//------------------------------// // XXXIX - A Question of Heritage // Story: The Distant Princess // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// I have a question. What in the name of my hat is Apex Daffodil? Seriously, where did he come from? ~~~ As Aku’s towering form laughed above them, Bonnibel kneeled down to Twilight. “Twilight, come on.” She shook her. “You have the harmony magic. You… you touched me with it. I’ve seen you use it. Get… lucky. We could use some of that luck right now.” Twilight didn’t respond, though she was visibly breathing. “Twilight…” Bonnibel glanced at Aku. He was currently in the form of a massive spider, moving his many legs around Jack in a mocking pattern. The samurai was landing hits, but the darkness never receded. Aku’s laughter was infuriating. “Twilight, come on.” Bonnibel laid a hand on Twilight’s horn. It was scalding hot. Bonnibel winced—not out of pain; she was made of bubblegum and was very heat resistant because of it. But she could imagine how much Twilight was hurting. “You pushed yourself to the edge…” Bonnibel felt something inside her shift. Her stomach twisted, but instead of turning into a knot, suddenly everything was clear. A tingling sensation ran from her stomach to her arms, ending at her fingers. It was small—pathetic, really—but it flowed into Twilight, entering her mind. The alicorn opened her eyes, staring at Bonnibel wide eyed. “You did it…” Twilight breathed. “You reached into your magic.” Bonnibel pulled her into a hug, laughing with tears. “I’m so sorry…” “We… couldn’t have seen this coming.” Aku’s laugh grated against the otherwise heartwarming scene. With a loud thwack, he tossed Jack to the side, disarming him. “We’re out of options…” Twilight sighed. “I’ve… I’ve got nothing.” “I don’t think I have any magic artifacts that can help…” Bonnibel frowned. “It’d take too long to get to them anyway.” She helped Twilight stand up. “We need to get lucky. How do you usually get lucky?” “Have a moment of self-reflection and realize your friends are always here?” “I already wasted that on healing you.” Twilight managed a smile at this. “Right… then… something we haven’t thought of needs to happen. Something…” The wall Aku had raised to keep the lemon army out turned into several thousand ducks, disintegrating. A single deer walked through the sea of ducks to a bush and started chewing on its leaves. “Apex Daffodil!” Twilight cheered. Aku stopped toying with Jack for a moment. “What in the…?” “Chaaaarge!” Lemongrab shrieked, drawing his sword. A surge of lemon wizards and soldiers moved forward, throwing magic and spears at Aku. “Anyone who can hear me, chaaaarge!” Peepers ordered, pointing his gun at Aku and firing. The gumball guardians decided to get in on the action too. It may have been absolutely pointless, but everyone was attacking at once. Might as well go with it. Lasers, punches, swords, guns, magic… they hit Aku from all sides. Aku decided he had enough when a gumball guardian punched him in the face. He transformed into a disc-shape and expanded, hitting all the gumball guardians in the head at once, dropping them on several of the Watchdogs and lemon people. With the annoying gumball guardians out of the way, Aku completely ignored the little people in favor of flattening Apex Daffodil with a spiked hand. He ground his palm into the soil, but as he did so his face twisted into a deeply unsatisfied frown. Lifting his limb… the deer was still there, unharmed. “What?” Aku blinked. “What?” The deer stretched himself out of the crater of death Aku had created and began grazing anew. Aku shot lasers out of his eyes. Apex Daffodil became reflective and turned the attack back on Aku. The shadowy monstrosity reeled back, more in shock than in pain. “After all the things that happened today… a deer.” Aku lowered his head to be level with Apex Daffodil glaring at the completely ordinary beast. “A deer that defies all laws of explanation. Unheard of power. What god are you, beast?” Apex Daffodil stretched his neck so he could devour some tree leaves. Aku drove a finger through Apex Daffodil. The deer became water, flowed downhill, and reformed himself. He sniffed the air, turning away from Aku. “You ignore Aku!?” Aku gnashed his teeth, biting into the deer. Apex Daffodil turned into solid unbreakable metal the instant before Aku bit down, cracking the dark abomination’s teeth. “YREAAAAAAAGH!” Aku shrieked pulling back. “I will not be made a fool by some local wildlife!” He threw laseres, dark blades, sludge, curses, fire, and even twisted time around Apex Daffodil, trying to incapacitate the animal. Nothing had any effect. Apex Daffodil teleported to a particularly sugary looking tree and started licking it. Aku stared at him, dumbfounded. “I… wh… bwa…” He reached out a hand to try again… but stopped. Slowly, the confused, almost hopeless look was replaced. His eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a nasty grin. “You were hoping Aku would be bested by the mysterious, all-powerful deer, were you? Alas, it is not to be.” Aku plucked a branch off a candy cherry tree and offered it to Apex Daffodil. Immediately, the deer turned to the branch and started munching on it. “Good deer…” Aku said, gently lifting Apex Daffodil up and setting him on the ground next to Jack. “Now…” He threw the branch at Jack. “Attack.” Jack couldn’t dodge Apex Daffodil. The deer bit down on the branch, kicking Jack with the force of a full grown troll to get the samurai away from his food. Jack went flying. When he landed, he cut a gash in the muddied earth with his back. Aku let out a bellowing laugh, continuing to ignore the Watchdogs and lemons attacking him. “Fooools! Your deer is not loyal, he is no better than a mercenary!” “Apex Daffodil!” Twilight shouted. “Don’t hurt him!” “He’s just an animal, Princess,” Aku cackled. “He can’t understand you. Everything he does, he does for food. And I…” He uprooted an entire tree made out of solid chocolate. “I have the most and the best food.” He held the tree in front of Apex Daffodil, grabbing his attention. He threw the tree at Twilight. “Fetch.” ~~~ Lapis checked the area around her for water. She found a significant amount in the water elemental in the previous chamber. With a smirk, she tore the beast apart and dragged all its water to her, adding to the mass of her watery wings. She didn’t wait for anyone to monologue. She encased the not-King in water, shoved him against a wall, and broke his connection with everyone. With the rest of her water, she rushed the golden sphere holding the penguin to the altar. She couldn’t move the magical sphere, but she could produce enough force to crack the crystalline altar. That didn’t sever the connection. The crystal below the penguin kept glowing, despite the destruction she had caused. “What? How d—” The not-King held out a hand and Lapis felt like her mind was on fire. She fell to her knees, using all her effort just to keep from screaming. All the water she had been controlling fell to the ground, turning the cavern floor into an inch-thick puddle. “The ritual has already begun! You can’t stop it now!” the not-King laughed, bending his spine back further than was safe. “Orgalorg is already attached to the construct below, draining its power! You can feel it, can’t you?” Lapis had felt strangely energized prior to having her mind assaulted by a dream demon occupying the body of a waxy man. Right now she couldn’t really tell if there was any energy down there, or much else aside from the not-King’s reverberating words. “Your people built this. No, not just your people, Steven. Energy storage to heal and restore Gems! A hospital! Almost unheard of in the old Empire, but the new? Well well well…” He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up. “Amazing how all your efforts to make things better end up backfiring. A hospital that will become the means by which I am released back into the world. Only a tiny, insignificant item on the list of things you Crystal Gems ruined. I wonder, do you even know how much you are responsible for everything? All the damage you caused? All in the name of an unnatural mutant known as Steven.” Lapis couldn’t stop the tears from flowing like waterfalls. “This is your fault, teardrop. Know that.” “No, know this, Bill!” Pinkie shot Bill with her party cannon, knocking him to the side. Before he could re-establish his telekinetic control on Pinkie, she took off the crown and slammed it on Lapis’ head. Pinkie tried to say something, but Bill’s mind scrambling was too much. She joined Marceline and Finn in holding their heads in pain. But Lapis… Lapis’ head cleared. She wiped her face, flicking the tears away as if they were insignificant bugs. “You’re going to regret that.” Bill held out a hand, telekinetically pushing her. She surged the water from the ground to her back, pushing against a wall. She was more than strong enough to break through his telekinesis. “You are weak.” “This body is weak.” Bill spat, twisting his head ninety degrees to the side. “Even with this era’s high magical aura and my knowledge, this idiot can’t channel enough. So…” He dropped his attack on Lapis. “How about a deal?” “Shut up.” “I know all sorts of things about the Mushroom War, the history of the Gems, th—” Lapis plastered his face with a ring of water. “I said shut up.” Ignoring his grunts, she walked up to Orgalorg. “Okay… I’ve never done one this big, but let’s try it.” She held out her hands, placing them to the sides of the golden bubble. Focusing, she imagined a bubble, a bubble like the one she had been trapped in for thousands of years. Most Gems she knew could make small bubbles to hold others of their kind, but making something large enough to hold an entire penguin was another matter entirely. She was a master of water, not of bubbling. But she had to try. Wincing, she focused on the task, using only a minimal bit of energy to keep a watery tendril on Bill. Shakily and suddenly, a blue bubble formed around the golden sphere that contained Orgalorg. It solidified, connecting to her inner power. She grinned. “Yes.” She tapped the bubble… and it teleported away, to her home. Far, far from the magic circle. The light in the crystal floor dimmed as the ancient entity went out of range. “And we win,” Lapis said, pressing her hands together. “What do you think of this Crystal Gem, huh, Bill?” She removed the water from his mouth to let him talk. His only response was to laugh—and laugh, and laugh. “It’s funny how dumb you are!” Lapis pointed a finger at him. “You aren’t charging your battery anymore.” “Orgalorg is not the only suitable power source in range, teardrop!” The crystal floor started glowing again, continuing its charging. Bill laughed, every motion causing the ex-King of Ooo’s body to jerk in some other unnatural direction. “And you’re not going to be able to remove him!” ~~~ Apex Daffodil licked Twilight to demonstrate his affection. “A-apex, s-stop it!” Twilight laughed, unable to keep the deer’s tongue off her. “S-stop!” Aku facepalmed. “I clearly need to train him better. With time, he will become an excellent minion. For now… a fool. No matter.” He picked Apex Daffodil off the ground and set him near a peachy tree. “He won’t bother my conquest anymore.” Looking down, Aku sighed at the Watchdogs and lemon army. “Really? You’re still going at it?” He sprouted tentacles from his base, slapping several dozen of them away effortlessly. “I grow tired of this. It is time for all to know the Lord of Darkness, the Unspea—” The pyramids in the Candy Capital started flashing red, as if in error. “I wonder if I should be concerned about that…” Aku scratched his chin. “...No. There is nothing that can threaten the great AKU! I wi—” The pyramids turned gold once again, and Aku felt as though a lance struck through his very being. Vast quantities of his energy were being drained by the pyramids, stored for some purpose he knew nothing about. His first instinct was to destroy it. But when he moved closer, the rate of drain increased, tearing at his pathetic excuse for a soul. Which meant it was time to leave. He channeled energy for an explosive teleport… but the moment he did so, the pyramids gathered it. “I-imposible!” Aku shouted, trembling from the drain. “No mortal being could do this!” Bonnibel nodded, turning away from Aku to stare at the pyramids. “I know…” “Who…” Aku writhed, shrinking in size. “Who could—” Suddenly, he figured it out. He knew exactly who to blame for this. Only one entity knew enough, had enough power, and had the gall to do this to the Lord of Darkness. Only one fool. “CIPHER!!!” ~~~ The shout of Aku met the ears of Lapis and all the others in the dungeon. “Sounds like he’s put two and two together!” Bill laughed, clapping his hands together. “Too bad this ritual keeps the victim from escaping! I was hoping I’d get Orgalorg down enough to break him out of that pathetic penguin form so I could watch him squirm, but, oh well, you can’t have everything!” Lapis adjusted her double crown. She lifted all the water in the room into a spike, pointing it at the Gem construct below. Thrusting down, she cracked it. Bill’s laugh stopped instantly. “You don’t want to do that.” “Try and stop me.” She drove the spike down again. “It’ll explode.” “You’re standing on a warp platform.” She spiked it down again. “Just leave if you want to save your skin.” “My skin is not in danger, it is yours! You cannot guarantee your survival!” “So?” Another spike. “Pretty sure I can interface with it.” “I’ll destroy it!” “How?” Spike. “You’re weak. Those platforms are built to last.” “I… you’re destroying a piece of your history! Your heritage!” “That’s nothing new.” Spike. “Did I not mention this was built by Steven? Precious, caring, innocent Steven?” Bill pointed at Lapis. “You’re disgracing his memory! It healed you, brought you out to face me! And now you’re just going to throw it away?” “Yes.” Spike. “This may be the last remnant of his work on the planet! It holds the answers you seek! There are computer files. I can give them to you.” Spike. “Would Steven have stopped me by destroying my life’s work?” Lapis paused. “Would Steven have angrily destroyed my one hope at freedom? Would he? Or would he try to help me? Show me his kindness?” “He… he might.” Lapis refused to look at Bill, but her hold on the water began to weaken. “And wouldn’t he be glad to know that his machine was used to weaken great evil and give someone his freedom? I’ve been trapped for thousands of years, Lapis. I want out!” “He… no, you’re terrible.” Bill began to slowly approach her. “There was a time when you were terrible. When your close friends were terrible. Where would you be if he hadn’t shown you unconditional kindness?” Lapis’ stoic expression broke. “I… I’d be…” Bill tipped Lapis’ face up, making her look into his own, psychotic eyes. “So show me a little unconditional kindness, Lapis Lazuli.” Lapis’ breathing increased rapidly and every one of her limbs trembled. She was stuck, frozen. It was impossible to think straight, even with the crown protecting her. He knew too much, said too much. He had not lied. He… “Don’t listen to the butt!” Marceline shouted, trying to transform into a bat, but failing because of the mental hold. Still, she managed to grab Lapis’ leg with a shaking hand. “The… rest of us… need kindness…” “No, they have their lives under control!” Bill spat. “I’m the one that’s messed up, I’m the one who needs to change. They can survive a little bit of suffering, I—” Lapis’ expression darkened. “You don’t care about changing.” “Obviously, but that shouldn’t change anything. Did any of the others?” “Steven fought when his friends were threatened.” Lapis created the spike once again. “He would have let me go.” “Maybe,” Lapis admitted. “But if I’ve learned anything from the current state of the world…” a tear rolled down her cheek. “He was just as flawed as the rest of us.” She slammed the spike into the Gem construct one last time. It started sparking uncontrollably. “Well, that’s going to explode.” Bill sighed. “One of these days, I’m getting out of here. And I’m coming for you.” Bill left the ex-King, returning him to himself. All the mental spells disappeared, freeing Finn, Pinkie, and Marceline. “I’m free!” The ex-King shouted, laughing. “I’m- ow! OW! Owowowowowo...” All the injuries hit him at once and he collapsed into a shuddering fetal position. “Ow…” “It’ll be okay,” Pinkie said, dragging him onto the warp platform. “Do… do I get to keep my floating mushroom bed?” Pinkie stared at him. “Is… is that what you made the deal with Bill for?” The not-King nodded slowly. Pinkie facehooved. “Let’s just get out of here.” Lapis, Finn, and Marceline got onto the platform. Lapis connected with the piece of Gem technology. A burst of light consumed them, and a moment later they appeared in a lab somewhere within the castle. There was a thundering explosion far beneath them as the Gem “battery” gave in. ~~~ The oppression of Bill’s vampiric ritual lifted from Aku instantly. He let out a seething hiss before collecting himself. Rising once more, he threw his head back and laughed to the heavens. “Foooooools! There is nothing that can stop Aku!” Jack squashed him with his foot. Aku seeped out from under Jack’s foot, trying to increase his size to match Jack. He lacked the dark mass to get any larger than a dog. “You will not make a fool of me, samurai.” Jack kicked him in the stomach, twisting a sword into Aku’s face. Aku may have been invulnerable, but he could still be thrown around. He tumbled head over heels in the mud, getting stuck in the sticky soil below. Aku stood up, growling. “I am not helpless!” “No, but you are small,” Twilight said. “Maybe we can trap you.” Several lemon wizards surrounded the tiny Aku in golden magic barriers. Twilight approached, lowering her head to be level with his. “We’re taking you back to Equestria where the Elements of Harmony can deal with you.” “Nothing ‘deals with’ Aku,” Aku hissed. He clasped his hands together, releasing a burst of black magic that shattered the yellow barriers surrounding him. “Let it be known!” He shouted. “Aku, terror of the Southern Dominion, is not defeated! I will return…” He pointed at Jack. “And any who protect the samurai from my wrath will be decimated.” “I don’t care! Get out of my empire!” Lord Hater shouted, blasting Aku with a verdant bolt of electricity. Aku took the blast, falling over from the shockwave. With a lecherous sigh, he transformed into a bat and flew into the air. “Samurai, you days are numbered. I will get you next time!” He took off into the night. Everyone fell silent. A few coughed. Several downed Watchdogs and lemon soldiers began to stand up, tending to their injuries. It was a mess of mud, butterscotch, loose bits of dark sludge, charred plants, fallen gumball guardians, and uprooted trees. “Well…” Twilight said. “At least the fighting’s over.” “Yeah…” Bonnibel agreed, allowing herself to close her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Lapis descended from the sky, depositing the ex-King, Finn, Marceline, and Pinkie on the ground. As she landed, she took the crown off her head and gave it to Pinkie. Marceline waved at Bonnibel as she landed. “Thanks,” Pinkie told Lapis. “But someone deserves this more than me.” She bounced over to Bonnibel and set the crown on her head. “I transfer the throne of the Candy Kingdom back to its rightful ruler, Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum.” Bonnibel bowed to Pinkie. “You have served the candy people well, Princess Pinkie Pie.” “Aww, thanks! I try.” “And, as Princess of the Candy Kingdom, I will be sure to establish friendly relations with Equestria, as a reward for your heroics. For all of your heroics!” She spread her arms at the muddy, tired, broken people all around. “The Candy Kingdom has survived a direct confrontation with the greatest evil in Ooo!” “Yeah!” “NO!” Lord Hater shouted. “That was not the Greatest! I am the Greatest!” Bonnibel facepalmed. “Can you give it a rest?” “No! This is my empire!” He pointed a finger at Bonnibel. “Your people surrendered to me!” “Consider us un-surrendered,” Bonnibel deadpanned. “Seconded!” Pinkie agreed, bouncing next to her. “Come on Hatey, we can stop all this.” “No,” Hater declared. “You think you can take advantage of me? Take my empire out from under me? You’re all weakened from the battle! Your guardians are injured! Your heroes, defeated! You will not be able to mount a resistance!” “Your army’s not looking too hot either,” Marceline pointed out, striking a sassy pose. “I have backups.” Hater sneered. “What, you think I marched my entire army here? There’s another division at the ship! What do you have? A bunch of sorry lemons and half-baked warriors.” “You… You’re right!” Peepers said, as if surprised Hater could make this deduction. “They’re weak! We can take them!” Twilight grimaced. “We just avoided the war…” “To be fair, you did fight Aku,” Pinkie pointed out. “Well, yes, but—” “The losses from a large-scale battle would be inconceivable,” Bonnibel declared. “For both sides.” “Then surrender,” Hater demanded, planting his foot in the ground hard enough to make it tremble. “No,” Bonnibel said, crossing her arms. “Then it looks like we have a little problem… to be solved on the battlefield with the Greatest in the GALAXY!”