Chapter 7: Love and Rage Amongst Best Friends

The skies above trembled with tension.

Across the shattered plains of the realm, Joyous stared at Sindel in disbelief, her voice a raw whisper laced with heartbreak.

"You… you're one of them?" Her eyes searched Sindel's face. "A traitor? But… why?"

Sindel looked down, unable to meet her gaze. Her lips parted, trembling, but the words caught in her throat.

"I sided with the Divine," she said finally. "Because…. Damon did."

Joyous took a step back, the hurt in her eyes quickly giving way to fury. "You chose him over me? Over us?" Her voice cracked.

"It's not that I chose him over us Joy"

"We were best friends, Sindel!"

Sindel's heart thundered in her chest. 

"I… Joyous, I—"

"After everything we've been through?" Joyous's voice rose to a shout, each word heavier than the last. "You didn't just betray hell, Sindel. You betrayed me."

"I'm sorry, Joy…" Sindel whispered.

But it wasn't enough.

Joyous screamed, her fury erupting into raw zail (energy). Lightning cracked through the atmosphere, and the ground beneath them fractured as her rage manifested in a torrent of power.

With a howl that shook the heavens, she lunged.

Sindel's instincts screamed. If that hits the Earth…

She vaulted skyward just as Joyous's fist crashed into her crossed arms. The shockwave of the impact ignited a cataclysm—earthquakes rippled out in every direction, forests uprooted, mountains fractured, and a dust-laced shockwave turned the landscape to ruin.

Thrown high into the void, Sindel was little more than a glimmer against the black canvas of space. The silence chilled her to the core.

But then—Joyous followed.

Her figure tore through the stars like a comet, face etched with wrath.

"I'm not done yet!" she roared, her voice booming across the vacuum like thunder in a dream.

Sindel landed on the moon, breath ragged. Jumping away, beneath her feet, the lunar surface cracked. Craters split open. Dust lifted in clouds around her feet.

A heartbeat later, Joyous slammed into the moon with enough force to splinter its crust. The entire celestial body shuddered.

Then she launched again—this time, faster.

Sindel braced, summoning her zail. A radiant aura enveloped her, swirling like a living shield. She crossed her arms just as Joyous struck.

The blow sent Sindel hurtling backward, the shock tearing through her bones.

She smashed into one of Saturn's distant moons—BOOM—shattering it like glass. A ring of debris spiraled out, glinting against the gas giant's light.

Sindel, using the fragments to springboard back into action, launched herself at Joyous, her foot aimed for a kick, only to be parried. Joyous countered with a powerful uppercut, but Sindel anticipated it and delivered her own punch, landing solidly against Joyous' jaw. Joyous was sent spiralling through the asteroid belt of Saturn's rings, her body tumbling like a comet.

She's stronger than ever when she's mad, Sindel thought, chasing her through the chaos. If I don't snap her out of this… I'll have to end it myself.

With a fierce determination, Joyous rebounded off an asteroid, and the two locked into a furious exchange, hurtling through space at blinding speeds. Their fists collided with a cacophony of impacts, the sound of their clashes echoing through the cosmos like distant thunder. Asteroids shattered around them, splintering into a million glittering shards, as they weaved through the debris, leaving trails of light in their wake.

Sindel suddenly vanished into the debris.

Joyous halted, eyes scanning.

Then—a flash.

A trident spun out from the asteroid field like a silver spear, slicing the silence.

Before Joyous could react, it struck her in the side, knocking her off balance and sending her spiraling down—straight toward Neptune.

The blue planet grew enormous beneath her until she crashed into it, vanishing beneath the oceans with a tremendous impact that rippled through the planet's atmosphere.

Sindel descended seconds later, landing gracefully. She thrust her arms forward, and the waters bent to her will.

The oceans surged.

Water twisted around Joyous like a living prison. Pressure mounted. Sindel clenched her fists tighter, feeling the resistance—Joyous fighting back.

"I'm controlling all the water on this planet," she thought, breath ragged. "If I crush her now… maybe she'll just pass out. Maybe she'll—"

But she already knew the truth.

It wouldn't be enough.

"I'll have to kill her," she murmured, a single tear breaking free. "I'm sorry."

She made a crushing sign with her hands. "Endless Vortex."

With those words, the core of Neptune began to swirl, creating a cyclone of unimaginable power that pulled Joyous into its centre. The planet shuddered, its very essence vibrating with raw energy.

Joyous's voice rose from the vortex like a curse.

"So… you do want me dead. Well, that's good because I've already made up my mind to kill you. You're dead to me!"

With a surge of zail more potent than before, Joyous broke free from Neptune's grasp, hurtling toward Sindel with eyes blazing like stars igniting in the dark. Sindel stood her ground, summoning her trident once more, readying herself for the inevitable clash against her once-best friend, now her fiercest enemy.