Chapter 34 – Highnoon at Sigma Dolores

Becca woke up, her face splashed with water. She saw numerous ampweave threads tied around her arms and chest, holding her to a chair. She gurgled, staring at the blackness of her surroundings before a familiar face emerged. "Megumi, where am I?"

 

She gasped, noticing her limbs were bound together. Jack was lounging on series of haystacks, looking at her upside down.

 

Megumi grinned, "I couldn't believe it myself, the sheer stupidity of allowing yourself to get caught." She said, the girl's arms jerked at the words. "But I knew I could pull you out of whatever it was, I'd have seen you in a million pieces before I'd let you fall to her. You were too strong to ever let someone brainwash you." Megumi sighed, noticing the girl flail again. She glanced at Becca's left upper arm, a strange black tattoo made up of 3 curved bars around a heart shape, the airy visage of butterfly wings flapping out of it. The girl looked confused. "I... what happened?" The girl's body twitched with the pain from the binding, but she managed to not panic.

 

Megumi, covered in bandages rolled her eyes, her head was aching from the constant tension and stress over the last 48 hours. "I'm going to ask you to calm down and just listen to me, and I'll give you some answers." She pulled up a block of hay and sat in front. "You went crazy.

Astrid got in your head and you burned down much of the town and attacked me. You were this close to burning in a church to death, I realized what happened to you quickly and ran in. Your friend here saw the smoking town from the woods and came rushing to find you." Meg crossed her legs.

"I got there and realized you were brainwashed. So I took you to my backup barn, we managed to temporarily suppress the spell. I got myself a little magic concoction and a holy book from the Pharmacy which I had to fill in with lazy estimates because it'd been heavily burned." She laughed bitterly. "Now you don't have any godshards or powers left, which is good because me and the gem had to chase you down, fight and subdue you across town all yesterday." She reached into a satchel and gave the girl an apple, and she immediately began to gnaw and gulp down her thirst. "There's much more to this than that, but you don't know about anything because that was Astrid's magic. She brainwashed you and made you her subordinate, so she could use you to destroy her opponents. Fortunately, I'm not an idiot, and I'd been anticipating it. That little MagiLink around your shoulder is designed to counteract it, although it cannot remove the Psychiisyte in your system like you did Jack. It'll take some more work to fix that. Possibly years, without Astrid's help. I cannot fathom how she's capable of this kind of magic, I'd heard she was in a league of her own within Orchid. I didn't believe it.. it's got to be because of those shards too, and what she's got in that staff."

 

"W-WHAT?!" The girl mumbled, her eyes watering and heart pulsating in her chest.

Megumi shrugged. "I did my best." Megumi laughed. "Not only did she steal your mind, your very soul, but you let her." She brought up a mirror.

Becca looked up and glanced at her own reflection. She gasped as her head was the same, her gold irises staring back, her hair still a golden blond, brighter than even Thatti's de-saturated

silvery lemon locks. "This can't be.."

"You should've WARNED ME I was going to confront a complete psycho!"

Megumi glared. "I told you not to let her get in your heard. You went guns blazing anyway, so please try to use more discretion next time."

The girl thought for a moment. She closed her eyes, feeling a strange humming present in her head. "Untie me, I'll rip that little bug right out." She said, recalling Jack's plight.

Jack leaned up slightly. "That won't work, dummy! Not unless you can regenerate your skull and survive ripping it out of your head like a gem, which you cannot."

"I'LL TEAR MYSELF APART BEFORE LETTING HER STAY IN MY HEAD."

Megumi raised a finger to the girl. "Shshssssh. Shut up Celese, you're being annoying, besides we haven't told you everything yet."

The girl's mind raced. "That's not my name.. that's not me.. I'm not me.." She thought. "I'm not... Celeste." She shivered, not wanting to be reminded of who she was last night.

"Well until we deprogram you and get that Psychiisyte out, you still kinda are. Listen, you cannot fight Astrid. I mean mentally, physically in every way. Your mind won't allow you to

harm her, and you cannot beat her in a contest of strength with her magic anyway." She paused.

"You have to stop her by destroying what she cares for, by attacking her psychologically. And if you can't do that, you need to atleast destroy her Godshards. You need to figure out how to do that.

What does she care for?" She said.

 

Becca gurgled. "Ugggh .. I don't care about her, I don't know.."

"Well." She closed her eyes, "Goliath." She was trying to process everything that happened and everything that would unfold still in the time to come. "I have, to destroy her love for Goliath." Megumi took out some green spherical vial and took droplet chained to it, putting a single drop on the MagiLink around her shoulder. "Well, you need to defeat her any way you can."

Becca looked at Jack.

 

The two decided to walk back through the marsh to look for Nine. The two walked along a log, the rain slowly drizzling down lightly, the two walked towards the cave's direction. "How the hell did you deal with that control freak as your mother? That bitch was as twisted as they come.." Becca asked, feeling like Jack didn't fall too far from that tree.

She was in a foul mood, and not in the mood to put up with Becca's shit at all. "I don't want to talk about it." Jack responded, looking in a frown. "Look, I didn't like her very much okay? She was just.. just.. I don't know how to explain." Jack looked down and sighed, thinking of all the ways she'd been mistreated. "My entire life I've pretty much just been a tool for Nathan. Astrid drilled that into my head as early as possible, that I existed for him, that the two would make him ascend and devote our every waking moment to him. When I started to get, weird nightmares about a giant machine fighting him and urge to attack him and Astrid, I'd lash out and have these uncontrollable spasms whenever Astrid touched me or was around." She said. Jack looked down and sighed, thinking of all the ways she'd been mistreated. "The more Astrid tried to control me, the more I wanted to get away and prove to her that I wasn't her puppet. I had that Psychiisyte in my head for years before I was able to pull it out." She picked up a stick and swirled it into the lake, rippling her own reflection. "Goliath has his own issues and Astrid has her own issues and I've got my own goddamn issues, go figure."

Becca looked at her, trying to put their past aside. She put her hand on Jack's shoulder rubbed it. Inspite of having her mind warped last night, Jack was the one who looked visibly miserable.

"Are we, having a moment?" Becca asked, unable to take any of this parental angst seriously from girl-edition Nightborg.

"Ew, no. C'mon let's find that stupid cat." Jack marched off.

 

They pushed further into the marsh where the mech had crashed and looked into the cave. "Nine, Niiiiiiiiiiiiiine?" Jack yelled. She searched inside and then came out. "She's not here." "What do you mean she's not here?!" Becca screamed.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know where she went, but she's gone. Sandra too."

Becca pulled on her golden curls, stomping her feet. "You're telling me the ONE PERSON we have who can smash Astrid's dumb face in just wandered off? How do we lose a 12 feet JACKED cat lady?!"

Jack shrugged, feeling her temper flare. "We cannot rely or worry about whiskers, so shut up. What's the plan Beckwreck?"

She smirked.

The girl took a deep breath. "I don't know yet.. she's just been taking everything from us, I'm gonna beat her down and break her fucking bones!" She yelled, her face turning a rosy red. Jack smiled, rolling her eyes. "Easy Celese.."

Becca instinctively grabbed Jack's throat. She put both hands up in surrender, and Becca slowly let go and backed away. "Shit, I'm sorry Celeste I didn't mean-"

Becca's mind was racing. "Shhhhh, I know.." She turned her attention to a large, gargantuan mech wrecked in the swamp. "I've got an idea, but I need to get over to the town and get some things, I'll be back later." She said, looking at Jack as she took the same way back to the town. Jack's brow furrowed, feeling the girl's unpredictable personality turn from friendly to cold and then instantly friendly again.

☆ ☆ ☆

Soon Becca arrived back at the mansion of Sigma Dolores, the doors were all shut and locked. “LET ME IN YOU CRAZY BITCH!” She screamed, slamming her fists on the doors again and again and again fruitlessly. When her fists got tired, she started scratching, then kicking the doors with all her strength. Her metal arm was ready to fist through the door, when a bucket of water fell on her head from above.

“You’ve got to stop hitting things when you’re mad, Celeste sweetie.” A sweet voice said, Astrid looking at her from below said. “COME ON OUT OR I’M GOING TO TEAR YOUR THROAT THROUGH YOUR ASSHOLE.” Becca screamed.

Astrid shook her head. "Don't say that, please. Come in, calm down.." She said.

Astronomica ran downstairs and slowly opened the doors for the girl, and invited her back inside the same building she’d stepped into last night. The girl's legs weakened, and her anger left her like a candle losing wind. She stepped back, the anger suddenly extinguished. "Why do I still feel like I'm not angry at you?" She asked, her anger drained, a thought of someone behind her.

"Because you aren’t." Astrid replied.

“When I told you to come in and calm down, I meant that literally- your will and emotions

literally follow whatever commands I say. As it should be.”

“Oh fuck.. you.” Becca said, trying to sound more frustrated than her mind felt at the moment. She sighed. “Now, give me back my stuff!”

The sorceress shrugged. “Or?”

Becca conjured up enough will to demonstrate and ran forward, throwing her fist towards Astrid. But once she came close enough, her muscles twitched and she stopped inches from her face. Astrid yawned. “Well? I’m waiting.”

“S-shutup!”

“Oh really? Hm..” The sorceress walked around behind her and placed her hands on her shoulders. “A-a-!” She screamed, and collapsed in shock as her arms fell to the floor, her head fell to her knees. She looked up at the sorceress with surprise. “I feel so.. so relaxed.” She sighed, falling back to the ground as Astrid helped her up. The girl was feeling more and more helpless by

the second. “Do it again.” She pleaded, her forehead resting on the sorceress's knee. “Do what again?” Astrid replied. “Whatever you just did, whatever makes me feel that way.” “The way you feel right now, or more?" She asked. "Uh.. I dunno.. I mean both.." She said. "I think it would be easier to answer that if I knew what it is you want to feel.."

“I want to feel like- hey WAIT! You’re not pulling your mindtricks and all that bullshit on me! I’m going to FREAKIN KILL YOU!” Her hands reached out to strangle Astrid, but once again her body wouldn’t let her. She struggled harder, letting every fiber of her being force herself forward. But even once her hands slowly settled on Astrid’s smooth skin, she could only massage and rub her gently, the willingness to claw and clutch evaporated completely. She tried to slap her, kick her, headbutt her but her body wouldn’t obey her commands.

The only commands she was able to obey were Astrids.

“But Megumi-“

“Megumi?” Astrid laughed. “Pfft, you think SHE knows more than me with her stupid cures?” “FUCK YOU!” Becca screamed.

“Kiss me. Passionately, like you mean it.”

Without hesitation, Becca leaned in and sloshed her mouth into Astronomica’s, the warmth flowing forth as they madeout for a minute. Becca pushed away, Astrid looking at the girl. “Now- ” “I don’t care what-” “-now look me in the eyes. Tell me you’re my bitch.” The girl gazed into Astronomica’s eyes, her own heart thundering in her chest and her head throbbing like it would explode. “Yes.. I am your bitch..!” She suddenly shouted, then started to laugh. The sweet sorceress looked at her, her eyes glowing with the sweetness of victory. “I am your-”

The entire guild hall behind Astrid was hysterical, Astrid simply standing steely and stiff watching the girl make a fool of herself. She picked up a vase and intended to throw it at the women, but her psyche again fought back and she found herself completely unable to.

She dropped it and ran out the door, heading back to town, through a series of shops and towards Jack again. The humiliation stung, she put it all aside and tried to focus on anything but being under the sorceresses thumb as she shopped and then trekked back through the woods.

 

 

☆ ☆ ☆

 

When Becca finally arrived back, she had a bag of clothes and an eccentric costume- a cowboy hat, a silken scarf, a medical facemask, some opera gloves. She smiled as she donned the costume. "Hola!" She said in a Mexican accent thousands of years of date, grinning at Jack who had begun rolling her eyes again. “Guess that didn’t work.” Becca said.

“What didn’t work?” Jack asked.

“Don’t worry about it.” Becca pat Jack with her metal arm, the girl threw up her back and gave a thumbs up. "We'll need a weapon. Luckily.." Becca picked up the 10 foot silver spear that'd impaled Nine prior, the bloodstains still visible. "We're game."

Jack took her umbrella from the cave and slung it over her shoulder, she and Becca went through the fields to the nearest hill to the town, to the dark edge where the guild hall lay at the end of the final road.

As the sun began to set on the horizon, the duo crept through the shadows to the hill. The guild hall was a massive, two story building with a wide, ornate wooden door built to resemble a witch's hat and a silver handle. The inside was covered in marble and glass, the chandeliers hanging from the walls glittering with the light of lamps. Held up by an ornate steel rod, the hall was once the town's pride, before Astrid redecorated it and all its members into her fawning underlings.

The heavy steel door cracked open, and opened a few inches further. The girl peered inside, then peeked in further.

"Yeah, fuck that." Celeste said, she pulled the silver lance back out and slammed the door into the wall of the guild hall, the metal groaning and the walls cracking as the lance slammed through the wall, the guild hall's inside shaking with the impact. "I have no time for this." She pulled the lance out of the wall, the wood's splinters flying off in every direction. Astrid and a group of men came down the lobby stairs, observing Becca with shimmery gloves and her thematic cowboy hat. "Celeste, how darling of you to return to us. Are you ready to pray to your goddess?" The woman smiled, her lips curling up in a sickening smile. A clear baiting attempt to draw her out, Becca turned livid. She swung the lance along the stairs, swiping several figures around her while Astrid leapt and did flips onto the foyer. "Then let's dance."

Celeste said, her eyes glittering. "We're not in the mood for dancing." She attempted to sling her spear towards Astrid's face, but her own arms instinctively stopped herself, shaking and pulling her back.

"We're?" Astrid asked, watching as Celeste pulled several slimy green glass bottles from her scarf and tossed them at the floor- gigantic oozing creatures made of slime leaping at Astrid trying to smother her in sticky slime. "Megumi sends her regards."

She watched men and woman coming down the stairs, some holding sticks with fireballs and electrical daggers. Becca took to the air and charged them, several punching her face and pushing her back and forth. She smiled, as everywhere she was surrounded, then gripped her spear with two hands and did a full 360 swing, sweeping the ground at their legs and tripping them away.

 

A Set thief with large fists and a spiked collar, standing 9 feet tall ran forward and punched her hard into the ground. Becca reached into the wooden ground and flipped the plank below them until they fell forward., before holding the spear's handle to their throat, swerving to their back and pushing them forward as a shield. Several mages appeared, fire and lighting in their hands. Becca blocked several lightening bolts with her gloved arms, ramming her spear into the throat of an Maisma charging at her. She pushed the Set towards the mages as she pole vaulted back and forth, stabbing wrists and shoulders and kneecaps wherever she could. "Bring it on." She shouted, spinning and whirling and doing spin kicks and strikes with her fists, at the numerous bulky backup coming from the sides.

Astrid, ripping the slimy monster off her face took a seat on a high-back wooden chair in the hall, she put her leg up on a large, intricately carved table and watched the girl play around in a smile

"Don't you know the rules Celeste? There are consequences to this type of behavior. That's not how we worship our goddess here.."

Becca swung and twirled the spear, leaping and spinning around the men's limbs and feet as they swung their weapons around. She pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it, as the cloud of smoke engulfed her and her body swirled around and around, she pushed against it's weight to swing the spear. The vain, transitory feeling of battle left her high on adrenaline.

"Consider me a heretic."

The spear pierced into the floor, and several women in elegant dresses came out. They started dancing, laughing and joking and clapping each other's hands in rhythm. The woman on the chair, taking out a large scroll started clapping and laughing alongside them as Becca looked at her in an awkward mix of appreciation and annoyance. Astrid's scroll unleashed a tidal wave of water, a large shark-like daemon snapping at Becca as it flopped. She stabbed it as if holding a harpoon, avoiding then numerous electrical eels and snakes wriggling on the flooded floor. A fireball smacked into her, burning her shoulder off her costume as it exploded. She pulled off her cowboy hat and dropped it onto the ground, using it as a platform on the wet surface. With a swing of her weapon, Becca tossed numerous snakes at the elegantly dressed woman. Most fled, one lady with cybernetic arms and chest above pulled out a large crossbow that sent hundreds of metal

bolts of lightning at her, she leapt up as they hit the wall and landed as they penetrated the side, leaping from one to another up the wall to reach the archer who was soon seeking pursuit. A rod from the bolts shot her in the chest. "AAuuGGGH!" With an acrobatic soar through the room, she pulled the rod out of her chest and lanced the woman's wrist with it, and broke her crossbow on the upper floor with a crumble of her fist.

The woman on the seat clapped, tapping with the scroll as she pointed it at Celeste. Suddenly, 2nd floor and stairs were enveloped in a huge wall of fire. "This is getting boring.. Don't fail to entertain me."

 

Becca turned red, her lips flared as she spun and circled the room with long, sweeping blows of her spear to fend off more attackers upstairs, pushing them into the flames with her spear. A large burly man with beefy biceps charged at her, twice her size. She dropped her spear and caught his punch with her gloved arms, the strength afforded to her letting her easily push him back. "H-how?!" The man felt his feet slipping. "Heretic's alliance." She said, the grip breaking under her hand. She threw him with a toss, he crashed into a wall as if were a child. He was thrown to the opposite wall and then back into the middle, until she could lift him by his arm and do a twisting slam onto the floor, shattering the ground. She ran over and pointed her lance into his face, as he coughed and his eyes rolled into his head. "You.." She looked down at his body, and shook her head. Others came into the sides. "Tsk."

Becca slammed her fist into him, breaking the ground with a superpowered punch and shattering the floor until it collapsed, taking everyone down with her. The wood and board shattered, everything falling apart while she rode the flow of gravity and landed in the dining room below.

The woman on her chair clapped, a smile growing on her face. Finally, Astrid got up, picking up her staff, a golden glowing aura spreading from her staff to her body that seemed to radiate power wherever she went. "No time for prayer, Celeste? Perhaps it's time for a quick execution." Becca turned the corner and found herself face to face with Astrid, the two locked eyes.

She smiled and turned her lance. "No time for salvation." With a smirk, Astrid twirled her staff. The metal silverware and plates began to levitate in the room, rotate and fly towards her. She rotated the weapon rapidly, the spinning pole deflecting numerous shots before a fork stabbed her in the leg and shoulder. "Really, Celeste.. You're wasting your time fighting. This would be so much easier if you accepted your place by my side. I would treat you so nicely."

 

Becca sneered. "Funny, Goliath said the same fucking thing to me." "I can help you. I can help you become stronger. I can.."

 

Becca gritted her teeth, the pain going through her muscles and head. "Bullshit." She deflected another set of spinning flying plates. Astrid's brow furrowed, she gently walked over into the diner and slammed her staff on the table, sending the entire thing spinning at Becca on it.

The girl fell back, seeing the glowing aura of her staff and its shards increasing power.

With her staff in a circle of light, it's scintillating, clattering glare shot a beam that pierced Becca's stomach, blasting her back onto a wall with a crack.

The girl's lungs felt squeezed, she stared back at the woman. Astrid gave a small, victorious smile, but it quickly faded. Becca attempted to punch her with her left arm, but once again the psychic blocks paralyzed her. Celeste. The word repeated in her skull, the love and adoration flooding back, she couldn't push her fist forward even inches from her. "What's a matter, Becky?

You forget to say you love me?" Astrid laughed, her face twisting into a small smile.

Becca's eyes twitched. "I.." she wanted to punch her so bad. She wanted to punch that bitch in the face. She wanted to cut her up. The hate surged inside of her, boiling into a burning rage as she took her spear and spun it around her with her eyes closed wildly. Astrid was almost hit, dodging and retreating. "Clever girl. If you attack indiscriminately and blind, you cannot trigger your conditioning. Is that what you think?" She swung at Becca with her staff, who blocked with the spear. "But then again, you cannot dodge magic with your eyes closed." She said, her brow furrowing as she blocked an attack and sent her flying with a flaming blast, the spear sticking into the wall. She smacked Becca several times with the staff, eventually blowing the handle side into her navel and smacking her head down. Astrid's weapon struck her repeatedly on the ground. Becca panted and struggled to stand, a wave of white flashed in front of her, and her legs gave out as Astrid's wave of Pulse smashed her into the floor. Blood spurt out her mouth, the sorceress lifted her staff and pulled Becca up with a telekinetic yank of her staff.

She levitated her and slammed her back into the wall.

Astrid gave a victorious smile. She reached down into the girl's neck, choking her as her staff kept smacking into the sides of the girl's head. Soon she was pinned and gripped to the wall. Desperate, Becca began to rise her trembling right arm up. "I told you, until you lose that love for me, you cannot hurt me." Her fist clenched. Becca's hand let go of the spear's handle, blood leaking out of her body and through her broken fingers.

With a loud CLANG, she clocked her square in the jaw, Astrid going flying back into the broken table. She looked at her hand and laughed hysterically, then collapsed to the floor. "H- how?"

Becca slid off her glove, revealing the obsidian carapace layer around it. The sheeny gem flaked and swelled off her mechanical arm, revealing the glassy, black gem that formed

from the separation. Jack stood up, wringing her arm around and winding it. "Well will you look at

that. No love lost. How'd you like that, mom?"

 

"Jack.." Astrid looked up at the girl, her eyes widening in terror. "BECCA!? What have you done to my daughter?" "Shut up." Jack stood, picking up the spear in Becca's place. "You're fucking done, mother."

"You're not fooling anyone, I implanted the same thing in you too!" She screamed.

Jack smiled. "Took it out. Your mind tricks don't work on me otherwise, guess my will was too strong." She charged, the tall spear and Astrid's staff clashing in a collision of black and gold.

 

Far out in the swamp, Megumi carried a large backpack. She stopped by the cave and saw a figure returning- Nine, holding Sandra on her back covered in vines and makeshift binders. "MmmMMHFF!" Sandra screamed, strapped to Nine like a child. "Oh, hello!" She waved to the muscular Set. "How can this one help you?" Nine asked.

She reached into the backpack and pulled out a creamy pink vial of goop with some colorful slimy insects and regenerative purple prisms. "I was told to come here and help with your recovery." She glanced at the large blood-cracked spot the spear had left. "Hold still." She rubbed it all over the crack, a thick purple substance seeping into the crevices and leaking out as the cracks mended and patched up. The wound glowed with a healthy purple hue, growing into a thick, tough layer of skin and muscle, the two figures smiling at each other in relief.

Nine smiled, and Megumi scanned the ground around them. "I know we've met under terrible circumstances, but.. I was hoping to be able to help your cause, your mission against Goliath."

The Set scratched their head. "Whose Goliath?" They asked.

"The one, Celeste said she's planning to stop?" The Nebula replied.

 

The guildhall had seen better days, a mother and daughter traveling all about it as they swung at each other, parrying and swiping continually. Around them was chaos, the building's top half burnt and smashed, rubble everywhere as the guild's members hobbled, coughed and groaned with their various wounds. Jack and Astrid continued to charge, their weapons smacking back and forth with a thunderous clang that echoed throughout the entire valley. "Astrid! Is this what you're here for, to be someone else's tool?"

Jack shouted. "If so, what's the point of your life?"

Astrid grinned, her staff swirling and cracking the air with a blast of Pulse. Jack barely dodged being crushed by the force of gravity around her. "You saw what he did to you, do you think he still cares about you? You'll just forgive him for that?"

"No forgiveness is necessary! Be silent child!"

Becca slowly crawled up from the rubble, her metal hand plugging the blood from her torso and side. "Tch, you don't understand anything about him! You idiot. Goliath's a monster who takes whatever he wants, and if he doesn't get it he gets it with fire and he destroys whoever he has to! He takes and takes and doesn't stop and he doesn't let anyone stop him!" She laughed, picking up a plate and weakly tossing it into Astrid's general direction. "You don't understand anything about him and his lust!"

"What are you talking about? I don't understand him?" Astrid screamed. "Shutup shutup SHUTUP!" Her staff glowing with the brightest with intensity. "He loved me! What we had was REAL! I'll gather a whole army, get all of Xi under my thrall! Gift him all the shards! He'll thank me! He'll let me come back to him, I know it! YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND!" Astrid shouted, shooting a beam of energy into Becca.

 

Becca's back burst from a burst of fire as it struck her again, her whole-body feeling heat all the way through. She clutched her hands, the pain searing and burning her bones. "You're fucking insane! He doesn't love you.." She clenched her teeth and stared, the flames beginning to recede but she could not move. "He never did. You don't find it the slightest bit ironic he left you alive on this planet?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Astrid yelled, catching her breath.

"He cares about me, he's just angry at you and I get it because he left me alone, but he's giving me another chance! He left me alive for-"

"Your powers." Becca replied. "He's just using you. Like he uses everyone-"

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING TRAP." With a downwards swing, Astrid's Pulse hammered Becca into the dirt her entire body crumpling over as her head collapsed. "This is none of your business!" Astrid looked down, and realized she had beaten her to near death. She turned to Jack. "She's not wrong, mother." Jack taunted, throwing her spear at Astrid who caught with a single hand.

"AUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" With a scream at the top of her lungs, Jack unleashed a bright technicolor blast from her mouth at the sorceress. Astrid held her staff forward and a golden hexagon shaped barrier barricaded herself and neutralized it, the steam leaving the surface when Jack's attack was finished. She went "Pchoo." and a golden beam sent Jack exploding from the waist down, incinerating her waist and flopping her top half falling to the

ground. She attempted to regenerate and get back up. Astrid flung her staff aside and punched Jack in the stomach, the girl doubling over and dropping to the ground. She picked up Jack and threw her, pinning her to the ground as she took the spear and held it to her neck in a dominant gesture.

Jack laughed, her arms flailing and flinging her elbows at the woman's neck. "Forget therapy for you and dad. You're an idiot!"

"W-what?" Astrid turned around, a bottle of slimy goo breaking at her feet and sticking her to the ground. She tugged her legs, immobile in place, Becca picking up her staff. "You two need to accept, you've BROKEN UP." She tried to break it on her knee, the gold smashing her leg and hurting herself immensely with a howl.

"Ow owowowwwwwwwgoddamnit. That was way cooler in my head. Well whatever." She picked up the staff, pointing the orb at the end and smashed the shards inside against a metal support beam repeatedly, cracking the sphere and sending the godshards flying out.

 

Becca leaned back exhausted.

"Y-you, you think this changes anything! I've beaten you both! I'll- I'll-"

A gigantic shadow loomed overhead, and trounced the ground with a ground-shaking leap.

Her face went all pale as Nine landed behind her, grabbing her waist in her paw as if she were a barbiedoll. "Yes, do go on." She said. With a mystical grip around the girl as if she were a rubber chicken toy. She could feel her ribs being squeezed, the sorceress understanding this creature could suffocate and rip her apart like tissuepaper if even by accident. Astrid dropped to her knees and surrendered. She felt her body ripped from Nine's claws and slammed into the ground by her paw.

 

The girl held her hands up in surrender.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Nine said. "Unless you wish me to."

"But-but-" She looked at her daughter, who was smiling. Then looked at the girl skipping over the debris- Megumi, glaring at her.