There was one Metarex general who hadn’t gotten to do anything since they were recruited besides repair machinery. His name was Pale Bayleaf, and he spent all his time commanding the Metarex fleet that sat in the skies patrolling Castle Bleck. There was never anything there to fight, just other things the Count had flying in formation with them. Remnants of Lost Gaia ranging from crystal dragons to far… stranger and more disturbing things.
Pale Bayleaf himself was a metallic humanoid like the other Meatrex, but he was almost white in coloration and had three small orbs on his face instead of a single large one.
He tapped his fingers on the primary console of his ship. He was getting so bored sitting here, protecting the Castle. He wanted those so-called “heroes” to get here already so he could blow them to smithereens. Dark Oak got to fight them directly, Narcissus got sent on a treasure hunt, but Bayleaf? Bayleaf got to sit.
It was driving him stir-crazy.
“Incoming transmission,” the ship’s computer told him.
“From who?”
“Unknown.”
Bayleaf suddenly straightened in his chair. “Well, the only ones who would have this frequency and refuse to identify themselves would be… the Resistance.” Fascinating. “On screen.”
A crisp image of none other than the leader of the Resistance, Rarity Belle, appeared on his screen. The unicorn was sneering. “Ah! I finally get to place a face to the nameless machine whose ships I’ve been blowing up for the last few weeks.”
“Your terrorist tactics have done little to impede the fleet,” Bayleaf said. “But I agree, it is nice to finally get a face to the name.”
“Strange, I barely even know your name. Took a lot of shouting at O’Chunks in one of our scuffles to get him to dredge it out, and even he didn’t seem sure. You’re basically a nonentity in this conflict, Bayleaf.”
“That will all change soon.”
“I’m afraid not, Darling.”
Bayleaf cocked his head. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean you are about to be very, very dead.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“As of now, the Pure Hearts have disabled the Chaos Heart’s curse, removing your ease of Void travel. So you will not be able to escape when I press this button.” She levitated a controller with a small red button on it. “It’s amazing what Cortez’s ghosts can sneak onto a ship.”
She pressed down before Bayleaf even got a chance to give off a roar of rage.
~~~
Rarity stood atop one of Castle Bleck’s towers, reclining on a couch she’d towed up there. She watched as a brilliant fireball filled up the sky, indicating the destruction of Pale Bayleaf’s ship. Her smile only widened as the fire continued billowing. “I do believe you’ve become a monster, Rarity. Arrived barely able to hold your swords straight, now look at you. Reveling in the painful death of an enemy.” She flicked out her magic blade and stuck it into the black ground. “I was running out of legitimately evil targets. I really should thank you for existing, Bayleaf. Oh wait, you don’t, not anymore.”
Rarity let out a mad chuckle, kicking her couch off the top of the Castle into the Void below. “Now, let’s really turn this show up to eleven.” Turning to the front of the castle, she waited until she could make out the circular outline of a massive black doorway forming. The moment the doors’ outlines fully formed, she tapped the communicator hanging from her ear. “Blow everything.”
It wasn’t the sky that exploded. It was several points within the castle, forming a perfectly straight line all the way to the central chamber, making the labyrinthine nature of the Castle completely moot. It was a long journey, and it would no doubt be crawling with enemies soon… but it mattered.
“ ‘The Resistance is pointless,’ “ she mocked, to no one in particular. “How’s this for pointless!?” She tapped the communicator again. “Trigger the cave-ins.” Numerous other explosives went off, this time collapsing access tunnels to the path they had just created. There were a few places they couldn’t cut off— but that was where Rarity’s forces would be waiting. The coming heroes were going to get a clear shot for the center if she had anything to say about it.
Luckily, her assumption that she didn’t have to worry about the sky was correct. The massive door in space opened, revealing Flipside itself surrounded by the massive fleet of the Alliance of All Worlds.
It was the most beautiful thing Rarity had ever seen.
“You brought this on yourself, Count,” Rarity whispered. “I hope this is what you wanted.” She turned tail and descended the stairs into the Castle interior once more.
~~~
“Blumiere, my son, don’t! Even your ancestors could not handle that dark book… If you open it… there’s no telling what might happen!”
“I do not care, Father! A world without her is empty. A life without her is empty. Speak, Dark Prognosticus! Teach your dark history! I await your command!”
“BLEH HEH HEH! BLECK!”
“Blumiere… What have you done?”
“Silence! The first prophecy beckons. I will erase everyone in this blasted Tribe!”
“Blu-Blumiere! Don’t do this! Blumiere!”
“Blumiere is no more! I am Count Bleck! And no one shall stand in my way! BLEH HEH HEH! BLECK!”
~~~
The woman didn’t set her pen down this time—she kept going, kept writing, kept pushing for the end. She fully admitted to herself that she was getting into it. Her heart beat with the heroes and their quest and yearned for it to reach its final, complete end.
Of course, she knew where it would end. She’d known before she’d written the first word.
Now was not the time for deep contemplation.
But, contrary to what the Fleet of All Worlds thought, it wasn’t the time for brutality either.
Unfortunately, people have a habit of ignoring the appropriate times for things.
In the end, though, that’s part of what made the multiverse so interesting. The freedom to choose. To listen, or to reject. To listen is good, but to choose to listen is better.
To be good is fine. But to choose good is righteous.
To choose love…