The World Between Worlds

"The cameras weren't part of the plan." Laps felt a frown tug on her lips.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Yeah. I tried to tell him it wasn't going to be a good idea, but he insisted. It was Beta and Lightning Empress that got Jack to go along with it. He's been basically doing what Lightning Empress tells him to ever since he told her of his plan. I honestly can't really tell which of them is in charge."

"I'm more concerned about the fact that bastard has Full Monarch's suit!" Mister Man growled. "Where the hell did he get it!"

"It's not the actual suit; it's a replica," Nick said sheepishly.

"He shouldn't even have a replica!"

"Fair..."

Mister Man's face was red, and he kept messing with the gun that was at his side, his finger fiddling with it constantly. "Seriously, that bastard seriously went off the deep end. I mean, we can all agree on that, right? He's calling himself Full Monarch now! What right does he have!"

"Again, I had no idea he was going to do that," Nick said, a little bummed. He placed his head down in his arms. "I've been so stressed running a giant-ass company that I didn't even notice when he got the suit made. The plan was simple at first. Gather twelve guys, storm into the Murder Games, kill all the bad guys, and save the good guys. Now it's gotten so complicated."

"It's because of Beta." Laps spat out. "That robot joining us was never part of the plan, and just like Lightning Empress, he's been putting thoughts into Jack's head."

"Why are you working with Jack anyways?" Wyvern asked, shooting Laps a look. "You used to be a Hero Branch officer; shouldn't you be on our side?"

"I'm not on Battery's side; I'm on Full Monarch's," Laps stated bluntly. "The real Full Monarch. Even I'm starting to have my doubts about what that brat is doing now. He always was an upstart. Then again, I guess Jack is the son of... Well, it doesn't matter."

"So what do we do now?" Pretty Face asked, casually tapping on the desk he was seated in front of.

The heroes had set off. Battery, or Full Monarch as he was going by now, declared his intentions to the world and vanished along with the eleven other heroes that were part of the team he created. Beta, Tallest Wave, Paragon, Lightning Empress, Fable, Oxide, Money Tree, Myth, Lady Time, White Wolf, and finally, the Victorian. They left in a shimmering blue portal, and as of now, their whereabouts were mostly unknown. The cameras they had taken with them would eventually start live streaming, but they hadn't started up yet.

Those who had been left behind found themselves in an old Avalon tower that was now owned by Nick, since he was currently the one in charge of the Avalon company. A TV was on, showing off various news channels from all across the world, many of which had mixed emotions. Some people were willing to put their trust in the Victorian and the other heroes, but others were scared or nearing the point where they would riot. Not to mention all the villains that were trying to use this as a chance to rampage in the cities. Even with Battery's Giants, there was only so much that could be done.

"He shouldn't have broadcasted it all like that," Laps growled and shook her head. "What was he thinking? What were any of them thinking?" Laps rubbed her temple. "I know they have the Paths, but that can only do so much. Paths can't see futures involving powerful Supers on the level of the Immortals. Sure, Lightning Empress might have some idea of how the low-level fights will go, but they're still leaving everything up to chance with the actual threats. It's like knowing how the fight between two guys with sticks will end, but you're dealing with two armies armed with nukes."

"They're secretive, too." Wyvern hummed. Pretty Face, as well as Mister Man, was also in the room with Laps and Nick, watching the two humans struggle to figure out Battery's insane plan. "They're not telling anyone anything."

"Who cares?" Pretty Face rolled his eyes. "We shouldn't be having this talk when all the cities are in trouble. Those Giants aren't going to be able to defend the place forever, and if anyone attacks the Purrfect that is controlling them, then they're useless."

"Exactly." Mister Man nodded. "Too much stuff has just been left to pure chance; they must be relying entirely on Lightning Empress's ability to see the Paths. That's the only reason they'd do weird things like this. They're leaving holes in places there shouldn't be and are counting that the future she saw will come true."

Wyvern grew out her wings and shrugged. She opened a window and stepped out. "I'm not going to sit around wondering about all of this."

"Are you going to try and keep the cities safe?" Mister Man raised an eyebrow.

"Eventually, but there's something else I need to do first." The monster said casually.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"I'm going to go get Boy Genius."

"Excuse me?"

Wyvern gave a smirk and flipped her hair. "Seriously, just think about it. You know there is a rumor about Beta, right? That his real body lies within Nightshade. If that's the case, then someone as smart as Boy Genius could surely escape his restraints, even if his prison was taken over. His power constantly adapts and evolves, after all. Beta knows he could get out at any time, yet Boy Genius didn't, which means he planned for something like this anyway. The villains are so cocky because they assume all the heavy hitters are gone, but Boy Genius is second only to the Victorian in terms of power. Now that Battery is gone, he can finally make his move and catch all the villains off guard. So yeah, I'm gonna go bust him out now."

"I thought he was swallowed by Alien, though? Wasn't Nightshade devoured?" Pretty Face asked.

"Please." Wyvern rolled her eyes. "It's Boy Genius. Do you really think something like getting eaten would slow him down?"

Mister Man toyed with his gun and got out of his chair. "I should be leaving as well." He admitted. "The cities aren't going to save themselves."

Pretty Face twirled a pen around and hummed. "We suck, right? That's why we were the ones left behind?"

"I don't think that needed to be said."

Wyvern was just about to fly out of the window but stopped when a low humming filled the air. Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, about to turn it off. "It's most likely Ward." The dark-skinned man snickered. "He's been calling and complaining every chance he gets—" Nick suddenly went silent when he read the words that were on his screen.

"What is it?" Wyvern asked, looking back at the man.

Laps looked over Nick's shoulder and let out a heavy groan. "Oh great."

"Is it Ward?" Pretty Face asked.

"Worse."

"Worse than Ward? Who could that be?" Mister Man folded his arms, suddenly intrigued.

"His mother." Laps pinched the bridge of her nose. "The head of the Hero Branch is calling us. In other words, your boss."

***

As a kid, she had been bounced around dozens of orphanages. She had never been quite right in the head, and it didn't take long for her to become evil. It wasn't an insane backstory, but it was hers.

She often found herself getting dragged into crazy situations, but even for her, this took the cake. Ever since she had ditched the mantle of White Lamb and become White Wolf, things hadn't gone well for her.

"Where the hell are we!" White Wolf demanded.

She found herself in a place that hurt her head just to look at. It was white. White in all directions that stretched out. Not like snow, though. There was nothing. No sky, no walls, not even a ground, really, despite the fact that she was standing on something. It was awkwardly bright, yet still dark somehow, and she didn't have a shadow. Despite there being no air or gravity, she could still breathe, and her body felt weirdly light. Next to her, Tallest Wave was just as shocked. Battery, or maybe it was Full Monarch now, stood a few meters away from her on his knees, breathing heavily. Beta was in front of him, casually looking around.

"Is this Chrysanthemum?" Tallest Wave asked.

"No." Battery shook his head and managed to stand. Despite there being no air, his cape kept flowing, something he had been doing with his powers anytime Beta's camera was on him since it made him look cooler. "That barrier is stronger than I thought." The new number one hero admitted. "I had planned for us to arrive on the battlefield first with my powers, but it got a little screwed up."

"So we're not on the battlefield then?" Tallest Wave nodded and tried to stop the weird world from spinning around her. "Then where are we? And where are the others?" All twelve of them had teleported at the same time, stepping through a portal with Battery, yet as far as she could tell, it was just the four of them.

"Myth's team should be arriving at the destination now." Battery stated. "I planned for them to enter last and us to enter first. Even with my ability to punch holes in reality, moving all of us at the same time would be impossible, which is why we were going to go in groups of four. The barrier on the Murder Games can only be canceled out by power equal to or greater than that of a Lord. Naturally, since I'm a Ruler, it's possible for me to match it, but it still messed my energy up. Instead of us going first, we're going last, which is why we're here now."

"And here is?"

"The world between worlds. A place you go to when you're teleporting. We're outside of time and space right now while my portal forms. Victorian's team will be in a similar position, and they'll arrive before us. To them, it'll seem as if no time has passed despite arriving after Myth's team. Finally, we'll arrive last, though it might take a bit."

"So this is sort of like a loading screen area." White Wolf noted. "Where trapped here until the loading is done, and we can log in."

"I guess?" Battery shrugged. "You kids and your fancy handheld games confuse me, but if that helps you get it, then sure."

"By my estimation, it'll take us one hour to arrive." Beta stated. "So we'll be stuck here in the meantime. Myth's camera should be going live now. I'll get it up so we can watch what's happening."

While Beta did that, Tallest Wave took a seat and folded her arms. She was a little annoyed she was stuck here. Her sister was on the Victorian's team, after all. That meant her sister would arrive at the battle before her. "How'd you even learn of something like this, Jack?"

"I've gone to this place a few times thanks to Story Maker, the sword of the Emperor." Battery said casually. "Besides now, my most recent visit here was back when I fought Wish. Teleporting into that other realm required me to pass through the world between worlds. Try to keep your mind sharp while you're here. It's easy to lose yourself in this space, and you might start seeing things that aren't actually there."

"This just gets better and better, doesn't it?" White Wolf said sarcastically.

Beta finished typing some stuff on his arm, and his chest opened slightly. A nozzle came out, which fired a wave of lights that took shape into a hologram. "Myth arrived. He's live now."

The screen showed Myth, Money Tree, Oxide, and Lightning Empress all dropping out of a portal that stood above a stadium that looked a lot like the one in Oleander for some reason. As they fell, Lightning Empress grabbed Oxide and took off, flying to a different place, while Myth and Money Tree came down from the sky and rammed into the ground as hard as they could, Myth in his bull form and Money Tree wearing a suit that was almost shadowy-looking, covered in various numbers that kept fading in and out of the fabric.

In the stadium, Phoenix stared in shock as the two heroes appeared in front of him. "What the hell?" The boy asked, stunned.

Red Scorpion, Red Raptor, and White Cow all took a step back. Red Raptor's eyes soon narrowed as he looked Myth up and down. "You." The villain hissed out. "You're part of Pantheon! You're the reason I'm dead!"

"Dead?" Myth let out a snort and nodded. "Ah, so you're a zombie, huh?"

"That's right." Phoenix nodded. "We didn't expect any of them to appear like this. We were pushed back because of the fact they won't die. My sealing doesn't work on them either."

"That's okay." Myth gave a nod to the boy. "I'm not sure who you are, but you did well, kid. Let the adults handle this."

Money Tree took a step forward and lifted his good hand. Numbers swirled into the air and merged together, forming a black sword that hummed. "I'll deal with these three, Myth. You go to Metal Ronin and give him the thing."

"Right." Myth took off, charging toward the stadium, which the three villains were guarding.

Red Scorpion let out a giggle, and her tail struck out. "Do you really think I'm just going to let you get past me?" Before her tail even had a chance to strike through, it was cleaved in two by Money Tree, who moved far faster than he ever had before, keeping his friend safe. His blade tore through the tail, causing the villain to hiss out. Paper began to flood out of the girl's wound as her tail started to reform. "You bastard! That still hurts whenever you cut my tail off!"

"Good." Money Tree said coldly.

Fragments of milk rained down from above, but the hero casually dodged and weaved through them all, his cloak twisting and forming tendrils of black static that swatted up and sliced through several of them. Red Raptor howled and spat out a glob of acid, but Money Tree sidestepped it and appeared in front of the villain, impaling his blade through the man's gut. The villain took the blow and smirked, slicing out with his claws, but they bounced off of Money Tree's cloak, which completely consumed the hero, keeping every part of him safe.

"What the hell is this?" Red Raptor hissed out. "This isn't your normal diamond stuff?"

"No. It's not." Money Tree twisted his arm and raised his blade up, bringing it up and slicing Red Raptor in two, splitting the villain in half. "Let me ask you guys something. Do you know what digital currency is?" Red Raptor's two halves were already forming back together, rage filling his eyes as he stared up at Money Tree's smirk. "That's right. I've discovered a currency stronger than even diamonds. I'm wearing the internet! And trust me. None of you guys are stronger than the internet." In an instant, he appeared next to White Cow and Red Scorpion, catching them both off guard. "You're not faster than it either." His blade sliced through their necks, cutting their heads clean off in a single swipe. "I worked my ass off after the Beast. Again and again, and again, and again, over and over and over, I replayed that fight in my head billions of times, fighting that monster. No matter what I did, I never won. No matter how much I improved, even in my own mind, it was simply impossible to win. Luckily for me, though, you guys aren't the Beast. Compared to that God, you're all just small fries. Now roll over and die."

Massive blocks of static, each the size of a bus, appeared in the air above the three villains, who were still reforming. The blocks smashed down on all of them, crushing them into the ground and burying them beneath a wave of infinite numbers.

Phoenix blinked, processing what he had just seen. "So he got a glow-up. I don't remember him being badass at all before now."

Over with Myth, he climbed up the steps of the stadium. He was a little shocked at the fact it was identical to the one in Oleander, but he didn't give it much thought and instead focused on finding Metal Ronin. He found the hero crawling out of his destroyed suit.

"Myth!" Metal Ronin asked in shock.

"Catch." From his robes, Myth pulled out a watch and tossed it over to the boy.

Metal Ronin caught it and then smirked when he realized what it was. "Hell yeah!" He placed the watch onto his arm and clicked a button, summoning out his newest suit. The one that was like a bodysuit with a visor over it. "Finally. And this one is fully charged; I can actually do something, thank God! Also, you're here now?"

Myth nodded slightly. "That's right. I'll explain it later; right now, we need to focus on the battle. Where are the others?"

"Honestly, I have no clue." Metal Ronin admitted. "Kyle is with Pied, who is in a bunker, but that's all I know."

Myth nodded. "I'm not going to even ask who Pied is; I'll just assume he's on our side."

"He's been shockingly useful from what Cinder told me—"

"Guys!" Back down in the field with Phoenix and Money Tree, Money Tree was pointing his hooked hand toward the blocks he had summoned. "It's not over yet."

The blocks shook before a loud screech began to come out from beneath them. All three were lifted up and then tossed away, revealing the villains beneath. There were no longer three bad guys. What was left behind was far more disturbing. A massive humanoid body crawled out of the hole, now sporting six arms and a scorpion tail. At the neck, three heads were all smashed together, stacked awkwardly on top of one another, all screaming a blood-curdling sound. The villains had merged together.

"They fused?" Phoenix asked, fighting back the urge to vomit.

"Good." Money Tree pointed his sword at the disgusting zombie. "Now we've completely outnumbered it!"

The merged zombie was almost twenty feet tall, and the muscles inside of its body were bulged and expanding. It only had two legs, but dozens of feet were scattered across its flesh, and milk swirled around, forming thick armor, as well as a massive great axe. Acid spewed out of dozens of gashes along its flesh, and its tail whipped back and forth wildly. Myth jumped into the air, using a super jump, and landed next to his friend.

"You ready?" He asked, facing the ugly villain.

Money Tree nodded. "Let's do this."

Meanwhile, at another point in the city, Kevin dodged wildly to the side as a thin beam of blood fired out. It launched across the ground at fast speeds, splitting it apart. It would have torn him in half, but he used his tendrils to yank himself out of the way. As he did that, bones jutted up and stabbed out of the ground, all closing in around him, but his wrists suddenly split open, two playing cards appearing between his fingers, which he tossed out. The cards hummed and then exploded, destroying the bone spikes as he used the villain trapped within him.

"We don't have to do this!" Kevin yelled out. "We used to be teammates!"

"Emphasis on 'used', right!" Hannah let out a loud and insane laugh as she charged forward. She looked a lot like Polaron once had, being made out of metal bones, and instead of the normal white bones that had been growing out of the ground, black twisting iron jutted out of her arms, transforming into jagged blades that slashed out at Kevin. He raised his arms up, using them to defend himself, but the force of the attack shoved him back and sent him smashing through the wall of a building. "If you're not on our side, then that means you're against us." Hannah sneered out. "Honestly though, this is what you get."

"What did I do?" Kevin tried to stand back up, but he lost his footing as the entire building rumbled, and it began to violently shake.

"You know what you did," Casey called out. The villain launched waves of blood beams out, each one covered in purple flames of hatred, just like Demonica used to use. They tore through the tower Kevin had crashed into and brought the building tumbling down, sending shards of debris. A red tendril grew out of Kevin's back and began to smack at the falling stone, keeping him safe, but while he was distracted with that, Casey launched forward and smashed a blood beam directly into Kevin's chest, nearly blasting a hole through the Mars King-looking monster's chest. "You left us!" Casey screamed. "After Wish died and the Emperor took us, you ditched us when we were in Hell Land. You didn't even bother to try and come back for us!"

Kevin smashed through another wall and hit the ground, rolling across it. He tried to get back to his feet, but iron bones jammed down into his wrist, pinning him in place. Hannah appeared next to him and smashed her foot down directly onto his stomach as hard as she could, shattering the street they were on. "Did you even bother to think of us after you left?"

Kevin gasped out and forced his arms up, tearing them out of the spikes, and punched Hannah in the stomach as hard as he could, blasting her back. A second later, though and, Casey was on him, hot blood dripping onto his body, as the Demonica-looking villain tackled him. Casey's fists gushed with purple flames, and he smashed them down into Kevin's face over and over again, burning the monster's red flesh. "Don't even act like you were ever part of our group! You didn't view Wish the same way we did! She saved us; she saved you, but you were never grateful. You just took the powers she gave you and ran, leaving all of us behind-"

Kevin smashed a card into Casey's face and blew the card up, blowing both of them back. He got back up to his feet before either of them could attack him and stomped his foot down into the ground as hard as he could, shaking the street. "Enough! I get it! You hate me! You hate me because I saved myself! You want to know why I saved myself? Because I saw a chance! I saw a chance to escape my fate, and I took it! Did I leave you guys behind to do it? Yes! And I'm sorry! I'm not a hero, though! Look at me!" Kevin smacked at his chest. "I'm not even human anymore, yet despite that, there is still one thing about me that hasn't changed. I'm a coward. A coward who took the easy way out. A coward who couldn't stand not being the best. A coward who obeyed that monster no matter how cruel her orders were. And I'm a coward who escaped without any of you!" He drew two more cards and launched them out. "I've always been like this. That's not going to change anytime soon!"

Casey and Hannah dodged the cards and launched forward with their powers. Blood and bones rained down, and Kevin turned his arm into a large shield to block it, but he was only able to shield himself from a few. The bone spears were shockingly heavy and seemed to move and twist in the air as if controlled by a magnetic force, and the blood was hotter than normal fire, scorching and burning away his flesh.

Hannah formed a large bone hammer and smashed it into Kevin's head. As he stumbled, Casey formed a blood sword and stabbed it directly into Kevin's stomach, catching the monster on fire and downing him.

Kevin collapsed onto his back, gasping, and shook. The two other monsters stared down at him in disgust. "I don't know what Wish ever saw in you," Casey stated, lifting his foot up.

"I don't know about Wish, but I can tell you what I saw in him." A wave of silver metal sliced out, smashing into Hannah's side and sending the girl crashing into Casey, launching them both back. The two villains rammed into a wall and groaned. When they looked up, a new hero arrived at Kevin's side. "He's stubborn." Oxide's dress flowed out, and she cracked two whips of liquid metal out. "He doesn't like losing. He's the kind of person you can count on when it really comes to it, and he never stays down for long." Oxide slowly looked down at Kevin, who stared up at her, his breath hitching and his heart skipping a beat. She had a smile on her lips. "What are you doing down there? Get back up."

Kevin closed his eyes and collected himself before he finally managed to stand back up. "You always were so bossy."

"And you're always the kind of guy who does something stupid!" Oxide shot back.

"What! Weren't you just complimenting me a moment ago!"

"Was I?" Oxide turned away, not looking at her boyfriend. "Sorry, I didn't mean for you to hear that; that was about some other guy, actually."

"Hey!"

"What, jealous!" She gave the boy a smug smirk. "Afraid that I didn't wait for you?"

Kevin's look changed, his anger fading. "You waited for me... Even though I look like this?"

Casey growled and launched toward them both. "That's enough of whatever this is—"

Oxide's whip grew in size, smashing through Casey and launching him back once more. The girl didn't even bother to turn her head and instead fixed her gaze on Kevin. "Yeah. I waited. I'm glad I got to see you again, Kevin."

Kevin rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, feeling strangely embarrassed. "You're batshit insane."

"Hey!" Oxide yelled.

Meanwhile, in another part of the realm, Lightning Empress casually flew up and dodged waves of stone bugs that Intake sent her way. "Yo! I don't really have any beef with you, so, like, can we not?"

"I'll kill you, then I'll kill Cinder!"

Lightning Empress hummed and flew up higher. "I'll take that as a no." Cockroaches made out of rocks jutted out of Intake's flesh and flew toward her, but she casually zapped and melted them, getting even higher up into the air.

"How can you do this? You weren't ever this strong before!" Intake yelled.

"Oh yeah, sorry bud, I'm the Lord of the Sky and Weather now." Lightning Empress casually lifted a finger, a ball of pure energy appearing on the tip of it, which blasted down and blew straight through Intake's right arm. "I'm basically God now."

Intake grunted, his arm regrowing, as he chucked out a massive boulder. "I'll kill you!" He yelled once again.

Lightning Empress lazily flew out of the way of the boulder. She didn't even bother to look down at Intake and instead focused all of her attention on the tower. "Come on, Hope. I've seen twenty different ways this section can end. You have to do this. If you don't beat that 'thing' on your own, then it doesn't matter. You have to regain your strength. Here and now, I've put you on the path to regain it. Reclaim your fire so we can move on to the next stage of this story."

Inside of the castle, Hope didn't even bother looking for the stairs. She could hear Queen Cinder and Cora's yelling coming from beneath the ground, so she casually smashed her fist down into the floor. It crumbled and broke, shattering to pieces, causing her to fall. She dropped down and landed in a large tunnel that stretched on and opened up into a weird cave or something. "Hang on, Cora!" She yelled out, running forward. "I'm coming!"

Queen Cinder's laughter bounced around her, and despite the woman being further up ahead, she could hear the voice coming out of the walls themselves. "Oh, poor, poor Cindy. Always so alone. This time you don't have little Sky with you."

"Don't talk about Sky!"

"Why? You don't like me talking about your girlfriend?"

"Hey! She's not my—well, I mean, she might—we haven't really discussed it yet—stop talking about it!" No matter how far she ran, the tunnel seemed to stretch on, the opening to the cave just out of reach.

Along the walls of the tunnel, images began to form and twist, taking various shapes. "Want to hear a story?" Queen Cinder asked.

"I'm good-"

"Once upon a time-"

"I said I was good!"

"-there was a little monster known as Skin Walker." The images showed a crude cartoon stick figure along the wall. "She was born with the ability to alter her cell's body, allowing her to change her appearance. This skill got even stronger when she became a monster; ironically, though, she lost her true form and could now only change into other people. While transformed, she lacked the powers of the people she took the form of, since her soul still didn't change, and powers come from the soul."

"Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?"

"Little Skin Walker worked for the Hero Branch." More stick figures appeared along the wall. "She was used to kill so many people and replace them. She joined the Branch as a way to keep herself safe after the fall of the Emperor. Eventually, she was sent on a mission. A special one. She needed to find something. Something that had been left behind after a grand battle, forgotten in the sands." The walls changed, and this time, it took on the form of a massive stick figure that almost glowed with a holy white light. "As it so happens, this mission took place after the Beast had been repelled by cute little Cindy. Tell me, Cindy, do you know what happens when the Beast leaves?"

Hope felt her throat go dry, and she stopped running. "A Calamity..."

"Correct!" A new stick figure appeared, one with horns coming out of it. "The first time the Beast came, the Emperor's wife and son died. This is what ultimately led to him becoming the Emperor. The second time the Beast came, a little city was destroyed, and by pure chance, the Emperor discovered a boy with the power of Imagination. The third time the Beast came, his energy brought forth Lucifer, allowing his body, which had been rendered to atoms, to return. The fourth time he came, Full Monarch died, and that in and of itself was a Calamity-level incident. The fifth time created Legend, who owns this entire universe we're in now. Lastly, this sixth. Guess what the sixth did?"

"Who are you!"

"The Beast gives off a type of energy. Chaotic in nature, it twists and bends fate, causing the impossible to happen. This energy travels through time and causes ripple effects, ensuring an outcome that will go on to benefit the Beast's end goals. I learned all of this because I, too, am a Calamity. The newest one. I was reborn." The image of a badly drawn worm appeared on the walls. "There wasn't much of me left, but there was some. Poor little Skin Walker was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I needed to regain my strength after I lost most of my power. After all, I wasn't the Lord of the Land and Life anymore." The image showed the worm devouring the stick figure. "I took a book out of your page and absorbed Skin Walker and her soul, just like you did to Parasite. How do I know about that? Well, when I did die, I was scattered throughout the Paths, my soul struggling to cling to the world, allowing me to glimpse it all, thanks to the energy of the Beast, which travels through time and space."

"No..." The tunnels stopped, and Cinder felt a hollow feeling in her stomach. She walked forward numbly and reached the end of the tunnels. "You're dead... You can't be here."

A fake Oleander City. A villain that hated her enough to do all of this. A realm that was the place where they first fought...

The cave was massive and went down like a slope. There was more room down below than there had been up top, allowing for plenty of space to fight, and at the bottom, a gigantic bowl resided. It was filled with some sort of bubbly-looking golden liquid, and above it, floating with wings made of fire, clutching Cora closely to her chest, was Queen Cinder; only the woman's appearance had changed. No longer did Queen Cinder have golden hair. Instead her face had shrunk down a bit, and her hair was long and silver. Fire still came out of her back, forming long wings that were mockingly shaped like a butterfly.

Cinder felt her fist clench around the handle of the briefcase that Lois had given her as her eyes glared up at the monster that floated before her.

"Hey, Cinder." Wish giggled. "Missed me?"

Meanwhile, Kyle let out a soft sigh. He couldn't hear anything thanks to the earplugs he had in, but he was down in one of the many bunkers that were scattered through the fake city. He was surrounded by a crowd of people who all looked dazed and unmoving under the effects of Pied's control.

Kyle hummed and leaned against the wall, sitting next to Pied, who was still playing his pipe. "Man, I can't even hear how the fighting is going; it sucks. We just have to sit here and wait, don't we?" He shot a look to Pied who just shrugged.

Pied kept playing his instrument but began to rapidly blink to Kyle, trying to use some sort of code to speak to the boy.

"Yeah, I have no idea what you're saying," Kyle said flatly. Pied just rolled his eyes. "What! I don't speak blinking, so cut me some slack, okay!" Kyle huffed and folded his arms. "Seriously though, I hope the others are doing well. It was smart to use you to get all the people out of the danger, though, wasn't it?"

Pied nodded his head.

"Yeah, it was a good idea. I am seriously praying that this works and that we can get out of here somehow." Kyle turned to look back at Pied and grinned. "I have faith."

Pied nodded again.

"Yeah. Yeah! We're going to get out of here!"

Red appeared on the front of Pied's shirt, and Kyle's smile faded. He still wasn't able to hear anything, but he could see just fine, and he watched as a streak of red liquid began to drip down Pied's body. Pied's hands dropped the pipe, and the boy looked down at his stomach, which now had a hole in it. A second and then a third hole appeared as bullets tore through the boy's body, and Pied dropped.

"No!" Kyle screamed and tore his earplugs out, allowing him to hear the gunshots. He grabbed Pied, but now the boy had been shot four times, all across the gut and chest, and was bleeding badly. "Pied!" Kyle yelled in horror.

Pied made a gurgling sound and spat up blood, crying out.

"Kyle."

Kyle felt his blood suddenly run cold, and he turned around, coming face to face with someone he hadn't seen in a while. His father stared down at him, holding the still smoking gun. Next to him, Harrison Avalon stood with a smile on his face.

"Yo!" Avalon waved.