Chereads / Nextgen Kids: Legend of the Nine Newborn / Chapter 135 - God Killing, Part 8: Kill Deathstroke

Chapter 135 - God Killing, Part 8: Kill Deathstroke

Play "Electro Showdown (both parts)" from Amazing Spider-Man!

Slade dodged Fybi's first arrow, flicking a barrage of Finger Pistols. Fybi simply flew further back, but Slade remotely controlled his ship to pursue. With swings of the legs, Fybi stirred currents of air and "kicked" Slade with gusts. Once close, Slade Shaved behind her, and when she retreated, his Shaves allowed him to catch up. Fybi spun a ball of hot air and kicked it at Slade's head right as he appeared. The assassin gagged on the heat, but maintained his altitude and slashed Tempests at the Nimbi. She simply flowed with the wind displaced by his cuts and evaded, but Slade changed position above her and used Finger Pistols. Fybi thought she tanked some hits… but didn't quite feel the pain. "!" Slade's Humming Bird illusion deceived her, allowing him to Shave behind and PUNCH her with an electrified fist. Fybi fell a far distance, but Skaios flew underneath to catch her. He quickly took her far away when Slade tried to attack.

"Aren't you gonna help, little godling?!" Slade boarded his ship and flew after them. Fybi recovered and bent a cloud together, striking several bolts, but Slade endured them. He caught a bolt on his fingers and redirected it back.

Skaios tanked the shock. "I ain't supposed to hurt mortals no more!"

"Then just let me kill you!" Slade's next Tempest was imbued with his red electricity, Fybi dodging above it and shooting a charged arrow. Slade endured and leapt at her, Fybi dodging to shoot—she hit an afterimage, but when Slade tried to kick her from behind, she evaded and reactively shot his good eye. However, Slade used Life Return to retract the eye into his head, negating worse damage. "Dealing with Regigigas' electric robot left a good impression on me!" With his power channeled to his fingers, Slade flicked faster Pistols that appeared as mini bolts. Fybi flew farther away—BAM, Slade Shaved beside her and used Gun Snap immediately, startling Fybi. She was grabbed and, "AAAAHH!" electrocuted in Slade's grasp.

"HYAH!" Phosphora kicked down at Slade's arm, but Slade maintained his grasp and grabbed the Birkan's leg. Slade threw both girls downward, with Skaios struggling to grab and hold either of them in one tiny hand.

"Damn! Fybi!" Maddy cursed, hands linked with Lucci's lion claws. Behind them, Zach and Wade were locked in a gag of juggling chess-playing elephants.

"Your airbending is good, but your heart too soft!" Slade yelled. "We're from two different worlds, child! I'd sooner have that Murphy or Cherry boy for a fight."

"Sorry, pal, I'm a ladies' man!" Cheren's Haki was sharpened on Akame, tracking her swift motions and blocking her sword when ready.

"I know, you should see his phone book." Viridi remarked.

"You only wish you were in it!"

"By the way, who is this Michelle?" Slade asked. "And why would I want to target her?"

"That needst not concern thee!" Fybi affirmed. "Thou art stronger than I anticipated… so, mayhaps we shalt end this swiftly. Skaios?"

"Aye-aye!" Skaios tossed Fybi his Spirit Ball.

"What?!" Slade gasped.

"Ha ha!" Fybi threw it back and hit Skaios. The god burst into air and was sucked inside.

Fybi captured a NEWBORN! He'll just take whoever's convenient!

"You mean you… are that thing's Guardian?"

Fybi popped it open, freeing Skaios. "Ay'm me own Guardian, matey! Ay get to choose whoever I want! But if Ay give me power to anyone, best be an airbender!" Skaios glow and channeled a flow of chi onto Fybi.

Fybi pulled her B.O.W., but the light arrow became the core of a giant wind arrow, ascending to Slade's level. "I canst focus this much chi with only my mind… 'Tis marvelous what a Firstborn can do for thee." The arrow loosed, but Slade's Paper Art evaded as he blew about wildly, only for Fybi to continuously blow him around in a furious gust. Slade regained weight and rapidly Shaved around, but Fybi's enhanced perception of the air allowed him to track his lightspeed motions and Air Punch him at nearly every opening. Slade maneuvered back to his ship and fired missiles from it, Fybi blowing them off course… but these missiles were illusions caused by Slade's Humming Bird. "OI, BEHIND US!" Skaios screamed—Slade thrusted his One-Punch Gauntlet at the Sky God, who felt a compact displaced air as he evaded.

He and Fybi retreated far back to regain focus, and as Slade pursued, she spun a wide and fast tornado into being. Slade imbued the gauntlet with Haki, and each punch displaced the air and allowed him to fly into the tornado. Fybi felt there would be no use in electrifying Slade, so she willed the spinning air to freeze instead. Turning the twister into a blizzard, frostbite formed on Slade, so he emitted electricity to keep his cells active. Fybi flew backward and kept the air chilled as Slade Shaved at lightning speed. Slade tried to used Humming Bird, but the force of Fybi's air dispersed the soundwaves, merely causing the illusions to fizzle out. Fybi pulled more light arrows with giant Wind Arrows quickly forming around them, loosing them at Slade. The jaeger evaded and managed to hit Fybi with a few Electro Pistols, but she had actually willed her arrows to make a roundabout in a rather wide arch, striking Slade in the back and sides. Knocking him off kilter, she bravely swung a direct kick at his face, sending him flying thanks to the wind giving her a boost.

Killua and Morgiana used aerial teamwork in their bout with Sephiroth. Since she had fought him alongside Nagisa before, she used the same strategy, with Killua's Iron Body serving as a shield against his sword, as well as a club for Morg to bash him with. The only reason they could stay afloat was because of Diwata interfering with his gravitybending, while also lightening the gravity of this zone. Even more annoying were Sector RZ piloting one-man crafts and shooting from a fair distance. "Part of me thinks this is overkill," Shino commented, "but he doesn't look like someone you can take chances with. What's his Power Level, anyway?"

Goombella, on the backseat of her craft, had a dumbstruck pale face. "It's about 20,000."

"Okay… is that high or low?"

"TWENTY THOUSAND?!" Killua exclaimed. "That's practically Yonko level!"

"We're fighting an Emperor-level guy?!" Lulu Whitby panicked.

"That sounds flattering." Sephiroth smirked, slashing an airwave to cut the left wing of Lulu's craft. "Pardon me, Lunarian girl, but you seem to stand out amongst these humans. That must mean you're the Moonborn's Guardian, aren't you?"

"Or maybe I'm a DIFFERENT Lunarian!"

"Sure." Sephiroth swung a cut at her, but Dee dodged back while Morg lunged into him, with Killua quickly pulling her off with yo-yos. "I get the impression something happened to him, after Cresselia's last breath."

"Don't tell me you're the one that killed her?!" Lee exclaimed.

"I assume you only knew that because the Firstborn sensed it."

"Yeah, well shut up!" Diwata trapped Sephiroth in a Moon Mirror, crystal-shaped prison, but it quickly crumbled as he increased gravity around himself.

Fybi mixed warm and cold air to form mirages of herself; all different shapes and sizes. Arrows flew at him from no clear direction, making wide swerves before homing on Slade. The jaeger punched the air to disperse the arrows. He closed his eye and used Observation to sense out the source of the mass of chi: Fybi was disguised by a mirage of herself as a baby. Slade punched the air as his gauntlet sent a shockwave, landing a direct hit to Fybi as she flew backward. Skaios pushed her from behind to slow her flight, but with the Nimbi, Slade Shaved up for the next onslaught of Electro Pistols. Skaios helped Fybi evade until she fully recovered, conjuring a cluster of tornadoes to blow him around wildly. If she had taken a direct hit from the gauntlet, it may've KO'ed her, but the shockwave let her retain consciousness.

Below, Maddy was using a similar technique, punching shockwaves of air at Lucci, but they were sliced by his Tempest Claws. Rupert and Mujika had left her body during a safe period, resized to Minish level as Wing Pikmin carried them. "You know, couldn't you just shrink the assassins, Mujika?" Rupert asked.

"My shrink power isn't as strong without the Vidas to transmit it. If I try to shrink someone in the middle of battle, or even people who see me as a threat, their cells bend up a layer of chi to push me back. I am a Light Spirit at heart, so I don't do well with hostility."

"Ugh, always with the power balancing."

"Hey, Rupert! Who's that lady?" Mujika pointed.

Phosphora, her Lightning Scarf finally run dry, was left panting on the ground, only able to watch Fybi's battle. Synthia resized Rupert so he could ask, "Excuse me, Miss?"

"Hu-!" Phos jumped with a start. "Hey, don't sneak up on me! Are you one of the ops?"

"Yeah, but I kinda just got here. Who are you?"

"I'm one of Viridi's friends. I was trying to fight that guy, but my bending's dried up."

"Dried up?"

"I sort of have broken chi paths, so I was using something to support them, but it's gone now."

"You just said the magic words~"

"Uh…huh?"

"It's sad that you KND have to rely on the power of gods to win." Slade said. "And the fact that only you lot are chosen as Guardians just PROVES how biased they are!"

"Say what thou wilt, but some of these gods art our dearest friends! We hath no qualms asking them for help should we need it!"

"We'll see how well their help compares to science!" Slade withdrew a syringe and injected himself. "AAAAAAHHH!" Red lightning coursed through his veins as it furiously surged around him. Slade zipped around with greater speed, Fybi dodging his punches, but suffering an electric kick. Slade flew to punch his gauntlet, but Skaios blew them both to safety. "This is Awakening Serum 'procured' by the Big Mom Pirates! Now, let's try it out!" He channeled a red sphere in his hands and threw it to the sky. It exploded into the Zap-Zap Storm, homing and striking all the operatives.

"OW! FYBI, STOP HIM!" Goombella shouted. "If he snaps his fingers, we'll all be electrified!"

"Skaios, 'tis time to stop holding back!" Fybi entered Storm Master Fury, her puffy frizzy hair becoming a thundercloud as lightning flared around herself. She moved with speed to match Slade, chasing and striking before he would get a change to snap his fingers. Slade lunged with his gauntlet, but Fybi formed a compact Air Ball to impact it, then she shoved a Hot Air Ball into his lungs. Slade backed away and conjured another sphere.

"Normally, I can only use Zap-Zap Storm once a day, but it seems I get a few more shots in! This one's coming right for you!" Slade fired the ball, but Skaios got in the way. He took of his bandanna and absorbed the ball into his cloud head. "So, that's what you look like under there."

Fybi flew over Skaios while bending his cloud up in an arch, squirting the red lightning straight back. Slade caught it on his palms and sent it back in jolts, Fybi dodging her way to him. A sudden displacement of air temperature split herself into mirages, Slade using Haki to snip the real one, but Fybi merely caught his lightning on a cloud to squirt it back, singing his left eye. Slade was now blind in both, solely relying on Haki to zip around and zap Fybi wherever he could. He was able to stun her in place, but Skaios pushed her away—Slade Shaved to intercept them, but an instinctive air gust pushed his arm off course, leaving enough time for Skaios to redirect. "Did you forget?!" Slade snapped his fingers, electrifying all the operatives.

Cheren, sensing this, kicked Akame's leg just in time so she could share the pain. Lucci was able to strike Maddy with his Six King Gun, a beam of chi that seemingly punctured her. Zach transformed into a neon convertible, which Deadpool drove away to hook up with his armadillo friends. Sephiroth cut down Lee and Denny's ships, but couldn't make it to Diwata before the effect wore off.

This was because Slade was struck by lightning from an extra foe. "Phosphora!" Fybi gasped. Her Birkan friend was sporting a new pair of lightning wings. "Thou hast regained thine bending?!"

"Help can come from unexpected places." Phosphora glanced back at her spine. The origin point of her wings was where Team Rupert entered.

"These chi paths are in a lot worse shape than Maddy's was!" Synthia yelled. "Be careful, Miss! We haven't fully fixed them!"

"Phosphora, mayhaps thou canst absorb the lightning from our friends! Once thou hast, we shalt truly test this man's limits!"

"You got it!" Phosphora flew to meet with every operative. In the midst of their fights, she was able to touch them long enough to draw out Slade's electricity.

"And now!" Fybi formed a series of wind-made shurikens with storm cloud cores. "RASEN SHURIKENS!" Despite Slade's evasions, she guided them to strike and spin Slade into a frenzy.

"Crap!" Deadpool gasped. "The author got back into Naruto! It makes sense since Naruto wrote Fybi's Poneglyph!"

The jaeger used Tempest Shurikens imbued with electric to counter her, but Fybi displaced the air and directed the electric into Skaios' cloud. The Sky God, meanwhile, formed a growing storm cloud so that Fybi could direct strong bolts. Slade caught and struck some back, but Skaios caught them back on his cloud. Once Phosphora finished, the Birkan returned with a red sphere in her hands. She threw Slade's Zap-Zap Storm right back at him, but Slade caught and threw it right back. Skaios ate the storm right up and flew to merge his head with the growing storm cloud. Slade tried to Shave away, but Fybi forced him to return with a powerful gust, and Skaios simply flew to catch up. Lightning struck down at Phosphora, who caught and guided it back to Slade. Slade channeled the lightning himself, but Fybi willed more bolts to link the jaeger like a lightning rod.

"MMMM-B-B-B-B-B-B-B…" All of Slade's chi paths were kicked into high gear, but the endless array of lightning jittered him from the inside. "N-N-N-N-N-N-N-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G…" Memories of the Teen Titans flashed through him. Forcing Robin to be his apprentice, manipulating Terra, and making a deal with Trigon. "B-B-B-B-B-L-L-L-L-L…" He could almost see the shadow of Batman, awaiting him in the Underworld. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

His armor filled with red ruptures, growing and brightening like an overcharged battery. And, in a fantastic flash, Slade exploded. The discharged electricity made everyone's hair stand. "BRO!!!" Wade screamed.

"SLADE!" Akame gasped.

"Growl…" Reaching his limit, Lucci snarled at Maddy.

The One-Punch Gauntlet dropped on the ground. Pieces of Slade's armor rained everywhere, with his charred, one-eyed mask making a solid landing. "Hah…hah…" Fybi panted. "Now… who shalt be…?!" (End song.)

Her Fury suddenly disabling, an immense rush of fatigue swept over her. "Fybi!" Phosphora caught her.

"Uh-oh!" Skaios gasped. "I-I didn't hurt her, did I?"

"Did she overexert herself, too?" Rupert wondered.

"Firstborn Guardians can channel and maintain higher levels of chi with their partner." Viridi explained. "But if Skaios is able to make anyone his Guardian, that doesn't mean they can handle the aftershock like a true Guardian could."

"I guess that's the price of using him." Cheren swiftly directed his shield and sword to block Akame's blade. "But they were both the same element, so she couldn't be hurt too bad—hey!" Akame turned into a spider, Shaving as Cheren tried to step on her. Akame made it into Cheren's pants and bit his leg, channeling immense pain. He desperately kicked the spot where she was, but the spider lasted a while before climbing up higher. Akame zipped out of the top and onto Cheren's sword hand, the boy bashing it with his Mirror Shield. The act knocked his sword to the ground, but Akame changed back and retreated. Cheren chased, but Chase Young Apparated, grabbed her, and warped. "What?!"

Chase then Apparated beside the gauntlet. Before anyone else could question his arrival, Chase warped right up to Skaios and PUNCHED the Freeborn, sending him flying. "At least we'll get something out of this endeavor!" Sephiroth abandoned his fight and dove downward, grabbing the unconscious Skaios.

"HEY!" Cheren shouted. "YOU COWARDS!"

"We'll let your precious goddess live for now." Lucci hissed at Maddy, backing towards Chase before he Disapparated.

"Are you just gonna run away?!"

"You aren't leaving until you tell me where Nagisa is!" Morgiana followed.

"That's confidential." Chase smirked, warping to Sephiroth. "He's following his heart and helping us in our cause. As his friends, you should support him."

"Bullcrap!" Killua shouted. "I know you brainwashed him!"

"What's brainwashing but persuading one of your ideals?" Chase warped Sephiroth back home before returning for Deadpool. "But ask yourselves, Kids Next Door… do you think it wise to protect that heathen goddess and the renegade Sky God? The universe still fears them, and soon, they'll fear you." And they were gone.

"Looks like you guys are already fearing us." Maddy remarked, cracking her neck to relieve the tension. "And that's fine by me. Right, Zach? …Zach?"

The area where Zach had been had turned into a dark, dingy alley. Zach lit a candycane cigar and huffed it. "He beat me… and I lost."

"Huh? You mean Deadpool actually beat you?"

"It's hard to believe, I know… but in the end, he was the better paper plane pilot. And I'm just Zach the Laundry Mat Wrecker." He turned toward a giant paper plane crashed into said facility.

"I'm truly sorry for you, Zach."

Viridi and Cheren traveled out to the field, the goddess looking mournfully over her fallen servant's body. "He lived a good, long life. I suppose he can still technically serve me as a spirit… or should I let him be at peace? It'll depend on him in the end."

"You better send a message to his daughter." Phosphora suggested.

"I plan to. But first… I must thank you. I never expected the kids who once killed me to come to my rescue."

"It's not like we were really concerned for you." Cheren replied. "We just took this chance to stop them. And they might come back for you eventually, so maybe we'll use you as bait."

"Worry about the others first. I'm retreating to Spirit World. But, I'd like to give you something as a reward." Part of Viridi's hip molded and opened like vines. A tipped shard rose out.

Cheren carefully took it, and the bottom seemed like it had been cut off. The shard had a neon, wavy texture. "What's…"

"The other shards belong to other gods. Perhaps if you save them, they'll reward you! Thanks again, KND. Make sure you give those assassins the hack." And with that, she Ascended.

"Hm…" The shard felt familiar to Cheren. "…Huh?" When he glanced at his Master Sword, he noticed the yellow gem missing from the hilt.

CP0's Hideout

Lucci didn't want Maddy to see him in such fatigue. After their brief scuffle at the arena, he was content in thinking he'd outpaced her… but she caught right back up. Even when she was electrified by Slade and forced to suffer the Six King Gun, she had plenty stamina to spare. Just how strong was that K. Rool? Lucci had only developed Gold Haki after learning the Animal King invented it on the news. But Maddy faced him directly, and now the fruit was bearing. "…But her chi paths were ruined, I'm sure of it. So, how did she get better? The same with that Birkan… I could almost sense a small, but powerful force."

"Rambling much, Lucci?" Deadpool asked. His body was reforming into a baby stroller, still in the mindset of his Fantasy-Fu.

Skaios had been trapped in a black casket with chains and Japanese seals. "At least we've secured another one." Sephiroth said. "This one is especially dangerous."

"And it proves just how threatening they are." Akame glared. "The gods and their favoritism. Once that weapon is ready… he'll be the first one we slay." The red-eyed swordswoman presented a yellow gem in her hand.

"I guess it was convenient that boy showed up." Chase smirked. "Does that mean we're not relying on him to collect them, anymore?"

"After that performance, it's clear they have no intention of destroying the Newborn. Their sources of power. I didn't have time to check whether the trident was on him or not, but we have to take building it into our own hands."

"Fortunately, I already had our new apprentice on that case. He should be retrieving the next part about now."

"Good. Hopefully, we'll get to avenge Slade soon."

"He was a good partner. A good man." Chase looked into his drink somberly. "We both had our problems with certain 'students' of ours, so I felt a special bond with him. Although… there is a chance we could see him again."

"After we take care of our other targets." Shadow reminded. "Our next assignment begins in an hour."

"Agreed…" Lucci glared at the table in frustration. "Do it right."

Jackson Household

No one was home and even the treehouse was vacant. Sneaking into the house of Kyogre's children was easy. The first room Nagisa searched was Eva's. Inside the walk-in closet, several boxes of junk were stacked. Nagisa had to pick open a couple before he found one sealed with two combination locks. Nagisa put his ear to them and listened for the clicks. The left lock's combo was 0412. The right one was 1024. He wondered if these were Melody and Danny's birthdays or something? That would be the typical guess.

The case opened and inside lay the Phantom Sword. It had a gold hourglass emblem in its hilt… but there was a blue teardrop gem at the base of the blade. Nagisa went to the kitchen and got a thin knife, using it to pick out the teardrop. It popped out of the blade, Nagisa clasping and stashing it in his pocket. With that, he resealed the blade and set all the caskets back to how they were. Nagisa left out the back door and snuck his way through the neighborhood. He called, "Master Young, I've retrieved the-"

A force crushed him just as he crossed someone's yard. "What were you doing in Melody's house?" a croaky voice asked. It belonged to Tsuyu Asui, the frog-faced girl crouched in the posture of said animal.

Nagisa punched up at her face and pushed up to force her off, but Tsu wrapped her tongue around him. Nagisa was able to Tempest Kick, Tsu dodging the first one and releasing Nagisa when he tried to hit the tongue. He pulled a gun and shot Antikill bullets, Tsu dodging and spitting mucus globs.

"HEY, you're ruining my yard!" the owner of the house yelled. Getting an idea, Nagisa grabbed a discarded shovel and threw it at her, so Tsu reactively shot her tongue to stop it. This allowed Nagisa to jump his way across the roofs.

Tsu hopped after him, calling, "You're Nagisa! Were you looking for Manaphy?! Were you the one who told Killua where we were?!"

"I wasn't involved in that!" he yelled back. "And I don't want to kill the Firstborn. The Newborn are the ones who should die!"

"Then why were you in her house?!"

"Just gettin' something. Something that'll help me put an end to the Newborn. Even you should agree they're a menace. Remember what Hoopa did? Remember how his ring erased Deku's Quirk?"

"BLEH!" Tsu was able to snipe him in her tongue, pull back, and drop as she slammed him to the ground. "Even if I do agree, that isn't the problem." She spoke as best she could in this position. "What about your sectormates? How do they feel about this? When Deku returned from that mission, he said you were really fun people. He said you guys always had each other's backs, especially you and Morgiana. I'm sure you have strong reasons for doing this, but-"

"They don't understand. It's because of Index and Hoopa that they don't have it in them. They're afraid to take initiative. Just because the Newborn SEEM friendly, they aren't any less of a threat. Or were just about to lecture me on friendship? Tell me I should trust them, I shouldn't have left? Big talk from someone who left HER team."

"Th-that's not…I-"

Tsu's tongue loosened, allowing Nagisa to zip out. "You had your reasons for leaving U.A., and I have mine for doing this. I'm saving the KND this way. Whether they get it or not."

"Fine words, Nagisa." Tsu leapt with a start when Chase Apparated. "But now that you've let this girl see you, I'll have to kill her."

Tsu gulped. Chase Shaved behind her and- BAM, Tsu's mind assumed the worst when the gunshot went off. The froggy fainted, eyes awash in fear. "…Just kidding." Chase smiled wryly. "By now, you've alerted too many citizens with your roof-hopping. Let's go, Nagisa." He touched the blue-haired boy and warped them.

Moonbase

Sector Q paid a visit to the cafeteria for some lunch time. After learning an assassin had attacked Midna and Dillon, they didn't feel safe returning to Quahog. Having two Firstborn in the same town was a massacre waiting to happen. Since Boly didn't need to eat, she was left to wander the lunch room, with Eddy eying her for safety. Boly's digital eyes fell to Anthony and Diancie having their own snack. The curious robot walked to the siblings and greeted, "Salutations!"

Anthony and Diancie cocked a brow. Though it was hard to tell with Diancie's soot-covered frame, this robot looked similar to the former's appearance. "Are you some kinda new robot?"

"I'm Boly! The Digi Newborn! Your energy signature gave off one not unlike my own, so I conjecture you're a Firstborn!"

"Oh, you were the one from that crazy videogame, weren't you?"

"Hi, Boly!" Diancie greeted, bouncing off the table and up to her. "Whoa!" She stumbled.

"Are you okay?" Boly propped her up. "You seem unwell. I detect immense temperatures inside you."

"I'm fine, I just… jumped into a volcano."

"Awww, look." Miko cooed. "She's making friends with the Rock Firstborn!"

"They do look alike." Quill commented. "It's like she's Boly's little sister." Boly was 3'3" tall while Diancie was 2'4".

"So, you're like a robot spirit, huh?" Diancie asked. "Just like Regigigas!"

"Regigigas… was the Earth God, correct? If you're also an Earth God, would that make you a robot also?"

"No, but that would be neat though! Hehehe! Are you busy today? Wanna go play something?"

"I will have to confirm with my teammates. But that would be delightful!"

"Great! What should we…?" Diancie felt a vibration in the base's metal.

"Something troubles you?"

"Anthony! They're back! Fybi and the others came back!"

"Alright, let's go see 'em!" Anthony grabbed his sister and raced to the hangar.

Fybi was extremely lightweight for someone as strong as Maddy. It was no burden at all to carry her. "Is Haruka still at GKND?"

"Last I checked." Cheren replied. "I wonder if Tani is still around. She should probably know what happened. Are you alright, Lulu?"

"As good as I can be." Lulu assured. Her ankle had been twisted after her ship crashed, so Denny was supporting her. "You know, Sector GT has a doctor. I'm sure he can fix me up!"

"You just want an excuse to visit Uzu?" Denny remarked.

"Hey, dude likes my pancakes! And I have an excuse to cook 'em extra-large!"

"Fybiiiii!" Anthony jogged into the hangar. His face fell seeing her condition. "Did she… get hurt?"

"Fybi used Skaios' power and destroyed one of the assassins." Rupert replied. "Her chi paths kinda got torn up, but on the way here, we got them patched!"

"She's still pretty injured. We're not sure how long she'll be out." Maddy replied. "It's a shame you missed it though. She was great!"

"Well, of course she is! No one rules the sky like Fybi!"

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Fybi!" Diancie cried. "I'm proud to have you as my big sister-in-law!"

"Yeah! W-wait, we aren't married, yet!"

"At least you're planning to." Cheren joked.

"Y-yeah, well… so do you!"

"Oh, grow up, Anthony." Diancie snickered.

Her unconscious ears resonating with their bickering, Fybi smiled in her sleep.

GKND

Haruka studied the sample of pink blood she had extracted from Kaito. "I've never seen a condition like this… but it sort of looks like Space Chi. I wonder if Nebula or Jerome would know anything? I should ask, but…" Nebula was still a little moody. Especially in regards to the patient in question.

Kaito had only grown bored in his cell at this point. He was given some tissues to wipe his blood in case he underwent any coughing fits… but he doubted that girl could do anything about his sickness. "You only get a minute." He heard a guard say. "And you better not try anything."

"Sheesh, have a little faith in me!" a familiar, childish voice sang. A dark-purple-haired boy in a white straightjacket-like outfit and checkered neckerchief. "Hey heeeey, Kai-man! Didn't expect to see you here! You break into another space facility?"

"Kokichi?! That's right, you rejoined them… Are you here to get me outta here?"

"Sorry, can't do that. We're in the middle of a crisis, and you kind of murdered an innocent Sky God."

"I DIDN'T DO IT! I don't know who… Hey, listen." He spoke in a lower tone. "Are you gonna help our classmates? You know, with… this?"

"Hah! No way, man. My loyalty's to the KND. Especially since we're becoming the most powerful force in the known universe. My dream may yet be realized!"

"But you're still one of us, aren't you?"

"Kaito, I joined, like, three other factions after ditching school, you expect me to keep track of all that?"

"Okay, your minute's up!" the guard yelled. "Move out, Dice Boy."

"Take care, Kaito, I'll kiss Maki for ya!" Kokichi sported a joyful wave and left.

"K-Kokichi!"

The gambler tossed a few die up in his hands on his way up the stairs. "Although… I guess I could help them get halfway. That'll be fun to watch. I've never been good at group projects, anyway~"