost in thought, remembering Oticat’s old decklist. It, against all odds, actually was a very good deck. Even though it was almost as far from meta as it could be, it still somehow managed to work.
“Yeah…”, Brandy sighed. “Just like old times.”
Meg cleared her throat, and stood up. “Uh, I’m gonna go find a room.”, she said. “I mean- my room. Or a room that could potentially be mine. Maybe I’ll just share a room with someone else.”
“That’s fine, Meg.”, said Oticat. “But I have something better.”
He tossed her a single key, which Meg just barely managed to catch. She looked at it, seeing a musket lightly engraved on one side and an M on the other. “Is this…”
“Yes.”, said Oticat with a smile. “That is the key to your own room. Floor 3, Room Number 7, on the far left. I had Jo build it for you last night.”
Meg’s lip slightly quivered, but she managed to keep herself under control for now. “Thank you, Oticat.”, she said. “Thank you for everything.”
She ran upstairs, key jingling in hand, trying not to let anyone see the tears of happiness starting to flow.

Brandy watched her go. She was glad that Meg had managed to survive. She was such an innocent soul, that it would have been a tragedy if-
Her thoughts were interrupted by the slam of Webert sitting next to her. “Hey, what’s all this about a battle?”, he asked.
“We’re going to go do one.”, Oticat said, and slammed his fist down onto the table. “You’re part of the decklist. Just like old times.”
Webert gave a wide grin, and slammed his fist down onto the table as well. It was a far larger blow than Oticat’s had been. “Fantastic, sir.”
Sadie tied her bow around her back, and looked towards the door. “Should I go get everyone, Dad?”, she asked. “I don’t think everyone’s awake yet.”
“Yes, that would be wonderful.”, said Oticat. “You do that.”

As Sadie and Elizabeth ran off, Dan stood up and stretched. Faint vestiges of something flickered at the back of Brandy’s mind, but nothing that she could really get a grip on. They felt… red. But not the Red of Red kings- this was more of a natural, non-offensive red. She wasn’t quite sure what it was.

Meg, upstairs, finally came to her room. It was unadorned, bursting with the promise of the future. With trembling hands, she took the key and slid it into the keyhole, where it popped it open with a satisfying click. Excitedly, Meg pushed open the door, looked inside, and gasped.
Her new room was beautiful, far more spacious than her old one had been. Instead of a cramped bottom bunk, there was an entire sheltered bed against one wall. Instead of a dresser hardly larger than a Goblin, there was an entire bureau taller than Meg was. Instead of a cracked hand mirror stapled to the wall, there was an entire picture mirror, cascading down from the wall like a silver river. And instead of drab, dark, moth-eaten walls and carpet, the sides and bottom of her room shone with bright blue bricks and a thick shaggy floor.
She threw herself onto her bed, and breathed in the rich scent of clean fabric. There was no one to burn her blankets, or steal her mattress, or tip her bed upside down and force her to sleep in the hall. Today, the rest of her life began.

For some reason, Meg found herself pulling out her communicator. But to her surprise, this was not the new one that had come with her Blue uniform. This was her old one, that she had when she was Red. Weird… I thought I got rid of this one, she thought. Oh well.
She scrolled aimlessly through it, deleting the numbers of everyone she had left behind.
LeChris? Yeah, you never cared about me. Deleted!, she thought with a devious smile.
Ava? Being 10 levels higher than me doesn’t help you now, huh?, she thought, remembering just one of the Musketeers she had been forced to share a room with. Deleted!
Valeyrie? Hope you enjoyed the last time I had to “help” you, cause I’m never doing that again!, Meg thought, remembering all the times Valeyrie had forced her to be the Valkyrie's plaything. “Deleted!”, she whispered under her breath, and slammed her thumb down on the button.
Bailey? I…, she thought, then stopped. Bailey had been the only Troop that had been nice to her. Friendly, even. Strangely, a sharp pain of longing struck Meg’s heart, and she looked up into nothing.
Oh, I do miss you, she realized. Bailey… I wish you survived.
She blinked back sudden tears, and again looked at the number. Her sadness was compounded when she saw that Bailey’s profile picture was in fact a quick selfie of her and Meg, snapped during the dinner. I wish you were here to see me. And see this. I bet… you would have turned Blue too.

Meg’s thumb wandered around the screen, then hovered over the Call button. I think I’ll call you… for old time’s sake.
She pressed the button, knowing full well that no one was going to pick up. She let it ring- once, twice, three times. Even though there was no way anyone would answer, Meg still felt disappointment that no one had answered. But it was nothing compared to her total shock when on the fourth ring, someone did.

Chapter Text

Song: Dark Rebirth

Shadows flickered around the crumbled castle of TheEvilOverLords. Insects crawled through the broken stone, looking for any stray bits of lost Elixir to lap up. But even as they did so, some of their number fell prey to the lurking darkness, crushed into bits and carried off to parts unknown. Haunted whispers echoed through the shattered halls, echoes of evil persisting long after they were whispered.
In the corner of what had once been the Grand Ballroom, a single claw appeared out of shadow. It was the first real movement that the site had seen in weeks, and the latent darkness crawled back in shock. But the horde of minor demons concentrated in droves once they saw who it was.
“Ryusei_Nakao69?”, came the voice of Grrshknn, as he pulled himself into regular reality. “It’s time.”
There was no answer, save the excited chittering of the shadows.
“He’s dead, Grrshknn.”, came the voice of Blackness from somewhere else. “You have to bring him back before you can speak to him.”
“Oh, right…”, Grrshknn said. “I forgot.”
He raised a hand, and the darkness began to swirl into the center of the room. Purple lightning flashed all across the spiral, and dark crimson strands flowed from all directions. They concentrated in the center of the room, and began to shape themselves into the figure of a man.
“It seems you’ve got the hang of it.”, said Blackness. “I shall leave you to that. For now, I’ve got to go… take care of something.”
Then he was gone, leaving behind the sensation of hatred, and the chase.

Grrshknn continued his work, dropping most of the impressive special effects that he had put in order to get more respect from his master. The spiral and lightning had vanished, and only the crimson strands remained. As they finally finished the figure’s shoulders and built up the top of his head, the reborn figure gasped. He fell forward to the ground, as the finishing touches were applied to his new, barely human form.
“Ryusei_Nakao69.”, said Grrshknn, and the King looked up. “How are you feeling today?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 coughed violently, expelling a splatter of blood from his still forming lungs. He shakily looked up, and bowed as soon as he saw who was talking.
“Lo- Lord Grrshknn.”, he said. “What… what happened?”
“You were killed.”, Grrshknn said. “For weeks you floated through eternity, until I thought that the time was right to bring you back.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 looked at his hands, his scarred skin crackling with crimson string. “For weeks, I was in that… place.”, he mumbled to himself, not really his hearing what Grrshknn had been saying. “That horrible, lawful-”
“I said I brought you back, you fool!”, Grrshknn thundered, and Ryusei_Nakao69 cowered against the floor. “Now listen to your master!”
Ryusei_Nakao69 hit the floor, not daring to make any movement beyond trembling. “And I listen, my lord.”
“Good.”, Grrshknn grunted. “Yes, the information that your friend gave me was quite beneficial. Without him, I may have never found out what had transpired.”
“My… friend?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 asked. “What do you mean?”
“Good morning, Ryus.”, came the voice of TheBaldBalancer, from the corner of the room.

Ryusei_Nakao69 didn’t dare to look up. He certainly wanted to, but Grrshknn had not yet told him that he could. “TheBaldBalancer? Is that you?”
“It is, Ryus.”, TheBaldBalancer said.
Grrshknn flicked one claw into the air, and Ryusei_Nakao69 knew that the gesture granted him permission to stand. He creakily got up, and saw his old friend coming towards him.
“You came back.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, and the two shook hands. “Just in the nick of time.”
“Once I heard what had happened, I decided my vacation was at an end.”, TheBaldBalancer replied. “It was a hard, long road to get back home, but-”
He shrugged. “The hardest choices require the strongest wills.”
“That they do.”, Grrshknn rumbled, and stroked the air with a claw. “Now go. Ryusei and I have… much to discuss.”
“Yes, my lord.”, TheBaldBalancer said politely, and bowed. He turned to walk away, and was gone within seconds. Grrshknn’s evil magic had sent him to the far end of the castle, making sure that he could not disturb the conversation that was about to take place.

“Ryusei_Nakao69!”, Grrshknn bellowed, and the King cowered. “You have been my loyal follower for much time. Even in death, you still served my purposes. And now, I have given you another chance. To prove yourself, and be beneficial to me one last time.”
One last time?, thought Ryusei_Nakao69 with worry. He did not like the sound of that.
“Your current mission has not yet been completed.”, Grrshknn roared. “Bring me the girl- the Bandit, and you shall be greatly rewarded.”
But as Grrshknn bellowed his commands, Ryusei_Nakao69 was only half listening.

Song: Fight to Antagonize

He had had a long time to think, when he was dead. For weeks, he had been exposed to a curious sort of light, a strange sort of goodness. It had rubbed off of him, slowly scraping away bit by bit the thick coating of evil that surrounded his soul.
As Grrshknn continued to outline the plan, Ryusei_Nakao69 looked up. For the first time in months, the deep red that had coated his eyes began to lighten, and the long black scars below his eyes looked just a little shallower.
“Don’t call me that.”, he said, surprising even himself.
Grrshknn stopped in the middle of a sentence, and looked down at the King. “What?”, he said.
“Don’t call me Ryusei_Nakao69.”, said the King. “That is not my name.”
A small bit of pure black fire started to rise up on Grrshknn’s spine. “Oh really?”, he purred menacingly. “Then what is it?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 clenched his fist, and stared up at his demonic master. A tiny bit of good flickered into his long-depraved eyes. “I’m done following you, Grrshknn. I’m done taking orders.”
Grrshknn reared up in utter shock. No one, not in thousands of years, had ever dared to defy him in this way. “Are you now, mortal? I think you’ve forgotten where you stand.”

“No.”, said Chrisintheair. “I’ve remembered it.”
Digging deep inside of himself, he gathered all the power that remained. A shining red rope appeared around his arm, snapping into place with a shower of red sparks. His mind and memories opened, letting out every memory of every Troop he had ever caught. Every individual, unique, wonderful person that he had destroyed. Especially the first.
“This is for all the Troops you forced me to slaughter over the years.”, he said defiantly, and Grrshknn flinched. Chrisintheair’s eyes flashed, and he raised his fist to attack.
“This is for Penny!”
But as he leapt forward, red energy sparkling around him, Grrshknn simply sighed.

Song: Un’Altra Persona

As if the world was in slow motion, Grrshknn raised a single finger. A dark bolt of demonic strength leapt from his outstretched claw into Chrisintheair’s chest, sending him flying backwards against the wall. Grrshknn pulled himself up to his full height of 84 feet, and roared with all the might and malice he could muster.
“HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHO YOU SERVE, INSOLENT MORTAL?”, Grrshknn erupted, shaking the Castle with the strength of his anger. Thick ribbons of pure darkness ran from all directions, scraping stone off the sides of the Castle. “YOU ARE MY TOOL! YOU ARE MY PUPPET, AND TO SAY OTHERWISE IS FOLLY!”
He slammed his hand downwards, and it poured into Chrisintheair’s head with a mighty crash of sound. The King’s entire body convulsed with the power, his mind besieged by Grrshknn’s overwhelming will. Ryusei_Nakao69 cried out in pain, then fell limp.
“YOU SERVE ME!”, Grrshknn bellowed, then withdrew his arm. “Do not forget it.”

“I…”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, now filled to near bursting with the energy of demons. “I won’t forget it, master.”
He stood up from the wreckage, and looked up. “Please, tell me what I can do.”
“Well.”, Grrshknn said. “I suppose we can start with the plan.”
He gestured with a tentacle of shadow, and an image of Brandy appeared, floating in the room.
“When I first gave you this assignment, I gave you one month. Any time in that month after you got her, you could use her however you wished. But after that…”
He clenched his fist, and the image of Brandy cracked and broke. “You were to give her to me.”
“Yes, that was the plan.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “Has it changed?”
“No, merely become more urgent.”, Grrshknn said. “You see, much time has now passed. So I will be expecting Brandy delivered to me in…”
He held up 18 fingers. “18 hours.”
Almost instantly, Ryusei_Nakao69’s aura of calm confidence vanished. “Wha- 18 hours?”, he asked, bewildered. “But- I don’t even know where she is! How am I supposed to-”
“Oh, you’ll figure it out.”, Grrshknn laughed. “The desperate always do.”

Grrshknn waved a hand, and the wreckage of the castle began to reassemble itself. Dozens more of the crimson strings started to wind in place, heralding the raising of the rest of the Clan.
“Now, I do suppose that you’ll want the rest of your Clan raised in order to help you…”, said Grrshknn, “...and I understand that. However, you must know this one thing.”
He rose into the air, and the edges of a portal opened around him. Ryusei_Nakao69 stood, transfixed, as Grrshknn stared deep into what little now remained of his soul.
“I will be leaving with a soul.”, Grrshknn hissed, and stepped backwards into the hole in space. “I would rather it be hers, but… I will not hesitate to make do with yours.”
Then he was gone, leaving Ryusei_Nakao69 lost and afraid, as the rest of his Clan began to be wound back to life around him.

“Ryus?”, asked LeChris, rubbing the side of his head in agony. “What… what happened? Are we… alive?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 clenched his fist, the pressure scratching open his skin. Rivulets of blood ran from his hand onto the still-forming floor. “It would seem so.”
“Are you… angry?”, asked thesenate, as he got up from underneath a pile of rubble. It wasn’t the same one where he had died, but Grrshknn had a sick sense of humor. “Why?”
“Why?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 whispered. “Why, you ask, am I angry?”
For a few seconds, he stood still as a branch. More Troops and Kings reformed, surrounding him with worried looks. A single tick came from a clock on the wall, and Ryusei_Nakao69 exploded.
“We were so close!”, he roared, and lashed out his fist in a random direction. A bolt of black lightning snapped out from his hands and into the wall, sending a long, dark scar down the red brick. “We were literally seconds away from completing Grrshknn’s order, and then everything had to go and get messed up!”
He sensed that Chad and Rick had reappeared behind him, and so he turned around in a fury. “You two! You could have killed her at any moment, and yet you did not. Why, may I ask, did you fail me so harshly?”
“Uh…”, Rick said, glancing at Chad with the side of his eyes. Chad blinked, signaling that he was going to let Rick take this one. Rick gulped, and faced his raging King. “Because… I thought she was supposed to be alive?”
“No, you fool!”, Ryusei_Nakao69 screamed, and Rick flinched. “I gave the order to kill her! How did you-”
The King turned, scratching the skin off his forehead as he tried to calm himself down. “But that’s all behind us now. Yes, I need to calm down. Yes, I need to… move on. Find some different plan…”

While all that was going on, Bailey stared in fear from somewhere behind LeChris. She could hardly remember anything from the raid- save dragging her King through dark, burning halls, her sudden and violent death, and- Meg. The most vivid memory from those few chaotic minutes was how Meg had clung to her so tightly, following her every order with devotion.
She looked around- where was Meg? She should have reformed just next to Bailey.
But as Bailey stood on her toes to look over the crowd, she saw no familiar Musketeer.
So she did the next, logical thing to do. Bailey took out her communicator. She turned it on to call Meg- and stopped when she saw that Meg was already calling.
Huh, thought Bailey. She called me first. Nice of her to show initiative for once.
Bailey pressed the Pick Up button, and held the device to her ear.
“Hey, Meg.”, she said. “What’s up?”

Back at Oticat’s castle, Meg almost dropped her communicator. She reeled in shock, her mind and head spinning. Bailey was dead. Meg had seen the rock fall herself, seen Bailey be crushed into nothing but Elixir with her own two eyes. The entire Clan Castle had been blown to bits, meaning that the presence of the Clan had been destroyed, and no one killed could have reformed. And yet, there she was, on the other side of the line.
“B-Bailey?”, she whispered, holding the device closer to her ear. “Is that really you?”
“Of course it’s really me.”, Bailey said. “Who else do you think it would be?”
“Well, uh, I guess I don’t know.”, Meg said. “How… how did you come back to life?”
“I don’t know, really.”, Bailey said. “We all just sort of did.”

Bailey looked around again, still seeing no sign of Meg. Ducking closer to the floor to lessen the volume of Ryusei_Nakao69’s enraged screaming, she spoke louder into the communicator. “Hey, where are you?”, she asked. “I don’t see you anywhere.”
Meg bit her lip. She wasn’t sure if she should admit this, but- oh, screw it. Bailey was her friend.
“You can’t see me because I’m not in the Castle.”, said Meg.
“Oh.”, Bailey said. “Did you go outside?”
“No.”, Meg said. She swallowed, then continued. “I’m in a blue castle. I survived the raid, escaped, and switched.”
Bailey blinked. Then she heard what Meg had said. Then she blinked again, understood what Meg had said, and her eyes widened in shock. “You what?”, she almost screamed, just barely not managing to attract the attention of Ryusei_Nakao69.
“I did just what I said I would.”, said Meg with pride. “I escaped, and I became Blue.”

Bailey calmed her voice. She knew that there was an opportunity here, if only she handled the situation well, and with caution. “Good.”, she said. “Uh, which King did you join?”
Meg didn’t even hesitate for a second. “Oticat.”, she said. “Brandy’s King.”
“Uh huh…”, said Bailey, hurriedly committing everything to memory. “So now your Clan is… LosDementosCT, correct?”
“Right.”, said Meg. “Just at the corner of Builder’s Workshop.”
Bailey knit her brow. “Is that so…”
She stood taller, gaining thesenate’s attention with a little wave.
“Yes, Bailey?”, he asked kindly. “What is it?”
“I have some news.”, said Bailey. “And I think everyone’s going to want to hear it.”

“And we only have 18 hours in order to find her before Grrshknn comes and takes all of our souls!”, Ryusei_Nakao69 screamed, continuing his berserk rant. “Add to that the fact that I don’t even know where she lives, or where her Clan is based, or even why Grrshknn would want such an insignificant little wench in the first place! I don’t know what to do, I don’t know where to start, and to make matters worse, I-”
“Excuse me, sir?”, said thesenate timidly. “You have a call.”
“I have a call-”, Ryusei_Nakao69 screamed, then realized what he had just said. “I- have a call? What?”
“It’s from a Meg, LeChris’s defective Musketeer.”, thesenate explained. “She has some information that she wants to share with you.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 waved a hand of dismissal, and his face heated up again. “Why do I care what some broken Musketeer thinks? Let me plan.”
“But that’s just the thing.”, said Bailey, standing next to her King. “She knows where Brandy is.”
Ryusei_Nakao69’s expression immediately became one of immense curiosity. “Oh?”, he crooned, looming over both Bailey and thesenate. “How?”

“Uh, she left.”, said Bailey, with one finger in the air. “She somehow managed to get into Oticat’s castle, and now knows everything that we need. His plans, where he lives, how to get to Brandy, everything.”
Ryusei_Nakao69’s cracked lips curled upwards into a smile. This had not been news he was expecting, but it was certainly most welcome. “Well then. Put her on.”

Meg listened through her communicator, straining to hear everything that was going on. Muffled whispers crossed her hearing, but since Bailey’s communicator was held tight in her hand, it was hard to hear anything. Until there was a click, and she could hear the heavy, slightly metallic breathing of Ryusei_Nakao69.
“Ah, hello, Meg.”, he said, and Meg recoiled at his evil voice. “I hear you have some… information for me.”
“What?”, Meg asked. “I- no. No, I don’t.”
Ryusei_Nakao69’s face and voice curled up in anger. “Oh really?”, he spat. “Because your friend Bailey told me that you did. Now, if you don’t start talking…”
He didn’t need to finish his sentence. Meg already knew what sort of threat he planned to carry out. “Okay, okay.”, she said. “I’ll tell you what I know. But only if… I talk to Bailey alone.”
“Hmph.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said. “Fine. I’ll let you talk to her.”
He gave the communicator to Bailey, who held it up to her ear. “Meg?”, she asked.

“I really shouldn’t be telling you guys anything.”, Meg whispered, making sure that Ryusei_Nakao69 couldn’t hear her, even with his cybernetic ears. “You were my home once, but… I’m Blue now.”
“But are you?”, Bailey asked, putting all the power into her voice she possibly could. “You may wear those Blue clothes, but on the inside, what are you?”
“I’m-”, Meg began. She was going to say Blue, but Bailey cut her off.
“No, no, don’t speak.”, she said. “We both already know the answer to that.”
“What, that I’m-”, Meg said, but Bailey spoke over her yet again.
“Have you forgotten about us so easily, Meg?”, she purred, and Meg felt her heart shake. “We’re your family, your friends. We’re the ones who raised you, they’re just the ones that took pity.”
“But-”, Meg began, but Bailey stopped her with just a word.
“No buts.”, she said, and Meg could feel her mind start to waver to the strength of Bailey’s voice and words. “You’re ours. Always have been, always will be. There’s no way you can change who you are. Now, tell me again, who are you?”
“I’m… I’m... “, Meg said. She thought she would say I’m Blue, but what came out was the exact opposite. “I’m Red…”

Bailey smiled. “Good.”, she said. “I’m glad we could both come to this agreement. Now…”
She breathed heavily into the communicator, and Meg felt herself grow faint. “I need you to tell me everything you know. Tell me about Oticat. His plans, where he lives, where he’s going today, and what he plans to do with Brandy.”
“Are… are you sure?”, Meg replied in a daze. “Should I tell you?”
“Yes.”, Bailey smiled. “Because we’re friends.”
“Oh…”, Meg breathed, and fell forwards into her blanket. “Okay, uh…”
She looked back in her memories, trying to remember everything she had learned. “Oticat lives near Builder’s workshop. Third Castle on the right of Silverleaf Way, you can’t miss it.”
“Good, good.”, Bailey said. “Where is he going today?”
“Um, Hog Mountain.”, said Meg. “He’s going to try and get to 3000 Trophies as soon as the Arena opens.”
“Mmm, okay.”, said Bailey, making sure to keep her voice as sultry as possible. She was well aware of the effect she was having on Meg’s mind. “And what’s his battle deck?”
Through the hypnotic haze, Meg focused on remembering what she had heard at the table. “Bowler. Knight. Witch. Magic Archer. Ice Spirit. Battle Ram. The Log. And Bandit. That’s his deck that he is using.”
“That’s only 7 cards.”, Bailey said. “What’s the 8th?”
“Oh, no, sorry.”, Meg said. “Knight and Witch. Not Night Witch. I’m sorry about that.”
Even Meg didn’t know why she did not mention that Dan had become a Mega Knight. Perhaps she had forgotten- but maybe, there was some other force at work.
“Magnificent.”, Bailey said. “This is wonderful, Meg. You’re being… such a good friend.”

Meg’s heart melted, and she fell further into her bedding. Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold onto her communicator, but the euphoria of Bailey’s words was all worth it.
“And Meg, one more thing.”, said Bailey, and Meg made sure to listen.
“You are to go with him once he leaves. We will be there as well. Once you see us, come over to our side. Be with your family once more.”
“Yes, ma’am.”, Meg mumbled, and very nearly passed out.
“Goodbye, Meg.”, Bailey said, and smacked her lips. “You’re… a very good friend.”
She hung up, and Meg finally did faint.

Bailey looked up, exhausted. She felt sick, for doing such a thing. Meg probably trusted her with her life, and Bailey had used her in one of the worst ways possible. Bailey had done plenty of bad things in her life, but she knew that what she had just done was up at the top.
As she looked up, she saw Ryusei_Nakao69 standing over her, beaming with joy.
“Good, good.”, he said, clapping his hands. “Very good, Miss Bailey.”
Then he stood tall to address the rest of the group. “Who’s at the bottom of Hog Mountain?”
The various Kings all turned to look at each other. They all realized, as one, that although setting your required Trophies to 4.4K was mostly a good thing, it did apparently have its disadvantages.
A hand was raised in the back, and Ryusei_Nakao69 snapped his head around to look. With a single gesture, the crowd parted, revealing the nervous form of MarkHammer, a mere level 9 King.
“Ah, MarkHammer.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 smiled. “Excellent, most excellent indeed. I’m going to need your help to fulfill my plan.”
“Understood, sir.”, MarkHammer said, and saluted. “What do I do-”
But Ryusei_Nakao69 had already moved on, to more important things.

“Chad.”, he said, and the Elite Barbarian stood at attention. “Yes, my lord?”
“You and Rick, go grab Valeyrie.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “Then Nidavaleer. I shall get Ted, and Tsarsus. I suppose we also have to pick up the Fireball and Rage from my room.”
Rick started to leave, but Chad stayed behind. “Are you… building a deck, sir?”
“Yes.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said, as he rubbed his nails together. “One that Oticat will have no chance of countering.”
“I see.”, said Chad. “But who’s going to be the 8th card?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 thought for a moment, then tapped his crown. “Oh, who knows? I’m sure I’ll find someone. Perhaps Mason, or Morgan, or Timothy, or maybe Kurizas. Someone…”
He crossed his arms across his chest, and dark fire started to build around him. “Everyone, listen very closely.”, he said, and his eyes glinted with malicious intent.
“Here’s the rest of the plan.”

“Dad?”
The small, nervous voice had come from the corner of the room, where a small hatchway hung open. It was the entrance to one of the Castle’s many cellars, protected from the explosion that had leveled the rest of it.
“Ch- Chloe?”, Ryusei_Nakao69 asked, and turned towards the source of the voice. “Is that you?”
A small, white, gloved hand appeared on the side of the hatchway. With a tiny grunt of effort, Chloe pulled herself above the ledge and onto the floor. A Barbarian scrambled out after her, and gently pulled Chloe to her feet.
“Chloe!”, Ryusei_Nakao69 yelled with relief, and ran over to her. Almost as soon as Chloe had gotten to her feet, she was immediately tackled by her father, and swept up into the air.
“Chloe, what happened?”, he whispered. “Did you survive the explosion? How?”
“He saved me, Daddy.”, Chloe said, and pointed to the Barbarian. “He told me to get in the cellar once the fighting started. I didn’t know what happened until all the noises stopped.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 looked over at the Barbarian, who was now standing rather awkwardly at the center of attention. “Is this true, little one?”

“Uh, yep.”, said the Barbarian. “Once the fightin started, I knew that a battle was no place for the little tyke. Popped her in my Barrel and rolled. Took her underground, I did. Fortunately, that was the one with the food storage or we would have been dead by now.”
“Yes, good thing.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said. “Barbarian, what’s your name?”
“My name’s Jeff.”, said the Barbarian. “Why?”
“Jeff, you’re promoted.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said. “Whoever’s King he is, double- no, triple his allowance.”
“Uh, Ryusei_Nakao69, sir?”, Jeff asked.
“What?”
“I’m yours.”
“Oh.”, said the King. “Well then, I’ll make sure to triple your funds as soon as we get back.”

He finally set Chloe back on the ground, giving her one more hug. “I’m so, so grateful nothing happened to you.”, he said. “Thank Grrshknn for watching over you.”
Then he stood up, and re-addressed his Clan. “Alright, everyone.”, he said, his face and manner a little brighter. “Here’s the rest of the plan.”

Chapter Text

Back at Oticat’s castle, the mood was light.

In the main room, the Battle Deck team was warming up for what was sure to be a long day of combat. Brandy was doing her daily stretches, working her calves for optimal Dash range and speed. The last time she had pulled a muscle in the Arena, she hadn’t been able to fight for days. But now finally, she was ready for her first time in the Arena for weeks.
Agatha stood in the center of the room, watching over her Skeletons. Larry was unpredictable, as always. This time, he kept on switching between sharpening his swords on his fingers and stabbing his blade into everything that moved- which, more often than not, were the other Skeletons. Garry stood in a daze, swinging his sword at seemingly random intervals as he stared off into nothing. Tarry ran around like a maniac, kicking the bottom of Troop’s shoes as hard as he could. Even though he couldn’t technically scrunch up his eyebrows in unexplainable anger, he looked like he was.

Bowza hovered a full three feet off the floor, his eyes open and shining white. His meditation was currently 7 minutes in, and growing deeper with every passing second. Only his hands moved, tracing and sketching ancient patterns along the length of his bow.
The Ratzo Brothers were warming up for battle by taking turns doing push-ups with their Battle Ram. One was on the ground, straining and sweating as he lifted the huge wooden Ram into the air. The other was leaning on the Ram, and offering words of encouragement. Every 50 reps, they would switch positions, and continue.

Randy bounded across the room in giant leaps and bounds, doing backflips and frontflips as fast as he could. Particles of stray ice fell off of him, then rejoined his body after a few seconds. Giggling madly, he ran past Dan, who was sitting on a bench in deep thought.
Dan wasn’t quite sure what to do. As a Knight, he would alternate between practicing sword strokes and warming up his muscles- but as a Mega Knight, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. So he just breathed in and out, focusing on refining his Star technique. A team of Goblins that had been assigned to help him with this task were currently hiding behind Webert, cowering in fear.
Out of all the members of the Battle Deck, Webert was currently the only one not getting ready. Normally, he would be very busy improving his aim and technique on whatever happened to be nearby, But today, he just sat there, stroking his chin.

Nearby, Oticat was looking through some replays of his past battles to familiarize himself with how his deck worked. It had been some time since he had used this particular one, and much had happened since then. He needed something to help jog his memory.
But as he chanced to look up, Oticat saw Webert sitting still. He walked over, and looked up into the Bowler’s still face. “Webert? Is… anything wrong?”
“No.”, Webert said. “No, your Majesty. It’s just uh, well, I’ve been thinking.”
“About what?”, Oticat asked. “Please, if its anything important, tell me.”
Webert said nothing. He merely stood up, then dropped forcefully to one knee. “You don’t need me, sir.”
Oticat sputtered in confusion. “But- what- no. I mean, yes. Of course I need you. You’re my Bowler.”
Webert continued his speech, as thought Oticat had never spoken. “You already have one big, expensive, splashing ground tank.”, he explained. “You don’t need another.”
“I… see.”, Oticat said. “Well, Webert, I commend you for your sacrifice. But, who should go in your place?”
“Hmmm…”, Webert said, plunging into thought, when Brandy suddenly blacked out.

Brandy saw herself in the Arena. She didn’t know which- it looked like a strange mix of all of them. No, it looked like- it looked like Hog Mountain. And Legendary Arena. Neither, yet both.
Up on the Red King’s side, Brandy could see herself Dashing into a tower from the side. Everyone in the vision were mere silhouettes, no features to be seen. The Red King pushed a button on his digital interface, and a menacing Royal Giant dissolved onto the battlefield.
“Brandy, you alright?”, came the voice of Dan, and Brandy opened her eyes. The Dreamer flickered once again into nothingness behind her head, but it was noticed by no one.
“Uh, yeah.”, Brandy said, standing up and rubbing the back of her head. “Just, uh, stretched too much. I guess.”
She overheard the conversation between Oticat and Webert, and walked over to look.

Song: Approach

“I think we should take Kars.”, Webert said. “He’s reliable.”
“Yes, but Brandy already fills his role.”, Oticat said. “We don’t need two hatchets.”
“Well then, how about a Fireball? Or perhaps a Cannon.”, Webert suggested. “You’ve never really used Buildings before, and maybe we could benefit from a medium Spell.”
“Yes, I don’t often use Buildings.”, Oticat said. “But that’s because I’m terrible with them. But maybe the Fireball… hmm....”
“We’re going to be up against a Royal Giant.”, Brandy said, from behind them, and Oticat turned.
“We are?”, he asked. “What makes you say that?”
“I felt it.”, said Brandy. “I fell asleep for a moment- and when I did, I saw us fighting against a Royal Giant.”
Webert shrugged. “Maybe we do need a good swarm.”
“Yes, I do suppose we are missing one.”, Oticat said, and called over Sadie by his side.
“Sadie, go get the Skeleton Army.”, he said. “Tell them that they’ve made the Battle Deck.”
“But Dad, they’re only level 8.”, Sadie said. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”, Oticat said. “They’re pretty level independant, anyway. And besides, it’s just Hog Mountain. What could go wrong?”

“A lot.”, Sadie whispered under her breath. “A lot could go wrong.”
She had been feeling some sort of itching feeling underneath her skin, ever since she had woken up that morning. She didn’t quite know what it was, but to her, it felt like a chill of foreboding, and darkness on the horizon.
“I know exactly what will go wrong.”, came the voice of Meg, who had just barely arrived at the bottom of the stairs where everyone was.
“Oh.”, Brandy said. “What’s u- what do you mean, you know exactly what will go wrong?”
Meg sat down, and began polishing her gun. She breathed onto a plate of metal, and wiped it clean with her shirt. “I know. You see-”
An image of Bailey suddenly flashed into her still-whirling mind. You wouldn’t tell them, would you Meg?, she asked, her voice like cream on Meg’s ears. Because you’re my friend.
Meg blinked, suddenly not remembering where she was, or what she was doing. She had gone upstairs for some reason, then had come down. But she just could not remember why…
“Uh, nothing.”, she said, taking a wild grasp at whatever Brandy had probably been expecting her to say. “Nothing at all.”
“Oh, well that’s good.”, Brandy said. “I certainly wouldn’t want anything to go wrong during my first day back to the real world.”

Oticat stood from his conversation with Webert, when he heard a pile of bones start dancing behind him. Turning around, he saw that Sadie had managed to successfully fetch the Skeleton Army from wherever they were downstairs. “Here you go, Dad.”, she said. “We’re ready now.”
“So we are.”, Oticat said, and clapped his hands. He stood up on the bench of the table to grab his team’s attention, and hollered through his cupped hands.
“Hey everyone, we’re ready and heading out! So if you aren’t ready, don’t come!”
Brandy’s eyes lit up, and she pulled Meg closer to her. “Meg, this is it!”, she said, almost squealing with excitement. “I finally get to battle again!”
Meg’s face turned red, as she felt how close of an embrace Brandy held her in. “I-I’m happy for you, Brandy.”, she squeaked. “Now, uh, could you please-”
“Oh. Sorry.”, Brandy said, and released Meg from her surprisingly tight grip. “Sorry about that.”
“There’s no need to-”, Meg said, but the boom of the doors opening covered her words.
“Alright, we’re going!”, Oticat said, and gestured towards the outside. “You two coming?”
Brandy smiled, and started walking. “You bet, Oticat. You bet.”

Song: Limit Break x Survivor (Relaxed)

It was a beautiful morning at Hog Mountain. The sun was shining even brighter in the sky than it had been before. Birds and Goblins alike flew from tree to tree, singing their lovely songs. The shops and booths around the Arena were bustling with activity, the aura of feeling and life rising from the area like steam.
“So, this is Hog Mountain.”, Brandy said, and whistled in appreciation. “Pretty nice place.”
“Yeah, did you know that this actually used to be the old Legendary Arena?”, Dan asked, walking next to her. “Before the gods all got together and built the new one.”
“Really?”, Brandy said, and Dan nodded. “Huh.”, she said. “Where’d you learn that one?”
“I learnt it here.”, said Dan. “During my training.”
“Oh, during-”, Brandy said, then stopped. “During your training? Hold on a minute. First you said you trained at Royal Arena, then at Frozen Peak, and then at Hog Mountain. Where was it?”

“All of those.”, Dan said. “I enrolled at Royal Arena, did most of my training in a small valley near Frozen Peak with a burrito shop nearby, then finished at the very top of Hog Mountain.”
“Oh, okay.”, Brandy said. “Why did you mention the burrito shop again?”
“What?”
“The burrito shop. You just mention it whenever you talk about that little valley near Frozen Peak with a burrito shop nearby-”
Brandy realized what she had just said. “Dang it!”
“Yeah, sort of just rolls off the tongue, huh?”, Dan said. “Valley near Frozen Peak with a burrito shop nearby.”
“Hold on.”, said Brandy. “I’m gonna say it. Valley near Frozen Peak…”
She held it in for a few seconds, before she just couldn’t anymore. “With a burrito shop nearby.”
She looked up into Dan’s face, who shrugged. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”, Dan said. “Must be magic.”

“Hey, if you two are done talking about burritos or whatever, could you give me a hand with this?”, came a familiar voice.
Brandy looked to her right, where the voice had come from, and saw Brenda, carrying something in a huge leather bag. “Oh, hey Brenda.”, she said. “Wassup?”
“I’m just going to Hog Mountain for the day.”, Brenda said. “Got a whole day pass. What’s going on with you, my thief?”
“Oh, I’m just…”, Brandy said, and posed. “Going to go battle in Hog Mountain for the first time in weeks!”
Brenda stared for a few seconds, then gave Brandy a huge high five. “Well alright! Nice to see you finally getting out of the castle.”
“Yeah, it is nice.”, Brandy said, then looked at the huge leather bag. “So, what’s in the bag.”
“Oh, you know.”, Brenda said, stealing a quick look behind her. “Stuff. That I picked up.”
“Picked up, or picked up?”, Brandy said, making sure to emphasize the difference.
“Hey!”, came the enraged voice of a Villager and Builder from somewhere behind them. “Who stole my entire stock of pickles?”
Brandy and Brenda each gave a knowing look, and Brenda a sharp salute. “Welp, gotta go.”, she said. “See ya!”
Then she Dashed off through the crowd, making sure not to drop her precious loot.

In the Stands of Hog Mountain, it was quite a chaotic sight. Brenda was not the only one that had gotten a day pass. The stands were actually full to bursting, unusually busy today.
Something about this particular date in time had attracted many curious individuals- from all over the globe, and even beyond. None of them knew precisely what was coming, but a few of them felt it.
A Mortis stalked through the seats, sniffing the air with his powerful nose. The scent which he despised most of all could be found in some small trace here. He didn’t know why, but it could.
A Barbarian and an Archer took their seats just a few buckets apart from each other, not knowing of the other’s existence. They longed to, but neither of them knew it.
A small, wrinkled, green midget rummaged around beneath the seats of the stadium, scrounging for any popcorn that anyone might have dropped. He was not a Goblin- no, he was something else entirely. His head hit the side of a wingtip shoe, and he grumbled in an alien language as he looked up into the face of a man wearing a pink suit and long, golden hair.
“Mmm.”, said the midget. “Bumped into my head you did. Run you over with my 2001 Honda Civic I must.”
“Hmph.”, said the man in the suit, and gestured to the open air. “D4C! Get me some more popcorn! And get this little man out of my sight.”
The powerful Stand known as D4C appeared next to Funny Valentine, shaking its head with disbelief. With a single, Lightning-fast kick, he sent Lego Yoda flying, over the Arena, past the edge of the Mountain itself, and far off into the sky. He screamed as he went, and vanished.

Up in the employee bathroom, a red-haired individual was furiously scrubbing his face in the sink. He was no Troop- he was something else. Hailing from a land almost mind-bogglingly far away, he had come to the Continent of Royale to rest and relax from the disaster that was his last career.
“Okay, Jimmy, you’ve got this.”, he said into the mirror, and affixed himself with a look of sheer ferocity. “You’re here, first day on the new job, nothing could possibly go wrong. No matter what happens here, it can’t be worse than the last incident.”
Straightening up, he dried his hands off with a quick shake, straightened his bowtie and glasses, and strode out the door.
“Yo, Jimmy.”, came a whisper to his left, prompting him to turn around. Once he did, he saw a Crew Goblin holding a clipboard and messing with his headset. “We’re on in 30.”
“Okay.”, Jimmy nodded quickly. “Just give me a second.”
He did a few quick stretches to warm up, and sang a few notes to prepare his voice- as he always had before every single newscast. Finally, he grabbed his Microphone from a hovering Skeleton, cleared his throat, and stared into the camera. For a brief moment, his gaze lingered on the Arena field below, still being scrubbed and repaired for the first of the day’s battles.
“In 3...2...1…”, counted down the Crew Goblin, and gave a thumbs up to the Bomber working the camera. The Bomber flipped his hand, and pressed a single button.
Jimmy stared into the camera as hard as he could, and flashed a wide smile. “This is Jimmy Firecracker, reporting live from Hog Mountain!”

He swept a wide arc with his arm, prompting the camera to turn to the stands. “As you can see, it's a beautiful day, with no clouds or storms in sight. The audience is getting ready for what is sure to be a long day of battling, and I’m sure we’re all excited.”
He subtly motioned to the Bomber to switch to the second camera. He did so, and the view on T.V Royale changed from Jimmy to an Executioner, sitting in the stands.
“Oh. Hi.”, he said nervously, and tapped his fingers together. “Why am I on T.V?”
The view swung around again to Funny Valentine, who was currently munching down on some caramel popcorn from another dimension. “Good morning, uh… sir.”, said the Villager behind the secondary camera. “Are you excited for today’s battles?”
“I am indeed.”, said the President. “I am ready to take the first napkin, and-”
He stopped, and put down his popcorn. He sniffed the air, looking around. The Villager, not wanting to film his activities, cut out her camera feed. The view instantly changed back to Jimmy, who had taken the time that he was supposed to have free to eat a hot dog. Upon seeing the gestures from the Camera Bomber, he threw it into the crowd and prepared his next words.

“There are Stand users in this crowd.”, whispered Funny Valentine. “I didn’t think I would find any here, but…”
His eyes flickered, as he detected every Stand user in the area. He saw Brenda, reclining her feet on the head of an Ice Golem. He saw Brandy, still walking towards the Troop entrance. And he saw a third figure, moving among the crowd, trying not to be spotted.

Chapter Text

“Meg, you seem nervous.”, Brandy said, as the group approached the monolithic gates that led to the inside of the Arena itself. Two titanic Hog Rider statues adorned the area, one Red and one Blue. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes.”, Meg said, and tried to think. She knew that something was indeed wrong, but she just couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Everytime she tried to remember what it was, it slipped away from her like the last water in a river. “I think.”
“You think?”, Brandy asked. “What do you mean, you think? Something’s either wrong or its not, there’s no in-between.”
“I mean…”, Meg said. “I can feel something wrong, but I don’t know what.”
“Oh.”, said Brandy. “Yeah, I get that sometimes too.”
She looked up, and saw the Red headband around the Hog Rider statue.
“Are you still scared of them?”, Brandy asked. Meg just looked confused.
“TheEvilOverLords, I mean.”, Brandy clarified. “Are you still afraid of them?”

Something tickled at the back of Meg’s mind. She knew that her old Clan was no more, that they had all been killed weeks ago. And yet, there was some sort of nagging feeling, something she could not quite identify. “Yeah.”, she said. “For some reason, I’m… afraid that they’ll get me somehow.”
Brandy put her hand on her forehead, looking up towards the sun. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that.”, she said. “No one does.”
She turned towards Meg, as the group finally passed underneath the immense gate of Hog Mountain. “Meg, I promise you this. As long as we’re here, no one will take you. Not now, not ever again. You got that?”
Meg smiled weakly, and held up her hand. Brandy met it in a fist bump. “Got it.”
And with that, Oticat and his Battle Deck Team entered their side of the Arena.

As they passed underneath one final set of gates, Meg suddenly broke off from the group.
“Meg, where are you going?”, Brandy asked.
“Uh, I gotta go to the bathroom.”, said Meg. “I’ll just meet Brenda up in the stands. You guys look for me, alright?”
Brandy gave her a thumbs up, and Meg ran off in search of the little Musketeer’s room.
But as she ran, she felt some sort of strange pull. Almost like gravity, some bizarre force was pulling her towards one side of the spectator stands- the side of Red.
“What the-”, Meg muttered to herself, as the force tugging on her grew larger with every passing step. “What is this? What’s going on?”
Even as she tried to fight it, her mind grew more and more muddled. Meg stopped in her tracks and grabbed the sides of her helmet, trying to fight it off, but to no avail. It grew in intensity, until-

Meg let her hands fall to her side. She remembered now. She had successfully carried out her mission to guide Oticat and his team here, in the same moment when Ryusei_Nakao69 would be battling. And with her work complete, Bailey would be so proud of her.
“Meg…”, came the voice of LeChris, in her ear. “Come to the Red side. Join me.”
“Yes, my lord.”, she said sleepily, and sharply turned. Heading away from the bathrooms, she instead crossed through the underground passenger tunnel, and over to the Red side of the Arena.
Once she was there, Meg looked up. In the stands, she could see Bailey gesturing towards her.
“Come join me.”, the movement seemed to say. “Come join your true side.”
Meg’s legs moved seemingly on their own. She went up the seats, crossing two at a time, until she had reached the spot where her own King sat.
“Ah, there you are Meg.”, LeChris said. “Come, sit down. You deserve a good seat for making all this happen.”
“Thank you, sir.”, Meg said in a daze. Looking around, she could see that many Kings from TheEvilOverLords had decided to attend this battle. There was thesenate right next to LeChris. TheBaldBalancer sat exactly in the center of the stands, perfectly balanced, just as he liked. Odurawaz sat a few rows down, next to some Kings she didn’t recognize. But that was fine. Meg would have time to get to know everyone, after the battle.
“So, what’s so important about this match?”, she asked. “Why is everyone here?”
LeChris smiled. “Oh, don’t worry about that, Meg.”, he said. “Don’t worry about it.”

Song: Himeru Omai

For Glack the Goblin, this day was much like any other day. He waited for Kings to come into their color-coded side of the Arena, checked their credentials, handed them the controls to the Tower, then waited for the next contender to come along. Then he would do the same thing all over again with each and every King, all day, every day, until the point came where he just wanted to die. That point had come 4 years ago, and he was still doing the job. At least it paid well- 15 Gold per day. Or maybe it paid well. Neither Glack or anyone he knew had ever had any other job, so he couldn’t really compare. But still, it was the same old, same old-
Until now.

Glack felt him before he saw him. The dark, creeping aura of Ryusei_Nakao69, as he slowly approached the Tower. Glack felt his skin crawl, and he started to instinctively look for a way to escape.
“Uh, good morning. Sir.”, he said, as Ryusei_Nakao69 at last came into view. His Battle Deck Team was behind him- Elite Barbarians, Valkyrie, Royal Giant, Mega Knight, Electro Wizard, and regular Wizard. His two Princesses each held a Spell- Veronica Rage, and Stacie a Fireball.
“Spare me the pleasantries.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 growled. “I have no need.”
“O- okay.”, Glack said quietly, and backed away a few feet before remembering his job. “Uh, if I may have your credentials? Sir?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 fixed Glack with a withering glare, and he backed up a few feet in fear. “Fine.”, said the King, and withdrew a small card. “Here they are.”
“Thank you very much, sir.”, Glack peeped. With hands trembling from the unnatural fear aura of Ryusei_Nakao69, he inserted the card into a small machine. It beeped, displaying a green light.

“Alright, Mr. Markhammer.”, said Glack, giving a big thumbs up. “Everything seems to be in order. Here’s the controls to the castle, and enjoy your battle-”
The light on the card reader suddenly blinked again, this time a dark amber. Ryusei_Nakao69 stiffened, and Glack craned his head to look. “Ha ha, just a second. This old machine acts up sometimes-”
Glack quickly looked at the error readout, and internally freaked out a little bit.
“Warning.”, the machine said. “False ID inserted. King name is Ryusei_Nakao69.”
“Wha…”, Glack whispered to himself. “You’re kidding. This is…”
Glack started to back away from the machine in shock. He had heard tales of the King known as Ryusei_Nakao69. How he had given up battling in the Arena long ago, only showing up on very rare occasions. How Kings that voiced their disapproval of him disappeared in sudden, mysterious ways. How strange things prowled around his territory at night, things that should not be.
“Oh, man.”, Glack mumbled. “I- I gotta go tell someone. I gotta go get he-”
He turned around, and Ryusei_Nakao69’s finger immediately stabbed into his forehead. Glack gasped in pain, but found that he could not move.
“Hold still.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said. “This will only take a moment.”

Being a Goblin, Glack’s will was weak. It did in fact only take a moment for Ryusei_Nakao69’s power to surge through his brain, erasing all resistance and opening him up entirely to the King’s commands.
“You will let me battle.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 growled, every word echoing through Glack’s mind like an Earthquake. “There will be no trouble. And after I leave, you will forget I was ever here.”
He withdrew his finger, leaving a mark in the shape of a dark claw in the middle of Glack’s forehead, dripping with blood. Glack stood blankly for a second, before looking up and saluting.
“Understood, your Majesty. Is there anything else that you’d like me to do?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 smiled. “No, Glack. That will be all.”

“Okay, everybody.”, Oticat said, as they all entered the Arena. “I know this is some of you all’s first battle in a while, but try to look sharp. If we win this, I get into Hog Mountain, so the stakes are high.”
Brandy was only partially listening to what he was saying. Her gaze wandered around the Arena, taking in the unique and beautiful sights and sounds of Hog Mountain. A row of Barbarians rocked up and down in the Stands, doing the wave in order to generate hype. A trio of Minions flew overhead, taking shots from the cameras that they held in their reptilian claws. Ryusei_Nakao69 stood in the Red King’s tower, staring at Brandy from across the Arena. There was a Giant holding an entire cotton candy stand, trying to decide between Pink and Blue. There was- there was Ryusei_Nakao69 in the Red King’s tower, staring at Brandy from across the Arena.

Song: Shoot towards the decisive battle

Brandy felt her heart stop. Her mind and soul stuttered, as her brain raced, trying to find some way to explain away what she had just seen. But with another quick look, she knew that it was no mere illusion, or the result of not looking well enough. There, in the Red King’s tower, was the real Ryusei_Nakao69. Somehow, he was alive.
“Oticat?”, she choked out, and raised a trembling finger.
“Brandy?”, Oticat asked. “What is it?”
“Look.”, Brandy squeaked, and Oticat looked where she was pointing. He gasped in shock, and Ryusei_Nakao69 smirked.
“But- that’s impossible.”, Oticat said. “He’s dead. We killed him.”
“Wha-”, Dan said, and stood up. He, too, saw the villain, and his face contorted with rage underneath his helmet. “How the-”
Brandy felt her vision start to blur, and she fell to her knees. Her automatic shock response took effect, causing her to withdraw within her own mind. The outer effect of this, of course, was that she fell to the ground, and blacked out.

“Oh, looks like we’ve got ourselves a pretty nervous Troop there.”, said Jimmy Firecracker, desperately trying to stall for time. “Guess she must be new.”
He put a finger to his earpiece, suddenly hearing something coming through. “No. Hold on a minute, hold that thought. I’m getting something.”
As the one on the other side told him information, Jimmy’s expression rapidly changed. First, it was one of curiosity, then of shock, then of horror, then one of slowly dawning dread. He looked up, and gulped. “Trish?”, he asked. “We might have to get a little deeper on this one.”

“Brandy!”, Dan shouted. “Brandy, wake up!”
Brandy felt Dan gently shaking her, and opened her eyes. She took a deep breath, and pushed herself all the way against the wall.
“I can’t do this.”, she said. “I can’t, I can’t. I don’t know how he’s here. I don’t know why he’s here. I don’t-”
She fell forward, burying her head in between her knees. “Ooohhh…”
“Hey.”, Dan said, kneeling down in front of her. “Brandy. Yeah, that’s him. But you know what?”
“What?”, Brandy asked, not even looking up. “Dan, it’s-”
“It’s him.”, Dan said. “People are starting to realize it.”
“So?”, Brandy asked, taking deep breaths, trying not to hyperventilate from the terror that stormed her.
“So he just showed himself.”, said Dan. “In public. With so many witnesses having a full knowledge of his crimes. Brandy, he’ll be arrested.”
“Oh.”, said Brandy. “I… I guess you’re right.”
Her fear drained out of her, and she started to laugh. “Well, I guess that takes care of that problem-”

Song: Un’altra Persona

All across the Arena, there could be heard an immense clap of thunder. Clouds swirled out of nothing, forming into an immense storm. The eye was directly over Hog Mountain, though bolts of Lightning were already striking. There came another loud sound- that of a titanic low rumble, shaking the inhabitants of the stands off their feet.
“What?”, Jimmy Firecracker coughed, trying to get up. “What the-”
The clouds abruptly broke apart, then concentrated in a huge column. Pure force radiated outwards from it, blowing Troops at the top of the stands off their feet and into the crowd below. As everyone watched in amazement, the column cracked, to reveal a gigantic bearded man, clad entirely in shining white robes.
“D-Dr’ew!”, shouted Jimmy, trying to be heard over the low roar that permeated the entire area. “Oh, great god Dr’ew! Why have you come?”

But unknown to everyone in the Arena that was not a member of TheEvilOverLords, the godlike figure was not Dr’ew at all. It was another being, even greater in strength- and far more evil.
“You!”, shouted Dr’ew, pointing at Ryusei_Nakao69, who pointed at himself. “You are no ordinary King, are you?”
“Well, uh, no. My lord.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “I suppose you could say that-”
“And you!”, Dr’ew bellowed, moving his finger to point at Oticat. “You have history with this opponent.”
In the stands, Brenda could hear that there was something maddeningly familiar about his voice. But she could not, no matter how hard she tried, place it.
“You bet I do!”, Oticat shouted in anger, lowering an accusatory fist towards Ryusei_Nakao69, who merely continued his smirk. “He kidnapped my Bandit! And then I killed him!”

The crowd gasped. Jimmy Firecracker’s eyes widened, and he slowly motioned for Trish to listen to him. “Get me every camera we’ve got.”, he said slowly. “This is gonna be good.”

“Then it sounds that you two have a grudge indeed!”, shouted Dr’ew. “But as we can already see, it cannot be resolved through ordinary means alone.”
He put his fists together, pulling up a huge book. After pretending to flip through it for a few seconds, he slammed it shut. It disappeared with a puff of smoke, and Dr’ew made a humongous gesture towards the two opposing Kings.
“Then you may each make a demand.”, he said, with a hint of an evil smile that was noticed only by Funny Valentine. But he did not care. “One that should you win, your opponent must follow through with absolute certainty.”
Brandy’s heart started to beat faster in her chest. She did not like the look of where this was going. “Um… Oticat?”, she asked. “What does he mean by that?”

It only took Oticat a second to decide. Against any other King, he would not have wished anything. He just wasn’t really that kind of guy. But now, he had the most hated man in the world right in front of him. Here was a chance to get rid of him forever. “If I win, Ryusei_Nakao69…”, Oticat spat with cold justice, “You will end your reign of terror. Your Clan will be disbanded, and you will no longer be able to fight in the Arenas.”
The crowd gasped, and Dr’ew’s godly eyebrows raised. “What a stunning provocation!”, he roared, and then pointed towards Ryusei_Nakao69. “And what about you? What do you want?”
Ryusei_Nakao69 smiled. His plan was all working out perfectly, down to the last word. “Her.”, he said, and stretched out a single bony finger to point out Brandy. “Should I win, Oticat, I want your Bandit.”

A palpable chill ran through the crowd. Brandy’s heart skipped a few beats, and her eyes clouded over. Several gasps could be heard, from Oticat, from Agatha, and from Jimmy Firecracker.
“Hey!”, came the shout of a Rascal Girl, from somewhere in the audience. “He can’t do that!”
“Yeah!”, was the voice of a Barbarian. “That’s like, 8 different types of illegal!”
For a moment, it looked like the crowd was in agreement. That the whole “demand” thing would be dropped, and that Ryusei_Nakao69 would be arrested. But a single motion from Dr’ew changed all that.
“Silence, mortals!”, he boomed, sending a thunderous shockwave throughout the entire Arena. “Do you dare to defy the word of a god?”
The crowd quieted. None of them dared.

Brandy felt the blood drain from her face, as she looked up at Oticat. This was it. There was no way they could beat Ryusei_Nakao69, not in basic combat. He was a full 3 levels above Oticat, and most of his deck was maxed. Brandy hadn’t even been upgraded once- she was still just a level 9.
Actually, Brandy, you’re level 10, came the quiet thought of Oticat from somewhere inside of Brandy’s mind. I upgraded you last night.
Oticat?, Brandy thought in shock. How did- since when could you-
You were thinking so loudly, I just couldn’t help but overhear you, Oticat thought. And Agatha taught me.
Oh, Brandy thought. I- I guess that’s nice. That I’m level 10 now. But… does it matter? Even the lowest level card he brought with him is still higher than any of us.
Yes, Oticat thought. But we have what he doesn’t. Will.

Brandy thought for a moment. Who’s Will?
What?, Oticat asked. No. I meant will. Like, the will to survive.
And you have another thing, too, came another voice. It was unknown to Oticat, but Brandy found it shockingly familiar.
God?, Brandy thought.
Yes, was the answer, and Brandy heaved a sigh of relief. Oh, thank you you’re here. Quickly, if you can just get rid of-
Even though she could not see him, Brandy somehow felt that God was shaking his head.
Oh, Brandy. Have you forgotten my promise that soon?
What promise?, Brandy asked. What did you say?
I told you, thought God. I promised you that as long as you stayed in my domain, nothing bad could happen to you. And Hog Mountain, fortunately, is part of that domain.
“Oh. Right.”, Brandy said out loud. “Heh.”
She stood up, and pointed a finger towards the other side of the Arena where Ryusei_Nakao69 stood.
“You hear that?”, she whispered. “No, of course you don’t. But-”

Her words were cut off abruptly, as Dr’ew again sent his commands booming throughout the Arena. “The two Kings have made their requests!”, he shouted, and raised his arms. “However. As is the case with all grudge matches such as this one, there is a small, automatic bonus for the winner.”
He waited, floating in midair. It took a few seconds for the first person to realize that he was waiting for a guess of what the bonus was.
“What is it, oh great and mighty Dr’ew?”, Jimmy Firecracker asked. “What is that bonus?”
“I’m glad you asked, young Wizard!”, Dr’ew shouted.
“I’m not a Wizard.”, Jimmy said under his breath, but Dr’ew either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
“The bonus prize for the winner is…”, Dr’ew said, and pointed towards the far side of the Arena. All gazes turned to look, and a pillar of golden light streaked down from the sky. It slammed into the ground and reverberated in all directions, slowly turning into the projected image of a pile of hundreds of Trophies.
“1000 additional trophies!”, Dr’ew finished, much to the utter shock of the crowd. Even if this was the great and legendary Dr’ew himself before them, one of the gods of balance, they could still hardly believe a word he was saying.
“Hey, hold on a minute!”, came the voice of Brenda from the stands. Dr’ew looked down, and raised a single eyebrow in curiosity.

“What is it, mortal?”, he boomed, blowing Brenda’s hair back and her hood clean onto her shoulders. “What could possibly be so important you have to speak to me directly?”

“That King- Ryusei_Nakao69- is evil!”, Brenda yelled. “He’s kidnapped dozens of Troops, and slaughtered hundreds more! Me and my Clan went on a crusade to kill him just a few weeks ago! Why are you letting him fight?”
Dr’ew put his hand to his chin, underneath the guise of thinking. But he really wasn’t- he already knew the answer. He also knew the other answer, the one he was going to tell Brenda.
“Because- I mean, because,”, he said, suddenly losing his voice for a bit, “I do what I wish. Am I not a god? Now silence, and bother me no more!”
He waved a hand of dismissal, but Brenda wasn’t done.
“Phantom.”, she whispered underneath her breath. “Find out everything you can about him. I don’t think that’s the real Dr’ew.”
The Phantom popped into the world beside her, and took a close look at the towering figure in white. “Yes…”, he mused. “He does seem somewhat off.”
The Phantom made some otherworldly gesture, then looked at his hand. But to the intense magical field that surrounded Dr’ew, only a small bit of power made it through.

“I can’t get anything, mistress.”, the Phantom said. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s okay.”, Brenda said back, attracting a single worried stare from a nearby Blue Villager. “I guess we’ll just have to find out the old-fashioned way.”

“Jimmy!”, Dr’ew bellowed, and Jimmy Firecracker nearly fell out of his reporter's chair. Fumbling his microphone, he looked up into the bearded face of a god.
“What?”, he squeaked, partly in admiration but mostly in fear. “What is it? What do I need to do?”
“I believe you can handle this from now on.”, Dr’ew said, and the pillar of light started to descend. “Take care, follow my orders, and good luck.”
With a titanic clap of thunder, Dr’ew withdrew into the sky. The entire audience began to breathe again, and Jimmy suddenly found himself, in his reporter’s chair, magically hovering over the center of the Arena.

He tapped his microphone once, and the squeal of feedback rang throughout the Arena. He nervously brought the mike closer to his face, and tugged at his collar.
“Well, uh…”, he said, suddenly full of stage fright. “I’m just following orders here, people. Really, this is just policy. I don’t want to do this to you all.”
“What is he talking about?”, came some whispers from the audience. “Is he canceling the fight? I sure hope not.”
Jimmy swallowed hard, and looked up towards space. “Oticat, being 15 lower Trophies than his opponent, is the challenger here. Which means that if he wins this battle, he will gain 1030 Trophies, putting him into Challenger 1.”
Brandy felt a drop of sudden sweat fall down her face. This wasn’t good.
“And that means that, per according to all rules…”
Jimmy took a deep breath, and pointed straight up into the sky. “We are going to Legendary Arena!”
“Oh, okay.”, Brandy said. “I can handle that. Yeah, that is totally fine.”
Or she would have said those things, if she hadn’t actually been on the ground, eyes open in a daze, technically conscious but wishing she wasn’t.

Song: Dark Rebirth

Ryusei_Nakao69’s mouth cracked open in a wicked smile. The second step of his plan had come to fruition, and now there was less and less between him and his goal. Once he had his hands on Brandy’s soul, he would no longer have to worry about his debt to Grrshknn. And with the promised one million Gems, he would be the richest King on the planet. All he had to do now was defeat Oticat in a 1v1. But that wouldn’t be hard. After all, Ryusei_Nakao69 was three levels Oticat’s superior. Most of his cards were maxed out, and he had built his deck specifically to defeat his opponent’s. There was no way he could lose.
“Hey, uh, Dad?”, came the voice of Stacie from behind him. “What does this mean?”

Ryusei_Nakao69 turned around to see his daughter holding her arm worryingly, pointing at some mark close to her elbow. “It just sort of appeared. Like, just barely.”
He leaned over with his enhanced vision, and took a careful look. It was a cut, only skin deep. It bore the shape of a dark spiral, overlaid with a bear’s claw.
“Oh, Stacie.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said with a smile. “That, my dear, is the mark of Grrshknn. I have one too.”
He adjusted his crown a bit to reveal that he did indeed have an identical marking, up near the top of his forehead. His was a little larger, and deeper, but it was the same pattern.
“It just means that Grrshknn has taken a liking to you, that’s all.”, he said. “I’m proud of whatever you did to warrant it.”
“Uh, yeah Dad.”, Stacie said. “Me too.”
She turned around, staring straight ahead at nothing. That conversation had not gone the way she had planned it to. It had taken her hours to make the exact mark on her arm, and it had hurt the whole time she was doing so. But Stacie had thought it would be worth it if she could just get her father to pay attention to her again. He hadn’t done so for months.
Stacie, of course, enjoyed the dark power that Grrshknn had brought. But deep down, secretly, when she thought no one was watching or listening in, she yearned for the times before.
“Oh, would you look at that.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69, looking up. “Our ride’s here.”

Chapter Text

Brandy suddenly snapped back to reality, faint blue lights flickering behind her head. She had rehad the vision of the Royal Giant, but this time it felt different. She could definitely see that they were in Legendary Arena now, and that their opponent was indeed Ryusei_Nakao69. But a few things had been added to the vision- there was Meg, hovering over the Arena floor. A purple wind rushed through, and two waves of light fought at the center- one Red, and one Blue. They battled for dominance for several seconds, although to Brandy it seemed like minutes. But finally, to her horror, the Red wave overpowered the Blue one and pushed it into the floor.

“Brandy.”, Bowza said, and pulled her to her feet. “I know that you’re undergoing some flashbacks right now. Some resurfacing trauma and what not.”
His eyes lit up, and his bow along with it. “I don’t know how They came back, or how they found us, or what they’re doing here. But I do know this.”
His face grew more intense, and some sort of light seemed to radiate outwards from somewhere behind him. “For better or for worse, this has suddenly become the most important fight of our lives. And probably the hardest.”
He looked up, and pointed towards the center of the Arena. “But now is no time for such thoughts. The Battle Blimp is here.”

The Battle Blimp was what was used in order to bring passengers from the lower Arenas to Legendary Arena. It was usually only used for the first battle of a King, to bring him to Legendary Arena for the first time once he won. After that, he would be given a teleporter pad that he and his Troops could use any time they were to battle.
And this time was no different. Even though this particular battle was far beyond the stakes of any that Oticat had done before, some things never changed.

“Everyone.”, Oticat said. “We better go-”
“Yes.”, Agatha said somberly. “We should.”
She looked to everyone there in turn, giving them a little bit of a mental boost to help with whatever was coming. “And we will.”
As one, Oticat and his Troops silently filed out of their side of Hog Mountain, towards the top of the stairs down the mountain where the Battle Blimp was waiting.
As they walked, Brandy looked around. She noticed that something was missing- and that something was a particular Musketeer.
“Where’s Meg?”, she asked. “I don’t see her anywhere.”
Dan broke away from his deep thoughts, and looked over the heads of the growing crowd that Oticat and the group were now walking through. “I don’t see her either. Maybe she’s with Brenda.”
“Maybe…”, Brandy said. She took out her communicator, and selected Brenda’s number on speed-dial. “I’ll call her.”
Brandy pushed the button and held the device to her face, while still walking. It took a moment for Brenda to answer.
“Brandy?”, came the voice of her friend through the communicator. “What is it?”

“Is Meg with you?”, Brandy said. “I can’t find her anywhere.”
“I don’t have her.”, Brenda said, and Brandy’s heart jumped even higher than it already was.
“Do you know where she is?”, Brandy hissed.
”Um… where was the last place you had her?”, Brenda responded.
“She said she was just going to the bathroom.”, Brandy said, worry tainting her words. “I hope nothing happened to her…”
Brenda looked up, scanning the crowd below for the only Musketeer with glasses and faded marker still on her arm. “I don’t see her. But maybe…”
Phantom, she thought, and the Phantom reared up behind her. Can you find Meg for me?
“Certainly.”, said the Phantom, and closed his eyes. His magical mental web extended far across the Arena, searching for Meg’s unique biosignature. His finger went along with it, pointing towards Meg’s position. Once his finger stopped moving, he opened his eyes.
“There.”, he said. Brenda looked, and her eyes widened. She slowly brought her communicator to her lips.
“I found her.”, she said. “But I don’t think you’re gonna like where she is.”

“Meg, are you coming?”, Bailey asked, tapping Meg on the knee.
Meg jolted out of her stupor, and blinked. “What? Where am I? What the-”
She looked around, and fear shot through her. “How the-”
But a single caress from Bailey across the cheek was all it took for Meg’s fragile mind to fall back into position. “Shh.”, Bailey whispered. “You’re with us, remember? Your friends, your family, me…”
Meg’s eyes slightly crossed, and she stood up. “Oh. Right. I forgot.”
She followed LeChris’s and theSenate’s Troops in a dazed walk, almost stumbling, as they went towards the spot where the Battle Blimp waited. “How silly of me…”

“Brenda?”, Brandy asked. “Please don’t tell me she is where I think she is.”
Brenda winced. “She is. I don’t why, or how, but-”
“She fell on her way to the bathroom and can’t get up.”, Brandy said, finishing what she thought Brenda was going to say. “Well, it could be worse-”
“What?”, Brenda asked. “No. Brandy, Meg’s with the Red side of the stands.”
Brandy blinked, stopping in the middle of the path. The Ratzo Brothers bumped into her, but kept on going. “What? She’s what?”
“Hold on. Don’t say anything.”, Brenda said, and motioned for the Phantom. Understanding his user’s request perfectly, the Phantom scanned Meg’s mind and brain for any foreign influences. He found one- of course. He gave Brenda a nod, and she heaved a sigh of relief.
“She’s under some sort of spell.”, Brenda explained. “I don’t know who put it on her, but she’s not over there because she wants to be.”
“Well, that’s good.”, said Brandy. “I guess. How can we get her back?”
“We-”, Brenda said, and looked up. “We shouldn’t try right now. We can do it after the match, when you guys win. Now hold on, I gotta go.”
“What?”, Brandy asked. “Why?”
Brenda stared at the mysterious figure of Funny Valentine from across the Arena. D4C floated above him, and the two Stand users stared at each other in mutual curiosity. “I just gotta go. There’s… something I gotta do.”

“Huh.”, Brandy said as the line went dead. “Yeah, okay.”
She tucked the communicator back into her pocket, and ran to catch up with her group. They were boarding the Battle Blimp that very second, and Brandy had no desire to be left behind.
“Sorry I’m late, everyone.”, she said, as she just barely leapt between the Blue Team doors, right before they closed. “I was doing stuff.”
I’m stuff, Dan thought, but chose not to say it. He had no idea why he thought it, but he did.
“Glad you could make it, Brandy.”, Agatha said. She seemed to be making motions with her hands, that looked like she was stirring tea. No one knew why. “You might want to sit down.”
“Oh, right.”, Brandy said, and jumped over a wooden barrier, landing on the bench where everyone else sat. The area in front of them was empty, save for another bench on the opposite side labeled Red Team. The audience and various hangers-on of the crowd rode in the front of the Blimp, in General Passengers.

Brandy tried to think of some way to make conversation. Something to break the silence of the Battle Blimp, and the intense tension of the whole situation. “Hey, uh…”, she said.
“Anyone hear why using Hog Riders isn’t allowed in Touchdown?”
“Why?”, Bowza asked, sensing that Brandy was setting up for a joke.
“It’s just too good of a strategy.”, Brandy said. “So the gods just Bandit.”
Dan chuckled. The Ratzo Brothers poked each other on the shoulder, and lightened up a bit. A bit of a smile crept across Agatha’s face, and she covered it with her hand.
“Hey, I got another one.”, said Sadie, looking up. “What do you call an Ice Spirit that talks?”
“What?”, said Elizabeth.
“Nothing, silly.”, Sadie said. “Ice Spirits can’t talk.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Randy, who just shrugged. He said nothing. Because he was an Ice Spirit.
“Okay, okay, I got one.”, said Dan. “I picked this one up in Frozen Peak.”
“Let’s hear it.”, Brandy said.
“What do you call a cross between a Bandit and a Royal Ghost?”, Dan asked.
“Uh…”, Brandy said. “What?”
“Leon!”, said Dan, and looked around to mostly blank stares. “Come on guys, don’t you get it?”

“What’s a Leon?”, Brandy asked, trying to rack her brain for anywhere that she had heard that name before.
“I think I’ve heard of Leons.”, Oticat said. “From someone in the Clan… I think it was SpaceKrakenX.”
“Oh, come on.”, Dan said, and fell back into his seat. “I forgot most of you guys never did any out-of-continent research.”
“I got it.”, Bowza said.
“Oh.”, Dan said, and brightened up just a little bit. “Did you-”
“Yes.”, said Bowza. “I liked your joke.”
“Indeed.”, said Ryusei_Nakao69. “I thought it was very amusing.”

Song: Crucial Situation

“You-”, Agatha hissed, and stood straight up. Bringing out her staff in front of herself, she affixed Ryusei_Nakao69 with a furious glare. He had just barely entered the room, and was heading his Battle Team as they sat down on their appropriate bench.
“Now, now, calm yourself.”, said Chad, and brought up his sword to block Agatha’s staff. “Save it for the Arena.”
Brandy stood up, and pointed a shaking finger. “I’ll show you save it for the Arena, you piece of-”
Valeyire lunged out from her seat, and slammed her axe down onto the floor. “Hold your tongue, you fragile little-”
The Ratzo Brothers stood up, and hoisted their Ram over their head. “You wanna say that again, you cow?”
“Cow?”, Valeyrie shrieked, and Chad put out an arm to restrain her. “Come here, chickens! I’ll tear you to bits!”
Randy frontflipped forward onto the floor in between the two Teams, and made various angry gestures with his arms. No one knew what they meant, because he was an Ice Spirit. But they got the message across.
“What’s the matter, Brandy?”, Chad laughed, staring at her trembling finger. “Afraid of us, without your precious Dan here to protect you?”
Dan stood from the bench, almost reaching the ceiling. A golden bolt played across his chest, and sliced into the floor. “I am here.”, he rumbled, trying to be as menacing as possible.

Rick looked up at Dan, and planted his sword into the ground. “Well, well, well.”, he said. “Look at you. Seems that you’ve grown-”
Dan growled, and Rick stumbled backwards in fear. Trying to play it off, he leaned on his sword and examined his fingernails. “You don’t have to be so angry about it. Jeez.”
As the two Teams continued to yell and scream at each other, Ryusei_Nakao69 fixed Oticat with an apologetic eye. “I’m terribly sorry about this.”, he said. “Normally, mine are a little more… civilized.”
“Oh, yes, mine too.”, Oticat said with a laugh faker than synthetic stone. “Normally, they’re not…”
Then his face grew colder, and he leaned forward in a glare. “Face to face with the most vile scum on the face of the planet.”
The two Kings glared at each other, while their Troops’s screaming match only escalated in intensity. Sheer, abject hatred flashed back and forth like wind in a gale, and the floor mixed Blue and Red between them.

“Please! Everyone!”, came a voice from the entryway, and the two Kings both turned to look. There stood a King familiar to everyone there, his sheer confidence radiating outwards in waves. “Save it for the Arena.”

“A- Ash?”, Oticat said, his anger dulled in the face of such a star. “The Ash?”
“Yeah.”, said Ash, reclining against the wall. “I’m him.”
Even Ryusei_Nakao69 was a little starstruck. It mattered not that he consorted with demons on a weekly basis, Ash was a celebrity the likes of which he had never before seen. “Wow.”
He slammed his hand downwards. For a second, a dark shield sprung up between his Troops and Oticat’s, stopping the fight in its tracks. The two groups looked up to see what was going on, and they saw Ash.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.”, said Ash, and gestured towards nothing. “The host of the show Clash with Ash. Well, I just had nothing to do today, and I was kinda bored, so…”
He looked up into the far right corner of the room, and gave a massive wink. “And I’m sure that our viewers at home would just love to see me unscripted, right?”
“Who is he talking to?”, one of the Ratzo Brothers whispered.
“Hidden camera.”, the other replied, before giving his brother the shut-up elbow.

Ash turned back to the two kings, his hands coming together to proudly show off his Inferno Tower tattoo. “But, of course…”
He suddenly grew far more intense. “You two. You all. Save it for the Arena. Or you won’t get to battle at all.”
“Yes, sir.”, both Oticat and Ryusei_Nakao69 mumbled as one, and motioned for their Troops to sit down. Oticat would have actually liked to not battle, but he somehow knew that wasn’t an option. Ryusei_Nakao69’s life- and more importantly, his plan- hinged on him winning this fight. If he couldn’t battle, then he had already lost.

Now that the two Teams were sitting down, nothing to do but stare at each other, Brandy found herself looking at Ryusei_Nakao69. She had never really gotten the opportunity to study him like this before- all the other times she had seen him, there had always been something going on.
To tell the truth, he barely looked like a regular King. Everywhere Brandy looked, she could see evidence of his evil. The bloody mark on his forehead. The dark crimson jewels on his crown, a far cry from the regular yellow. The thick black scars that ran down from his eyes, all the way to his chin- or what could be seen of it underneath his ripped beard. His frame was far more muscular than that of a regular King, swollen with unnatural might. Black smoke dripped into the air from various torn parts of his skin as he sat, slowly but surely corroding the wood above.

Like what you see, Brandy?, came his voice, suddenly echoing in Brandy’s head. Get used to it. You’ll be seeing it a lot more from now on.
Brandy jerked her head away, trying to hide the face that her breath and heart rate had elevated dramatically. She looked to Agatha for help, who put up her staff. A thin blue wall appeared between the two teams, and Brandy felt herself relax. But still, she could not help but be nervous, as the Battle Blimp ascended further, towards what would almost certainly be the most important battle of her life.

In the Passenger section of the Battle Blimp, the mood was only slightly less serious. The crowd had been forced to find seats wherever they could get them- on the chairs, on the benches, on the floor, hanging onto the walls, hovering in midair, standing on other Troops, or somewhere else random. A Pekka lay down face first in the middle of the bay, hordes of Goblins climbing all over it. A Balloon gently bobbed up and down near the ceiling, an entire Skeleton Army struggling to stay in the basket. The whole crowd had naturally split into two sides- those that were Blue, and those that were Red. This division had created a sort of no man’s land in the center. No one dared enter it, even though it was empty space.

“So.”, Brenda said, struggling to breathe against the weight of a Royal Giant. “What was your name again?”
“Funny Valentine.”, said Funny Valentine, and gestured patriotically. “I am the 23rd president of the greatest nation on Earth, and will do anything to keep it that way.”
“Uh, cool.”, Brenda said, having absolutely no idea what he was talking about. “What’s your Stand?”
“This is Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.”, said Valentine, with a dramatic sweep of his arm. His hand knocked into a Goblin, sending it tumbling down the back of an Elite Barbarian. “I call him D4C for short.”
“Cool.”, said Brenda, and winced as a stray weapon jabbed her in the back. “That’s a cool name.”
Funny Valentine’s face softened. “I see that you’re uncomfortable. Would you mind if we took this conversation…”
He leaned in closer, D4C hovering over him. “Somewhere else?”
Brenda nodded. “Yeah. That’d be great- wait. What do you mean, somewhere else-”
“D4C!”, shouted Valentine, and his Stand Power activated with the blare of hidden trumpets. An American flag swept itself around him and Brenda, then fell to the floor. Various Troops suddenly fell backwards into the vacuum that the two had once been, and there was a soft pop as they were teleported into unreal space.

Brenda couldn’t see for a moment. Then she couldn’t see for a lot of moments, then she could see far more than she had ever wanted to, then she could see exactly one thing, and that thing was a dresser. Then it was a smoothie cup, then a paper plate, then she and Funny Valentine fell into the space between dimensions, pitch black and full of shards.
“Woah.”, Brenda coughed, on her hands and knees, trying not to throw up all over unreality. “So that’s what you meant.”
“Indeed.”, said Valentine, striding forward with an American flourish. “My D4C possesses the ability of dimensional travel and control. I can cross between them as I choose, bring objects or people with me, and teleport. He is also adept at all forms of physical combat, making him the most powerful Stand that I know of.”
He brushed his fingernails, then turned back to Brenda, who was hurrying to catch up. “And it appears that even in this odd, backwater dimension, some people still possess them. So tell me, um…”
“Oh, right.”, Brenda said. “Sorry, I’m Brenda.”
“So tell me then, Brenda…”, said Funny Valentine, and suddenly raised his hand. D4C’s fist rushed forward in a blur of pink and silver light. The Phantom’s sword raised out of Brenda’s arm to block the blow before there was a second, but D4C’s far superior physical strength tossed the weapon aside as if it were a mere toy. Valentine pinned Brenda against the wall, glaring with psychotic force. “Tell me all you know about the Holy Corpse.”

Meg watched the side of the Battle Blimp, carefully tracking a butterfly. It had somehow gotten in during the boarding, and was now being watched by every Pekka and Mini Pekka in the room.
“Hey Meg?”, asked Chloe, who was sitting beside her. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”, Meg said, her vision blurring a little bit as she gently swayed back and forth. “Ask me anything.”
“Where did I come from?”, Chloe asked.
“Well, uh-”, Meg said, and stopped. The question would have been difficult to answer, even if sober. But with Meg currently under Bailey’s spell, it was nigh-impossible. She didn’t even know where to begin. “What do you mean?”
“I was talking to some other Princesses…”, said Chloe, “And they told me that each King only has two. Two for the towers, I mean. There can be another one unlocked through Chests, but I don’t think I ever was.”
Meg thought for a moment, her addled thoughts trying to connect together deep inside her brain. But even as they did so, Bailey’s spell weaving around them started to weaken, and Meg began to wake up.
“Um, uh…”, Meg mumbled, feeling that her brain was on the verge of something big. “I think that-”
With a final push of thought, Bailey’s spell broke. Meg looked around in surprise, and her eyes widened. “What? Where am I?”
Her eyes flashed, as she remembered. She remembered doing something in her room, then… the middle of some huge crowd, surrounded by-

She felt a kiss on her cheek. A pulse of Red energy spread outwards and into her from it, settling over her mind once again like a weighted blanket. Bailey withdrew, but not before whispering nonexistent words into Meg’s ear. Her spell took hold once again, and Meg collapsed into a euphoric heap.
Chloe looked from Musketeer to Bandit in shock, then back again. She tried to form words, but was clearly having some trouble with it. “Bailey? What did you do to Meg?”
Bailey just smiled, and patted Chloe’s head. “Oh, don’t worry. She’s fine. Just needed a nap, is all.”
Although Chloe was already Red, Bailey’s magical voice affected her all the same. “Oh, okay.”, Chloe said. “Can you answer my question?”
Bailey had been listening, and formulating an answer for when Meg inevitably couldn’t come up with one. “Of course, Chloe.”, Bailey said. “You see, Ryu- your father made you.”
“Daddy… made me?”, Chloe asked with wide eyes. “What the heck’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that he loved you so much that he knew that he wanted you, even before you existed.”, Bailey explained. “So he grew you in his laboratory, slowly but surely moulding you into the perfect little Princess.”
“Oh.”, Chloe said, looking down at her hands. “Is that why I’m still little, while Stacie and Veronica are so big?”
“That’s right.”, said Bailey, and ran her hand down Chloe’s face. “Now rest up. You’ve got a big day ahead of you.”
“Rest up?”, Chloe asked, and yawned. “But… I’m not… tired…”
Bailey’s other spell took effect, and Chloe collapsed asleep onto Meg’s shoulder. Bailey looked away, out the window, and tried not to feel sick. This wasn’t her, was it? Hypnotizing people and putting them to sleep. No, that was a Witch’s job. Not hers… was it?
Right?

“Holy… Corpse?”, Brenda stuttered, trying not to look at D4C’s hand on her throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s a Corpse?”
“Oh, surely you must know.”, Valentine said, strutting back and forth. “How else would you get your Stand?”
D4C’s grip tightened, and Brenda struggled to breathe. “I…”, she squeaked out. “Got it from… an Arrow!”
“An Arrow?”, Valentine asked, suddenly curious. His grip on the air loosened, and D4C’s did as well. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I found an Arrow.”, Brenda said. “I accidentally stabbed myself with it, and then the Phantom- my Stand appeared.”
“So if what you’re saying is true…”, Valentine said, with a devious glint in his eye. “There’s such a thing as an Arrow… that grants people Stands upon contact.”
“Well, yeah.”, said Brenda. D4C let go of her entirely, and she slumped to the ground. “How else would it work?”

“Well.”, Valentine said, and offered a hand to Brenda. She took it with caution, and was yanked to her feet by the now cheerful Valentine. “Where I come from, Stands are granted by exposure to an ancient relic known as the Holy Corpse Parts. Once I assemble all of them, there will no longer be any obstacle in my quest of making America the greatest country in the world.”
“I see.”, Brenda said, although she really didn’t. “You know, you mention this America a lot. What’s it like?”
Valentine seemed not to hear her, or perhaps he just didn’t want to take 18 hours answering her question. “Where is this Stand Arrow now?”
“It’s…”, Brenda said, but stopped. She had no idea if she could trust him or not. So far, he had seemed totally uninterested in anything other than his quest, but Brenda had to make sure. So with a nod, the Phantom took a quick look at his aura.
He’s clean, he said. If he gets the Arrow, he will go back to his own realm. There will be no harm dealt to ours. In fact, he considers here the second best place he’s ever visited.
“It’s in my room.”, Brenda said. “Just resting on my desk. Do you want directions-”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”, said Valentine with a wave of his hand. “Your Stand has already told mine how to get there. Very nice Stand by the way… what do you call it?”
“The Phantom of the Opera.”, Brenda said. “Although really, I just call him the Phantom.”
“Well, good luck in your future endeavours.”, Funny Valentine said, and made a quick gesture. Another American flag appeared, and twirled over both him and Brenda. “Now, I think its time for us both to go back to our own realms.”
“Wait!”, Brenda said, and the flag paused in its fall. “Once you use the Arrow for whatever you’re gonna use it for, could you give it back?”
“Of course.”, said Valentine, and grinned. “For all the help you’ve provided, that would be a small favor.”
Then the flag fell. Brenda closed her eyes, and she tumbled head over heels through infinity. A few seconds passed, before the regular world resumed and she fell onto the back of a Golem.
“Huh.”, she said, brushing herself off. “I wonder what he’ll do with it.”
Then she looked out the window, and gasped. For while she had been gone, the white fluffy clouds of the sky had given way to the darkness of the upper atmosphere. And there, at the very top of her sight, was Legendary Arena.

“Look.”, said Oticat. He had felt it before he he had seen it. The cold wind of the highest sky, up where it seemed as though you could reach out and touch the stars. The dark that crept in through the windows, the light of the sun having been long lost behind the clouds. The aura of triumph and power that radiated outwards from Legendary Arena in waves, a shining constellation of both Blue and Red.
“Is this…”, Sadie said, straining to see as far as she could outside the window.
“It is.”, breathed Elizabeth. “Amazing…”
“Oh my.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said dryly, and pushed himself off of his bench. “I do believe we’re here.”
Oticat grimaced. “So it would seem.”

The door dividing the Team area from the Passenger slid open with a wooden thunk, revealing once again the bright figure of Ash. “Well, we’re here.”, he said. “Everyone, come out.”
“This is it, Dan.”, Brandy whispered, trying to no avail to calm her beating heart.
“You seem nervous, Brandy.”, he whispered back.
“I am.”, she said, a little louder. “I mean, it’s not like the fate of my future is hanging on this one battle or anything.”
“Don’t worry.”, Dan said, and raised his fist. Golden light sparkled around it, burning small marks into the floor. “With my powers, they won’t stand a chance. In fact, I’d estimate that I’m…”
He stared off into space, doing some quick calculations in his head. “Anywhere from 30-45 times stronger than I was then. Nothing they have will be able to stop me.”
“But Dan… you won’t be.”, Brandy said. “In the Arena, we’re all just regular Troops. You can’t use your Star.”
Dan stopped, and his face turned a little whiter. “Oh.”, he said. “I… I forgot.”

Then he put up his chin, and continued walking. He and Brandy were the only ones still in the Battle Blimp, everyone else still having left. Except for a single member of the Skeleton Army, Ledoot. He stayed behind them, tagging along behind Dan’s giant heels.
“But still, don’t worry.”, he said. “As a Mega Knight, I’m the strongest counter to Elite Barbarians that exists. And you counter Wizard, and the Skeleton Army counters Royal Giant, and I’m sure we can figure out some way to take care of that Valkyrie.”

“Yeah, but it’s not that I’m worried about.”, Brandy said, and held on to Dan a little tighter. “It's the levels. They’re so much higher than we are.”
“I know.”, said Dan, and brought Brandy a little closer to himself. “But there’s no point in worrying, is there? No. We just have to fight.”
“Careful there, Dan.”, Brandy said. “You’re starting to sound a little like Bowza.”
Dan, despite the blanket of tension that weighed down the whole situation, chuckled a little bit. Increasing his step, he and Brandy at last left the Battle Blimp and touched down on the stone steps of Legendary Arena, ready to face their destiny.

Chapter Text

Song: Be my Lover

Brandy heard the notes, echoing out of the massive pair of speakers that jutted out of the sides of the walls of the Arena. Red and Blue confetti poured from enormous golden Trophies, one on each side. Groups of Minions hovered overhead, holding a massive sign.
“Legendary Arena: Grand Re-Opening!”, it read, in gigantic golden letters.
“I… I love this song.”, Brandy gasped, feeling the music roll over the entire area like a vast wave. “Where have I heard it before?”
“I don’t know.”, said Dan. “But you’re right… it does feel familiar.”
“And Grand Re-Opening- what’s that all about?”, Brandy asked, pointing to the sign.
“Oh, I know that one.”, said Brenda, who had suddenly materialized next to Oticat. “Legendary Arena was closed for a couple of seasons. Now today’s the first day of the newest one-”
She spread her arms out open wide, and gave an appreciative whistle. “Be Legendary!”

“We’re at 5k.”, said SpaceKrakenX, who had also suddenly appeared. “We had the privilege of battling in those other two temporary Arenas, but-”
“There’s just something so special about this one.”, said Avaya, SpaceKrakenX’s Witch. “Right guys?”
“Too right.”, said Brenda again, and flicked her finger against her forehead. “Legendary Arena’s the best.”
“Wha-”, Oticat said, after he had politely waited for everyone to finish talking. “Where did you all come from?”
“We heard about what’s going on.”, said SpaceKrakenX. “And so we all came. If that bastard wants this final battle in the Arena, we gotta be here for it.”
“I see.”, Oticat said. “Well, in that case, seeing as how you’re at 5k and all… would you mind giving me a few tips? I’m worried.”

“Ah, my boy.”, came the voice of ChupilickytwaCT from behind him. “I use a somewhat similar deck. I can help you.”
“Oh.”, Oticat said. “Great.”
ChupilickytwaCT put his hand on Oticat’s shoulder, and led him off down a different path. Of course, it still pointed towards the entrance- they all did. “Now, the first thing you need to know about Elite Barbarians is…”
The rest of the entourage continued on the main road, slowly meandering down the astro gardens and black and white pebbles. Even though they maintained a steady conversation, the general mood was one of nervousness, apprehension, and fear.
“Brandy, what can you see?”, Brenda asked. “Use your Stand.”
“Oh, uh…”, Brandy said, and scratched her forearm. “I can’t use it on command.”
“Aha.”, Brenda said. “Well, tell me if you see anything.”
“Don’t worry.”, said Brandy, and looked up at the gates. “I will.”

“Woah…”, Meg breathed, stepping out of the emptying Battle Blimp and onto the path towards Legendary Arena. “So this is it.”
“Yup.”, Bailey nodded, coming up from behind her. “This is the one and only.”
With a flicker of wind, Bailey’s finger traced a pattern on Meg’s ear, and the Musketeer shivered.
“Bailey?”, Chloe asked. “Why are you playing with Meg’s ear?”
“Um…”, Bailey said, and looked down at Chloe. Then up at the sky, then Meg, then back at Chloe. She smiled, and put a little more power into her voice.
“Oh, nothing.”, she said, and stroked Meg’s ear again. “Just letting her know how much of a good friend she is…”
Meg’s mouth curled upward in a hazy smile, and she almost fell to the ground.
“Yeah, you like that.”, Bailey said, much to Chloe’s increasing worry. “You like being a good friend, don’t you? Yes, we all like you, just so, so, much…”
But even as Bailey spoke those words, she came to a realization. She hadn’t been able to project so much influence with her voice for long- just a little right before she had died in the raid. But her mind and memory flashed backwards to long before that, when she had been chosen as one of the Troops to receive some of Grrshknn’s power.

She could not remember his exact wording, but he had told her that her power would manifest itself eventually. And now, it appeared that he had been right. Fred had gotten immense superstrength and berserker tendencies, Chad and Rick had gotten regeneration and inhuman durability, and she had gotten some sort of mental control.
Hmmm…, she thought to herself, as her group kept on walking. I’ll have to figure out just what I can do with this.

“Gooooood morning everyone!”, shouted Jimmy Firecracker from his elevated podium, as he saw the immense crowd file into Legendary Arena. They were now of an even larger number, from the many Kings that had hurried to the Arena as soon as they heard what was going on.
“Or is it night?”, Jimmy boomed through his microphone, then laughed at his own joke. “You can’t quite tell up here, up in…”
He pointed towards the star-studded sky, making sure to really yell for the best effect. “Space!”
The crowd cheered, the sound almost shaking the seats. The effect was enough to make even Jimmy Firecracker forget where he was for a second, before he pulled himself together and signaled to the Ground Goblin that he wished to be lowered.

Down in the dugout, Brandy held her hands in between her knees, concentrating her Dash in her hands and fists. She squeezed as hard as she could with her thighs, trying to prevent her hands from escaping, but they always burst out. She did it again, with the same results.
“I see that you’re nervous, Brandy.”, said Bowza, looking down at her. “Let me help you with that.”
“Yeah, I’m nervous.”, Brandy said, before realizing what Bowza had said. “Of course I- what?”
“Here.”, Bowza said, and offered her a small pill. “Take this.”
“Okay…”, Brandy said, and took it. Holding it up in front of her face, she could see that it was pink and bore no markings. “What is it?”
“It’s a Pill of Luck.”, said Bowza with an enigmatic smile. “I picked it up down in the Lab. It improves the fortune of whoever consumes it.”
“Oh.”, Brandy said, and chewed it up. “I could use everything I can get.”
Bowza smiled, both outwardly and on the inside. The pill was actually just sugar- but Brandy didn’t need to know that. As she herself had said…
“We should use everything we can get.”, Bowza mumbled, and closed his eyes in prayer.

Ryusei_Nakao69 ran one finger down his scars, feeling their arcane patterns race through him. Grrshknn had managed to bring everything together, all for this one glorious moment. All Ryusei_Nakao69 had to do was defeat Oticat in single combat, then everything he had ever wanted would be his. Fame, glory, immeasurable riches, eternal life…
“You know, it doesn’t seem right.”, said Valeyrie, and Ryusei_Nakao69 turned his eyes.
“What doesn’t seem right, Valeyrie?”, he asked, and the Valkyrie sighed.
“I don’t know. It just seems that even though you- we, have all this power, and we’ve gone to such lengths to do everything… it doesn’t seem right that it all ends like this.”
Ryusei_Nakao69 laughed, startling a Goblin that had poked his head over the Tower. “Sir? They’re uh… they’re ready for you now. To battle.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll be there in a moment.”, Ryusei_Nakao69 said with a wave, then addressed Valeyrie with a wide grin. “It might not seem so. But it is so. After all, what better way for this to end…”
He turned again dramatically, flipping his cape over his shoulder in a flash of dark wind. His eyes narrowed, and evil strength flashed within them. “Than in the Arena.”

A hush fell over the crowd, no one wanting to miss this historic moment. The very first battle in the brand new Legendary Arena. The fight that even the gods had cared enough about to intervene in. Both Kings silently took their place atop their towers, and looked to their daughters. All four Princesses, in the towers beside them, completed the age old ritual, giving a quick thumbs up to signify that they were ready.
It’s just a battle, thought Ryusei_Nakao69. Nothing more.
This is the battle, Oticat gulped. This is everything.
Jimmy Firecracker, up in the booth, would have normally reached for the slip of paper to announce the names of the competitors. But there was no need. He knew these two Kings by now- much of the entire Royale Continent did. Instead, he just picked up his microphone, cleared his throat, and spoke. “Oticat vs Ryusei_Nakao69. Entry into Legendary Arena.”
Standing up, he pointed towards the Arena, though no one but the ones around him could see. “Let the battle…”

Every single Troop and King in the entire Arena leaned forward, on baited breath. A hush fell over the entire area, and the music stopped playing. In that moment, it seemed as though the entire world was watching. Both Kings leaned forward, staring into each other. Everything hung in the balance of these three minutes. Every single event of the last few weeks had been leading up to this moment. Jimmy Firecracker took a deep breath, and flung his hand forward.

“Begin!”