Chapter 35 - Vs. the Under Army

This chapter is the Negaverse parallel to "The Last" arc of Seven Lights. Spoilers for that arc.

At the end of the Voyage, Nerehc bid his Negatives farewell as he ventured to the Posiverse to aid the KND in their quest. Ikuyim also went there to pair up with her fellow Earth Children. The other Negatives promised to hold down the fort, but were unsure what to do for a time.

Luckily, the Under Army were there to answer their question. During an ordinary day, all the computers in all the treehouses suddenly started glitching! Xedni was especially panicking, mashing the keypad frantically, but she couldn't retake command of her device. The blank face of none other than Tabuu appeared on the screens. The computers rumbled, and they all exploded. All the treehouses were swallowed in tremendous bubbles of digital darkness.

The DNK woke up in the darkness, royally confused as all the many sectors seemed to be there, from the former DNKG, Nega-MG, Nega-$, Newbase, and the veteran sectors. There were murmurs of confusion, some suspecting this had something to do with what was happening in the Posiverse. It was then they realized eight figures were surrounding them, perched on tall platforms. Sauron's ominous eye skimmed around the many operatives, focusing on Hcaz, Ibyf, Lirpa, and Aliehs. "Four of the-"

"Four targets detected!" Megatron interrupted him.

"Hey, I'm the all-seeing eye, let me scan them!" Sauron argued.

"My scanners can detect five billion life-forms at once!"

"Silence, you fools!" Tomura shouted. "Only four of the Lights' Negatives are here!"

"It matters not." Father replied. "So long as we slay at least one of them, it should satisfy His Lordship. Under Army, attack!"

Megatron blasted his particle beam and Sauron a Combustion Beam, Ydnew throwing her hands up at either and forming portals to catch the beams. The other villains dropped down: Salem stretched Dark Arms to snatch Ibyf, Yllas and Yevrah tossing bladed tops to cut them, only for the witch to freeze them with an ice spell. Tomura smacked the ground to turn it into a sinkhole, the kids falling, and he dodged his way around the Negatives up to Aliehs, intending to decay her, but Eirik blew him away with a soundwave.

Altair conjured swords and cast them at Lirpa, Sipa turning them into flowers. She then cast a Blast Spell at Altair, who stood patiently as a barrier protected her. Nollid applied his own magic while Ydnew shot Starbursts, but Altair's barrier remained impenetrable as she threw more swords to cut their hips. Flowey ensnared Nega-JP and -SA in vines, bashing them against the ground, Father willed the sand to harden and become metal, trapping ZR and -L in metal encasings. Megatron blasted at some Negatives, the ground exploding and knocking them into the air.

"This was too easy." Altair remarked. "Werdna taught us everything about your abilities, yet you all were drastically unprepared. Well, Tabuu, would you like to collect some trophies?"

Tabuu's blank eyes were brimming with unseen passion. His butterfly wings formed, and he prepared to unleash a shockwave that would defeat all the Negatives. But it was then another figure flew up and SLASHED Tabuu, stopping his attack. The person landed on their feet, bent for a second before rising to full height. She wore a sleeveless black jacket, purple tank-top undershirt, knee-high ragged jeans, black sneakers, long blonde hair that draped down to her back, and haunting mustard-yellow eyes.

Viceroy of the Mischiefs

"Dread Fusion" MELISSA MASK

Melissa drew twin submachine guns and unloaded upon the Under Army, the bullets even puncturing Megatron's armor, and Tomura suffered some shots as he quickly moved his hands to decay some bullets. Altair cast a storm of swords at the intruder, but Melissa drew her demonic saber, Krallux, lashing it at blinding speed to slice up Altair's swords. Megatron leapt to crush her, but Melissa easily sliced his leg off.

"You Underwear Army guys don't know how to play a fair fight, do ya? But maybe my guys can teach you a lesson." Melissa snapped her fingers. Another army surrounded the area; they were the Mischiefs, James Fisher, Bill, Specs, Evelin, and hordes of underlings.

"Who are all you people?!" Hcaz asked.

"There will be plenty of time for questions later!" Melissa yelled. "Everyone into the turtle!" She presented a turtle in her hand with a key in its shell. "It's got turbo!"

"You still didn't answer my-"

"IN THE TURTLE NOW!" She zoomed around, sucking all the DNK into the turtle like a vacuum before jumping in herself. While the Under Army were forced to battle the Mischiefs, the turtle blasted away with rocket boosters.

After about an hour of being cramped in the turtle, it eventually arrived at a base resembling a smiling mask. The DNK sprung out of the turtle like a fountain. "They said sticking turbo to a turtle totally destroys who they are," Melissa said, picking it up, "but I say it's the way of the future. Anyway, welcome to my pad. Make yourselves at home 'cause this'll probably be your hub."

"Who the heck ARE you?!" Nirak demanded, sanitizing herself after being smooshed against everybody.

"I'll do my best to make it brief, considering we're not doing full chapters: name's Melissa, I'm your ally, those were the Under Army, they're bad guys."

"Please talk slower." Xedni requested.

Melissa explained that the Under Army are powerful agents employed by The Thirteen to kill the Negatives' Lights. Father, a man who could create anything out of nothing. Tomura, a supervillain mastermind who could destroy anything with a touch. Salem, who could create dark creatures and use powerful magic, topped with immortality. Tabuu, the one who hacked their network and trapped them in this very subspace, who gained more power with every inch of land trapped in his dimension. Megatron, who led a band of giant robots and possessed a deadly arsenal. Sauron, who could strike anything from afar with his all-seeing eye, and harnessed the power of a Ring of Resurrection to summon spirits of the dead. Altair, an Imaginary Friend who commanded unlimited power from fan ideas, including reality manipulation. Flowey, a godlike flower who had harnessed the power of six human souls.

"And their leader apparently came from this dimension: Werdna, a deathbender who's been building up his powers with the people they've killed." Melissa concluded.

"And your friends are going to fight them for us?" Ininap asked.

"Nah, they're probably getting annihilated as we speak. Altair and Flowey are the worst of the bunch, I doubt my guys can handle them."

"Then what're we supposed to do?!" Hcaz yelled.

"You tell me. This is your world, ain't it? Ain't your job to defend it?"

"Well, we did spend three years training for something like this." Arorua figured. "She's right, you guys. Nerehc is counting on us to protect everyone. We need to show these invaders who owns this world!"

"YEAH!" Eirik cheered. "We'll teach them what happens to dirty alien invaders! …Eh, no offense." she said to the glaring aliens.

"I know we did a lot of training, but those guys sound super OP." Aliehs said. "There's no way we can beat 'em."

"I've already drawn up a strategy." Atawid presented.

"SERIOUSLY, THAT FAST?!" they all yelped.

"It was simple. I've taken this Under Army's abilities into consideration with our own. Granted, from a logical standpoint, they should still cream us. But given the right approach, well, there is a small chance… I suppose."

"Well, gang, all up for beating up the Under Army?" Arorua asked. The more energetic operatives cheered, "YEAH!" while the less enthusiastic proclaimed, "We're bound by the rule of the positive thinkers."

"There's a couple other things I should mention." Melissa replied. "The inside of this Subspace contains an entire valley created by pieces of worlds the Under Army captured, and reshaped by Father and Altair's powers. They have their own lieutenants patrolling the valley, so you may have to fight your way through them. Oh, and if it's not too much trouble, they're also carrying these little cards with captives on them, so it'd be nice if you could get those back for us, so we can bring 'em back to their worlds? Yeah, thanks."

Atawid discussed her strategies and the best operatives suitable for taking down the Under Army. Once they were finished, the DNK set off.

Meanwhile, the Under Army were scouring Subspace, searching for other unfortunate victims who were swallowed up by the explosions, primarily the missing Negative Lights. Sauron had situated himself on a mountain, acting as a searchlight for the whole region, and the second he spotted the DNK, minions appeared: Salem's Grimm, Tabuu's Subspace Army, Decepticon planes, whomever was available. Of course, the DNK had already planned to divide into groups, and Sauron's eye couldn't track them all. He would certainly be the biggest nuisance in traversing this land. If ever he spotted them, Melissa would use a sniper rifle to shoot his eye, blotting his vision long enough for them to hide. The DNK would make use of large rocks or other things to hide whenever he turned their way.

The operatives stayed in contact with Melissa, who could signal the "Masked Lounge" to transport to wherever they were if they needed to rest or hide. The base had been fit with a magic spell to cloak it from the eyes of their enemies. Sectors -V and ZR worked together and made their way to a technological area. As they expected, it was filled with Decepticons, so Megatron could not have been far.

Soundwave was the first to ambush them, concussion blaster blazing, but his enhanced hearing was overwhelmed by Eirik's soundwave, fittingly destroying the robot. They found a Catch Card in its wreckage, containing Sea Hawk, a purple-haired sailor. Shockwave attacked next, blasting an array of beams from his laser cannon, but Aliehs countered his beams with dark ones while Yrrah fired charged beams from his Diffusion Rifle, defeating Shockwave and securing a card containing 'Sunny Emmerich.' Starscream soared around the air, dropping cluster bombs that Ynned destroyed by hitting up baseballs. Akurah launched missiles from a launcher, powered by her gas to damage Starscream until he was down. His card contained 'Himawari Uzumaki.'

At last, the group located Megatron, whose previous injuries had been mended by Father. "To think my Decepticons would be defeated by puny humans! I refuse to waste ammunition on you bugs. I'll squash you as you are!"

"We'll see about that!" Eitra remarked. "My sister's gonna crush you like a tin can! Hook up, Eels!"

Eelyah and Eel drew cement blocks and metal scrap from their Infi-Cube. Eelyah melted and molded the cement into a stone giant resembling herself, taking command within the head. Eel bent the metal around the giant to create armor. "Eelyah and Eel make Eeltron!" Eelyah announced, balling the giant's fists. "Eeltron smash!"

Eel applied chi to the armor to increase its defense, leaving Eelyah to handle offense. Megatron engaged her in a fist fight, starting up close as they asserted their strength, until Megatron fell on his back and suffered a Ground Pound to the stomach. Megatron pushed her off and went further, sending Rocket Punches. Eelyah melted the cement arms to stretch them for her own ranged punches. Eel couldn't take hold of Megatron in his bending, not adapted to Cybertronian metal, but Eelyah's constant punches seemed to break him apart.

Megatron resorted to using his particle beam cannon, Eeltron's armor withstanding, but the giant dodged to keep it from falling apart. Eeltron changed its right arm into a cannon shape, the metal pieces designed to project heat. Akurah was let into Eeltron to shoot gas beams through the tunnel, sending plasma beams at Megatron to damage his armor further. When they punctured the heart, a red stone was seen inside it: it was a Philosopher's Stone, given to Megatron by Father, allowing the robot to repair his injuries.

Atawid yelled at them to retrieve the stone, but Megatron used its power to form an armadillo shell around himself. He curled up and bowled at Eeltron, the giant stopping him with a push, but struggling to keep hold. Ulul ran in to help, covering the shell in vines and squeezing the vines underneath the folds of the shell. With enough effort, she was able to rip it apart. However, Megatron formed jetpacks with the stone and took to the sky, then covered his body in guns to rain fire upon them. Yrrah threw on jetpacks and carried Nosam up, evading Megatron's blasts and getting behind the robot. Nosam drew water from the Cube and froze Megatron's jetpack, causing him to lose altitude as Eeltron reached up, grabbed his legs, and slammed him back into the ground.

Megatron extended his left arm into a whip-like form to whack Eeltron from afar, and every time she was able to grab it, Megatron detached and formed a new arm. He had also expanded his beam cannon, preparing to charge a more powerful blast. Akurah mustered her chi for a fearsome blast of her own, Eeltron focusing on the heart. Megatron would inevitably have to stand still to fire his cannon, and now he was ready. Eeltron trained its cannon on his heart and did a forceful jump to the right, barely out of range of his cannon. At the same time, Akurah fired, puncturing straight through Megatron's chest. He readied to repair his body with the Philosopher's Stone, but didn't expect Ynned to hit a baseball from right behind, blowing through the hole and forcing the stone out.

Eeltron's left foot had been destroyed by the beam, but with her right, she squashed the stone, a burst of energy exploding. Megatron's body returned to normal, the robot feeling fatigue as he blasted Eeltron with the minimized cannon. Eeltron threw more stretched punches, knocking him down, then hopped toward Megatron for the final pummeling. She then ripped off his head and crushed it in her hands, squishing it into a ball. Megatron no longer moved, so the earthbenders took Eeltron apart, giving their selves rest.

"Yeah! You don't mess with the Nagilligs, big boy!" Eitra cheered.

"You coulda helped against the armadillo shell, Sirhcy!" Eirik yelled.

"That giant-ass thing?! My shell is way too puny!"

"It was an excellent performance from everyone." Atawid smiled. "Of course, that battle might have been lost without Eel. …We're extremely thankful that you came back."

"And I hope you remember that until the end of time." Eel stated.

…

The other operatives had received distress calls from Sector TG regarding swarms of monsters attacking the region they ended up. Said region had Ikus' volcano, and knowing Ikus was one of the Nega-Lights, Sector -L quickly headed toward their signal to help Ikuyim's sister. Nearly at the volcano, they were ambushed by Tomura. "So, you must know the 'Light' is this way as well. I won't give you the chance to save her!"

Yrret caught Tomura in psychic and Nollid pelted him with stun spells, but he was stronger than his frail appearance led to believe. He broke free and spread decay around the area, Yrret uplifting his friends to avoid being dissolved with the ground. They landed as Yrret threw Psy-Spheres, Tomura smacking them away as they scattered into particles, and the same fate was met for Alol's Butterfly Gun and Nollid's spells. "He really can decay energy attacks!" Nollid exclaimed. "We need Annaira!"

"AGH!" Tomura was hit by a spell from behind, turning to find Ynnad.

"Brother!" Ydolem gasped.

"You're dealing with me now! Accio Fear Dragon!" Ynnad created a magic portal as a dragon stomped out, blasting Fear Screams at Tomura. "You're going to save Ikus, aren't you?! Keep going!"

The others signaled Annaira's group to hurry to their location, while Nega-L continued to the volcano. Tomura decayed the dragon, then tried to spread the death to Ynnad, but he Apparated away. Tomura froze in place, held by Ydolem's Shadow Possession. "Ydol, why aren't you going with them?!"

"I'll help you distract him until Annaira gets here!"

Tomura shook off the Possession and spread more Decay, Ydolem flying up while Ynnad Apparated above his sister, caught her, and warped them further away. "Sorry, Ydol, but you need to stick with your team. Accio Silver Hawk!" He summoned a giant hawk and ordered it to take Ydolem in its talons and fly after the others.

"No, Ynnad! I'm stronger, I can help you!"

"I know you're stronger! That's why your team needs you more than me!" When Tomura ran to touch Ynnad, the wizard ducked and touched the villain's stomach, Apparating them both.

"YNNAD!"

The other three teammates halted when they saw Ydolem catching up on a Silver Hawk. Ydolem told them what just happened, gloom in her pale white eyes. She felt a terrible feeling in her heart, and her friends felt it as well. "C-Come on… we can't stop now." Nollid stuttered. Reminded of the current mission, they kept on to the volcano.

…

Nega-MG entered a region crawling with hideous, one-eyed zombie mannequins created by Father. A giant church-like structure stood in the distance, the kids beating and dicing the monsters. Father's Homunculi attacked them: Lust was first, slashing her extendable nails, but Oemor summoned Metal Slime spirits from the Dream Realm. Lust's nails struggled to cut the Slimes, but they would overwhelm and trap her in their goo, taking her Catch Card of Suika, a melon-headed girl. The mighty Sloth trudged up slowly, so Ikik engaged him in a battle of strength, keeping a safe distance using Spaceman Taijutsu, but dodging Sloth's blinding speed attacks. After beating him, Ikik recovered a card holding Luluco.

Envy greeted them, trying to terrify the kids with his tremendous monster form, but Revilo subdued him with darknessbending while Lihp was able to burrow into his gooey body in search of a weakness. He was able to find the buried Philosopher's Stone and escape with it, letting Revilo fill it with darkness and destroy it. The titan collapsed, and all that was left was a rat-sized mutant, the five mocking Envy as Revilo pinned his foot on the creature and threatened to kill him, while Ikik insisted on keeping him in a jar. Lihp found a card of Adam Lyon.

Ydnew used her bending to blow open the tall stone doors to the church. Ydnew gasped: "Father?!"

"'Guess we were right about him being here!" Ikik fist-palmed.

"No, not just Father! MY father!" Ydnew clarified.

It seemed that Itaav was weakened on the ground, Father standing over him. "Y…Ydnew… don't challenge this man!" Itaav panted. "He's a matterbender like me, but… he's invincible!"

"I didn't come this far to run away! Matterbending doesn't work on Space, right? I'll tear him to pieces!"

"No matter what world you hail from," Father began snidely, "you humans are ever irritating. But based on our intel, I understand you aren't used to gods walking on your soil. Sadly, you won't have the time to be used to it."

"Yeah. 'Guess I won't." Ydnew smirked cockily, hands brimming with stars. Starbursts flew at Father, the man dodging and making spikes grow toward her. While Ydnew's teammates took Itaav to safety, Father hurdled mini suns at her, Ydnew simply catching them in portals to send them back at him. Father willed the ground around her to become blades and stab, Ydnew floating up in evasion, but Father made the blades longer to reach her. She decided to tuck herself in a Block to defend herself from a room-full of surrounding blades, but with her barrier cracking, Ydnew warped outside the church.

She saw Father and quickly warped behind him, trying to warp him, but he escaped her focus and attempted his room-full of blades once more. Ydnew caught some blades in portals and had them stab Father from behind, and other blades stabbed his feet to pin him. Ydnew focused her chi in attempt to shrink him, but his willpower proved superior as he escaped the blades. The blades that had cut his chest revealed his Philosopher Stone heart, Ydnew quickly blasting Starbursts, but this stone proved more strong and durable than the others.

Father's flesh reformed as he encased the entire church into a cubical barrier, and he proceeded to form endless water to quickly flood the place. Ydnew made a Block around her head to give herself breath, and she opened a portal to flush all the water and release it outside. Father burrowed underground meanwhile and emerged beneath Ydnew, grabbing her legs in attempt to destroy her body with alchemy—Ydnew immediately warped herself between dimensions, taking Father with her, and they landed in an empty plane before a stone Gate. "What?! How did we end up here?!"

"Fell right for it!" Ydnew smirked. "Melissa told us about this little sub-dimension that appears for you alchemists. We figured my spacebending could take us here with the right opening. She told us The Thirteen helped free you from this prison, but you're goin' right back!"

"Not so long as I have my Philosopher's Stone!" Father exploded the space with flames, Ydnew sucking them in a portal—Father tried to jump into that portal, but she sealed it to prevent his escape. Ydnew caught his left arm in a portal and sealed it, banishing that arm back to the normal world. Father formed a new arm, his stone flaring with power as he morphed into a massive, black entity with a single eye. With his enhanced power, he formed a more massive sun in the air and began to pull it down.

Ydnew entered Dimensional Fury, her blue hair becoming magenta and her skin pitch-black with purple outlines, eyes glowing white and pink flames of stardust on her wrists and ankles. She shot rapid Starbursts at Father, warping his pieces across space with each hit and revealing his stone. She formed a Block around it to cut himself from the stone, then used her bending to force the Gate to open: multiple eyes glared at Father from the darkness beyond, hands reaching in attempt to pull him in.

Ydnew focused her chi on the giant sun and shrank it to a tiny size, then she warped to the normal world to discard the sun. "Dad, come with me!" She located her team and quickly warped Itaav back to that sub-world. "Use your bending to destroy that stone!"

"I'll try!" Itaav was warped into the Block with the Philosopher's, focusing a tremendous amount of matterbending in attempt to destroy it. Father conjured multiple, smaller suns in attempt to burn the Block, Ydnew warping them rapidly and striking Father as well. At last, Itaav destroyed the stone. "NO! NOT AGAIN! NOT AAAGAAAAIIIIIN…!" The Gate finally overwhelmed Father and dragged him into darkness. Ydnew warped them back and disabled her Fury.

"D-Did you beat 'im?!" Oemor asked.

"Sheck yeah, we did!" Ydnew thumbs-upped.

"I guess I wore him down more than I thought." Itaav said.

"WHAT?!" Ydnew kicked her dad in the knee. "Don't try and hog all the credit!"

"Ow! Okay, sorry! You were amazing too, Ydnew."

"Fuh." She rolled eyes and folded arms. "This is why I ditched the Lotus. Now how's about we go find what the others are-"

Suddenly, the world flickered, and Nega-MG was outside the church again. When they entered, Father was back, Itaav on the ground in the same manner. "WHAT?!" Ydnew panicked.

There was rumbling as the space above them seemed to crack. It shattered completely, exposing Flowey's enormous, smiling visage. "Oops. I saved your progress, but accidentally reloaded. 'Guess you'll have to do that fight again. But don't worry, you should still have all your stats."

"Thank you, Flowey." Father said. "I'll be sure to do better this time."

It's true that Melissa informed them of Flowey's power to 'Save' and 'Reload,' but experiencing the first time was horrifying and aggravating. Regardless, with Ydnew's power restored, she had no choice but to fight again.

…

"Flowey, looks like Megatron got busted again." Sauron observed. Altair was floating beside the massive eye, Flowey on her shoulder.

"No problem. I'll fix that." Flowey proceeded to Reload the battle with Megatron.

"When they're trapped forever in an infinite loop, one side will eventually run out of strategies." Altair said.

"Yep! The others can sure waste their time, but we can handle things ourselves easy."

"In that case, I'd better get to that volcano."

"I'll go search for the other missing Lights. By the way, Altair, Bill sent me some of English's design ideas!"

"Designs for what?"

"For the new world he's building for us. See, check them out!" Flowey dug into his pot soil and extracted photos.

Altair wanted to throw up on them: Flowey, Father, and herself were drawn horribly, with no attempt at proportion or expression. She couldn't deduce what she and her colleagues were doing. "Aren't they pretty?" Flowey asked with a trolling face. "That guy's got artistic talent."

"He…He does…?"

"Yep! Well, see you later." Flowey hopped off and began to climb down Sauron's tower.

Altair clenched her teeth and glared at nothing. Good Lord, what did I get myself into? Living in that man's ideas is worse than nonexistence. Sigh… but as long as he allows me to destroy my own world, it matters not, I suppose. All I can do is play along…

Nega-W7 ventured a valley of darkness infected by Grimm. "Lirpa, are you sure you don't wanna stay in the Pad?" Asia asked. "They'll be targeting you, and I wouldn't want you to…"

"Oh, so I'm endangering you guys, is that it?" Lirpa asked. "In that case, maybe I'll just run across this whole field and get them all to chase me while you guys look for the boss."

"No, that's not what I meant! I mean… aren't you worried about yourself?"

"Why should that matter? I'm strong, fast, and your teammate, so I have to do my part, don't I? I'm certainly not going to die for your satisfaction."

"Sigh…okay." Asia smiled, accepting Lirpa's reasoning. "Then you better not cause trouble for us by dying."

Tearing down hordes of Grimm, the first of Salem's underlings to challenge them was Tyrian, a psychotic scorpion man. Yenmihc's poisonbending made her slightly immune to his sting attack, drawing oil from her small cans and forming whips to grab his tail and swing him around. After beating him, she took his card of Salu Digby. Their next bout was with Hazel, a burly man who stabbed his arms with crystals and grew bigger and stronger. Lirpa combatted him, her legs a match for his arms, but he just wouldn't falter no matter how much she kicked his head or crotch. Hazel revealed that he was immune to pain, so Ahcom decided to help by using Gentle Fist on the giant. Her own little touches disabled Hazel's attribute, causing the immeasurable pain to catch up as he yanked the crystals out, leaving Lirpa to KO him with one final head-kick. She took his card holding Nia, a cat-girl.

They saw a priest-like man laying weak on the ground nearby. "Reverend Reilicaf!" Sipa gasped, running to his aid.

"Oh…Sipa… ain't this a blessin'…"

"Reverend, you're hurt!" Sipa noticed the hole in his stomach and poison seeping out of it.

"I felt a lot of evil this way and thought I could stop it… but that scorpion man got me. I think it's the end for me…"

"Yenmihc, can't you pull the poison out?"

"I'll get some out, but it looks like most of it's gotten too deep into his system." Yenmihc proceeded to do so.

"I don't know enough medical magic to fix this; just wait, we'll get you to a doctor!"

"Don't stress over me, kids. My time was comin', anyway. I'm gettin' too old…cough. But thanks for the treatment… I think I can walk now…" Yevrah weakly pushed himself up. "If the Lord sent you to me… perhaps He wants me to help you. I don't know how, but… I'll do what I can."

Yevrah hung behind them for the rest of the journey. A woman named Emerald ambushed, using her illusions to confuse them, but Asia's powerful airbending was able to blow her down regardless and win, taking Emerald's card of Lazlo. Mercury Black attacked, Ahcniea taking the lead: she nimbly dodged his stomps and climbed up to his head, digging her needles in the scalp and gaining control, making him beat himself unconscious. His card imprisoned Charles Foster Kane.

Ascending the stairs to a tall, cone-like mountain, they met Salem beside a black pool. "Defeated Team WTCH that easily, did you? I guess they'll be joining Cinder in shame." Salem shook her head. "But I sense strong feelings from you girls. Waves of negativity flowing between you. Strong dislike and hatred… I'd love to have you over on my team."

"Yeah, we hate each other, so what?" Lirpa asked. "Yenmihc stinks, Ahcom's whiny, Ahcniea's a creep, but at least we care about the DNK."

"Even though we can't go a day without fighting," Asia replied, "we're committed to the goal. And it's because we're committed that we can rely on each other. So, even if they disgust me, they can always count on me to wash their filthy clothes."

"Even in hatred, there is light!" Yevrah declared. "Enemies who are devout will fall a demon who knows no loyalty-" He dodged a fireball from Salem.

"And I stopped serving people like you ages ago!" Sipa displayed a confident grin. "My only Lord of Darkness is Nerehc!"

"Such negativity, yet you refuse to fall to darkness? We'll see about that!" Salem cast a Dark Beam, Sipa absorbing it in her Devil's Wand to cast it away. Sipa hit Salem with light spells, which the latter felt weakness in and was unaffected. The witch flew in the air and used a spell to turn the ground rubbery, sinking Sipa as she struggled to climb out. Salem formed Grimm to crawl down into the rubber crater, but Sipa flew out with Ascendio, landing as the momentum allowed her to bounce around. Sipa shaped her light spells into Crosses, and when they stabbed into Salem, energy sparked through her veins as she felt herself becoming immobile.

She fell to the ground, the rubber spell wearing off. Reilicaf stuck Crosses in the ground around Salem, praying for the demon inside her to rest, but Salem was able to break free and punch him away. She evaded Sipa's spells, stretching an arm in attempt to take her wand, but Sipa cast Sectumsempra to slice it. Salem's next spell caused it to rain fire arrows, Sipa changing some to flowers in defense. All Sipa could do was send more Cross spells, since Salem's immortality made her immune to other attacks. The witch summoned Grimm to interfere, Sipa having to destroy them before resuming her attack.

"Aaah!" Salem screamed when Reilicaf sprayed her with a super soaker.

"Good thing I brought my Holy Soaker!" the reverend declared, his toy loaded with Holy Water. Her skin singed, Salem fell, Sipa sticking her with more Crosses as Reilicaf attempted his ritual again. Salem felt a longing to go to sleep, but forced herself awake and broke free again. She grabbed Reilicaf by the neck and tried to throw him in the dark pool, Sipa shooting him with a blast spell to push him to shore. Sipa ran to defend the reverend as Salem called up a gush from the pool, using Protego to keep the darkness from drenching them.

Salem bombarded the Protego with Dark Bullets until it shattered, the two running. Salem formed a giant Dark Boomerang and had it spin around the ground, Sipa dodging with Ascendio, but Salem snagged her in a stretched arm and threw Sipa into the pool. Darkness was quickly filling her lungs and heart, feeling the Devil's demonic claws stroking her gently, but painfully. Sipa mustered the strength to resist his hold and flew out of the goop with another Ascendio. Landing on shore, a dark aura was brimming around her; she squeezed the darkness out of her soaked dress, poured it out of her shoes, and filled her wand with it.

Her dark wand growing stronger, Sipa cast a Dark Cross at Salem, stabbing her chest, but because it was top-first (like an upside-down Cross), it bore little effect, Salem smirking. However, Sipa mustered more power, the Cross twitching as it tried to force through the witch. She was willing the Dark Cross to become light, and the second the Cross stuck through the opposite end, the transformation succeeded. It resembled a right-side Cross now, its enhanced power rendering Salem immobile. Reilicaf surrounded her with Crosses again and demanded the demon to sleep. Tiredness became Salem, the Cross disappearing so she could fall on her back in slumber.

Sipa stood over the witch, smiling at her peaceful face. "Maybe someday, you'll abandon your darkness, too. Or at least… learn how to use it better."

"You've grown into a wise, young woman." Reilicaf said. "I don't think I'll live past this battle… so, take care of my church for me, Sipa."

"Maybe I'll find someone more experienced."

"That works, too."

…

Team Annaira were fighting metahumans that worked for Tomura; since they were mortals, Melissa asked them to keep casualties to a minimum. ("Save the killing for guys that can come back from it!") she had told them.

"But what's the point if that Flowey jerk keeps Rewinding time?" Beewv asked, slicing a thug's ankles. "We'll never win at that rate!"

"We just gotta hope the others can beat that flower!" Atnort replied, shocking some into submission. "'Til then, just do your jobs!"

The next round of thugs came charging, but were stopped by an unseen force. "AAAAAHH!" Bones suddenly stuck out of their flesh, terrible pain overcoming them as they fell, writhing.

"B-Bones?!" Avakam choked. "But that…isn't that…"

"There you four are. I guess you're still working for Nerehc, huh?" a familiar, cold voice said.

With wide, shocked eyes, the aliens gazed at the white-clothed girl that was once their leader. "Aluben…" Anna whispered.

What they weren't expecting was for Aluben to give them a big, sweet smile. "Heeey! So, can I help out for a little??"

"H-Help out?!" Beewv shouted. "Hold on, we heard you escaped from prison! We've been searching for months! Where have you been?!"

"I've been staying with a new friend. We saw these huge bubbles of darkness that started appearing around the world and felt it was making everybody sad! So, I decided to go in and stop it! Plus, I had a feeling my old friends would be here!"

"'kay, but what up with the smile?" Avakam asked. "I liked you better without emotions."

"Oh, don't be silly! I've never been happier! And after we stop this darkness, I'll introduce you to my friend."

"Well, who're we to say 'no'?" Atnort shrugged. "With you back, we're guaranteed victory!"

The aliens explored a crime-torn city, fighting metahumans at every turn. A girl named Himiko zipped out of an alley, cutting Annaira to take her blood and drink it. Not only did she transform into Anna, but she gained her bending as she grasped the team in bloodbending. Aluben and Anna herself could fight back, the latter battling Himiko with matched waterbending. Anna won and secured Himiko's Catch Card of Caillou. Mr. Compress ambushed them, trapping the aliens inside tiny spheres, but Beewv managed to escape. Compress struggled to focus his power to catch the speedy Naineetak, and found his coat being sliced up by Beewv's tiny sword. Beewv was able to find his team in the coat and break their balls, restoring them as they ganged up on Compress all at once. His Catch Card contained Wayne Szalinski.

An army of clones charged at them, doubles of the villain Twice. Avakam shot them all down with swift gun-work, the clones melting. She used Observation Haki to sense the real Twice among the crowd, gunning him with Antikill bullets until he was KO'ed, his clones all melting. Their next opponent was Dabi, who set the surrounding buildings ablaze with Sapphire Firebending. Atnort's lightning penetrated his flames, the others keeping a safe distance as their friend was the most qualified. Dabi was zapped into submission, and Atnort took his card of Isaac Clarke.

Tomura Shigaraki was waiting in a decayed region of the city, no buildings to obstruct their battle. "Werdna told me about you lot." He hissed. "The DNKG… Villains who desired supreme rule. But for what purpose? To demolish order? Liberation?"

"Nothing more than a mother's selfish desires." Aluben replied, smile ever stagnant. "But that era is over. Instead of spreading despair to the universe, I wish only to fill it with smiles. And so long as people like you exist, no one will be able to smile!"

"Oh, darling… I think we can come to an understanding." Tomura's dry, wrinkled lips formed a smile, his eyes seeming to peer into their souls. "My people live in oppression. We desire to use our powers freely… but the social order forbids this. And because of that, we can't smile either."

"All I know is you're making my friends upset! In fact… if I heard correctly, you were battling Ynnad, weren't you?"

"That magic boy? Ah, yes… he's in here." Tomura withdrew a jar filled with dust.

The aliens gasped in horror, and yet Aluben wouldn't let her smile decrease. "Ynnad… was one of my loyal operatives." Her bright eyes could not hide her darkness. "I hope you're happy~"

Aluben tried to grab him in psychic bonebending, but Tomura's swift speed kept her from focusing. Only when he got close was she able to bind him, twisting the bones in his hands, but Tomura's strong willpower helped him escape. He rushed far from Aluben, spreading Decay along the ground on a path to her, but she lifted herself in the air via her own bones and evaded. He kept a distance when she tried to fly at him, so Aluben decided to land. She willed a sharp bone to stick out of her hand, focusing on the villain when he spread Decay again. She shot the spike with bullet speed and hit his head, and his moment of weakness allowed her to focus and bend his bones.

Tomura escaped and extracted a missile launcher, designed to absorb his chi. The missiles homed in on Aluben, and their explosions would Decay any in their radius. Aluben extracted a Lassobone from her body, twirling it as she caught a missile and redirected it at Tomura, who evaded its range and sent more. The process repeated until the launcher was decayed by a missile's explosion. Tomura resumed decaying the ground, Aluben floating as she used Bone Snipes again. Tomura would watch and block her bone bullets, so Aluben shot a bullet past him when he didn't notice and willed it to come back, puncturing Tomura's stomach. She managed to get close and bend his bones again.

Tomura decayed a hole to go underground, spreading a continuous wave of Decay as the whole field became dust. Aluben remained afloat, looking to where the sand stirred the most as that was where he was under. She opened a gap in that dust with her bending and discovered him, quickly seizing the villain in her psychic grasp. "AAAAAAHHH!" She completed bending his fingers back like a banana peel, splitting his arm bones in like fashion.

"Wait, Aluben!" Avakam called. "Melissa says she wants that one alive!"

"Oh, don't worry… He couldn't very well be happy in the Underworld. But a little revenge can make a girl happy, too." She smiled cutely. "Still, I can't help but feel an affinity with this man! I do wish you the best in your goals, Mr. Shigaraki."

"Then I wish you the same… Miss…?"

"Mottobeikniw."

"…Right." Tomura grinned confusedly.

…

Altair found Ikus near the foot of her volcano, accompanied by Yllehs. "Um, hello, Miss General Lady." Yllehs greeted nervously. "Can we help you with something?"

"I've come for that one. Don't even bother trying to fight me."

"Piss off!" Ikus retorted, sending a lava gush at the Creation. The lava coated Altair's protective bubble, so Yllehs contributed to encase her in a stone prison. Altair popped the stone without effort.

"Second Movement of Cosmos: Height Alteration." Altair focused on the girls and reduced them to ant size. "Now if you don't mind, hold still." She created a single sword and shot it down, seeing the micro Ikus with hawk-like vision.

The sword was swat away at the last millisecond by Melissa. "Pick on someone your own size! And wear lighter clothing, we're near a fricking volcano!"

"You again. Well, I'll gladly fight you, but I can't imagine those little ones will be spared from the backlash."

"Good thing my Genetic Shuffler landed on this teleport ability!" Melissa smacked her hand over Ikus and Yllehs and warped the tiny pair. "Oh, dear! Now, where could they have gone??"

A few miles away, Nollid was hiding under an Invisible Cloak. He gasped when two tiny figures appeared on the ground. "Ikus! You were shrunk?"

"Take us back!" Ikus squeaked. "I wanna melt that lady!"

"Not when we're like this, Ikus!" Yllehs said.

"Hold still, I'll grow you guys back." He took out his wand- "Huh?!" the girls teleported again.

"Eighth Movement: Fate Revision." Altair undid the teleport, returning the duo right between Melissa's legs, the girl gasping. "Now, shall I just deal with you first?"

BOOOOOM! The world rumbled violently under an earth-shaking force. Altair turned, gazing up at a towering stone titan with smooth hair and a polite face. "Hi, Ma'am! You must be the woman those nice kids warned me about." echoed the voice of Ikuy Latsyrc. "I'd like to ask you to leave my daughter alone, or I might have to crush you!"

"I'd like to see you try."

"Well, I couldn't say 'no' to a challenge!" And so, the mountain lifted its foot and brought it down. Altair raised a hand and blocked it with the strength of her fingers. "Woh-ho! That's some muscle!"

Melissa flew up and tried to stab through her shield, but Altair used the other hand to push her to the ground. Ikuy brought his foot back and swung it from the side, blasting Altair across the field. He stomped after and squashed the Creation without hesitation. "Fourteenth Movement: Vicissitudes of Fortune."

The entire stone mass was compressed against the ground as if it had been stomped, boulders shattering and scattering everywhere. Melissa was horrified, knowing that man couldn't have survived. "Do you understand now?" Altair asked her. "No mortal or Creation can compare to me."

"Oh, you think so?" Melissa grinned viciously, twirling her guns. "You got all those cool abilities under your cloak, but you're missing the most important one of all."

"Oh? And what is that, dare I ask?"

"Nee hee hee." Melissa crossed her arms and cocked the guns. "Let's just say, Ikus isn't the one you should worry about."

During the distraction, a toy car had driven to grab Ikus and Yllehs. It was owned by Sector TG, Narod holding the smaller girls. "Don't worry, girls, we'll keep you safe."

"Who's this smelly idiot?! Let me go!" Ikus squirmed.

"I can't believe Mr. Latsyrc got beaten by that lady!" Dnis said, steering the car around the falling rubble. "We better get to the safe place!"

…

At Rehgallag, Flowey had covered the school in vines, his magnified face looming over the school from a rift. Eissej Yendis was on the roof, screaming as Flowey ripped off his limbs in vines, Reset, and ripped him again. "I don't know what's wrong with the others; capturing one of the Nega-Lights was easy! It would be too boring to just finish you off."

"FLOWEY! Tomura just lost, we need a Reset!" Sauron yelled.

"Sheesh, every time with this! Okay, okay, just let me rip him apart a few more times."

"No no! Please!" Eissej begged, about to lose his leg for the 5th time.

"Hey! Flowey the Fuck Flower!" His face creased at this insult. He showed his utmost disgust to Nega-JP. "Yeah, you're the one!" Uzuy yelled.

"Well… it appears I have challengers." Flowey appeared confused. "You, uh…you know I'm a god, right?"

"LISTEN TO ME!" Amadok bellowed. "You don't have to listen to him! Rise up and fight for your freedom!"

"What? You mean these kids?" Flowey smiled. "I mean, I can squeeze them all any time. Only letting them live so I can see them cower. But if they stop being afraid, then I'll just-"

"Not them! I'm talking to the souls trapped inside you! Are you listening, souls?! Fight his control and be free!"

"Y…What?! HAH! You might as well be talking to batteries! When a human dies, their will is lost forever! These six souls are nothing but fuel! But I wouldn't mind a little more to my fire!" Five more vines shot down and snared the operatives.

"HEEEY! Let me go!" Nirak squirmed. "The thorns are poking me, there's dirt getting in my bloodstream!"

"It's too… strong…!" Ururu grunted.

"How disappointing. Still… your soul smells especially nice." Flowey focused on Amadok. "Perhaps I've found my perfect seventh. Now, get inside my-"

Flame spirits flew out of Amadok's lantern and burned the thorn, freeing Amadok. She faced up at Flowey with determination. "I'm not afraid of you! I'll show you how powerful a soul is!" (Play "Your Best Nightmare" from Undertale!)

"Heh heh heh… not afraid of me, huh? Then let me fix that." The world rumbled as whiteness blinded everyone. Amadok opened her eyes when she felt it fade, and was horrified: Flowey had become a tremendous, hideous mutant plant with four eyes, pipes and tubes around his head, and a TV displaying a psychotic face. "Now, let me show you… how powerful MY 'soul' is!"

All Amadok could do was evade as Flowey unloaded flamethrowers, rapid omni-lasers, or shuriken storms. She tried to sing, but could barely let her voice be heard while having to constantly dodge. Still, every time she did sing, Flowey's screen would steadily buzz more, until it dissolved to complete static. Then, a warning sign appeared: Amadok's soul was sucked into Flowey. She was flying to infinity, a storm of light-blue swords headed her way. She cried in pain as each one cut her, failing to dodge. "Have Patience, Miss! It'll be okay." A voice told her. Heeding its words, Amadok ceased dodging and remained still: all the swords phased through without harming; heck, their tickles were making Amadok giggle! She arrived at a sky-blue heart, singing to the captive soul. It patched her soul with Band-Aids before Amadok was forced out.

She resumed singing to Flowey and dodging his next attacks, including nukes, locusts, or brambles, but because Amadok reached a soul, Flowey lost his grip on Uzuy. The footballer chucked Footbombs at the beast, doing miniscule damage, but causing the screen to static quicker. Amadok was sucked in again, and a storm of giant yellow hands came flying. "Be Brave, Miss! Keep going forward!" Amadok bravely ran forth, phasing through the hands. She found the orange heart and sang to it. The hands gave thumbs-up, and Amadok was spat out.

Ururu escaped, lifting Amadok on her shoulders to help her evade the third wave. She was able to make the screen static much quicker, and after being sucked into Flowey, Amadok found herself on a dance floor. Enormous ballet shoes quaked the floor and kept her from standing. "Have Integrity and stand strong!" Amadok pushed herself up and leapt, gravity holding no effect as she soared across the floor, immune to the shaking. She slowly landed and leapt again, her heart aflutter as she flew to the dark-blue heart. Her voice turned the shoes into notes, keeping her aloft in the air.

Nirak escaped, she and her sister bombarding Flowey with their choice balls. The demon growled in anger, using faster attacks that even damaged Ururu. He tried to resist Amadok's voice, but she kept her singing consistent. Amadok was sucked in again, landing in a library that spewed negative words from every direction. "Perseverance is the key!" Amadok spoke positive things about herself, nullifying the books' attacks. The shelves toppled, revealing a purple heart.

Flowey could do little to stop Amadok from accessing the next two souls. Giant frying pans dropped flames on the maiden, and when the soul spoke "Know when to be Kind," Amadok welcomed the flames into her mouth. She gave constructive criticism to the pans, and the pain lessened. The pans started to drop delicious scrambled eggs that made her tongue happy, courtesy of the green heart. Afterwards, a giant gun appeared, trying to shoot an evading Amadok. "Justice must be delivered!" With a fierce glare, Amadok focused her chi and fired Soul Beams from her finger, doing enough damage to the gun until it was destroyed. The freed yellow heart made four-leaf clovers grow.

Atnij was finally freed, and he used musicbending to enhance Amadok's voice. Since Flowey appeared to be weakened, this was her best chance. ♪ "It can't be over, I cannot give up, I have to keep surviiiiving! You think you got me, but I can not lose, I have to stay deteeeermined!" ♪ Her voice summoned the six souls out of Flowey's being, circling her as she glowed with a rainbow aura. Amadok formed a chain with her friends and spread the power to them. Now sharing Flowey's power, their attacks were stronger than ever. Amadok kept singing to weaken his hold further, so Flowey focused all efforts on her, but Ururu was faster than ever as she helped her friend dodge.

"ENOUGH!" The world flashed, and the battle Reset to the beginning. Amadok gasped in horror, seeing her friends trapped again. Flowey showered her with powerful beams, Reset, showered, Reset, showered, trapping the maiden in an endless loop of pain. "Did you think you could defeat me?! I am a god! I'll kill your friends over and over and make you watch! Human worms like you do not deserve to rule over…AAAAAAAAHHHH!" The demon began flashing with neon. "What's…WHAT'S HAPPENIIIIIING?!"

"It seems the souls… favor me better." Amadok pushed herself up, smirking. "You may Reset me… but my voice has already reached them. So, don't give up, souls! Stay determined!"

"NOOOOOOOOO…" (End song.)

When Flowey awoke from his physical trauma, his body withered, the first sight was Amadok's sandaled socks. The shrine maiden and her team stood over him with smiles of victory. "So… even in this world… human souls are still powerful. Even more powerful… than a god like me."

"Our gods designed us to be stronger than them." Amadok replied. "Not on a matter of phenomenal power, but our will to keep fighting. Even though your power was beyond ours, we believed we would win."

"Nyah hah… such sentimental garbage. You won because you had the right ability. It's as simple as that. And it was… stronger than mine. Now, crush me like the god you are…"

"Pfft, god?" Amadok chuckled. "If your idea of god likes to kill or destroy, that's not us at all."

"But I learned nothing. I'll rebuild my power and kill you all! With Altair, or English, one of them can restore me, and I'll exterminate everyone you love!"

"But I love you."

"W…What?!"

Amadok got to her knees and lowered her head to his level. "I can feel it in your voice… You're just a sweet little soul yourself."

"That's… nonsense! How naïve can you be?!"

Amadok beamed and cupped her hands together. "Hop on and I'll take you back home. Don't worry. You'll be safe in my hands!"

Flowey could only look at her with confusion and repulse. "…What is wrong with you…" But with that, he hoisted himself and his soil onto Amadok's hands.

…

"Talk about a bunch of idiots." Sauron remarked after witnessing Flowey's defeat. "But at least Tabuu was able to catch one of them."

The Program in question had placed a statue of Ayamik on a pedestal, forming a "Thinker" pose as he analyzed it. "That girl is still alive, isn't she? Smash her to pieces or something, Tabuu, you can make more later!"

Tabuu shook his head in dismay, but decided to obey as he tore off Ayamik's head. "Mission accomplished, baby! Now it's smooooooth sailin'~"

Lorac and Leic were behind a rock, studying Sauron's tower a few miles off. "We've come far without being spotted, Leic." Lorac whispered. "But that's a lot of undead souls guarding him."

"I'll do my very best to hold them off, Lorac. Haha, but I can't believe you're willing to face Sauron all on your own! I hadn't realized you were so strong!"

"Oh, strength is overrated." Lorac smirked confidently. "All you need is a pair of fleet feet to steal from an eyeball demon!"

Sauron had been watching the battle at the volcano, and how Sector TG took Ikus away on a tiny car, which would be picked up by Nollid and Nega-L. Sauron used his Ring of Resurrection to summon the spirits of his fallen minions, ordering them after the group. Saruman challenged Nollid to a magical duel, both casting light spells at one-another, and the younger mage was the victor, collecting a Catch Card of a dreary woman named Jennifer. They were nearing the Masked Lounge, but were ambushed by the Witch-king of Angmar. Ydolem volunteered to fight the spirit, her ghostly eyes showing bravery as she nimbly evaded the being's attacks with Veils. She built up her chi and willed Hsa to become a Shadow Serpent Dragon, gnashing the Witch-king in its teeth and defeating him. His card contained a circus man named Sylvando.

"Those damn idiots." Sauron cursed, his eye narrowed. "For being spirits, they sure don't have spirit. HAHAH! Can't wait to spread that one to my new empire. …What?!" He heard commotion nearby and whipped around. Leic was soaring around and slicing his soldiers with a white, scythe-like Zanpakutō, turning them into butterflies. "Where did that angel come from?! 'ey, you! Stop!" He fired a Combustion Beam, Leic dodging swiftly.

With her teammate distracting Sauron, Lorac began to race across the valley. She came to a field of rotating Beamos resembling mini Saurons, watching their movements carefully before maneuvering through between their blind spots. She came to a lava pit, a trail of stalagmites leading across, and she danced across them with grace and excellent balance. Regardless, one of the mites fell over from her gentle weight, and she hastily jumped to the next, wrapping it in her legs. Lorac flailed her arms, about to fall backward into lava, but with heart racing, she was able to regain herself and grab the point in her hands.

From there, she jumped to a safe platform, thankful Sauron hadn't heard her little struggle. Fiery arches began to spew in and out of the lava, but with no other way to go, Lorac utilized Laser Grinding to glide across the arches, inputting enough chi to her feet to keep them from burning. She leapt to a safe land, hiding behind a boulder when Sauron glanced over. Lorac entered a narrow, entrenched area where lasers skimmed along the walls, evading them as usual. Lorac came to a cliffside over a lava pit, able to sidle a very thin ledge on her tippy-toes. There were windows in the cliff through which Sauron could glance through, Lorac halting whenever his ominous gaze shone. His rays even peered through tiny holes, but even the smallest glare was dangerous to step in, so she either ducked under or stepped over as necessary.

At last, she was at the base of Sauron's tower. There were bricks sticking out just slightly, but she was able to balance her toes on them and climb up. She reached a wire curving up in an S-like fashion, folding hands and legs over it to climb. There were thin indents in the side, barely big enough for Lorac to squeeze in whenever Sauron glanced down. Past the wire, a stairway of thin spikes thrusted in and out. Lorac only had brief seconds to jump each spike, keeping a steady concentration of chi. She would then have to climb a wall of spikes, imbuing chi to her palms the same as her soles, determined not to let a single spike prick her.

With only a bit of climbing left before the top, a giant torch erupted near the top of the spikes. It went out, so Lorac jumped on, and quickly jumped to a spear tip before it reignited. She waited for the next torch to go out, having to jump it quickly as the spear threatened to tip over. "Oh, I can't wait 'til this is over." Sauron mumbled to himself as Lorac balanced across some smaller torches lighting on-and-off. "Gettin' all the lady elves I could ask for once I rebuild my empire." Lorac clambered across a thin wire, and lasers erected from the tower to burn the segments behind her, causing the wire to sink from her weight, but she managed to step off on a platform. "And a contacts factory. Oh, that's a must-have."

Small bricks poked out of the wall above, Lorac precisely, but quietly Wall Jumping them. She grabbed the very rim of the tower and clambered around, getting behind Sauron's eye. Once it was safe, she climbed up. The Ring of Resurrection was on a pedestal beneath the eye, so Lorac tiptoed up. With a determined glare, and a swift swipe of the hand, the ring was hers. "And it's all thanks to you, my handy-dandy replacement… ring?"

Sauron's eye tilted down… but there was no ring. "WHAT?! DAMMIT! Where is it?! Where did it go this time?!" The eye skimmed around in panic. "Maybe it landed on one of the spikes! Hey, minions, get over here and help me…?!"

Lorac had dove off the tower immediately after snatching it. Before hitting the ground, she pulled a cord, and her puffy pants inflated to slow her descent. Sauron turned, and she was bathed in his ray of light. Lorac showed him her fierce expression as she rolled her floating body and chucked the ring into the lava. "AAAAAAHHH!" The magic binding him to the Mortal World vanished, his eye sparking like lightning. "No…HOW… WHAT KIND OF…" Sauron studied Lorac's image in his last moments. Her short stature, ragged clothing, and bare feet made it clear what she was. "You… dirty Hobbit… Always taking my stuff… I hate Hobbits…IIIIIII HAAAAAAATE HOOOBBIIIIIIIITS!"

Sauron cried his last, exploding in a flash. The tower collapsed, as did the land around it. Lorac quickly deflated her pants to land, screaming as she dashed from the crumbling land. With a skip of the heart, she dodged falling rocks, jumped sinking boulders across the lava, but one of the boulders sprouted up with a geyser. "AAAAAH!" She flailed her arms, nothing to save her from the lava, until Leic swooped by and caught her in his arms. "Whoa! Thank you, Leic!"

"What kind of Guardian Angel lets his friend die?!" Leic beamed, excitedly dodging the other falling debris. Once far enough from the destruction, they landed and fell to their rears, watching the last evidence of Sauron crumble before their eyes. "HEEE-YEAH!" The two teammates high-fived.

…

"So, even the boastful Sauron was defeated." Altair shook her head. "Hmm… it's rather funny. In my own world, so many powers in one area could lead to universal collapse, but for these kids, it's another walk in the park. There's probably nothing that can surprise them, anymore. And there's probably nothing… that can defeat them, either." The princess viewed down at Sector -W, who were crossing a field and battling enemies. "After all, I think I now understand just what this 'Dimensional Fusion' is. But I might as well give them my best shot." She turned, smirking at the group who had come to challenge her: Hcaz, Ylime, Ycrad, and Okam.

Altair had sent her own lieutenants after Nega-W, using her powers to summon the most popular people in the multiverse, and "persuaded" them to capture these super dangerous monster kids. Luke Skywalker attacked with powerful psychicbending, but Ibyf countered with fearbending, giving Luke the vision of becoming a grumpy old man. Luke fell, and Ibyf seized his card of a princess named Lissa. Goku greeted them enthusiastically, wanting to see how strong the kids were. Ynohtna took the stage, swiftly dodging all of Goku's powerful attacks and trying to crack jokes to lighten his fighting spirit. Goku grew to like the little guy and decided not to attack them. He gave Ynohtna his card of a bear named Tooty. Homer Simpson ran up and started choking Ynohtna, but Yllas and Yevrah carved him up with their Topmen. Like the previous foes, Homer dispersed into psychic dust, dropping his card of Juni Cortez.

Altair flew to Hcaz's group, recognizing the boy as one of the Nega-Lights. Of course, this was likely the one Melissa was referencing earlier. "First Movement of Cosmos: Identity Analysis." A scanner appeared before Altair's eyes and studied Hcaz. "Hcaz Yhprum, a Moonbase officer who trained in Haki. There's Okam, whose talent rivals yours, and your unremarkable cohorts, Ylime and Ycrad. However, there's another ability the four of you have studied. You have the Power to Defy Law, which lets you distort reality in insane ways for the sake of comedy. Were you planning to challenge me with that power?" Altair smirked. "As bizarre as it is, it's all illusions that deal psychological pain to the opponent. I'll brush it off easily as a-" She brushed her shoulder for emphasis, and found her hand pressing a blue-shelled baby turtle. "Huh?"

"Eh, excuse me Ma'am, it's illegal to press blue turtles." said a papa turtle. "It's punishable by ear-horn."

HOOOONK! Twin horns blasted into her ears, Altair flinching. "Screw your laws! I'll press this turtle as many times as I want!" And so she repeated her action, suffering horn blows each time. "Agh! Why the hell am I pressing this turtle?! What's come over me?"

"Your own power, being used against you." Hcaz tapped his head. "Your power stems from the creative minds of real people. But it isn't just power, people can imagine you to like or do anything, like the violin. And I say you like to press turtles!"

"My power doesn't work like that, boy! Your ideas have to be accepted by a popular majority."

"Got ya one right here." Hcaz opened his head, revealing circles of desks and brain cells working on computers. "After Melissa told us about you, my brain cells started brainstorming a bunch of ideas and posting them on the Brainternet. Cells throughout the world have been giggling and popularizing the new fad that is Altair."

"THAT'S COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS!" Her eyes popped out.

"And my brain has twice as many workers!" Okam opened her head. "My idea was to give you face-faults."

"Hah… Well, if this is your big plan, so be it! All you're doing is giving me more power. But I don't plan on humoring you, so I'll diminish your creativity with a Size Alteration!" In a flash, Hcaz and Okam shrunk beyond sight, Ycrad and Ylime cluelessly looking for them. "Don't bother searching. I've made them smaller than the air molecules. They'll suffocate within—HAHAHAHAHA!" Altair clamped her mouth shut with a blush. "What? I didn't—HAHAHA! Hahahahahaha what's happening now?!"

"Holy birdy, Ylime!" Ycrad viewed through a magnifying glass. "There's been an outbreak of laughuloids! Good thing Altair's a laughuum!"

"Duh-huh! Laughuum!" Ylime printed her idea from her nose. Against her own will, Altair's mouth became a vacuum, slurping all the laughuloids out of the air. Her stomach opened as a capsule fell out, Hcaz and Okam bursting out in their full sizes.

"Fourth Movement: Environment Adapt!" Altair surged with madness in her veins. "I'll just beat you at your own game!"

Using her Super Fist of the Movement of Cosmos, Altair turned the planet into a dancing toothpick man, forcing everyone to do a Hawaiian dance. They found their selves helpless to her spell, so Hcaz had to develop the Super Fist of Anti-Logic sub-series: the Stiffness of Wanda! The toothpick man got an addiction to marshmallows under Hcaz's power, causing him to swell up to a proper planet proportion. Their world was saved for now, but Altair willed the marshmallows to be contaminated with Mud-Tarts, which Toothpick Man was allergic to and caused him to vomit. The volcanic vomit threatened to drown everyone, but Ylime's love for Mud-Tarts allowed her to inhale it all like a vortex.

By swallowing it all, Ylime evolved into Ylmbledore, a powerful wizard who practiced the art of Lemonwear. They trained under her to decide who can wear lemons better. Altair gave her lemon princess dress Yoshi fountains, spraying their eyes with the acidic juice. Okam flaunted her Sunny D Glasses, countering the lemon and dowsing Altair with a tan. By tanning her, Altair turned into Godzilla, a fact which made Okam's eyes pop out with a face-fault—they popped out a little too much and fell out. The stretched eyes became submarines; Hcaz and Ycrad occupied one while Altair and Ylime took the other.

Now undersea, the submarines launched torpedo dolphins at each other. Altair requested to be launched next, squeezing into the tube as she was fired. As she closed in on Hcaz's sub, she presented an expired lease and told Hcaz he had to return the ship. Hcaz confessed that he already knew; he simply set this whole thing up because he knew Altair wanted to be tickled by a Kraken. To their shock, a giant Okam appeared, her eye sockets still vacant as she grew a tentacle mustache, ensnaring and tickling them all.

Altair attempted to use Thirteenth Movement: Outline Origin to set Hcaz back to before he learned Bo-bobo Kempo—Hcaz's body poofed and literally became an outline. His posture was that of a smoking man leaning against a wall. The world changed into the appropriate setting, all made with lines. Ycrad approached Hcaz, bringing the unfortunate news that her parakeet was arrested. Hcaz knew he needed to make a delivery, and so called the mailman (Altair) to take the package. When asked of her destination, Hcaz told her to take it across a field of turtles. Altair confusedly stepped across them—some of the turtles were blue, not that it was clear without color, and so horns HONKED in her ears with each misstep.

A furious Altair ripped the dimension in half, conjuring a Raspberry Shower to drench the hand-drawn world. The wettening world crumpled and compressed, and was flushed down a toilet. Altair suddenly found herself dressed like a plumber, being ordered by Okam to plunge out the paper she just flushed. Altair begrudgingly obeyed, thrusting the plunger in and out—Ylime exploded out of the toilet with their submarine in hand. "YOU LEFT ME DOWN THERE!" And she slammed the sub against Altair's head.

Although the pain wasn't real, she decided to transmit it to Hcaz with the 14th Movement. …To her surprise, the pain manifested as an impish spirit, who was sitting at a bar with Hcaz, sharing a soda. The pain opened up to Hcaz, sad that Altair never wants to spend time. Hcaz patted his back and said, "I feel ya, buddy. Sometimes, you just gotta suck it in and work a steamroller." So, the pain returned to his job as a steamroller-driver, flattening the two submarines and the girls who were still inside.

The battle lasted for 10 hours, all fighters throwing up gags one after the other, yet there was no sign of ending. But after Altair found herself sent to remedial golfing class, the Military Princess found herself laughing. "Ah hahahaha…hahahaha…HAH HAH HAH hah hah!"

"Geez, I didn't think golfing class was that funny." Okam said.

"Hm hm… forgive my outburst." Altair said calmly. "It's just, I find it so funny, how foolish I was for even trying. Now, I completely understand what this Dimensional Fusion is." The woman opened her arms and faced the heavens. "This universe… is just like me! It is an ever-expanding power that draws in creativity from multiple sources, giving itself an endless array of powers! With so many powers available to its denizens, they can make their selves strong against any invader! That's why my fellow Under Army officers have been defeated, it's exactly why Lord English will be defeated! It should have been clear from the beginning… I can't win."

"What're you rambling about?" Hcaz asked.

"Haven't I made myself clear? I give up." Altair frowned. "I have no reason to fight a long, drawn-out battle of comedy. Eventually, you'll come up with some bizarre gag that renders me at a standstill. It's clear that your Creator… loves you a great deal. …I wonder what that feels like. I wonder… how my Creator would've felt about me… If I reset my world, I wonder if I could meet her…"

Hcaz and co. weren't sure how to respond to her monologue. A portal then appeared behind Altair under her power. She faced up at them with a smile. "Farewell, Hcaz. You are making your Creator proud with every challenge overcome. I will watch from afar as your universe is born anew."

"…" Hcaz and Okam nodded and saluted the princess. Altair's body dissolved into psychic particles that flowed into the portal. It sealed, carrying her across the Sea of Worlds and back to her homeworld. "…Thank goodness 'cause I was seriously out of ideas." Hcaz sighed.

"I wasn't." Okam smiled. "So, whaddo we do now?"

"By my understanding, the only two Under Army agents left are Werdna and Tabuu. If we can take out the latter, we can get rid of this Subspace."

"Yeah… Only problem is, Melissa said Tabuu lives in there." Okam indicated a distant stairway going up to a cluster of bubbles, displaying different worlds. Indeed, Tabuu was hidden within a Great Maze of collected lands.

…

All the operatives regrouped in the Masked Lounge to recollect their selves. Tomura, Salem, and the lieutenants were locked in a Penance Chamber, while Amadok wanted to keep Flowey on her flower pot backpack for now. A lot of the kids panicked at the sight of Aluben and ganged up on her, until her teammates stopped them and assured she was an ally now… they think. Aluben's bones respawned, sporting a smile. "At least I won't have to worry about dentist visits!"

"She's so creepy!" Alol and Yrret said.

"It's wonderful to see you in high spirits, at least!" Leic said.

"Wait, Leic, do you know her?" Lorac asked.

"Well, kind of. Haha, I doubt she remembers me!"

Ydolem viewed the jar of dust that was once her brother, crying as Nollid held her close. Ikus didn't show the same sadness for her father, though Yllehs tried to comfort her. And Ikuyim had no idea, for she was still in the Posiverse.

Melissa and the DNK made the journey into Tabuu's Great Maze. The entrance to Tabuu's chamber was sealed by trophies of their selves. They had to divide and explore the maze to defeat Shadows of their selves, plus other rehashed bosses. (This is basically The Scattered Realms 2.0. Make up a super long stage if you have the free time. :))

With all their skills put to the test, the Boss Door opened. The heroes all entered Tabuu's chamber. They saw the broken statue of Ayamik lain before the Program. He would show no hesitation as he surged with power and readied to unleash his shockwave. But when it burst, an energy barrier shielded the kids. "?!" Tabuu's body-language indicated surprise. (Play "Boss Battle 2" from Smash Brawl!)

Xedni, seated on her floating computer pod (a chair with a circular desk of keyboards and screens), smirked as she inputted a code. "This whole Subspace dimension is some kind of virtual world, right? It took me some time, but I was able to crack the code. You're getting erased for good."

Tabuu shook his arms in anger. He shot energy bullets, but Xedni floated in evasion, shooting her own digi-bullets. Tabuu teleported to dodge, but felt himself taking damage from an unseen force. Xedni was firing shrunken bullets, but hacked to contain as much strength as normal ones. Anaigrom used a small device to spray a bramble tattoo to Allebmoog's arms, and Xedni hacked her friend to extend her arms and lash Tabuu from afar. The Program divided into clones, circling them, but Alleb's stretched attacks could disperse the fakes. The real Tabuu caught Alleb in a whip and swung her around before slamming the ground.

Tabuu willed small energy spheres to orbit around himself rapidly, creating somewhat of a barrier. He chased Xedni, hoping to attack her with said spheres, in which she kept her distance. She rapidly typed complex code and managed to slow the spheres' frame-rate. Asigan quickly shot icicles at the Program, but Tabuu retaliated by warping behind her and dealing a rapid slash attack. Anaigrom blew Asigan away from him with a Burp Gust. Tabuu conjured and seated himself on a giant laser cannon, firing and rotating it. The kids all had to duck for safety while Xedni programmed the cannon to stop in place. She then whipped up a digital block to insert into the cannon, the laser severely backing up and exploding.

The kids gazed up in horror as a giant Tabuu loomed over the world. Xedni focused on Anaigrom and inputted a code to drastically enlarge her head. Titan Tabuu rained Heat Vision, which Anaigrom countered with a Burp Gust, the wind smothering the giant's face. When Tabuu's attack ceased, Xedni shrunk Anaigrom's head, but enlarged her arms and legs, allowing her to get behind and bind Tabuu. Xedni was able to focus her coding and shrink Tabuu back to normal size. He teleported around the field, then stopped in the center of the group as clones flew out of him, knocking the kids over upon impact.

Tabuu conjured a wide sword and soared along the ground with it aimed forward. The kids evaded him as Anaigrom sprayed dragon tattoos on Allebmoog, and Xedni hacked more to her strength as she clasped the sword and pushed Tabuu back. The Abmoog hoisted herself up to pound the Program, but Tabuu warped off and became brackets, enclosing Allebmoog in them and slamming her down. Tabuu warped above, formed wings, and unleashed another shockwave. Xedni barely survived the attack with a shield, but watched as her friends were turned into trophies.

The Program conjured and threw a giant shuriken, swirling to-and-fro past Xedni repeatedly in attempt to cut her. Xedni analyzed the data from the shockwave, mixed with that of her stoned friends, all while evading the shuriken. "Aha! I think I got your number!" Xedni inputted a new code, and wings of her own appeared. "Have a taste of your own medicine!" A green shockwave exploded from her station, so Tabuu countered it with his red wave. The two forces fought each other, shaking the chamber. Xedni's station was sparking from rapid typing and hacking, her fingers practically falling off, but with the last of her brainpower squeezed out, Tabuu's shockwave shattered.

The Program was struck by Xedni's shockwave. His loud whirring was like a cry of agony as Tabuu solidified into a trophy. He clanked loudly on the ground, posed like the Thinker as the object fell on its side. (End song.)

With Tabuu's power disabled, the entire Subspace was beginning to quake. "We'll be okay! Just hold your horses!" Melissa assured. Outside, all the Subspace bubbles shrank into nothing, restoring the treehouses and all the landscapes to their true glory. The DNK found their selves landing on an open field somewhere under a gray sky. "Hey! My friends are still statues." Xedni said.

"No big deal." Melissa slapped the Nega-SA girls, and they changed back in a flash of light.

"Oh, man… I feel really stiff." Asigan said.

"I'm glad that's fixed." Ininap said. "But what about… her?"

They showed remorse at Ayamik's headless body. Melissa took them to the lounge and reattached the head using special glue from the Stone World. Once perfectly realigned, Ayamik changed back like the others. However, she had quickly passed out from the trauma. "Yep, fine and dandy." Melissa grinned. "But… wow. I can't believe you were able to beat the Under Army. Heck, my dad and those boys were havin' a hella hard time with The Thirteen's armies… What makes you all so special?"

"We just are." Ydnew folded her arms proudly. "This is our universe, and we ain't lettin' anyone take it."

"Even so, we owe you a debt, Melissa." Ydolem smiled. "It was thanks to you we managed to win."

"Oh, don't butter me up, I'm just doin' my job. Speakin' of, I better get these prisoners back to their homeworlds. So, hand the flower over."

"It was nice traveling with you, Flowey." Amadok smiled, handing him over.

"It was torture, and if I see you again, I'll kill you!" He grinned demonically.

Melissa secured all the army agents, inserted keys into the ignition, and her ship rumbled, ready for takeoff. …But then it stopped. …A cold feeling entered her heart.

The DNK all felt the same: a terrible, empty cold. The weather, in reality, was still an average warm. Yet, there was the most… horrifying, chilling, ominous feeling. Perhaps it was the sky: they had only thought it was cloudy… but the sky had never looked that milky gray. The gray became thicker, as if covering the whole atmosphere, smothering the world. It was getting harder to breathe. However, the only positive one here was Yllehs. "Look! It's Uncle Werdna!"

There was the source of the cold feeling. Pope Werdna stood in the middle of the empty field, draped in a gray cloak. His eyes were gray, empty voids. "Pope Werdna… is no more. Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

His voice seemed to resonate from the sky itself, an omnipresence that eclipsed everything. The looming gray was growing thicker… and drawing closer. "The destruction of many souls, and many worlds… has allowed my deathbending to evolve. I have risen to Logia and beyond. I will finally bring about the End." (Play "Battle for Everyone's Souls" from Persona 3.)

The milky gray flooded the entire planet. It had already flooded all other worlds. Their color, their substance, their souls… they were becoming gray and empty. The air was becoming thicker, impossible to breathe. Inevitable death. "Yeah, well go fuck yourself!" Melissa declared, going to slice the Pope in half. His body was intangible and hollow. Lirpa dashed, applied Haki, and stamped Werdna's head… but still nothing. All benders channeled chi into that spot, more Haki users helped… but he was absolute nothing.

The illusion of Werdna faded. …In the sky, he eclipsed them all. A pair of empty, soul-chilling eyes, and a mouth that rattled their hearts with each word. "End… was meant for all. I will welcome you into my void. Your souls will remain with me. There will be no sound… no speech… no love… no anger… no mind… Forget yourselves… and forget everything."

"No! Please…" Ininap got to her knees and prayed. "No… don't let it end like this. Please, gods. We were so close to saving the world. We want to keep living!"

"Melissa, what the frick do we do?!" Hcaz asked.

"Me?! What about your comedy routines?!"

"I…I-I can't think of anything for this!"

"Well, I dunno what to do! I didn't think… Werdna became anything like this. …Is this really… the End?"

The gray was closing in. In only a moment, their worlds would be nothing… and they… would be nothing.

Werdna's eyes then saw nothing. No mountains…no sea…no light…no dark… there was nothing-

Until a bunch of small lights appeared. "?!" The DNK… had survived? They looked to be as equally confused as he was. "Uh…Ininap?" Aror asked, wondering if her prayer worked.

"I…I heard a voice a moment ago." Ininap replied.

"Don't worry! We didn't forget about the 'Negatives'! If any one of you can hear me, I'm Calliope. As I speak, your friends' hearts are coming together and growing stronger under my power. This power should affect you, too. It seems like you're in danger down there, but this should be more than enough! With my Belief, you can strike down any entity!"

"Sounds about as weird as it gets." Eirik grinned deviously. "But I ain't complainin'. Fellas, what ya say we kick him in the end?"

"Werdna, how rude of you to interrupt Melissa's departure." Atnij said charmingly. "Perhaps she would like the first attack?"

"Huh?" Melissa was surprised to see herself bathed in the light. "Me?"

"You are our friend too, right?" Ydolem asked. "Of course you should share this with us."

At that moment, the gray realm seemed to darken as Melissa smiled deviously. "Sniper girl, shoot me with this after about a minute." She tossed Avakam an advanced tranquilizer. Melissa burst with red aura, her body becoming dark and eyes glowing: it was her Nightmare Mistress. She flew to Werdna's face with deathly speed. Her power and speed were unparalleled as she seemed to carve the "nothing" into millions of pieces.

"No. Do not defy… the End."

"SHADDUP!" With one extra, fearsome slash, the soulless sky shattered. Outside the atmosphere, one could see the gray, milky ball burst open and spew out. The minute had passed, so Avakam landed a successful shot with the tranquilizer. Melissa's Fury Mode had vanished. "Thanks, guys. If I stayed in that, I would've attacked you, too."

"Not a problem." Arorua smiled. "Daring New Kids… take him down."

They could all sense Pope Werdna's "presence" within the nothing. As bizarre as he was for a Logia, he was still human, so they gave him everything they had. Sirhc slammed him with his Armordillo, Arorua did a vertical spin-slash from the opposite side, her sword scraping Sirhc's shield through Werdna. Akurah shoved gas down his throat, Eirik screamed and ruptured his eardrums. Eitra's Haki hamsters squeezed him, Eelyah trapped him in cement, Yrrah penetrated him with a laser. Nosam burned him with boiling tears, Aliehs weakened his Nothing with darkness.

Yllas and Yevrah sliced him up with bladed tops. Ibyf made his worries increase with fearbending. Ynohtna pelted him with chi-blocks, his positivity aggravating Werdna. Ahcom applied her own Gentle Fist, making him susceptible to Lirpa's powerful kicks. Yenmihc smothered him in fumes, and Asia's airbending willed the fumes to enter his lungs. Sipa's Torture Curse heightened his pain receptors, giving Ahcniea some pleasure in piercing his brain.

Ydolem's Shadow Dragon devoured him, Nollid pelted him with attack spells. Alol's Butterfly Gun tickled Werdna while Yrret's psychic crushed him. Ikus drowned him in lava, Yllehs froze it to rock. "Sorry, Uncle Werdy." Atnij sang to give his girls more power, Amadok's spirits binded the Pope. Uzuy exploded him with Footbombs, Nirak's tennis balls were like cannonballs. Ururu put him in a choke-hold, Asigan lashed with water slices. Anaigrom blasted Burp Bombs, Allebmoog whaled on him with Dragon Tattoos. Xedni formed solid holograms of Knil to shoot digi-bullets.

Ydnew opened a vortex to catch and compress the Pope, Oemor summoned a whale Dream Spirit to brutally ram him. Lihp pounced and choked his neck, Ikik pelted his stomach with punches, and Revilo shot his back with Dark Beams. Aluben compressed his skull, Annaira made his blood spurt out. Avakam filled him with holes, so Beewv could enter him and carve up his organs. Yddam dealt water punches, the wetness allowing Atnort's lightning to deal greater pain. Hcaz's crew made him go sled-racing with a Tanuki, where the requirements were to bump their heads on frozen salamis. Eel stabbed him with metal, Ynned pelted bullet-speed baseballs, and Ulul flashed a Solar Beam from her plant.

"No… It will not end… I-It cannot end… like this!" The nothing that was Werdna began to well with emotions. "This was supposed to be The End! For 4,000 years…4,000 years, we waited! It can't end like this…! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS! NAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH…"

And where there was nothing, there was light. Werdna, overwhelmed by so many powers, scattered into dust. A beautiful, heavenly light warmed the entire cosmos. Melissa quickly entered her ship, bid a quick "See you later," and entered hyperspace. The DNK hoped for her safe departure… and allowed the light to take them. (End song.)

Everyone awoke on a river resembling a film strip. They viewed bubbles with images displaying moments from their world. "Mmmm…" Sipa's eyes opened to a white mass. It took the form of Nerehc Onu. He was smiling sweetly. "N…Nerehc?!"

"So, you all ended up here, too? Nice." he said simply.

"Hey, guys, we won!" Ikuyim waved.

"IKUYIM!" Her teammates ran to hug her. "Oh, I've never felt so joyous!" Yrret said. "But, um… some people didn't make it."

Ikuyim frowned, hearing of her father and Ynnad's unfortunate fates. "…I was afraid of that. They mentioned some Positives died, and… the names sound similar. …But I'm glad everyone else is okay." She smiled.

"What's happening, Nerehc?" Sipa asked. "Where are we… going?"

Nerehc held her hands warmly. "We're going… to the New Universe."

"And… you're coming with us… right?"

There was a noble spark in his eyes. "I sure don't trust Ininap to lead you."

"I wouldn't trust me, either." Ininap smiled.

Joy pumped Sipa's heart, and she embraced Nerehc in a kiss. With that, the Daring New Kids faced the coming horizon. It was time to enter… a daring new world.

…

Everyone let loose their pent-up frustration at the victory party. Leic tried to dance with Lorac, until Nosam shoved him away, the girl glaring at him. Xedni was holding Ubnok and swinging him around. Atnij sang a melody while his girls and Nega-SA danced on a stage. Sirhc danced with Yddam, Ydolem and Nollid shared a slow dance, and Ikuyim was throwing Yrret up in the air. Nerehc and Sipa danced close to Cheren and Panini, exchanging partners every few seconds, during which Sipa cast a spell to glue Cheren and Pan's butts together.

The celebration spread to Underworld Prison, where the returned prisoners danced their hearts out. Pope Werdna slouched in his cell, tortured every second by every note and cheer uttered.