#7: Wishes of a Good Night 

By: M Monroe Casey  

Scene One

A small headstone stood alone amongst the swaying dark red, almost purple, plants in the field. As a strong breeze angrily picked up and moved through, two more souls joined the scene. A dark brown cloak rested on his skinny, office-worker form, and with his hood up, he was in a full brooding mood. A large blood red axe in his soft grip. They were just two lonely souls amongst a sea of alien-to-earth plants and a soft pink sky above. With only two feet planted in the soft red dirt of Scania, Roget Merlot stood gripping the dark wooden handle of Smooth Stone as his friend seeped their thoughts directly into his mind.   

Click.

Her mid-back length blonde hair swayed as she walked forward but her literal physical motion seemed to be the only thing changing in that world for the moment. All of it seemed to have stopped growing and changing completely and just when her aged teenage eyes looked upon the burned phrase in the ground ahead, she felt a breeze hit the back of her head. 

“I’ve never seen this world before… On all of the Cosmos maps or the Windowsill… like it is brand new or something… so weird…,” CJ pontificated alone as she walked across a dirty yellow field of gross grass. In a world that felt almost defiled by magic, she felt the gaze of her beloved on Mt. Couch and looked back to her greatest support with a face of slight concern. Walking forward a few more steps, she then read the charred phrase out loud. 

“… Why cure weakness when I can cure death itself…” 

With a quizzical face, she offered a “hmmm” and then opened a portal back home and away from the immortalized and frozen planet.  

With those two moving parts on potential new projects, Monica Dancer could now continue on the Windowsill with Baleigh’s epic adventure in Central Asia and with her morning mocha in her well-manicured hand, she hit the button. 

Click.

The hot pink starlight beam from the older Baleigh was met with her own darker pink version. Colliding with a flash of light and power, the exhausted Star Goddess knew she couldn’t keep this up much longer. She pushed herself beyond her limits in the last fight with Design and she could feel it catching up, extremely quickly. Reaching down and touching the synthetic kneecap from her cohort, she felt a placebo moment of confidence. The adrenaline shot effect of it has worn off but she only felt a gut feeling from it now. 

“Are you ready, Star?” 

“Yeah… I’m tired but you know… teenage life. So, I’m guessing this is what you meant by the split versions of yourself and stuff, huh?” The three of them stood in a triangle, sizing each other up as the younger version and her sinister and dark moonlight had the look of how she really wanted to hurt someone.  

“Yes. Over there, we got a possible older version of you, how the future would play out if you completed the fight today in a certain way and it looks like she’s your classic altruistic superhero, and the one with the evil grin is your angsty preteen years but she had your powers then. So, basically imagine you had the ability to launch your bullies into orbit with dark moonlight.” 

“Cheery… so, random and a little awkward but I’m happy you are here through all of this, man. Sorry for not trusting you earlier but I mean… Can you blame me?” 

“Not at all, I used to be a complete selfish jerk so I get that but can we do this later after we save my family and we showed Lighting what happens when she plays us like pawns? 

With a smirk of her own, the present Baleigh agreed then raised two finger guns to the other two as the stand-off was born. Following suit and doing the same, the three of them each then looked to become the final one remaining as their powers released and clashed on the sooty and dirty beach in the outskirts of Aktau. Starlight met moonlight which met more starlight and then more moonlight. Powers unyielding yet slowly draining from them all and while Monica watched it all unfold on the Windowsill as she slowly drained her own drink, a notification that moved across the screen was not clicked on and yet again, it was recorded in its lonesome. 

Hovering a centimeter above the ground as she neared the unconscious and utterly defeated Goddess of Beauty, the Goddess of Lighting has successfully ousted all but her best friend so far. She avoided the trap of being Face’s friend, won the favor of OMG and used Beauty to weaken the Star. Now, Vittoria was only a few moments from finishing it and then finding a way to accomplish her one true goal once more. Raising her delicate, soft fingers and hand up, she lightly slid her cherry tomato red hair from her face and smirked. She would find the perfect soul, split them with her magic then drain each and last piece of their immenseness, gaining enough power to live forever. Splitting that power with Lenna-Anna, they would live in their finished perfect home once the rest have been “dealt with.” The events on Mt. Aktau were mainly a setback, they still could do it all and she wasn’t going to give up just yet. She had the perfect bait back in Norway and now, she had the perfect weapon to completely end it all as she fired her empty gray light directly into the chest of the resting Stained Glass. 

Standing tall in her rigid and elegant roma tomato shaded dress, Vittoria Ivonee watched as Roberto and Nathaly were split into their two different and original bodies, thus ending their fusion together. Still unconscious in the literal crater they formed in their crash landing, she chuckled as her two hands then fired two more beams, one from each bony pointer finger, into both of their bodies, further splitting them. Six total bodies now lay unconscious in the churned earth. In her confident and powerful voice, born from a life directly underneath the spotlights of her own creation, Let There Be offered a single comment to the empty air and the asleep, weakened, very split Stained Glass, “… let them come.”      

Unbeknownst to this development and thickening of the plot to the “War of the Goddesses” storyline, Monica continued to witness the Baleigh’s warring. No headway was made in this fight, much like when the Star and the Beauty fought only an hour earlier as the perfectly matched forces proved to be just that. 

The main accomplishment was mitigation and a decreasing magical level from the Present Star. All the while, a helpful Journey Shaman spoke to her, trying to offer advice and encouragement as she narrowly dodged starlight from the left and moonlight from the right. Muttering to Rashid as light blasts were met back and forth in an attempt to stop and attack at the same time, she affirmed something she felt at the start of this fight but felt even more now.   

“I can’t keep doing this forever… I still have to fight Lighting after this…” 

“I agree. So, what is your plan?” 

“Well… one is altruistic and one is angsty, yeah?” 

“Yes?” 

“Well… I’m the present so the target is me. Obvio. But would it be that hard to… turn them against each other?” 

“I get what you are saying and I think not.” 

“Awesome, my friend. Let’s do this.” 

As a blast of dark moonlight ripped across the battlefield at her, Present Baleigh dodged to the left and with her own power, she clipped the side of it. With a slight redirection of the attack, it slammed into Future Baleigh and sent her sprawling on the charred and destroyed earth. Standing up with a face of rage, Future Baleigh turned towards Past Baleigh and fired starlight back at her in response.  

 Scene Two

Completely leveling the devilish preteen, Past Baleigh herself was bashed heavily into the hard earth. Getting up with her own face of rage, dark moonlight was sent off in a vengeful response. Back and forth, they fired with the intent to “just make the other disappear,” when Future Baleigh offered a question and then a comment that stopped the fighting in an instant and simultaneously put a knot in the stomachs of her younger counterparts. 

“STOP! OK? Why are we fighting? We have to get to Let There Be… Dumes… and… KJ… won’t survive… her… magic… the split… it… will be… too much… for them…” 

Responding first, Past Baleigh’s roaring aura of magical anger displayed what was felt by her, Present Baleigh and Monica alike. 

“Whatttttt… diddddd… youuuuu… sayyyyy… ?!?!?!” 

“Yes… Lighting has them… as prisoners… but… we can… change… their fate… do… what… I didn’t…” 

A stunned Present Baleigh muttered then yelled, “But… this was just all for Rashid and his family… not… for … my little sisters… my… family… They… did… NOTHING WRONG!”

Looking at each other, the three Baleigh’s then nodded and knew exactly what to do then and there. With her split lasting a record level time, it was now time for the singular goal to take over the situation. Walking towards each other on that scarred and tattered beach, they nearly joined hands together in their pre-more-important-fight-to-come circle. The 18 year old, 15 year old and the 12 year old. All born from the same timeless power and legend of the Tadala Star. A brilliant and nomadic spectacle that constantly moved across the cosmos, forever visible from every planet amongst it all. A unifying star across all of life. All three of them were born from a loving family in the suburbs but now, someone has directly threatened that family. Stained Glass indirectly threatened them by threatening the world. Design put them in danger by nearly laying waste to Calgary but this is something else. No one else is being targeted by this. This is literally just a selfish Goddess who wants something she could easily find in a nice cabin in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America. She has gone farther than the other two by dragging Heldum and KJ into this and a fierceness unknown until now in Baleigh’s eyes proved it.  

With that serious vibe now, Present Baleigh closed her eyes, wished one last time and then they all put their hands together. It was Past on the bottom, Present in the middle and Future on the top. Concentrating on their auras, they began to feel the effects of the unification. Her senses were beginning to heighten as her whole mind began to feel the peace. Her anxious feelings of before, at the Spring Dance, about Tiff and Kyle, were fading. With the calm of the Future but the energy of the Past, she was finding her center and amongst the chaos of the still settling dust of Mt. Aktau collapsing, she was nearly ready. Beginning to feel the rage of the Past take a hold of her mind, she could only fathom the worst of what could happen to KJ and Dumes. They would die and she would have to bury her two little sisters in the patch of land in the fields of Alberta, near her beloved grandparents.        

Using the calmness of the Future’s stoic nature, she successfully quelled this feeling. Feeling the scales tip to the other end, she began to focus on needing to save every single person in the world from every problem that could possibly arise. She would need to solve hunger, racism and the environmental changes after this. Just to name a few. Feeling this pressure that Future feels on a daily basis, she then used her present mentality of believing in team efforts and how great her friends like Naj and Jack are. They can help with that stuff too and there are so many equally great people out there that can help as well. With a smirk, she felt that balance out but now, she felt a knot form in her gut. The imposter syndrome born from Rashid’s comments when he tried to take Erickson and Hamza.

“I can’t possibly know what is coming… If Rashid is right and this War is just the beginning of something worse… I’m just a kid from a ‘cowboy town’… I’m not even from a big city like Toronto… What can I seriously do?” 

As the overwhelming feelings of doubt began to take over her mind as the refusion was nearing its completion, Past and Future both offered their “helping hand,” and into her mind, confidence sourced both from her past victories and future victories to come began to balance her out completely. All three of them had their imbalances but together, the star was finally, completely and utterly in symmetry. With a swell of immense power, unrivaled to even the cursed Design on top of the mountain, the star was reborn yet again. What was once three mindsets, three time periods and three bodies was now but one body with all of those things.  

Then without wasting a second, Baleigh immediately sourced this newfound return of power and teleported herself to the pressure spot on the earth she felt. As the War waged on, she began the ability to almost “track” the other Goddesses. She knew where the others were and how to identify who was which pressure she felt. Lighting was emitting her aura from his spot and as Baleigh landed on the soft green grass of a small and pleasant hill in the southern edge of town, she took a deep breath in and then out. 

Looking around, she offered a comment, gazing at the picturesque town nestled in a small valley, Nordfjordeid, Norway down below. “Nice but it’s not Stevens Point…”

With a smirk, she then walked towards the cave entrance. Feeling a metaphysical and magical wall hiding the cave from plain sight of all of those “too weak” for the immense magic that exists deep below here, she strutted into the hole in the earth like it was the Track Championships all over again. 

Walking in, like clockwork, the magical trap was set and the entrance sealed behind her then before she could light it up herself, the lights that were expecting her then turned on. Beckoning her forward down the black-rocked small and narrow path. Carved into a sign above her in a non-earthy language she was surprised she could read, she then read out loud as she traversed on. 

“All who step here must be ready to fight, any and all. Walking beyond here is one accepting and knowing the risks of what may come. Step beyond this point and know that the Trials of Light have begun…”     

Scene Three

With a few hundred more steps down the hallway, Baleigh eventually found herself at a dead end. A rounded out hallow with etchings across each wall in that same non-earthly language as the warning sign before. One of them mentioned something about Stage One and The Flames then all of the others had the same words. Each and every one of those other etchings depicted the same message to any who are foolish enough to try this. Run. 

Knowing that isn’t an option, she sourced her Journey-Shaman-in-Tow for some advice. 

“Well… it’s a dead end but I know she is here. Ideas?” 

“Hmmm… you can fire some starlight at that different shaded wall and we’ll see what happens?”

“… I like it.” 

Raising her left hand then stabilizing at her elbow with her right hand, she aimed the finger gun at the wall directly in front of her and at the very end of the hall. As the pink power began to slowly accumulate on her daisy shaded fingernails. She gathered it up for a massively charged blast of angry power. Nearly about to unleash it, she stopped in complete and utter shock as the wall itself began to move. With scales dark like the rocks that surrounded them but a slightly lighter hue, the winged monster retreated back into the expansive cavern that existed behind it and proceeded to let loose a heavy stream of orange and red flames from its massive and heavily toothed jaws, directly at her. Easily dodging to the left, she unleashed a weak counterattack on the six meter dragon that stood as her opponent. As her starlight slammed into the slower creature, it collided into the far part of the rocky cylinder that they fought in. With a roar of defiance in return, the creature then charged her once more with flames and fangs bared as she prepared herself then charged ahead. 

“Yeah… I really don’t have time for this…” 

Leaping off the cliffside that was once believed to be the end of the hallway itself, she delivered a well-placed left handed punch to the side of its head. With a swift and utter knock out to her scaled opponent, she landed on the next black-rocked platform below as the unconscious creature crash landed next to her. Looking ahead into the next hallway and to the next cavern that followed it, she read the next sign and strut forward, pissed-off diva walk still in full use. 

“Stage Two: The Forest.” 

Contemplating what that could mean, she accepted she would conquer whatever it meant so frankly it didn’t matter and as she walked on, a curious Monica changed the Windowsill image to the bottom level, Stage Ten, to see what had happened to the other two Luisa sisters. 

Click.

In her own lair, many meters below the surface, Lighting sat in a small throne she carved for herself as her whole form itched uncontrollably. The second Goddess willing to curse her existence with ancient spells from the foreign planet of Pyroclastia was doing all of this for one reason and one reason alone. Much like when Divinity cursed herself with deaging, it was all just to have the upper hand in the War. Guided to these spells by her mentor in this whole fight and her identity as a Goddess too, OMG, Vittoria knew that the victory was so close now but all she could feel at this moment was the itching. All over. As the roma tomato shade that plagued all her clothes, hair and nails began to overtake her skin now, she could feel the literal burning of this immense power throughout each and every fiber of her soul. Annoyed with the feeling and the crying of two prisoners in the milky white dragon bone cage in the corner, she lashed out.

“Would you just BE… QUIET?!?!” 

Being her cursed and unbalanced self, she didn’t quite understand how this would only make the six-year-old KJ cry more and louder as the nine-year-old Heldum consoled her. Having gone through the unspeakable confusion and shenanigans of Castle Johnson, so much so that she couldn’t comment on them due to their unspeakable nature, Heldum or Dumes to her family wasn’t as concerned for what may come as much as her baby sister was. Staying strong, she hugged her tight as Vittoria grew more and more unbalanced and angry with each passing minute. 

With the same brunette hair and eye color as their older sister, the two of them stood together in the horrors that should befall none at any age, especially theirs. Unable to see this and only aware of her own power, status and desires, Vittoria Ivonee yelled at them once again to be quiet when Heldum spoke up and retorted back as Monica muttered, “No…” 

“Hey! Leave her alone!” 

“WHAT did you say? HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO ME, MORTAL… I SAID BE… QUIET!”   

With a gasp from Monica, Let There Be raised their left bony hand and its quickly reddening fingers up and fired their signature empty gray light directly at the teary-eyed KJ Luisa. 

Scene Four

Click.

Met with a wave of nostalgia and deja vu, Baleigh Sofia looked around to see some of the tallest trees she has ever seen in this massive dimly lit cavern. The ceiling glimmered like the stars she represented as she angrily walked into the hollowed out glen in the center. With a similar color scheme and design to her fight with Sionwonie in Stevens Point, it was clear that someone made this with a very specific person in mind. 

“You think the memories of Stevens Point will stop me … Humph…” 

Then before she could take her tenth step into the wooded glen, the whole ground shook as her opponent stepped forward towards her. A seven meter long and very heavy dragon slowly approached her. Almost as wide as the glen they warred in, the dark green hefty creature let out a deafening roar as she stood undaunted. Letting out a wave of flames as green as the forest itself, she looked around at the sticks and stones all around them and smirked. With the wave barreling down on her, like Smooth Stone of old, she kicked into the ground snapping a giant branch. Picking it up, she quickly leveraged a nearby boulder, parting the flames with its rocky surface. Then in the gap, she charged. As the slow and powerful behemoth was still reacting, she delivered a log based smack to the left side of its head, swiftly knocking it out. With the second dragon left snoozing, she moved forward to the Third Stage. The name read out loud as she continued on, “Stage Three: The Skies.” 

Quickly moving into the next cavern while Vittoria Ivonee watched on in a weird amount of joy at her quick progress, Baleigh stepped onto a platform and quickly brought her eyes back up after they foolishly looked down first. Staring down into what seemed like an infinite gap into nothingness below her, she looked up ahead to see a series of hoops floating in the air moving up like a ladder. At the end, the hallway to the next cavern. With that determined look in her eyes, she responded to Rashid as she leapt to the first hoop. 

“Yeah… This has been really weirdly easy… I don’t trust it either… but we must continue…” 

“Yeah… I think we should… should… should…” 

“Rashid? You okay?”

Grabbing onto it, her peripheral vision caught a quickly darting movement beneath. 

“Honestly, I think I just need to rest… I’m getting weaker… You might be on your own for a bit…” 

“Go ahead. I got this.” 

“Thanks…”  

Using her gymnast strength to hold for a moment, she looked again as it moved once more but this time she was able to identify it. Coming in at ten meters but long and skinny, it zoomed through the skies with a great vigor as she could barely keep her attention on it. Then, as it made a quick U-turn with eyes locked on towards her, she continued climbing. Hoop after hoop, higher and higher. With the light sky blue creature quickly catching up its long fangs bared, she dodged a crunching attack and with her feet positioned to the ceiling above, she heaved herself up. Brunette hair swooshed up and down while she brought herself back down upon its head. Landing on the beast and then using it as a shortcut, she found herself at the final platform as the creature continued its assault at her now but before it could complete it, she delivered a left footed kick to the side of its head, knocking it out. Catching it before it could fall down endlessly, she dragged it onto the ending platform and then continued on. 

Entering “Stage Four: The Seas,” and stepping onto a new platform that overlooked a massive pool of dark blue water and a swirling maelstrom in its center, she now left three unconscious marvels of the animal kingdom behind in her quest through this magical mountain of trials. To most people, seeing a dragon of any kind would be something beyond imagination and would have sent them fleeing in an instant but to Baleigh Sofia Luisa, a dragon has been one of the least crazy things she has seen in the last year and with this thought and a feeling of dauntlessness in her gut, she head-first dove into the water.  

Trusting that Baleigh could handle this monster nearly as easily as she did the first three, Monica hit the button, finally able to bring herself to see how this would all play out. 

Click.

The dull and empty gray light neared on KJ and just as it was about to hit her, Heldum Salome Luisa stepped in from her right and pushed her aside. Taking the light full on, she was immediately knocked to the ground as KJ left out a deafening cry and scream. Then, just as instantly as it did to Baleigh, Rashid, Nathaly and Roberto before, the light split her into three versions. Getting up, the five, nine and thirteen year old Heldum’s looked around at each other, at Vittoria and then KJ. Seeing the tears in her eyes and the fear in her young face, they possessed the same thought and desire at that moment. Holding hands, they merged back together like their older sister did only ninety minutes prior. 

Then with her cursed anger, Lighting fired another light, splitting her again as KJ screamed and cried once more. In a complete and utter repetition of the scenario, she was split and they reformed but this time, as instantly as they were split.

“NO!!!! WHY CAN YOU DEFY ME, YOU MORTAL CHILD? … What makes you so special…” 

Unable to answer the question themselves, they couldn’t respond except with a synchronized “sticking their tongues out” in her general direction but as Heldum now stood in front of KJ, she has become the perfect reforming shield as Baleigh’s final wish upon the star has finally come true. With a sigh of relief from Monica, the noise was heard once more. 

Click.

As she held her breath in the swirling madness around her, she saw the fourth dragon. A slightly lighter hue than the waters it resided in, the aquatic creature began its onslaught as her whole body could feel a wave of energy. A calming feeling in her gut now resided and it was almost like she could feel the exact moment that her wish was being fulfilled. For her sisters, she simply wished a good night. May they never be bothered by the feuding of the Goddesses and be able to rest safely and securely. 

With them removed from the equation, she could focus on the problem at hand and bring her full strength to this now. Bringing her vengeful fist to the side of this seaborn monster’s head, it was swiftly knocked down too. Watching it go down further and further and eventually out of sight towards the safety below, she breezingly followed.

Scene Five

Stepping into a whole new cavern, the fifth presented a new and different danger yet again. Without a single light in the room, she was fighting this creature born purely in the dark. Hearing a scuttle to her left, she turned her torso. A scuttle to the right did the same thing. Scuttles after scuttles were heard all around but if she hoped to do the same swift hook to the side of the head as the others, she might have trouble, given the lack of sight and all. Then, with a scuttle heard before she could react, Stage Five: Darkness, proved to be the hardest yet as she was completely leveled by an unknown and unseen force, smashing into the hard bedrock below. Getting up in anger, she decided that she couldn’t conserve her energy this time. Cracking her knuckles first to “dust off of the power,” her rose colored nails began to do their usual thing. A milky white moonlight overtook the left and on the right, her signature pink starlight on her finger gun. Then, crossing her legs like she did only a day prior in Merida, she spun in a full circle unleashing her starlight mixed with the moonlight in a superpowered combination in a devastating circle. Seeing the black scaled fourteen meter creature be bodied and knocked down by her assault, she continued on towards the rocky carvered ritualistic door and the sign that read, Stage Six: Silence.

Entering the cavern, now seven hundred meters below the sea level she once belonged to, she couldn’t hear a single noise. Complete silence overtook all around her heightened Goddess senses as without looking down first, she proceeded to step on a small tree branch below. 

Snap.

Again before she could even react, a shockwave of pure audio energy slammed into her. Reducing the impact with her own moonlight, she looked up with slowly tiring eyes to see her opponent. A sixteen meter creature stood at the top of the completely white tree in the center of the room. The golden scaled monster possessed no eyes but instead two giant batlike ears on either side of its head and massive fangs. With a roar, it initiated the combat by leaping off the tip top of the tree, front claws soaring towards her. 

Deciding she needed to save some time in this all, she cloaked herself in a moonlight shield then began to run as fast as possible towards the end of the cavern. She could feel it, there was no time to knock them all out. Rashid was fading and sure, her wish was keeping them both safe but she was dealing with a madwoman who literally cursed her own existence to win a pointless war. Baleigh couldn’t take any more chances or extra time. Passing the trunk, she continued to step on the occasional branch that lay strewn across the area. 

Snap.

The creature was nearing her.  

Snap.

It was closer. 

Snap.

Steps away. 

Snap.

Only a few steps towards the end of the cavern remained and as she reached it, the last snap really resounded in her. This tiger batlike dragon was able to search and fight for its desire with only focusing on the snapping noise. Snaps made it happen. Snaps. Looking down at her own sparkly fingers, she then had an idea. Briefly stopping while the creature remained only a few steps back, she then raised her sparkly right hand and instead of the usual finger guns, she merely snapped in its direction. With the same vigor as always, a blast of starlight erupted and slammed into the creature sending it flying across the cavern and into the tree trunk, immediately knocking it out. With a smirk, she turned around as the weak Rashid commented. 

“… Woah…” 

“Yeah… but dude, save your energy. We’re almost there…” 

Confidently walking into the next room with her newfound powers, she was ready for just about whatever. Trying to do a mental log of her own powers, she briefly read Stage Seven: The Blades and then briskly entered the next room, seven hundred and fifty meters below the historic mountain fjords of Norway. Narrating these thoughts to herself and Monica alike, who took notes throughout, she began to fight the next twenty meter behemoth that stood alone in the center of the room. No gimmicks, just long silver blades covering its whole body instead of scales. 

“Hmmm… well, I have the starlight for attacking, obvio… But now, it’s from snapping. Which is fun.” She snapped at the dragon as it was slammed backwards towards the far edge of the cavern and the freedom it possessed. 

Monica wrote “starlight, attack.” 

“Okay… well… moonlight, I can use it to cure issues and repel enemies attacks. Turns out, I can use it to cloak my whole body too for a short term complete defense so that’s also fun.” Another snap and another slamming attack, sliding it back in the same direction as she progressed. 

Monica wrote “moonlight, defense, armor and healing.” 

“I can also use my powers to form fun weapons like that bat I used on Mt. Aktau, which you know is also fun, but I think that’s it. Cooooool.” The final snap crashed it into the door itself and smashed it into large chunks. Conceding defeat, the creature huddled down and purred in fear as she walked past. 

Monica wrote, “form weapons, also fun.”

With a smile, Baleigh Sofia stopped and gently petted its face, through the gaps in the blades. 

“It’s okay… we aren’t enemies. You know, I think you are cool. I just think you are misunderstood. Maybe… we can be friends? Soooooo….. You want to come with and have a fun adventure?” 

As the massive bladed monstrous dragon growled in happiness, she walked out of her new friend’s room with her new buddy and into Stage Eight: Reason, now eight hundred meters below Nordfjordeid. 

Stepping in, the center of the room hosted a twenty-five meter dragon sitting on top of a pillar. Silently judging them as they entered. Looking up at its judgemental face, she responded with the classic Luisa sister sass. The kind that makes their family reunions oh so dramatic.  

“Ummm… you got a problem?” 

“Humans and dragons can’t be friends.” 

“Why?” 

“Different species. One will hunt and eat the other. It’s simply logic.” 

“But… this is my buddy… I won’t hurt him and he likes me…”

“It’s an illogical thought, therefore it can’t exist.” 

She offered her retort as they continued to walk forward, “ummm… what kind of dragon are you?” 

“Logic and Reason.”

“… So… this trial is what?” 

“Provide you with complete and undeniable logic. Ask you the hardest questions about your foundations and morals.” 

“Wow… So lame…” 

“It’s logical to doubt the logic when you have none. You hate what you don’t understand and feel you have none of…”   

Before it could finish its thought, she turned around and snapped towards the pillar. Easily breaking it in two, the flightless dragon began to plummet to the ground as she snapped once more, slamming it towards the last Stage and completely knocking out instantly. 

“That’s enough of that… Well, Bladey, shall we?” 

With a happy growl in response, they continued on towards the ninth and final Trial of Light. 

Click.

Scene Six

Having an overwhelming curiosity how Heldum and KJ were faring, Monica changed it over to Vittoria’s lair, just on the other side of this upcoming cavern. Much to her surprise, Lighting wasn’t alone as Accessories was paying a visit to her partner. 

“… did I tell you or did I tell you? We got the perrrrrfect bait. The two kiddos and now, her little dollies…” 

OMG’s left arm chain began to raise and then move, first beckoning their attention to the first cage possessing the Luisa sisters and the second now had two unconscious dark red, almost purple massive puppets. Still unconscious from the collapse, they were merely just picked up. No fighting back. A quiet and focused Vittoria offered barely a response though as OMG picked up the hint.  

“Yes.”

“Well… you know what to do now. Don’t let me down, dear.” 

“Never.” 

In the corner of OMG’s blood red eyes, she gazed at the peeping eyes of the Windowsill. Knowing that Monica missed a few choice moments, she would never catch up in time. Not when there is almost always a new and important moving piece to watch and catch up on instead. Not a soul alive, in any dimension, knew exactly what she was doing and how. Let the sneakiest, snakeiest snake win as she replied, “stellar…” then whooshed out of there in her dramatic goddess fashion.   

Click.

Walking down a downward ramp, they continued down the longest hallway so far. Decorated like all the others with ancient symbols meticulously carved out throughout, they reached the end soon enough. Stopping and reading the sign ahead, they both stopped. 

“Stage Nine: Reflections,” and before another step could be taken, a glassy fist of vengeance unexpectedly met the back of her head. Doubling over and then turning around in an instant, Baleigh saw them all. Six Roberto and Six Nathaly stood in a semi-circle. Not turning on each other, they seemed to be cahoots already with a single, fragile goal. Get her then each other. Each Nathaly had their Stained Glass body but only on their left side while Roberto had the right side. Looking at them and knowing she could still take them, she instead thought of something else less time consuming. 

Fed up with this third fight with Stained Glass in this short time, she wasn’t having any of it and as Baleigh turned her back instantly, Bladey protected her escape. Charging forward, she ran into the final cavern with a surge of force. Literally swelling the air around her as her powers were in a holistic, complete sync. Stepping into the room, she sourced the moonlight for some armor and then began snapping at both the dragon and backwards at the charging Nathalys and Robertos. One by one, they sped past Bladey as her friend was left behind, playing catch up. The thirty meter monster had mirrors covering its full forms for its scales and as her starlight blasts met the mirrors, they were reflected back. Using these as a secondary attack, she dodged each and every one as they plummeted into an enemy behind. Getting past the dragon and near the other side of the cavern, she remembered the promise she made to Rashid in her school. She would fight to save them from their roles, they aren’t lost forever, just for now. Turning around, she saw the present Roberto and the past Nathaly nearly instantly. Less focused on blood-thirty revenge and getting to Baleigh but more on protecting their own people from the impending attacks. With a smile, she then began to aim her snaps at the others, knocking them back farther and farther from those two. With distance separating them now, she yelled to them as Bladey reached the Dragon of Reflections, communicating with it.  

“Nathaly! Roberto! I know we have had our differences… but we can stop her together. She messed with us both. She has my sisters and I’m… not… losing… this fight. So, are you with me?” Raising her snapping fist up, Baleigh’s smile turned into a serious stare then as she ended her thought, “OR… ARE YOU AGAINST ME?” 

Looking at each other then nodding, the three of them proceeded towards the end of the cavern as the two dragons followed along too. Baleigh, no tatters in her clothes, was in the center with her moonlight armor and a snap loaded. Roberto, in his dusty and dirty blue shirt and red pants, on her right and Nathaly, equally dusty in her brown shirt and yellow skirt, on her left. In the back left, Bladey and their newest friend, Mirrorz on the right. Long dragon snouts and different characteristics on show, from their small wings and long tails down to the claws on all four of their legs. With a chuckle at how well that child’s ability to have sympathy and kindness turned this from “a solo adventure against the world” into “a group quest with friends,” Monica watched on and happy she never doubted this amazing kiddo from Calgary. 

Reaching the door to the lair, she looked upon it with disgust as she read the inscription. 

“Through the Trials of Light, you fought the ‘Guardians of the Balance,’ great creatures eternally positioned for this purpose to test those worthy of fighting the Light itself. Step forward for your greatest challenge yet. Stage Ten: The Blinding and Irreplaceable Light.” 

Looking at each other, Baleigh commented once more, “eternally positioned… you mean slaves… Ughhhhh…” 

Closing her eyes and focusing her power on the armor, it began to pulsate deeply, higher and lower. Higher and lower over and over again as the small vibrations began to radiate off of it then with a washing wave of massive moonlight energy, it shot off in every direction. Starting with Bladey and Mirroz due to proximity, Monica then watched and followed along with the Windowsill as the shockwave reached each unconscious dragon above, freeing each of them from their immortal prison.  Literally cracking their magical and invisible chains that bind them to this mountain. With a slight stumble at how much power that took to do as she opened her eyes, she caught herself though, really happy she had allies finally in this fight. There is no way she could do this all alone. 

Putting her hair in a tie, ponytail fashioned, she then looked at the others with a smile and they all continued on with Bladey and Mirroz leveling the fifty meter door for some added drama to start. With only a few steps in, Baleigh stopped in a gut-dropping instant though as in front of her were two familiar faces, on their knees in chains and with metallic collars around their necks. A thick leather leash held in her hands connected to their collars. She had Hamza and Erickson too. 

“Hmmm… How far will you go? Let’s find out…”   

Looking to the left and seeing Heldum and KJ in a cage and seeing Rashid’s unconscious body and his family to the right in a separate and larger cage, her rage was growing as she retorted, her allies fanning across the room as she stared down the completely tomato shaded madwoman with a throne ahead.

“Let them go… ALL… OF… THEM…” Snapping and firing beams at her, they are deflected by the protective spotlight of the cursed “mega goddess.” 

With a smirk of defiance, Vittoria responded as she brushed away her equally red hair, “No.” 

Clenching her fist, Baleigh began to lose her cool now, “I said… LET THEM GOOOOO!” She fired two beams at their chains but they proved to be protected too. 

“Annnnd… I said no, you silly child. But even if you are a child, you should know better. Tools and Goddesses don’t mix and you let them treat you like an equal. Disgusting. They broke a Law of the Cosmos by attacking a higher up being on Mt. Aktau. They are guilty and the punishment for their crime is simple… DEATH!” 

Raising her bony left hand into the air, the same pounding spotlight as the fight in the Merida then erupted from long and unkempt fingernails.  

Making teary eye contact with them both before the end, Baleigh whispered “I love you both,” and as they replied “We love you too,” the spotlight tore through them completely and utterly. 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

Falling to her knees as she slowly snapped towards the heavens far away above, it unleashed two rays of starlight as wide as Vittoria’s throne into the ceiling above as everyone in the room looked on. Slicing the ceiling like a simple cucumber with a knife, all that could be heard in the silence was a definitive crack.   

Charging forward at Vittoria with her moonlight armor, she focused her starlight into her knuckles instead as she tested something. Seeing that her spotlight couldn’t protect her from a swift left hook to the side of the head, she quickly knocked her frail and cursed self to the ground and proceeded to not let up. With her laying on the ground and Baleigh now sitting on her stomach above, a mere meter from her throne, Baleigh’s crying rage began to unleash punishing blow after punishing blow into Vittoria’s face. 

Meanwhile, Roberto and Bladey freed Rashid’s family while Nathaly and Mirroz freed Heldum and KJ but before any of them could begin their journey to safety, the ceiling began to give way as the bodies of seven unconscious dragons began to rain from above.        

Scene Seven

Laying hit after hit into Vittoria’s unprotected face, Baleigh knew that this couldn’t bring them back but she could make her pay. Pay dearly for what she has done. Left hand then right into her head as her own screams and cries filled the gaps in noise from the ceiling itself collapsing. Almost like the burning workshop from last year, where she went to save them both, she couldn’t protect them. The universe proved to be successful in its goal, eliminate and purge that which it doesn’t understand, that which is deemed unworthy and less. Nevermind that they were like sons to her. Nevermind that they were like friends to her. They were monsters to the rest so they had to die… 

With these thoughts running through her brain at a damn near record pace, Baleigh continued laying the punches and with each punch she completed another word, “WHY… WHY… WHYYYYYYYY…. I’LL… KILL… YOU… I’LL… KILL… YOU… I’LL… KILL… YOUUUUUUUU!!!!!!” 

Refusing to slow down, she has now surpassed the punches she laid into Nathaly or Lenna-Anna in previous fights. Her pink starlight fists bring her vengeance closer with each movement as below, the slowly dying Vittoria cackles like the curse-ridden monster she herself has become. Skin as red as the blood she wishes to see fill the streets. As she revved up another, Lighting then launched a powerful beam into the ceiling dropping a chunk of the earth down upon them both, in an attempt to take the Star down with her.  

Unable to notice it and stop the falling projectile in her own blinding rage, she was shoved off by Roberto at the last second and into safety. Landing in the empty space to the right of the throne, another beam of light shattered the projectile as Vittoria stood up again while Nathaly rushed to help her new teammate up. Cracking each and every bone in her body like a horror movie creature, she proved to be a bit harder to defeat than just fifty punches to the face, as her now completely red eyes stared them all down. 

Snap.

As the starlight was fired and easily reflected into the thick hide of Bladey, the brown-haired Merida native was able to escape the close proximity of their enemy and rejoin the group. Standing in a line now was Baleigh, Nathaly, Roberto, Bladey, Mirroz with KJ riding on her new friend, Heldum and Rashid with his aura back in his own body and his own family. His wife Amaia, and their two daughters around her own age, Dmitria and Habibi. 

In the hands of the non-Goddesses, they possessed magical weapons fashioned into shields. Gathered from around her collection, it was truly a blessing they were fighting a greedy and jealous soul who desired to “own all trophies.” In Rashid’s hands, he found a staff once more. Compliments of the fallen Hamza. Amaia wielded Erickson’s. Looking across her new makeshift team, she smiled. With now eighteen on one, with the seven unconscious dragons rising from their slumber and ready for a little payback, they all stood. The Star in the center. 

While Monica watched on with a first “humpf…” then a yell of joy, Baleigh offered one more chance to the enemy who probably deserved no more. 

“This is your last chance… Stand down. I will ask you the same as I asked Nathaly and Roberto… Are you with us… OR ARE YOU AGAINST US?”      

Raising her elongated hand up, she smirked in the massive cavern who’s very ceiling now was the outside above. The maelstrom, forest, darkness, all of it. All gone. The magic used to form those effects and conditions was removed and now powered up its original master. Standing in their nine hundred plus meter tall battleground, she broke the stand off, letting out a spotlight of intense power aimed at Mirroz and KJ. The closest to her, Habibi, blocked it with her knee-to-neck shield, being slid back in the process. With the disdained look in her eyes at them all, she offered a retort, “… Against.” 

“Ok.” 

With a yell, Baleigh charged as the others followed, one by one. The dragons outpacing the humans and Goddesses, they were met with beams of white light first and sent back flying into the protective shields of Habibi and Dmitria as they took the lead. Parting like a gate, it opened room for Rashid and Amaia to charge next and deliver staff blows to Vittoria’s exposed chest. Doubling over in pain, she grabbed both of their weapons and used her immense strength to heave them off and into the distance. Then, without having to channel her magic into the individual caverns too, Let There Be was finally able to unleash it all in one fight. Successfully fending off the attacks of all nine dragons at the same time, she would deflect an attack and then send another one flying into the distance with a fluid motion. 

As Baleigh fired starlight at her, trying to weaken defenses from a distance, she briefly paused when she stepped into a different, natural, ray of light. Looking up and seeing a cracking of the earth’s crust above, it could only mean one thing. Their fight wouldn’t be contained here much longer and for the sake of the world, she wouldn’t allow London or worse to be leveled just trying to stop her. With a gut dropping feeling, she saw it on Vittoria’s face too as they made eye contact. Fluidly defending off the others with ease. She saw the natural light too as her rage and instability grew. 

Knowing what she must do, Baleigh snapped at an area behind where she made her stand, directly at the chair legs of the throne. With a shared, private communication across Nathaly, Roberto and Baleigh, those three charged in unison. Tackling Vittoria as a group towards the throne and the crack in the ground, they took her even deeper into the earth.     

Crash landing in the darkness of a small cave with ankle deep water, they all stood up as the two halves of Beauty began to fire shards of glass that were instantly deflected. Before she joined too, she accessed the still present but weakening aura connection shared with Rashid. 

“I need you to get everyone else out of here.”

“No… we can help!” 

“I know you can. But she can’t get out of here. Not like this…” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah… Have the dragons protect the exit and the rest of you can protect the city…” 

The two halves were struggling as Lighting was cackling, cracking all of her bones and moving closer to them all. 

“Ok. Good luck kiddo. We’ll see you on the other side…”  

“Thank you.” 

Closing the brain to brain communication to save energy, she cracked her own knuckles then brought her starlight back to them. Without a second more to lose, she charged and joined the fray. A left hand from Nathaly, a right from Roberto and a left from Baleigh. Two Goddesses on one again but this time it was more just a placebo knee, they were finally on the same team. Dropping Vittoria down to her knees, they all could feel the weakening of her immense power when she began to lash out even more. Random spotlight bursts shot off in every direction, not even from her fingers now but just every part of her body, punching holes in the walls of their new, sequestered, war room. Then, before they could do anything about it but watch in horror, Roberto was leveled by one of those beams. Catching his none-glassy side, he fell down to his knees in an instant and much like Hamza and Erickson only a short time prior, he whispered, “I love you,” to Nathaly and was promptly launched through a hole, further and deeper into his mountainous tomb. 

“ROBERTOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

With a similar rage felt by both now, they began to unleash it upon Vittoria as she herself was weakening. Knowing this was the beginning of her loss, she just sat there and laughed as they delivered punches to her form, unable to heal and reform at the same pace. Dropping her into low power and eventually unconscious, any of these next punches could be the one that ends it permanently, and just when they both revving up one more, a yell was heard from above. 

“Bales! Stop!”

In tear-stained eyes, she and Nathaly looked back and saw the scared face of Heldum. 

Through emotional sighs, she responded, “She… killed… Hamza… She… killed… Erickson… She… killed… Roberto… She hurt you… She hurt KJ… She can’t get away with this…” 

“Bales… She hasn’t. You stopped her. So… please just stop… No more fighting…” 

Nodding and knowing her sister was right, Baleigh’s left hand caught Nathaly’s rageful and emotional attack before it could land, possibly killing Vittoria. 

“Not like this… It’s over… We won…” 

Holding her new friend as she cried, Heldum and KJ climbed down to join them. Standing in a group of four, her power whooshed them all out of there and back to Calgary. Back to her backyard alleyway. Taking a few steps into the yard with her parents, Naj, Kyle, Jack and Tiff waiting, her sisters ran towards and hugged them all instantly as Baleigh and then Nathaly both face planted in the slowly greening grass. But before her family could attend to the newest member of the group, Nathaly was immediately removed and transported away in a massive swell of power. Jack and Kyle picked up Baleigh though and she was carried back into their cracked, but otherwise fine, home. Finally able to rest. 

Click.

Scene Eight

Curious what happened with Vittoria now, Monica finally witnessed first hand just what happened to Lenna-Anna too. Seeing it all. All but who did it. 

Using her magic to darken the tiny room, and even change her voice, OMG walked closer to her with a smile and a fresh Lucky Strike cigarette butt freshly burning out. A chuckle as her chains began to do the same as they did to Design and Acting prior. Attaching themselves, the weakened prey began to fade away. Slowly and weakly responding, Vittoria called out. 

“What….. What…. Are you…. Doing?” 

“Simple dear. You always wanted to live with Lenna-Anna… Just you goddesses having a grand ole time… well… ain’t this just swell of me, huh?” 

“You…. used….us…” 

“Maybe I did… but then again… I don’t care.” 

With a weak groan, she was then removed from this plane of existence and like her fallen comrades, a single white pearl lay on the ground where she once was. Grabbing it with a chuckle, she donned the newest to the collection and with three pearls, she shuttered across her whole body then whooshed away as Monica gasped back on Mt. Couch.

Adding this to the “continuing mysteries” column in her notebook, she checked in on another storyline from earlier. 

Click.

Still standing at Past Rashid’s shrine back on Scania, Roget Merlot and Smooth Stone were nearly done with paying their respects. Holding his best friend tight, he muttered to himself in the building breeze as it moved across the empty landscape. 

“Much like how we broke free of the hierarchy back in Stevens Point, you did the same, master. You were our greatest example and we will continue what you started. The Goddesses, High Goddesses, all of it. It will all fall…”    

With a quick scribble to the continuing storylines, Monica then decided that was enough for tonight as she was overtaken by a wave of tiredness. The last few projects have been very emotional and there is a massive web now developing. Between Roget resurfacing, this mysterious being draining the fallen Goddesses and the timeless world that CJ found, it has been a lot. Petting Cal on her lap, she turned off the Windowsill and carried his cute little snake body to their bed as she met the already asleep CJ. Cuddling onto her backside, she positioned her face in the middle of her back and slept, unbeknownst to the recording Windowsill adding more material to a certain folder. A folder unviewed by her or CJ. Yet again, it was recording a forgotten man all in his lonesome as he journaled in his dream journal. 

Scene Nine

Marche Tadala sat on his small bed, awake in the middle of the night, a small lamp on the nightstand. His small hut sourced the only light and awake soul at this time but it wasn’t going to be for long. He just needed to comment and write down another weird dream and write another letter. 

Beneath “Walter,” he wrote the name, “Evander.” This time, he was a man in Prague who had his whole body turned into wooden puppet skin due to a chemical reaction gone bad. He was outcast and hunted by his fellow peers, yet again, and had to flee up a mineshaft and avoid falling. Like Walter but this time, he only had a limited time to escape and only a few limited chances to revive himself. 

With a sigh and wondering what this could mean, he circled the word, “Why?” and then looked through the incoming mail. Not a word from Hagro, Bnonoa or Augustin about his last dream. With a sigh, he began to write a new letter to each of them about this one. Finishing it, he joined the rest of his world in a deep slumber. A strong gut feeling while he did it though that something very big and very bad was coming. Something falling.   

The End