The Power Of Painting in Year 3000: Season Finale

A shadowy deviant looks curiously upon frosted bliss. He’s been looking deep into the frozen pond for a minute there, I wonder… Is he checking himself out? It must be hard being a Cona Vight, with no real facial features or anything like that. How different is each Cona Vight?

“BULLOCKS, WHAT NONSENSICAL SORCERY. HUMANS HAVE DEVELOPED TELEPATHIC COMMUNICATION TOO, IT SEEMS. ENOUGH OF THIS FROZEN PIECE OF GARBAGE I MUST FIND THE SOURCE,” the pessimistic 1/5 of Corvak yelled out. He swiped at his fluctuating head for a moment.

The Cona Vight turned around, made quite the frightened gesture for a minute, and then caught his guard again.

“OH, MY DARKNESS! HOW UGLY?! SHEESH, YOU ALL COULD USE A NICE SHADOW BATH EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. YOU MUST BE THE ONES TELLING ME ‘TO GET AWAY FROM YOUR LAKE’. WELL, I DON’T THINK YOU’LL ENJOY MY RESPONSE BUT ITS TIME TO FEEL MY KINGSHIP. GET READY TO FEEL SQUEEZED FROM THE INSIDE, RATS. I’LL TAKE ALL OF YOU DOWN IN AN INSTANT,” the great, pompous Corvak stated.

Augusto fired up some buttons for me, shot them my way and I rode them straight towards the jerk ahead of us. I pulled out one broom and held it, old-school samurai style. Focusing on making a huge mark, the buttons took me right where I needed to go and I released a huge mark-blast as I swung down my almighty broom.

*PWOOOOOOSSHHHHHH*

A glorious wave of light came crashing out of my broom and took the Cona Vight down.

“AHH!!! NO, THIS MUST BE THE BLASTED WEAPON THAT TOOK MY OTHER FIFTH DOWN. OH BY THE DARK-SIDE THIS BURNS,” the helpless Cona Vight squealed.

Italia pointed out, “Actually no, that was my cake! But I’m glad you at least had a piece of it before biting the dust!”

Hmmm… He hasn’t imploded or anything, maybe he has some energy left in the tank. It’s best if I finish him off before he can retaliate.

I walked up closer and then all of a sudden, a stroke of darkness sniped the Cona Vight.

“WHA-?! NO, HOW DARE YOU DO THIS! THIS IS TREASON,” Corvak yelled out…but to who?

All of a sudden, it looked like the Cona Vight got sucked into himself and then the stroke shot towards trees to the other side of the lake.

What… was that? It seems that something else did job for us but… This is not leaving a good feeling in my stomach.

A confused troll hidden in some bushes close by started sweating bullets.

“Oh crap! What in the name of Gameshark, just happened?! No one’s ever taken one of those loser’s down so easily, and what the hax was that stroke that appeared so suddenly?! I might have to sit tight for a moment until they finally give up looking for me,” Belcheezius worriedly said to himself.

In a tree across the pond, Vincent waited with a massive grin-like feature where his face would be… if he had one. The power of yet another 1/5 of Corvak surged through his body making him bigger and denser in darkness.

“This is all working great. Humans really have created a wonderful tactic of approaching matters at hand, improv. Thanks to the changes in the will of man, I can finally achieve my dreams and do what the mother-mold of all Darkness originally intended. Let’s see how far we can take this… Oh, that’s right I should dance with the troll for the time being,” whispered the malicious, plotting Vincent.

Vincent sent off a couple of particles of himself and they flew towards Belcheezius. The particles landed and sat on his shoulders.

“AH-HACK AH-HACK! What the… It suddenly got a bit tougher to breathe,” a stuffy Belcheezius said to himself in his cozy bush.

A shining CJ stated, “Okay, I just finished collecting all of my dandelion-chlorophyll reserves. What made you say that I needed to do this, Nina?”

“Oh… I hope I’m wrong, but the integers are calculating that something big is headed our way. We’re going to need all of the support and power we can get,” 3.15 stated alarmedly.

CJ turned to me and put one of his branches on me all buddy-buddy like. He then began to walk away from the pond, taking me with him.

“Where are you impotent, infidels going,” the ticked off cogbot questioned.

“Don’t worry Nina, we’ll be right back. I swear it on Mother Nature’s heart. I just wanted to talk to pops over here for a second, mano y mano. Catch my drift? We’ll just be a moment,” the persuasive CJ reaffirmed.

“Okay. Whatever, loser. Just be quick,” 3.15 stated in annoyance.

CJ grabbed me, put me on his Ancient pompadour and caught some distance from the group.

CJ said, “Listen pops, there was something I forgot to mention to you. Us Ancients also require water but as you’ve seen, I’m different than most. I collect and absorb water every time that I battle the God of the Sea. In fact, just absorbing water used to be the main reason why I would go into the sea, now I just collect it in passing while focusing on battling my guy over there. I’ve collected so much water that it’s not even necessary for me to take a dip in the sea anymore, but I do it anyways because that body of water is my stage. Nina always watches me go into a bout and she was the first to see us go for it. She’s my biggest cheerleader, so I go through the good fight in order to give her the greatest show.”

I started looking at CJ like a puppy dog. Awww I feel like I’m listening to the greatest crush sequence in some sort of dystopian fiction, I thought.

CJ noticed my look; making a bigger smirk than usual and continued, “I love that little cogbot more than anything. She was the first to calculate that the God of the Sea would be there, and I was the first to throw her calculations off. Haha! She thought I was going to lose in the first bout with the old boy over there but, she never predicted that it would end up being a tie. Now, listen pops. As a man… no matter what you have to face ahead of you, you should ALWAYS do your best and give it all up for the lady. I guess Ako has rubbed off on me in that sense. A man should always keep in mind, the importance of self-sacrifice. Sometimes that means you need to be completely okay with being in a state of turbulence, we must be the foundation that grounds the queens around us. There’s a reason why I’m bringing all of this up now though, okay pops? Not once has Nina ever told me that I need to go through my reserve tanks, and when she states it like THAT… WHOO BOY! There’s some big trouble heading our way and I’m worried about what may happen. So regardless of the results; by all means, I need you to protect that cogbot with all of your might. If she stays alive, then all humans left remaining still have a way to predict/avoid danger and as a man who loves her… if I somehow kick the bucket; I need you to promise me that she will live on, no matter what. Okay pops? Can you make that promise for me?”

I got teary-eyed for a hot minute and immediately gave CJ the manliest hi-five, manshake that I could.

I stated in response, “Don’t worry brother, I promise. If I must lose my life to protect her too, then so be it.”

CJ replied lionheartedly, “HAHA! THAT’S THE SPIRIT, POPS!! NOW LET’S GET BACK OVER THERE AND TAKE CARE OF WHATEVER THREAT COMING OUR WAY. AS REAL MEN DO, WE WILL MAKE SURE OUR WOMEN LIVE ON AND PROSPER. LET ALL MY WOMAN’S ENEMIES BE VANQUISHED IN THE NAME OF MOTHER NATURE!!!”

Together we roared out fierce battle-cries, “HOO-HA!! HOO-HA!! HOO-HA!!”

CJ and I returned triumphantly, ready to take on anything.

“Are you two done being idiots yet? What is all this hooting and hollering about,” the twerpy little cogbot, 3.15 questioned.

…

I was not ready for that insult. Very tempted to referring to some classical media name-calling, right about now…

“What was that you little,“ I stated but was interrupted, before I could finish that sentence.

“HEY CAP!!!” a voice off in the distance, yelled out with the top of their lungs.

What…? I recognize this voice anywhere, but I just can’t believe it. There’s no way, this is who I think it is.

The familiar voice shouted again, “GENERAL PATRICK!!!”

I turned around. Holy cow, I can’t believe it, but yet again… maybe I can. This guy will outlive anything, and he somehow manages to survive in an apocalypse too?

I replied joyously, “HEY CAPTAIN!”

Before me was my Bakehouse Grandpa, that I thought I left behind when I time traveled. It seems that no matter where I go, he will always be by my side.

I shouted with tears rolling down my face, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, CAPTAIN? HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO MAKE IT ALL THE WAY HERE, HUH? YOU HAVE TO BE WELL OVER 140 YEARS OLD BY NOW. YOU SURE ARE A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES. I HAVE TO SAY, NOTHING MAKES ME HAPPIER THAN TO SEE YOU. HOW ARE YOU?”

“THANK YOU, JESUS. NOW THAT I SEE YOU; I AM OKAY,” Jo replied wholeheartedly.

Jo ran to a mountain and back within less than 20 seconds. It seems that Jo is covered in a suit of plant armor. I wonder what his desires were.

“I SEE YOU GOT AN UPGRADE. LOOKS LIKE YOUR LEGS ARE NO LONGER A PROBLEM, YOU CAN FINALLY WORK AS HARD AS YOU’VE BEEN WANTING TOO,” I excitedly continued.

Jo extended his right hand to the sky, put his chin up and said from the bottom of his heart, “EVERYTHING YOU SAY, THANK YOU GOD.”

Italia interrupted us for a moment and said, “Muy bien! So, you’re familiar with our agricultural technician? Jo has been the greatest help in terms of helping the village grow and prosper. He focuses on farming and harvesting a majority of our villages stock of fruit and vegetables. He also goes scouting for new ingredients/ potential plants for sustainability. On top of that he loves surrounding our village with exotic plants. Everybody loves Jo here, he truly is one of a kind.”

“Hahaha, it seems that no matter where he goes… Nobody can help it. You just can’t not love the guy,” I chuckled and replied in a sincere tone.

Ako joined in, “He’s also one of the fastest out of all of us. His only parallel in speed is CJ. Joseph is a very special case when it comes to the transformation of desires. He will only tell you one thing as his desire, but the Ancestors have prophesied to me a while ago; that he had a mix of desires all put forth to the maximum capacity.”

“GENERAL! YOU KNOW MY JESUS? MY POOR JESUS, I GIVE HIM TROUBLE. I CALL HIM EVERYDAY. PAT! YOU KNOW I AM SICK; I LOVE TO HELP!! WE WORKING ALL TOGETHER, PEACE AND LOVE. HALLELUJAH,” Jo emphasized as his plant armor wriggled about and created heart-shapes from the vines.

“So, your desire has always been the same, huh? Always looking out for others and helping anyone you can? You’re a good man…Captain,” I said.

Memories of Jo and I spent together started flooding in my head. Wow… Even in some crazy future, still; no one amazes me more than the captain.

Jo replied, “PAT… I DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME, BUT I KNOW YOU’RE A GOOD MAN. AMEN, AMEN, AMEN! PEACE AND LOVE. HALLELUJAH!”

Ako continued where he left off, “Charlie made sure to freeze Jo’s age so… There is no need to worry about that my godson. I believe that the desires he transformed into power are: number one to help and work as hard as possible, number two to grow new legs and number three to always be with the plants that he grew alongside his house at your job. I believe that when the spell hit Jo, he instantly fused with those plants. Alchemically, creating a new body that will help him accomplish his desires.”

Jo stated in his usual tone, “EVERYTHING YOU SAY, THANK YOU GOD. THE DOG SAYS ‘UP, UP, UP’ SO TOGETHER WE GO UP, UP, UP! I LIKE TO HELP, PAT! GENERAL, YOU WANT SOME COFFEE?”

CJ chimed in, “HAHAHA! YOU’VE GOT THE FUNNIEST SENSE OF TIMING, MR. JO!”

“THANK YOU, BOSS. I GOT COFFEE SO I’M SUPPOSED TO SHARE,” Jo replied resolutely.

CJ looked at me and said, “You’ve got the best role model in your hands, pops. When we talk about being the steadfast land for our queens, we’re really supposed to be like him. In the name of mother nature: we must stay true to ourselves, work as hard as possible and be relentless in doing the right thing.”

Jo insisted, “PAT! I GOT COFFEE.”

Oh my lands. I sure do love the guy, but I can’t handle anymore diarrhetic reactions to his coffee anymore. I remember all those times I would drink his coffee, I did it because I knew it would make him happy. Who knows what exactly he puts in his coffee and what that did to my colon though…? Now THAT is a different story. Besides, as heart-warming as this is… I believe this is not the moment to be sitting down and having a coffee break. I could’ve sworn something big was going to happen.

3.15 paused our conversation and said, “Get ready everyone. Danger is approaching—”

Right before she could finish that sentence a massive homunculus type of creature landed in front of us, as if a bomb dropped from the sky.

*KA-WHOOOOOOSSHHHHHH*

The air from the landing pushed out at winds going faster than 90 mph, nearly blowing all of us away and then got sucked back in towards the abysmal creature. Suddenly, most of us started dropping to our knees as our breath was getting stolen.

The massive homunculus had a crown that oozed like water, harpy legs, dragon wings, two gigantic arms and tentacles sticking out of its back. This being’s dark matter seemed to be a pitch more abysmal than the other’s we have faced so far.

“HELLO, YOU POMPOUS PESTS. I HEARD THAT A PORTION OF MY FAMILY HAS BEEN DEPLETED DUE TO YOUR LIGHT SORCERY. WELL, ENOUGH OF THE FUN AND GAMES. PREPARE YOURSELF! THE CONSEQUENCES ARE DIRE AND I WILL NOT STAND STILL ANYMORE. ALL THAT AWAITS YOU IS DEATH,” the homunculus roared.

Augusto pitched a light barrier from his shield around us, and we were able to catch our breathe again. Italia threw one of the shards of the Okuutuu Imola that she held onto, into the air.

Jo immediately jumped up, caught the shard and shouted, “OKAY, ITS TIME TO HELP!”

Italia also gave a shard to Ranger and just like a dog would, he ate it. Jo’s vines looked like they consumed the shard and Ranger started to grow bigger.

Jo’s plant armor was shining gloriously now, and he ran up to everybody; thus giving everyone an aloe vera mask and plant shoulder pads.

Jo stated as he bounced from person to person, “THANK YOU GOD. THESE WILL HELP YOU BREATHE!”

Italia tapped everyone with her tentacles while holding a shard of the Okuutuu Imola. All previous damage replenished itself, and we all felt battle-ready.

CJ split a part of himself. One part planted his roots in the ground and summoned tree cannons all throughout the grounds. The other part looked like a skinnier, agile version of CJ and held a sword made from tree bark.

“Two can play at this splitting game. HAHA! The game’s have only just begun,” CJ stated valiantly.

Ako shouted, “ANCESTORS! LEND ME YOUR POWER AND LET THE LIGHT OF ALL THAT HAS COME BEFORE US SHINE DOWN ON THE DARKNESS OF TODAY!!”

Ako’s raging bull energy was crackling off and the horns of the bull turned into a piercing blue color. His energy daggers look like they grew by a foot.

Augusto stated, “Okay team. We’ve been preparing for a moment like this for a while now. Let’s give it all we got. Jo we’re going to need you to keep a safe distance in case all goes wrong, we can at least rely on you to help provide for the village back at home.”

Jo saluted and said, “OKAY, BOSS!”

CJ butted in, “Nina should also keep a safe distance. She can help forewarn the village of any disasters that may come.”

Augusto replied, “Okay you are right about that. We’ll need both of you to stay safe.”

“Who do YOU two think you’re vouching for? As important as my calculations are for humans, I will think and fight for myself,” 3.15 said as she pulled out two huge paper guns from her interdimensional box.

“YOU THINK A MEASLY BARRIER OF LIGHT LIKE THIS, CAN PROTECT YOU FOR LONG? I WILL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT. HERE I COME LITTLE SHEEP,” the enormous Ca’alrok homunculus growled.

“Alright…If you’re going to join in, then I have a request Nina,” CJ sighed.

3.15 replied, “Oh?”

“You know what time it is. Put the tunes on, and can you play my favorites,” CJ asked with a proud grin.

“Roger. Everyone… it’s time to go all out,” 3.15 replied and stated affirmatively.

The monstrous homunculus began bashing their tentacles against Augusto’s barrier. A crack formed on the surface with every smack. 3.15 clicked a button on her gear antenna and it sounded like a record skipped for a moment.

Music started to fade into the battle grounds, and it was… “Who Loves You” by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

Augusto’s giant protective bubble shattered with another smack from our monster friend.

Augusto yelled out, “BREAK!”

Augusto hopped on two Buttons and flew off to the right side. 3.15 followed suit, the planted half of CJ stayed put and fired Okuutuu Imola charged cannons away with light imbued coconuts. I made a long mark from a wide slash. The mark felt my intentions and moved like a slithering snake when I hopped onto it. The mobile half of CJ hopped onto my mark and joined in on my ride. Maxx ran straight ahead to the enemy’s feet and started shooting some sound blasts at their feet. Italia started fighting off the beast’s tentacles with her own. Jo ran to the outskirts within a flash and cheered us on from the sidelines.

“GO, GO, GO!! YOU GOT THIS,” Jo shouted brilliantly.

Italia slapped the junk out of the beast’s tentacles. With every slap it left a stinging sensation on the enemy’s tentacles.

Italia shouted like a warrior, “I’M GOING FULL GRANDMA-MODE ON YOU! BEWARE: I’VE GOT ALL THE COOKIES BUT I HAVE ALL THE SPICES TOO!”

Maxx had a shard of the Okuutuu Imola underneath his bandana and burst forth soundwaves that shined light. Maxx flipped around, somersaulted in the air, and inflicted some damage to the Homunculus’ feet.

Woah, I guess I was wrong about this guy. Not only can we trust him, but he will go straight to the forefront in the battle.

Maxx shouted as he blasted soundwaves, “YOU SHOULD’VE JOINED A TRUMP SUPPORT GROUP!!”

Well… It’s a start. We can trust him, but whew boy does he need some new catch phrases.

Augusto and 3.15 flew around to the beast’s backside.

Augusto casted 5 buttons towards the homunculus that started spewing out light then he pointed his button to the sky. Focusing on the light shape he turned a barrier bubble into a massive axe and swung it into one of the colossal arms.

“AUWRGH!!! PESKY PIECES OF FODDER,” the Ca’alrok homunculus roared.

Ca’alrok swung his damaged arm towards Augusto, but the button alchemist evaded it. 3.15 put a shard of the Okuutuu Imola on top of the button in her antenna. It started glowing profusely and 3.15 started shooting beams of light-cast integers from her 2-D guns.

Each beam shot made a singeing sound every time that one hit the surface layer of Ca’alrok.

3.15 and planted CJ shot light-infused coconuts and beams in unison. Every shot matched the beat to the lines in “Who Loves You”.

~WHO LOVES YOU PRETTY BABY? WHO’S GONNA HELP YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT? WHO LOVES YOU PRETTY MAMA. WHO’S ALWAYS THERE TO MAKE IT, WHO LOVES YOU? WHO LOVES YOU PRETTY BABY?~

“THAT A GIRL, NINA!!! HAHA IT’S BEEN A MINUTE, SINCE WE’VE TAKEN SOMETHING DOWN TOGETHER. LET THE MUSIC COREOGRAPHED BARRAGES ENSUE,” CJ laughed and shouted.

3.15 turned red for a moment. The beast saw the pause as an opportunity and swiped at 3.15 with their other arm. CJ created a net with some of his roots and caught the flying 3.15.

6 minutes had passed since Ca’alrok sent out the homunculus.

The song came to a close and a new one started, it was “Sherry” by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. The beast started to stomp around, foiling Maxx’s initial attack plans. The ground shook and clouds of dust filled the area.

The sword-bearing CJ and I came flying back towards the back of the beast’s head. I slashed 3 long strokes and charged some light blasts. Ako came straight to the front of Ca’alrok’s torso with as much raging bull energy as possible. The beast focused on Ako and threw a right straight towards my God-daddy. Ako jumped up as high as possible, dodging the punch and ran up his arm releasing a fury of slashes.

“ARRGGHHHH! OUCH!! I SEE WHY MY SIBLINGS HAD TROUBLE WITH YOU BEFORE! YOU ALL MOVE AROUND LIKE MOSQUITOS,” the homunculus growled.

Augusto summoned another light axe from his button shield and cast two buttons. Maxx joined forces with our button alchemist and hopped on the buttons, Augusto swung his axe at the back of the beast’s leg. A huge gash of light burst from where the axe clashed into and Maxx moved closer letting out blasts of soundwaves, right where Augusto laid some damage.

Their combined attacks were able to knock the creature off balance and it started stumbling around. This was the perfect opportunity for my charged blasts to make way.

I slashed once more and the blasts fired.

I yelled out with the last stroke, “EAT THIS!!!”

The painterly blasts of light clashed with the Ca’alrok’s head and CJ jumped off my flying mark, rushing straight towards the beast’s head.

Sword-bearing CJ roared, “NOTHING CAN BEAT US!!! IN THE NAME OF MOTHER NATURE, WE WILL SLAY THE BEAST!!!”

CJ jumped high over the beast and came crashing down with all force possible, planting his sword in the head of the homunculus. A shockwave of light burst from where he stabbed. The beast was down for the count, but it started to twitch. Planted CJ de-rooted himself and walked towards sword bearing CJ.

It’s a good thing that Jo made us these light-bearing aloe vera masks, I don’t believe we would’ve been able to keep up the way we did without them.

CJ fused back with himself and said, “Well Pat? Would you like to do the honors?”

“With pleasure,” I replied.

I made a couple of strokes in the air, facing the beast and started charging the marks.

Meanwhile, in the ruins of Washington D.C…

“OKAY! THAT’S IT. 10 MINUTES HAVE PASSED, AND NONE OF MY SIBLINGS OR MYSELF IS IN SIGHT. THIS HAS TAKEN WAY TOO LONG TO TAKE A COUPLE OF ANTS DOWN… ITS TIME TO UNLEASH THE FURY OF DARKNESS,” Ca’alrok shouted to himself.

Ca’alrok transformed into a ginormous Tyrannosaurus Rex with spider legs popping out of his back. The massive dinosaur roared and jumped all the way into outer space. Ca’alrok noticed where Australia’s location was and shifted his landing direction towards that continent. The monstrous force of darkness came crashing down at full speed.

Ad interim…

My light-blasting marks were fully charged up and it was time to slash once more to finish the creature off. As I was about to land the finishing blow the space around us shook and our party fell to their knees.

*KAWWWOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH* *BANG*

A massive tyrannosaurus rex made of darkness crash landed before us, rumbling the ground and sucked away the oxygen.

“WHAT? YOU MANAGED TO TAKE THIS CONGLOMERATION OF US DOWN? I COMMEND YOU, FEEBLE STOCK. WHO KNEW RATS COULD GET SO CRAFTY? THE PARTY IS OVER NOW,” Ca’alrok bellowed and shook the space with every word.

The monster ran straight to the homunculus, clashed and fused. It turned into a big bubbling mass of darkness and with every passing second it started to take form.

The combined powers of the Cona Vight’s were really sucking our breath’s away even with Jo’s helpful masks. I struggled to stand up.

CJ started glowing a bright gold color and looked like he was collecting energy. 3.15 got back on her feet and targeted the beast with her 2-D guns.

~SHEERRRRYYYY BABY, WHY DON’T YOU COME OUT TONIGHT? ~

The song continued, so of course I can’t give up here. Not when we were so close to finishing the beast from before. The bubbling darkness finished transforming and it was shaped like a chimera.

I struggled to breathe, but I slashed three times and imagined that the Sun was imbued in these marks. Italia couldn’t move an inch and Jo couldn’t help himself anymore. Jo instantaneously snatched Italia and took her far away from the battlefield. He covered her in air filtering plants to help her recover her breath.

Jo shouted from the sidelines, “DON’T GIVE UP!! THANK YOU, GOD. WE’VE GOT WORK TO DO!!!”

Ahh I can’t let the old man down, I thought. It looks like I wasn’t the only one inspired by his cheers. Augusto stood up again, Maxx tried his best to stand but the most he could do was get up on one knee. 3.15 was well up on her feet again and shot some light beams at the chimera.

“YOU PITIFUL RODENTS. YOU THINK YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE?! YOU WILL BOW DOWN TO ME!!! FACE MY WRATH,” the Ca’alrok chimera blustered.

The chimera’s thunderous clamor rumbled throughout the lands and sucked the air around us. The beast swiped an earth-shaking right hook towards 3.15, and Augusto created a light barrier in the last minute to soften the blow. The marks I created earlier shot that way to also lessen the damage from the blow. Both of Augusto’s barrier and my marks shattered immediately before the might of the chimera’s fists. Fortunately, this gave 3.15 enough time to evade the punch at the last minute. She dodged the fist by a hair, but the proximity of the hook blew her backwards and caused her to rust.

3.15 stated weakly,” Ach… I’m sorry guys, I think I might be down for the rest of the fight… Oh my digits, I can see so many bright integers around me right now…”

CJ yelled passionately, “NOOOOO!!!! DON’T GIVE UP SO EASILY, NINA!! I’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GO SO EASILY!!!”

~come out tonight…~

“Sherry” ended, and it sounded like a record was scratching, as if a song was struggling to play.

CJ shined so brilliantly that the whole battlefield started to reflect his golden light. Augusto, Ako and I fell to our knees again. The loss of oxygen was destroying us from the inside out. It felt as if a bomb had just exploded close by and everything around me started to sound muffled.

CJ grew a pear and all of his light transferred into the pear. He leaped courageously towards 3.15 with all of his might.

CJ roared lionheartedly, “NINA!!! I HAVEN’T TOLD ANYONE THIS BEFORE, BUT I WAS ORIGINALLY A PEAR TREE. I’VE INFUSED ALL OF MY POWER INTO THIS PEAR, SO I NEED YOU TO DO ME A FAVOR. YOU NEED TO LET GO OF YOUR STANDARDS AND BECOME 3-DIMENSIONAL FOR A MOMENT. IF YOU EAT THIS PEAR, WE WILL GAIN ENOUGH POWER TO TAKE THIS BEAST DOWN!!!”

3.15 started letting out what looked like tears; except water did not come from her eyes, numbers did.

3.15 said in a soft tone, “But if I eat this pear… What happens to you…?”

CJ replied proudly, “DON’T WORRY ABOUT THAT. WE’LL CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE GET THERE, WILL YOU PLEASE JUST LET THE INTEGERS GO FOR A MOMENT AND ALLOW ME TO THROW YOUR CALCULATIONS OFF AGAIN?”

3.15 nodded her head. She suddenly popped new edges, curves and planes in the realm of three dimensionality. CJ ripped the pear off his pompadour and started turning grey.

“EAT THE FRUIT! IT’S THE ONLY WAY,” CJ shouted.

3.15 chomped through the pear and swallowed the core of it. She started glowing a radiantly gold and pink aura. Tree branches started to come from her backside and energy shaped like a pear started hovering over her head. She sprouted tree wings and metal from her shoulders assimilated with it. Her guns went through a transformation too, they looked like a fusion of cogbot parts and nature. Another song started playing from her antenna and this time it was “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

Golden numbers poured from her eyes as she stated with much more energy this time around, “You idiot… I was hoping this wasn’t going to happen. Why’d you have to do this?”

A shriveling CJ replied in a soft tone, “I need you to survive Nina. Nobody means as much to me as you do… Live on, my queen. I’ve got one last favor to ask you though… Can you crush this monster for me?”

“Of course, you idiot. I will not let this last resort go to waste. In the name of my beloved king… It’s time to kick this monster’s butt,” 3.15 said as sweetly as possible.

Meanwhile… in the same moment that CJ started shriveling up, a giant sorrowful roar bellowed from Honeybun Waters.

The God of the Sea poked its head out of the water as if it’s mega-predator senses were picking up on something. The God of the Sea let out another roar and then a tear drop, began dripping from its eye. It swam to the shore exposing it’s top half to the air. The biggest predator of all time laid on the sand and bellied out a soft, gentle growl.

Ad Interim…

3.15 swiftly zipped through the air and flew in a spiral around the chimera, blasting pear-powered light beams. She moved so fast around the beast that it looked like a tornado of light.

“YOU THINK A MINOR UPGRADE IS ENOUGH TO TAKE ME ON? THINK AGAIN WEAKLING,” the Ca’alrok chimera shouted.

Ca’alrok grew 50 spider legs and attacked the space around him as if the legs were spears. Our Pink and gold star dodged the attacks but was using a lot of energy to do so. She flew backwards and put her guns together, creating one big mega cogbot-tree cannon and shot a huge blast. The attack clashed against the chimera, emitting a shockwave which created gusts of wind. Us weaklings on the floor, nearly got blown away by the impact.

The beast let out a painful roar, “AAURRRGGGHHHH!!!!”

Ca’alrok retaliated and started to push out some blows of his own. A punch came towards 3.15 but branches from her backside moved to the front, protecting her from the blow. Our horrific monster friend and 3.15 kept going at it. She continuously dodged attacks and shot out beams, inflicting some damage to the fiend. As quick and precise as 3.15 is, I think this is taking too long. The more time this draws out the more energy we will all lose. They’re fighting each other toe-to-toe , but it’s still not enough.

I have to do something, I thought.

Ca’alrok let out another deaf-defying roar, creating a miniature fissure and sucked away more oxygen from our lungs.

No! I can’t even get up… A light-headedness feeling came over me and I felt like I was about to pass out. The music was getting even more muffled, and everything started to look fuzzy.

There’s no way 3.15 can handle the monster on her own even with her newly upgraded powers… I must help, but the pressure is keeping me planted to the ground.

I was about to faint when suddenly, I heard a familiar voice once more.

“PAT! PAT!! GENERAL PATRICK,” Jo shouted from the sidelines.

It felt like my marbles were collecting themselves with every yell. Jo ran up to me. Within the next second he put air filtering plants on my shoulders and replaced my aloe vera mask with a new one.

“GENERAL PATRICK!! FIGHT!!! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT,” Jo said as he helped me get back up on my feet.

Jo ran off to the sidelines again to protect Italia.

I went down a trip through memory lane for a quick moment and had a flashback. I remember one time I was working outside with Jo, fixing a fence that he had cut down to straighten out some of the banged-up bars. It was hot outside, and I could tell that Jo was looking at the problematic situation for quite a while.

As I put the fence back together I stated, “You know you’re going to get me in trouble with projects like this! Next time we just leave it alone!”

Jo replied, “Everything you say… Thank you, God.”

When I finished putting the fence back together, I knew it was time to clean up. I walked to the back of the woodshop to unplug an extension cord. When I came back to our spot; I saw jo just standing, looking frozen and then in the next moment he collapsed. It happened so fast that I didn’t know what to do! He fell backwards and hit his head. I ran up to him and got behind him. I started calling out his name and flashing my hands in front of his face.

“JO! JO! JO! CAN YOU SEE ME? ARE YOU OKAY,” I called out.

I got no response and it looked like he stopped breathing. His eyes looked as if they were fading out and he saw the light at the end of tunnel.

I shouted with all my might, “NO! DON’T LEAVE ME, JO!”

Jo’s head started to turn very slowly like a rollie-pollie uncurling from a balled-up shell and his eye’s started to catch sight of me again. For half a second our eyes locked. In the next moment, he started taking in miniature breathes as if his engine was trying to start up again. I just witnessed a 92-year-old man fight for his life.

I called my boss to let her know the situation, and then I called 911. The boss came to where Jo was lying down on the ground and cushioned his head with her hands. When Jo caught sight of the boss, he really started to come back. Hahaha, THIS guy was always trying to look good in front of the boss! When she called out his name he responded.

Wow he really will do anything to look good in front of the boss. When the paramedics came to pick him up; they asked him, “How did you fall down?”

Jo snapped his teeth and replied, “Man! I didn’t fall down.”

HAHAHA! Not only will he fight for his life, Jo fights for his own pride.

Man… if those word’s I told him were the last ones he heard from that collapse… I don’t know what I’d do with myself.

I started to hear the music play again.

~You’re just too good to be true… Can’t take my eyes off you…~

I need to fight…

I started to become aware of my surroundings again when I heard Jo yell out once more, “FIGHT! GENERAL PAT! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT!!!”

I started breathing the same way I saw Jo breathe when he collapsed. I took in minute breathes for as many times as possible in every second that I could.

*inhale, inhale, inhale, inhale, inhale, inhale*

I started revving up my Pat Pat engine. It’s time to show the captain what I got. I braced myself in a wide-spread slashing stance and slashed out a big mark.

The mark blasted the chimera from the backside and 3.15 was able to use that moment of distraction to spray a barrage of light pear-charged beams.

The abysmal Chimera shouted in pain, “OUURWWWCCCHHHHHAAAAAA!!! OKAY I’M COMING FOR YOU, MOSQUITO!!!”

The chimera charged after me as the instrumental part of the song started building up.

Instantaneously, a water-nymph revealed herself to me.

“Okay human, you’ve shown me that you got what it takes to fight this disaster head-on. I see that these stone shards are helping your party inflict damage. If you let me borrow your heart-shaped locket with the shard in it, I can assist you. Besides, I really don’t care for these Cona Vights. This monstrosity will disrupt the balance in my lake,” the water-nymph said.

I replied while taking short breathes, “Wow! Okay that sounds good to me. You must be the water-nymph that granny Italia was talking about.”

Ca’alrok was slowed down by 3.15 but resumed charging this way.

“I do have a name you know. You can call me Holli. The reason why this lake of mine is frozen is because my desire was always to be the coldest. With a frozen lake like this, I get to enjoy all my time away from these actively bothersome nuisances. This pain in the neck is really interrupting my slumber though, so I will help you destroy this annoying alarm clock. I really do enjoy my rest. I like to nest in the ridges at the bottom of my lake, like a rat. Although I don’t know any mammal that can withstand my temperatures… perhaps I was a rat in my past life? Oh well, that is besides the point. Now let’s go crush this nuisance like an ice cube,” Holli the water nymph proudly said.

I kept revving my Pat Pat engine taking in as many miniature breath’s as I could and handed Holli the necklace. I started slashing as many times as I could following suit with the inhales, pushing my body past its limit. The instrumentals in the music built up to a climax and icicles formed around me.

I’M SUPPOSED TO FIGHT!!!

The chimera was right in front of me now and I unleashed a fury of marks.

~I LOVE YOU BABY! AND IF ITS QUITE ALRIGHT I NEED YOU, BABY TO WARM THE LONELY NIGHT!~

The onslaught of marks kept slashing at the beast and every mark froze as well.

I NEED TO KEEP FIGHTING!!!

The adrenaline was rushing, the Pat Pat engine kept revving and I kept slashing; this time all of my inhales and marks were coming out faster than before.

~I LOVE YOU, BABY TRUST IN ME WHEN I SAY!~

3.15 tuned into the integers that counted my breath and shot at the beast’s back at the same speed.

~OH PRETTY BABY, DON’T BRING ME DOWN I PRAY! OH PRETTY BABY.~

We started to overpower the chimera to the point where it could not move an inch. I started to catch my own breath now, and I inhaled even faster than before. I slashed and slashed and slashed. Steam rolled off my body as I continued to break the laws of physics, slashing at the speed of sound.

The frustrated and paralyzed chimera roared, “ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH, I WON’T LET YOU TAKE ME DOWN!!!”

~NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU, STAY! AND LET ME LOVE YOU, BABY LET ME LOVE YOU!~

Jo shouted at the top of his lungs, “GENERAL!! WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING ALL TOGETHER!!”

Immediately I recalled all the friends I left behind, in order to accomplish the needs of the future. All my day-ones, baby-girl, and everyone at my job.

3.15 kept shooting at the beast in peril, while I was lost in my thoughts.

I started remembering all the tools I used to get the job done and everything that I learned with people I met during my 8-year career at the Bakehouse Art Complex. The music continued as all the familiar faces flashed through my memories.

~YOU’RE JUST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU. YOU’D BE LIKE HEAVEN TO TOUCH. I WANNA HOLD YOU SO MUCH. AT LONG LAST, LOVE HAS ARRIVED~

Faces of my day-one best friends were summoned as ice forms. All the tools that I remembered using, were summoned as icicles. This must be thanks to Holli’s help.

~AND I THANK GOD I’M ALIVE. YOU’RE JUST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU~

I stated calmly, “I gotcha captain.”

I made two marks and grabbed hold of them. The two marks formed into gigantic versions of the tools that I used the most. A broom and dustpan at a size even bigger than the chimera. Haha, leaves were always my biggest enemy. I remembered once more that moment I saw Jo fight for his life.

FIGHT!

I’M SUPPOSED TO FIGHT!!!

A fat chunk of darkness split off the chimera and slung itself to the trees.

“VINCENT!!! I KNEW YOU WERE UP TO NO GOOD,” Ca’alrok yelled out and got interrupted by the music.

3.15 cranked the volume all the way up. The instrumentals built all the way up to the second climax. My broom and dustpan marks froze; turning into solid, glowing ice. I placed the dustpan right in front of Ca’alrok and the beast tried throwing a furious barrage of blows. His pursuit was pointless, my weapons were impenetrable. Ako gathered enough strength to stand up again. He stabbed the heel of the beast with one of Charlie’s claws and froze him in time.

I MUST FIGHT!!!

I took a deep breath and shouted vigorously, “YOU CAN TAKE MY BREATH, BUT YOU WILL NEVER TAKE AWAY MY POWER TO FIGHT!!!”

~I LOVE YOU BABY! AND IF IT’S QUITE ALRIGHT, I NEED YOU BABY! TO WARM THE LONELY NIGHT I OVE YOU, BABY! TRUST IN ME WHEN I SAY!~

I spun 360 degrees with the ginormous broom-like mark, slamming it down onto the beast and swept him into my dustpan of light-frost. 3.15 turned her guns into a giant cannon again and blasted the biggest shockwave of light she could muster. The beam was directed towards my “leaves in the dustpan.”

The beast let out one more pain induced roar, “ARRRUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!”

I slashed the dustpan towards open space and the beast came flying out. The Ca’alrok chimera started bubbling up from the inside.

~OH, PRETTY BABY. DON’T BRING ME DOWN, I PRAY. OH, PRETTY BABY~

“NO! THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. UUURRRGGGHHH!!! CURSE YOU AND YOUR SORCERY! TEAMING UP WITH ALL SORT OF SPIRITS,” Ca’alrok shouted in demise.

The bubbling mass of darkness floated close to us.

~NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU, STAY. OH, PRETTY BABY. TRUST ME WHEN I SAY. OH, PRETTY BABY…~

Ca’alrok shouted once more, “IF I’M GOING DOWN, THEN I WILL TAKE YOU WITH ME!”

The bubbling mass started moving erratically and the bubbles in its shape started oozing all over the place.

Uh-oh. Looks like this guy still has some fight left in him too. We no longer had any energy to run.

An abysmal dragon rushed through the space and sniped itself right into the bubbling mass of darkness. Our party choked up once again and lost our capability to breathe.

“WHAT TREACHERY IS THIS VINCENT,” The bubbling mass shouted as it was getting absorbed.

Vincent sucked the chimera aftermath into his body.

“Ahh… Thank you humans. I could never have accomplished this, without your help. I also enjoyed the show, that music made everything quite entertaining. It is unfortunate that I must do things in such a back-handed manner, but… there was no changing my sibling’s minds. It is a shame that they were enslaved to such lowly desires. To rule another means you are ruled, yourself… No, you see. My desire was always linked to something greater than that. The only way I can accomplish it; is if I acquired more power and thanks to you, I was able to absorb much more than necessary. As a token of appreciation, I will leave you all alone today,” Vincent the grand abysmal dragon stated.

Vincent flew up into the sky as high as possible and split himself into 70 different pieces and they all beamed out to different locations.

We finally caught our breath again. I sat up and noticed that there was a little bubble of darkness left behind.

“Oh crap,” I said in reaction.

“THIS IS NOT THE END, RATS! I WILL SUFFOCATE YOU BY FLOATING RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR FACES,” a remnant of Ca’alrok shouted.

Ranger popped out of some bushes and his fangs were illuminated. He let out a huge bark and dashed straight towards the little bubble.

The bubble shouted in remorse, “AH NO GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU ACCURSED ANIMAL!”

Ranger bit the bubble and cracks of light started to form on its surface.

“NOOO-, “ Ca’alrok was eaten and swallowed up before he could finish his death-cry.

“Good boy Ranger,” I hollered out.

Ranger ran towards me with a big, stupid smile on his face.

I petted his ears lovingly and said, “where the heck were you hiding… When we were all fighting our hearts out over here, huh?”

Well, I have to say… I am worried about this Vincent situation but I’m real glad that this all over for now.

Holli appeared before me, again.

“You have some interesting weapons of choice there. So, it seems that in your past you were good at cleaning up messes…right? Now that I’m done helping you, I was wondering if you could help me with a messy situation,” the ice-bearing water nymph asked.

“I sure am tired, but you know what? We couldn’t have done this without you, so sure lets hear your situation out,” I replied.

Holli stated gracefully, “Well… I can hear a plethora of bodies of water crying. There’s a certain beloved creature that may have thought of sacrificing his life too soon. If we work together, I know that we can get there quicker and perhaps freeze him in solid ice before he gives up.”

“Okay, sure! Let’s get on with it,” I stated with a smile.

Granny Italia came back to her senses and walked up to us.

“I knew it wasn’t just a myth! So, you’re the water nymph of this pond,” Italia said excitedly.

“Yes, I know about you too Italia. I’m not quite sure about the nickname you’ve given my pond but… It certainly is befitting,” Holli said in response.

Italia gave everyone a gentle hug with her healing tentacles and that action brought everyone back to almost normal. Holli and I used our powers together and flew off to the coast of Honeybun Waters.

As I flew off… a certain, hiding Belcheezius click-clacked away at some buttons furiously. Massive jet like structures popped out of his levitating device.

“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap… What in the name of ding-dong-ditch have I gotten involved with? There’s no way I’m going to let these crackpipes stink my diaper up! I’m going to splat out of here faster than you can say diarrhea! It’s not even worth going for a headshot now, I can’t tell if these noobs even know what they’re doing… but I sure don’t want to be catching THAT end of the stick. Smell ya later crap-stains,” Belcheezius softly retorted to himself as he retreated quietly.

Meanwhile… at the coast of Honey Bun waters, I landed softly on the sand with a water-nymph sitting on my shoulder.

…Oh?

Is this the God of the Sea?

Holli broke the ice, “Quick we need to freeze him. It’s the only way to rescue him for now and then we push him into the ocean, he will eventually thaw out in there. Fish out of water… He must have really loved his battling friend.”

“OH! WHAT? You’re saying the God of the Sea swam to the shore and decided to sacrifice himself because of CJ?! This is just too manly, I can’t even. Hey, by the way… How did you know about this,” I asked out of curiosity.

Holli replied while giant icicles formed around me, “As a water nymph, I can listen to and conversate with all bodies of water. The oceans were definitely abused quite a bit, back when you humans were over-populated. Throughout the years I have listened to them cry. In terms of the present moment, Honeybun Waters especially is bawling. No, it’s way too soon for this creature to go. Please help me make a mark that will help save this creature’s life.”

“Yes ma’am,” I said in response.

I went for a long slash, samurai style. The mark blasted off straight to the God of the Sea and froze him.

Holli smiled and stated, “Good. Now can you make a mark that will move him back to the sea? He will naturally thaw out over time, and when he does… he will at least be at home, and able to breathe.”

I pulled out my second Okuutuu Imola powered broom and pointed them both at the opposite direction of the water beast. I started to swoop the brooms in the air spinning at 360 degrees, and then did a somersault in the air. The mark continued pouring out of the brooms throughout the consistency in my movements and a giant spiral-like mark formed.

I slashed at the mark and said, “Go. Move him out to the sea.”

The mark uncurled and started flying about, extending itself. It started to look like the dragon from “The Never-Ending Story” and it picked up the frozen God of the Sea, putting him on it’s back. The mark flew off to the distance and dove into Honeybun Waters.

Holli flew around me like a little fairy and said, “Thank you for that. Shall we go back?”

I nodded.

We flew back to Snow Cone Pond and saw everyone gathered around what was left of CJ.

Oh my lands, I forgot that he had sacrificed himself… we really couldn’t have made it this far, without him. It seems that 3.15’s pear effects haven’t worn off yet. She was crying out tears of pink and gold integers.

“He didn’t have to go this far… I mean we could’ve sought another solution. Always throwing himself recklessly into battle and becoming a shield… such an idiot! I miss my king,” 3.15 sobbed.

“From now on, you all can call me Nina. I think that’s what CJ would want,” Nina stated tearfully.

All of a sudden, music from her Antenna started playing. It was “Beautiful Girls” by Sean Kingston.

~YOU’RE WAY TOO BEAUTIFUL GIRL. THAT’S WHY IT WILL NEVER WORK, YOU’LL HAVE ME SUICIDAL, SUICIDAL. WHEN YOU SAY IT’S OVER.~

Nina’s tears poured out twice as much now.

She stated vexingly, “What’s going on!!! Why is this song playing… and out of all songs, this one?! I certainly didn’t play it and I don’t want to hear a song talking about THIS right now…”

“Haha. I just wanted to see you struggle for a moment there Nina,” a familiar voice said.

“What? That sounds like CJ,” I said.

The voice continued, “Don’t worry I haven’t totally left you guys all alone.”

Where is it coming from?

Nina looked really flustered now and continued, “WHERE ARE YOU? STOP PLAYING GAMES, YOU IDIOT!”

“Relax, relax. I’m telling you I’m right here,” the pear hovering over 3.15 said.

We all started looking at the Pear now, in wonder.

“That’s right. I exist as this now; I did always wonder how those integers inside your head looked like. Now I get to hang out with them all the time, and I can always throw myself into the groupings. Throw your calculations off even more, and this time I can finally fulfill my role. I can support you as much as possible, whenever you go off to battle. My desire is no longer to grow the fastest, but to grow together... with you. Everything I own is now truly yours,” CJ the glowing pear said.

3.15 replied, “My calculations did not predict that you’d be able to live on as energy within me? So, we can continue to exist like this?”

CJ said with a chuckle, “Of course we can. I have collected so much energy throughout the years that I honestly won’t kick the bucket until you do. Besides, I’ve finally given you the one thing you’ve always wanted. From now on, I’ll be inside you for the rest of time.”

Nina turned completely red and flustered, “HEY! WHAT THE DIGITS DO YOU THINK YOU’RE SAYING, HUH? YOU’RE LUCKY I CAN’T PHYSICALLY HURT YOU NOW!”

“HAHAHAHA! THAT’S MY GIRL. YOU SURE ARE LOOKING PRETTY HEATED,” CJ laughed in response.

It took a moment for Nina to recollect herself from CJ’s shady statement.

Nina turned to everyone and said, “Well technically since we’re together like this now, that makes us androgynous. From now on you will refer to us as a they/them.”

Jo replied, “Everything you say… Thank you, God. We’re working all together, peace and love!”

Hahaha, good old Jo. I’m so glad he’s here, I feel that I wouldn’t have been able to participate in taking that monster down if it wasn’t for his cheers. Classic Jo; always helping, even in the simplest ways. Ah that reminds me, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask Ako.

I walked up to Ako and stated my question, “Hey Ako. I was wondering… what were your desires?”

Ako smiled and replied, “It should be obvious my Godson. My desire has always been to follow the will of the Ancestors and help the planet heal. Speaking of healing, the Cona Vights are not the only being’s that we need to take down, there are several other dangers out there that are hurting our mother rock. We will have to go out and slay them eventually, but for now… let’s go back and eat. We need to replenish ourselves after a grand battle like this.”

“Who want’s some cookies?!? I say we go for desert first and dinner second,” Granny Italia stated.

Augusto said, “That sounds good to me, abuela.”

“That will be quite the sacrifice for our colons,” Ako replied.

I butted in, “Ugh. Everything is always sacrifice this and sacrifice that with you…”

Maxx joined in, “I could really go for a Big Mac, right about now…”

Ranger barked.

Holli waved goodbye, flew off to her frozen pond and said, “It’s time for me to take a nap.”

The Lion Sleeps Tonight by the Tokens played from Nina-CJ’s antenna as we journeyed back to the village.

~IN THE JUNGLE, THE MIGHTY JUNGLE. THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT. IN THE JUNGLE, THE GIANT JUNGLE. THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT. WIMOWEH, WIMOWEH, WIMOWEH, WIMOWEH, WIMOWEH.~