Boney M held firmly to its shield as the earth colossus smashed a fist down against it, cracking the platform they were standing on.
“It won’t… hold!” Bushido struggled as he and his Stand gave it their all. Blood ran down his mouth and his eyes as he grabbed one shoulder with a hand. “We need to move. Now!”
Jojo called Tenacious D back up and motioned for everyone to get on it. Once it was set, Tenacious used Time Warp and sped away from their platform in a blink of an eye, sailing back down to the arena which was still mostly in one piece. The impact jarred all of them and threw them in different directions, with Summer sliding dangerously close to the edge. She spun herself around and had Pegasus dig a hand into the ground to keep them from going off the side.
Her whole body ached and every movement caused stars to dance around her eyes, but she could not give up, not when they had a plan to follow through with.
“One minute to go!” Dolfy pointed at his cannons as the jets on his legs activated and got him off the ground. “You have to make sure their charge isn’t interrupted, or we’re all doomed!”
With gravity getting more distorted by the second, Dolfy’s men had to grab the sides of the cannons to make sure they wouldn’t float up into the air. The two Weather Alternate helicopters were struggling to maintain control as rocks pelted against them from above and below.
The earth colossus continued to stalk forward, sticking a hand out as sand began to flow from its fingertips, whipping around Summer and her friends as it got harder and harder to see.
“Augh, sand!” Jojo removed his scarf and tied it around his head. “It’s getting everywhere!”
There was the sound of something powering down and sputtering. Summer’s fears came true as she turned her attention to the Weather Alternate cannons. Blinking lights along its vents were reducing, retreating back to the base of the barrel as sand blew into the weapons.
“The sand, mein meister! It’s damaging the cannons!” One of Dolfy’s men rapidly began tapping away at a console. “Their charge is reversing!”
Dolfy swore in German. “Well, don’t just stand there like a useless fisch! Get the helicopters to fly close and blow the sand away! Do it now!”
Via radio, his men attempted to get the helicopters to do so, but with the raging sandstorm, their rotors began to lose wind and they began to spin out of control. One disappeared from sight below, while the other one crashed along the bridge, still in one piece, but it wouldn’t get back up into the air.
“Nein, nein, nein!” Dolfy shook both fists in front of himself. “Our plan cannot fail! It cannot! Fix this problem now!”
Summer looked around through squinted eyes, trying to assess the situation and find something that could work. Bushido and Jojo were already down on their knees, likely exhausted from the ordeal. They didn’t get a break from the fight with Eortsuh, and Mhagmea had really done a number on them. Summer knew she wasn’t faring any better, and she was already pushing her body way beyond her limit to fight. Her plan hinged on the cannons firing, but with their charge being held back, she knew they would have even less time to make it work now.
If only we had more time… Summer thought desperately.
The last word repeated inside her head, echoing like water rippling on a pond.
Time…
Time.
Time.
All of a sudden, Summer’s mind was brought back to that science class in high school. Specifically, to a class about physics.
“Time is relative to motion,” their teacher had been telling them. “It’s part of the theory of relativity that the more kinetic motion and movement that an object has, the less affected it is by time. To put it simply, the faster you move, the slower time is perceived.”
“Motion…” Summer mumbled. “Motion is kinetic energy. Kinetic… potential… Pegasus Forever…”
A new plan began to form in her head. It was a crazy plan that might well backfire on her, but there was no time to think of something more sensible. Perhaps this was something she could’ve done all along, but there was really no way of knowing it would work.
“I just have to try…” Summer closed her eyes.
She could hear the sand whipping around them, the wind whistling in her ears, the growls of Mhagmea’s earth colossus as it got closer and closer, the barking of Dolfy Horner as he tried to get his men to get the cannons to work. But Summer ignored all of that. Instead, she looked deep within herself, to the source of the fighting spirit welling up inside.
Pegasus Forever spread its legs out behind her, then put both palms close together, almost touching. Everything around Summer went silent and in her mind, it was as though she was standing in a dark void, with nothing but her Stand with her. A gust of wind flowed in and began collecting between Pegasus Forever’s palms, glowing yellow as it began to accumulate.
“There! I can do it! I can siphon kinetic energy from around Pegasus Forever!” Summer opened her eyes as she exclaimed.
Putting it to use, she moved her Stand towards the two cannons, and everything around her seemed to slow down. Dolfy’s mouth opened extremely slowly as he pointed an accusing finger at one of his soldiers. Boney M was in the process of putting its shield down to protect its master from the sandstorm and Jojo panted where he was, his chest heaving up in slow motion. Even the sand flying around them had slowed enough for Summer to see each individual particle wisping by.
“Because Pegasus Forever absorbed the kinetic energy around it, everyone’s slowed down, but we’ve also been sped up,” Summer continued. “I’m moving at a sufficient speed that time isn’t affecting me as much.”
As Pegasus Forever stood between the two cannons, it pressed both hands against each one, transferring some of its kinetic energy into them, bringing them into real time before Summer’s eyes. With the sand now slowly affecting them, the charge for both cannons began to speed up and she could see their green lights building up once again.
She turned her eyes to the colossus and even in slow motion, she could tell that the Nugget Person was trying to process just what was going on; she was likely seeing something unbelievable before her eyes right now, as was Summer.
The girl had started counting and with the energy transmitting into them, the kinetic cannons charged in only twenty seconds, with all the lights on the barrel switching from green to blue.
This is it. This is how we win!
Summer took a breath and had Pegasus drop its kinetic pulse, returning everything around her to its normal speed.
“Do it, fire it now!” she yelled through the raging sandstorm.
“Was?” Dolfy turned to her. Then he looked at the cannons and flailed his arms around wildly. “You fools! The cannons are charged! Fire them. Fire them now!”
“Yes sir, mein meis-”
“Don’t waste time saying anything!” Dolfy ranted. “Fire! Do it!”
Two men rushed to the controls and pointed the barrels at the colossus’ chest, where Mhagmea had been absorbed into. With a push of a button, the barrels of both cannons pulsed white before the air around them shifted and rippled as they released shots so fast that no one could see them. Except for Summer as Pegasus Forever reengaged its kinetic pulse.
The two projectiles looked like clusters of bullets put together and they were now zipping on towards Mhagmea. Summer didn’t know if they could penetrate her shell, even with such speed, but she knew of one way to make it certain.
With a roar, Pegasus Forever dove at the projectiles, getting up close behind them as they moved through the air slowly. With all its might, it began pounding against the back of the projectiles, turning them into potential energy as it smashed away, its arms moving so fast that it looked like it could set the place ablaze.
“Neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh!” It yelled with each punch.
A red glow began to build around the kinetic projectiles and as it grew more intense, and when Pegasus brought their states back to kinetic energy, they shot forward like a gigantic laser beam, so fast that even in her enhanced state, Summer could not see them.
The beam pierced right through the earth colossus, hardening the earth with its intense heat before shattering it from the center of its chest to the rest of its body. The force of the beam crashed against Helloween, but because it was not a Stand, it could not harm it. Instead, it brought up waves of earth to try and stop it, but the beam broke through every single one before pushing it and Mhagmea right out the back of her creation and high into the sky, her screams trailing behind her as she faded from sight.
As the colossus crumbled, Summer deactivated Pegasus Forever’s kinetic pulse, returning everything to normal around her as the sandstorm faded, dropping out of view of the arena.
Dolfy clapped his hands together over his head, then dropped to one knee and clenched his fists as he let out a deafening scream. “WE DID IT! Those cannons made quick work of her! I told you! I told you humans were superior!”
“Su-Sushi. It’s… over?” Jojo limped over to Summer as rocks began to float back down and the skies began to clear. With Mhagmea gone, the core had likely started speeding back up to normal and the world was finally returning to the way it once was before Mhagmea's interference. “I don’t know what happened. One moment you were here, then you were at the cannons, then Pegasus Forever was punching so fast.”
“I’ll explain it. Eventually.” Summer placed a hand on his shoulder. “Right now, all I want to do is sit down and have a cold drink.”
“I can get you one of those,” Dolfy said, coming over and taking a flask out from his jacket. He handed it to Summer. “The finest German brew.”
Summer took one look at the saliva-stained rim and winced. “You know what, maybe I don’t need a drink after all.”
Dolfy shrugged and took back the flask, drinking deeply from it. “Ahh. Nothing like a post-victory drink. You did well, children,” he said, screwing the cap back on the flask and putting it away. “We may have started as enemies, but maybe we don’t have to end as such. What do you say, want to join Weather Alternate?”
Summer and Jojo looked apprehensively at each other.
“Nein, nein!” Dolfy waved his hands around. “Weather Alternate will not be what it once was. I see now that banded together, humanity can accomplish anything, even defeating our old gods. Nein, perhaps the world does not need to be divided by bloodline. Pureblood or muddied, we are all one and the same race. No race wars will ever change that.”
“It’s a generous offer, Dolfy Horner,” Jojo said at last. “But I think I’ve had enough excitement for a lifetime. I’m ready to go back to my old, boring life. I’m not even done with high school yet.”
Dolfy didn’t seem too disappointed. He shrugged and turned back to his remaining troops. “Ah well. If that is your wish, I will honor it,” He looked back over his shoulder. “But as a token of my respect, I swear I will name my firstborn son after you two! Male or female, they will be the greatest defender humanity will ever have to offer! Auf wiedersehen!”
“No, hey, you don’t have to.” Jojo gave Summer a weirded out look.
“It has already been decided. Till we meet again, mein kinder.”
As Dolfy walked away from them, Summer spotted Bushido getting up, giving her a warm smile from where he was. “Whatever, let him do what he wants. And hey Jojo, give me a sec. I’ll be right back.”
Summer jogged over to Bushido and before he could do anything, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “We did it! The fight’s over.”
“O-Ow, bones…” Bushido winced. “But yes, evil has been vanquished this day. At last, our journey here is over. If my grandfather could see me standing here today, I’m sure he would be proud beyond belief.”
“What will you do now?” Summer asked as she released her grip on him. “Will you go back to Japan?”
Bushido sighed, wincing as he did so. “I need to take my family sword back home to be repaired. After that, who knows? Maybe I will continue to wander the world and strike down evil with my skills. Why, did you have something in mind?”
“Oh, I don’t know… Maybe…” Summer shuffled a foot. “Maybe you could come to Canterlot? For a while?”
Bushido smiled and hummed. “Maybe I will take you up on your offer.”
They shared a smile before the ground under their feet started rumbling. The edge of the arena began crumbling towards them, falling away to the city below.
“Helloween’s power of the earth is gone, and it’s no longer staying up,” Jojo said and ushered his friends away from the arena. “We’ve got to get out!”
“To the helicopter!” Dolfy yelled and waved to them as his men rushed for the downed vehicle.
Summer helped Bushido along as they raced to outrun the crumbling floor. The helicopter pilot had already started up the engines again, and without the sandstorm interfering with the rotors, it got to work almost immediately.
Everyone piled into the vehicle as the ground beneath them fell away, with the helicopter remaining in the air. The cannons, unfortunately, could not be saved in time and they plunged down to the ruins below as the pilot took them away, flying out as the mountain range around Berlin began to sink back down.
“At least I finally found Berlin.” Dolfy looked down at the ruins.
“It will take a long time to rebuild it,” Jojo remarked.
Dolfy shrugged. “Ach. With all the money that we made mining up the gold nuggets, I do not think that prospect is as bad as you think. Besides, I have a few ideas on how to make Berlin better and more recognizable than ever before.”
“Right...”
As the helicopter soared into the distance, Summer looked on at the crumbling base of the Nugget People’s fortress. At last, their adventure had finally come to an end. It was over.
–—--JO-JO—---
In the quietness of space, there were a few things orbiting the planet of Earth. There were space stations, satellites, and even chunks of debris from parts broken off from them or probes ages gone.
Among these was a new object. Mhagmea now glided along in space, her legs curled up to her chest and her expression stoic, forever frozen in stone as she made her eternal rounds around the planet she had wished to renew.
Once she had passed the atmosphere, there was nothing to protect her from the rays of the sun and she was instantly turned to stone. Now forever trapped in the endless void of space, there was nothing more for her. No one would ever find her and release her again.
All Mhagmea had ever wanted was to rule over the world, to help her people prosper, to realize the best of themselves through the power of Stands. Instead, they were betrayed and sealed away. After that, it was a matter of cleansing the filth humanity had accumulated over the years of their imprisonment. There had been wars, famine, destruction aplenty. Restarting the world was the most plausible of solutions, but instead, humanity would rather live in the mess they had created and banish their rulers once again.
But it was too late now. She was nothing more than a block of stone floating through space to maybe one day disintegrate into nothing as she collided with debris. The threat of the Nugget People was gone. But she knew it to be true. The humans would be their own undoing and all they were doing now was prolonging the inevitable. Their extinction will come, be it this generation or the next, and it will be by their own hand.