49. Ruin of the Heart

Mermaid Swamp

Ineptune led Melody, Danny, and Eric (as well as Juju) to the shore of a large lake, where Hideout Helm sat in the center. "We're going to enter from the underwater entrance." The mermaid said. "You two kids are waterbenders, so I'll hope you keep up." She dove underneath. Eric and Juju held onto Mel and Danny as both waterbenders dove underneath, making air bubbles for them. Melody glowed with her hands to serve as a light for them all, trying to see Ineptune's bulky form through the fog.

Ineptune swam into an underwater gate that the kids followed her in. After they resurfaced, the kids climbed onto a metal floor. "Klubba, these children are guests of King K. Rool." Ineptune told the green, buff Kremling wielding a spiky club.

"I still need a toll." The Kremling stated gruffly, patting his club in the palm of his other hand.

"We have a snake!" Danny perked, raising Juju. Said snake panicked. "You can use him for, like, floss or something."

"No, I have 10 pythons. …Hmmm…" Klubba reached over and picked up Eric. "But this boy could be fun to practice my balloon animal art."

"There's a couple things I don't like about that sentence!" Eric panicked.

"Deal with it or don't pass."

"Deal." Melody decided. "I can always heal Eric later."

"That won't fix the emotional trauma!" the nerd cried.

"I'll take you to King Kroctus." Klubba slapped Eric over his shoulder and let his club drag along the floor as he led the two kids through the base.

Meeting Room

"Hmmm… So it is true, then." King K. Rool said after Lehcar told her story. "The Apocalypse really is upon us. Then I guess we have waited too long. We must unite the Eight Firstborn and their Guardians. With Arceus's great power on our side, we cannot be harmed."

"King Kroctus, I think you're overlooking a few details." Eggman spoke informatively. His brown mustache was graying, and he had wrinkles. "First, remember the first time Arceus was called back? He went completely berserk, and Gnaa lost the conscience to control him. Also, even if Arceus would cooperate with us, what good is a universe that's destroyed? True, Arceus could just make a new one, but I've grown too fond of this dimension."

"It isn't only about surviving or having power." Kroctus said. "It's the powers behind all of it. Lehcar speaks of the Twenty Keys that must be gathered, and a Dark Goddess searching for them. Furthermore, this group called 'Team Gnik,' and the unreal energy Dr. Eggman has detected in the World Government's possession… I have to wonder, if Arceus, the God of Everything, would have known anything about these."

"Those same Gnik guys keep talking about Ten Firstborn, 'stead of Eight." Bowser mentioned. "I got some Koopas over in their gang, spying for them. You think it's something to be worried about?"

"Eight or Ten, I'm so confused." Gruntilda nagged. "These Firstborn were ALL over the news! You found them once, why find them again? They'd just protect everyone from the end."

"We've been keeping tabs on the Firstborn for years," Eggman said, "ever since the Guardians set them free. The fact that they would know about the Apocalypse, and aren't doing anything about it, is stifling."

"Just what are the Twenty Keys." Kroctus scratched his chin. "What have they to do with the Apocalypse and 'Team Gnik.' Mmm…"

"Kroctus." Klubba banged the side of the entrance with his club. "Ineptune brought some twerps for you."

K. Rool rotated his seat. "Ahhh… Princess Eva's daughter. Manaphy's Guardian. Welcome to my humble fortress."

"Holy wow, Bowser!!" Danny ran up to the Koopa King excitedly. "I'm your biggest fan!"

"Guess again, Roundo." Bowser remarked. "I'm not the Bowser you're thinking of, I'm Bowser Jr.. Bowser Sr. is still running the Koopa Clan, and trust me, he's still bigger than I am."

"Mrs. Uno?" Melody noticed the woman across the table. "No, wait… you're Lehcar, aren't you?"

"Glad you noticed, Ydolem." Lehcar propped her feet on the table and folded hands behind her head. "Which reminds me, your Negative is acting real suspicious about something. Give her a talking to sometime."

"If you've come through the swamp, you must have seen the sorry state Manaphy is in." Kroctus stood up from his chair, his strong, bulky appearance towering high. "We thought his Guardian could restore him."

"I…I'm going to." Melody assured. "But first, I know you have the Fairy Princess here. Where is she?"

"This way." They stepped aside to let Kroctus march down the hall.

The Kremling King brought them to his throne room, showing them a glass cage that peeked into a chamber that looked like a giant barrel. "This is her." Inside was a girl of dark-blue skin, hair, and dress of various hues, sitting on her knees as she faced the opposite wall, so they could only see the soles of her feet, and the cracked teardrop gem on her back. "Gruntilda told us her identity as Lapis Lazuli, one of three renowned Fairy Princesses from an ancient fairytale on her home planet, Avalar. Lapis ruled the Ocean Fairies on this planet beside Queen Cerulea, and she is known by the merpeople as a beautiful and graceful dancer. Until…"

"Until Spongebob caught her in a net and broke her gem." Danny recapped the crazy story.

"Yes. Then you must also know about her rampage, and that Manaphy consoled her using his song. Unable to find someone to heal her, they wandered into Mermaid Swamp. We have contained her powers in this specialized cell, but we are unable to aid or even speak with her. If we enter, she may attack us or try to escape. We were Gnaa's closest allies, so we know when darkness and anger is rising inside a heart."

"Let me go in there." Melody stated. "I can try to help her. I have healing powers, I can fix her gem."

"Hold on, Melody." Eric spoke, still slouched over Klubba's shoulder. "Em, big guy, can you turn around?" Klubba turned so that Eric could view the situation. "Melody, do your powers even work on magical rocks, or spirit people for that matter? Besides, even if you could, Lapis might still try and destroy this swamp."

"That's why I'll try to reason with her, too. Just let me in."

"Very well." Kroctus complied. "This window is also one-way, so do not tell her of it. This way."

He led Melody around a back room, opening a door into a short, white hallway. He sealed the door behind her, then opened the next one into Lapis's chamber. Melody calmly approached the kneeled princess, whose head was drooped. "Princess Lapis?"

"Who is it, now." She responded lowly.

"Melody Jackson. …I'm the Ocean Princess. Kyogre's granddaughter."

"Oh… I see." Her head straightened up. "Sorry if I didn't recognize you." She turned and looked at Melody with oval-shaped, mirror-like eyes, with no pupils or irises.

"Eee!" Melody's heart jumped a bit. "…Um… pretty eyes?"

"Don't patronize me." Lapis flipped to sit on her rear. "It's the least of what happened to me after my gem was broken. I can't fly, anymore. If I could, I would've left this miserable planet. Never even wanted to stay here. Sigh…" She buried her face in the lap of her dress.

"What are you talking about? Someone was making you stay?"

"Oh, so I guess your 'grandfather' hasn't told you." Lapis looked up, her mirror eyes slanted in anger. "He demanded me to stay on this planet, for 5,000 years. After I heard about Malladus attacking this world, I flew here to heal the injured merpeople and some humans. A lot of them were upset about the whole war, so I started doing Fairy Dances with them, I made them feel happy again. Even after Malladus was gone, Kyogre wanted me to stay. I had to dance at all of their parties, help protect the ocean, and I granted my healing powers to newly-born waterbenders."

"Your healing powers?" Melody stared at her hand. "Does that mean my healing powers came from you?"

"I was the first waterbender born with healing, because of my Lunar Magic. I was born on a planet called Lunaria, but I was forced to move to Avalar when a war was happening. I wanted to go back there ever since I became a fairy, I wanted to leave this dump, but I felt like protecting these merpeople was my responsibility. But I don't care, anymore." She rested her face on her dress again. "I just wanna see Mavis and Aisling again. Avalar or Lunaria, I just wanna go back home. Where I'm happy."

Melody sat beside the princess and put a hand on her shoulder. "So that's why you were so upset. Getting your gem broken was the last straw for you, wasn't it? My grandpa pestered you into staying, even though you didn't want to. He kind of almost did the same with my mom. My mom was used to living on the surface, so she didn't want to move to Oceana, even though it would've been her dream. She got with my dad, and-"

"I don't wanna hear your sob story." Lapis smacked her hand off. "That's the problem with your family, you only think about yourselves."

"We do not! I was just saying that I get where you're coming from, and I know how you feel!"

"No you don't! You and your mom have a great life and friends you like to be around. I know that Kyogre wanted your mom to come back, but never did, why did Kyogre accept HER decision, but I still couldn't go back to MY home?!"

"Okay, okay, so we're not the same. I still wanna help you. If I have your chi, I can heal you. But when I do, you have to promise you won't hurt anybody else. Agreed?"

"…Sigh. Alright. I just want my wings back so I can leave." Lapis got on all fours to show her gem to Melody.

Melody got on her knees and bent water onto her hands, putting them over Lapis's gem as they glowed. "So wait, how come I can bend in here, but you can't?"

"Butterfly net strings are tied around the walls outside. They render all fairies helpless. Don't ask me why."

"Wouldn't it be easier to chi-block this cell?"

"That wouldn't hold my magic back."

Melody closed her eyes to focus. She had to sense where Lapis's wounds were, make her own water into new flesh. …Except she was not human. "You have an… interesting body."

"I know. Solid photons."

"That's problematic. I-I can't seem to… heal your gem."

"I THOUGHT you said you could DO something!" Lapis shouted.

"I-I thought I could, I wasn't sure! I'm used to healing people, not cracked objects! Why couldn't you fix it yourself before?"

"Because my powers don't WORK as well when my gem is busted!"

"Okay, okay! Sigh…" Melody stopped trying. "Maybe waterbending's not gonna help. Our KND has a few timebenders, I could bring one of them to fix this."

"Don't even try to get my hopes up." Lapis sat back on her rear and folded her arms. "You merpeople are all the same. From Kyogre keeping me on this planet, Spongebob for breaking my gem, and Manaphy for leading me to this godforsaken swamp just to betray me."

"Manaphy didn't betray you, he was poisoned by the swamp's influence."

"Please, how can you go from being 'sweet and lovable' to a monster in just a few hours?"

"I don't know—it's a Firstborn/Water/spiritual thing! Lapis, I know you're upset about everything that's happened, but at least take solace in the fact I'm trying to help you. If me or Mom knew that Kyogre was pestering you to stay here, we would've done something about it."

"If you really want to help me, tell them to let me out of this cell."

"I want to, but you're still kind of… sour. I mean, we don't want you to take revenge on Oceana if you're trapped on this planet."

"Hmph." Lapis looked away. "You don't even care if I get better, as long as I can still be 'friends' with you merpeople."

"I do want you to get better! And I won't care if you hate the other merpeople forever, I still don't want you to destroy 'em. Sigh…" Melody sat beside the wingless fairy. "Look, Lapis, I'm sorry I can't heal you, and for what my grandpa did, but can't we just be friends? I already feel responsible for what Manaphy did to you."

Lapis was silent for a minute in thought. "…If anything, you could tell those people to stop watching us."

"What people?"

"Come on, you think I don't know about the invisible window that peeps in this cell? How else would they watch me. I bet there's a bunch of people watching us like a movie."

"Come on, I'm sure there isn't THAT many."

The throne room was filled with Kremling soldiers, gazing enticingly at the window into the cell. One of them was eating popcorn. Klubba was scratching his chin in thought, looking at Eric, whose limbs were currently bent into a triangle-ish shape. …Klubba stuck one arm up and bent the hand at 90 degrees, then he nodded approvingly.

Melody walked up to where she thought the window was and knocked. "Look, boys, show's over, just go eat shark meat or something." The Kremlings murmured comments as they piled out of the room.

Melody sighed in exhaust, unsure if there was even anyone out there, and went back to sit by Lapis. "Lapis, I'm sorry about everything my grandpa put you through, and I really wish I could heal you. Is there anything else I can do to… I dunno, be friends?"

"…Well…" Lapis had her head propped on her hand, tapping her chin with her pinky, "We could trade bodies."

"Excuse me?"

"I want to believe you're telling the truth and you're nicer than all the other merpeople, but the only way I can be sure is if you understand how I feel. If we traded bodies, we could see into each other's minds. I would know you're honest, and you would know how upset I am."

"That's an… awfully weird solution. How would we even do that?"

"Can't Manaphy switch peoples' bodies?"

"Well- Yeah, but he's not in the right state to do that."

"You're his big sister. You can fix him, can't you?"

"I'm his niece, technically. …Although if my mom hatched his egg, she could be considered the mom, making Manaphy my brother." She spoke logically. "But that still makes him older than me." She shook her head and stood up, "Alright, I'll try to help Manaphy so he can do this for us. Just… don't mess up my body when you're in it, okay?"

"Sure, of course." Lapis nodded, her blank expression unchanged.

Melody left the cell and met Danny down the hall, and they followed Klubba, who was using Eric as an around-the-neck towel. "She wants me to use Manaphy to switch our bodies."

"Switch bodies with a fairy and have all her powerful fairy magic?" Danny questioned. "Lucky you!"

"I'll say- ow! My rib!" Eric yelped as Klubba kept wiping with him. "I've always dreamed of being a fairy princess with cool magic powers! And I had the prettiest dress…"

The opening of Star vs. the Forces of Evil began to play, but in place of Star, it was Eric Horvitz. "It's gonna get a little weird! Gonna get a little WILD! I'm not from around here! I'm from another DIMENSION!"

"…We're not doing anymore cutaways." Melody decided, disgusted at the thought.

"Oh, tarter sauce." Eric moped.

Land of Crystals and Gems

The Fountain of Quartz was as expansive as a small lake, with shining pink liquid that could make one's eyes mesmerized. The shallow water almost reached Vanellope's skirt as she followed the Zoni and carried Clank to the fountain's center. The fountain's source was a statue of a bulky woman with large hair, closed eyes, and a star on her belly. "It is her…" The Zoni moaned.

Vanellope's wide, awestruck eyes were drawn to the person on top of the statue. Their hair matched that of the woman's, pink in very large curls. Vanellope held onto Clank as she climbed on the flower-shaped edge around the fountain, gazing longingly at this mysterious person. …They turned around. "Good mornin'!" It was a weird-looking man with an orange mustache.

"…Who're you?" Vanellope asked.

"I'm your Uncle Grandpa!"

"My who now?"

"Uncle Grandpa! Everybody's uncle and grandpa!"

"…Is that even legally possible?"

"Of course it is! Wanna come into my van and see my giant realistic flying tiger?"

"…What's that?"

"OUUUUCH!" The Zoni zapped Uncle Grandpa and sent him flying. "That was not her!" they chorused. "We have been trying to get rid of that guy for years. No more wasting time! Throw Master into the fountain!"

Vanellope looked at Clank once more, then she threw him in. Being a robot, Vanel expected him to short-circuit instantly. …Clank's green eyes beeped to life, the robot started twitching and sparking, Vanellope braced herself for the explosion. Clank's head spun around—his green eyes turned a midnight-blue and starry. The robot hovered in the air as his antenna shone the same color. The Zoni's bulbous eyes became staticky: afterwards, one's turned gray, another's turned cyan-colored, and the third one's turned a dark-green. "OH, LOOK WHAT FINALLY F**KING HAPPENED." The gray-eyed Zoni said annoyedly. "THE CANDY GIRL FINALLY BROUGHT ORVUS BACK."

"K4RK4T, I C4N SM3LL YOUR SP1C3 FROM W4Y OV3R H3R3." The cyan-eyed hissed.

"Terezi? Karkitty? I'm so glad we get to c'at again." :3 The green-eyed said.

"Huh? You guys can talk now?" Vanellope asked.

"AND LO, WE HAVE THE HERO OF THE HOUR." Karkat said sarcastically. "GIVE HER A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, LADY TROLLS AND MAN-TROLLS, SHE ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING REMOTELY USEFUL."

"HEY, SARCASM, I THINK YOU LEFT YOUR CAPS-LOCK ON!" Vanellope shouted. "WHY ARE YOU TALKING LIKE THIS?"

"BECAUSE THIS IS HOW I TALK! IF IT BUGS YOU, SHOVE THAT CANDY INTO YOUR HOLLOW EARS!"

"JUST tell ME who YOU are SO we CAN get ON with THIS!"

"1 4M T3R3Z1 PYROP3. H3 1S K4RK4T, SH3 1S N3P3T4. W3 4R3 TH3 TROLLS FROM TH1S D1M3NS1ON."

"NOT *THIS* PLACE, SPECIFICALLY." Karkat followed. "ALL THIS CYBERJUNK IS THE RECORDED DATA OF OUR REAL DIMENSION. NONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE ARE ACTUALLY IN THERE. NOT EVEN ROSE QUARTZ."

"Except for Puridot." Nepeta smiled. "But that's 'claws Yellow Diamond sent her to s33 what we were doing. So we put her in Cyberspace." :33

"It might be the weird language, but you guys are losing me." Vanel said. "What dimension are you talking about, what's a Rose Quartz and Yellow Diamond? And for the love of Arceus, dude, whisper or something!"

"(Fine. I'm whispering. You happy?)" Karkat whispered. "(You still didn't put it together? We're the people who created the universe you came from. The universe Arceus asked us to make, before he shut us in here.)"

"K4RK4T, 1 DON'T TH1NK V4N3LLOP3 3V3N KNOWS 4BOUT TH3 4POC4LYPS3."

"I didn't. You guys told me about it."

"(Our Zoni must have done that. Listen, Shiitake Candy, the Zoni are poly-dimensional robots that *we* designed. Um, okay, it was sort of us, but we did have help from-)"

"Karkittyyyy! I don't think she knows, y33333t!" >:3 Nepeta whined.

"THEY'RE GOING TO FIND OUT EVENTUALLY, NEPETA. HECK, ONE OF THEM'S SNIFFING THROUGH MY DRAWER RIGHT-"

"TH3 P4ST MUST NOT B3 T4MP3R3D W1TH, K4RK4T." >:[ "TH4T 1S WH4T SH3 S41D."

"Yes, Karkat, you can't tampur with the past." :33

"TELL THAT TO THE *** WHO HAS A MILLION DEAD PARADOX CLONES IN HIS ROOM!"

"You know, if this is a bad time," Vanellope was about to climb off the fountain, "I'm gonna-"

"DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE, CANDY! YOUR JOB ISN'T EVEN OVER, YOU STILL HAVE TO OPEN THE EGG CHAMBERS."

Vanellope sighed, thinking this was another task she had to do. "What're those."

"HA! WE KNEW YOU COULDN'T HAVE OPENED THEM YET, IF YOU WERE JUST NOW HEALING ORVUS. WHO, BY THE WAY, DOESN'T LOOK A ***KING THING LIKE THE REAL ORVUS. IS THAT THE FORM HE DECIDED TO TAKE? HE LOOKS LIKE A HUMAN PUPA'S TOY."

"TH3 3GG CH4MB3RS W1LL B3 US3L3SS UNL3SS TH3 F1RSTBORN W3R3 FOUND BY TH31R GU4RD14NS. DO YOU KNOW 1F TH3Y H4V3?" Terezi asked Vanellope.

"Well, it's not like I was allowed to go back to them and ASK." Vanellope emphasized.

"A FEW OF THEM SHOULD HAVE BY NOW. LET'S JUST GET STARTED."

"Orvus better come back befur we're fi'shed. Or the chambers won't work." 3:>

"DID YOU REALLY JUST MAKE A CRAPPY FISH PUN? YOU AREN'T FEFERI!"

"Kitties like fish, Karkitty." :33

"Are you guys gonna say something that actually makes SENSE?!" Vanel exclaimed.

"TOUGH BREAK, CHOCOLATE CREAM. THIS STORY'S ABOUT TO GET A LOT MORE CONFUSING ON YOUR END."

Mermaid Swamp

"All I'm saying is that if we're taking Manaphy back there, DANNY'S gonna be the subject of his water balloon experiments!" Eric complained as Melody used waterbending to heal his aching parts.

"You deal with bullies on a daily basis, at least your body was ready for it!" Melody argued.

"So how are you planning to change Manaphy back to normal?" Danny asked.

"I'll try healing him." She finished with Eric and stood up straight. "If that doesn't work, I guess I'll try talking to him. He loved my mom a lot, I'm sure he could feel the same with me. Why don't you guys go with Juju and get those warthog eyes or whatever that lady wanted."

"Is that so we don't get to watch you get beat up by your baby Uncle Brother?"

"Duh." She eye-rolled. "I'm way too cool for that."

"Suit yourself. C'mon, Juju." The snake hopped on Danny's shoulders as the boys left.

A few feet down the river, Melody saw a Klump standing on the shore's edge, belly bumping Manaphy whenever the Sea Prince jumped out to him. The action repeatedly happened like a rewinding tape. Melody approached him casually. "Hey. Your shift's up." She gestured behind her with her thumb.

"Okay." Klump took out a crocodile cigarette, blew smoke, and walked away.

"MANAAA!" When Manaphy leaped out to bump him again, Melody grabbed him in her arms.

"Manaphyyyyy!" She lovingly hugged her Uncle Brother, nuzzling him with her cheek. "How's my baby bwoyyyyyyyy-ni-ni-ni-niiiiii…"

Manaphy's mouth opened wide, his fangs sharpened, and he CHOMPED Melody's arm. "Yeowch! Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" Melody frantically shook the arm, then pressed her foot against the baby prince until he finally came off. When blood dripped from her wounds, Manaphy was underneath, trying to catch in his mouth. "Stop that!" Melody bent the blood up in the air, away from him- She just realized what she was doing. "…Wow, I'm a bloodbender. 'Guess I'm a bad person, now." She tried to force the blood back into her cuts, then grabbed more water from the swamp, shook the mud out, and began healing herself. When Manaphy started hopping around to catch flying, overgrown bugs, Melody had to stop partway finished and run in front of him.

Melody squatted before her uncle, who looked up at her with his scowl. "Manaphy, you and I both know this isn't who you are. I think you're only stressed because years and years of trying to find help for Lapis have led to zero results! The last thing you wanted was to end up in a swamp of snotty, heartless, cannibalistic mermaids, believe me, I would feel the same. But what you were trying to do was a good thing, and now that I'm here, we can find a cure for Lapis together! Come on, Bro-Bro." She smiled confidently and held a hand to him. "Whaddya say?"

"…" The little monster looked between Melody's hand and her face. Contemplating on her words. …Manaphy took her hand in both of his… and swung her back, forth, back, forth, hitting her against the ground, before throwing her to a tree. Melody weakly looked up to see the prince climb up a tree to a beehive, tear it down, and started munching on it like a cracker. He chomped any bees flying around him. "Yeah, I pretty much walked into that one." Melody figured.

The news anchor sat cross-legged, leaning her head on her fist as she watched Manaphy bounce and chase three Klaptraps. The green one stopped, turned, and growled at him. Normally, after a Klaptrap gets K.O.'ed, its tongue and jaws come out to chase their opponent. Manaphy did the reverse: he jumped into the Klaptrap's mouth, ate its tongue and teeth, then jumped out before knocking the body out. "Hmm… I didn't actually try healing, yet." She noticed. "If nothing else works…"

As Manaphy finished chewing, he turned to see Melody come back to him, water ready on her hands. He tried to jump away, but Melody grabbed and struggled to pin him on his front. He snarled like an angry dog, and just as well, he didn't put up much resistance as Melody's hands glowed, softly rubbing his back. Blue waves were moving along Manaphy's green skin, and she saw hints of his normal color. "This is all he needs." She made a slight pant, still needing to keep him pinned. "Just a magic touch from his favorite family. There, there, Manaphy. Most kids your age get shots, so you're lucky enough to have me. The pain'll be gone in a second." He kept struggling. "Just… a little…"

"MAAAAA!" Manaphy growled, shook, flipped upright, and bit Melody's right ring finger clean off her hand.

"YOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!" Her pupils shrunk and her hair stood on end. Manaphy spit the finger on the ground. "OH MY GOD! SON OF A BITCH, WHAT THE FUCK?! YOU SHITTY LITTLE-" Melody swung her foot and kicked him in the face, knocking him several feet. Manaphy got up, wiping mud off his nose and growling with more anger. "You wanna go mermano o mermano?! Wanna throw down?! 'Cause I will! I'll beat some sense into you ONE way or another, you fuckin' turd-booger!"

"Oooooohhhh!" Surrounding mermaids were gathering to watch the spectacle. "Human chick's gettin' it on with little Gremlin!"

Manaphy leapt to gnash Melody, who punched him away, ran up, and kicked him against a tree. Manaphy kicked off and grabbed Melody's shoulder in his teeth, the girl crying in pain as she grabbed and tried to pull him off with both hands. She succeeded, leaving a deep gash in her shoulder, and she began smacking Manaphy across the face left-and-right. Manaphy chomped a fang into the back of her hand, so Melody ran and smashed him against a tree. The dizzy prince fell off, then Melody forcefully tugged his antennas away from each other, clutching them as she swung and hit him against the ground some more.

More mermaids were being attracted by the commotion, and Danny, Eric, and Juju followed the noise as well. "MELODY?!" they screamed at the sight of their mangled friend and what she was doing.

"Feel like behaving now?!" Melody stated as she pressed Manaphy face-first against the mud, the prince growling like a protesting dog again. "Huh? 'Cause I got all day. I got all day to knock those teeth out. Just say the word, Swamp Scum, and we'll do it."

"Melody, stop!" Eric and Danny ran over to pull her away. "What the heck is going-"

Melody held up her missing ring finger. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" the boys screamed.

"MANAAAA!" Manaphy lunged at Melody, who grabbed him by the cheeks with her thumbs in his mouth, backed him against a tree, and stomped his face to knock some teeth out. She threw Manaphy down and backed away, both of them panting. "You know what, Manaphy, maybe it's GOOD that you ended up in Mermaid Swamp, because if you can change THAT easily, Oceana doesn't need you! You're nothing like the Manaphy from Mom's stories. You're just a sour, heartless little mutant!"

"Maaaaan!" He hissed at her once more and hopped away.

"Ugh." Melody went to pick up her severed finger. "Come on, let's see if the hideout has any bandages." She marched back to Hideout Helm in anger. "And if Klubba'll let me borrow his club." Danny and Eric stayed 20 feet behind her.

Guertena Gallery (Play "Dining Room" from Ib.)

"Apis, Aisa!" Mary called to the two girls exploring the Brown Area. "I found the key!"

She led them into a room that was black and white. Even they had no color about them. "What kind of room is this?" Aisa questioned.

"There's no color at all." Apis said.

"There's the key! Over there!" Mary pointed across a dark chasm. The key was sitting on a small table.

"That's too far to reach." Aisa said. "Isn't there a way across?"

"I don't know…" Mary spoke sadly.

"I can't even sense anything down there. Let's keep looking around."

The three girls later discovered a very narrow hallway with small lamps hanging on the wall near the ceiling. "I wonder if there's a way down through here?" Apis thought aloud before stepping forward-

Aisa grabbed her, "Don't! There's spike traps all over."

"There are? Then… how do we get past them?"

In the Violet Area below, Ib was leading April, who was carrying Aein and Mocha, through a long, vacant passage. This corridor was vaguely familiar to Ib, who had a hard time remembering much of the gallery already. There were strange, line diagrams near the ceiling on each long wall, and light switches under some of them. "What do these do?" Aeincha asked.

April flipped a few of them in the down position. "Not sure."

In the Brown Area, the lamps above the passage were switching off, making it darker. But Aisa noticed something else with her Mantra: "The spikes switched off. Well, most of them."

"But I can't see." Mary frowned.

"I can. Stay close to me." Aisa guided them both down the hall, sensing where some of the spikes were still active and instructing Apis and Mary to step over them. They made it into a room at the end of the passage, in which a hole separated two sides of the floor. "Nothing we can't step over." Aisa said, about to do so-

"HAH!" Claws reached up, preventing this feat. They looked around the room, but all that was here were five cords lined up on the ceiling, with a green painting with blinking eyes under the fourth one.

Downstairs, April's group made it to the main room of the Violet Area, where various paintings hung, such as Worry (its eye blinked), Juggling (an animated juggler), and Fleeting Thoughts on a Moonlit Night, which depicted a cherry blossom tree with animated falling petals. Five cords, like those seen on lamps, hung around the room. When Ib pulled one close to a wall, she was scratched by a claw. When April pulled one near a toad painting, the toad caught Aeincha on its tongue, chewed on her, and spat her out. Ib then pulled the cord beside Worry, flinching as she expected to be hurt again.

In the Brown Area, the portrait of blinking eyes slid down the wall and became a bridge across the hole. Shrugging at each other, the three girls crossed it, and the eyes made a boink sound. "Hehehe!" Mary giggled. They found a room of flickering lights, standing atop a wide staircase as they watched a red ball bounce down. At the bottom, the ball fell into a dark chasm. Another ball came out of the missing nose of a Clown painting and began another descent.

April's group entered a room with seven pedestals, and a palette hanging on the wall. The sign below it said, The seven balls of paint will show you the way. "Balls of paint?" Mocha said after April read it. "Where are those at?"

With Mary's group, they noticed that a narrow path led over the chasm down below, to a platform with a smaller hole. There were pegs around the stairs that altered the red ball's path. A peg was set before this path as well. The girls could move the Clown's position on the wall, setting it on a good route where the ball could bounce off that peg and onto the path. They watched the ball fall down the hole, wondering what that accomplished.

April's group split up to explore this area, and Ib saw a red ball fall out of a painting of stairs. When she picked it up, the ball mysteriously vanished. April looked at the Fleeting Thoughts painting again. There was a small message below that said, Offer your condolences. The cherry blossoms were pink like her rose. …April pulled three petals off her rose and dropped them before the painting, wincing from the pain. A pink ball of paint fell out, and it vanished upon April's touch.

Aeincha and Mocha entered the library, where they discovered an open English-German Dictionary on the floor. "You know, that's kind of what Chimney would read." Aeincha noted.

"You think she was in here?"

"She coulda been. Oh well. You think there are any paintballs hidden here?"

Mocha saw an Essentials of Color book a few shelves up. She climbed and used her super strength to pull the book out, letting it plop open on the floor. The two tinies flipped the pages, seeing color wheels, saturation wheels, and pages of color dots with numerous hues – one of the dots stuck out like a lump. Aeincha pulled the green ball of paint out, and it vanished.

Ib entered a room that was kind of like a waterway. There was a painting aptly labeled Barren Pipeline. A blue ball of paint sat on a platform that was too high to climb to. But in one corner, Ib found what seemed like a valve wheel. There wasn't any good place to latch it in here. Ib returned outside—there was a fishing hook dangling out of a blue painting labeled Fishing Hook. Just for fun, Ib decided to hook the valve onto it. She gasped when the valve was reeled up into the painting.

Apis, Aisa, and Mary returned to the main room of the Brown Area to look around. Mary noticed a Fisherman painting, holding a valve. When she approached, the man held it out for Mary to take. The golden-haired girl searched around, and found a small room that had a painting of a small hole, titled Water Valve. Mary was able to hook the wheel onto the painting and turn it, smiling happily as she pretended she was driving.

Below, April's group heard a sudden rushing of water. They entered the waterway room to find it filled. Since neither of them could swim, Aeincha rode a small lilipad over to the platform with the blue ball. It vanished when she touched it.

Upstairs, Apis found a painting called Heavenly Thread, which was a string hanging within a blank white space. Taking the rest of this gallery's shenanigans into account, she decided to reach in and touch it. Indeed, she was able to, and the Arceist decided to climb into the portrait and climb the thin string. It stretched into utter whiteness for miles, making Apis wonder if it was okay to keep going. She eventually reached a small, gray platform, hidden at first within the blankness, and found a white paintball seated. When she reached to touch it, it vanished.

Aisa found a painting called Skin and Scales, which depicted orange and purple tiles in diamond-like patterns. There was a yellow ball through the scales, and she felt the need to grab it. Her hand got pricked by the scales, and it seemed the various squares were in different positions. Using her Mantra, she determined the depth of the painting and maneuvered her arm within it. After carefully touching the yellow ball, it vanished.

April's group searched nearly the whole of the Violet Area, but couldn't seem to find the other Balls of Paint. They decided to roam the long corridor they previously came through, wondering if they missed it. In one of the corners, Ib spotted the purple ball camouflaged with the room's color. She picked it up and let it vanish.

Mary and Apis found a library inside a small room. Skimming titles, Apis picked out one labeled Ruin of the Heart. If your spirit suffers too much, you will soon start to hallucinate. And in the end, you will be destroyed. More worrying yet, is that you will not even be conscious of that fact.

Mary found a book titled A Girl's Last Days. Once upon a time, there was a little girl. The girl went with her parents to an art gallery. But all of a sudden, the girl realized that she was lost. She searched through the dim gallery, but found neither her parents nor the exit. Scared, helpless, lonely, hungry, and thirsty, she fell and hurt herself, putting her body past the limit… The last page had an illustration of a collapsed girl.

"Guys, there you are!" Aisa barged in. "I just checked that colorless room again, and a rainbow bridge appeared! I crossed it and got the key!" She held said key up.

"Great!" Apis beamed, putting her book back. "Mary, let's hurry downstairs!"

"Um… I'll catch up with you." Mary was staring solemnly at the picture of the collapsed girl. "I need to… rest…"

Aisa and Apis exchanged questioning looks. "Okay, Mary, just don't go too far."

They used the key to open the door to the stairwell. The area went from brown to violet as they rushed down. The door at the bottom was locked, however they could turn the dial to unlock it. When they entered, they were surprised at who they ran in to. "April!" Aisa beamed. "Aeincha, Mocha, -…Who's this?"

"I'm Ib." She greeted. "Is that a Halloween costume?"

"N-No… April, did you see Chimney down here? Mary said that they were down here."

"No, not really."

"Wait, you guys ran into Mary?" Ib asked.

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

April looked down; Mary hasn't told them, yet. Aein and Mocha looked at her expectantly. "…There's something we have to tell you guys. Let's find Chimney and Mary first."

"Oh, is that so? Nnn hee hee hee…"

The girls gasped softly. "Did you hear that?" Apis whispered.

"Really? Boy, that's somethin'…" They heard the voice come from around a corner, down a passage. The teammates decided to follow it. "Well, you know, things happen." There was a door that was cracked open. "Hee hee, you're so funny!"

"That sounds a lot like… Chimney." Mocha said.

"Is she talking to someone?" Apis asked.

"This door was locked before." Ib mentioned. "I wonder who opened it?"

Aisa sensed the presences on the other side of the door. There were many of them… they freaked her out. She gulped. "Let's see." She put her hand on the door and pushed it open. (End song.)

Bunnies of white and pink fur frolicked freely in this small, peaceful room. They had adorable, beady red eyes, their noses twitching as they sniffed about. A large painting of a pink rabbit, sitting on a grassy meadow, hung on the wall. Chimney was sitting in front of a green rabbit, smiling and exchanging pleasant conversation. "Are you kidding?! Who would do that to a girl?" she questioned. "Well, if I saw someone doing that, I'd tell 'em off for sure."

The teammates didn't know what to say. The sight was… adorable and confusing all at the same time. "She's… talking to it?" Aisa asked.

"What's wrong with her?" Aeincha followed.

Apis looked at a nearby bunny that was sniffing the floor. She smiled. "Well, at least they're cute." She was about to pet it.

"Whoa whoa!" Aisa held her back. "What about them is cute?!"

"Huh? Well, they kind of are… It's not like we don't have an oddly-colored bunny."

"Bunny? Whaddyou mean?"

"The… These bunnies."

"These aren't… bunnies." Aisa said confusedly.

"She's right… they aren't." April said.

"Then… what are they?" Aein asked.

What some of them saw as bunnies, in actuality, they were dolls. Blue, zombified dolls with wide staring eyes. The pink rabbit painting actually depicted the Red Eyes, a bigger, more terrifying version of these dolls. Chimney, while she seemed to be smiling sprightly, was actually very gray and wrinkled. The blue dolls were climbing on her, licking her skin. Her orange rose was slowly decaying. "Yeah… I know the feeling." Chimney said. "You feel so helpless sometimes… you want to do something, but you know you can't. It's nice to not have to think. Just forget all your problems… you know?"

"Chimney!" Aeincha jumped out of Ib's hand and ran onto the lap of Chimney's skirt, looking up at her face. "Chimney, it's me, Aeincha! Is something wrong with you?"

Chimney glanced down at her. "Oh, hello. Are you lost? Well, we have plenty of room here. Make yourself comfortable."

"…Mmmmmmph!" Aeincha fumed with anger. "Chimney, get ahold of yourself!" She jumped and smacked her giant head. "Snap out of it!"

Chimney didn't feel a thing. "That's what I mostly do is sleep. I just feel more happy in bed, you know? Not havin' to do anything…"

Apis sat beside Chimney and read from the holy book, "And Arceus asked Viridi, 'Darling, did you steal Celebi's Bubble Berries?' And Viridi replied, 'She wouldn't share them with me! She always gets all the good stuff, Papa Arceus!' Haha, pretty funny, huh, Chimney?"

"Did you know I can sleep a whole day?" Chimney asked. "I know, weekends are the greatest…"

Aisa walked over and pinched Chimney's nose between her toes. "Yes, Chimney, I ditched my sandals." She grinned teasingly.

"School's boring, though… I just don't pay attention. I doubt it really helps…"

"Well-p, I'm out of ideas." Aisa pulled her foot away.

Aeincha was close to crying. Her best friend was completely senseless. She wasn't hearing them at all. "…Mmmmmmmmmmm CHIMNEY, I LOVE YOU!"

The others looked at Aeincha in surprise. The Lilliputian gasped and clamped her hands over her mouth. "…Nah?" Chimney looked down at her. She shook her head, frowning and raising a brow. "Aeinchan?"

"Chimney?" she spoke, blushing.

"You're back to normal!" Apis beamed. "Nice job, Aeincha!"

"Hehe, remember that for next time!" Aisa laughed.

"Uhhh… What on Earth happened to me?" Chimney stood up, scratching her head.

"Let's get out of this room." Aeincha suggested. "These bunnies are giving me the creeps."

The group left the room of dolls and shut the door. They heard footsteps coming from around the corner, and saw Mary appear. The blonde Goldenweek gasped when she saw her cousin. "APRIL!" She ran up and embraced her in a hug. "I didn't know where you were, I was so lost, and I lost you, and I thought you were lost, but now we-!…" She looked up at her taller cousin's face. April was frowning, while Mary's smile was shining. …She frowned as well. "What's wrong?"

"Mary, I…I have some bad news. I don't know if you remember, but…"

"Mary?" Ib walked around from her left. "Is that really you?"

Mary was a little shocked by her appearance… but wasn't sure why. "Who are you?"

"Mary, this is Ib. Ib Goldenweek." April replied. "She's Alvin and Rosa's real daughter. Mary… you used to be a painting. A Guertena painting. And I was a doll you created, just like the ones in that room. We trapped her and Garry in this gallery and stole their realities. We became real humans, and they became paintings… or something like that."

Apis and Aisa exchanged baffled glances. Chimney's head was foggy from her experience just now, but she had the strangest notion she knew about this from somewhere. Mary stared at her blankly. No doubt, she would have the hardest time understanding if she didn't remember. …She smiled. "April, don't be silly. We're people, and we're from Germany! My mom and dad are Rosa and Alvin, you're dad is Galdino, and you used to live in Germany, but you moved to-"

"Mary, it's true. We're Imaginary Beings, and we erased two real people from existence. I know it's hard to understand, but we have to stay here."

"But…But why?"

"Because Ib and Garry are suffering here. They don't belong here. But we do, and as long as we have each other, it won't be so bad."

"Mary, please try to remember." Ib pleaded. "I still remember how upset you were back then. I really wanted to help you… but you tried to hurt Garry, and I…I-"

"I know." Mary pulled away from April and turned away. Her expression was solemn. "I…I think I've always known. Ever since I started having those nightmares. I don't think April knew it as well because she was a doll… but I tried to ignore it. I didn't want to give up my freedom…"

"If you remember, then you know what we have to do, Mary." April said, reaching to put a hand on her shoulder. "We have to stay here so they can be free. It isn't right to keep them here, you know that."

"But what about your friends, April? Won't you miss them?"

"Of course I will, I really don't wanna do this either. But we have to do the right thing, Mary. They belong in the real world. Not us."

"…" Tears were welling up in Mary's eyes. She ran around the halls, tears flying behind her, and they heard her sobs echo.

"Mary…" Ib reached in her direction.

"I don't understand any of this." Apis said, baring the same look as Aisa. "Both of you came from this place? And you need to stay?"

"That's what Ib told us." Aeincha replied. "But Mary, though… I know what she did was wrong, but I can't help but feel sorry for her. I wouldn't wanna come back, either."

"Come on, let's go find her." April said. "The least we can do is promise we'll always remember her, and promise we'll always be her friend. Even if she- er, we have to stay here, at least this way she won't feel completely alone."

"But what if we forget like you did after we leave?" Aeincha asked.

"We'll have to make some kind of note. One we'll always hold on to." The seven kids marched forward to find their friend.

Mary was sitting on her knees, facing a corner at the top of the stairs to the Brown Area. She had a minute to think to herself. She was able to reach a decision. "Alright, then… I know what I need to do now." Her expression dark, she reached into her pocket to grab the palette knife. "I need to finish the job." She got to her feet and shot a deadly glare down the hall. "I'll kill Garry once and for all… so I never have to come back."

Mermaid Swamp; Hideout Helm

Lapis heard the entrance to her cell open, and Melody walked in again, her hair and clothes a mess. "You're back?"

"Yep." She still looked exhausted. "And don't worry, I asked them to close the window. They're watching football, now."

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" The Kremlings were hooting and hollering at the screen: Charlie Brown went several yards back, he dashed forward with high hopes, and just when the cartoon boy was about to kick the football… Lucy pulled it away, causing Charlie to fling himself into the air. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The Kremlings went in a temper tantrum at this.

"Did you bring Manaphy?" Lapis asked.

"No, I did not. But I did get these." Melody pointed at her cuts, and the bandage wrapped around her severed finger.

"Oh, my!" Lapis gasped.

"Yes. And you know, Lapis, I don't really care if we're friends or not, but if the day should come that I finally save Manaphy from himself, using him to trade bodies with you will be the least of my interests."

"No no, I get it, I get it." Lapis gestured with her hands to 'calm down,' standing up and approaching Mel to look at her finger. "Will it stay on?"

"Yes, thankfully I managed to heal it in time. No offense."

"Right…" Lapis looked down regretfully, scratching her head. "I'm…I'm sorry for my attitude before. I've just been trapped in here for so long, I can't really distinguish between friend and enemy…"

"At least now you have someone to sympathize with."

"Yeah…" Lapis looked away, contemplating. Her mirror eyes faced Melody again, "I still wanna trade bodies with you."

"Well, it's NOT gonna happen anytime soon!"

"No, I mean, we don't actually need Manaphy to do it!"

"What're you talking about?"

"Because I…" Lapis looked both ways. She whispered in Melody's ear, "I can still use magic in here."

"Huh?"

"I think there are a few cuts in the net strings. I've been able to use faint forms of magic, even though none of them are strong enough to get me out of here. And I… There's a spell we can use to switch bodies."

"What's it called?" Melody raised a brow.

"We have to hold each other, look in each other's eyes, and say, 'I trust you with my life.' 'Course, we have to actually mean it, otherwise it won't work. I used to do it with my friend, Mavis a lot."

"What makes you think we could do it?"

"Well, despite what's happened… I think you really are honest about wanting to help me. And this way, I think we can sympathize with each other. So…" Lapis softly took Melody's hands in hers, "I trust you with my life. Do you trust me?"

Melody wasn't sure. She had only just met Lapis… but she would still like to be friends with her. Melody was horribly stressed out over trying to pacify Manaphy, and even Lapis wasn't covered in wounds, however the fairy was suffering in a different way. It would be a fun experience to try, feeling each other's pain this way. Melody looked into her mirror eyes. "I trust you with my life."

Lapis closed her eyes and channeled her faint magic energy. A light appeared in both their hearts, traveling along the arms to the other's body. "Whoooa…" Melody wobbled backward. She felt so… weird. Her vision was smeary and… she felt extremely lightweight. She looked at her hands and her bare feet past her dress, all of a blue tone. She was in Lapis's body.

Lapis felt very heavy; her skin was peach-colored, was made of flesh, and she felt pain in several areas. "It…It worked." Lapis said with Melody's voice. "I'm in your body."

"Whoooa!…" Melody wobbled, unbalanced in her light-made body. "And I'm clearly in yours. …Lapis, this feels weeeeiiiird…"

"Hm hm, don't worry." Lapis chuckled. "You get used to it over time. I'll even help you with it." Swiftly, she grabbed water from Melody's bottles, sliced it across the waist of her former body, and watched it poof into smoke. She picked up the cracked Lazuli Gem that remained, staring at it. "Sorry, Melody. I really did think we could be friends. If only you weren't Kyogre's granddaughter."

Using her bending, Lapis broke out of the cell, surprising the Kremlings in K. Rool's throne as she slashed water and knocked out all of them. She bolted down the hall, throwing Water Fists at each Kremling. Currently, Klubba was bouncing Danny up-and-down with his club, having inflated the male Jackson with 10 gallons of water. "Melody!" Danny spat the water in the opposite direction to fly after his sister, afterwards running on the ground beside Eric. "Where're you going?!"

"I'm done being everyone's PRISONER!" Lapis slashed water and froze the boys in ice. Eventually, the possessed human made it outside, viewing Mermaid Swamp from the base's balcony. "If I can't leave this planet… I'll make ALL of you my PRISONERS!" She kicked on Melody's Water Fury and dove into the swamp.