Brighter than even the giant sun light overhead, her entrance shines upon us, taking Neptune’s attention away just long enough for me to use what strength I have left to pull my leg back and give them a swift kick to the chest, pushing them back and giving room to my queer platonic pest. Her wings flap, spreading a healing mist over the battlefield, my hearing, and presumably Neptune’s too, returning.

“Darling, you look terrible~”

“And you think I’m any happier seeing you here?”

Despite the bickering, we smile at one another and pull ourselves into an embrace.

“What’s going on here?! This isn’t allowed, right? This can’t be allowed!”

“Technically not, but I’m guessing you’re going to--”

“YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT I’M ALLOWING IT!! YOU’VE GOT 10 SECONDS BEFORE YOU FORFEIT LADIES, MAKE IT WORK!!”

It doesn’t take long for Neptune to get back up, but, as I predicted, they’re a little stunned to see my serpentine partner in crime in particular.

“N-NO WAY!! TWO REMATCHES IN ONE?! WHAT A DAY, WHAT A DAY!!”

As if I needed any more confirmation on that matter, I take their shouting as my cue to take Niamh in my arms and dip her down.

“Say something cheesy, snake.”

“I’d be cheesed to~ Shall we dance from the moon to the sun and back~?”

Rolling my eyes, I double back and spin the serpent, just out of the way of Neptune charging back in with their trident returned, the light radiating from our bodies send them recoiling back further before we’ve even turned up the heat further…~

 

Sol

 

And the heat never dies! Throwing back my hood, my brillant, shining locks flow, freeing my face for the world to see me at last~

“Oh, I’ve been dying to be set upon this dark world…” I purr, reveling in my new form with a flip of my hair from my paw’d claw. “I hope you’re ready to be charred to ash…~”

Neptune takes in my new form, just as tall, all the more powerful and curvaceous, feeling my light shine so bright from within, from my pitch black fur to the glowing white ends of each hair, giving me an outline of radiance~ A ferret woman could ask for no more! And yet, here I am, long and bushy tail swishing, acting like a lamia’s lower half, decked from head to tail in a valkyrie’s armour all the way to the winged visor above my spiraling purple and gold eyes, one joined by an additional eye above it...I’m positively glowing~

“Yes...YES!! COME HERE, DAUGHTER OF ODIN!! SHOW ME EVERYTHING!!”

“Oh, you’re gonna regret asking for that~”

And I seek to prove that immediately, the sea deity singing once more and surfing on a wave towards me, but a stroke of my arm summons my massive mallet and knocks them to the side, staggering them and offering lil’ ol’ me a chance to hip bump ‘em, the sunlight above manifesting into a burning visage of a valkyrie carrying Neptune off and sending them tumbling off into the sand.

“WHAT IN THE GODDAMN IS GOING ON HERE?! CAT KITTEN HAS SEEMINGLY EVOLVED INTO HER NEXT FORM!! IT’S BACK TO THE ONE ON ONE, FOLKS!!”

“Get ready for the ass kicking of the century...or, well. No one in the ring has legs any more, so kicking might not be the right way to put it…”

I can’t help but smile at my old friend upgraded, what was once a little hammer now standing taller than me, a pulsing sun visible within its hollowed core, its metal glowing, molten, sizzling~

“Ah, Mjǫllnir, how long it’s been~”

Having so graciously given Neptune a chance to pick themselves up, the fight picks up as cued, my burning passion for vengeance setting its flared glare upon the familiar warrior. They sing their song where they left off, building an army of coral sea creatures to thrash upon me, but floating up slightly, I allow the sunlight to summon dear old dad’s favourite, a sunlight Sleipnir riding into and crushing an oncoming shark before whinnying as I sit upon their back. The sunshine above fills me with the power to smite mine enemies, or rather, my own army to help me do as such~

The sand quakes as cousin Fenrir roars on arrival. Not quite as fierce as the real shadowy wolf, but with him, along with valkyries and the “frost” giants...this deity has no chance.

“RIDE ON!!” I shout, raising my hammer and charging forward, Neptune doing much the same.

“GET ‘EM!!” they yell in return, the kraken erupting from the water behind them with tentacles flailing as their mermaids and sirens swim ravenously towards me. Thankfully, my own realm has already begun to take form, the sun’s light shining through the murky blue and sparkling clouds forming over the water. At the moment of intersection between our magical fields, the sea deity and I clash our weapons, though, with me leaping from my ride, Slep knocks the poor thing back and gives me the upper paw~

“I’m awfully sick of being destined to fight you, you know!”

“HAH…! FOR A BEING OF THE SUN, YOU’RE ANYTHING BUT SUNSHINE!!”

Rolling my eyes, I move on from quipping and onto smashing, a trail of light following the movements of my mallet, while bubbles and rushing water follow Neptune’s trident, though they seem to be dried out rather quickly before my light!

Around us, our warriors clash, Fenrir taking on the kraken himself while our allies try to throw blows at us from the sides.

“War...war never changes, huh?”

“I’d like to know where you get your news from, cuz I don’t think anyone’s ever seen war like THIS before!!”

Neptune’s and my efforts shift from each other to the enemies around us, tail whipping and weapon swinging at those trying to swarm us until we have a decently sized arena between the two of us.

“YOU BETTER NOT BE HOLDING BACK!!”

“You’ll wish I had been…!”

 

Cocking their trident (?), they proceed to launch a bubble beam my way that gets more intense the higher their pitch goes, to which I reply with the roots of Yggdrasil sprouting from the sand, forming a woven barrier, glowing just like other forces I summon. Atop it a sunny little squirrel hops about the spreading branches. The lil’ guy drops acorns all about our battlefield, brilliant solar explosions bursting upon impact and giving me ample opportunity to sneak out from behind my barrier and get back in close and personal with Neptune.

“I hate giving you a fun fight, but seeing you struggle really makes it worth it…~”

We exchange blows once more, our weapons sizzling and boiling upon impact, our attacks getting stronger as our sources of power amp up the spectacle, massive anchors and crashing ships accompanying Neptune’s attacks. Meanwhile, my own attacks carry the weight of a storm, lightning crashing with each blow, imitations of the great spear gungnir falling with each bolt from the sunlight above the more heated things become!

“I CAN FEEL THE ACTION COMING TO A CLIMAX!! WON’T YOU BASK IN THE GLORY WITH--”

I don’t even let them finish, gripping Mjǫllnir even tighter as I slam the ground between us, sending Neptune up into the air with a sunny explosion.

“LIKE HELL-- PREPARE FOR RAGNAROK!!”

Planting my weapon onto the ground, I coil my tail around its length and shine, the sunlight turning red and bathing the arena in a horrifying glow. Spreading my arms wide, Neptune hasn’t the time to recover as the sand below collapses into a gaping pit, from which the world serpent rises!

“JÖRMUNGANDR! IT’S TIME TO EAT!!”

Even I’m pushed back as the sunlight above reaches for the snake, pulling it higher and higher as its wide, thousand toothed maw opens wide, sucking Neptune into its draconic face like a ceaseless void. It takes all I have to make this happen, sweat, tears, blood, I can feel the very life in me tremble as if about to snap. The end times shudder the entire stadium, lights flickering, people screaming and shouting, the voices of a world damned moaning, coiling, slithering through the dead air when--

CHOMP.

All goes silent. My breathing is laboured, in awe and terror of what I’d just wrought, and yet...smiling. Grinning. Both mine and Neptune’s realm fade, and our soldiers along with them, including the world serpent, from which falls both Caramel and Minhocão, both of whom I float up to and catch before they can hit the sand.

“Such...ferocity...What...a magnificent duel…!”

“Y’all...killed it out there…!”

That’s all the two can muster before passing out, eyes spinning.

“...AND THERE YOU HAVE IT EVERYBODY!! THE CHAMPION DEFEATED AT LAST!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!”

“My god, I’ve never seen Rider this excited! God, I could kiss you right now-- Mmph!”

Hahaha~ Descending back to the ground, I find a group of guards approaching, to whom I hand the dazed former champs to, allowing me to take my leave...It was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it~?

 

Cat

 

“Hey.”

I take the serpent by the hand before we’ve even fully separated, stopping her from leaving immediately.

“My my, how bold you’ve become, Miss Kitten~”

This snake is gonna make my eyes roll out of my head one of these days. Pulling her in, I give her another hug while the crowd continues to go wild.

“Whore. Thank you.”

Niamh pats my back and sighs wistfully, her tail wrapping around my leg slightly.

“While the pleasure is all mine, I was in the middle of something important you know~”

“So that’s why you weren’t immediately on my ass the moment I messaged you.”

We giggle at one another before I shove her off, though I keep hold of her claw, pulling her along back to the bench area.

Reunited with the gang, Fox jumps up on me, licking at my face while Niamh pets her and rubs her cheeks. It seems in the time it took to finish the fight, Coyotl had been roused from their sleep, a group of medic rats looking rather proud of themselves.

“I’m sure she needs no introduction, but--”

“But that won’t stop me~” the serpent interrupts me, scratching behind my ear and earning herself a growl. “Niamh Váfuðr Ýjungr~ Please, just call me Niamh~”

I turn to Liz expecting some manner of impressment, however, I instead find a deadly glare full of contempt and malice…

“Alright, lizard, you done here? We’s got business to do.”

Of course, as she does, Niamh simply laughs, doing the gay little hand thing at the rat.

“As do I!” she says, taking Fox from my arms. “Me and the baby have important matters to discuss, so I might as well tag along, don’t you think~?”

The Rat Queen looks less than pleased, irritatedly moving her bat from side to side with its head on the ground while she’s slouched back. Eventually she stands up and shrugs, pointing her bat at one of the guards.

“Get us outta here, would’ja?”

With that, she clacks her heels on over to the elevator, standing in front of it impatiently, tapping her foot while the guards scramble to get the lift working. Turning to look back at Niamh and Coyotl, the former winks and sticks her tongue out at me, while the latter seems uncomfortable in general. Gesturing to the elevator with a nudge of my head, they all nod, and we board the moment it’s open.

“I’m proud of you, you know,” Niamh offhandedly says this to me as the ride up begins,, prompting me to raise my eyebrow at her.

“What the hell are you going on about?”

“What~? I’m just supporting my dearest friend~”

With a groan followed by a sigh, I lean back against the wall of the lift and cross my arms, the snake moving in awfully close while continuing to pet Fox.

“I mean it though,” she assures me. “Calling upon me like that. Even me being me, I’m not sure a younger Cat would have given in to reach out to anyone in a scenario like that.”

Ugh. I turn my head away to hide the glow on my cheeks while reaching over to give Fox some attention myself.

“It’d have been pretty dumb of me not to considering it was a 1 versus 2 match, technically.”

“Stupid is one way of putting it I’m sure you’d love to hear me say~” the snake teases, earning her a playful hiss from my end. “But I’d call this ‘overcoming shitty things the world made you think was right.’ Perhaps a mix of maturity and healing.”

Sigh.

“...Thanks. I--”

“Does this piece ‘a crap move any faster?!” Liz suddenly blurts out, getting her desired effect of shutting the both of us up just before the lift dings and the doors open wide.

 

“Fox, could you lead Niamh outta here?”

Once we’re out of the elevator, Fox hops on out of Niamh’s arms and salutes me cutely before scampering off, making sure to keep her tail visible when she rounds a corner. I turn to Niamh and try to not look too happy, but...goddammit, I am happy to be seeing her.

“See you back home?”

“Only if I’ll see you there too~”

Shoving her off once again, she chortles merrily and slithers behind my partner, leaving me with Coyotl and Liz, the former of whom I look to next.

“What about you? You got it pretty rough today, if you wanna follow those two back home.”

They decline, however, shaking their head and holding their arm in the hand stiffly.

“It is fine...I have been patched up, I just...I’d...I’d rather stay with you, I think.”

I tilt my head at them and step closer, putting a paw on their shoulder and catching their eyes’ attention.

“...I just think it safer for me that way.”

Yeesh...they’re not taking this all very well. Thankfully, I don’t mind watching out for them, patting their shoulder and staying close as I look to Liz with a stern glare.

“I hope you realize I ain’t pleased with the circumstances you put me in.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she says dismissively, waving her claw limply in my direction. “But it worked out, didn’t it~? Come on, time to seal the deal.”

Her signature sinister grin returns as she begins to leave the room, me and Coyotl in tow, leading us further down the hall we took to get here to find a rather innocuous double door. Throwing it open, we find Caster behind a big fancy desk, atop which Rider sits.

“Ha ha heyyyy! If it ain’t the champs! I don’t suppose you’re here to celebrate your win, but I’m happy to see ya all the same!”

His big time energy is even more palpable in person, not that Liz cares, the rat waltzing up and brandishing a dagger from under her suit, slamming it into the wood of the desk, making Caster flinch while Rider sits there as calm as ever.

“Sheesh ma’am, you don’t gotta muck up my stuff, you already won.”

“You know how dis works,” Liz replies, tail whipping back and forth as she leans onto the desk. “Though, technically, I’s is here to celebrate! With the winnin’s, dat is…”

Caster sighs, opening a drawer and pulling out a pen and paper, scribbling his signature, then handing both over to Rider, who lazily does the same. At that point, it gets handed over to Liz.

“Sheesh. Always so intense. I got the show I asked for, and I’d be happy to help with liberating the overworld. You don’t gotta be so...this about it.”

The Rat Queen snatches up the paper and rolls it up, handing it to a rat peering over her shoulder that scuttles into her jacket.

“That’s business, my man! And I take my job very seriously…~”

With that, she turns tail and starts walking out, giving Caster some time to coax me over with a waggling finger.

“Now, I know you don’t seem too enthused about the whole battling thing, but is there any way I can get’cha to fight again? You’re a star! The crowd loves you!”

I purse my lips and think for a moment. Is there?

“...Gonna give you a hard maybe, leaning no. I’ll keep it in mind, but you’d have to really sweeten the deal.”

“That’s all I need to hear!”

The business guy sticks out his hand, and I shake it firmly, the dude seemingly in awe at both the strength of my grip and the softness of my paws.

“Maybe I’ll suggest this place to a few of the bloodthirsty types back in Aspen Town. So long as you can guarantee no lasting damages to any of them.”

Finally, Rider peeps up, their head lulling to the side to glance at me while holding out their hand for a shake of their own.

“I’ll handle that.”

...heh. I give the announcer a smirk before taking their hand in my paw, watching the light in them erupt, staying relatively small and lithe as they ascend, blossoming forth into a white scaled frilled lizard, looking dashing as ever in that white suit. Caster stares on in awe, eyes practically bulging out of his head as it glances between me and Rider.

“...Ahem. Ah. Aha! Well! You’ve been an absolute pleasure, Cat! Rider and I do have some business of our own to attend to, so if you wouldn’t mind, we can chat another time.”

My smile persists, if a bit smugly staring at Caster as he hands me a card, taking it and ushering Coyotl out of the room to let the two have their space.

 

Once out, we find Liz waiting for us, eyeing me in particular and nodding to herself before whipping out her phone and making a call.

“All’s said and done, chumps. Pack it up.”

“Huh--?”

Before I can even ask, she holds up a finger to me, listening closely to the squeaky voice on the other end.

“Yeah. Yeup. That’s right. No. No that’s-- No you can’t set them off anyways! Look, I’ll find y’all a nice abandoned building to blow up and you can use ‘em there, alright? We’re done here. Alright. Yeah, yeah, love you too, ya idiots.”

Blink.

“Wh-- WHAT?!”

“Hmm~?”

Pressing my paw to her chest, I loom over the rat.

“What do you mean blow up? What the hell was that all about?!”

“Tsk tsk tsk tsk~”

Oh. Oooh. I’m gonna get this mother fucker.

“Speak up, brat.”

“Heh! Look, all I’ll says is, I’s had no intentions of losin’ you regardless of whether the deal went through or not~ Winning just means we get to celebrate with a lot less rubble, y’hear~?”

A whirlwind of emotions roils about my heart and head, leading me to just stare in disbelief at the rat.

“I can’t believe you.”

“Ohh ho ho, you’d better start believin’, Cat Kitten. I ain’t the Rat Queen for nothin’, baby!”