Throwing the both of us back is about all I can think to do as the very ocean itself begins to turn against us, its tides rising and rising. It reaches what must be ten stories tall until that wave begins to take shape. I can see the many, many, MANY eyes within the mass of being all whirling about before each takes their place along the side of the serpentine form Legion begins to take. There are ten eyes on either side of the monstrous face that emerges with a mouth whose corners stretch way, way too far, creating a massive maw of star studded teeth, each dripping Legion’s starry fluids in a way that makes them appear to be simultaneously melting and drooling. Just when I think this thing can’t get any more intimidating, more tides ebb and flow, four other monstrous heads forming about half the size of the main one, every single eye pinned on the two of us.

Legion has become some otherworldly, unholy amalgamation of a leviathan and a hydra. Maybe I should have stuck to fishing back home.

As it had been upon first meeting them, not a word needs be spoken to understand the gravity of this galactic giant galavanting through the galaxies.

It’s do or die.

The closest of the heads begins chomping at us, each snap of their jaws sending clusters of stars bounding in all directions, and as much as I try to dodge, feeling the prickling heat of a star grazing my arms reminds me just how out of my league I am. That’s far from all we have to contend with, however, as the further heads roar and launch beams of night skies at us, only making it harder to maneuver safely about the ship’s deck. In the end, I toss Fox into the air and allow her to move on her own, knowing she’s much more adept at that than I am, especially in her current form.

With my arms free, it’s time to attempt an attack. I first give it a go with some lasers of my own, though, I can’t get a good aim at their eyes with all of the sidestepping I find myself doing. They do seem to ever so slightly flinch at the attack regardless of where it is, but only attacking one head seems to do little to deter the others.

In the meantime, Fox and her Shadow appear to be attempting to fill Legion with lead, or wind I guess? Her body shots don’t even seem to phase the beast, but a clean blow to the eyes seems to stagger them more than I could hope to. Even still, with one head reeling back, another moves in to attack, allowing them to recover with ease.

My partner and I dance around one another, our stamina thankfully holding strong. I begin to throw lantern bombs, getting more of a reaction than the lasers, but I can feel myself growing tired with how often I need to be expending my...mana, I think Niamh once called it? As such, I swap between the two at a healthy pace, albeit a pace that seems to keep Legion at an advantage.

Okay. That’s it. I can feel myself starting to get mad...but not at our opponent. Mad at myself. I need to be doing more! I can’t let Fox and I die here, I need to try harder! Feeling an explosive energy burning within, I charge towards one of the smaller heads head first, enduring each cut and burn as I brandish my mace, heaving it back, then forward with a battle cry that is swiftly cut short, the impact of my weapon seeming to fizzle out like an ember before watching the maw of the creature I was attacking open wide.

So this is it, huh.

No...no this can’t be it…! But how am I supposed to fight this?! I...I can’t do this alone...I need…

“Help…!”

My paw instinctively reaches for my coat pocket as the jaws of the leviathan clamp down over me, my screaming unheard within the vastness of its empty space that now surrounds me. It burns, it’s cold, it pulls, it pushes, every force in the galaxy seems keen on trying to rend my body asunder for what feels like an eternity.

And suddenly I can breathe again.

I can see beyond the stars once more.

 

Turning as I struggle free, I see my hero standing before me, glowing green eyes holding a fierce expression while their draconic claws tear the maw of the beast wide open, all while they continue to rise from the summoning circle under a spotlight I’d apparently summoned.

“I know you fools are prone to rousing trouble…” the staticy voice grumbles, their canine foot stomping down on the bottom of the beast’s maw as their now free hand reaches under their cloak.

“But what the hell is all THIS?!”

Coyotl brandishes a silver stake as I slip myself out of Legion’s mouth and watch the chimera drive it through their tongue and into the ship deck itself, a sudden burst of light shaping into a dozen chains coiling about the leviathan’s head and keeping it pinned to the ground.

Now free, I take my hand off the summoning orb in my pocket and breathe a short lived sigh of relief.

“Thank the goddess, Coyotl, you’re a lifesaver!”

The stranger grunts and nods, helping to steady me on my feet.

“Far be it from the time to celebrate, we must fell the foul beast before us!”

As much as I’d wish they could just accept a compliment, they are correct. The chained head thrashes about under the Coyotl’s chains, and as tough as I can see they are, I know they won’t keep the beast down forever.

“Alright, tough guy,” I say once the two of us have retreated and reunited with Fox in the center of the deck, “I need time to focus, keep Legion at bay while I figure something out!”

Both Fox and Coyotl nod at me, the former already leaping to action, focusing on skipping and weaving about the leviathan’s multitude of attacks, even shaking her toosh in a taunting manner. The chimera, on the other hand, reaches into their cloak once more, brandishing a mirror in one hand and a sword with a hollow inner portion in the other.

“This is the Amazing Mirror and Kas, the Burdened Blade!” the melodramatic stranger declares as the three foot tall oval shaped mirror flaps the golden wings on either of its sides, Coyotl’s signature chains creeping out its reflective edges to tie itself to their arm like a shield.

“Fall before their radiant POWER!!” they continue, holding their blade skyward as the hollow inner section begins to fill with chains and gears, obtuse mechanical parts seeming to strengthen it as they whir and churn within.

“Yeah, yeah, great show, PLEASE do your job now!”

They almost seem embarrassed by my comment, shaking their head and charging in shield first. Any beams shot their way are easily deflected by the mirror on their arm, while any snapping maws rushing towards them are batted away with powerful, calculated slashes, as well as this odd spectral arm of a dragon wielding a greatsword, fading in and out of existence to protect Coyotl’s back. Perhaps it’s one of their relics? Regardless, they seem much more coordinated and focused than when we first met them.

Speaking of focused, I need to hunker down and figure something out while my teammates have the enemy preoccupied. It’s much easier to think with so many less attacks coming my way, and yet I still struggle to figure out why my attacks continue to fizzle out the way they do!

Fueled by anger and rage, I’d been able to beat my way past just about anything. I even took down the Voice of God! Thinking back to that specific moment, however, I feel a pit in my stomach, just as I have recalling it so many times this past month. I don’t want to be consumed with anger, I never want to…”transcend” ever again, not if it means giving in to all these burning, rending feelings. Such a thing would be incredibly useful now of all times, against an intergalactic threat as huge as this, but I can’t bring myself to use my anger the way I have before! It’s not me, I don’t want it to be me, I need to…

Remember me.

A dear friend.

A delicate lover.

A hope to many.

Is that what I want to be? Not really...and yet, when I think about what that means to everyone around me...looking to Fox, seeing her dancing yet struggling, still struggling despite already facing so many hardships...seeing Coyotl, who I’ve only just met, and yet I can feel their struggles as well, the pain they went through to get to us at the hands of those sitting atop their bloodstained thrones…

Sue-Zee, having worked so hard for people that hated them, Niamh, in all her power, still holding the weight of those who suffer around her...all of my friends from Aspen Town...even Yombroila, trapped for thousands of years by oppressors who sought to burn away the loving gift she wove for this world…

Do I want to be a hope to many? No.

But a flame that burns bright enough might just be anyways.

I’m pissed. Furious. But not for myself, not any more...maybe I never have been. Because deep within that burning light, the same spark that ignited it so many years ago persists.

The spark of justice.

That stupid snake...Even when she’s not actually here, she somehow manages to swoop in to save the day at the very last minute.

“Alright...I’ll show you LIGHT!!”

 

A burst of light and energy surrounds me, not an explosion like I would have felt before, but an everlasting shine, the immortal flame from within me growing as fire clings to my fur, hugging my body like clothing. The ashes of what were once my clothes flitter about the space around me, and in place of my previous garbs, I find clothing of white flame, shaped like my old stealth gear (somehow even more revealing…? I really gotta come to terms with how I wanna be seen…). And in my paws...a spear. A tall, mighty weapon standing higher than me, its handle wrapped in a burning parchment, and at its tip, a blade shaped like the end of an ink pen. As I move it, I watch a trail of fire in the pen’s wake, as if meant to be written with, or...drawn with.

“Fire by Inspiration…” I mutter to myself with a smirk, then quickly drawing myself into a more battle ready stance. 

Without so much as a second thought, I vault myself forward with my spear, watching a parade of flaming frogs and bunnies hopping behind me as I leap and drive its edge through the head gnashing its teeth at me. The sound of sizzling echoes through space, and upon jumping back, I notice my paws have the same trail of fire as my spear. I think I see what it is I can do now...or maybe a part of me is simply leading me to the path I know is right.

Legion doesn’t seem at all impressed by my newfound strength, or perhaps it’s because they’re impressed that they roar and the water around us churns once more. At the edges of the ship’s deck, figures begin to rise out of the ocean, made of the stellar sea itself, each taking the form of their own Legion. There are slight differences to each, in their clothing, hair style, but each silhouette is Legion garbed in pirates clothes and equipped with a pistol, or even a cannon! The assault on our forces only grows in intensity, forcing Fox and Coyotl closer to me. And yet, with them closer, I might just be able to pull this off, and I’m going to have to at the rate this fight is going…

It begins with a simple spin, drawing a line of fire in a circle in the air around me that connects one end of the flame to the other, the rabbits and frogs circling around me, as if to protect me, even leaping in front of beams or kicking at snapping heads. With this protection, I step to the side, doing the same line of fire vertically, then diagonally, until I am surrounded in a web-like globe of flame, and things become clearer. The world is my canvas...and I am my brush.

Planting the base of my spear in the center of the globe, I begin to move, spinning about, dancing about, allowing my paws to paint an image with their own flames. So we have to fight upon the Stellar Sea? Then I’ll paint a picture to match the might of this leviathan. Back and forth, forward and back, I dance, and I dance, Fox and Coyotl keeping attacks away from me until the globe around me flashes, and I strike a pose, a fiery painting of a great and mighty creature rising from the ocean fading...and becoming reality.

The ship we stand upon suddenly shakes, and I wait, the creature we fight even seeming to stagger at the sheer force of the stars in the water gathering, growing, forming a circle, a moon, from which a great, giant white whale of fire rises with a mighty wail!

“Star Serpent, meet the Lunar Whale!” I cry, watching my summon, as large as the main head itself, crash into multiple heads at once, the sound of searing and sizzling bounding through the vastness of this space. A multitude of alien eyes are thrown onto the deck as multitudes of Legions are splattered against the side of my whale, giving me an opening without all the stars being fired at us. Once more, I vault myself forward, the frogs and rabbits following me and kicking off my feet, allowing me to jump a few more times until I find myself atop my lunar whale as it pulls back.

I can see it in Legion’s eyes. A sparkling wonder and awe, the witnessing of a challenger. Fuck that. I’m about to smite this space worm back to Saturn. Pointing my spear forward like a jousting knight, I command my mount to charge, feeling it dive lower into the stellar sea, then rise, and rise!

“MEET MY MOONRISE, MOTHER FUCKER!!”

Leaping from the ocean, the lunar whale groans once more, fire spewing from its blowhole as it lands upon Legion, a shining, bright burst of energy ringing through the air as I leap high into the stars, spear pointed down.

“AND MOONFALL!!”

In the wake of the massive light, I pierce through the serpent’s main head, keeping my weapon planted within and pressed against one of the many eyes inside of it. With the combined efforts of Fox’s tail drills and Coyotl’s powerful slashes, I can feel the body beneath me begin to falter, relax even, giving me my cue to hop off and reunite with my team. As quick as I get there, Fox is already rubbing her cheek against my leg, and I can’t help but feel the battle is won with that alone.

All three of us watch as the remains of each head gurgle and melt, the stellar sea finally calmed. With the storm having passed, I walk towards the edge of the deck and wait as Legion rises from the water, in the form I first saw them, their colour returning, though they seem quite shaken.

“Proven yet?” I sign to the commander, who remains silent, err, even with their hands I mean. 

There is a heavy silence in space as we all wait for Legion to reply, Fox and Coyotl carefully moving to my sides. We give them a few more moments before I see them shakily move their hands in front of them.

“Fire.”

 

My eyes go wide at the command, already grabbing Fox and Coyotl as what Legion’s Legion can muster rise around us, arms pointed at us and primed to kill.

“LIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEGE!!!”

What the hell?

A slightly familiar voice approaches from...below? The chute! More surprising, however, Legion seems more perturbed by this than they did by being blown back by our attacks! And things only get more confusing as the source of the voice hops out of the circle in the center of the deck.

“...Caramel?!”

Lo and behold, the deer in charge of the central park appears, taking all of us off guard, but most of all Legion, all but the one I had been facing melting back into the ocean as the remaining captain...blushes?

“...Oh, Cat! And Fox?”

The fancily dressed deer grins wide and waves, only to take a deep breath and put on a serious face as she marches up to Legion, hooves clacking loudly against chrome.

“I should have figured if anyone could get Liege worked up enough to break out the Stellar Sea, it probably would have been you.”

“Uhh...Liege?” I mumble, Caramel turning to me for a split second and smiling with a  shrug and a thumb pointing at Legion.

“Sorry, pet names die hard. Anyways,” the deer continues with a finger poking hard at Legion’s chest, the alien seeming awfully embarrassed with their head craned back, even as they stand atop the ocean, not stepping back. “YOU are lucky I showed up before you start escalating things even further, like you always do!”

I pull at my collar with a finger and grimace. It’s starting to feel like we’re stuck watching a lover’s quarrel unfold before our eyes.

“I cannot just give up my reign without a fight--” Legion begins right between their faces, only to be silenced by Caramel’s furrowed brow and pouting face.

“I saw how things were going on my way down here, these three were kicking your ass! But no, you just have to keep things going, despite knowing you’re beat! Look at you! You might as well be jelly with how you’re shaking!”

That comment only seems to make Legion shake more, trying to pull their hands up to speak more, but Caramel doesn’t let a word in.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s just how it works in Subterfuge, how many times have I heard that before? Quit being so stubborn, would you?!”

The deer grabs Legion by the collar of their uniform and pulls them onto the deck itself, the captain stumbling before trying to compose themselves into a stance more befitting of a commander.

“Now, start explaining, everybody.”

It feels like we should be the ones getting an explanation considering what we just witnessed, but I clear my throat and take the lead nonetheless. Caramel seems to understand everything pretty readily, from the brutality above, to the Rat Queen herself, and it would seem even she has a less than fond opinion of her.

“I can’t say I agree with following Liz’s lead, but if anyone could knock some sense of righteousness into her, I don’t doubt it would be you, from everything I’ve heard about you.”

Caramel then turns to Legion    with a smirk and a raised brow.

“Isn’t that right, Liege~?”

At this point I barely need to visualize the collar Caramel is pulling at.

“We concede, after our battle, you have the vigor needed to make a change here. You have our support.”

At long last, I can breathe a sigh of relief, bowing slightly to our new ally.

“You won’t regret it. I have too many people to fight for to go down in ashes.”

The captain laughs weakly, having little more to say than their admittance of defeat. That just leaves one more thing…

“...So...why are you here, Caramel…?”

The deer suddenly looks to be in headlights, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

“Well, I...come down to Subterfuge every now and then. And I happened to be in the area. The area close enough to hear that some kind of ruckus was happening in the Stellar Sea. And when Legion needs a bit of whipping, they really ought to remember who they’ll see when they start to misbehave…”

I choose to ignore the devilish grin the deer gives Legion. I really do not want to know.

“So the owner of central park was dating the captain of space pirates living under Monorise this whole time. I guess I should have seen that one coming, huh?” I joke, shrugging as the others chuckle around me.

 

After all of that, Legion takes us back down to their bunker and we exchange phone numbers, then leave them and Caramel to...do with whatever it is they do. Again, I really do not want to know. On the way back, my clothes of fire seem to turn to ash, which then form back into the clothes I was wearing before my outburst. Convenient. Love magical girl rules. Back up through the tunnels and into the main ship, we find Vivian, all too happy to see us again.

“You made it!” she exclaims, arms thrown into the air. “I mean, not that I doubted you. I knew you’d be fine. I’m guessing Miss Caramel helped?”

I give her a nod and a thumbs up, “And I’m guessing you kept tight control over who did and didn’t get in. Thanks for that. I owe ya.”

“Oh, nonsense! You’ve done enough as is convincing the boss to your side, which is what I’m imagining you did. You...didn’t blow them to smithereens, did you…?”

Pff. A nervous laughter escapes me as I place my paw on her shoulder.

“I don’t think I could if I wanted to. Burninating a giant sea monster is one thing, but the entire ocean? Don’t count on it.”

That seems to get a giggle out of her. We get a bit more small talk out of the way as she escorts us out of the ship, where I notice Hilxoten enjoying some pizza, as promised. Once we’re at the gate between Stellar Stowaway and the tunnels of Subterfuge, exchanging numbers with her as well before returning to--

“Ah, the heroes of the day~ I couldn’t be more proud of yous, I tells ya~”

Ugh. The Rat Queen. Just as I’m making my way off the subway platform towards her crapmobile, something skitters between my feet and zooms to Elizabeth first. It’s...a little rat camera crew. So we were being watched that whole time, huh?

“If you wanted to see the action up close, why didn’tcha come down yourself, huh?”

A snort, and a snide sideways glance at all of us.

“Please, I put my good suit on today. I ain’t riskin’ gettin dis dirty~”

Hate.

“What’s the uhh...the stupid one doin’ here, anywhos?”

Oh, right. I pull the summoning orb from my coat pocket and hand it back to Coyotl.

“Being a better ally than you. And this early in the morning at that,” I jeer, hopping in the back seats and kicking the door open for Coyotl, while Fox takes shotgun. “Why not at night anyways? Wouldn’t it be easier to infiltrate the place while everybody is out working?”

The rat laughs some more, turning around with her arm on the head of her seat.

“Oh, dere’s a reason folks stay inside during Subterfuge’s nights, or leave entirely~ If yous gots some time, I’d be happy to show ya~”

Part of me just wants to go home, and the other part wants to kill the cat. Looking to Coyotl, I can see they’re intrigued as well, if...frightened. With a pained sigh, I give Liz the okay, and she puts the pedal to the metal, this crummy vehicle putt-putting its way through the ever more winding corridors of Subterfuge. In the depths of Subterfuge, we pass another platform, polished and mechanical, all kinds of tubes with bubbling fluids flowing about, and so many garish colours, it’s an eyesore to say the least. Even further, I spot another, an old timey looking building front, decrepit, old, and cold, frozen even, and yet I can’t keep my focus on them, not with all the ghosts. There appear to be more the deeper down we go, but never as many as when we had to clear a path. One odd thing of note is how they look oddly...mechanical in some ways. Scrap arms, machine legs that look like they shouldn’t even function, robotic faces contorted into shapes completely unhuman, yet just recognizable enough to be uncanny. Coyotl only seems more uncomfortable seeing them, yet neither of us can take our eyes off of them.

“Hey, Coyo…” I mumble, nudging their arm and accidentally shocking them to attention. “Sorry, but...did any of the Inkton records have anything about these things…? I’d find it weird if something this odd living, or...unliving right under Monorise would go unnoticed by the only magic users in the area, at least that I know of.”

They take a laboured, staticy breath.

“Funny enough, I believe these are what I have been spending my time researching. There is no truly agreed upon name for them, but they are often referred to as Spectres or Ghosts--”

We’re interrupted by a snicker from the front seat.

“...They are indeed related to magic and humans from everything I’ve uncovered, however I am unsure as to how everything is related...these spirits, though…”

Their eyes return to the ghosts lining the halls, their presence becoming thicker and thicker, and their appearance all the more gruesome.

“...These are unlike what I have read about. They are typically much more...driven? They are more solid, more akin to how they were before death, and yet...these ghosts…”

“Y’wanna shut ya yap for a hot sec and keep ya eyes ahead?” the rat interrupts once more, though this time with purpose. “I ain’t stayin’ here for long, which means none ‘a yous will eitha. Unless you wanna take a traipse with death~”

Despite sounding...like herself, there’s a certain seriousness to her in her expression. Coyotl, Fox, and I all keep our eyes locked ahead. The path has become...rotten is the best way to put it. The walls are lined with the same substance that makes up the ghosts, patches of machine parts filling in holes that it appears to have corroded away itself. It’s all so unnatural looking and unsettling, Fox even leaps back into my lap for comfort, where I keep a tight hold of her.

“Aaaaaaand…”

Elizabeth’s voice tapers off, actually becoming quiet for once, and I see exactly why. I see what it is she fears.

The lights surrounding it shiver like mirages, only making the distorted look of the thing more uncontrolled looking. A massive train, using both sides of the subway, pitch black all over besides the splotches of mechanical bits that try to fix its hole like the tunnels themselves. The worst part, however...is the rotting human face that takes up the entirety of its front. A single eye like the front light of a train, only emphasizing how it’s a grotesque amalgamation of a sullen subway tram and an antique steam train. Just like the rest of it, the face is part flesh, part machine, in a way that looks as though the machine parts were jammed onto it in place of the human parts. It’s disgusting...it’s horrifying...and it’s sleeping.

Without a second more to digest the scene before us, Liz cranks a lever and our vehicle begins to shift, each segment moving as though it were part of a wheel while spinning to face the other direction, all until the whole thing is facing the opposite direction of the monstrosity behind us. Wordlessly, she takes us back, and I couldn’t be happier to agree with the silent sentiment.

Being far enough away from that thing to feel we can breathe again, this is the only time I’ll ever be relieved to hear Elizabeth’s voice.

“Sooo...that’s the Ghost Train.”

“I never wanna see that thing again as long as I live,” I blurt out, still shivering somewhat. Liz can’t even bring herself to laugh at me.

“Yeah...at night, that thing starts patrollin’ the tunnels of Subterfuge, all the way to the top, where it disappears right before where everybody sets up shop. Dat’s the only place safe from it down here, at least directly on the rails.”

“Why…” I start, my voice weak and confused, “I know I don’t even have to ask, but really, why is that thing there…?”

The rat continues driving, and eventually, we’re a far enough ways up Subterfuge to feel somewhat safe from that thing.

“If I knew, I’d be tellin’ ya, wouldn’t I’s?”

The drive continues in silence for a few moments.

“Or maybe I wouldn’t. Who knows with lil’ ol’ me~?”

And back to the full on tomfoolery. To be fairly honest, the entire experience still has me too rattled to say anything back besides a plea to take us home. I clutch Fox in my arms and feel her curling up tight in my lap.

“Just take us home. Please.”