Chapter 4: Experiment
Lunar Sanctum
The moon space station was nonchalantly gliding over Avalar's atmosphere, in search of Fairy World under Mavis's directions. Unbeknownst to them, the Biggest was following far behind. "You said that blue guy didn't know where Fairy World was." Tallest Dirk said to Yellow Diamond. "Why do you think he's headed there?"
"Because he also told me he wouldn't let me go there. He was probably lying, and he's going there to warn them." Diamond assumed. "But when he does, we can easily penetrate their Fairy Sphere. I'll use my full power to wipe out those 'fairies', and their magic-enriched land will produce even more powerful Gems."
However, the real Lunar Sanctum was cloaked thanks to Arlon's moonbending. The real sanctum was flying in the real direction that Mavis indicated. "I must say, Mavis, your Illusory Magic is quite convincing." Arlon said. "Combined with my Moon Chi, we managed to believably bamboozle those buffoons."
"It's what I do best." Mavis smiled and winked. "Of course, anyone could've predicted they'd try to follow. It won't last forever, but it should take them far enough not to see us. Are we almost directly under Secco's star?"
"So it seems. If Mistress Viridi's explanation was correct, you girls should be able to see it."
"Maybe it's not enough just to have been in there." Lapis said. "Maybe… we really have to know."
"I know it." Mavis marched toward the window with a confident aura. "I know… they're there. I know, with all my heart, I'm right. I know that the fairies… ARE RIGHT THERE."
…A very faint image of a golden sphere appeared. There was a silhouette of a town inside. "I…I see it." Lapis's eyes widened in awe.
"Ohhh…" Aisling breathed.
"Your vision is greater than mine." Arlon noted. "You ladies should take our Lunar Pods."
"So do we just fly through the Fairy Sphere and whoop, that's it?" Lapis asked. "Plus, what if the Fairy King doesn't let us leave?"
"I won't give up until I convince him." Mavis said surely. "So I'll stay there as long as it takes."
Zeira's Mansion
Zeira didn't have magic and therefore couldn't use it… but if this was the kind of freaky crap Mavis did, she didn't want to. Inferi: a deceased corpse that is revived from death. A perfect Inferi has all of the traits of the fallen individual, and is almost immortal. There was also a section about creating Etherious, artificial demons, using similar means. Zeira wondered if this was a horror novel—either way, the author had a twisted mind.
Meanwhile, Lord Jezelf had finished hammering the last nail into the last plank over the front door of their mansion. The windows also had planks over them. "There!" he said proudly. "Let's see those monsters try and get in here, now! A typhoon couldn't even bust down this wood from the Adam Tree, I'd like to see a-"
The doors blew open, and Jezelf was flown several feet backward. Pandora marched into the house, surrounded by her black and blue aura. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything. But if I am, that's okay, too. Chaos is my thing, after all. That's why I'm burning with Chaos Chi!" She winked.
"Grrrr!" Jezelf sat up and growled at her. "Who the hell do you think you are?! Breaking into a noble's house?!"
"Oh, you're a noble, are you? Sorry, I couldn't tell. I just saw the darkness in your heart and judged you based on that. Well, I wouldn't care, anyway. I'll attack anyone. Anyway, introductions aside, where's the Book of Zeref?"
"Book of Who? This ain't a library!"
"Eh, no matter. I don't mind turning this mansion upside-down. In fact!:" Pandora whirled her arms—the entire mansion turned upside-down and sat on its roof. All of the furniture fell on the ceiling and smashed.
"Ohhh… errr…" Jezelf held his aching scalp and weakly got up. "What the… did you do…"
"My Chaos Chi disrupts any natural order. A house is normally perched on its bottom, so I made it perched on its top. Chaos is natural in and of itself, so what I'm doing isn't wrong. Well, time to start looking for that book. How fun…"
In the library, all the books were piled on the floor, and Zeira was underneath the couch, which was now standing like a tent, so she wasn't crushed in its triangle. "Nnnn…" The Book of Zeref was plopped open on her face. She grabbed both sides and tried to raise it up before it touched the couch. "What the hell… It's like the house turned upside-down…" she grunted. "Hnn?…" She heard somebody open the door.
Pandora walked into the library… then flipped right-side-up and landed on the ceiling. "Huh?" She saw Zeira crawl out from under the couch, holding the book in her arms. "Hmm… What an interesting book. What's its title, I wonder?"
Zeira looked at the title. "'Book of Zeref'…"
"Ahh! Perfect! I had actually come here to take it. So can I?" She held a hand out. "I'm in a hurry."
Zeira looked around the upside-down room. "Did you… do this?"
"I might've had a hand in it… Okay, I did it. I don't really care. Just give me the book."
"W…Why? Whaddyou want with it?"
"I'm doing an important project." Pandora was scowling. "So give it."
"…" Still keeping her own scowl, Zeira glanced at the book, then glared back at Pandora. "I don't think I want to."
Pandora's eyes narrowed. She looked left—that wall exploded, she looked slightly right—those floor spots popped into a trail, she looked at the bookshelves—the fallen books burst into flame, scaring Zeira. "I just explained this to the man downstairs, but I'm Pandora, Goddess of Chaos. I can make chaos happen on a whim, on anything or anyone. So give me that book."
Zeira sighed. "All right." Holding the book in both hands, Zeira carried it to Pandora. Glad to have this job done, Pandora reached to take it. The minute her hand touched- "YOOOOOW!" the goddess screeched from the unbearable heat—she dropped the book, so Zeira grabbed it and kicked Pandora in the shin. Zeira dodged aside when the goddess fell forward, blasting a long vertical wave of chaos.
Medusa and Zeref watched this wave slice out of the mansion from outside. "Oh, my… it would seem Dora's having some trouble." Medusa said. …She looked at the dark mage. "Zeref, dear, you look like you want to get the book yourself. Why don't you?"
"Because I want to see how much you're worth." Zeref smiled calmly. "I want to see if you would make good pawns."
"Oh. Hmm…" Medusa smirked. "I should be offended, but I'm aroused. It's too bad you don't like older women, Zeref."
Zeira panted on the ground after dodging the attack, but Dora was slowly getting up with a malicious expression. A bubble of unseen force surrounded her. "You smug little pest… how did you do that?"
"I'm a firebender, and my dad hires the best teachers." Zeira remarked, still scowling. "I can increase the temperature of whatever I touch. Although, I'm surprised this book didn't burst into flame, either. …" She looked at the book pile that was still burning. "You may think I'm a rich brat, but I'm stronger than I look!" She pulled some fire from the pile and covered her left arm with flames. She spun her arm and punched a perfect fire beam toward Pandora. A few inches from touching the goddess, the beam suddenly POPPED and the fire exploded everywhere, Zeira bracing herself.
Pandora calmly walked through the patch of flame in front of her. "My chi is distorted energy, and all elements are derived from Energy Chi. My chaos can distort elements. A perfect beam of psychic or fire cannot reach me very easy. No force of nature remains stable under my power."
Zeira tried to punch more fireballs at Dora, but the goddess popped and scattered each one. Zeira still noticed the ground around her, little cracks forming in a circle, but the interior where the goddess stood remained steady. Fixing her glare on her, Zeira ran forward. "Haaaaaa-!" She threw a fiery punch at Pandora, but the goddess grabbed her fist tight. "DAAAAAAH!" Zeira was blown against the wall. "Ahhh… a-a-ow!" Zeira gripped that right fist in her left hand. "My-My arm!…"
"I ruptured the bones and your chi-paths in that arm. You might as well give up."
"Grrr…" Zeira gritted her teeth. With a great swing of her left arm, she threw the book over Pandora's head. When the goddess about-faced to its direction, Zeira dove in and grabbed the woman's legs. "What the…" Pandora spoke confusedly. Zeira screamed when the force bubble appeared again, scratching the part of her back outside of it. She scrambled to climb in, completely between Dora's legs, where she couldn't feel the pain.
"And just what are you doing?" Pandora forcefully stomped Zeira's head against the floor. She stepped away from the groaning child and picked her up by a pigtail. Zeira's face was bloody. "Look, it's obvious your heart and soul are stronger than your physical strength altogether. So I'm going to break your soul." After setting Zeira on her feet, Dora gripped the girl's back. Zeira gasped horrified. "Say good night."
Quickly, Zeira ducked, shot up, and grabbed Pandora's arm before trying to move it away. The goddess pushed against Zeira's left hand, but Zeira kept struggling. "Hnnnn…!" Zeira increased the temperature of her hand, and Pandora felt her arm heat up. "Aaah… oooow!…" Pandora moaned. Zeira saw her hand light with Chaos Chi. Zeira let go, rolled away—Pandora smacked her own hand against her stomach, and the goddess's body exploded.
Zeira sat on the floor and panted, gazing at the distorted mess: parts of Pandora's body were bent at various angles. Her humanoid body fell on its front. Zeira watched the aura around it rise out and manifest into a black and blue flame, with blank white eyes, a big mouth, and a halo. "Uuurgh… what the… my Gigai… my- my body! What have you done to me?!"
Zeira gasped softly. "I thought that would happen, but…"
"What did you think would happen?!"
Zeira shook back to focus. "I figured that you were keeping the Chaos Chi away from yourself, judging by that bubble. I thought it meant it was harmful to you, too, so I wanted you to use it on yourself. I… didn't quite expect this…"
"You… just because you know my weakness, won't make it any easier on you! I may be distorted, but this is my spirit form!" She spat energy balls, but Zeira dodged and shot flames from her feet to fly out of the gap in the wall. She flew higher in the air, seeing Pandora chase her and shoot more balls. "AAAAH!" Zeira screamed when her feet were hit, and she plummeted and hit the ground.
Zeira weakly turned and saw a smirking Pandora float down to her. "I'm sorry, dear, but you're long due for a grounding. My soul looks nowhere near as terrible as I'm about to make you."
"Pandora!" Medusa shouted, running over with Zeref. "What happened to you… a-and your Gigai?! If you expose yourself too long, the other gods may…"
Just as she said, numerous portals opened in the sky: Dialga, Palkia, Solaris, and Palutena appeared. "We've been receiving calls about this planet ALL DAY!" Dialga shouted. "What the HELL is going on here?!"
"I wonder if Viridi called them… ugh!" Medusa grabbed Zeref's arm. "Come on, Dora, we have to go!"
"But what about Tanatos?" Dora asked, floating to them.
"He'll be fine, but we have to go." She warped them all in a dark portal.
"That was Medusa…" Palutena spoke solemnly.
"As I thought… she is acting on the quest." Dialga deduced.
"If YOU clearly know what's happening, why the hell do you ask what the hell's going on?!" Palkia shouted.
"Forget it, both of you." Solaris stated. "If she is creating chaos in this town, we must do something."
"We can't do that unless she officially does something." Palutena reminded. "She's using mortals to act in her stead."
"These rules are useless." Palkia said angrily. "Why can't we merely attack them now if we know they're up to something?"
"Because we have a Balance to keep, Palkia." Solaris replied.
"Don't take that tone with me just because my brother gave you timebending, Solaris! I swear, you both think you're so…"
"HEEEY!" The gods looked down when Zeira screamed at them. "You… Did he just say you were Solaris? The god who makes firebending?"
"You heard correctly." The god replied. "And you are… Zera, was it?"
"Er- sort of… You did… give me my firebending, didn't you?"
"I did…"
"…" Zeira looked down. "I was wondering… if you can fix my arm. That lady broke it…"
Solaris floated down to her and touched Zeira with his giant stone fingers. "Your chi-paths are distorted… I will fix them for you." A soft orange light brimmed from his fingertips.
Zeira snapped the Book of Zeref shut on Solaris's fingertips. "Child? …What are you doing?"
Zeira stared coldly. "…Parasitus."
"AAAAAH!" A large fraction of chi was suddenly sucked out of Solaris's body. "What is…"
Zeref appeared out of another dark portal, smiling peacefully. "Excellent job… Zeira… You are a great pawn, too."
Zeira's purple eyes turned red.
Fairy World
"What happens if we can't get through?" Lapis asked worriedly as the three sisters drifted closer to the Fairy Sphere.
"We'll probably just phase through casually in a plane between space and time." Mavis replied.
"I see. Well, hopefully your Knowledge of the Nerd can get us out."
The front of the small ship touched the edge of the Fairy Sphere… they began to slowly pass through… the three girls burned Fairy World's image deep in their mind, knowing for a sure fact it was here. I mean, it was right there. Once they were beyond the bubble's wall, the magical world was in pure, visible sight. The fairies scrambled and panicked when the strange vessel entered their atmosphere. Alarms were blaring by the time the ship landed on the town's edge. The girls stepped out, holding their hands up.
The mighty Fairy King poofed before them. "Who DARES to interrupt me during my soap opera from the future?!" his German accent thundered. "You three girls again?!"
"I am Mavis, she's Lapis, and she's Aisling." The former stated seriously. "We are the Fairy Sisters, and we come in peace!"
"HA! Ha HA HA! 'Fairy Sisters'? That is the kind of silly little thing that little girls dream!" Jorgen smirked humorously. "But you are not fairies, und ve do not welcome you!" He glared at them.
"But you do care about humans, don't you?" Mavis asked. "Our world is in danger. Not only did I see the Black Cloud, alien invaders are-"
"Ve know about the aliens lurking over your atmosphere. They are not our concern. We only focus on magic criminals, but they must be left for the council to deal with."
"You guys are unbelievable!" Lapis argued. "You get mad at three girls for using minor dark magic, but you don't try to do something about the REAL villains! I know we kind of made that point, but it's STILL stupid!"
"I think the reasons you guys don't do anything is because you're cowards." Mavis stated. "Arceus told you to maintain something that he called unnatural. Because it's unnatural, you doubt yourself and your own power. You're afraid to show yourself, you're afraid you'll be overpowered. You brag about being so big and tough, but all that muscle's just for show."
"You are a little girl 10 years old, so I vould not expect you to know." Jorgen replied angrily (she's 13, actually). "Mortal beings cannot comprehend power, and we fairies, bodies of limitless magic, have unexplainable power. Mortals will not rest well knowing that our kind exist!"
"Mortals DO know that your kind exist." Aisling stated with a dark and serious look in her eyes. "Jirachi has been under the GKND's control for over a million years, has he not? Jirachi, a Firstborn, possesses power greater than yours! The Irkens seek to possess him. If their power grows, they will succeed. Don't you understand?"
"Tell me something." Mavis spoke again. "You fairies grant wishes, don't you?"
"Ha!" Jorgen laughed. "Genies grant wishes, Little Girl, und they are lawless heathens. Jirachi possesses the genies' curse, otherwise he would not be used for such evils. We were created from Jirachi's energy, to be sure, but ve are not as easily controlled as he is!"
"But you have the kind of ultimate power to grant wishes, don't you? If millions of kids wished for the aliens to go away, you should."
"My answer is final. The aliens are not our concern, and you would do well to know that!"
"Then I guess there's no other way!" Mavis pointed at him. "I challenge you to a duel!"
"HUUU!" The fairies all gasped.
"Ha! Ha ha ha! You are a puny little girl!" Jorgen loomed his head closer to her. "Each of my body parts are larger than yours! They each have muscles. Muscles that will flatten you!"
"Just what I thought. You're nothing but a scaredy-cat."
Jorgen gritted his teeth, and veins were seen on his muscles.
"The toughest fairy in the universe is all talk. The mighty King Wand can't do a thing but teleport you places. Maybe those fairytales were made in the first place because the real things are jokes."
"SILEEEENCE!" Jorgen shook the world. "You wish to challenge my vand?! Then I will GRANT your wish! To FAIRY COLOSSEUM!" Jorgen poofed them all in an explosion.
Fairy Colosseum
Every fairy in Fairy World gathered here to watch the match of the millennium: it wasn't often they had quality entertainment, but now they were going to watch the Fairy King beat the crap out of a human girl. Because the match was pretty much already won, the price for tickets was cheap. Lapis and Aisling sat at the base of the stairs on one side. "LADIIIEEES aaaand GENTLEMEN! Tonight, Fairy Colosseum brings you the spectacle of an existence: the first recorded Fairy vs. Human fight in history! Let's meet our grand contestants!
"Entering from the north: our King of Fairies, and winner of 5,000 Fairy Olympic medals: JORGEN VON STRANGLLLLLE!" The mighty king marched out of the barred gates, wearing only his brown sandals and a white Roman skirt, letting his muscles be shown to all.
"Entering from the south: his challenger and Fairy Fanatic: MAVIS VERMIIIILLIOOOOON!" The golden-haired child walked in fearlessly, wearing only her pink dress with blue diamond patterns, bare feet, and the fake wings on her head. Compared to the great king, she looked so small.
"Mavis, please don't do this!" Lapis pleaded. "We can find a different way to stop the aliens, just don't get yourself killed!"
"Nice try, Lapis, but fairies aren't allowed to kill." Mavis smirked. "I know what I'm doing."
The two combatants stood 10 feet from each other. They whipped their wands up in front of their faces like swords, holding them in their dominant hand, then swished them down to their side. Mavis and Jorgen about-faced and walked away. They turned and faced each other with battle poses. "LET THE COMBAAAAAT BEGIN!"
"ACCIO DEMON!" Mavis exclaimed, whooshing her wand upward. Out of utter nowhere, a tremendous bug-like demon with seven eyes in its long mouth of sharp teeth appeared. It had six arms and hissed venomously at Jorgen. The fairies were all screaming, and Lapis and Aisling exchanged gapes. Jorgen was almost taken aback, but he gritted his teeth and blasted the creature's head with his King Wand. The demon exploded into smoke.
"Ha ha ha! You think something as feeble as that can defeat-" Jorgen said, before magic blasts came out through the smoke, doing no damage to his muscles. Jorgen waved the smoke away and smirked at Mavis. "Is that a Pony's Tail? Only the puniest wand out there, next to the Minish Acre Piece. Even you could not be foolish enough to challenge me with that wand, without a plan."
"You'd be surprised what I can do with it." Mavis flicked her wand every which way, her right hand (holding it) glowing with light, and monsters of many unique shapes and varieties materialized. They lunged at Jorgen, who destroyed them all in one fell swoop of his King Wand. Once the smoke cleared, ghostly skeleton soldiers with blue flames appeared. Jorgen SLAMMED his wand against the ground, forcing needle rocks to stab up under the soldiers and disperse them.
"I can feel the capacity of magical forces!" Jorgen declared. "Your monsters are nothing more than illusions composed of light particles. Even the SMOKE created from their destruction is not real! Puny human, I will show you what REAL MAGIC IS!" That row of rock needles sprouted up into fire spires.
"Incendio Leviosa!" Jorgen raised a brow when one of those spires began moving under Mavis's control. "Ventus Tria Incendio!" Mavis turned that spire into a fiery cyclone that blasted at Jorgen. The king swung his wand powerfully and turned it into steam. After blowing the steam away, Jorgen found himself surrounded by stone columns. "Try and find me, Strong Guy!"
"Your puny human illusions will never exhaust me!" Jorgen blasted his wand each direction to disperse those columns. "You will tire long before I do, and vhen you do, you will suffer a humiliating defeat!" He stomped around and dispersed each illusion.
Finally, he found Mavis hidden under a column. "Gotcha!" Her body FLASHED with Light Chi, shining like a mini sun.
"AAAAGH!" Jorgen was blinded, holding his left arm over his eyes while the right arm held the King Wand away. Mavis locked aim on it and "Expelliarmus!" blasted a spell that made Jorgen's fingers snap open and drop the wand.
The fairies gasped with utter astonishment as the light died away, and they saw Jorgen's wand fallen. The Fairy King glared at Mavis, who kept her wand aimed at him. Jorgen smirked, lighting his fingers with magic and blasting at Mavis. The girl evasively dodged and ran away, countering with forceful Blasting Spells. Jorgen withstood them all and kept shooting magic from his hands. "A duel is not over until a wizard falls! You may knock the King Wand out of my hand, but you will NEVER disarm me! My muscles are eternally strong! Look at me flex them!" He flexed his muscles. "Look at them flex their OWN muscles! They're so beautiful, they're laughing!"
A mini Jorgen head appeared on a muscle. "Ha! Ha ha ha!"
With my muscles
I will tussles
With those who make a hustles
Und make a present crisis
To my authority!
Jorgen punched magic blasts at Mavis as he sang. Mavis dodged left and right, shot counter spells at them, then projected a swarm of meteors that spun around the field, hiding herself from Jorgen.
With my knuckles
You will buckles
Like a chicken, you will clucksles
For I so do love the punchles
And I know that they love me! He kissed his fist.
You will learn to fear my mighty fiiiiist!
Jorgen punched the ground and caused several areas to rise to various heights. Mavis found herself on a lower foothold.
If my song won't help you get the giiiist
And though you fools might disagreeeee
Mavis climbed up taller footholds, and her meteors illusion faded away.
You will ALL answer to ME!
Mavis gasped when Jorgen appeared over her, dodging his fist and jumping across more platforms.
With this polka
I will choke-a
But first, this frappe mocha!
He held up a frappe mocha, his expression bright.
I was shocked when
I awoke-a
To little girls in my home.
With his free hand, Jorgen yanked out rock chunks and threw them at Mavis, who quickly shot Reducto Curses to explode them.
With my biceps
I must try-ceps
To see you are denied-ceps
The magic, we won't supply-ceps
If you want those aliens goan (gone).
Mavis channeled Light Chi to her wand, forming a long giant Light Whip that she lashed at Jorgen. It wrapped around his right arm, but he threw the arm back and made Mavis fly over. She lit her entire body to make Jorgen shut his eyes, then "Arms!" she shot a spell at her feet, strengthening them as she KICKED Jorgen in the face. The Fairy King fell back against a risen pillar, but he got up to face her again.
Oh, I love to draw the liiiine
And you morons make me all the tiiiime
For the rules are very cleeeeaaaar
I'll, make, sure, you, HEAR
"I don't think you heard ME!" Mavis slashed her wand like a sword, stretching a long light blade that sliced Jorgen in the waist. Mavis sang:
You have to LEND us the faaairiiieees!
"No! No! No!" Jorgen shook his head.
We must proootect our hoooome!
Leeeend uuuus the fairiiieees!
"No! No! No!"
Our battle must be woooon!
Jorgen used his magic to summon his King Wand back to him, aiming at Mavis as he sang.
Do you not understand?
Can you not comprehend
That our rule is the law.
We will not leave
No one can conceive
That fairies live among them.
Exposure of our clan
Will lead right to our fall.
"YOU'RE WRONG!" Mavis blasted huge Light Spheres from her wand mixed with Light Chi, and Jorgen batted a few away before one sphere hit him in the face. Jorgen fell back and looked up when Mavis approached him. "(And let's stop singing, it's too complicated.) Fine, maybe bad guys will try to steal your power, and maybe others will be afraid of your power… But those people need to understand you're trying to protect them. You have to put aside your fear of the enemy and defend the people in danger."
"My fear? Then answer me, Child." Jorgen helped himself up to full height. "Can you safely let everyone know YOUR power?" Jorgen slammed the ground with his King Wand, and fire spires sprouted everywhere. He commanded some fire to blast at Mavis, who swiftly dodged. "AAAAH!" she screamed when her back was scorched. Lapis and Aisling gasped when her long and beautiful hair burned away, along with the back of her dress. The chi-block on Mavis's back disintegrated.
Mavis fell on all fours and panted heavily, still clutching her Pony's Tail. …A black mist began to spin around her. She looked horrified when she noticed this. All of the fairy audience were murmuring, showing only fearful looks at the girl. Mavis couldn't bring herself to stand…
"Do you see? The fairies fear your Death Chi." Jorgen stated. "Und no one on Avalar vould welcome you if they knew. When great and dangerous power walks among them, there can be no peace OR rest. (Actually, your power would kind of bring that. But not in a good way!) You are forced to hide your power and hide yourself, und we fairies must do the same!"
Mavis clutched her wand firmly. "You're right… I am afraid to let others know of this power." She got to her feet. "Because I'm afraid of it. But I don't want to hide it from everyone, either. I don't want to use it by accident… but I don't think concealing it is healthy, either. That's why I vow to get control of this curse. I care too much about life to just take it away. That's why… I will never kill another person… for as long as I live."
Mavis shot her wand upward and "FULMEN!" blasted a bolt of lightning directly skyward. "Attractio!" It seemed the energy from the Fairy Sphere was being lured into the lightning. Mavis lit her arm with light, and the sphere's energy flowed down the beam and onto Mavis's wand. The beam disconnected as Mavis aimed her wand at Jorgen and readied to blast the powerful spell. She fired forth—the head of a giant scorpion staff smashed down and blocked the spell.
"Are you sure about that?" Viridi echoed, towering over the stadium. The Nature Goddess jumped, shrunk to normal size, and landed in with them. "Because that looks kinda dangerous."
"How did you get in here?!" Jorgen demanded.
"Aisling told me." Viridi smiled proudly. "We're telepathically connected, and I sensed her presence in this region. I knew she was in Fairy World." Aisling went down to stand by her goddess. Forces of Nature began to fly over the stadium. "But I suppose Mavis was right after all about its general location."
"Why did you come here?" Mavis asked.
"Because I knew you had Death Chi, and so did Aisling." Viridi said to her. "A dangerous power that Tanatos was never allowed to give people. Death should only be a natural cause… but your power isn't natural. And that Black Cloud is no different. I have every intention of destroying him…"
They watched as Viridi reached into her own plant-made body, and ripped out a bulbous fruit with a gold-pink shiny texture. "This is the God Fruit, which can heal all ailments and create an elixir that can stop death. It is created from the Life Chi that I and Aisling possess. If my prediction is correct… this fruit will kill you."
"What?!" Lapis gasped, having just run over. "What do you mean kill her?! Why?"
"I've sent soldiers in attempt to destroy the Black Cloud." Viridi explained. "No one could defeat him. He possessed Death Chi like no other. That's why I wondered if a great concentration of Life Chi was the answer. I wanted to produce the elixir and test it on the Black Cloud, but I was afraid what would happen if it failed. Now that I finally found another Death Chi user… I may have an answer."
"Hold on!" Lapis got in front of Mavis and reached her arms to either side, glaring at the goddess. "I won't let you risk Mavis like that!"
"Lapis, get away!" Mavis backed up worriedly, black mist still flowing around her. "I don't want you to…"
"If she was chi-blocked, it's strange how the Death Chi makes itself so visible now." Aisling noticed.
"Vait: I sense another force from her body." Jorgen said. "Part of that chi is… magic. The very magic that Black Cloud uses!"
Mavis gasped. "I…I remember his cloud touching me back in town, but I didn't die. I just thought the chi-block protected me…"
"The Black Cloud's power is magic, not chi."
"But the two often intermingle," Viridi said, scratching her chin, "so maybe there was a… confusion? Even I don't understand. Sigh, but it won't matter soon. I'm going to test my theory on Mavis."
"I told you I wouldn't let you!" Lapis told her firmly. "Not if you think it'll kill her!"
"Lapis, you want to defeat the Black Cloud, don't you?" Aisling asked.
"You can't possibly be okay with this, Aisling! Mavis is our friend, YOU'RE our friend, doesn't that mean anything?!"
"My only friend is Nature." Aisling raised both arms and pointed at Lapis. A swarm of Nutskis shot at her, Cacaws screeched and stunned them, then Dibble Dops propelled them in the air with water spouts. Lapis struggled to defend herself and fight them, but Aisling became a giant eagle and grabbed Mavis in her talons. "MAVIS!" Lapis cried.
Aisling dropped her beside Viridi and changed back. "If it makes you feel better, we'll return her if the experiment's a bust. Farewell." Viridi warped all three.
"MAVIIIS!" Lapis tried to stop them, but failed. She fell to her knees.
"Sigh… Good riddance." Jorgen said simply. "That was taking longer than it should have. Now to begin rounding up these creatures."
Lapis bit her teeth in anger and whipped around to face him. "Did you really just ignore everything she said?! Are you really that…that stupid?!"
"If Viridi's experiment proves correct, then her words would have held no meaning. She did not even vant you near her. Mavis will die because of her powers, but at least there will be a solution for the Black Cloud. The aliens, however, are of no concern to us, und you are still not welcome here. Now… BEGOOONE!" Jorgen zapped Lapis with his wand.
The Lunarian POOFED and found her feet on scorched ground. She was near Mavis's old house again, on the spot they had warped from last time. "…GrrrrrRRRRRRRR!" Her roared echoed. Lapis began panting. …With curiosity, she decided to enter Mavis's house. She located the child's old room with a small bed. There was a book of fairytales, which Lapis decided to open. She found the page on fairies. Furious, Lapis began to tear out each and every page. "Why, are, fairies, so, USELEEEEEESS!"
Viridi's Lair
Viridi brought Mavis and Aisling to her throne room after warping via Spirit World. She shot dust at Mavis's eyes from her staff and put her to sleep. "BIIII! Biiiiii!" Celebi yelled angrily.
"CAN IT, Celebi!" Viridi wrapped the Firstborn in vines from the walls and ceiling. "My experiment will commence! Aisling, the pot, please!"
Her clone scampered off to bring a cauldron that needed both arms to hold, setting it on the floor. Viridi set the God Fruit in the pot, then began piercing and squishing it into juice with the hilt of her staff. She outreached her right arm as three Xyloshrooms grew from it. "Good thing I collected these while we were in that forest." She put the musical mushrooms in the juice and began to mix them together. "The God Fruit and Music Chi can heal ailments. Mixed together, they make the Elixir of Life. Powerful enough to give a soul a new body. Now… to find out how it affects a deathbender." She was about to pick it up.
A white hand grabbed her left wrist. Viridi saw it was Aisling's (who else). The girl was facing the floor and gasping. "No… She is… my… friend…"
"Aisling, don't be silly." Viridi said with disbelief. "You can't be friends with a human. In the grand scheme, they're no different than those Irkens. They seek the destruction of worlds for their own gain. How can we possibly be friends with them?"
"Because… she…" Aisling looked up with wide, forced-open eyes. "She's my… Fairy Sister!…"
"BIII!" Celebi escaped her vines and shoved Viridi away from the pot. The Nature Goddess growled at them both. "Aisling, stop playing around! Hold down Celebi so I can give Mavis the potion!"
"I…I don't… I won't!…" Aisling began trembling, trying to maintain control of herself. "I… My name… who… am I… What… am I…"
"Kells." Mavis spoke weakly. They looked to see her barely awake. "Your name… is… Aisling Kells…"
Viridi stretched her right arm into vines and whipped Aisling and Celebi away. "I'm through playing games!" She marched over to pick up the cauldron. "Mavis, get ready to open…?" She heard a little slithering sound and looked to see a snake crawl into her throne room. "Hm. A snake. What an odd surprise. …Wait a minute…"
The snake leapt and stretched huge dark-green arms to grab the pot and pull it over. The snake's body puffed, grew more dimensions, and became a very fat being with dark-green cracking skin, smiling blue lips, red eyes with cross-shaped pupils, wore triangle sandals, and had black branches, burning with ghostly white-blue flames, coming from the many scarves around his neck. "My, what a scrumptious-looking brew we have here!" The genie-like being took a whiff of the potion, his eyes wiggling. "Yuck, but it smells so ghastly!"
"TANATOS!" Viridi aimed her staff. "What are you doing here?!"
"Let's just say I'm concocting a little experiment myself! This tasty elixir is sure to come in useful. Good thing I tracked Mavis's Death Chi here; it's stronger than it used to be. Au revoir, Lady Viridi!" Tanatos disappeared through a gap.
"NO!" Viridi swung her staff, but missed him. "Darn it… What could Tanatos want with my elixir?! Celebi, Aisling, stay here. I'm going back to Arlon." Viridi warped herself.
Aisling looked down at Mavis, who was still groggily waking up. "Are you okay… Mavis?"
"Yeah… I'll be fine. Aisling… we have to get back to Avalar."
"Celebi… can you do something?" Aisling asked her.
The Firstborn closed her eyes. "Biiiii…" She shone with a bright, greenish-blue light that lit the entire wooden base. Mavis and Aisling gazed transfixed on the light, wondering what was happening.
The Biggest
"I can't BELIEVE we LOST that thing!" Tallest Dirk roared with incredible anger. "How the hell could it be possible to lose a freaking MOON?!"
"Hmph." Yellow Diamond huffed. "You know, maybe your supernatural sensors aren't all they're cracked up to be."
"Or maybe we wasted TIME in looking for some fantasy land! Listen: we're going to drop you in the first location on the planet we find, and YOU'RE going to extinguish all residents so we can set up your crappy drills, because if you don't, our alliance is OVER!"
"My, my, a bit of an over-reaction, I'd say."
They all whipped toward the room's entrance: Medusa, Zeref, and Zeira stood there. "IT'S THAT GUY AGAIN! FIRE!" The Irkens all let loose on the wizard. Zeref withstood the lasers and felt no pain.
"STOP THAT!" Medusa got between them.
Zeref and Yellow Diamond were glaring spitefully at each other. "Why did you bring me here?" Zeref asked. "Weren't you going to help me destroy her?"
"I won't need any help destroying you." Yellow Diamond drew her sword and pointed it. "I'll defeat you this time!"
"Fellas, fellas!" Medusa gestured with her hands to 'calm down.' "All this fighting is pointless. True, I did intend to help Zeref destroy this woman, but on further inspection, I think some collaboration can be arranged! Yellow Diamond…" She faced the Gem. "You seek perfection and order, and an army that will not fail you. Don't you?"
"How would you know?"
"I have my sources. And Zeref…" She faced the dark mage. "You wish to rid all evils, and live in a world where your curse need not be a problem. I think both of you can attain the same goal…"
"What are you saying?" Zeref glared.
"Well, it's simple: Zeref is currently working on a means to create the unbeatable army. Far greater than the polymorphic rocks could hope to be: the Grand Inferius. Using the sources my cohorts and I have collected, we will create an army of undead so strong, they cannot be laid to rest! The ingredients we were going to use are… Fire Chi from Solaris's Eternal Flame, an army of shadows which Pandora has in her box, Viridi's famous Elixir of Life… all we're really missing is a vast quantity of magic energy. I'm sure your Gems will suffice, Lady Diamond."
"You want to take the power from MY Gems?!"
"We shouldn't need ALL of them, I mean Zeref's magic is plenty already. Besides, you can always harvest more. If our Army of Inferi comes into fruition, we will conquer thousands of planets, and MORE ground can be sapped for its energy! Please, Yellow Diamond… aid us in our project, and I promise, you will have everything you want…" Medusa smirked at the alien and made a wink.
Yellow Diamond looked away in thought. Could this woman perhaps know who she is? Judging by how much she knew of her already… maybe this woman wanted to help Diamond return home, too. Whatever the reason… she supposed she could make use of the defective Gems. "All right."
"Excellent, Diamond. Join us, and we will conduct our experiment on the planet's surface." Medusa's group walked away.
"Hey-Hey!" Tallest Dirk yelled when Diamond followed them. "You're actually going with THEM now?!"
"It's not like I'm getting far with you. Take it easy, Juice Body, I just wanna see how this works out."
As Medusa's trio was walking down a hall, Pandora's small flame appeared and slithered beside them. "Okay, I brought my box to our meeting point. Is everything good up here?"
"It is, Dora. Now we must wait for Tanatos. You know, Zeref, you surprised me. I wouldn't have guessed Zeira was one of your minions." Medusa said.
"She is not. Those who read my books are slowly put under my hypnosis."
"So you told her to fight me just to break my body and lure Solaris?!" Pandora shouted.
"She was acting of her own free will when she fought you. But it did work in our favor in the end."
"Yeah, she broke my spiritual form, that TOTALLY works in my favor! Do you know how hard it is to reconstitute your particles?!"
"Relax, Dora, I'll fix your body." Medusa told her. "But now that the gods are on to us, we can't fool around. We need to conduct this experiment quick."
Star Haven
Celebi, Mavis, and Aisling appeared out of a bright green-blue portal. They were set on the blue, sparkly grass of Star Haven. Millions of stars twinkled in the forever night sky, and the River of Dreams was like a liquid mirror. "Celebi… you brought us… to Star Haven?" Aisling spoke with awe.
"Bi…" Celebi corrected.
Aisling gasped. "We're in Star Haven… precisely two million years in the past?!"
"BIII!" Celebi nodded.
"Two million years in the past?!" Mavis exclaimed. "But…But why? Why take us here?"
"Bi…" Celebi fluttered to Star Sanctuary. Mavis and Aisling exchanged gaping expressions and followed her.
The Fountain of Dreams was full of pure life and energy. The Seven Star Spirits sat around each of their pedestals, facing the Star Rod in the center. The purple rock that contained Jirachi would soon be open. They gasped when someone flew into their home. "Firstborn Celebi?" Eldstar spoke.
Mavis, a girl with short burned hair and a burned dress, and Aisling, a girl of ghostly white tones, walked in and viewed around. "Humans?!" Mamar gasped.
"What are they doing here?" Skolar asked.
"Celebi, what's going on?" Mavis asked.
"Bi… biii…" Celebi pointed at the purple rock.
"The Firstborn Jirachi is about to wake up from his hundred-year slumber?" Aisling repeated.
"Jirachi the Wishmaker… really?" Mavis spoke.
"Bi…"
"And Jirachi will give us… one wish…" Aisling said.
"One… wish?…" Mavis couldn't believe it.
"Hold on, now!" Skolar yelled. "You can't just bring two humans in our home and tell them that!"
"Now, now." Klevar said. "I'm not sensing any evil feelings from them. If the one wish is too drastic, we can always fix it."
Mavis walked up the stairs and soaked her feet in the fountain's magical water. All of the aching pain she felt in her tired soles went away. Jirachi's rock glowed, and the shadow of the star-headed Firstborn was seen. Mavis reached up and clutched the Star Rod in her left hand. Her right hand still held her Pony's Tail. "Jirachi… will you grant me a wish?"
The rock was fading. Jirachi's sleeping form was visible, albeit wrapped up in his golden cape. "Wish…" His young voice echoed.
Mavis closed her eyes. She focused on her wish… she burned the words into her mind… she wished it with all her heart… She thought of no one or nothing else and focused solely on this wish, wanting with all her heart for it to come true.
Aisling couldn't look away… Jirachi, the god who could grant any wish… Mavis could wish for anything. Would she wish that the aliens would leave her planet? Would she wish for the Black Cloud's defeat? Would she wish to be rid of her Death Chi? What would Mavis wish… Mavis, the girl with so much spirit, knowledge, and imagination… what is her heart's desire?
"…I…I wish…" Mavis opened her eyes and smiled, "that I was a fairy!"