Chili Pepper sat in an old armchair in the corner of a room, blanket draped over his lap as he looked out of the window at his fields. The walls of the room were covered by ancient wallpaper, a white one with thin, fading stripes of red and blue that were spread about. There was no carpet, just a stained wooden floor that creaked lightly as she walked across. Not even a rug should the morning be chilly. Perhaps Chili Pepper himself was used to such things or he had a higher tolerance for the cold.
Beyond that, the room looked much like how the house had looked before the gang had taken over. Two ancient dressers that looked like they had been kept in prime condition were placed against the walls while a bed with a metal frame painted red took up the opposite corner. Tempest had been in here so often that she knew without looking that there was a closet door near where she had entered. The entire place gave off an odor that brought up memories of her past. Of when her grandparents would visit her or when she would visit them. The scent of better, happier days.
How long had it been since she had last seen them? Were they even still alive? A slight frown appeared on Tempest’s face. She was thinking like that again. Thinking like Little Dizzy Fizzy, the girl she used to be. A girl she thought was long gone.
“My, that looks good,” said Chili Pepper as he turned to look at Tempest, a small smile appearing on his face. The old man looked ancient in a way. His light red skin hung loosely on his body, his bald head had a few spots on it, and his arms shook slightly as he reached up to take the bowl. This gave the impression that, at one point, he had been a man of once great physical ability. But now he just sat there in overalls that looked three sizes too big for him, unable to get around without the walker they had taken from him.
“Would you like one, my dear?” asked Chili Pepper as he held a pepper up between his fingers. His tone was calm, as if they were back when he would invite her to have dinner within the house or just to chat politely with her. It didn’t seem at all like someone who was being held against his will.
“I’m good,” replied Tempest as she sat down on the bed, the old springs making plenty of noise as she did. All forms of toughness were slowly slipping away beyond her control. Her body relaxed all on its own, her guard dropping like a stone in a lake. There was no need for her to be the big, tough girl she had to be in prison or when surrounded by the guys. She could just… be someone else for a while.
Honestly, she had no idea why this was or how it started. When she arrived here along with a few of the other ‘work release’ teens, she had hated every second she was here. To her, it was just another prison where people told her when to get up, when to eat, and where she could not go. The only difference was that there were no walls of stone with guards patrolling or barbed wire fences. Instead there were miles of endless desert around them, to dissuade the smart ones from running away. The only real way out was on the train and you had to go through town to get to it and the sheriff would spot you before it ever showed up.
Then, well, things just became different. Maybe it was because Chili Pepper was the first adult she had been with who didn’t sneer at her with the power he held over her. That he invited her to have dinner in the main house more than once. That he…
“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug, before popping one of the peppers into his mouth like a piece of candy. Tempest watched with surprise and wondered how he could do something like that. Ever since she had first arrived here no one, not even herself, could eat more than a bite of those things without bursting into tears and demanding water. They were just so hot and spicy!
“Is there anything I can do for you?” asked Tempest as she watched him swallow. “Perhaps get you a book or something?”
“Nah, it’s fine, my dear,” said Chili as he took another pepper. “But I wouldn’t mind you chatting with me some more like before. In fact, I dare say I would enjoy that very much.”
Tempest took a breath before scratching her cheek. “I…wouldn’t mind doing that for a while.” Slowly she leaned forward. “Actually, I used to talk to my grandpa for hours whenever he came around. So it’s kind of…nice being able to do it again.”
“Oh,” said the old man with a raised eyebrow. “What was he like? If you don’t mind me asking?”
“He was very kind,” said Tempest instantly as a vision of the man appeared in her head. “He always had this old pipe on him, even when Grandma and Mom told him to stop smoking. I would always sit on his lap while he read me stories, taking in the scent of tobacco. Other times he would just take me to the park with his beagle named Tootsie.” As Tempest finished saying this, her mouth opened to continue but no sounds came out. Slight panic came over her as the image of the man she had known so well now became a bit more blurry, the details fading away. “That’s really all I can remember now. It’s been so long since I last…” Her voice began to crack a little at that point and Tempest mentally scolded herself. She was becoming too weak too quickly.
“Right, I understand,” said Chili gently as he laid the bowl on his lap, looking at the girl. “You haven’t seen your family since, well, a very long time to say the least. I probably shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Tempest shook her head before wiping away her watery eyes. “No, I should have said something,” she said with a loud sniff.
“Well then,” said Chili kindly. “How are you and your friends enjoying this new found freedom?”
At that, Tempest frowned. “I don’t have any friends,” she said in a tone harsher than she meant to while a surge of phantom pain ran through her scar. Just like it did every time she heard the word ‘friend’. It always took her back to that day when she was little, when the world around her was bright and cheerful. Before she was asked to meet them up one night at a local convenience store, watching as her friends pocketed this and that right before her eyes. How they were caught and chased, with her hopping over a fence that led to a very nasty dog that nearly took her eye out. She could still remember seeing her friends pausing just long enough to see her like that, crying for help, before they ran away from the sounds of sirens. How bitter the word ‘friend’ had become.
And just like that, a scared girl was sent to prison all by herself. It was supposed to be only a year in a correctional institute. That she would be home in time for Christmas and that her family would be waiting for her. But that place was nothing more than a living nightmare. She was bullied nearly everyday while the guards and councilors just sat back and watched. More than once she had to crawl back to her cot with a bloody lip and her good eye swollen. The year came and went, only for her to find that somehow her sentence had been extended for her misbehavior. What utter bullshit! No one came to see her. No one called her. No one sent her letters. She was all alone. So she did the only thing she could: made survival her number one concern.
Slowly, her hand went to clench the gem around her neck, still unused to this point. Yes, she had survived and had become stronger. The biggest, baddest bitch in prison. But not to regain what she had lost: friends, love of family, and other childish things like that. No, if her experiences had taught her anything it was that those things never really existed. Her eyes were open to the truth that the only one she could depend on was herself. The only thing she wanted now was simple revenge. Revenge on her friends for the way they left her. Revenge on Warden Storm King who made her life hell in prison. And revenge on the family who just left her there.
Briefly she glanced at Chili Pepper who sat there, watching her. Nothing was going to stand in her way. Not when she finally got the power to take everything away from those she hated! Not even Chili Pepper.
-x-
“We’ve got a problem,” said Long Horn as Tempest came down the stairs about an hour later, the rest of her conversation with Chili Pepper being both pleasant and mundane.
“If we’re out of toilet paper again because you guys wanted to-,” began Tempest with an eye roll, but was cut off as Long Horn stomped his foot into the flooring. The force he used was enough to shake the room while a large hole appeared around his foot.
“It’s serious this time,” he said as Tempest continued to walk down the stairs, keeping an eye on him. “It’s Bull. I tried calling him after you went up to feed the old timer. Wanted to get his ass over here in case Adagio and her group showed up like we planned. But he’s not answering!”
Hearing that nearly caused Tempest to trip on the last stair. “Are you sure you’re not overreacting?” she asked as she righted herself. “I mean, he could have forgotten to charge his phone. That or he used up all the power while playing that dumb game he loves so much.” As she spoke, Tempest did her best to stay calm. After all, Bull had forgotten to charge his phone a few times before. And it wouldn’t be at all surprising to find him getting hooked on one of those app games. Yet while that was the most likely possibility, Tempest couldn’t rule out the idea that something bad happened. Raging had just been defeated by Adagio and that girl had driven out to town. So there was a chance that she had run into the idiot and he challenged her to a duel.
“Thought about that,” growled Long Horn. “Which is why I tried to connect with his duel disk to send him a message. As long as he’s near someplace with free wifi he should have gotten the message. But I’ve heard nothing from him. Hopefully he’s just too far out of range or just ignoring me.” He then took a breath. “I just sent Free Range out to find him and bring him back. He took one of those four wheelers that were in the barn so it shouldn’t be too long. But if something is wrong then he’ll call me.”
Tempest nodded. “In case Adagio’s friends were closer than we thought,” she said before placing a hand on her chin. “That or those Rainbooms she was telling us about.”
“I don’t care who they are,” growled Long Horn, spit running down his cheek as he did so. “We need to be ready for anything. With the two of us working together, we can send them all straight to hell!”
“Perhaps,” said Tempest, a hand reaching for her deck box and lightly touching it. She was sure of her skill, but on the other hand… “But we don’t know who or how many we’re up against. I think it might be smarter to have a back-up plan just to be safe.”
“You mean turn tail and run?” barked Long Horn as he turned on Tempest. Pulling back his, he prepared to launch a powerful blow to her midsection. Something that Tempest saw coming a mile away. Having had to deal with stronger, bigger opponents all her life she knew how to turn their own power against them. As such, she ducked just in time so that his fist went zooming over her head while at the same time delivering a powerful kick to his leg to mess up his footing. Now off balance, Long Horn began to fall forward with the result being his arm creating a new hole in the floor.
This, however, didn’t stop him. Tempest knew that his strength and defense had greatly increased thanks to his magic. So it was no surprise that he was able to quickly get up like nothing happened. Long Horn spun around to deliver another blow aimed for her side. Yet avoided that as well while also grappling his arm in the process. Before Long Horn could realize what was going on, Tempest had used his own inertia to spin him around and into a wall.
“If it means surviving then yes, we turn tail and run,” said Tempest as she approached him. Slowly, Long Horn began to turn around so that his back was against the wall. With his head resting in the indent created by Tempest’s counter, she placed a boot against his shoulder while looking down at him. “We have to think of the big picture here if we want to survive. Right now we know we lost Raging and Bull is an unknown. That leaves at least three of us in an area we are failing to secure.” Tempest then slowly lifted her foot and moved away from Long Horn who continued to watch her. “You’re smarter than this Long Horn. If there is a large group of them out there with the same powers as us, or even similar powers, then the three of us might not be able to handle them. Keeping an escape route open is for the best if we don’t want to lose our powers. Or worse, going back to jail. I know you know I’m right.”
“Yeah, yeah,” grunted a calmer Long Horn as he rubbed his head. “Although, I think you’re nuts for thinking that joining back to jail is worse than losing our powers.”
Tempest didn’t say anything at first, only folding her arms as she walked over to the nearby window. With her reflection somewhat visible, she could see the worry in her eyes. Looking past it she could see the endless fields of chili peppers and the blue sky up above.
“If we lose our powers and end up like Raging, well, yeah it’ll suck hard,” admitted Tempest. “But there is a chance that we’ll just be sent to a hospital for the rest of our lives seeing as we’ll no longer be a threat. Useless body sure, but the food will be better, we’ll get outdoor time that feels like we’re really outdoors, and possibly a TV in our room.” She then shot Long Horn a look. “Now imagine having a body like that and being in prison.”
Tempest wasn’t at all surprised to see Long Horn look blankly at her before having a full body shudder. Yeah, being helpless in a place run by Storm King was not something any of them wanted.
“Even if we don’t lose our powers, being sent to jail will be the end of us,” continued Tempest. “We’ll probably get life for everything we’ve done here and put in the strongest cell they can make. Probably even having our arms and legs shackled 24/7. No outdoor time or a chance at the ball court. And I highly doubt that the government would be so unbelievably stupid to give us a chance to work for them in return for favors.”
“Well, you never know,” said Long Horn as he stood up. “Knowing how things are with them right now, they might do something that dumb. But I get what you’re saying. Better to plan for an escape just in case the worst happens.” He then began to brush off splinters of wood as well as pieces of plaster on his shirt and pants. “Think we can use the old man upstairs for this? You know like in those hostage situations? That was the reason we kept the old fart all this time or else he’d be like all the others we dueled.”
Tempest managed to hold back a flinch as she turned back to the window, mulling over her words carefully. “That was the plan when we thought the police would be the ones to come and stop us. But, if it's not the police and instead one of the groups looking out for magic, I doubt they’ll care too much about him. If we have to make a run for it he’d just be dead weight. I say just leave him here.”
At that, Long Horn grinned. “Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” he said as he moved to the window. Out of the corner of her eye, Tempest watched the larger figure as he stood there looking out along with her. “See, I decided to do a little research. Didn’t think I’d get much of anything but I did a simple search for the name ‘Rainboom’. But low and behold, they have a few fan sites. And get this, one of their members is named Applejack. She’s the old man’s great grandniece or something.”
“I see,” said Tempest as a bead of sweat ran down the side of her face. She had heard of this Applejack girl from Chili Pepper before during their talks. He had mentioned that she was one of the strongest girls he knew along with hearing that she was in a band through letters sent by someone named Granny Apple. However, he had failed to mention that she knew magic! Then again, he didn’t know about the gems that had been buried out in his fields or what they could do. So it was to be expected.
“Don’t know if those Rainbooms or even if this Applejack girl is with them,” continued Long Horn. “But if it is them, then we have a nice ace in the hole.”
“Right,” said Tempest with a trace of numbness in her voice, her chest tightening slightly before she cleared her throat. She then turned to look at Long Horn. “All the same, we should still prepare for a quick getaway. The old pick-up truck in the back barn is only ‘slightly’ smashed up thanks to you guys. Far better than all the classic cars you totaled to scare people away. I’ll see if I can’t get it patched up and ready for a drive.”
“Right,” said Long Horn as Tempest turned. But before she could walk away, Long Horn grabbed her by the shoulder. “Just remember to come back here when it’s finished. I promised to help you find all the people who screwed you over in the past so you could get…closure, revenge, or whatever you want to call it. But, if you even think of betraying me, I’ll make sure you regret.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” lied Tempest as she took a step away from Long Horn and heading towards the open door.
-x-
“They’re monsters!” screamed Pinkie Pie loudly. “MONSTERS!” With this cry that echoed around the city, Pinkie fell to her hands and knees as tears started to pour down her eyes. Before her stood the remains of the local candy shop, an old ma and pa type store that had all of its windows broken. Now all the chocolate had either melted or gone bad with the rest of the sugary treats scattered on the ground.
Quickly Sonata moved towards her crying friend. “There, there,” she said. “It’ll be ok.” Pinkie looked up from the ground, her face covered with tears, as she turned her attention to Sonata.
“Will it?” she asked while reaching out to tug on Sonata’s shift. “How can the horror of this moment ever be forgotten? All of the super sweet treats that all lay on the floor, forgotten by all except for the animals who have dined on them. The joyful memories that would have been created by friends eating them together will never come to pass. Slipping away like the melted chocolate slipping through your fingers. The wreck of this building will haunt the memories of all who have seen it.”
Sonata blinked at this. “Wow, you really have been paying attention in theater class,” she said. “That or watching too many cheesy soap operas.”
“A little of both actually,” said Pinkie as she literally bounced back to normal. “Don’t tell anyone but Limestone really likes those shows for some reason. She and my mom watch them nearly everyday!” She then dusted off her skirt. “And I guess you’re right. Insurance should take care of this place so it’ll be back to its old, delicious glory in no time!”
Behind them, Applejack let out a sigh that reminded Sonata a bit of Adagio’s for some reason. Applejack stood there, duel disk on one arm while strapped to her other shoulder was one of those light lunch boxes that kept everything cool inside that they had picked up from the hospital’s gift shop. Inside was all the food and water the people hiding there could spare. Standing next to Applejack was Twilight, still looking worn out as she held the magical tracker with both hands.
In fact, all of them looked worn out. It had been some time since they had left the hospital, walking under the blazing through the town. The few breaks they had were when either Pinkie or Sonata would see something ruined and wanted to check it out. The last time was when they had passed some fast food restaurant that Sonata had never heard of before. Bell something or other. When they had gotten close, Sonata had wanted to see if there was anything to eat there and to use the restroom.
“Can we please stop dawdling an’ get a move on?” she asked in annoyance. “At this rate, it’ll take us all night ta get ta them baddies.”
As Sonata and Pinkie dejectedly walked back to their two friends, Twilight placed a hand on Applejack’s shoulder. “Applejack, it’s still going to be a while,” said Twilight, wincing a little as she did. As Sonata drew closer, she noticed that Twilight was sweating more than the rest of them were. Normally Sonata would have assumed that it was because Twilight was one of those brainy kids. However, she had been looking worn out even before they left the hospital. If fact, her purple skin was looking noticeably lighter and she had been moving slower than the rest.
“Twi, we need to keep go-” but that was all Applejack could say before Twilight’s gizmo began to beep loudly. All of the girls quickly gathered around it, seeing a dot zip around the screen.
“Someone with magic is coming,” gasped Twilight, her eyes wide and looking a little pale. “And fast.” Without a word being said, all four girls raced over to the abandoned chocolate shop with Twilight taking the rear. Once inside, they got down on their hands and knees by the large bay windows, careful not to cut themselves on the broken glass, and peaked out to see what was coming.
Well, almost all of them. Sonata divided her attention from the street before them to Twilight. Right now she looked so tired with thin dark lines appearing below her eyes. She was also breathing harder than she normally did when Spike wanted to play more intense games in the park. A hand was placed on her chest like she was trying her best to catch her breath as quickly as possible.
Sonata opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of a motor. Within seconds, a two-seater four-wheeler came barreling down the road. Its driver was a grey-skinned boy with bulging muscles that seemed to almost burst out of his blue shirt and brown vest. On his head was a Stetson hat like Applejack’s firmly planted on his head. Then, of course, was the duel disk attached to his arm. This baddie flew down the street, briefly glancing from side to side as he passed them by.
“This is it,” whispered Applejack as she lowered herself onto all fours, motioning the other to do the same. Sonata could see a look of triumph in the farmer’s girl’s face. Much like the joy she felt when finishing the Super-Mega Volcano Burrito without water, earning her a three dollar discount on her next meal. Or finding a toy in a cereal box. Seriously, they really need to do that more often. It was getting harder and harder to find good cereal that still does that.
“What is it?” asked Pinkie. She then gasped while a look of hope appeared in her eyes. “Are we going to help re-open this chocolate store? Or maybe open up a toy store next door?”
“No,” replied a deadpanned Applejack before sighing. “We have a way of getting to them varmints faster. All we have to do is get that there four wheeler and then we can get to where their hidin’ all quick like.”
“Oh,” said Pinkie before her head tilted to the side. “And how are we going to take the four wheeler?”
“Well that…” began Applejack before a questioning look appeared on her face. “Well, ok, ah haven’t thought that far ahead. Maybe I could use mah super strength to throw something at it. Or knock him off! Yeah!”
“But if you hit the four wheeler isn’t there a chance you might damage it?” asked Pinkie, tilting her head a bit more. “I mean, we’ve all seen you effortlessly move super, duper sized rocks and stuff. You might put a teensy, weensy too much oomph into your throw and break it. Also, are you sure knocking him off will get us the four wheeler? I’ve never ridden on one before so it might stop if he falls off. Or it might continue to drive in a straight line down the street or crash into a building.”
“It, ah,” stammered Applejack as she rubbed the back of her neck.
“No to mention what will happen if you miss,” added Twilight as she turned into a sitting position, resting her back against the wall as she did. Slowly she closed her eyes but continued to speak. “If that happened, he might notice the force of your throw is stronger than a normal humans and run back to his friends. No telling what they’ll do then.”
“Also, I don’t think that all four of us can fit on that,” added Pinkie. As she spoke, Twilight opened her eyes and looked at her magic tracker. Her eyes seemed to follow the blinking dot carefully.
“Well at least ah’m trying to figure something out!” snapped Applejack, causing both Sonata and Pinkie to flinch. “For all we know, those bad guys have holed up in mah Great Uncle Chili Pepper’s house! What if they dueled him and turned him into a husk like all them folks at the hospital? We need to get a move on and fast!”
“There is a way,” whispered Twilight as she continued to watch her device. As all eyes turned on her she gave a dry gulp. “According to my tracker, that guy is beginning to circle back. If one of us is out there and challenges him to a duel, that will allow at least two of us to get on his four wheeler.”
“You mean split up?” asked Sonata in disbelief. “Twilight, haven’t you watched horror movies before? People get killed easier in those movies when they split up! And in case you haven’t noticed, magical powers that turn people into living mummies is usually the kind of thing that counts as horror!”
“Twi,” began Applejack, but stopped when Twilight shook her head.
“Look, I know it's not the best plan in the world but it’s the only one I can think of right now in the time we have,” breathed Twilight. “We don’t know if he’s going to circle around here again. If we want to get to wherever it is they’re hiding faster then we need to take this chance. If he spots a large group of us he’ll be more likely to keep his guard up. He might not even stop, just head back to get more people to duel us. The way I see it right now, putting one person out there has a higher chance of getting him to stop. Whoever it is will challenge him to a duel and, while he’s distracted, two of us will take the duel disk I made and the tracker to their hide out.”
“Now hold on there Twi,” said Applejack firmly as she grabbed Twilight’s shoulder. “We can’t let whoever it is duel here without that there duel disk. It’s the only thing we got to help us fight back. Without it, it’ll be like going into a fist fight with both hands tied behind your back!”
“I…know,” breathed Twilight. “That’s why I’ll be the one to duel him.” Sonata’s eyes became pin pricks as her hands flew to her mouth. She couldn’t believe that Twilight would ever suggest something like that. She sounded like a wounded soldier on the battlefield, ready to give up her life for a chance so the others could survive. And Sonata saw that she wasn’t alone in thinking like this. Pinkie’s hair looked like it had deflated a little while Applejack looked at her with her mouth hanging open.
“Ya can’t mean that Twi,” said Applejack as she looked over their friend. There was a slight tremble in her voice while her body shook a little. It was as if she had just noticed that Twilight wasn’t in the best of conditions.
“It’s my plan so I can’t really ask anyone else to do this,” replied Twilight with a small smile. “Plus, I’m not in the best shape to go storming a house or whatever they got. The doctor said…I shouldn’t push myself for the next couple of days. Seems like I did. But don’t worry too much. There is a chance that my magic will help protect me. And I know I can count on my deck to help me out. It…always comes through for me.” Twilight then turned her head to look at Applejack and Pinkie. “As for who should steal the four wheeler, I think it should be the two of you. You both have magic so you can operate the duel disk. That way you can watch each other’s backs. It just…makes sense.”
As Twilight spoke, Sonata felt her eyes beginning to burn. It just didn’t seem right to her. Twilight was something so special to her. Ever since she had moved into her home, she had been surrounded by the love of her family. Even that jerk Shining had been warming up to her after their duel! Twilight had always been kind to her, inviting her to join her on all these fun things and never yelling at her when she said something stupid. It was sort of like being in one of those old fashioned family sitcoms, but better since she was a part of it! They were the best thing that had ever happened to her ever since she was forced into this world.
Slowly, she thought about what would happen if Twilight lost. About how devastated Mrs. Velvet would be if Sonata came back carrying a withered version of Twilight in her arms. The looks of pain, the tears running down their faces as they howled out like a few other people Sonata had met during her very long time in this world. In the past, such things never bothered her or were just things in passing. But now it just hurt her heart to think of things like that. That’s why Twilight shouldn’t be the one to do it. It had to be someone who wouldn’t hurt them as much.
“No, it doesn’t,” said Sonata, causing everyone there to look at her. As Sonata clenched her shirt, a look of determination appeared in her eyes. “It doesn’t make sense for you to duel him. It should be me. I’ll do it.”
“What?!?” yelled all three girls at once.
“Now hold on there Sonata,” began Applejack. “It’s bad enough that Twi here wants to do something like that givin’ her condition. But ya don’t even have magic anymore.”
“That’s why it should be me,” said Sonata as she stood up. As she put on her duel disk she continued to talk without looking at them. “If I duel them and lose, that’s all they’ll get from me. And maybe my Taco Loco gift card. But if they defeat Twilight, those jerks might take her magic away while turning her into a mummy girl.” She then looked at Twilight, smiling slightly before walking out into the open to wait for the guy on the four wheeler. The last thing she saw was Twilight trying to get up, but Applejack holding her down while shaking her head. Perhaps Applejack knew Sonata was right about this.
As she waited there in the middle of the street, waiting for the bad guy, she realized that there was another reason she had to do this. For so very long, even back when she was in Equestria, she had hurt others. She had drained them in order to feed her magic and hadn’t cared about what was left behind. It had been just her and her sisters doing whatever they wanted. Looking back on it now, it wasn’t as fun as she thought it was. Nothing ever really gave her fulfillment like what Adagio always claimed they would find with more power. Not even when they had the entire school under their control had she felt as great as she thought she would be. It only happened when she started living with Twilight’s family, going to school, and actually earned a promotion all on her own. They had given her a second chance at life, even though so many people would say that she didn’t deserve one. So now she needed to show everyone, including herself, that this chance wasn’t wasted.
“Ok,” whispered Sonata as she heard the sound of a motor in the distance, growing louder. She then looked down at her deck within her duel disk. “Ah, Twilight says that having a bond with your cards is important and trusting them is super important as well. And I know we haven’t talked all that much since I made you mainly because you’ve always given me the silent treatment.” Lightly she touched the top cards, her finger making a small circle in the middle. “But even though we don’t talk all that often, I know you’ve rarely ever let me down. I think we can do this…for our real friends.” As Sonata lifted her finger, she thought about how silly this was. Perhaps she had only said all of this because she was scared and nervous. Yet at that moment, she heard a loud drip that echoed all around her that she could not explain where it came from.
Before she could ponder what she had heard, the four wheeler approached her. It speed along the road, dodging most of the just that was in the poorly maintained streets. Sonata could tell that he noticed her for he nodded before slamming on the brakes and coming to a complete stop several dozen yards away from her. While the engine noise began to die down, the teen didn’t get out of the seat but rather leaned forward as he stared at her.
“Well now,” he said slowly, eyeing her duel disk. “I haven’t seen you before. You wouldn’t happen to be one of those people Long Horn told me about? The people trying to recruit us?”
Sonata frowned at this. Who in their right mind would consider recruiting these jerks? “Nope. Just passing by. You know how it goes.”
“I see,” said the teen, still eyeing her duel disk. “Then perhaps you wouldn’t mind answering a different question. I’m looking for a friend of mine. Have you seen him around? He’s usually very hard to miss.”
“Big guy named Bull?” asked Sonata. The other teen nodded. “Yeah, I saw him. I also dueled him. Went down pretty easy.” As she said this, she did her best to sound tough while also doing her best not to glance over at the store where her friends were. She didn’t like claiming credit for what Twilight had done, but if he was to think that she was the only one out here right now then she had to do it.
“And where is he now?” asked the other teen, his eyes narrowing a bit.
“Where I left him,” said Sonata as she held up her duel disk. “I’ll be happy to tell you more if you can beat me in a simple duel. How about it?”
The teen frowned at that, pulling out a phone from his pocket. For a moment, Sonata felt her heart beat faster. Was he going to call for backup or something? Was he going to tell his friends they found a stranger in the town? Or was he going to order pizza? Ok, that last one was more her being slightly hungry.
As his fingers went to press the pad, they paused while he stared at the screen. “I suppose I might as well,” he said before putting the phone away. He then got off his ride and moved a little closer to her. “We might be having some more troublesome company soon. Might as well get whatever extra strength that I can get. Oh, and avenging Bull as a bonus I guess.”
“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks as they connected. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, one side being Sonata while the other being her opponent whose name was apparently Free Range. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Sonata.
“Ok, I’ll make the first move. I draw!” cried Sonata as she drew until she had six cards in her hand. Briefly she looked at what she had…and it wasn’t much. Just enough to protect herself for this turn. Hopefully that would be enough. “I’ll set one monster in face down defense mode and end my turn.”
“Really? I draw,” said Free Range as he looked at Sonata curiously. “I’ll start by playing the spell card: Unexpected Dai! When I have no monsters on my side of the field, I can use this spell card to special summon any normal monster from my deck.” As he spoke, the air beside him began to shimmer before sparks started to appear. Eventually the sparks turned into a large sphere, creating a loud noise that almost made Sonata cover her ears. “Now rip her to shreds: Gene-Warped Warwolf!” As the sphere exploded, a creature that stood like a man with four arms appeared in the center. Its body was covered in mostly white fur but there were also streaks of black in it somewhat like a tiger’s but that looked more like tattoos. At the end of each of its arms was a furless black hand that ended in red-tipped fingers. Scales or something else covered most of its upper face and shoulders while long black hair ran down its back. Its attack points were 2000.
“Next I will normal summon my Rescue Rabbit,” continued Free Range as a bunny wearing a hard hat appeared next to the Warwolf. The stronger monster snarled at the bunny who cringed in fear, looking like it wanted to run as far away as it could. “Now that it’s on the field, I banish it to activate its effect: special summoning two normal monsters that are level four or lower. So lets welcome the rest of the Warwolf pack!” The rabbit vanished in a golden light, quickly replaced by the other two 2000 attack point monsters.
“Time to tear into your defenses,” said Free Range as a small grin appeared on his face. “Gene-Warped Warwolf number one: destroy her face down monster!” The Warwolf let out a howl, throwing its head back as the noise rang through the streets right before lunging at Sonata’s face down monster. As it got closer a young, blue haired girl wearing black robes while holding a silver staff that was topped with a mirror appeared where the image of the face down card had been. However this girl wasn’t there for long as she was slashed by the many claws of the Warwolf.
“You activated my monster’s flip affect,” announced Sonata. “When Gishki Ariel is flipped, she allows me to add one Gishki monster from my deck to my hand. So I’ll go ahead and choose Evigishki Levianima.”
“Go ahead, it won’t help you,” said Free Range as Sonata added her card to hand. “At least, not before my two Warwolves take out a good chunk of your life points!” What happened next was brutal, far more than anything Sonata could ever imagine. The second Warwolf ran up to her, tackling her while also sinking its teeth into her shoulder. Sonata screamed in pain, feeling the teeth as if they were real while her life points dropped to 6000. It then let go and, for a moment, Sonata was allowed a moment to breath before the next one appeared in her vision. This one swiped at her side, its claws digging into her hips and causing her to bleed more while she rolled several feet away. When she stopped Sonata found herself on her belly with only 4000 life point remaining.
“You defeated Bull?” laughed Free Range as he took several steps closer to her. “Somehow I doubt that. Guess I’ll have to force the truth out of you once you’re completely helpless. And believe me, I’ve gotten good at it.” Sonata gritted her teeth as she placed her free hand on the ground, doing her best to fight through the pain. After all, hadn’t Sunset and Twilight been in this exact situation before when they were at Camp Everfree? If they could do it and win then so could she!
Slowly, Sonata staggered to her feet. “I’m not…done yet,” panted Sonata as she wobbled a little. As she moved this way and that, it seemed like she lost her footing a bit. She managed to catch herself, but in the process moved backwards several steps.
“Fine, fine,” sighed Free Range as he moved forward. “Since the battle phase is over, I’ll go ahead and XYZ summon using the two Gene-Warped Warwolves I summoned using Rescue Rabbit to build the overlay network!” A dark portal appeared on the field between them, sucking up the two monsters as they howled. “Howl into the night sky, you whose fur rivals that of the stars above! Bear your mighty fang to rip into the heavens! XYZ Summon Rank 4: Diamond Dire Wolf!” Now on the field was a large wolf-like creature that towered over Free Range. Instead of a coat of fur, its entire body seemed to be made of diamond with armor on all four legs. Its attack was 2000.
“I guess that’ll do for now,” said Free Range.
“Yeah, that’ll do,” said a voice behind Free Range. Sonata looked up slowly with a smile on her face just in time to see what was going on. Free Range looked behind him, clearly shocked, as Applejack and Pinkie hopped onto the four wheeler. While taking all that damage wasn’t what Sonata had planned, it had helped in moving him away from the vehicle so her friends could sneak around them without being noticed.
“We’ll come back for you Sugarcube,” said Applejack as she drove away, looking at Sonata in a meaningful way. On the seat behind her was Pinkie, a large bag of sprinkles under each arm. If Sonata had to guess she had gotten it from the back room of the candy store.
“No,” growled Free Range as he watched them speed off. “No, no, no! Now I have to walk back! Geez!” He then let out a sigh, seeming to calm down before looking at Sonata. “I’m willing to guess you’re sacrificing yourself so that your friends can get out of here. That is admirable. I did the same thing to help my gang escape the police four years ago. Pity for them, they’re heading straight to my boss and his girl.”
“I know,” said Sonata as she clenched her teeth. The pain was bad, but at least she wasn’t feeling numb or light headed. Yet. “That was the plan. Those two will take down your mean boss so that we can all go home.”
“Yeah right,” laughed Free Range. “The boss is the strongest out of all of us. He’ll turn them into withered husks before I’m finished with this duel.”
“We’ll see about that. It’s my draw,” said Sonata as she drew, seven cards in her hand. Her eyes widened a little as she saw what she had just drawn. “First off I’ll play the continuous spell card Ascending Soul. Next I’ll play the ritual spell card Gishki Aquamirror which lets me ritual summon any of my Gishki monsters as long as I pay the cost. But thanks to my buddy Gishki Vision, he pays for the entire cost.” As the giant mirror appeared behind her like all the other times she had used this card, Sonata seemed to stumble forward while also slipping her monster into the graveyard. A golden image of Vision flew from her graveyard and into the mirror which rippled like the surface was made of water. Now the mirror no longer showed a reflection of the two duelists, but of a vast underwater world with only a few small fishes swimming about as Vision sunk deeper and deeper into the depths.
“Noble swordsman of the Gishki tribe, embrace the might of the ocean,” chanted Sonata as a shadowy image appeared within the mirror. “Feel its power flow through you as your form changes to become the ultimate version of yourself! Ritual Summon: Evigishki Levianima!” From the mirror flew a dragon-like creature carrying a sword in its scaly blue webbed hands. A sword that had bladed guards, had a thin V shape to it, and had blue energy pulsing in the middle. Flapping on its webbed wings, the creature flew across the field revealing that it was wearing the tattered remains of clothing as well as a few pouches on its sides, as if it had changed much like how Bruce Banner would change into the Hulk. Its attack points were 2700.
As Free Range looked at the monster, a golden light began to shine on Sonata. “Now the effect of my Ascending Soul activates,” she said as a card materialized in her hand. “This card helps me out by giving me back one of the cards used as a tribute for the ritual. At least once per turn. So my Gishki Vision returns to my hand.”
“Now I’ll attack your Warwolf,” said Sonata, before stumbling again. She managed to keep herself from falling down by taking a sharp step forward while also placing a hand on her side. At the same time her monster turned its long scaly neck to look at her. “And…And when my Evigishki Levianima attacks, I get to draw a card. If it happens to be a Gishki monster, I can look at one card in your hand.” Breathing a little hard, Sonata drew. “I drew a trap so I don’t get to see anything. But my attack still goes through!” At that moment, Levianima flew across the field as small rings of water appeared on its blade. With a single thrust it speared the Warwolf who howled alone in pain before exploding.
“A descent attack,” said Free Range calmly as his life points dropped to 7400. “A pity you can’t push for more.”
“Maybe, but I can set two more face downs and end my turn,” gasped Sonata, her legs almost giving out as the two holographic cards appeared on the field next to her Ascending Souls.
“I’ll make this quick then,” said Free Range as he drew his card. After adding it to the rest, he glanced over the five cards in his hand before taking one of them and slapping it onto his duel disk. “I summon to the field Phantom Beast Cross-Wing!” Appearing next to his Diamond Dire Wolf was a large golden bird with six wings. One set was where they should be while another set had replaced its legs. The last set was on the birds head for some reason. It’s attack points were 1300. “But that’s not all I’m going to be doing because now I play the spell card: Double Summon! It’s effect should be obvious, but in case the name didn’t clue you in, it allows me to normal summon again this turn. So I’ll bring out my Phantom Beast Wild-Horn!” A wind swept the field as a moose man with 1700 attack points appeared on the field. This new beast warrior had brown fur with red markings on it like tattoos along with odd red cloth as clothing. In one hand it carried an oddly curved sword that reminded Sonata of one of those tools people used to use to punch holes in cans or open soda bottles.
“Not a bad line up,” gasped Sonata, sweat appearing to roll down her face. “But none of them have enough attack power to take down my monster!”
“Well I could just stall out until you pass out,” commented Free Range. “Then I would be the victor by default.” At that, Sonata’s eyes widened. Could it be that she would be drained if she passed out? If she suddenly became unable to play, it would technically be a forfeit so there was that case. Thankfully, her opponent continued by saying, “However, I respect what you did too much to let you suffer for that long.”
Free Range then pointed to his Diamond Dire Wolf. “To do that, I’ll activate the effect of my XYZ monster. Once per turn, I can detach one of his materials in order to target one Beast, Winged Beast, or Beast Warrior I control and one card you control. Then they are both destroyed. So I’ll detach one of the materials to destroy my Cross-Wing and your ritual monster.” Before Sonata could say anything, Diamond Dire Wolf bit into one of the floating orbs orbiting it right before its skin began to shine. As the light grew brighter and brighter, both Cross-Wing and Evigishki Levianima exploded. Then, much to Sonata’s surprise, Wild-Horn’s attack began to rise all the way to 2000.
“Your monster,” gasped Sonata as the light began to fade, sinking a little lower as she spoke. “Its attack…How?”
“When Cross-Wing is sent to the graveyard, all of my Phantom Beast monsters gain a permanent attack boost of 300,” explained Free Range. “This gives me just the right amount of a boost to take you down this turn.”
“…Then at least tell me why you’re doing all this?” asked Sonata, still breathing hard. Perhaps it was silly, but she wanted to buy as much time as she could for her friends. And if those old Saturday morning cartoons had taught her anything was that villains couldn’t resist a good monologue.
“I want to go home,” was Free Range’s answer. Sonata looked at him with surprise, nearly forgetting all about the pain she was in. Slowly, Free Range looked down at the ground while his arms relaxed. “Four years ago, I was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison with a chance of an early parole. Only the board kept adding time to my sentence for ‘behavioral issues’. What a load. I did my time and then some only to get this: a crappy work release in the middle of nowhere! Every night I dreamed of escaping so I could go back to where I belong! But I know that there’s a difference between reality and dreams. Even if I did manage to escape, without power or money they’ll catch me again in no time. I’ll be back in a cell. Then we found this magic. Long Horn and the others see this as their chance to make it big or whatever. To me, it’s my chance to just go home. I don’t care how many people I have to suck dry to become strong, I’m not going back to that hole ever again!”
Sonata stared at him for what felt like forever, her pain slowly returning to her senses. She could still remember herself telling Sunset something very similar not too long ago. That she had been imprisoned against her will within this world and that all she wanted was to go home. That she had paid for her crimes against Equestria. So she understood the desire within Free Range. But…
“I’m sorry about what happened to you,” said Sonata as she pressed a button on her duel disk, creating a geyser of water to come shooting out of the ground. “I totally get where you’re coming from because I’ve been there myself. But, when I thought I had nothing left, friends opened up their doors to me. And I suddenly found myself a new home. So I’ll put my life on the line to show them all how much it means to me and how much I’ve changed!”
“W-What are you talking about?!” demanded Free Range. “And what’s with all this water?”
“This is from my trap card,” answered Sonata. “It’s called Torrential Reborn! When one or more of my water monsters are destroyed by battle or card effect, this card lets me bring them back to the field. Not only that, but you take 500 points of damage for each monster brought back!” From out of the geyser came Evigishki Levianima, swinging his sword while a jet of water hit Free Range in the chest.
“Wasn’t expecting that,” said Free Range as his attack points fell to 6900. He then let out a sigh. “But even if you stop this one move, it still doesn’t change the outcome. You’re going to lose, either by me defeating you in this duel or by forfeit when your body gives out.”
“No,” whisper Sonata as she felt more of her strength give way. “I’m not…going to give up. I’m going to win…or at the very least hold you here for as long as possible. That way my friends…can take care of your boss.”
“I see,” said Free Range, a frown appearing on his face. “It’s sad in a way. Had we met some other way then perhaps…” The teen then shook his head. “I guess I’ll have to settle for making the most out of this duel. Never dueled a ritual deck before so at least this is keeping me on my toes a little. I end my turn. Show me what you have left.”
“I draw,” said Sonata. With three cards in her hand she stared down at Free Range with tired eyes. “I attack your Diamond Dire Wolf with my Evigishki Levianima!” As the attack began, Sonata drew her card. “A spell card this time. Too bad for me.” With that, the attack hit Free Range’s monster like before. The XYZ monster let out a howl of pain before it shatter while also lowering Free Range’s life points to 6200.
“That’s…all I can do this turn,” gasped Sonata, her vision beginning to blur a little.
“It’s impressive that you’re still standing,” said Free Range as he drew his card, three of them now in his hand. “But we’ll see how much longer you can remain so! I tribute my Wild-Horn to bring out my deck’s star: Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard!” Wild-Horn threw back its head, letting out a loud roar before vanishing to be replaced with a large oval shaped rock. As Sonata wiped away the sweat appearing on her forehead, cracks began to appear on the surface of the rock. Just as suddenly as those cracks appeared, four legs sprouted out of its sides as well as a torso from the front. Quickly turning into some rock centaur, Rock-Lizard’s flesh was a red, almost goo like substance. Rock seemed to cover parts of the monster’s torso as well as its arms which looked like turtle shells with long spikes coming out of the back. The monster’s attack was 2200.
“Next I’ll equip my monster with one of the best equip cards in the game: Moon Mirror Shield,” continued Free Range. “With this, Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard will always be 100 attack points stronger than anything its fighting! Now attack her ritual monster!”
“Levianima,” whispered Sonata as Rock Lizard began to gallop towards her. “I can’t stop this. I’m sorry.” Perhaps it was because she had lost so much blood, but for a moment she thought she saw Levianima turn its head to look at her. As she looked back Rock-Lizard punched her monster right through, knocking her back while lowering her attack points to 4900.
“Now the effect of my monster kicks in,” continued Free Range as he held out a hand. “When it destroys one of your monsters in battle, it deals you an additional 500 points of damage.” With that said, Rock-Lizard decked Sonata in the face, knocking her to the ground as her life points fell to 4400. “There is no shame in giving up now. Thanks to this magic, it's how we are able to win and inspire so much fear. With each blow you will become more injured, more panicked to escape the pain while we remain in control. Without any means of fighting back you have no chance of winning.”
Sonata’s breathing quickened as she laid, his words echoing in her head. The pain was not going away and now she could feel one of her eyes swelling shut. But rather than give up, Sonata fought with all her might to push herself back up. Even with her vision this back she could see the look of surprise in her opponents face.
“Won’t give up,” she gasped. “I said I would…keep you here for as long as I could.” As she spoke, Sonata stumbled forward a little, almost falling face first into the street. Thankfully, she managed to avoid that. “So…that’s what I’m going to do. From my friends. And my sort of almost sister. All the faith they put in me to change, I’m going to put in this deck!”
Free Range said nothing as he stared back at Sonata before slowly closing his eyes. “That has to be the most foolish, idiotic thing I have ever heard,” he said before opening them again. “But if that is the way you feel then I will respect that. I won’t insult you by telling you to give up again. I end my turn.”
“Then…Then I draw,” gasped Sonata as she drew. As she did, she felt herself beginning to fall forward as her legs began to give out. Tears began to form in her good eye for reasons other than pain. This wasn’t how she wanted it to go. She still had strength in her to continue to duel. She could still give it more! But the fall…who knew what another one of those could do to her. Who knew what would happen if she could no longer remain standing for this duel.
Arms wrapped around her while at the same time a purple glow surrounded her, both keeping her upright. Quickly, she glanced over at the old candy store where she saw Twilight standing in the doorway with her gem glowing brightly. She still looked pale but had a determined expression on her face not to let Sonata fall again. Despite how she felt, Sonata managed to smile a little at this before looking down. Around her were ghostly figures that were already beginning to fade. Figures that resembled her monsters like Ariel, Gishki Beast, and Gishki Vision.
“We believe in you mistress,” Ariel whispered before vanishing completely.
“What…What is going on?” demanded Free Range as he looked around from Sonata to Twilight.
“I’ll tell you,” said Sonata as she looked at her five cards. “It’s the beginning of the end for you! And it begins by activating my face down card: Metal Reflect Slime!” As her face down card was flipped face up, a spiky orb made of silver slime appeared on the field in the monster zone. Anyone checking their duel disk could see that it had become a level ten monster with 3000 defense points. “Next, I’ll discard my Gishki Vision to add one ritual monster from my deck to my hand.”
“Wait a minute!” shouted Free Range, but Sonata ignored him as she quickly went through her deck.
“I pick my friend: Gishki Zielgigas,” she announced as she held the card up. “Next I’ll use the copy of Gishki Aquamirror I just drew and tribute my Metal Reflect Slime to bring out my very best!” Once again, as Sonata played her ritual card, the giant mirror appeared behind her followed by her Metal Reflect Slime being sucked into it. For a moment, it seemed just to float there as small fishes passed it by. That is until the image of a large, power hand reached up from the depths to crush it within its grasp as Sonata began to chant. “He who was once enemy of all now reborn to help the Gishki tribe. One with the voice so powerful it can be heard from the deepest of the Ocean’s depths. I call upon you to lend me your power in this fight! Ritual summon! Gishki Zielgigas!” As she chanted, a massive shadow began to fill the mirror, followed quickly by a pounding that caused all but Sonata to flinch. Over and over the figure pounded at the mirror creating a number of cracks until one finally shattered the glass. Four blue hands came out to take hold of the remains of the golden mirror and stretch it out so the massive creature within could make its way onto dry land. Zielgigas was a massive creature, towering over all so that the houses in the surrounding area looked puny compared to it. This monster had four muscular arms with visible veins as well as two large spikes on its shoulders that started blue but gradually turned red. Oddly, the monster had a set of wings and two horns, one on the two of its head and one on its back, that curved towards each other like a Hercules beetle. Zielgigas wore silvery armor on its torso with the symbol of the Gishki in the center of its chest. Its attack was 3200!
“I WILL END YOU!” roared Zielgigas as he looked down at Free Range. As he spoke, Zielgigas created a wind so powerful that his enemy had to cover his face to shield himself.
“Just wait a little longer Zielgigas,” gasped Sonata. “Lets first use your effect. I give up 1000 life points to draw a card. And, if it’s a Gishki Monster, then I can shuffle one of your monsters back into your deck.”
“I-I don’t know what’s going on here,” said Free Range sounding shaken. Perhaps from seeing Twilight using magic or hearing Zielgigas speak. Or perhaps a bit of both. “But, given how you’ve been drawing so far, the odds that you’ll get what you need are-”
“I draw,” announced Sonata as her life points fell to 3400. She looked at it briefly before holding it up so Free Range could see it. “I just drew Gishki Beast! So your Rock-Lizard will return to the deck!”Once Sonata finished talking, Zielgigas let out a powerful roar that echoed through the empty streets causing Rock-Lizard to cower. It ran away, tail tucked between its legs, before becoming a beam of golden light which returned to the deck.
“I’m not done yet,” continued Sonata. “I activate the effect of my Gishki Aquamirror in my grave, returning it to the deck to add one Gishki ritual monster back to the hand. Since there’s only one, I pick Evigishki Levianima.” As Sonata began to move her cards around, the pain began to fade. But not in a good way. Her body was beginning to feel numb, yet she carried on with her move. “Next I’ll play the spell card: Moray of Greed. With this card I can shuffle back my Gishki Beast and Evigishki Levianima into my deck to then draw three cards.”
“Now I’ll summon out my Gishki Abyss,” said Sonata after she got her three new cards. Appearing on the field was a creature best described as a blue skinned human with a shark for a head. Not a shark’s head, but an entire shark! It stood there grinning wickedly with those razor sharp teeth, arms crossed. Its attack points were 800. “When Abyss is summoned, he dives into my deck to fish out a Gishki monster with 1000 or less defense points and adds it to my hand. Which is just perfect since Gishki Shadow fits that bill.” A card appeared in Sonata’s hand, glowing blue until she held it out revealing it to be Gishki Shadow. “But it's not going to be in my hand for long because I’m discarding it to add my Gishki Aquamirror to my hand!”
“You can’t seriously expect me to believe that you have all you need for another ritual summon!” yelled Free Range as Sonata added her card to her hand.
“Right now I don’t,” said Sonata, the numbness spreading. “But with this card I can do it. I play Salvage which lets me return two water monsters to my hand. Namely Gishki Shadow and Gishki Vision. Then I discard Vision again to add another ritual monster to my hand: Evigishki Soul Ogre. Now I have…everything I…need.” Darkness was beginning to creep along Sonata’s vision, but she could see Twilight moving towards her with a worried expression on her face. Words were becoming harder to hear, almost like they were being said from far away. But Sonata continued her move placing her ritual spell card in the spell/trap card slot to create the giant mirror behind her. “Oh great guardians of the depths, hear my call. Rise to the surface so that you may wash away those who stand against us. Ritual Summon: Evigishki Soul Ogre!”
From the mirror came another large monster, one that stood as tall as one of the ancient dinosaurs. Its skin was scaly with white along its belly and blue everywhere else. Its hands were webbed while its feet were yellow and chicken-like. Soul Ogre had a long tail that resembled that of a fish’s along with a long fin running down its back. Finally, on its chest, was a mirror to act like some sort of armor. Its attack was 2800.
With it out and Free Range having nothing left on his side of the field, Sonata uttered a single word, “Attack.” Zielgigas was first, screaming so loudly that the sound waves could be seen, crashing into Free Range. As his life points dropped to 3000 even, Soul Ogre set a blast of water from his mouth to further lower his life points to 200. Finally, Gishki Abyss lunged at him to deal the final blow.
“I just wanted to go home,” cried Free Range as the magic began to affect him.
“I know,” said Sonata as she watched her opponent transform into a living mummy while the world began dark. The last thing she felt was Twilight’s hands holding her while a stream of green energy flowed towards her. Then everything went dark.