As told by the Mother Will, Lisa and Saskia traveled in the direction - hoping she wasn’t lying. But, eventually, they came across an eerily familiar landscape… St. Portwell, but the skyline that they had grown to love was utterly ravaged and destroyed. The water was tainted and polluted, and the boardwalk was ripped and splintered. Though, Lisa pointed to the horde of those robots going in…
”Okay, let’s-” Lisa tried to say, before a massive explosion filled the corner of her eye. It looked… familar.
”... That has to be Ella.”"No one else would be that stupid," Saskia rolled their eyes. They carefully began to head towards the light… but they also didn’t want to fight the robots. So being quiet, and getting there before them, was important.
They looked back at Lisa and pointed to a slightly more roundabout path through the destroyed buildings. Lisa walked over and grabbed their hand before pointing at a space. A space that was soon inhabited by a glowing spider cocoon. As she said,
”We’ll have an easier if we use the spider.” Lisa noted.
"... we’re going to forget how to walk," Saskia intoned, joking without it being obvious. What was obvious was their impatience as they waited for the spider to come out of its cocoon, making to get on it as soon as it was out.
"Let’s go… hopefully Ella isn’t stupid enough to stay where the light was."The spider grew to size before it burst out of its cocoon - sporting dragonfly wings and being large enough to carry the two of them. Lisa hopped on top of it, giving the empty spot behind her a few pats.
”I mean, we should be hoping she is!” Lisa snorted.
”Makes her easier to find! Now, away we go!”The Spider took flight, taking off high into the sky, directly towards where Lisa saw the ball of light. The spider was loud, but Lisa trailed over the battalion of the Autoknights that were marching over the city…
… Until a bullet whirled by them.
Then another.
And another.
”SHIT!” Lisa shouted over the beats of the spider’s wings as she quickly flew from left to right.
"Oh fuck," Saskia intoned, leaning over the spider. It was difficult with the constant movement back and forth, but she held out her hand and let off a series of blood bullets. She made them smaller than normal, so they could be shot faster and with more piercing power.
Hopefully. ”Can you go any faster?"”... I’m going fast as I can here!” Lisa shouted over the spider’s wings. Though, she made a hard right towards a fractured skyscraper. She went, at full speed, towards a window and shouted,
”HOLD ON TIGHT!” She activated the exoskeleton.
Saskia didn’t say anything - because Lisa was already doing something crazy, no stopping it. They covered themselves in blood armour and held onto the spider as tightly as they could and leaned forward, getting as low as they could. Lisa did not, and they crashed through the window. It was already somewhat broken, so the shards didn’t slash them to pieces. Lisa awkwardly laughed as she pulled a shard of glass out of her chest.
Then she pointed at the window on the other side.
”... Do the honors?”"I'm not Ella," Saskia retorted. But they pulled the blood from their armour to form a blood tendril, which shot forward to smash through the window, flailing about to clear a big enough section for them to get through. They grimaced slightly as they let the tip turn back into liquid, blood splashing on the floor the glass shards embedded in it.
"Let's go." The spider took flight and carried them through the broken window back into the chaotic skyline of the St. Portwell ruins. Distantly, they could hear the Autoknights marching despite the sound of the flying spider being so overpowering… Lisa’s eyes scanned the environment below; there had to be-
A musket round rang out from below.
Lisa’s head whipped below to see a squad of Autoknights pinning two people down with musket fire. Lisa turned towards Saskia and shouted over the beats of the Spider’s wings,
”... WHAT SHOULD WE DO?!”Saskia leaned over the spider, gripping tightly with their legs as they got into a precarious position horizontal to it. Their eyes narrowed, looking at the two people. Two… but, there was a hint of pink. Maybe it was just her imagination. Wishful thinking.
They gestured to the Autoknights, in a circle around them.
"BLOOD RAIN!"With a nod of her head, Lisa summoned the blood filled spiders in the sky. Saskia pulled themselves back up to not be hanging off the spider, filling the pulsating sacks of blood with more and more, until they exploded in a grotesque downpour over the Autoknights. Many of them were dissolved by the rain, others were disabled.
One of the people that were pinned down ran up, waving their hands.
”Hey over here!” She shouted,
”... There’s more coming!”"SASKIA, LISA!" The other person shouted, practically jumping up and down, waving her hands.
Saskia narrowed their eyes. Certainly sounded like Ella. Looked how she would from this high up, probably. Could be an illusion, but…
"As much as I want to leave her to die for disappearing, let's go pick them up."”... The fuck?!” Lisa snorted.
”She’s our air-headed and big-bootied homie! We can’t leave her under any circumstance!” Lisa laughed, commanding the spider to land right by the two. Lisa stared at Yoko for a few moments.
”... Yoko?””Yes! It’s me!” Yoko shouted as she climbed onto the back of the spider.
”We have no time for the niceties! Let’s go!”As soon as Ella was on the spider, it took flight, and they left behind the ruins of St. Portwell…
As Lisa, Saskia, and the others escaped the ruins of St. Portwell, they encountered a new landscape—decrepit farmland stretching endlessly into the horizon. The air was thick with decay, carrying the scent of rotting crops and stagnant water. Twisted, leafless trees dotted the landscape, and the fields, once fertile, were now barren and overrun with grotesque, mutant plants that oozed a sickly, luminous glow in the dim light. The fields were littered with the skeletons of various farm animals… Rusting farming equipment lay abandoned, half-buried in the muck, with vines wrapped tightly around their decaying frames. The old farmhouses, barely standing, were twisted by time, their windows shattered, and roofs collapsed.
Rain began falling, and the spider landed in the one Barnhouse (that had faded red paint) that looked stable enough to stand in. Yoko was the first off the spider, as she pulled out a sword and examined it for a moment before she said,
”... It’s clear.””How do you know?” Lisa asked.
”The blade shines if there’s a monster nearby,” Yoko said, and Lisa nodded as she pushed the doors open. The interior of a relic of better days, the air inside was damp and musty, and cobwebs draped every corner. Old farming tools hung on the walls, rusted beyond use, and a few scattered bales of hay, long since decomposed, sat in piles on the ground. The silence inside was heavy, broken only by the occasional water drip from the roof onto the floor.
Lisa sighed in relief as the spider shrunk back to standard size and disappeared into the darkness of this place. She took a few steps inside, only to be met with the blue blade Yoko wielded that dripped water. She raised her hands.
”Excuse me for being paranoid,” Yoko said.
”But I need to confirm something before we go any further.”Lisa nodded her head,
”... Shoot.””Turner and Otten, I presume?” Yoko turned towards Lisa and Saskia, respectively, before addressing the group.
”All three of you were killed in the Old Coven.”Yoko paused, her eyes scanning every moment of the group,
”... I need you three to prove it. As much as I want to believe it, I’m unsure if you three are who you say you are or if you’re simply a mockery created by the Mother Will.”Yoko sighed.
”... Tell me something only the three of you would know.”Saskia frowned. Something that only they'd know…
"We came up with our spider mech after a night of fighting the Snake, and then Ella forced us to watch some weird mech anime instead of sleeping… We were tired enough it seemed like an amazing idea, and it somehow worked.""It was an amazing idea!" Ella shouted.
Yoko facepalmed.
”… You know what? That sounds about right.”"Because it is right!" Ella said, with a grin.
"And this couldn't be faked! It's a real Sailor Moon wand replica, they aren't easy to find."She pulled out her Channeler, waving it in front of Yoko's face, while Saskia rolled their eyes.
”I… I can’t believe it,” Yoko said, as the sword retracted into the hilt.
”You three are back! Wilson will be ecstatic!”Saskia frowned slightly, looking at Lisa, then Ella. Ella looked back, eyes already filling up with tears.
"Kari's dead." Saskia intoned.
Yoko stared at Saskia for a moment.
”… Bullshit,” Yoko hissed.
”How?”"Something's killing old coven members," Saskia explained, frowning.
"Kari, Elsa, Ripley, Jade, Kura… Clementine and Vanessa told us.""We didn't even get to see Kari again! We didn't get to say goodbye!" Ella wailed.
”How long have I been down here…?” Yoko asked no one in particular before she shook her head.
”But bullshit! Wilson kept her head on a swivel because of people like Richoux and Inoue.”Yoko paused momentarily before she said,
”... Actually, let’s focus on this, then worry about the surface world.” Yoko sighed as she turned towards Ella.
”... You said you know why you’re back.”Yoko narrowed her eyes at Ella.
”... Why are you back? And why the hell are you here of all places!?”"Well, we don't know why we're back, completely! Someone asked a favour of the hound so he brought us back to do two things for him! First we had to kill this evil bastard called Morningstar! Now we need to find the All-Blade for him! Then we'll be free!""We're his Agents of Death," Saskia added.
”… Brooks, do you know what the All-Blade is being used to do?” Yoko asked.
"Pin a massive monster!" Ella said all too cheerfully.
Yoko facepalmed.
”Brooks… its being used to pin the Rampage,” Yoko began, narrowing her eyes.
”It’s strong as the Stygian Snake; if you pull the sword from its place, it’ll get free and escape!”"Well what are we supposed to do, just die?!" Ella said, throwing her hands up.
"We can just kill it," Saskia shrugged.
Yoko facepalmed again.
”... It’s an Apparition, you can’t just kill it,” Yoko began before her jaw dropped as if an imaginary bulb (or brain cell) just went off in her head.
”... But, you can seal it.” She grabbed her chin and stared into the nothingness.
”... I knew learning that spell was worth it!”"What spell?" Ella asked, tilting her head.
Saskia shrugged.
"We could just do what we did with Morningstar - beat him into submission and seal him into my drawing."”I hate to dismiss your capabilities, Otten,” Yoko sighed,
”But you three are no match for the Rampage. If he doesn't just tear open a portal out of here the moment you remove the blade, he will flatten you three.”Yoko shook her head,
”However, I learned a spell my ancestors created - an Orange-Lux boosted sealing ritual known as Eternal Binding.””That would have been soooooooooooo helpful ten years ago!” Lisa quipped.
"Right, why didn’t you or Goro learn it ten years ago?" Saskia asked.
”I cannot speak for my brother, but ten years ago, I wanted nothing to do with magic,” Yoko rolled her eyes.
”But, the past cannot be changed, what we can change is the future...””Actually, just a random question because I was wondering!” Lisa said as she raised her hand up into the air.
”Why are you here, Yoko?”Yoko sighed.
”It’s a long story… Goro, fell into the Pit. I’m here to save him,” Yoko concisely said.
"Oh no! That’s- that’s awful!" Ella’s eyes widened, lip trembling slightly. She stepped forward and pulled Yoko into a tight, bone crushing hug.
"I’m sure he’s fine! Goro was one of the strongest!" Lisa grabbed both sides of her face.
”... And the hottest!”"And even he can’t get out himself," Saskia said, a lot more depressingly.
””One, Turner; control your ovaries, Yoko said, raising a finger.
”And two…” Yoko dramatically said as she walked towards the door and sighed as she looked over her shoulder.
”... I have a plan; it’s a dangerous plan, but danger is inherent to everything here,” Yoko said with a sigh.
”Now, I didn’t come down here empty-handed, as you can tell…” Yoko gestured at the Yokai Killer in her hands.
”... I came down here with several artifacts created by a collaboration between my brother and Wilson: Kari and Goro’s Wayfinders.””Oooooooooh…” Lisa said.
”... What are they?””They are two separate artifacts intended to find the people you care about, and the Hatanaka Artifacts. They are capable of navigating the different dimensions - however, they do not work down here,” Yoko explained.
”But here is the issue: I was ambushed by the Autoknights and dropped them, and they took them into the Kingdom. Which is where I was heading. My plan is simple: we go to the Kingdom, retrieve the Wayfinders, and then...”Lisa tilted her head.
”... And then?””... We head to the Forge, where the Autoknights are created. There is a section inside in the Forge known as the Artifact Refinement Area… This can upgrade artifacts by removing limits and improving capabilities. I believe that, after the upgrade, the Wayfinders should not only function as intended down here, but be capable of finding the All-Blade AND my brother.”Yoko closed her eyes before she opened them.
”... It’s not going to be easy, though,” Yoko began.
”There are going to be hundreds if not THOUSANDS of Autoknights in the Kingdom and Forge respectively… I know they are big, slow, and stupid, but they are also armed to the teeth and very difficult to destroy. If you three have been having issues against them, I suggest we develop countermeasures.”Yoko sighed.
”.. While finding my brother is imperative, we cannot rush in blindly. The Autoknights are not like the Stygian Snake’s minions at all. We will need a strategy against them, or we might as well just kill ourselves here and now.” Yoko sharply exhaled.
”... Like what countermeasures’ can we make?” Lisa shrugged.
”The only thing that was effective against them was me and Saskia’s joint-cast, but we can’t spam it like that.” ”Turner…” Yoko rolled her eyes.
”You are thinking small. We are Adepts. We adapt and overcome.”"We need to make spells that can beat hunks of metal," Saskia said, tilting their head.
"Rather than flesh… but killing robots isn't so fun.""Do you think I could melt them?!" Ella asked, creating a ball of fire in her hand.
”If that’s what it takes, yes,” Yoko paused.
”I did extensive research on the Autoknights, and they do not possess an Abstraction. Thus, they do not have an Emotional-Field.” Yoko shook her head.
”... And when did you learn to do that?” Yoko tilted her head.
"Like… a week ago? Dunno how long we've been down here," Ella shrugged, grinning.
"I was taught it by this really fabulous lady called Lupe we met when fighting Morningstar! She was so cool!""Great at kissing too," Saskia added.
Yoko facepalmed, before she continued,
”… After we leave the Forge, we find the All-Blade, and then we seal the Rampage into the All-Blade using the Hatanaka Eternal Binding spell,” Yoko then turned to Ella.
”If I recall correctly, you have Orange Lux in addition to Green and Red, yes?”"I do!" Ella posed with a peace sign as she answered.
”Hmmm… In the event I die or we get separated, I will teach you the spell so you can do it yourself if necessary,” Yoko sighed.
”It won’t be as effective as if I did it, but if the Rampage is still weak enough, you should be able to pull it off.””What if both of you die? Or we get separated from both of you?” Lisa asked, tilting her head.
”I hate to say it, but you will have to figure something out,” Yoko said with a sigh.
”But, you should not, under any circumstance, release the Rampage. The Pit is full of artifacts and treasures; there has to be something you can use down here.”Yoko turned towards Ella,
”If there is nothing else to discuss, I will teach you Eternal Binding at once, including valuable spells such as the Hatanaka Focus, Block, and Parry spells.”"Alright! So long as I can make them magical girly!" Ella grinned.
Yoko rolled her eyes, then turned towards Saskia and Lisa,
”... You two should also develop some spell against the Autoknights that doesn’t require a Joint-Cast.”"Sure…" Saskia nodded. Spells that would work against the Autoknights that didn't require a Joint-Cast… there was something. They looked at Lisa.
"Any ideas?"Lisa looked at Yoko, then at Saskia, then back at the ground, before facing Saskia and said,
”... Actually yeah,” Lisa began.
”I was thinking of something, you know how my Acid-spell works with my spiders?”"Obviously."”I was thinking of a version of that… but what about instead of spraying acid everywhere, it sprays like this… gunk everywhere - like it does with the acid! But, unlike the acid, when it comes in contact with metal it expands, then hardens! Which should be enough to clog them up and make them useless!”"Ooo," Saskia smiled slightly, nodding. It was a good idea… metal specific, would completely fuck up the auto-knights.
"I like it. Maybe I should try something similar with my blood… or make bones sharp enough to pierce metal? If that's possible."Lisa opened her mouth to answer, but Yoko beat her to it.
”… Infinite possibilities, Otten,”"Right," Saskia replied… before leaning in close to Lisa, whispering in her ear.
"Was she always this annoying?"”I mean, she is friends with Ella…” Lisa shrugged before laughing like a lil’ goblin and wrapping her arm around Saskia’s waist. Then whispered in their ear,
”... Tell her these nuts are a possibility.”Saskia hit Lisa with an emotionless stare. Then, they turned that stare back to Yoko, speaking in a complete monotone. No emotion, no change in expression.
"These nuts are a possibility, Hatanaka." "What does that even mean?!" Ella shouted.
Lisa broke out laughing, falling over and holding her stomach. Yoko just stared at Saskia.
A smile crept across her face slowly.
”... I bet they are, Otten,” Yoko chuckled.
”If Wilson were here, she’d say they’re not a possibility but an inevitability.”"With three green lux users, she’d be right," Saskia said, lips twitching up into a slight smile.
"She’d also be giving us that tired, judgmental look of hers.""Oh, the really cute one!" Ella grinned.
Lisa hopped to her feet, still smiling like a fool as she said,
”They are an inevitability, alright! What if we grew dicks and wave ‘im at the robots like-!” Lisa started violently gyrating her hips.
”They’re gonna be all ‘Does not compute!’”"NOOO, I don’t want to!" Ella screamed, covering her eyes.
Saskia snorted as they watched Lisa. It was so stupid, but it was also… stupidly nice. Lisa enjoying herself, Ella getting traumatised…
"It would probably work just as well as Ella’s tiddy flash has. Would be an easy spell to learn too. It’s just like growing some more flesh, I could probably do it right now." Lisa, still laughing, said,
”Do it! I bet you won’t!”Saskia looked around their surroundings, then back at Lisa.
"I’m not stripping here. Who knows what kinds of diseases I’ll get. But… I don’t need to grow it there."They rolled up their sweater sleeved, holding out their pale arm. They stared at it, brow furrowing in concentration. It was just like the muscle wings, but smaller, and a specific shape. Their skin peeled back, blood trickling out a round gaping hole as some kind of flesh started to push out of their arm. The pain was secondary to their need to not back down.
Eventually, they were done, and there it was. A dick and balls on Saskia’s arms… a grotesque dick and balls made out of muscle, like it had been flayed. Saskia looked at Lisa, with an evil smile.
"Easy."Lisa fell over laughing.
Yoko turned and walked away, dropping the Yokai Killer before she outright broke out laughing. She keeled over laughing, holding her stomach. She was spouting out all kinds of words in Japanese, before she wiped a tear away.
”Oh my word!” Yoko began.
”If I ever needed any more confi-”Their “discussion” was interrupted by a voice appearing in their minds, it was static-y and distorted. Hard to decipher.
...Can...⸮...you...three…FOUR...st—”... Huh?””... You hear that, too?!” Yoko turned to Lisa.
...⸮...king around...CUS!?Yoko quickly ran to the Yokai Killer and picked it up, raising it into the air,
”... Is this one of the Mother Will’s tricks?!”...need...FOCUS!...OCUS...focus...OCUS!"Maybe it's a ghost?!" Ella wailed, slapping her hands against her cheeks and looking around with wide eyes.
Saskia shrugged, pulling the gross muscle dick back into their arm, grimacing at the wound it left.
"Strange trick, I think it’s telling us to focus. And it’s right. Let’s focus… on you two learning how to do that. I’m sure it’ll be easy for you, Lisa."”I bet I can do it like with spiders!” Lisa excitedly said.
”Like they weave a penis out of human flesh like they make-”?...?...?... JESUS! CHRIST!Lisa tilted her head.
... you…danger…?...?Yoko turned towards Lisa and the others.
...FOCUS…?… on…?The voice kept speaking to them, except in hard to discern.
...?... TRYING to…?...?”Trying to what?” Lisa asked, scratching the side of your head.
?... STAY---The voice cut off for a moment before it came back.
---ALIVE!Then it was gone.
"Well, that was strange," Saskia shrugged, not thinking too hard about it. What else were they doing? Their whole focus was on staying alive… this was just morale boosting.
"WE ARE TRYING TO STAY ALIVE, DON’T WORRY, STRANGE VOICE!" Ella shouted.
”Yes! We are focusing now!” Yoko shouted,
”Are you happy?!”The voice came back for just a second…
... Love you… though.Then it was gone again.
Lisa shrugged, and Yoko walked over.
”... I guess a higher power is giving us a sign to get to work,” Yoko said with a sigh, before she turned to Ella.
”Brooks! Are you ready to become a Hatanaka Disciple?”"I was born ready!" Ella shouted, slamming her hands on her fists.
"I didn’t get to visit Japan to prepare but I’ve watched more than enough anime!"Yoko dramatically sheathed the Yokai Killer, as it retracted back into its hilt.
”Trust me, Brooks. We will all be able to visit Japan when we get out of here,” Yoko nodded her head.
”I will show you all the fantastic sights my home country has to offer!”She paused, narrowing her eyes at Ella,
”... That aren’t anime.”"Really?! You promise?" Ella said, jumping up and down like a small child told she could have some candy.
"I’d quite like to visit too… That would be nice, when we get out," Saskia said with a slight smile, looking at the other three.
"We’ve missed a lot."Yoko smiled.
”... You have my word, Brooks.”