50. Plot Hole

Mermaid Swamp

Bowser used his fire breath to melt the ice off of Danny and Eric, with the rest of Team Gnaa behind them. "What the heck is wrong with your friend?!" the Koopa King questioned.

"We don't know!" Danny yelled. "It caught us by surprise!"

"Empty, the Princess Lapis cell is!" Grunty informed. "The child must have done the biz."

"I conjecture that Lapis's body retreated into her gem." Eggman spoke. "I've been studying her, and she has a most peculiar anatomy. The only true physical part of her body is her gem."

"So you think Melody's keeping her in her pocket?" Eric asked.

"That doesn't explain why she up and attacked us!" Danny said, exasperated.

"If Lapis has done something, we must apprehend her." Kroctus said. "If Lapis still holds on to her hatred, Oceana may-" They nearly lost balance when the base wobbled.

"Your Excellency!" A Kritter and a Kop hurried up to them from down the passage. "A pillar of water just rised up from around the fortress! It's being frozen in ice!"

"Summon Dogadon to melt the ice!" Kroctus commanded. "You all, follow me to the hangar. We are taking the Flying Krock!" The king charged back the way they came.

They followed the Kremling King all the way to the top of the base where the Flying Krock was parked. Kroctus hurriedly activated the ship after they all boarded, flying through the encasing water before the top froze. The wind from the plane's propellers blew some of the swamp's fog away, and through it, they could see a light-blue glowing force. When the plane hovered closer, they could make out the figure in the center of the glow. "It's Melody!" Danny pointed.

Said girl was whirling her arms and spinning the swamp's murky water around her. The ship hovered higher as the body of water continued growing, forming a sickly green colossus, with a hint of blue from its controller, that shaped Melody's body. "What?! THIS again?" Eggman asked, remembering back when Eva became a water giantess.

However, the form of Melody morphed into a watery body of Lapis Lazuli, whose green form, pupil-less eyes, and angry scowl made her a terrifying sight. "NO ONE has power over ME, anymore!" the giantess declared with Melody's voice. "I'll destroy everyone that TORMENTED me on this planet!" The giant slashed sudden beams of water at the ship, and K. Rool evasively dodged them as he fired missiles, but the engines cooled after entering the water body before 'Melody' tossed them back. The Krock was bounced around by the explosions, then the giantess sent a massive Water Fist to send the ship spiraling toward the sky.

Mermaids were getting pulled up into the water body via the current, so Lapis relentlessly spat them out onto the land. "Mana Mana!" When she realized Manaphy was being pulled up against his will, the possessed child decided to encase him inside ice. In her water colossus, Lapis surfed through the murky fog and away from the swamp, soon to find shore under an open atmosphere, but cloudy sky.

Lapis turned off Melody's Fury and settled on shore, laying the frozen Manaphy beside her. Lapis tried to catch Melody's breath. "If this girl has Kyogre's God Chi, it should be greater than mine. The problem is, she's mortal, not to mention these wounds still hurt. Using too much power too quickly will exhaust her body. Not like my own…" Lapis reached into Melody's pocket and pulled out her cracked gem. "I'm guessing she doesn't know how to rematerialize my body. I won't be able to switch back if she can't figure it out. So it's a good thing I brought him along."

Lapis unfroze Manaphy, who shook his head and snarled viciously at her, still missing teeth. When he lunged, Lapis dodged aside and swiftly trapped Manaphy inside a spinning water bubble, raising him in midair. "If this girl is your Guardian, then she should be able to control you. That is, if she has your Spirit Ball. I wonder where…" Lapis felt around Melody's clothes – her hand felt a tiny dangling ball from the earring on her right ear. Curious, Lapis picked it off—she pushed it, and the blue Pokéball grew to hand size. "Of course. I wonder if she even knew what this was. Ahem:"

Lapis chucked the ball into the air and called, "Manaphy, RETURN!" She threw it at the Firstborn, watched Manaphy turn into light, and go inside. The ball shook and beeped on the ground for a few seconds. It popped open- "AAAAH!" Manaphy lunged at Lapis and bit her waist, the fairy retaliating by yanking Manaphy off and stomping him on the ground. "Fine! Then my only other plan is to spiritbend you. I doubt Melody learned how to do that, but since she has my healing, I should be able to pull it off. However…" Lapis stared out into the open sea. "Not before I use the Ocean King's own power to destroy his precious kingdom!" The human froze Manaphy in ice and dove into the sea, using Melody's superb bending to swim across the miles in no time.

The Subconscious…

Everywhere around Melody's vision was millions of glittery dots, flying across miles of wavy blue light. All of this light should be hurting her eyes, but she felt no need to blink. Melody couldn't feel her wounds… or any other part of her body. She held what she was certain were her hands in front of her… but they didn't look normal. She had no weight or form about her. "Where in the world… am I…" Melody looked around. There were giant bubbles across this scape, each depicting images. Melody was apparently standing on a glowing watery path suspended in the air.

"Am I… inside Lapis's mind?…" She moved her hands to feel her body, but only mystical mist was present. "She did say that was why she wanted to switch bodies, but… this is really weird." Melody viewed around the odd realm. The images seen inside the millions of bubbles. "I guess I better get to work, then. She left a lot of memories for me to look at." (Play "Mural World" from Yume Nikki.)

Stage 53: Mermaid Swamp, Act 2: Lapis's Subconscious

Mission: Collect Lapis's memories.

Melody jogged across the liquid path, looking left and right at the memory bubbles floating over the abyss. One depicted Lapis with a blonde girl and a ghostly-white girl, one showed her sitting on a hill and staring at two moons, and one showed a blue-skinned man with a blue mustache. Melody reached the end of the midair road, where three short water columns of different height were sat. The next road was a few feet above and over the abyss. Using her bending, Melody could push the columns to float over, but their water began to pour into the chasm bottoms-first. Melody barely had enough time to jump across their tops and successfully make it onto the foothold.

Melody viewed an endless water road where two blue legs stood at the beginning. They moved in very graceful and elegant poses, dancing for a few feet, but then returning to start. Melody watched their movements closely, then started to dance down the road in the same fashion. The legs kept going, apparently trying to evade her grasp. On the sides, there were bubbles depicting Lapis doing these dances and mermen staring at her. Melody continued dancing until she finally caught up with Lapis's legs, whose holographic appearance latched onto her own particle legs.

The road showed an end, with a Memory Bubble floating over it. Melody decided to jump inside.

Lapis was performing a dance on an outside stage in Oceana. Her gem glowed as beautiful and intricate water patterns formed above, thanks to her bending. Melody felt a little jealous at her skill. There was no sound, and the memory showed in clips, until Lapis was standing before Kyogre. "Princess Lapis… may I be the first to say it was an honor to have you in our home. Our spirits were uplifted by your charm…"

"Oh, it was nothing…" Lapis grinned blushingly, scratching her head.

"It was much more than that. Which is why, Lapis, I would like to make a request: I would love for you to remain in Oceana. To highlight the glooming spirits of our people, and to defend our world with your power."

"I…I can't, really." Lapis spoke regrettably. "It's just, I'm more used to Avalar's ocean, ya know? And I don't wanna get…"

"Oh, but you must!" Kyogre's deep, calm, echoing voice sounded insistent. "I fear the demons will not stay below for very long. We need your majestic aura to keep our oceans at peace, and to heal our wounded. Please… Lapis…"

Lapis frowned, looking at the floor before gazing at the sky. It was nighttime, and the stars were blurry beyond the surface. "I guess I could stay… a little while."

Bubbles floated up from the abyss between Melody and the next path, but the water of those bubbles poured down in droplets as they shrunk and disappeared, then reappeared. The cycle repeated, so Melody had to quickly dive and swim through them, dolphin-jumping to each bubble before landing on the foothold. Melody viewed a small ocean of floating water blocks, none of which were positioned straight, some at random diagonal positions. Melody jumped around the maze of blocks, growing quickly lost and unable to remember the paths she came. She saw a platform high overhead, so she kept maneuvering around the blocks, finding ones that led her higher, until she successfully landed on the platform.

Lapis's arms were floating around midair and making a pattern of waterbending movements. In the space around the foothold, small water droplets floated. When Melody mimicked the arms' movements, she was bending the droplets and molding them together. She had to move her hands in a spherical fashion, the gesture of molding something into a ball, and those droplets became a Memory Bubble. Melody poked her head inside.

"Look, Your Majesty," Lapis said to Kyogre, "I think I've overstayed my welcome. By, like… a lot. I wanna go back to Avalar and see my friends, again; I missed, like, 520 of Mavis's annual Fairy Tea Parties."

"But you cannot leave, now! The Festival of the Moon is approaching. Our citizens will be eager to see you dance at your greatest."

Lapis sighed with aggravation. "Fine… If I must."

But that's when Malladus made his return, Melody remembered, so Lapis had to stay longer. …Wait, how did Melody remember that? Either way, it pissed her off. A straightforward path appeared before her, but random areas lost balance and sank into holes; likely a result of Lapis's cracked gem. Melody watched out for these holes, then she viewed a more wide water-made field of square tiles. Half were a lighter blue, others a darker, but Melody took note of the more wavy ones next to stiller ones. Melody walked and jumped around the still tiles, as the wavy ones would collapse, then made it to the other side.

Melody arrived at a large, cube fortress whose interior was made up of similar tiles. Melody expected some kind of maze where the right paths were hidden inside the fake walls; actually, the wall tile directly across from her had Lapis's mirror eyes. Melody peered through them like binoculars; they showed a reflection of this room, and a left wall panel was glowing. Melody approached and was able to climb through it into the next room. She found the mirror eyes on the floor, and they showed a glowing ceiling panel, in which Melody could use her bending to make the water rise and lift her into it. This room had several risen tiles, in which Melody had to solve a maze of them before finding the eyes in a high wall tile near the tallest risen panel. Melody could barely detect the glowing panel behind a short risen panel, but she did nonetheless.

The next room had more of those wavy tiles that would collapse. Melody maneuvered around them and found the eyes on the left wall. It showed the glowing panel on the floor on the other side of the room, so Melody had to make tricky jumps over loose panels to get there. That very glowing panel was wavy, and when she jumped through, she felt herself land on a narrow path just under the fortress, over the abyss. She walked forward and walked through the midair mirror eyes, latching them over her own. Melody entered another Memory Bubble.

"Lapis: I would like you to meet my new friend. Davy Jones." Kyogre showed her to a gray-haired sailor in mostly brown leather clothing, and a large captain's hat. "I have appointed him as the Ferrier of Souls whom were lost within the sea."

"Cool! Nice to meet you." Lapis smiled casually. "Is he going to be taking over my job, or… something?"

"No. Do not worry, Lapis." Kyogre made a small humorous smile. "I would like you to show him the realm, and teach him of our customs. Perhaps you may be able to aid him in his job."

"Oh! Well, that sounds great." Lapis's eyes narrowed, and her smile appeared forced.

"I will leave you to it. Farewell, for now." The Ocean King swam away.

"So, you are a fairy…" Davy Jones said with interest, his Scottish accent thick. "You are beings of magic, are you not?"

"Yep. Ain't I just a big ball of Fairy Dust?" Lapis remarked; her masked anger was the reason behind her sarcastic tone.

"What sort of magic do you know?"

"Well, one time I read how a human can cut out their heart without dying. Interested?"

Melody proceeded to a garden of Memory Bubbles. One showed Lapis and a younger version of that blonde girl sleeping on the same mat. Another showed those two dancing. There was a memory of Lapis touching her fingers to Baby Melody's forehead, the child asleep in a bundle. Another memory had Lapis performing some kind of waterbending, in which the water glowed as it spiraled around some black monsters with skull faces. Melody decided to go around and collect all these memories—it was crazy how one could see a person's entire history through this… crazy means. Melody collected a memory of Lapis swimming, which was coincidentally above a river that Melody had to swim through. She saw memories of Lapis bathing with her two friends, of them dancing in the rain, and of Lapis laying in slumber on the ocean's surface.

When Melody resurfaced, she climbed onto a foothold where Lapis's cracked gem floated. A Memory Bubble was behind it, depicting Lapis trapped in Spongebob's net. As the gem connected with Melody's back, she viewed into the memory.

Lapis was dancing at an outdoor diner, and all eyes were on her. Lapis's smile was calm as always, but Melody could feel the bottled-up aggravation. Then suddenly, the merpeople panicked and swam away: Spongebob's annoying laughter rang throughout the air; he was trying to catch a large jellyfish inside an equally large net. Lapis stopped to stare at him with confusion. The fairy screamed when Spongebob captured her in a missed swing. "Oh, yeah?" Spongebob narrowed his eyes at the jelly. "Well, how about THIS!"

"WAAAH!" Lapis was swung with the net, smashing a table.

"Then THIS!" Spongebob swung again and smashed another table with Lapis. "Fine! Then I'll just do THIS!!" Spongebob leaped, swung harder, and SLAMMED Lapis gem-first against the ground. The net ripped in the process, and Spongebob realized what he did. "Oops."

"AAAAAAUUUUUGH!" Lapis's pupil-less eyes were furious. "THAT'S IT!! I've HAD IT with this planet! When I get through with this place, you're all gonna WISH it was Malladus or Jones instead of MEEEEE!"

Parts of the bubble over the kingdom ruptured, buildings were collapsing when water pierced through them, the people of Oceana had never seen a greater storm of Waterbending Fury. "Huuum… hum huuuum… HUUUM… hum HUUUM…" Then the storm subsided. Manaphy's soft, beautiful voice eased Lapis's soul. And only as Manaphy kept singing did Lapis stay calm. For three years, as they searched for a healer, Manaphy didn't stop singing. (End song.)

Oceana

"Sire! Your Majesty!" Sebastian scuttled into Kyogre's throne in a frantic fashion. "There is a cyclone! A very large cyclone heading toward Oceana!"

"A cyclone? That cannot be…"

"I know. De Kids Next Door are being sent to investigate and subdue the cause. But our soldiers have seen de top of it, and it is…"

The cyclone drew in millions of fish in its wake, and above the surface it connected to was Lapis Lazuli's water colossus. Lapis, still in Melody's body, stopped when swarms of merkids emerged above the surface. "This is the Oceanic Kids Next Door!" Numbuh 10,000 Leagues, Kaima shouted through a conch-shell megaphone. "You are conjuring a cyclone below the surface that is about to pass over Oceana!"

"Tell her what she already knows!" a male merkid remarked.

Kaima glared at him. "You are hereby ordered to stop what you're doing and turn yourself in!"

Lapis slashed her giant arm across the surface and wiped a chunk of merkids away with a mighty wave. "I am ALREADY 'turned in' if I can't leave this useless planet! I'll make every one of you REGRET making me stay here! I'll turn this ocean into your own PRISON!" With a surge of power, dozens of water columns sprouted into the air around her.

After the Flying Krock escaped the swamp, they flew across the sea in search for Melody. "Uhhh… Is that her?" Eric pointed at the water giantess a few miles ahead.

"She's even less discreet than I am." Eggman remarked.

"But why the heck is she making that Lapis statue?!" Bowser shouted.

"Melody told us that Lapis wanted to switch bodies with her." Danny mentioned. "But if she didn't have Manaphy, how could they've done that?"

"I told you once, I told you so!" Gruntilda scolded Eggman. "To check the status of the net's sew! A hint of magic, Lapis still possessed. She fooled Melody, that little pest!"

"Then we'll have to catch Lapis and force her to switch them back!"

"Are you kidding me??" Eric proclaimed. "Danny, you're Kyogre's grandson, too, but you ain't as tough as Mel!"

"Perhaps." Kroctus said. "But do not forget, we are the commanders of Team Gnaa." He set the ship on autopilot. "We will subdue her!"

Bowser flew out in his Koopa Clown Car, Eggman on his Egg Mobile, Grunty on her broomstick, and Lehcar used Rocket Boost to fly out of the aircraft, while K. Rool dove into the sea. The Kremling King swam underneath the water pillars; which took the form of cyclones underneath. Inflated Pufftups spiraled around the cyclones and flew at Kroctus, who used his great strength to punch them away, despite their spikes. Kroctus found the largest cyclone and let himself be sucked inside so he could swim up the colossus's body.

Lapis looked down and gasped when she saw the Kremling King swim up, and Kroctus took notice of the Sea Prince trapped in ice. Lapis spun around and caused her colossus to do the same, whirling the muscular crocodile inside the twister to prevent him from catching up. Kroctus maintained composure, swam up, and swiped his claw at Melody's body, but the possessed girl dodged and punched him upside the chin, with a burst of water blowing the Kremling out of the water body. "OOOOWWW!" Lapis cried, having punched the Kremling with Melody's injured hand. She felt her control faltering, so she recomposed herself quickly.

Kroctus blew through several water columns, and Lehcar barely dodged him before he crashed in the sea. The king resurfaced and told her, "She has Manaphy trapped inside. But considering Melody's injuries, this act must be consuming a lot of power."

"In that case, we can defeat her easy." Lehcar said, pressing two fingers together. "Especially if I lightning her."

"No! We do not want to fatally wound the Firstborn Guardian. We can weaken her just by forcing her to fight."

Gruntilda waved her wand around the air and froze a number of water columns with magic, then Bowser Jr. rammed his Koopa Clown Car against them and made them topple toward Lapis. The water giantess slashed her arms and destroyed the columns, but Dr. Eggman seized the chance to fly through and blast fire from his Egg Pod, alongside Bowser Jr.. A huge cloud of steam appeared when the fire made contact, and as Lapis was trying to blow it away, her other water columns disabled. She looked down and realized a swarm of poison mermaids, directed by Ineptune, were swimming around her cyclone below and leaving gas in their wake. "That's right, ladies!" the large merwoman proclaimed. "Remind this hag why we weren't allowed to leave our swamp!"

"Hey!" Lapis shouted when her water body began to turn green, absorbing their poisons. "Stop that! Get out of me, get out!" She spun around to shake the greenness out—as the mermaids caught and threw the poison globs back with their bending, Bowser Jr. blew fire at the water body and ignited the poison with flames. "AAAAHH!" Lapis was blown away by the explosion, splashing in a distant part of the sea. Manaphy's ice prison was destroyed as the monstrous Sea Prince landed in the water.

The Oceana Kids Next Door swam to and surrounded the area where the princess splashed. They held their tridents ready to apprehend Lapis, but what they saw was… "Wait… she isn't Lapis." Kaima observed. "She's…"

"Melody!" Sebastian exclaimed with horror, having come to observe this battle up close.

Indeed, the dark-haired human princess, her bandages and clothing ripped, was unconscious as she softly descended under the sea. The cracked teardrop gem had slipped out of her pocket and was sinking farther into the black abyss. …Lapis gasped awake, choking with so much water inside her lungs, and hurriedly swam back to the surface. "Huuu- cough, cough!" Lapis desperately tried to cough the water out of Melody's throat. She never knew how it felt to drown. She looked around when the merkids surfaced around her.

"Aren't you the Ocean Princess?" Kaima questioned. "Kyogre's granddaughter? Why are you attacking us? And why did you shape that statue like…"

"SHE IS NOT THE OCEAN PRINCESS." Some merkids swam away when a figure emerged out of the water, perched on a water column of her conjuring. "I am!"

"It's the Fairy Princess!" a chubby merboy pointed. "She's back for revenge!"

"GET HER!" Kaima roared, and all of their waterbending and trident attacks were directed at the fairy.

Melody, in Lapis's body, spun around and created a cyclone to protect herself, but when the cyclone dispersed, the fairy was no longer there. "AAAH!" Lapis screamed when her former body emerged behind her and grabbed Melody's neck in her arms. Melody used Lapis's bending to make a water spire lift them high into the cloudy sky. The merkids swam up in attempt to catch them, but Melody forced the spire to freeze, trapping all of their pursuers.

Melody let Lapis break away and fall forward, gasping for breath with her human lungs. "You…" Lapis glared up at her former body. "You figured out how to materialize? But how?"

"I was inside your mind. I was able to see your memories. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Lapis breathed for a few seconds. She was too busy trying to attack Oceana, she never tapped into Melody's memories. The Flying Krock hovered close by. "Lapis? Melody? What are you two doing?" Danny's voice was heard.

"Danny, it's me!" Lapis's body yelled. "I'M Melody! Me and Lapis switched bodies!"

"But how? Did Manaphy do it?"

"I'll explain later. But first…" Melody turned down to Lapis.

"I guess you want me to switch us back?" Lapis asked rhetorically. "I can't really do that in this body, only you can. But the 'Trust' agreement still has to be done. And I doubt you wanna trust me after this."

"Well, you can't expect me to not be mad about you tricking me." Melody stated. "And I know that if we switch back, you're still gonna wanna get revenge. But you know, Lapis? I'm gonna let you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were right, Lapis. I saw your memories, I felt your feelings. Kyogre didn't even bother to ask how you felt. Did he even care about you at all?"

"That…That's exactly what I'm wondering." Lapis replied reflectively. "Did he even admire and respect me, or was I just some cheap entertainment and magical healthcare? Why didn't he beg his own daughter to stay in Oceana, why was she allowed to stay on Earth and I couldn't even go visit my friends? Heck, I can just teleport with my fairy powers and be back in a flash, was it really so important that I stay?! Of course, my gem is broken now, so I can't even DO that…"

"I'm still mad at you for tricking me this way, but if we hadn't switched bodies, I guess I wouldn't know how you were feeling, so that was the only way you could escape. But I think we both know my body's in a rough shape right now. Lapis, switch back with me. You can get revenge to your heart's content."

"Are you sure? You'd want me to get revenge on your own grandfather?"

"Well, my mom didn't want me to call him 'Grandpa' for a reason. Come on, Lapis." She held a hand down to her. "Let's do it."

Lapis stared at her own blue hand, looking up at her own serious mirror eyes. The human stood and took the alien's hand.

"Mana Mana. Mana." Manaphy was swimming in circles around an area, trying to catch an innocent yellow guppy with blue stripes. The guppy looked elsewhere, cowered, and swam away. "Mana?" Manaphy looked to where it did, seeing the large force speeding up.

"AAAAH!" The two princesses screamed when their ice pillar shook suddenly and collapsed. As Lapis and Melody resurfaced, a Gyarados shot out of the water, soared overhead, and captured the fairy inside its mouth as it splashed back in. "MELODY/LAPIS!" Danny and Eric screamed. "Wait/Which one is it/are they again?" they both said at the same time.

"Hnnn?! What is that Gyarados's problem?" Eggman asked, surprised.

"Wait! It is no Gyarados!" Kroctus proclaimed, closely observing the robotic animal under the water.

"Prepare for trouble, I'm afraid you've misjudged." The woman's voice echoed.

"And make it double, we pack the ***."

"I told you not to use that line!"

"You set me up for it, I thought it was time!"

"Oh, never mind! To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of free-roaming fairies."

"To extract from them their magical dairies!"

"Okay, that line is also weird. Ahem, JESSIE!" The woman made a pretty pose in a swimsuit.

"James." So did he.

The camera flashed pictures of them against an ocean wave background. "Team Rocket, surfing away across the sea!"

"Surrender now, you can take it from me!"

"Meeeeowth: It's us three!"

"Woooobbuffet!"

"Chiiiime…"

"What's going on down there?!" Danny exclaimed.

"Hm hm hm, it's our first catch of the day," Jessie giggled, "and it's a pretty good one, I say."

"We were able to snag both Manaphy and the Fairy Princess da boss talked about, in one go!" Meowth said.

"But are you certain all it takes is a net to hold them?" James asked with concern, looking at the two struggling inside the fish net.

"Relax, I read that fairies are powerless under nets, and with that one chi-blocked, Manaphy can't do much neither."

"Then I guess it's time to hit the hay." Jessie decided, pulling a lever. "Bon voyage, twerps!" Their Gyarados submarine sailed away. (Play "Double Trouble" from Pokémon!)

"I'm going down there!" Danny yelled, diving out of the aircraft.

"Wait!" Eric cried. "Don't leave me with…" He felt a shadow loom over him, looking terrified at Klubba's imposing form. "Oh boy."

Danny submerged and immediately began swimming after the submarine with 'Melody' by his side. "Melody." he said with an air bubble over his mouth. "Is that you?"

"No, I'm Lapis! They took my body before we could switch!"

"What would they want with you, anyway?"

"At this point, I don't care anymore. I'm sick of being IMPRISONED!" She spun like a torpedo and sped after them.

"No, you're still injured!" Danny shouted. "Oh, forget it!" Danny inhaled a large breath of water, puffing himself round, and farted a stream of bubbles to move as fast as a speedboat. Seeing them pursuing, James threw a Pokéball outside and summoned a real Gyarados, who zipped by and knocked Lapis out of the water with his tail. Danny kept going, tailing directly behind Danny, who was quickly deflating with constant farting. The male Jackson had to resurface and catch breath, and Gyarados towered over him, ready to gnash down. Danny quickly dove, dodging its mouth, and inhaled more water before blasting after the sub again.

When Gyarados tried to pursue again, the bubbles from Danny's rear hit his face. The scent was awful, so Gyarados was forced to stop. Danny evasively dodged the torpedoes from Team Rocket's sub, but when he had to catch breath and puff up again, the sub appeared too far out of reach.

"James, your Gyarados is falling behind." Jessie pointed out.

"Don't worry. He'll catch up by the time that boy runs out of oxygen."

"Let me out of here!" Melody squirmed, kicking the net's strings with Lapis's feet. "What's your guys' deal?!"

Meowth jumped before her and pointed a claw up, "Listen, Toots, you're gonna show us how ta get to Lunaria, or youse gonna be very sorry!"

"Lunaria? I don't know how to get there!"

"What? But aren't you a Lunarian? So you should know the way around the Lunar Field like da Boss said!"

"Manaaa! Manaaa!" Meowth looked around and saw the struggling green creature behind 'Lapis.' The cat walked around and said, "And just what're you doing- YAH?!"

The sharp-toothed Firstborn had enough remaining teeth to bite through the string. "AAAAAH! I don't remember Manaphy havin' such big teeth! Or lookin' that way, for that matter!"

"That doesn't make sense!" Jessie yelled. "Our energy readings for that creature match Midna's and Mew's, and the physical shape matches, so it has to be Manaphy!"

"MAAAAN!" Manaphy successfully snapped through, much to their horror. The Rocket Agents froze fearfully as the creature jumped out and snarled at them. Melody squeezed Lapis's skinny self through the hole and bent water out of her gem. "This party's over- AAAH!" Manaphy chose to bite the alien's leg instead. "Get off, you crappy little-!" Manaphy was flung off against a window, cracking it as water began to leak in.

"GYAAAAH! I knew I forgot to do maintenance!" Meowth panicked.

"I knew we meant to get you a brainscan!" Jessie retorted.

"Scan each other later, we've gotta get!" James panicked.

The three agents hurried to the emergency escape sub, sighing with relief after they escaped. "Phew… HUH?!"

A giant, round mass with a face was glaring at their little sub. Danny Jackson had inflated to a radius of 40 feet. The boy slowly rotated 180 degrees, so now his bottom was facing the terrified Rocket Agents. With one last puff, Danny farted a powerful beam of bubbles that propelled Team Rocket to the surface and beyond. "Looks like Team Rocket is blasting away under the moon!" ("Wobbuffet!") Their forms twinkled in the moonlit sky. (End song.)

The clouds had gone away, and while the edge of the horizon remained orange, a crescent moon and stars lit up the indigo sky. Melody resurfaced in Lapis's body, later to be joined by Lapis in her own body. "What was that all about?" Lapis asked.

"Don't ask me." Melody replied. "Anyway… Where were we?"

The two girls stayed afloat as they locked hands. "I trust you with my life." Lapis stated calmly.

"I trust you with my life." Melody repeated, closing her eyes. She tried to channel Lapis's magic energy, tried to switch their souls. …Their hearts glowed, they- "OOOW!" Melody was bit in the leg by Manaphy, and she angrily kicked him underwater to shake him off. Manaphy jumped out of the water and tried to gnash the fairy. "AUGH!" Melody grabbed the prince tightly. "When I get through with you, you stupid…"

"Mana Mana! Mana…PHEEEE!" His green antennas glowed red and connected both princesses. When it died down, Melody felt exhausted and heavy in her injured body, while Lapis's lightweight self returned to her. Manaphy swam away.

"Oh! We're back." Lapis observed.

"Yeah. 'Guess we are." Melody followed, staring at her hands.

Lapis was silent for a second in thought. She then said, "So, is our deal still in effect? I still want revenge on Oceana."

"…Yep. It still is." Melody nodded. "Have at it."

"Hm… You're too kind." Lapis smiled, her eyes narrowed quizzically. She turned around-

"Wait." She stopped when Melody spoke. "I believe I also made you promise not to mess up my body. Now I have soot marks and my bandages are ripped. And if my memories that I don't remember serve me correctly, you attacked my friends after you escaped. I don't appreciate being used that way."

"Y-Yes, but-…" Lapis stopped. Through her blurry vision, she saw Melody's accusing look. She could read her mind still. "Oh… I see."

"Loopholes are fun, aren't they?"

"…All right, then. If that's how you wanna play it." Lapis's gem glowed as the chunk of the ocean they were in sank into a large liquid crater. The fairy encased herself inside a rising water pillar that projected her angered visage. (Play "Mirror Match" from Steven Universe.)

Boss fight: Lapis Lazuli

Globs of water rose out of the solid liquid ground and turned into Melody clones. They swung their arms and slashed water at her in the same fashion that she would, so Melody expertly dodged and slashed water back at them. Melody still felt weak in her hand, and the clones seized the chance to gang up on her. Melody pushed them away with her bending, then stretched her arms to go into Water Fury. She pulled five streams of water from the wall behind her and washed them over the clones, then she surfed across an ice road to Lapis's pillar. The face spat a powerful Water Beam, and Melody leaped to surf across it as well. She froze the beam with her bending, and once she made it to Lapis, she jumped and broke the ice off, swinging it forcefully into the pillar.

She hit Lapis like a baseball and knocked her out as the pillar collapsed. Melody turned off her Fury to conserve power, running up to Lapis to throw Water Fists at her. She socked Lapis across the jaw twice before sending her flying back, but the fairy recovered and splashed a sudden wave that Melody dodged. Lapis called more Water Clones of Melody, who ran away as they bundled together into a bigger clone. Melody launched icicles at its head, only distorting it a short while before the clone clamped Melody in its hands. The clone whirled her balled hands around and slammed Melody under the water. She weakly recovered and saw where Lapis was standing.

Melody Torpedo Spun up and headbutted Lapis, knocking her on her back. Still in the air, Melody formed twin Water Fists and smashed down on Lapis, but the fairy recovered fast and splashed water at her. Melody called two tentacles up on either side of Lapis, having them bend down to catch the fairy, but Lapis bended their water into a bubble shield and ran Melody over with it. Melody got up and extracted a water pillar to raise her up, then jumped behind as she froze it. She punched individual ice chunks at Lapis, who rolled around and evaded in her bubble shield. Melody dashed forward, slashed tentacles at the shield, and ripped it open.

Melody jumped inside the bubble and wrestled with Lapis, clawing at each other's faces. Lapis pushed her out and created another rising pillar, and Melody sunk into the water as she was sucked inside. Unable to escape from it, Melody evaded the fist-shaped currents hidden within the liquid, but took a few hits across the face as air flew out of her lungs. Melody tried to regain her senses, but another fist punched her and knocked Melody out of the pillar. She splashed in the water below, rather than its steady form, and tried to swim away from the pillar to catch her breath.

Melody turned toward the spire and determinedly swam back. She avoided the Water Fists that flew out like meteors, taking a deep breath and going inside. She made her own current shield and defended from the attacks within, withstanding and keeping her breath as she zeroed in on Lapis at the top. The fairy ordered her spire to sink, trying to push Melody down with the current, so Melody pushed harder and made it to her. She grabbed Lapis as she shot out of the spire, punching the alien's eyes before they splashed in the sea. Melody resurfaced, and she looked around for where Lapis went.

She whipped around at hearing a massive splash, and a Lapis water colossus emerged. Melody uplifted herself with a cyclone, flying headfirst at the colossus while Lapis, inside its head, did the same. Both of them bore agro faces, gritting teeth, and triangle-shaped noses. The impact these two would make would shake the sea.

And when they were inches from touching, a red beam connected both girls, and they switched bodies in an instant. Melody, in Lapis's body, lost control of her bending, and the ocean crater rose up and became completely flat again. (End song.)

"HUUUU!" Lapis needed to catch Melody's breath, swimming to the surface quickly, and Melody joined her up there. Both girls stared at each other weirdly. How did this happen. "Oh… I just remembered." Melody spoke. "Manaphy's power only lasts a short time. The bodies switch back automatically."

"Oh…" Lapis blushed. "Then I guess… it wouldn't have mattered if you had Manaphy do it before."

"…" An awkward silence fell between them. Both girls burst into joyous laughter. "Well, I guess we better switch back for real!" Melody shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess we should." Lapis took her hands and said, "I trust you with my life."

"I trust you with my life." Melody repeated. For the second time, she channeled Lapis's magic energy. The light appeared in their hearts, going across their arms, and into the other's chest. The girls were back in their original bodies for good.

"And it is still really painful." Melody grunted, still exhausted. "Halright, Lapis, ready to pick up where we left off?"

"…You know…" Lapis looked away in thought. "I don't think I want to, anymore."

"Don't want to what? Get revenge?"

"No… I don't know why, but I'm kind of over it, now. I'm still mad at them, but… maybe this was all I needed." The fairy smiled. "Just letting off steam. …" She faced her new friend, "Thanks for helping me, Melody. Sorry about… Manaphy."

"Oh, it's no big deal. Now that he's out of the swamp, he can- OW!" Manaphy bit Melody's leg underwater. She punched and forced the prince to get off. "God, I HATE that little…"

"You know, I was thinking of a way to heal him." Lapis mentioned. "Ever heard of spiritbending?"

"I think I saw you doing that in one of your memories."

"Ah! Then you must know what it does. It scatters spirits into fragments so they can be reborn anew in the Spirit World. I don't know how it would work on a god, though…"

"I'm going to try it out. Let's see if I can remember…"

Manaphy was swimming in circles, his antennas sticking out of the water like a shark's fin. Melody softly waved her arms and spiraled two streams of water around and above the prince. Manaphy stopped and looked confusedly as the streams began glowing. Melody focused her energy steadily, and the mystic glow reflected off Lapis's mirror eyes. Manaphy's sickly green body turned gold. His eyelashes became circles instead of triangles, his antennas became perfectly smooth, his red gem was fixed. Manaphy was the happy blue Sea Prince he was five years ago. "Mana?…"

Melody opened her eyes, gazing in surprise. "Manaphy?"

"Man…Mana…" Manaphy stared longingly at Melody. She looked a lot different, and yet, so similar. …She was Eva's daughter. "Eva Eva! Eva!"

"No, Manaphy, I'm Melody! Eva's daughter!"

"Evaaaa!" Melody giggled as Manaphy leapt into her arms.

"Manaphyyyyy! I still need to go to the hospital, but I'm so GLAD you aren't a jerk, anymooore!"

"Mana?" Manaphy looked up and noticed Lapis. The fairy smiled and waved lightly at him. "Hey there. Nice to see you, sort of."

"Lapyyyy!" Manaphy jumped into Lapis's arms and began nuzzling her. Lapis giggled and hugged Manaphy softly, and the Firstborn put his stubby arms around her neck. Tears dripped from Manaphy's eyes, down Lapis's back, and into the cracks of her gem.

Lapis gasped, feeling a sudden chill on her back. The gem glowed, and the cracks vanished completely. As she looked up, Lapis could clearly see the moon and stars above. Melody stared agape when Lapis's blue tones turned lighter, and pupils appeared in her eyes. The Fairy Princess stared at her hands. "I'm…I'm healed. How did he…"

"Looks like someone just discovered a new power!" Melody cooed Manaphy. "Do you have magic healing tears, you little angel, yoooouuu?"

"Man-Mana!"

"I don't believe it!" Lapis chuckled. "Manaphy was my healer all this time! We just had to make him cry." She shook her head in disbelief.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Whaddyou think?! Gettin' the hell OFF this planet, that's what!" She sprouted Water Wings from her back and took off for the stars. "See you later, Melody! Tell Kyogre I said, 'FUCK YOU'!"

"I will!" Melody waved. "Tell your friends I said, 'Hi'!"

"Will do! Take caaaaare!…"

Melody and Manaphy watched until she was gone. Danny, completely out of breath, swam to them. "I think I developed that disease you get from too much swimming, pant…huff… What happened to Lapis?"

"She's gone. But Manaphy's back!"

"Mana Mana!"

Melody took the Spirit Ball out of her pocket. "I honestly had no idea what this was until Lapis found it. But I guess I finally get to use it. Ready, Manaphy!"

"MANAAAA!" The Firstborn leapt toward the Pokéball when Melody tossed it, and was sucked in. It floated in the water and beeped. Boop… The catch sealed, the ball floated and brimmed in the air, and a golden "II" appeared over its lock.

Melody captured a FIRSTBORN! Only 5 more to go!

Melody and Danny lay flat on the floor of Flying Krock, having no more breath. The Team Gnaa members returned and were about to take off. "So, those people desired Lapis to take them to Lunaria." Kroctus recollected. "This fits well with the reports from our spies. And, the mystery of the 'Ten' Firstborn."

"I swam more than every Olympic in history today." Melody gasped.

"This is my exercise for the year." Danny breathed.

"You're telling me." Eggman agreed, eating a Footlong Sandwich. "Don't you kids want to explain this story to Kyogre?"

"Something tells me I should let my mom do it…" Melody replied.

Oceana; Samiya

A couple days have passed since Lapis's surprise attack. Even though she was long gone, Kyogre was still angry. To think their beloved Fairy Princess would show treachery, even after the merpeople's hospitality. Even if it was Spongebob's fault to begin with, Lapis had no reason to-

The doors to his throne room opened, and none other than Eva Jackson marched inside, clutching the Phantom Sword. "Ah, Eva… My dearest daughter. I am certain your daughter has informed you what transpired just days ago. I cannot believe how…"

With her Logia bending, Eva leaped toward Kyogre with extended water legs, flying at him with sudden speed. "AAAAAAHHH!" The Phantom Sword pierced through the whale god's head perfectly. "AAAAAHHH! IT HURTS! OH MY GOD, DOES THAT HURT! AAAAAHHH!"

"I warned you." Eva glared at him. "Didn't I?"

"You don't tell me what to do. You aren't my father and you never will be! You have no right to decide my fate!" Eva kicked Oshus to the ground and aimed her sword at his neck. "So, let me tell you something: If you even think about deciding my future for me, I'll ram this sword so hard through your head, you'll be begging for Jones to come and end you after I get done. I'm Eva Roberts! Numbuh 10 of the Kids Next Door! Nothing more, nothing less. Understand?"

"Except this was for Lapis." Eva stated. "I guess I just expected you to follow the same rules."

Eva withdrew the sword from the king's head and left him writhing in pain. "Oh, God! Medic! I need a medic! Lapis, where are you! Where the hell are you when I NEED you! Ahhhhhgg!"

Guertena Gallery

"Maaaryyyyyyy?" Ib called as they trekked down a seemingly endless stairway. "MARY, are you DOWN THERE?"

"I coulda sworn I sensed her run this way." Aisa replied. "Where does this even lead?"

"When me and Garry came down here, the stairs turned sideways and dropped us into a room." Ib remembered. "Mary's picture was in there. I guess this is where this leads."

The pink stairs led them into what seemed like outer space. They stared in awe when a white, crayon comet soared overhead. A blue comet soared over next, and the stairs finally ended at a pink path that looked like… crayon?

Colorful constellations appeared in the stars. A purple rose, yellow moon, orange sun, a brown six-fingered hand… This sudden change of atmosphere confused them terrifically. They merely pressed on, wondering how odd this hand-drawn world would get. They dodged a meteor that fell from the sky, then a large axe. The word Sketchbook was labeled in blue crayon. (Play "No One in Sight" from Ib.)

They viewed a village of crayon houses, crayon flowers, crayon trees, that were all completely flat and looked like they were drawn by a Kindergartener. Aisa brushed her foot along the ground. "Is everything in this place crayon?"

"That's impossible." Apis approached one of the flat, poorly-drawn houses and was able to turn the yellow knob. She peeked inside (apparently, it did have an interior): there was a clock, a bookshelf, and a painting of some…thing. "Is this part of the gallery, too?"

"Maybe Guertena drew all this in his childhood." Aeincha assumed.

The friends separated and explored this mysterious landscape. There was a Butterfly Park, and the butterflies were the most realistic creatures here. There was a blue crayon pond with darker blue fish, and when Aisa chose to dip her rose in the water, it wilted slightly. April entered a house with Aeincha and Mocha, and they noticed the end of a fishing pole sticking out from above a shelf. April threw the two tinies up there to push it down to her. When Aisa mentioned the pond to them, they went over to dip the hook into it. They successfully fished out… a crayon bottle of toothpaste. That explained the sign nearby, which said, Don't litter.

In one of the other houses, Ib found a crayon toothbrush. They looked around for a place to use these… and Chimney pointed out the giant lips with teeth several feet over the dark abyss. They did a 'Not it' game, and Chimney was the last to touch her nose. Begrudgingly, she squirted toothpaste on the brush, and crossed an invisible path to the giant teeth. She scrubbed a single dirty tooth to cleanliness. The teeth spat a blue crayon key at her head.

The only locked doors in this world were a house with flowers around it, a central pink building, and a larger building labeled 'Gallery.' The key opened the Gallery; there was a large, crayon drawing of Ib holding Garry's hand on the right side of the room. On the left side, a drawing of Mary appeared to be waving her arms and calling for them, while a zombie doll held her yellow rose. There was a box in the center of the floor labeled 'Pandora's Box.' "Let's see what's inside." Chimney approached it.

"Chimney, do you know what Pandora's Box is?" Apis asked.

"We'll find Pandora and give it back to her." Chimney unhesitantly opened the box—eight symbols flashed out of the box and flew away.

"What were those?" Mocha exclaimed.

"Sheesh, Pandora has a weird diet." Chimney said, rubbing her eye. "…Hey, there's a mirror in here!" She pulled out a hand-size mirror. When her friends looked over her shoulder, they saw that their reflections were crayon forms of their selves. The girls went back outside to look for a place to use- SHINGSHINGSHINGSHINGSHING! A buzzsaw flew across the path from out of nowhere, their hearts jumping as they avoided it.

In the northwest quadrant, they realized that an orange crayon sun appeared in the dark sky. They stood and embraced in its warmth; it felt surprisingly like a real sun. Chimney was staring curiously at a light-blue door that looked like it was frozen; she was unknowingly aiming the mirror at it, which bounced the sun's crayon rays to melt the door. "Wow! Good thinking, Chimney." April complimented as they all entered this crayon building. Chimney shrugged.

They heard a distant ticking sound in this room, even though there was no clock. There were eight pedestals seated around the room in a square alignment, and eight symbols drawn on the wall: Heart, Star, Moon, Sun, Question Mark, the six-fingered hand, Snake, and a Ghost. "Those look like the symbols that flew out of Pandora's Box just now." Aisa noticed.

"So do we need to find them?" Ib asked.

"Let's go get the box, maybe we need to catch them." April figured. They returned to the Gallery and took Pandora's Box, then searched the Sketchbook for these symbols. They already knew the Sun was in the northwest quadrant, so they used the mirror to direct its ray inside the box. Eventually, the light was completely sucked in. When Aeincha looked in the sky above the Butterfly Park, she gazed beautifully at the yellow star twinkling above it. They carried her there and set her on one of the butterflies. The creature lifted her and fluttered up, then Aeincha jumped to grab the star, dropping back for her friends to catch her. They put the star in the box.

One of the flowers around the house in the north quadrant was pink and heart-shaped. They put it in the box. When April came back to the pond, she noticed that the crescent moon's beautiful image was reflected. She launched her fishing rod, and was able to catch and reel the reflection in. She put it in the box. In the east quadrant, Apis discovered that a great number of trees with fruit blossomed within the area. One of those trees had a white stick man hanging by the neck. The red noose, in question, looked like a question mark, so Apis cut it down and took it to put in the box. In the south quadrant, Aisa noticed a purple snake was peeped out from behind the green grass. She caught and put it in the box.

Ib entered the first house they encountered in the southeast. She examined the poorly-drawn crayon books. A brown book had a six-fingered hand marked on it. She peeled it off and put it in the box. Finally, Chimney spotted the ghost fluttering above the southwest quadrant. Chimney jumped up and down and up and down, but the ghost eluded her height. When Apis walked by, she suggested Chimney jump in the large mouth so it could spit her up to the ghost. Chimney shook her head frantically, but Apis pushed her toward the mouth, commenting it isn't as big as hers, so she'll be fine. Chimney huffed and climbed into the large mouth whose teeth she brushed beforehand. The mouth spat her up toward the ghost, which she caught.

With all eight things in the box, they returned to the room and released them onto the pedestals. A yellow key magically appeared in the center. They took it to the house in the north quadrant and entered it. (End song.)

They found their selves inside a pitch-black room with dark-pink corners and floor-to-wall borders, and blue crayon roses growing on green thorns around a staircase. "Down there is where Mary's 'Toy Box' was." Ib pointed at a left staircase leading down. "And up there was where her painting was." She pointed at the stairs ahead.

"I sense her with someone else." Aisa said. "Let's go!"

As soon as they were up the short staircase, they gasped at the horrifying sight. "AAAAUGH! AAAHH!" Mary was mercilessly slashing her palette knife across Garry's chest. Blood didn't fly out, but rather the gooey paint that made up his colors. "Hehehehehehehehehe…" The dark-clothed man merely cackled, embracing the pain.

"DIE! DIE ALREADY!" The look in her eyes was demonic. "I would've finished this a long time ago if I could have!"

"MARY, STOP!" April yelled.

"April!" Mary turned to her in surprise.

"Mary, why are you doing this?! This isn't what you're like!"

"How would YOU know, you used to be a DOLL! It was thanks to you I was able to kill him the first time! So help me kill him ag-"

Garry swung a kick that sent Mary flying into a pile of junk against the wall. He kept cackling maniacally as Mary tried to stand up, shoving the random items aside. It was then she discovered the lighter: the lighter Ib was going to use to burn her painting, until April knocked it out of her hand. Mary looked at Garry's empty portrait on the wall, a few fabric blue roses hanging from it. She looked at Garry, who was grinning like a devil and swaying in place. She looked at the lighter, and knew how to finish this permanently. "There's no other option." She flicked it on. "Good-bye, Garry."

"MARY, DON'T!!" Ib cried. She could only watch hopelessly, too far away to stop her, as Mary dashed up to the canvas with the lit flame ready…

Somebody socked Mary in the nose and slammed her against the wall, dropping the lighter. Mary grabbed her bloody nose and looked at the one responsible: Chimney was glaring at her furiously, with drops of Mary's blood on her knuckles. "April-chan told you not to."

"Get out of my way, Chimney. None of this is your problem."

"I been havin' this problem with you for a long time! I knew there was something about you I didn't like!"

"Out of my way! I need to kill Garry so he'll finally stop bothering me!" Mary stood and stomped her foot firmly.

"KND operatives don't kill adults, Mary! We just beat them until they're covered with bruises. And you don't meet the requirements!"

"Out of my WAY, out of MY WAY!!" The room shook under her rage.

"Mary…" Chimney remained stern.

"NOOOOOWWWW!!" (Play "Sinister Shadows" from Kingdom Hearts II.)

Boss fight: Mary

Mary dashed up and stabbed her knife at Chimney, who dodged and performed a spin-kick to knock Mary off her feet. Mary swiftly got up and flipped away, grabbing her blue crayons to slash lines along the floor, so when Chimney ran at her, she slipped on the ice and fell. Mary scribbled yellow crayon on Chimney's back, so the Sector Leader jittered from the electricity. Mary ran to grab the lighter, then up to Garry's painting to burn it, but Chimney suddenly zipped in her path and knocked her away, moving with whipping speed now that the electricity was added.

Mary thought fast and avoided her attacks, grabbing her gray crayon to mark on Chimney's arms. Chimney slumped, feeling her arms weighed down by the heavy color. Mary threw punches across Chimney's face, but the Sector Leader managed to raise her arms up above Mary's head, letting them weigh down and cause Mary to fall forward. Chimney threw punches at the back of Mary's head with her weighed arms, and Mary withstood as she drew white crayon on either side between Chimney's legs. Mary rolled out and poked her knife in Chimney's right leg, and when the girl fell down, the two white lines touched together, getting Chimney's legs glued.

Mary ran to grab the lighter again, but Chimney flipped up to her hands, pushed off the floor, and flew to stamp Mary in the head with both feet. Chimney hopped with her legs still glued, and when Mary recovered, Chimney grabbed her by the collar, threw her up in the air, then leaped to kick off the wall and stamp Mary in the chest. Still in midair, Chimney ripped her legs apart from each other, landed on both, then ran over to swing a spin-kick at Mary's head. The Goldenweek was knocked away again, but she recovered and ran to slash green crayon under Chimney's nose. Chimney was used to such stench (thanks to a certain Nimbi), so she punched Mary away again.

Garry kept laughing like a hyena, no doubt enjoying this conflict. Mary growled hatefully at him from her position on the floor. The lighter was still in her hand, but the canvas was several feet away. "GRRRRR!" Mary dashed up to the man himself, who gasped perkily when her knife was drawn. The W7 members gasped: Chimney grabbed firmly onto the knife before Mary could make it, the former's hand bleeding. Chimney smacked the knife to the ground, and when Garry cheered ecstatically, Chimney flipped a kick up to his face to knock him out clean. Still holding Mary's hand, Chimney flipped over her, pulled her around, then punched Mary forcefully to the floor. (End song.)

Mary calmly gasped for breath, but they could sense the bottled rage within her pants. She stood up as she felt the blood drip from her nose. She never had blood as a painting. When she became real, she was able to bleed. At least, when she bled… she was reminded that she was still real. She turned around and faced Chimney with malice in her eyes. Chimney faced her unflinchingly. She was ready for Mary to attack again. The Goldenweek raised her knife toward her. She glanced right at the other girls. All of them bore either worried or strict looks that wanted her to stop. Mary saw this clearly in Ib's pleading red eyes.

Mary dropped her knife, her eyes going from anger to sadness as she looked at her hands. With a forceful sniffle, she spun around and fell to her knees. "I don't wanna stay, I don't wanna stay, I DON'T WANNA STAY!" She repeatedly pounded the floor in a tantrum. Jagged red crayon lines appeared there in the form of cracks, and the room seemed to vibrate. "I hate this place, I don't wanna stay here!"

"Mary…" Ib calmly approached the girl from behind.

Mary started forcing out sobs, tears hitting the black floor. "I wanna be free… I wanna keep living in the real world. I wanna keep seeing the blue ocean in the sky, and the one on the ground… I wanna see the night sun, and the day moon… I wanna go back to space and look at all the stars… I wanna dance on the music planet again…"

"Mary…" Ib sat down and put her hands on Mary's shoulders.

"There's so many things I wanted to do…" Mary sniffled. "Walk on the ocean floor… sleep on a bed on the moon… perform in the circus… and make way more friends… I don't wanna stay… I don't-"

Ib hugged Mary, leaning her head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mary." Tears dripped from Ib's pretty red eyes. "I want you to do all those things, too. I really wish there was a way we could all leave. I really wish…"

"Ib…" Mary's tears softened as she glanced at her. Someone else got down and hugged Mary from the front. "April…"

"At least you won't be alone now, Mary." Her cousin smiled. "You gave me a soul. Even when I turn back into a doll again, I'll still be more than just… your Imaginary Friend."

Aeincha and Mocha climbed up Ib's shirt to get to Mary's shoulders, hugging her neck. "I know how it feels to be trapped in one place for too long." Mocha said. "Even if you did have people with you."

"We'll always remember you, Mary." Aeincha promised. "And when we're able to, we'll come visit you and April. We'll bring souvenirs from the real world and tell you all about them!"

"And don't forget, it doesn't matter if you're real or Imaginary." Apis said, hugging her from one side. "As long as you have a heart, God will be inside it."

"We'll tell all the Kids Next Door about you, too." Aisa hugged from the other side. "We'll make it our mission to find you a way out. But Mary, try taking off your shoes once in a while. That usually makes me happy!"

Mary's tears faded away. She felt so strange, in the center of all their hugs. She was being hugged… by friends. Six friends were hugging her. Even during her time as a real person… Mary never felt more whole until now. For the first time, her heart felt like the farthest thing from fabricated. If she were to go back to what she once was… she really hoped this feeling would last. …Father… is this what you wanted for me? I hope that I… made you happy…

Ib reached into her pocket and pulled out her red rose. She held it above Mary. April pulled out hers, Aeincha's and Mocha's, and Aisa and Apis held theirs up as well. A harmony of colors.

Realizing something, Aeincha looked over at Chimney. Her arms were folded, turned away from them. "Chimney, stop acting like that. Come over here and comfort Mary."

"Oh, screw that, Mary belongs here!" Chimney claimed, turning to them. "She's as freaky as any of these monster paintings! But April-chan, I'll be DAMNED TO HECK if I let one of my pallies stay in this ghost house! You comin' back to W7, like it or not!"

"Chimney, the only way I would be able to is as a lifeless doll." April reminded. "Even if you hate this worse than the rest of us, it doesn't change the fact that Ib and Garry have to be set free. That's the Kids Next Door's job, isn't it?"

"Garry's a freaking adult, let him stay here so you and Ib be free!"

"I couldn't leave Garry with Mary when he's like this." Ib stated. "I don't see how he got so crazy to begin with. Is it because his rose got plucked? We should look for it and heal it."

"You can't." Mary said. "If a rose dies, and a painting takes that person's place, it disappears. Then the person becomes-…" She felt her heart skip a beat. She looked up. Her friends were holding their roses above her. Including Ib. "Ib… You still have your rose."

"Oh?" Ib brought her red rose back down. "Yeah. April healed it for me."

"But… that's impossible. Your rose should've disappeared after me and April stole your place. Unless… you never actually died."

"Um… I guess I didn't." Ib stared at her rose with confusion.

"I thought she stole your place when you chose to stay here." Aisa mentioned.

"No, a painting can only become real if a real person dies in this world." Mary explained. "And a person only dies when their rose completely wilts. …S-So then…" Mary looked at her yellow rose. Her pupils shrunk, feeling horrified and confused. "How did me and April BOTH become real?!"

"Siiiigh. Okay, now I'm really confused." Chimney sighed. "But normally, this is where somebody provides a totally random, complicated, though somewhat logical explanation that solves all of our problems. Aaaaaand NOW." There was silence. "And NOW. …NOW. …NOW."

"Mary, did you forget to tell us anything?" Ib asked.

"Um… I don't know." Mary looked down, sad and confused.

"GARRY!" Aisa said suddenly, pointing when the man jumped to his feet. The group broke apart the hug and readied their selves for him.

"HEHEHEHEHEHEhehehehehehehehe!" Garry's grinning expression was still hysterical and terrifying. "I'm Gaaaarryyyyy, I'm Gaaaaarryyyyy, HEHEHEHEHEHEEEEE! Come down below, let's play, let's PLAY!" He bolted out of the room.

"Garry, come back!" Ib chased him.

"Ib, wait!" The others followed suit.

Garry rushed into a pink, crayon-drawn house, and Ib dashed inside first. The pink room inside was of the gallery's normal decorating, and as they hurried down a flight of stairs, the interior was turning black. Ib and Mary remembered this as the way back to the main gallery, or rather a duplicate of the main gallery that existed at the very bottom of this cursed building. When they burst through the double-doors at the bottom, there they were in the lobby with the abandoned reception desk.

"Which way did Garry go?!" April yelled, looking around.

"Maybe he's going for the exit!" Ib exclaimed.

"No! He went down those stairs!" Aisa sensed with her Mantra, pointing at the thin stairwell near the reception desk.

The eight girls gathered in front and stared down the passage. The stairs led into darkness not far down. "I…I don't even remember this being here." Mary mentioned. "I thought this was the bottom of the gallery."

"A whole new area of the Guertena Gallery that Mary didn't know about…" Aeincha stared with awe and wonder.

"What kind of surprises can we expect from this?" Apis asked.

Ib looked again at her red rose, then Mary's and April's. "If Garry's down there, we have to find out."

"You're right." April nodded. "Come on, guys. We're all together now, so we can get through this place. Let's go." She marched down first, followed by Ib, Mary, and the rest of W7. Chimney stood behind for a few seconds, sighing with annoyance. But she complied and followed her team downstairs. Blue writing poofed on the wall beside the stairs. It said, Drown in the abyss.