Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I run and hide,

But there’s no hiding from yourself…

Can’t escape

Gotta find my own way out…

Now there’s no time to take a break.

Gotta push against what is fake.

Now you and me, side by side,

All of us can win the fight!

Now you see the truth of me,

Breaking under reality,

Begging to finally be free

From this darkened night!

Stand together, we stay strong.

Guess you’re what I was missing all along.

Now I think everything’s going wrong

And only one end in sight…

Back in this Sunset Paradise!

Meggy ran. She ran as fast as she could, stumbling over the occasional root. Her breath was quick, her footsteps unsteady.

“C’mon, c’mon…” she muttered, eyes darting around widely. “P-Please, please…”

Then, a light shone down on her from above. Meggy stopped, covering her face and closing her eyes at the blinding light. She opened them a bit, and as her eyes adjusted, her face shifted to one of horror as she saw him above her.

“Well, well, my dear Meggy!” the giant Mr. Puzzles said teasingly, his smug face on. “You really think you can run from me? No… no, I’ll be with you forever. And I’m not the only one!”

“Meggyyyyyyy~…”

Meggy froze at the voice with a Southern accent coming from the woods. “No… no, no, p-please…” She stumbled, falling on her rear. She quickly began attempting to crawl back. “Please… g-get out of my head… leave me alone…”

“‘Fraid that ain’t possible, partner. Like he said, I’m with ya… FOREVER.”

“N-No… no!” Meggy covered her ears. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

“Meggy!”

Meggy shot up, breathing heavily. Her hands clutched the chair tightly, her head whipping around. As her vision cleared, she saw a familiar pair of golden eyes gazing into hers worriedly.

“D-Desti…” Meggy muttered. She let out a sigh. “Sorry, I…”

“Nightmare?”

Meggy nodded. “Ever since… you-know-who, it’s been getting hard to sleep.”

Desti took her hand. She’d shed her traditional jacket in anticipation of the different climate ahead, now just wearing her tank top. “Well, he’s gone now, so we only have the future ahead, yeah?” She smiled. “Let’s focus on the vacation. You earned this.”

“We earned this,” Meggy corrected.

Desti smiled and gave Meggy a kiss on the cheek, prompting the ginger to blush. The two turned to face the island ahead.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” Meggy grinned. “It’s time for the return of…”

“VACATION MEGGY!”

Meggy Spletzer

-Markswoman

-Coach

-Traumatized

“...Did you have to shout that?”

Meggy chuckled. “Bit of a confidence booster. You should try it.”

Desti scoffed, putting a hand on her chest. “Please. I’m plenty confident.”

Desti Sinawe

-Police Officer

-Emo (not to her face)

-Buff as all hell

Meggy chuckled. “C’mon. I bet he’s waiting for us–”

“MEGGYYYYYYY!”

Meggy was suddenly tackled by a blue blur. She reacted instantly, throwing him off of her and kicking him away. Auri Bori hit the ground, groaning.

“Ow…”

Meggy froze. “O-Oh my gosh, Auri! I-I’m so sorry!” She quickly dashed over to him and helped him up.

“It’s fine,” Auri said as he rubbed his head. “Your reaction time has gone up since I last met you, though! And your intensity, hehe…”

Meggy looked away. “Y-Yeah…”

“So this is Auri, huh?”

Auri turned to Desti, smiling. “Yup! Sheriff Auri Bori, reporting for duty!”

Auri Bori

-Port Aurora Sheriff

-Knows what he’s doing this time

-Mostly

“And… you are?”

“Desti Sinawe.”

“Oh, so you’re Desti!” Auri grinned. “Meggy talked about you! I heard you died and came back?”

“Yup.”

“Same!”

“I heard.”

“Yeah, Meggy talked a lot about you last year.” Auri frowned. “She kinda stopped calling about the middle of the year, though…”

“I-It was…” Meggy’s hands began to shake a little as she recalled… particular events. “I-I’m fine. It was nothing.”

Auri squined. “...Riiiight.” He turned to Desti and whispered to her. “Hey, what’s up with my partner?”

“A lot has happened, and it’s probably best not to talk about it right now.”

“...Alright. C’mon!” Auri gestured for them to follow him. “I’ll take you guys to the station!”

“Station?” Meggy tilted her head. “You have a station now?”

“Yeah!” Auri grinned. “Well, technically, it’s still my house, but still!”

“Ice cream!”

Meggy’s eyes suddenly lit up as she turned around to see Aziz selling ice cream nearby. “Ice cream?”

Auri and Desti sighed. “Here we go…” they muttered simultaneously.

“Ice cream!” Meggy dashed forward to the stand as Desti shook her head, a fond smile on her face.

“Some things never change…”

Aziz paused as he saw Meggy at his stand. “Ugh. Ginger’s back.”

Desti popped up behind her, a fire in her eyes. “Excuse me?”

Aziz smiled nervously at the sight of this obviously extremely strong woman glaring him down. “I mean what would you like, dear customer?”

“The Bam Bam Banana Fam, please!” Meggy replied.

“Sure. Twelve tullies.”

Meggy handed over the money (she wasn’t going to make a big deal out of the price again, of course. That was just how Aziz worked) and took her ice cream.

“Don’t you think that’s… overpriced?” Desti asked.

Meggy shrugged. “That’s Aziz for ya.”

“...That doesn’t solve the fact that it’s overpriced.”

“Just let me enjoy my ice cream.”

Desti rolled her eyes and turned to Auri. “So, kid, you takin’ us to your place or what?”

“Yeah!” Auri grinned. “C’mon, guys!”

Auri ran off, and Desti sighed. “He always this high-energy?”

“Yeah…” Meggy chuckled. “That’s Auri for ya. Now, c’mon, let’s see how his place has changed.”

The two looked around Auri’s house. While the main rooms were mostly the same as they’d been when Meggy visited, there were notably extensions added on. A small office area with a couple desks, for future officers. The jail area was larger, with a couple Boras in it. He had some more expensive equipment. Aloysius Bori’s ashes were set up in a new spot, alongside a familiar painting of him, where everyone could see.

“Wow, Auri,” Meggy muttered, looking around. “You’ve really fixed up the place!”

“Yeah…” Auri chuckled. “I mean, anything is an improvement from how it was when you left, considering Benedict blew it up and all.”

Desti fell back on a beanbag chair and let out a sigh. “Y’know, I could get used to this place…”

“Port Aurora is great.” Meggy smiled, looking around the room. “I really missed it.”

Then, the phone rang. Auri whipped around. “That’s the emergency line!”

Auri quickly dashed over, accidentally bumping into the desk. Meggy chuckled. “Some things never change…”

“I’m okay!” Auri hopped up and grabbed the phone. “Port Aurora police, how can we help?”

“My shop is being robbed!”  

Auri grinned. “Alright!” After a moment, he cleared his throat. “I mean, uh, which shop are you, sir?”

“The tourist stop!”

“Alright! On my way!” Auri hung up and turned around. “Hey, Meggy, you wanna help me out with this? For old times’ sake?”

Desti frowned. “I… I don’t know.”

“Desti, it’ll be fine.” Meggy took her hand and squeezed it. “I promise.”

Desti sighed. “If you say so.”

Auri looked between the two of them before getting a smug grin on his face. “Are you two dating?”

“Yes, what of it?” Desti replied, looking down at him.

Auri bounced up and down. “Oh, I’m happy for you two!” He then moved in close to Desti. “You better be good to my partner…” he said darkly.

Desti moved back a little.

Auri’s demeanor returned to normal. “Now, c’mon, guys! We got a shop to save!”

The door to the shop was kicked open by Desti. Auri and Meggy jumped in behind her.

“Port Aurora police!” Auri shouted. “Freeze!”

Both the trio and the four robbers froze as they looked at one another. They knew these robbers. Well, Meggy and Auri did.

Meggy groaned. “Oh, not these guys again…”

It was the Spud Buds, the very same group of small-time thieves that had partnered with Benedict a few years prior. However, notably, only Yam, Russet, and Mash were present, with Duke noticeably absent. In his place was a more orange-ish, female member, almost like a sweet potato.

Spud Buds

-Thugs

-That's about it

“Oh, no…” Russet mumbled. “Since when is she back?”

“And… who are they?” the female member asked, gesturing to the group.

“They’re that no-good deputy and his partner that busted us a few years ago,” Yam answered with a scowl on his face. “Back before Dukie-boy ditched us. You wouldn’t know ‘em, Sweets. Dunno who the other broad is, though.”

“Broad?!” Desti stepped forward, a fire in her eyes at the insult. “I’ll mash your tots in if you think you can just insult me like that and get away with it!”

Auri pulled out his spear. “Stand down, Spud Buds. You’re outmatched!”

“Y-Yeah!” Meggy balled up her fists. “We kicked your ass once, w-we can do it again!”

“What she said, you pieces of trash,” Desti said “calmly”, her arms crossed.

“Oooh, she’s got a mouth on her!” Mash grinned happily, pulling out his gun. “Let’s teach her to use some nicer words!”

“Try me, jackass.” Desti balled up her fists.

“Desti, h-hang on–”

Meggy didn’t finish her sentence before Desti charged in. She sighed. “Always ready for a fight… c’mon, Auri, let’s back her up.”

Desti swung, hitting Russet right in the face and sending him flying back. “C’mon, come at me!” she shouted, glaring down the other Spud Buds.

Yam pulled out his weapon. “Alright, boys and girl, you know the drill! Take ‘em out!”

Mash grinned as he fired on Meggy and Auri. The two dove to either side, dodging his shots. Meggy flipped a table to form a barrier and groaned.

“If I had a nickel for every apparently peaceful vacation disturbed by these guys specifically, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.”

Auri sighed as he jumped behind the counter… only to find himself face-to-face with Sweets.

“Hey, darlin’,” Sweets said. “How ya doin’?”

Auri blinked. “Uhhh… could be better?”

Sweets grinned. “Aw, that’s a shame.” She then pulled out a giant-ass scythe and ran in swinging. Auri yelped, blocking with his spear.

“Uhh, guys?!” Auri shouted. “This one has a freakin’ scythe!”

Desti paused as she blocked one of Yam’s strikes with her kunai. “A scythe? That’s totally impractical as a weapon, what the hell is she thinking?”

“It looks badass,” Sweets replied matter-of-factly.

“...Y’know what, that’s totally fair.”

With that, Sweets moved back into battle against Auri. Auri blocked her scythe with his spear, grimacing as she pressed her attack.

With a swift kick, Meggy sent the table flying into Mash, sending the small potato hurdling out the window with a crash . Russet got back up and charged in towards her, but a quick roundhouse kick to the face sent him right after his teammate.

Desti swept her leg underneath Yam as they fought, knocking him down. She then kicked him out of the front door. She quickly turned her attention to Auri and Sweets, leaping in and dropkicking Sweets right out after Yam.

“Gee, thanks, Desti!” Auri said, grinning.

“Er… no problem.”

Yam groaned as he got up. “I think we’re outmatched, boys… and girl.”

“Yeah, of course,” Russet mumbled.

“Spud Buds! Fall back!” Yam shouted. The four booked it down the street as Auri ran out of the shop.

“That’s right!” he shouted. “Run! And don’t come back!” He placed his hands on his hips before jumping back around to face Desti and Meggy. “Nice job out there, guys!”

“Not so bad yourself,” Meggy replied.

“Ehhh…”

“Desti…!”

Desti held up her arms. “Hey, I’m just judging on what I’ve seen of the kid. I trust your word on him.”

Auri chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve been a bit rusty, but hey, with all the crime bosses moving in, I’m gonna get a lot more practice!”

Meggy and Desti stared at him for a bit before Meggy spoke up. “I-I’m sorry, did you say crime bosses…?”

“Oh, yeah, there’s a whole gang war starting to pick up here.” Auri shrugged. “People trying to muscle in with word of Benedict’s death spreading.” After a moment, he looked around conspiratorially before leaning in to whisper. “Word is, the new mayor is working on something to put a stop to the crime bosses. He’s been holed up for weeks…”

Desti crossed her arms. “That’s not foreboding at all…”

“Let’s… just try to relax, yeah?” Meggy muttered. “I just want a break from fighting villains for a while, okay?”

“Oh, yeah!” Auri grinned. “C’mon, let’s get back to my place!”

“Today was a great day!” Auri said excitedly. “You’re back, we stopped the Spud Buds… it’s just like old times!”

“Yeah, o-okay…” Meggy muttered. “I’m gonna go… lay down. Okay?”

“Oh. O-Okay!” Auri smiled, though it was a little more… unsure. “G-Get some rest!”

After Meggy disappeared into her bedroom, Auri turned around to face Desti. “...What’s going on with her? She’s… different.”

Desti sighed. “A… lot happened. Some very bad people hurt her in a way that… can’t just be fixed.”

Auri frowned. “Is… is she going to be okay?”

Desti was silent. A moment’s hesitation before she smiled, but a moment that wasn’t missed on Auri. “You know Meggy. She… she’ll be okay, eventually.”

“...Get some rest,” Auri said. “She probably needs you right now, anyways.”

“Yeah…” Desti smiled. “You better get some rest, too, kid.”

Auri saluted. “Aye aye, ma’am!” Auri then just collapsed into his beanbag chair and fell asleep instantly. Desti couldn’t help but chuckle.

With that, Desti moved to the guest room Auri had prepared for them and quickly found Meggy lying on the bed.

“Hey…”

Meggy sighed. “I’d hoped for just a normal vacation, but apparently there’s something going on here, because of course there is. Why can’t anything be normal for us…?”

Desti, after a moment, lay down next to Meggy. “Hey. I get it. It’s rough. But… it’s just some crime bosses. We’ve dealt with worse. You’ve fought giant eldritch monsters. We fought and beat Puzzles.”

“He let us win…” Meggy muttered.

“Still. His threat’s gone, whether or not he wanted that in the end.” Desti brought her hand up to Meggy’s cheek, caressing it. “This will all be over in a week, maximum.”

“...You sure?”

“Positive.”

After a moment, Meggy moved in closer to Desti. Desti was taken off guard by the sudden closeness, flushing slightly as Meggy’s arms wrapped around her.

“Love you…” Meggy mumbled against her.

Desti was completely calm and collected, as she usually is, and was not fucking exploding inside from how flustered she totally was not because she wasn't used to affection like this at all. “I… l-love you too.”

Meggy hummed as Desti hesitantly wrapped her arms around her. The two held the embrace as they drifted off to sleep…

“No, c’mon, boss, you gotta hear us out!” Yam shouted into the phone. “We swear, we almost had the cash! If it weren’t for that meddling deputy–”

“I do not want excuses,” a robotic, monotone voice said from the receiver. “You have failed. Consider yourselves out.”

“P-Paisano, wait–”

The line went dead. Yam sighed and dropped the phone without bothering to put it back. “Well, great. Down another job.”

“Yeah.” Russet crossed his arms. “No thanks to you, Yam.”

Yam glared back at Russet. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, maybe just that you’re losing your touch.” Russet moved closer, getting up in Yam’s face. “And that maybe, just maybe, it’s time the Spud Buds had a new boss.”

“Oh, really, now?” Yam sneered.

“Boys, boys, stop fightin’. It’s really not worth killin’ each other over.”

The two froze, turning to face the receiver, which now had a feminine, Southern-accented voice coming from it.

“Yes, I’m talkin’ to you.”

Yam quickly grabbed the phone. “Who is this?! How did you find us?!”

“I find anyone I’m lookin’ for. Now… I hear this Paisano feller dropped you. He’s yesterday’s news. I know ‘bout somethin’ all those big shot crime bosses don’t: a way to get REAL power in this town. Whaddya say?”

Yam glanced back at the other Spud Buds. They all shared a grin before Yam returned his focus to the speaker.

“We’re in.”

Chapter Text

I run and hide,

But there’s no hiding from yourself…

Can’t escape

Gotta find my own way out…

Now there’s no time to take a break.

Gotta push against what is fake.

Now you and me, side by side,

All of us can win the fight!

Now you see the truth of me,

Breaking under reality,

Begging to finally be free

From this darkened night!

Stand together, we stay strong.

Guess you’re what I was missing all along.

Now I think everything’s going wrong

And only one end in sight…

Back in this Sunset Paradise!

It was late night in Port Aurora. All seemed peaceful…

“Well? Where are they?” a particular robotic voice said over an earpiece.

…“seemed” being the keyword.

“Oh, pipe down, will ya, Paisano?” a cloaked figure hissed, with a somewhat sharp, peppy, feminine Australian voice. What almost looked like a beak could be seen sticking out the front of their hood as they faced away from the camera. However, it didn’t seem like a real beak. She was on a rooftop of a house near a warehouse on the shoreline of Port Aurora. “I’m tryin’ ta watch ‘em, mate. They’re not doin’ much of anythin’ right now…”

“Be careful how you speak to me. I am a powerful man. Whoever is trying to move in on Port Aurora will pay dearly for their transgression.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hold on. They’re doin’ somethin’.”

The door at the back of the warehouse swung open, and the Spud Buds came out, with Yam carrying… something that was in a box.

“Alright, Spud Buds.” Yam grinned. “With this, we’ll be back on top.”

“I’m still surprised she of all people is given’ us these orders,” Russet muttered. “Like… her? Who’da thought she’d make a move on this area now that ol’ Benny’s gone?”

“Who cares?” Yam grinned, holding the box up. “With this, the Spud Buds are gonna be back on top!”

As the group ran off laughing, they were watched by the shadowy figure, who from this angle, seemed to be wearing a plague doctor mask. The eyes of the mask glowed orange before the figure dipped into the night…

The next day…

Within the town square of Port Aurora, things were generally peaceful. The sun shone down on the busy area.

Desti let out a hum as she and Meggy walked through the center of town, hands clasped. “Man, I gotta say, place ain’t half bad. The weather’s always just so nice here.”

“I know, right?” Meggy smiled. “And the people are pretty nice too, right?”

Desti frowned. “...Mostly.” She cast a glance at Aziz as he attempted to sell some ice cream that… well, she wasn’t completely sure it was made with entirely legal ingredients.

“Still…” Meggy smiled. “I told you. It’s a real sunset para–”

Suddenly, an explosion went off nearby. The two women glanced in its direction.

“...I take it that’s not normal.”

“Nope. Massive explosions are banned on weekdays… wow, getting a serious sense of deja vu here.”

Desti blinked and glanced at Meggy. “What about weekends?”

Meggy shrugged. “I… don’t know, actually. Auri would.”

“Not really!” Auri said, popping up. Meggy yelped and almost decked him in the face before Desti caught her fist. “They’re just frowned upon on weekends, but not illegal!”

“...Right.” Desti let go of Meggy’s hand as the ginger-haired woman backed up a bit, looking guilty. “Well, we should probably check it out.”

“Agreed!” 

Auri dashed ahead, while Desti glanced at Meggy. She frowned, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Meggy, are… are you okay?”

Meggy was silent for a moment, then sighed. “I-I’m just… still jumpy, I guess. After… e-everything that happened… it’s h-hard, completely moving on.”

Desti sighed. “I know. Hell, I died . But… I know you can do this.” She smiled, giving Meggy a tender punch on the shoulder. “You’re Meggy Spletzer, award-winning athlete.”

Meggy chuckled. “Yeah. Thanks, Desti. Now, c’mon, we better catch up with Auri before he gets himself in trouble.”

The two dashed ahead, quickly catching up with Auri. He stood in front of a building, a plant shop specifically, his arms crossed.

“Whoever’s in there, come out!” Auri shouted, spear in hand. “We’ve got you surrounded!”

Suddenly, a bunch of sharpened French fries flew out of the door. Auri yelped, diving off to the side and dodging the shots. Meggy and Desti did the same.

The Spud Buds emerged from the smoke. “You got what we needed, Sweets?” Yam asked, glancing at the group’s sole female.

“You know it.” Sweets pocketed some sort of mechanical jar-like contraption. It was sealed magnetically, with some sort of combination lock keeping it from being opened by any unwanted people. “Now, let’s get outta here.”

“HEY!”

The Spud Buds froze, turning to see Auri, Meggy, and Desti glaring at them. Auri pointed at the group. “Massive explosions are banned on weekdays! You four are under arrest!”

Sweets smirked as she whipped out her scythe. “Wanna go for a round two, sweetheart?”

“Not now, Sweets!” Yam shouted, grabbing the potato. “We gotta get the cargo somewhere safe! Move it, Spud Buds!”

The four living potatoes dashed off. Auri quickly pointed towards them as he ran ahead. “AFTER THEM!” he shouted.

After a moment, Desti sighed. “So this kind of stuff just happens everywhere in the world.”

“Basically, yeah.”

“Cool.”

“We should probably…”

“Yeah.”

The girls ran after Auri and the Spud Buds as the criminals climbed up to the roof, the sheriff following close behind.

“This is feeling too familiar…” Meggy muttered to herself as she and Desti climbed after them.

“STOP, VILE VILLAINS!” Auri shouted as he whipped out his spear, chasing after them on the roof.

“Keep moving!” Yam shouted. “We can’t lose the package!”

Mash fired his gun behind him. Auri yelped, diving behind a stack of crates on one of the rooftops as Meggy and Desti caught up to him.

“We can’t let them get away!” Auri shouted.

Desti rolled her eyes. “Well, duh. Meggy, Octobomb.”

Meggy blinked, a look of worry crossing her face. “W-Without an Ink Boi? Or any form of appropriate–”

Desti glared at her. “Did I stutter? I’ll be fine, just do it. I’ve handled worse.”

After a moment, Meggy sighed. “F-Fine…” She stepped forward, grabbing Desti by the arms. Meggy began spinning her around, increasing in speed, before sending her flying into the air. Desti stiffened as she flew, allowing the air to flow more steadily over her and causing her ascent to go a bit longer. As she reached the peak of the arc, she curled into a ball and twirled as gravity took effect. As she fell, she uncurled, slamming down feet-first right onto Sweets and knocking her face-first onto the ground.

“Sweets!” Yam yelped.

“We gotta keep moving!” Russet shouted as the group continued. “We lose the payload, we lose the payday!”

“Remember what happened last time we left someone?!” Yam snapped. “Do you wanna lose someone else like we lost Duke?!”

Mash frowned. “Y-Yeah! He’s right!”

Russet groaned. “Ugh, whatever. Fine.”

The Spud Buds turned around, Russet and Mash firing at Desti. The purple-haired woman leapt out of the way of the shots, allowing Sweets to get back to her feet and run after the others.

“Dammit…” Desti muttered. She pulled out her flame-decaled Blastered, taking a deep breath before popping up, weapon at the ready.

The Spud Buds were gone.

“...God! Dammit!” Desti kicked one of the crates, sending it flying as Meggy and Auri caught up.

“They got away?” Auri sighed. “Aw, man…”

“So… what now?”

After a moment, Desti sighed, putting her Blaster away. “It’ll be fine… it’ll be fine.” She pulled a small device out of her jacket pocket. “I planted a tracking device on her when I hit her.”

Meggy and Auri stared for a moment before the kid spoke up. “Do you just… always carry tracking devices?”

“You never know when you’ll need ‘em. Better safe than sorry. Like with knives. And guns. Weapons in general.”

“...I guess that’s fair?”

“C’mon.” Desti turned around. “We have some potatoes to mash…”

As the group ran off, they didn’t notice the cloaked figure watching them. The eyes of her plague mask glowed orange.

“Looks like there’s someone else on their trail,” she said. “Sheriff and two girls. Purple and orange hair. One’s… pretty short.”

“...Interesting. I did not know they were here.”

“You know these two?”

“Only by association. I know a friend of theirs. Keep an eye out. They are dangerous to the operation. For now, focus on the Spud Buds and finding out what they’re after.”

The cloaked woman nodded. “Got it. Out.” She ended the communication and leapt down into an alleyway, vanishing into the shadows.

“Alright, so this is the place they said to meet.” Yam looked around, holding the canister in his hand. “She said that someone would be coming to take the package.”

“Do we even know who we’re working for?” Russet asked.

“Who cares?” Mash shrugged. “Long as we’re getting paid and getting to commit crime, I’m happy!”

“Agreed.” Sweets crossed her arms. “So now we wait, I guess…”

Suddenly, Russet froze. “Someone in the shadows. Watching us.” He pulled out his gun and pointed it towards the corner. “Who’s there?!”

After a moment of silence, a familiar spear flew out and hit Russet in the head, knocking him to the ground. A blast of ink hit the canister, knocking it out of Yam’s hands. The three remaining Spud Buds immediately equipped their weapons.

“It’s the sheriff!” Yam shouted. As he did, Auri leapt out of the shadows, joined by Meggy and Desti. He snatched his spear up and charged forward, crossing it with Sweets’ scythe.

Meanwhile, Desti used her knives against Yam’s peeler. “You just won’t quit , will you?!” the Spud Bud leader snapped.

“Nah.” Desti shrugged, pushing Yam back and twirling her knives. “Quitting’s not my thing. If I were gonna quit, I’d have done it a year ago.”

At the same time, Meggy and Mash fired off shots at each other. “Bang! Boom! Pow!” Mash gleefully exclaimed as he fired.

“Still crazy as ever…” Meggy muttered to herself as she aimed her weapon. She fired a few shots of orange ink out of it, which hit Mash and knocked him to the ground, his fry gun flying from his hands.

“Hey!” Mash shouted. “No fair! You didn’t have a paintball gun last time!”

“I think that just makes it more fair this time…” Meggy muttered, rolling her eyes and kicking Mash’s gun further away from him.

“Yeah, well, we don’t play fair!” Russet shouted, leaping up behind Meggy. Before he could even aim his gun, Meggy whipped around and shot his gun out of his hand.

“...oh.”

Meggy then shot him in the face and sent him flying into the wall. She then turned her attention towards Desti and Auri.

Desti was holding her ground fine. Her smaller weapons gave her an advantage over Yam, whose larger, heavier weapon cost him time. Desti didn’t even need to use her knives offensively; she ducked under a swing and then kicked up, knocking Yam’s weapon from his hands. She then tackled him to the ground and drew her knives.

“Maybe it’s a good idea to stay down, yeah?” 

Auri, meanwhile, was still clashing with Sweets. With a twirl of her scythe, she forced Auri’s spear out of his hand. It clattered to the ground nearby as she knocked Auri down and brought the scythe closer.

“Sorry, baby,” she said with a smirk. “Looks like it’s over for you.”

“Fat chance!” Auri grinned and slammed his foot right into her knee. Sweets yelped, collapsing, and Auri rolled out of the way, snatching up his spear. He knocked her scythe away from her and them pointed the spear down at her back.

“Stay down,” he said, poking her in the back.

“Well, that wasn’t too hard.” Desti pocketed her knives. “Now where’s that thing they had…?”

The trio turned in the direction that Meggy’s shot had knocked it… only to see a cloaked figure picking it up.

“Interesting…” she muttered, looking it over. “My employer will love this.”

???

-Mysterious

-Why a plague mask of all things?

Auri looked over the newcomer. “Who is that?”

“Who cares?” Desti stepped toward the mystery woman. “Hand that over. It’s evidence.”

“...Nah.” The cloaked woman fired a grappling hook out the warehouse’s window and rocketed out, the canister in hand.

“Dammit!” Desti shouted. “And who was  that?”

“I’m not sure…” Auri frowned. “I’ve never seen her before. But you gotta admit, she is kinda cool…”

Desti glanced at him.

“What? Did you see how she just swung out of here? I don’t condone her behavior, but she can still look cool!”

“...Whatever.” Desti sighed. “Let’s just get these guys locked up.” She gestured to the Spud Buds, who were just beginning to recover.

“This is all your fault!” Russet snapped, the three Spud Buds now in a jail cell in the police station. “If you hadn’t taken that job, we could be off somewhere else now, gettin’ rich!”

“This job was supposed to make us rich!” Yam crossed his arms. “If that stupid sheriff and his friends hadn’t gotten in the way, we’d be fine !”

Mash pulled out some popcorn from who knows where. “I like where this is going.”

Sweets smirked. “Yeah… I think I do, too.”

In the living room, Desti flopped onto a beanbag chair. “Ugh, sometimes I hate my job. I just want one nice day of vacation, thank you…”

“I hear ya…” Meggy sighed. “I think I’m gonna go get a snack…”

“Same here.”

As Meggy and Desti left, Auri sat down on the couch. “Welp, I’m gonna watch some TV!” He pressed the power button, turning the TV on… right onto a news station.

“–ones behind the murder of the princess are still at large,” the anchor said. “If you see any of these people, please report them to your local authorities so they can be brought in for treason.”

On the screen, images of various people came up. Auri recognized some of them from Meggy’s old picture, though the blue man had lost the mustache, and the pink- and blue-haired women both looked... different. However, what drew his focus was that there were pictures of Meggy and Desti.

After a moment, he scoffed. “News channels, always making stuff up to get views. I know my partner! She’d never do something like that. Ignored.”

He switched the channel just as Meggy and Desti came in, both holding sandwiches. “Hey, Auri,” Meggy said. “What’re you turning on?”

“Dunno.” Auri shrugged. “I just thought after today, we could use a movie night or something.”

“That cloaked girl is still out there…” Desti noted. “We can’t let our guard down too long.”

“It’s just one night, Desti!” Auri looked over to his partner’s girlfriend. “And besides, if you overwork yourself, you’ll end up too tired to do anything! I learned that the hard way.”

After a moment, Desti sighed. “Alright, I guess.”

“Yay!” Auri grinned. “C’mon, I have a great movie idea!”

As Meggy and Desti sat down on the couch, Meggy took Desti’s hand and smiled. Desti let a small smile creep onto her face in return, and then the two turned their attention to the TV as Auri turned the movie on.

In an office in Port Aurora, the cloaked woman set her plague mask down on the desk, right beside the strange device. “Here you go,” she said. “The device your old employees were trying to steal.”

“What is it?” the robotic, text-to-speech voice asked.

“Do I look like I know?” She shrugged. “It’s… a thing. I dunno what it does.”

“Hm.” After a moment of silence, the other person spoke up again. “This is an… intriguing development. There may very well be someone trying to move in on my territory. I trust you know to remain loyal?”

“You know it, boss.”

“Good. Now get out there and figure out what’s going on. Also, maybe take care of some other jobs while you’re at it.”

The woman put her mask back on and nodded. “On it, boss.” With that, she turned and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

Chapter Text

The Maloy Casino was dark, the lights out. Security roamed the halls, having been increased after a… particular theft a couple years prior.

One Bori hummed as she walked down the hallway. “Dum-dee dum… just doin’ my rounds, patrollin’ the halls…”

As she shone her light around the room, for a brief moment, she saw what appeared to be a cloaked figure. “Wh-Who’s there?!” she cried, backing up. “I-I’ll have you know I’m a yellow belt in karate!”

Suddenly, there was a presence behind her. A voice whispered into her ear. “That’s the second-lowest belt.”

The Bori yelped, turning around before the Cloak knocked her out with a single kick. She huffed. “Security guards used to be good. I miss those days…”

With that, Cloak turned and stormed towards the vault elevator. She inserted the keys (stolen from the Maloy brothers’ rooms), and the elevator door slid shut.

The door slid open, and Cloak looked around the hallway. She lifted her right arm, revealing it to be cybernetic. A nozzle folded out of her wrist, spraying out a fine dust that settled around the hallway, revealing the lasers.

“Thought you could hide ‘em, huh…?” she muttered. She pressed a button on her arm, activating a small energy shield that covered it. Her flesh hand then grabbed a small ball from her waist and rolled it into the hallway. After a moment, it let out a burst, and the lasers shut off.

With another button press, the energy shielding on her arm dissipated. Cloak moved forward, reaching the inner chamber where the riches were kept. She dug around for a bit before pulling out a large red jewel. “There you are…”

Cloak

-Real name: ???

-Deadly infiltrator

-Out-emos Desti (somehow)

She turned around and dashed back through the hallway, making it to the elevator just as the lasers turned back on. She pressed the button to go up.

“Huh.” She looked over the jewel. “Easier than expected. Paisano will be happy I’ve gotten this. Idiots didn’t even know what they had under their noses.”

As the door slid open, she froze. Standing on the other side were Froy and Doy Maloy, alongside their pet tiger.

“You really think you could steal from the Maloys?” Froy asked. “Tig Tig, wrestleslouche.”

The tiger roared, lunging at Cloak. She swiftly ducked under it, flipping to support herself with her hands and kicking the animal from below, sending it flying into a wall.

“Tig Tig!” Froy cried in horror.

Cloak regained her footing, leaping over Froy and Doy and weaving through the gunfire of their security. She leapt out a window, grabbing the fringes of her cloak and using it as a sort of glider to fly off.

“Ohh, what are we going to do?” Froy asked.

Doy sighed. “Our security wasn’t good enough to take them down. Which means we have to turn to other methods…”

“You’re not suggesting we turn to them?” Froy turned. “You know he won’t like that, not after he put a bounty on them!”

“He doesn’t need to know.” Doy grinned. “We just call them in, get them to get our items back, and stop this thief before Paisano takes all our territory. And after that, we report their presence to Shadow. Simple.”

“If you’re sure it’ll work…” Froy crossed his arms. “But if this goes wrong, it’s on you.”

“Yes, yes.” Doy sighed, pulling out his phone. “Let’s just get the sheriff over here already…

I run and hide,

But there’s no hiding from yourself…

Can’t escape

Gotta find my own way out…

Now there’s no time to take a break.

Gotta push against what is fake.

Now you and me, side by side,

All of us can win the fight!

Now you see the truth of me,

Breaking under reality,

Begging to finally be free

From this darkened night!

Stand together, we stay strong.

Guess you’re what I was missing all along.

Now I think everything’s going wrong

And only one end in sight…

Back in this Sunset Paradise!

Desti rubbed her eyes with her forefinger and thumb. It was far too early to be out here right now. She took another sip of her coffee before glancing back at Doy. “So… what happened again?”

“Some cloaked woman stole a jewel from our vault!” Doy cried, tears in his eyes. “It was so special to us, too… a family heirloom, yes…”

Meggy was looking at the two, an unamused expression on her face. Auri was downstairs, looking through the crime scene (with security escorts, of course).

“Right…” Desti sighed. “That cloaked woman again… she’s been popping up a bit lately. Y’all know what’s up with her?”

“No.” Froy shook his head. “We’d heard Paisano had stepped up his game, but…”

Meggy perked up. “Paisano…?”

“A crime boss based here in Port Aurora,” Doy explained. “He is trying to take over everything that your egg friend left behind… and our business!”

“I swear I’ve heard that somewhere…” Desti muttered to herself. She shook her head. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Alright, I’m back!” Auri dashed up to the group. “Seems the only thing stolen was that jewel. Weird, huh?”

“Yeah. Weird…” Desti frowned, her eyes flitting towards the Maloy brothers briefly before turning back towards Auri. “Well, whatever’s with this… ‘Cloak’ person… we’ll find her and take her in.”

“That’s the spirit!” Auri grinned. He glanced over as the Maloys walked off. “Did you get any information from the Maloys?”

“Th-They said she was working for someone called… ‘Paisano’...?” Meggy placed a finger to her chin in thought. “Some crime boss, apparently.”

“I still can’t shake the feeling I’ve heard that before…” Desti muttered to herself.

“Jewel’s yours, boss,” Cloak said, placing the gem down on the desk. “Not sure why you wanted it… I bet I coulda kept a gem that rare safe…”

“Competition is rising everywhere,” Paisano said from the shadows. “Ever since I took down the last person who tried to reap what Benedict left, I have had my hands on this town. But with the loss of the Spud Buds, I am slipping. People will sense that. They will act. They will come, Luci. They already have started.”

Cloak (or, Luci, I suppose) crossed her arms. “So… what do you want me to do?”

“...Find out who bought out the Spud Buds. I was hasty in removing them from my services. Take down this rival so I can be back on top.”

“And… what does this gem have to do with that?”

“I will determine that shortly. You may do what you wish until I call upon you again.” The wheelchair Paisano was sitting in turned, rolling out from behind the desk so he could properly face Luci. “Go.”

Luci nodded, turning around and walking out of the office, leaving Paisano behind. The crime boss turned his wheelchair towards the gem.

“Now, as for you… let’s see if this is what I think it is.”

“So… you find anything out?”

Auri glanced around as they departed the casino, making sure nobody was listening before he answered Desti. “Yeah. A little. That gem left some sort of residue behind. Some of that residue was also left at the last place the Spud Buds struck.”

Meggy frowned. “So… it’s some kind of trail? This is all… focused ?”

“Seems that way.” Desti stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Was it like this before, when you were here?”

“Kinda.” Meggy hummed in thought. “But they were more just causing some chaos on their own, not just as Benedict’s people. The Spud Buds committed petty crimes, Whisk petty theft. Those were outside of Benedict’s instruction. These guys… they seem focused this time.”

“Maybe we should talk to the mayor…” Auri muttered.

“Oh yeah, you got a new mayor.” Meggy glanced at him. “What’s he like?”

“He’s… different.” Auri frowned. “A little two-dimensional, but he’s cool! He helped drive out some of Benedict’s remaining underlings after he arrived about a month ago.”

“A month?” Desti frowned. “He’s only been here a month and he’s mayor?”

“What can I say? For such a quiet guy, he’s got charm.”

Desti squinted, her eyes flitting to the ground as she pondered something.

“Off topic.” Meggy frowned, a small bit of something in her eyes… sadness, perhaps? “We need to find this person and bring her in.”

“Y-Yeah.” Desti shook herself out of her thoughts. She glanced at Meggy, a worried look crossing her face.

“Well, onwards!” Auri grinned. “We don’t have forever!”

As Auri dashed ahead, Desti stopped at Meggy’s side. “Hey… you okay?”

Meggy sighed. “I… I’m fine.”

“Meggy… what have we said about internalizing?” Desti frowned. “I know I’m bad about it too, but…”

A beat passed. Meggy finally relented with another sigh. “I just… this was supposed to be a vacation for us. I wanted a break from… from all this crazy, y’know? I don’t like being thrust right back into it…” She shook her head. “I must sound selfish…”

“No…” Desti took her head. “I understand. It’s… been hectic lately. Wren and recovering from that, Puzzles, now this…”

Meggy nodded. “I just… want a break.”

“NEVER FEAR!”

The two jumped at the voice as Auri leapt in. “SHERIFF AURI IS HERE!” He grinned, turning to them. “You two don’t have to worry about anything. I can take care of it!”

Meggy and Desti glanced at each other. “Are… you sure?” Meggy asked. “We don’t wanna leave you on your own…”

“Relax!” Auri placed his hands on his hips proudly. “I’ve kept this place pretty stable since you’ve been gone, haven’t I? Sure, I had some help from the Funky Fource and Duke sometimes, but… most of the time, it’s just me. I’ll be fine!”

“I mean… I guess…” Meggy blinked. “W-Wait, Duke’s with the Funky Fource?”

“Yeah.” Auri grinned. “They’ve really turned around! But like I said, I’ll be fine!”

“Let him do it, Meggy.” Desti squeezed her hand a little. “Kid’s tough. Besides…” She smirked. “I think we both could do with some time with each other for a while, for a change.”

“You sure you won’t… get in a fight or something, though?” Auri asked. “Way I heard, you two used to fight a lot.”

Meggy chuckled. “That was before we were dating. Sure, we still butt heads on some things…”

“I will always beat your ass in Smash, wimp~.”

“...We’ll see about that. Point is, yeah, we’re still kinda rivals, but we’re also dating. It’s… it’s complicated to explain.”

“...Alright?”

“Well… c’mon then, Spletzer. Let’s just take a day, yeah?” Desti smiled. After a bit, Meggy couldn’t help but smile back.

“Alright.” She turned to Auri. “But you better keep yourself safe, okay?”

“Don’t worry, partner!” Auri saluted his (relatively) taller friend. “I can handle it! You go enjoy yourself!”

Auri turned and dashed off, determination in his eyes. Meggy giggled. “Always so sure of himself…”

“Well, I think if he’s maintained peace here on his own for this long, it’s warranted.” Desti nodded back towards an ice cream shop nearby. “C’mon, I have an idea.”

Meggy’s eyes sparkled at the sight. “ICE CREAM!” She dashed ahead, dragging a laughing Desti behind her…

On the shoreline of Port Aurora, a familiar face stepped off a boat. Whisk looked around nervously. “J-Jeez… been a while since I was here last…”

“Miss Whisk?”

Whisk blinked, looking down to see a yellow Bori looking up at her. “U-Uhm… y-yes, that’s me…”

“Package for you.” She held out a small yellow package. Whisk reluctantly took it and watched as the Bori left. She opened it up to find a recorder inside. After a moment, Whisk pressed the play button.

“Welcome back, Whisk,” a female voice with a Southern accent said. It almost sounded familiar, but Whisk couldn’t quite place it… “I have an update on your job. There’s someone I’d like to recruit here in Port Aurora. I want you to find her and get her on our side. Do that and stick around through the end of the plan, and you’ll get what you were promised.”

The message ended, and Whisk let out a sigh. “Mmmmh…” She walked off into the city, already dreading her upcoming job… and what was at stake for her.

“Hmmmm…” Auri scrolled through the Internet, looking at various sightings of this “Cloak” person. “So they’ve only been showing up recently, huh…?”

Auri thought to himself. “All these thefts… they have just a few things in common… night, particularly rare things, especially gemstones, and leaving money behind… it’s weird. And there’s no record of any of these things popping up on the black market…”

It confused Auri. It just didn’t make sense. If someone was collecting gems like that, surely they’d want to sell them?

“Best bet to find them is to find a place with some rare gems, I suppose.” Auri opened up a new tab. “But where…?”

“So… what do you wanna do now?” Desti asked as she finished up her ice cream. “I’m down for whatever.”

“...Super Smash Each Other In The Ass Bros?”

“Hell yeah.” Desti sighed. “Was kinda worried you’d say something like a beach stroll. While it’d be nice…”

“A bit of competition would be better?” Meggy smirked.

“For old times’ sake, of course,” Desti replied, a gleam in her eye.

“...Race you back to Auri’s?”

“Oh, you’re on, Spletzer.”

“Aha!” Auri grinned. “The museum has a huge yellow diamond on display! I bet that’s gonna be a target for her…”

Auri grabbed his spear and turned to head out the door, just as Meggy and Desti entered.

“Wh… what are you guys doing here?” Auri asked. “You’re supposed to be enjoying your day while I track this guy down!”

“We are.” Desti smirked. “I’m about to kick her ass in Smash.”

“No you’re not.” Meggy frowned. “Hey, Auri… you’re sure you don’t need any help?”

“Positive!” Auri grinned. “And this time, I’m not being stubborn and overly confident!” He paused for a moment. “Probably!”

“If you say so…” Meggy watched as Auri ran out the door, headed off towards the museum.

“You’re worried.”

Meggy rolled her eyes. “Of course I am. He’s a kid.”

“You know… so were you, when all that shit went down with Francis.” Desti sighed. “Hell, I was barely out of being a kid at the time.”

“Twenty is more than “barely out”, Desti.”

“It’s two years. It counts.”

Meggy rolled her eyes. “Sure, Sinawe. C’mon, I wanna kick your ass already.”

“Oh, you’re on, ginger.”

“‘Scuse me?!”

Later that night, after the sun had set, Auri watched the museum from a nearby rooftop with a pair of binoculars.

“Nothing… nothing… oh, wait! Oop, no, that’s just a night guard…”

Then, he saw it. A shadow move from one rooftop over to the museum’s. He grinned widely. “Yes! I was right!” He cleared his throat. “Okay, okay. Sheriff time…”

Auri pulled out his spear and ran over to the ladder, sliding down it, off the rooftop, and onto the street. He then dashed ahead.

“GAME!”

“That’s three to three…” Desti muttered, a frown on her face. “AND THEY’VE ALL BEEN NO CONTEST! HOW ?!”

Meggy giggled. “I guess spending time with Tari has paid off for both of us.”

Desti sighed, setting her controller down. “Whatever. At least I can say I technically kicked your ass.”

“And I can say the same~.”

“Shut up.”

Meggy giggled, leaning against Desti and looking up at her. “What’s the matter? Can’t take what you dish out?”

Desti rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

After a moment of silence, Meggy let out a small, happy sigh. “You know… I don’t say enough how good it feels to just… be with you. You… make it feel okay, after everything that’s… happened . I think only you, Red, and maybe Tari have done that.”

Desti raised an eyebrow, a teasing smirk on her face. “What, should I watch out for them?”

Meggy giggled again. “Nah. You don’t gotta worry about anyone. I picked you …”

Meggy turned herself a bit, a… strange look on her face. “...and I wouldn’t have anyone else.”

Meggy leaned in and kissed Desti. The purple-haired girl was quick to return it. However, what she didn’t expect was for Meggy to deepen it, slipping her tongue into Desti’s mouth. 

The two made out for a minute before Desti felt a tug on her shirt. She paused, breaking the kiss to look down and see Meggy clinging to it, tugging on it lightly. She met Meggy’s eyes, and… saw a wanting look to them.

“Desti…” Meggy mumbled, and Desti realized what she was asking.
“You… sure?” Desti asked, light concern in her eyes. “I don’t want to rush you on this, not while you’re still… dealing with stuff.”

Meggy was silent for a moment, but then nodded. “I’m sure. I… I want to do this.”

“...Okay. But… maybe not on Auri’s couch?”

“Oh. Uh… y-yeah.” Meggy looked down, her face red. “S-Sorry. I just… I’ve never done this before. I’m…”

“Nervous?”

Meggy nodded.

“It’s okay.” Desti squeezed her hand. “I’ll give you some pointers, yeah? And… if anything is too much, tell me.”

Meggy nodded. “O-Okay…”

“Alright.” Desti gestured with her head towards the guest room where she and Meggy stayed. “C’mon, then. Let’s… let’s go.”

Meggy giggled, and the two headed into the guest room Auri lent to them. They shut the door behind them and locked it with a soft click.

Inside the museum, a particular cloaked figure roamed the halls. Luci snuck up to the display case housing the yellow diamond.

“Finally…” She grinned. “My beautiful baby…”

“NOPE!”

She was smacked in the face by a certain spear. She stumbled back, clutching her mask. “OW! WHAT THE HELL?!”

The spear ricocheted off the wall and landed back in its owner’s hands. Auri Bori grinned. “Stop right there, vile villain!”

Luci groaned. “Great… the kid again… guess this is busted. Welp, later!” She whipped around and dashed off, leaving Auri behind.

“W-Wait!” Auri groaned. “C’mon!”

He took off after her, tossing his spear. She leapt aside, leaving it to smack into the wall. Auri grabbed it as he ran past before leaping up, using it to swing from the light fixtures and close in on her.

“HOW IS THIS KID SO GOOD!?” she cried.

Auri let out a yell as he flew downwards towards Luci, swinging his spear. She quickly whipped out a pair of knives, blocking the attack.

“Hey!” Auri shouted. “Knives are Desti’s thing!”

“More than one person can use knives, darling.” Luci smirked. “Here, let me show you!”

Luci swung the knives, prompting Auri to jump back to dodge. She leapt into the air, twirled around, and swung again, forcing Auri to block with his spear. 

This back and forth kept going for a bit, as Luci and Auri exchanged blows. Eventually, Auri managed to get a lucky shot in, knocking her mask off and causing it to break against the ground.

“Y-You child!” she shouted angrily, her hood falling to reveal the face of a young woman with blonde hair, purple highlights, and green eyes. “I liked that mask!”

Auri then smacked her in the face with his spear, knocking her to the ground. “You gotta stop taking moments to get angry. I’m not gonna pause for dramatic effect or whatever. That’d be stupid.”

Suddenly, a small device crashed through the window. Auri only got a small glimpse at it before the flashbang went off, blinding him temporarily. Auri yelped, rubbing his eyes until the haze faded. When he could see again, Luci was gone. 

“...Welp. At least I stopped her from stealing the diamond.” Auri grinned, posing heroically. “Win for Auri Bori!”

Luci groaned, rubbing her eyes as she recovered. “What in the…?” She looked around, noticing that she was on a rooftop. “Where…?”

“Hey, Luci. Been awhile.”

Luci looked up to see a familiar white-haired cat burglar standing nearby. She stood up a smirk on her face. “Kat, darling, so wonderful to see you.”

Whisk huffed, crossing her arms. “I told you not to call me that anymore…”

“So why the rescue?” Luci moved a little closer, a shit-eating grin on her face. “You wanna get back together again?”

“Hell no .” Whisk pushed her away. “I’ve been hired to recruit you. And, despite my better judgement, I’m going along with it. I have too much on the line here.”

“Awww…” Luci scoffed, turning away, though the teasing edge remained in her tone. “And here I was thinking you wanted to see me.”

“Not in a million years.”

“Look, tell Paisano I’ll do it, okay? He doesn’t need to get on my case.”

“Paisano’s on his way out,” Whisk replied. “Someone new is coming in. She’s… more ruthless, which I assume is your style.”

“...does she pay more?”

“Probably.”

“Then sign me right up!” Luci grinned. “It’s gonna be great working together again.”

“...sure.”

Auri groaned as he walked into the house. “Ugh… well, that coulda gone better. At least I saved the diamond…”

As he entered the living room area, he noticed a strange silence. “...Meggy? Desti? Are you there…?”

He heard muffled whispering coming from the guest room, followed by a few… noises. It sounded like they were in a rush?

After a moment, Meggy poked her head out. Her hair was a little messy, her clothes looked like they were hastily thrown on, and… was that a bite mark on her neck?

“A-Auri! You’re back!” Meggy smiled nervously. “G-Good to see you!”

“Are you okay, Meggy?” Auri frowned. “You seem… off.”

“She’s fine,” Desti said, leaning in the doorway. Her clothes looked a little less rough than Meggy’s, but her normally-smoothed hair was somewhat messy as well. It was... odd. “We were just… waiting. Yeah.”

“...Okay.” Auri sighed. “She got away, but I did stop her from stealing the yellow diamond!”

“Nice!” Meggy smiled. “It’s… really late, though. You should probably get some sleep.”

“Yeah…” Auri sighed. “I’ll get to sleep. Maybe… tomorrow we can have more success in finding her. Whatever happened, someone helped him escape.”

“Weird…” Desti frowned. “Well… we’ll figure it out tomorrow, yeah?”

Auri frowned. “You sure? You’re supposed to be taking a vacation…”

“Hey, we should be able to help you sometimes.” Desti shrugged. “Besides, I’d get bored without much action.”

After a moment of considering, Meggy smirked. “Oh, I bet you love action~...”

This flustered Desti for some reason that Auri didn’t understand. “Sh-Shut up…”

“Anyways…” Meggy turned back to Auri. “Get some rest, kid. We’ll be going to bed soon anyways. We’re gonna have some big days ahead.”

“Alright.” Auri nodded. “And… thanks. For… having my back.”

Meggy smiled. “Anytime, partner.”

As Auri retreated towards his beanbag, Desti pulled Meggy back into the room, shutting the door. “So… round two?”

“Nah.” Meggy glanced back towards the door. “Auri needs to rest, and… we weren’t exactly quiet.”

Desti laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Fair ‘nough. C’mon, let’s get some sleep.”

The two headed over towards their bed as the moonlight floated into the room, a silence soon settling over the house…

Inside Paisano’s office, he gazed at the results of the tests.

“It seems I was correct.” He turned towards the gem. “The residue on this Phoenix Gem matches that which was recovered from the device taken from the Spud Buds. It would seem that whoever hired the Spud Buds after my discharge of them is after the Ashes. This is… unsettling. It seems that I may need assistance soon.”

Chapter Text

I run and hide,

But there’s no hiding from yourself…

Can’t escape

Gotta find my own way out…

Now there’s no time to take a break.

Gotta push against what is fake.

Now you and me, side by side,

All of us can win the fight!

Now you see the truth of me,

Breaking under reality,

Begging to finally be free

From this darkened night!

Stand together, we stay strong.

Guess you’re what I was missing all along.

Now I think everything’s going wrong

And only one end in sight…

Back in this Sunset Paradise!

The sun shone bright on Port Aurora. Luci looked down on the area, specifically a farm area on the opposite side of the road, and groaned.

“Do we have to do this in broad daylight…?” she muttered, looking over to Whisk with an annoyed expression.

“I dislike it as much as you, but the package can’t be collected at nighttime. Why, I don’t know, but that’s what she said.” Whisk shrugged. “Whatever the reason, you’re being paid enough to not care.”

“Fair.” Luci glanced at her. “You?”

“Hm?”

“What’re they offering you?”

Whisk clenched her fist for a moment, but then relaxed it. “...enough to stop being solo.”

Luci smirked knowingly. “Did they pick at your bleeding heart again? I told you caring about anyone else was a bloody weakness.”

“There is a reason I broke up with you.”

“...I’m guessing it wasn’t my garbage cooking.”

“You know why.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Luci rolled her eyes, looking around. “Y’know, we could hit that hotel over there later.” Luci pointed to a hotel off in the distance. “Looks big, fancy. Probably some people with big pockets in there…”

“No.” Whisk glared at her from behind the mask. “We’ll hit somewhere else. We’re not robbing that hotel.”

“Jeez, chill, girl.” Luci waved her off. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you got something important there.”

“...”

“Is that what they’re bribing you with?” Luci grinned, resting an elbow on Whisk’s shoulder. “Again, bleeding heart, weakness.”

“Off.” Whisk elbowed Luci in the stomach, knocking her off (and knocking the wind out of her).

“Oooh, Whisk…” Luci smirked. “Still playin’ rough, eh?”

“Shut up already.” Whisk held up a familiar device; the very same that the Spud Buds had used. “Our boss needs those Ashes.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Luci shrugged. “Fine. Let’s get on with it, then.”

Luci and Whisk leapt down, jumping from rooftop to rooftop until they reached the ground. They landed right behind a female Aura Bora farmer. She jumped, turning around.

“Hey!” she shouted, a Southern accent slipping through. “What’re y’all doin’?!”

Whisk aimed her weapon at the Bora and sprayed her with some of the gas. The Bora screamed, flailing about. “N-No! I’m sorry, Mom! I’ll eat my vegetables, I promise!”

“Girl with vegetable trauma became a farmer.” Luci snorted in amusement. “I guess exposure therapy is a thing…”

“Shut up already.” Whisk pointed the canister-like device towards the crops. “Let’s get this over with.”

She pressed a button on the side of the device, and the top opened up. Orange particles began being pulled from the plants and into the canister. As they left, the plants themselves began to die, the soil becoming infertile.

“Jeez…” Luci glanced at Whisk. “That’s… interesting.”

Whisk turned it off once the glowing particles stopped flowing. “We should get out of here. Drop it off at the meeting point, collect the next one.”

“Right.” Whisk and Luci used their grappling hooks to pull them up onto a nearby building’s roof, just as the farmer recovered.

“Aw, man…” she muttered, looking over her once-ripe crops, now reduced to dust. “I gotta call this in…”

Whisk and Luci opened up the warehouse door. The light spilled in, filling up most of the warehouse.

“So… what? Is she gonna meet us here, or…?”

Whisk sighed. “Probably not. C’mon.”

The two moved further in, eventually reaching the center of the warehouse. After a moment, a voice came up.

“So, ya did your end. Good.”

“Who’s there?!” Luci shouted.

“Relax, darlin’. I’m the one who employed ya.” It seemed like it was coming from a radio somewhere in the warehouse, the sound echoing around the building and increasing in volume as a result. “Set the Urn down. Let’s make this quick, I don’t have long.”

“Urn?”

“This thing.” Whisk set the device down in front of her. “There you go. Now…”

“To your right.”

A light lit up a still-darkened area, revealing another Urn, alongside a stack of money. The two mercenaries moved over and scooped up their respective shares, with Whisk grabbing the Urn.

“So… what’s stopping us from grabbin’ the money and dipping?” Luci asked.

“...I have my ways.”

Unknown to the duo, a pistol was focused on them from the rafters above.

“Seems I can trust ya, though. Good. Keep it up. You know the other dropoff locations. Gather Ashes, fill those Urns, an’ drop ‘em off. Simple. Now… get outta here. I got places to be here in a few minutes… well, sorta.”

Whisk nodded and headed out. Luci hesitantly followed. As the two stepped out of the warehouse, Luci moved over beside her.

“So… what’s her deal?”

“Dunno.” Whisk shrugged. “She wants these… ‘Urns’ filled, and that’s all that matters.” The cat-human hybrid glanced towards the ground. “I swear , though… I feel like I’ve heard her voice before…”

“‘Course you have, she’s your bloody employer!” Luci rolled her eyes. “Crikey, Katphish, ya need your head checked?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What? It’s just your last name!”

“Meggy!”

Meggy blinked as Desti snapped her out of her thoughts. There was a semi-annoyed expression on her face. “Yo, you spaced out for a bit there. You good?”

“Y-Yeah.” Meggy shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Just… a little tired.”

“Well, maybe don’t take walks so early.” Desti crossed her arms. “You just got back to sleeping decently .”

“I know, I know…” Meggy sighed. “Look, just… let’s get back to work for now, okay? I’ll… figure that out later.”

“...Right.” Desti turned back to the farmer. “So, you were saying?”

“So, these two girls showed up!” the farmer continued. “One was kinda dark-sinned, white hair, cat ears and tail. The other had a cloak on and spoke kinda Australian.”

“Whisk and that cloaked girl from before…” Auri put his hand to his chin. “So they’re working together, then?”

“Seems like it.” Meggy glanced back at the farmer. “So… what? They steal your money? Your… I dunno. What’d they take?”

“I don’t even know.” The farmer frowned. “They sprayed me with this freaky gas thing and then when everything cleared, all my crops were dead an’ they were gone!”

“Whisk got her gas gun back?” Auri frowned. “I thought that was destroyed when we fought Benedict!”

“She must’ve gotten a new one, then,” Desti noted. “She used it last time I saw her.”

Auri and Meggy quickly turned to Desti. “You’ve met Whisk?” Meggy asked, naturally surprised at this revelation.

“Oh, yeah. She and I worked a case once.” Desti shrugged. “Guess she just works for whoever pays her.”

“Don’t worry, miss!” Auri placed his hands on his hips, grinning. “We can bring them in!”

“Please do. And figure out what they did to my crops.” She frowned, looking over her empty field. “Ah know the others won’t want this happenin’ to them…”

“So…” Desti glanced towards her girlfriend as they and Auri headed off. “What do you make of it?”

Meggy tapped her chin. “Well… Whisk and Cloak are clearly being employed by the same person. Maybe it’s that Paisano guy? Cloak did seize that other… thing. Whatever those are.”

“Wait…” Auri frowned. “When the Spud Buds ran out of that plant shop with that device… the plants inside, they were all dead too.”

“You think they’re using it to keep… killing plants, I guess?” Meggy asked. “Why would they wanna do that?”

“Okay, lemme think…” Desti muttered, rubbing her forehead with her thumb and forefinger. “Whisk and Cloak are using weird glowing orange devices to… to kill plants. But why…?”

Auri paused. “Wait… glowing orange.” Auri turned around, looking back at the field. “The plants withered to dust…”

“You thinking of something, Auri?” Meggy asked, kneeling down next to the kid. “Whatcha got?”

“...What if they’re draining the Phoenix energy from the life around here?” Auri suggested. “The orange aura, the fact that life withers anywhere these devices show up… it kinda adds up.”

“I didn’t even know someone could do that.” Meggy frowned. “Can they drain the Phoenix Ashes out of the plants?”

“Evidence points to yes.” Desti jerked her head to gesture back towards the farm. “So what exactly are Phoenix Ashes again?”

“Ashes that came from the Phoenix Egg,” Auri explained. “They give our island life. Without them, Port Aurora would go barren. Life would all just… die out. This is a lot worse than I thought if it’s true. We have to stop them!”

Desti groaned, her head falling back. “Can we just have a goddamn vacation without something that threatens life itself?”

“I mean… you can just keep vacationing, if you want…” Auri looked down. “I mean… you’re here on vacation, after all.”

“No.” Meggy shook her head. “No, we have to help. We’re not gonna let any innocent lives be lost.” She glanced to Desti. “ Right ?”

“Ehhhh…”

“Desti!”

Desti snorted. “C’mon, you know I’m messin’ with ya, Spletzer. Of course we won’t.” She wrapped an arm around her girlfriend and turned attention to Auri. “Been through too much crap to leave people to rot now.”

“Awww…” Meggy smirked, glancing at Desti. “Why, Sinawe, I’m so proud of you! You’ve grown so much.”

“Don’t patronize me, babe.” Desti returned her attention to their Bora friend. “But yeah, we’re helping. Don’t try and stop us, we’ll do it anyways.”

“...Alright then.” Auri shrugged. “Welp, let’s go, partners! There’s gotta be a trail!”

Auri ran off, and Meggy and Desti quickly followed him.

What followed was an extremely close chase. Whisk and Luci would drain an area of its Phoenix energy, swap out their urns, and move on. Meggy, Desti, and Auri would show up soon after, each time a little closer to finding them. A greenhouse, a garden, from the palm trees on the beach; anywhere with plant life, where it could flourish, where it had potential to flourish, they drained.

“And that’s five of those things,” Luci said as they set a newly filled Urn in a warehouse. “How many more of these?”

Whisk looked over the new Urns. A map of Port Aurora hung over them. “Multiple this time. Interesting…”

“Why would she suddenly change tactics?” Luci asked. “It’s odd…”

“She wants us to go for the big score,” Whisk muttered, looking at the map. The boardwalk market was circled. “Where else could you get a whole bunch of Phoenix Ashes?”

“Sweet!” Luci grinned. “Well, let’s get goin’, mate!”

“...You sure about all this?” Whisk asked. “We’re draining life from the island…”

“Psh.” Luci rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Whisk. It’s just a couple gardens and whatnot. It’s not like we’re drainin’ the whole island or somethin’ like that. And even if we were, think of the payout.”

“...Yeah.” Whisk looked down. “I… wanna make a stop first. If that’s alright.”

Luci shrugged. “Sure. Whatever.” She walked off carrying two Urns, leaving Whisk with the other two. Whisk picked one up and looked it over. Her face couldn’t be seen from behind her mask, so whatever she might be thinking couldn’t be discerned. After a moment, Whisk turned and followed Luci out of the warehouse.

Meggy frowned as she looked over what had once been a garden of beautiful plants, now all reduced to dust. “Geez… how can they think this is okay?”

“Money, plain and simple.” Desti shrugged. “Whisk is selfish. This Cloak person must be, too.”

“But Whisk has people she cares about. She’s not all bad…” Meggy looked down. “I thought she couldn’t go this low…”

“Well, we can’t be too far now,” Auri noted. “Dust is still settling here. They were here not so long ago. If we hurry, we can catch them!”

The trio ran ahead, stopping these criminals from whatever they were doing their sole priority.

“Seriously?” Luci rolled her eyes as she stood on a rooftop. “That hotel? You wanna stop there?”

“I… w-wanna see someone…” Whisk mumbled, eyes on the hotel below. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

“Whatever. Don’t take too long, mate.”

Whisk leapt down, using her grappling hook to fly over towards the hotel. Luci crossed her arms and sat down on the edge of the rooftop, waiting.

Inside the hotel, a green Aura Bora hummed to himself as he walked down the hallways, pushing a janitor cart. He put it in the janitor’s closet and shut the door.

“Welp, done with my cleaning of every single room in the hotel!” he said, hands on his hips. “Now to head down and take over for Bob at the front desk…”

Suddenly, he heard something land behind him. He slowly turned around to see Whisk towering over him. The cat-human hybrid raised her hand up… and removed her mask.

“H-Hey, Chet.”

“Miss Whisk!” Chet said happily, lighting up as he jumped up into her waiting arms. Whisk twirled around once, giggling a little.

“C-C’mon…” she mumbled. “J-Just Whisk. We’re dating now, no need to be all formal…”

“Right. Sorry, Whisk!”

Whisk chuckled. “It’s okay. Kinda cute.” She pressed her lips to his face briefly before setting the Bora back down. “I was in town, working a job, and… I just wanted to see you. Check in.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, Whisk!” Chet smiled. “I’m doing just wonderful!” He leaned forward. “So what’s this job you’re doing?”

Whisk looked down. “I-It’s… not really a good one…”

“When are they ever good jobs?”

“I mean… fair?” Whisk shrugged. “I just… this one’s different. This client, she’s serious. And something about her…” Whisk shivered. “I… don’t like her. I don’t like most of my bosses, but something’s just really off about her.”

“Hey.” Chet looked up at his (very much taller) girlfriend. “I’m sure things will turn out fine. You’re Whisk! You’re the only person to ever get out of Benedict’s service scot-free. Best cat burglar in all the land!”

Whisk giggled again. “Ch-Chet…!”

“What? It’s true!” Chet smiled. “I’m sure you can pull it off. And then, maybe… we can relax for a bit? Go out to dinner or something, maybe?”

Whisk blushed. “Y-Yeah… that’d be… n-nice…”

“Cool!” Chet grinned. “I do have to get back to work, though, so…”

“Y-Yeah. Right.” Whisk nodded. “I… need to get back to mine, too. See you soon…?”

“Of course!” Chet nodded. “Later, Whisk!”

Whisk smiled as Chet dashed off, a small blush on her face. After a moment, she put her mask back on and turned away.

Luci hummed to herself, kicking her feet as she sat on the rooftop. Whisk had been gone for a while. She… kinda missed her already.

“We shared some good times, the two of us…” she whispered to herself, reminiscing on old memories of when the two had been together. “The banks we robbed, the gigs we pulled… heh. God, I missed having you around…”

Then, she heard feet land behind her. She shook herself out of memory lane and turned around, a cocky smirk returning to her face. “So, you see your partner? It is a partner, isn’t it? Boyfriend, girlfriend, what?”

“Shut up.” Whisk picked up her Urns. “We have places to be.”

“Right around the corner, right?” Luci got to her feet. “Welp. We have places to be, things to do, babe. Let’s get goin’, yeah?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“We’ve got a sighting!” Auri said, jumping up from his chair and leaving the phone dangling. “Someone saw them heading towards the boardwalk!”

“Sweet.” Desti cracked her knuckles. “I’m lookin’ forward to punching some faces in.”

“Let’s go!” Meggy led the group out of Auri’s house. The Spud Buds looked on. Yam smirked.

“Everything’s goin’ according to plan…”

“What are you talkin’ about, Yam?!” Russet shouted. “We’re captured! Arrested! Again!”

“Like I said…” Yam pushed his shades up. “Part of the plan.”

Boras ran screaming as Whisk held one of her Urns above her head. Streams of orange energy flowed into it, filling it up. Luci did the same.

“Aaand… one down!” Luci said, closing her first Urn and trading it for her second. “Man, this place has a lot of this stuff!”

“Yeah.” Whisk glanced over at some Boras that were hiding away, terrified at the strange event unfolding. Her expression couldn’t be determined because of her mask as she switched out her Urns. “...Let’s not take too long.”

“Stop right there, vile villains!”

The two turned to see Auri, Meggy, and Desti had arrived on the scene. Auri’s eyes widened upon seeing what the criminals were doing. “Oh my stars… they ARE taking the Phoenix energy!”

“Then we’ll stop them quickly,” Desti cracked her neck and balled up her fists. “Ready?”

“Ready!” Meggy and Auri said in unison.

Whisk groaned. “Great. Now we have to fight. That’s gonna make this a lot harder.”

“Cheer up, darling!” Luci grinned, tucking her Urn under one arm and pulling out her scythe. “Now we get to take ‘em out!”

Luci lunged forward, spinning her scythe. Auri brought up his spear and blocked her strike. “Go!” he shouted. 

“I’ll help Auri!” Meggy shouted to Desti. “Take Whisk!”

Desti nodded and dashed ahead, her blaster aimed right at Whisk. “Sorry, Whisk, can’t let you keep killing things.”

“It’s just plants,” Whisk countered, leaping out of the way of a few shots. “Not like I’m actually hurting people.”

“Still!” Desti kicked Whisk in the stomach, causing the hybrid to stumble back. “You’re draining the life force from the island! Can’t you see that’s wrong?!”

“You don’t know what’s at stake for me!” Whisk snapped, swiping her claws and scratching Desti across the face. “I can’t back out, not now.”

Meanwhile, Luci punted Auri away, only for Meggy to grab onto her scythe. “Don’t you touch him!” she shouted angrily, yanking the scythe from Luci’s hands.

Luci blinked, staring at the angered Meggy with curiosity. She tilted her head. “...have you ever had a Western accent?”

Meggy froze. “Wh… what?”

“Your voice, you sound like someone I know. Just… she talks all Western-like. Like a bloody cowgirl or somethin’. You got, like, a sister or somethin’?”

Meggy’s eyes darted around as she thought. Panic surged in her mind. What did she… no, no she can’t mean… no. No, she’s dead, she’s gone, SHE’S GONE!

Meggy snapped, grabbing Luci’s cloak and slamming her fist into her face over and over until Luci went limp. She let go of the woman, panting. She looked down at her fist, which was now lightly bloody, then back to Luci. She was breathing still, just unconscious.

“Dammit…” Meggy muttered, clutching her head. “Don’t fall apart again, please… deep breath… deep breath… Splatsville, castle, home, Aurora… Splatsville, castle, home, Aurora…”

“Meggy?”

Meggy let out a sigh, turning back towards a concerned Auri. “S-Sorry, Auri. I… I guess I’m not as put together as I thought…” She looked to the ground, shame on her face as tears started forming. “I… I thought I was better now… I thought I w-was finally okay…”

“Hey…” Auri placed a hand on her leg. “It’s okay to… to not be okay.”

“I know, I know, I just…” Meggy sighed, wiping her eyes. “I hate that it keeps coming back. I just wanna be done with all… all this .” She tapped the side of her head.

Auri frowned, his eyes moving to the ground.

“OW!”

Desti’s yelp of pain caused the two to immediately turn their gaze to her fight with Whisk. There were scratches on her face, and her clothes were lightly torn.

“DESTI!” Meggy shouted. She quickly rushed in as Whisk’s Urn finished filling.

“Finally,” the hybrid muttered, shutting it mere moments before Meggy tackled her to the ground. Meggy tore her mask off, prompting Whisk to yelp. “H-Hey! M-My mask!”

“Don’t. Hurt. My. Girlfriend ,” Meggy hissed, her crimson eyes narrowing.

Whisk blinked. “Y-You’re dating?”

Meggy grabbed Whisk’s head and slammed it against the ground, knocking her out. She took a moment to catch her breath before standing up. She turned her attention to Desti, kneeling down next to her. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll… be fine.” Desti clutched her face lightly. “It’s just a few scratches. I’ll heal.”

“We’ll get these guys back to the cell,” Auri said. “After that, we need to talk to the mayor.”

Desti perked up at that. She scowled. “Yeah, we definitely do. I’d like a word with him myself.”

“Desti?”

“Later.” She released Meggy and moved to scoop up Luci. “Grab Whisk. Let’s get them to their cell, and then we have a mayor to visit…”

In the mayor’s office, the mayor sat, looking out the window behind his desk from his wheelchair.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Desti stormed in. “We need to chat, Mr. Mayor.”

“Desti!” Auri shouted, running in after her alongside Meggy. “We need to warn him about the Ashes being stolen!”

“He knows,” Desti said simply.

“...Huh?”

“It was obvious when I thought about it. You called him two-dimensional, quiet, arrived a couple months ago now?” She smirked. “You meant two-dimensional literally, didn’t you?”

“How did you…?”

“That timing, two months ago… that was around the time we fought Puzzles. About the time a certain someone disappeared. And when I heard the name Paisano, that sealed the deal. Only one guy involved in crime used that name for anything.” Desti stepped forward. “That’s right, bastard, I know about what happened. Three told me. So, Paisano , why don’t you show yourself… or should I call you Marty?”

Meggy’s eyes widened. “Wh…?”

After a moment, the mayor’s wheelchair turned. He rolled around to the side of the desk before turning to face the crew, revealing Desti to be correct: the mayor of Port Aurora, and the criminal mastermind Paisano, was none other than cardboard cutout Marty.

“Hello, Meggy, Desti. It has been some time,” he said in his robotic voice.

“...Okay, now that is something I didn’t expect. You can talk now?”

“Where’s the other one?” Meggy asked. “Y’know, Lui?”

“I… do not know. Lui and I were separated after your melon friend sent us flying. I have been trying to locate him to no avail. It’s hard when you are stuck on an island.”

“Okay, okay.” Desti sighed. “I thought you went straight after the whole thing with the notebook.”

“No. I merely stopped pursuing the notebook.” Marty rolled around to the front of the desk, sitting before the trio. “I am not simply giving up the empire I’ve managed to build, even if I lost Casino Paisano. Unfortunately, the entirety of Port Aurora is now at stake.”

“What are you talking about?” Desti crossed her arms. “And why should we believe you?”

“Across these past few weeks, a new player has moved in,” Marty explained. “I don’t know their goal, but because of them and Whisk, I’ve lost all my best employees. I’m losing power here, and other crime bosses know that. Port Aurora is a valuable place.”

“What are you saying?” Auri asked.

“I am saying that Port Aurora will be ground zero for a gang war. And that the reason for this instability is not just the fault of my new rival, but of you as well.”

“So… got you too, huh?” Russet muttered, looking up at Whisk. “Again.”

“And that chick.” Yam raised an eyebrow. “That the Cloak girl?”

“Luci.” Luci crossed her arms. “I can’t believe we got caught! We’ve never been caught when we’ve worked together before!”

“That’s because this time, it was the plan,” Whisk said, leaning against the wall. “The b-boss, she… she wants us off the streets for what comes next.”

“...Wait.” Russet glared at Yam. “Has that been what you’ve been talking about?”

“Yup.” Yam shrugged. “Couldn’t let everyone in on it just yet. I tell ya, she’s a genius. Gonna give us the best payday yet.”

Whisk looked down, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small locket – a gift from Chet. She frowned. “...Money isn’t the only reason some of us are doing this, you know.”

Something inside Luci stirred a little. In a moment of what she’d consider weakness, she stepped towards Whisk.

Suddenly, the cat-human hybrid perked up, her ears twitching. “Shush. They’re coming.”

The door swung open, and Auri, Meggy, and Desti stepped in. Desti yawned. “God, I’m tired… and we’re gonna need some rest, if there is a gang war coming.”

“Yeah.” Meggy nodded, her expression unreadable. “Here, I’ll put the Phoenix Urns with the other contraband. You guys get ready for bed.”

The other two nodded and headed off. Meggy scooped up the four Phoenix Urns, wincing. “Stupid, lettin’ that slip… lucky nobody caught it,” she muttered, her voice taking on a slight Western twang.

She stepped over to the wall and pressed a button, opening up a hidden door. Stored inside were the various contraband they had taken from those they’d arrested. Whisk’s mask and belt, their weapons, Luci’s cloak, other things. 

Meggy looked around carefully, making sure nobody was around, before sliding a box out of the way, revealing several stashed-away Phoenix Urns, all filled: the very same ones Whisk and Luci had filled already. She slid them in to sit alongside the others before sliding the box back in front, hiding the Urns away once more. She stepped out of the vault, smirking as she shut it, sealing the room in darkness.

Chapter Text

Night had fallen on Port Aurora. The docks were quiet. Oddly, no night guards seemed to be on the clock.

Suddenly, a ramp slammed onto the dock. An unmarked ship was docked at the port. Various people made their way off.

“So, the boss wants this place… why?” one asked.

“Dunno. Seems like an island resort and not much else.” Another shrugged. “Who knows, really? But they’ve dispatched him with us, so it must be important.”

“Indeed.”

The two turned to see a tall, stocky figure watching them from the shadows. He had two giant barrels sticking out from his hat, mismatched arms, and his legs didn’t have any discernible feet, being simple cylinders.Yellow, catlike eyes with slit pupils watched them. A toothy grin spread across his face. “See, rumor has it some big gang war’s goin’ down, and a crapload of high-priority targets are gonna be here. So, we’re setting up a base of operations. Get this op right, and I’ll finally pay off my debt for these new upgrades.” He flexed an arm, which caught a bit of moonlight and reflected it, indicating a metallic structure. “Now… get to work.”

The two nodded and continued working. The figure leaned back against the wall, letting out a sigh. “Just one more job, an’ then I can come find you, Kat. Almost there…”

I run and hide,

But there’s no hiding from yourself…

Can’t escape

Gotta find my own way out…

Now there’s no time to take a break.

Gotta push against what is fake.

Now you and me, side by side,

All of us can win the fight!

Now you see the truth of me,

Breaking under reality,

Begging to finally be free

From this darkened night!

Stand together, we stay strong.

Guess you’re what I was missing all along.

Now I think everything’s going wrong

And only one end in sight…

Back in this Sunset Paradise!

Two weeks later…

“...Ugh.” Desti groaned, rubbing her temple. “Okay, tell me again. I just… wanna hear it.”

“Several ships have been coming in over the past few weeks,” Auri noted, looking up from the desktop he was working on. “I have a feeling it has to do with those gangs Marty said wanted in on Port Aurora’s power.”

“Joy.” Desti sighed. “Any idea when they’ll make a move?”

“Our people have been keeping an eye on them,” Auri said, hopping up and turning to his partner. “Meggy?”

“I can recognize a few from my old law enforcement days,” Meggy said, looking at a tablet. “The Barbarians and the Complex are here, including their leaders Skurge and Techno. I can pick out a couple others, but one in particular I don’t recognize.”

“Great…”

“You guys seen anything else about that other crime boss?” Auri asked. “Whatever they want with those Phoenix Ashes, it can’t be good.”

“Nothing since we brought in Whisk and Luci a couple weeks ago,” Meggy replied. “I don’t know how we’re supposed to find out who it is, though. Apparently they never met in person, if all the complaints Luci’s been shouting at night are anything to go off of.”

“I CAN HEAR YA, YA DAFT CUNTS!”

Meggy ignored Luci’s shouting from the cell block in just the other room. “So… what’s the plan?”

Desti sighed. “I… don’t know.”

The phone chose to ring right then. Auri immediately grabbed it. “Port Aurora Sheriff’s office, how can we help?”

“Help!” a female voice said on the other side. “Th-There’s a shootout at the ice cream shop!” Explosions could be heard in the background, as well as Aziz shouting something about the ice cream business getting too dangerous.

“On our way!” Auri turned around, pointing towards the door. “C’mon, guys! We got crime to stop!”

“I keep saying ice cream is dangerous business.” Aziz groaned. “But noooo, nobody listens and they keep giving me competition!”

“Will you stop?” the female Bora muttered as she and the other seller hid behind the counter. “Nobody wants to hear you complaining.”

In the shop, various gang members fired upon another gang outside. The ones inside the shop were all patched-together cyborgs. At their head was a man with a robotic eye, legs, and an arm. He clenched his fist.

“Don’t let up!” he ordered. “They think they can take Port Aurora from us? When the time comes, the Phoenix Egg and its power will be ours !”

“Like hell, Klaw!” a rival gang member shouted. Their crew appeared to be mainly anthropomorphic wolves, who were deflecting shots with nothing but swords. They appeared to be samurai of some sort, wearing traditional Japanese samurai armor. Yet, they moved quick and with grace. The leader was a large albino wolf with red eyes that almost glowed in the dark. While he spoke English, it was with a notable Japanese accent. “The Pack shall claim this land as our own!”

“I AM NOT LOSING TO GODDAMN FURRIES!” Klaw roared, two claws emerging from his robotic wrist. “DESTROY FANG AND HIS GODFORSAKEN PACK!”

Three of the cyborgs charged forward, gunning down a couple of Pack samurai. One wolf sped forward, slicing through the robotic legs of one, the arm of another, and then impaling the third. He sheathed his sword as they all dropped simultaneously.

On the rooftop above, someone else watched: a man who looked… kinda normal? Aside from his hair that looked like it was made of fire, anyways.

“Yeah, boss…” he muttered, looking down on the fighting. “They’ve broken out. Gang war’s getting started. Both Klaw and Fang are fighting.”

“Shit,” a German-sounding feminine voice on the other end muttered. “Ve are not prepared for zis. And ze other gangs?”

“Unknown, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they start going at it, too.”

“Fall back to base. Ve must prepare for this war…”

Back on the ground, Meggy, Desti, and Auri rounded the corner to see the standoff.

“Are those cyborgs?!” Auri cried.

“And… samurai???” Meggy added, utterly confused.

Desti groaned. “Ugh, why does the weird shit always happen to us…?”

Meggy was frozen for a minute at just how many there were, but she quickly steeled herself. She’d dealt with crowds before. The Box Club, for example.

…Okay, the Box Club kinda outsmarted them that one time, but… still. No biggie.

“Okay, we need a plan of attack,” Meggy whispered. “Desti, I need you to–”

“HEY!”

Meggy sighed as Auri stepped forward. “Or he’ll try to assert sheriff authority. Right.”

Auri placed his hands on his hips. “I am Sheriff Auri Bori, and I demand you stop fighting now!”

Both sides just stared at him for a second. Moments later, Auri flew back and slammed into a wall next to Meggy and Desti. Klaw and his cyborgs stood over the trio.

“Well, what have we ‘ere, lads?” Klaw smirked. “Three stowaways…”

“Stand down, Klaw!” Fang ordered, his katana pointed towards the cyborg. “They are not a part of our fight. We continue until our glorious end.”

Klaw smirked, his claws emerging from his wrist and moving up underneath Meggy’s head. Desti’s eyes widened, but she knew if she tried anything, Klaw was fast enough to take out Meggy. She’d seen him move during that fight. “Oh, come now, lad. Who says I need honor, hm? You should know I fight dirty.”

“Damn you, Klaw!” Fang snarled. “You are without honor!”

“Funny you talk of honor when you want to conquer this place, too!”

“This is different.” Fang’s gaze landed on Desti, his eyes narrowing slightly as he argued her. “Port Aurora is–”

“Oh, shut your yapping before I gut your precious ‘innocents’.” Klaw scoffed. “As if they weren’t gonna try to arrest you, too.”

Unknown to all of them, yet another group watched from the rooftops intently. Their hulking leader narrowed his yellow eyes.

“Klaw’s down there for sure. Dunno who the Japanese wolf guy is. Yakuza, maybe?”

“Doesn’t match our database, sir,” someone else said, a small projector coming up from his otherwise-organic-looking arm. “If he were Yakuza, we’d know.”

“Hm.” He turned his gaze on the scene below. “Alright, then, guys. Let’s save these law enforcement guys. Maybe they can help us, yeah?”

Back down below, it was a standoff. Klaw kept his… well, claws, to Meggy’s neck. Fang watched them, anger on his face at such dishonor. 

“Go back to your base…” Klaw whispered. “Before I gut these three.”

“Like hell,” Desti spat. But, before she could do anything, a huge figure landed behind Klaw. Klaw froze and turned around, looking up at this hulking figure.

His body was pretty much entirely made up of metal, save for his yellow eyes (though they did glow unnaturally). His mouth was spread in a wide grin, exposing his sharp teeth. Mounted on each shoulder was a cannon. While one arm remained about the same proportions-wise all the way down, ending in a hand with small holes in the fingertips (presumably to fire bullets), the forearm of his left arm was notably larger, ending in a larger hand with knuckle spikes.

Rather than proper legs, he had what appeared to be rocket boosters to stand on. He wore a black military jacket with some blue and tan detailings on it, a white dress shirt, and a knife tie. Yes, you read that correctly. His had bore a resemblance to an aviator’s hat, but rather than the goggles on top, it was two giant cannons.

“‘Sup, Klaw.” He grinned. “You got a mighty fine price on your head, y’know…”

“YOU!” Klaw released Meggy and turned to face this new arrival, his red eyes meeting this guy’s yellow. “The hell’re you doing here?!”

“My job.” His hands folded in, and chainsaws emerged from his wrists. The saws revved and the chain began to move, speeding up more and more as this guy grinned madly. “Now, are we gonna do this or what ?”

After a moment, Klaw lunged forward. The robotic man folded in one of his chainsaws and replaced it with his regular hand, then proceeded to catch Klaw by the head from midair.

“...Really?” He scoffed. “Try harder.” He then slammed Klaw into the ground before tossing him away. Klaw tumbled across the ground before coming to a brief stop. He jumped back into his feet.

“Retreat!” he shouted, motioning for his crew to follow. “We can't deal with the Pack and Hitman at once!”

Klaw’s forces followed him as he retreated. Suddenly, dozens of others, all with “HITMAN INC.” logos on their shoulders, landed, surrounding them. Klaw immediately bolted to a sewer, slicing the manhole off and diving in as the various hitmen took down his people.

“Dammit,” the leader of the hitmen muttered. “Chase Klaw. Take him in, dead or alive.”

“Yes, sir!” Two agents saluted before following Klaw into the sewers.

With that done, the head agent turned to the other group. “You’re not on my list. You are…?”

“The Pack.” Fang sheathed his blade. “We are here to reclaim our ancestral lands, but I am ashamed to see it besmirched by dishonorable fools like him. For now, we shall take our leave.” Fang bowed. “Sayonara.” With that, he and his Pack departed, leaving the agent alone with Auri, Desti, and Meggy.

“So, uh, hi.” Auri stepped forward. “Auri, town sheriff. I’d just like to ask… WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!”

“Yeah, I’d like an explanation as well.” Desti crossed her arms. “Who are you?”

“Law enforcement, huh…?” He hummed in thought. “Well, looks like we have a common enemy, so you could be useful…” He stood up straight, his hands behind his back. “Special agent WPNZ (pronounced ‘Weapons’), Hitman Incorporated.” He winked cheekily. “Call me Mr. WPNZ.”

Mr. WPNZ

-Hitman

-Robot? Cyborg? Who knows?

-He has SO many weapons

Desti groaned. “Great…”

“You know them?” Meggy asked. “Did you work with them before?”

“No, but the RMKP has been looking into them,” Desti muttered. “They mostly target criminals and such, dangerous ones. It's sort of… a bounty hunter organization. I’m not totally against what they’re doing, but Chief Monitor hates them.”

“Well, I assure you, I won't make you hate me!” WPNZ laughed, patting Desti on the back (and nearly knocking her off her feet). “I’m too loveable for that!”

“We’ll see…” Desti muttered, brushing some dirt off her shoulder.

“Hey, I can’t be that bad! I was a great dad!”

Meggy tilted her head a little in interest. “Was?”

WPNZ’s face fell a little. He turned away, his eyes falling to the ground. “I’d… rather not talk about it. I have a job to finish here.” He turned back to Auri and Desti. “And I take it you could use some help with all the gang members.”

“I can call the academy and get them to send out some of the new officers!” Auri said. “But otherwise… yeah, we could use help.”

“Academy?”

“Oh yeah!” Auri grinned as he responded to Meggy’s question. “I managed to get an academy started! We’re training the new police officers! Actually, we should have some recruits ready right now. Lemme ask Franky!”

“Franky??”

“Funky Fource have been helping train them. They’re good now! For real this time!”

“...Sure.” Desti crossed her arms. “If they try to brainwash my girlfriend again, I’m ripping their heads off.”

“...Ooookay.” Auri shrugged. “I’ll call them when we get back home.”

“How ‘bout I come with y’all?” WPNZ grinned. “I’d like to see this place, and if we’re gonna work together, we might as well, y’know, work together.”

After a moment of consideration, Auri shrugged. “Eh. I don’t see the harm in it.”

Elsewhere, a manhole was sliced apart. Klaw climbed his way out of the sewers and into a larger warehouse. “Ugh… hate doing that.” He gagged, before brushing off some stray trash that had ended up on his shoulder. “I’ve gotten sloppy, too. Let those bastards follow me here. I just hope I killed ‘em before they reported back…”

“Sir!” One of Klaw’s cyborgs ran over. “Are you okay?”

“I will be…” Klaw muttered, sheathing his claws. “Send out three men. Scout out the sheriff’s office, do what you have to in order to inconvenience them. Go!”

“Yes, sir!”

Klaw sneered as his minion ran off. “I swear, they are going to pay for this…”

“War’s broken out.”

Sitting on his glistening crystal throne, Emerald, the green crystalline head of the Gem Gang, sighed. Standing before them were their two commanders, a red male and a blue female, both of a similar crystalline structure. “I see. Klaw?”

“Klaw.”

Emerald sighed. “Ruby, Sapphire, gather the forces. If we claim Port Aurora, the Phoenix Egg will be ours once it forms again.” They rose. “We will not allow the Flames to seize it before us.”

At Auri’s home, WPNZ got off his walkie-talkie, putting it away. He turned around towards the others. “Yo. My boys got a lead on Klaw. We can take him and his crew down here and now.”

“Just a sec!” Auri called out from the phone. He turned and got back on, lowering his voice so nobody could hear. “Okay, Franky, I’m… gonna need you to repeat that.”

“Meggy and Desti are outlaws here,” Franky Fresh said over the phone. “Surprised you hadn’t heard yet. It was all over the news.”

Auri recalled a month or so ago when he’d seen something on it on the news. “Uhhh… yeah. I guess we just… don’t get a lot of news here. Probably a good thing, in this case?”

“I’d say. Don’t want to deal with a whole mob going after Meggy again, eh?”

“Yeah… and I’d have to bring them in.” Auri paused. “It’s… not true, is it? What they say they did?”

“I doubt it. Do they seem like the type to try to topple a monarchy out of spite towards one person?”

“...Desti, yeah.”

“Who?”

“Meggy’s girlfriend.”

“Ah.” Franky was silent for a moment. “But, no, I don’t think it was them. We’re working with their friends to figure out the truth.”

“Okay.” Auri nodded. “Good.”

“And you should probably tell them about all this.”

“...Yeah. Once things cool down, maybe.”

“That’s fair. But don’t you worry, little buddy. We’ll call into the academy, rally up the cadets. You’ll have your backup in no time!”

“Thanks, Franky.” Auri nodded. “Over and out.” He put the phone up and sighed. How was he supposed to tell Meggy and Desti that they were outlaws ? Even if wrongly?

“Hey, Auri.”

Auri jumped at the sound of Meggy’s voice. He whipped around. “Meggy! Hi!”

“Are they… helping?” Meggy asked, clearly not too happy about the Funky Fource’s involvement (even if it was remote). Desti, who had also entered the room, didn’t look too happy about it either.

“Yeah, they should be calling the academy now.” Auri smiled, packing away the fact he’d need to tell them the truth and saving that ordeal for later. “Oh, and WPNZ had something to say?”

“Yeah. Like I said, we’ve got Klaw’s location.” WPNZ grinned. “Four of us can take ‘im. He’s gotta be low on men, since my boys are still packing up most of his goons.”

“I… think it should be three,” Meggy muttered.

“Huh?” Desti turned towards her girlfriend. “Meggy, what do you mean?”

“Well… with all this stuff going on, someone should be here, right? To guard the prisoners.” Meggy smiled confidently. “I can take care of it.”

“You sure?”

“Of course. I can handle myself.” A smug look crossed Meggy’s face. “Why, worried, dear Desti?”

“Just don’t want your ass kicked, y’know?” Desti shrugged. A brief look of vulnerability showed itself on her face. “You’re… sure you can hold the fort?”

“Yeah.” Meggy smiled. “I can do this.”

Desti smiled in return. She was glad to see Meggy being her old self consistently again. It meant she was healing.

“Alright. Then we’ll take Klaw down, and you keep this place safe.” Desti moved in closer, taking Meggy’s hand. “Keep yourself safe.”

“I will.” Meggy squeezed Desti’s hand. “Promise.”

The two shared a brief kiss before Desti went back to Auri and WPNZ. Meggy waved, and Desti waved back as they walked out. 

“You’ve got somethin’ nice there, with her,” WPNZ muttered as Desti shut the door. “I had somethin’ once.”

“...Your point?”

“Don’t… ruin it like I did.” WPNZ looked away. “I made a deal, and… lost years with my family. So… keep her close.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on letting her go.”

The two shared a laugh before they continued on their way. Desti cast one last glance back at Auri’s house, where Meggy remained. She couldn’t see her, but she knew she’d be safe.

It wasn’t like she could see Klaw’s two cronies spying on the house.

“So… gang war, huh?” Sweets muttered.

“Yup.” Whisk glanced over towards Luci, who was humming to herself quietly. “If I recall correctly, now that the war’s begun, the boss will get us outta here.”

“And how will that happen?” Russet asked.

“Maybe if ya looked, you’d see.” Luci pointed towards the door. There was… the key to the cell. And a note.

As the bars were too thin for her arms to fit through, Whisk knelt down and turned away from the door, using her tail to sweep the key and note over. She stood up, moving the key to the lock. After a couple of failed attempts, she succeeded in getting the key in the lock and turning it.

The door swung open, and the criminals spilled out. “Sweet!” Yam grinned. “We’re finally out!”

“Hell yeah!” Luci grinned. “Crime spree, here we come!”

“Wait.” Whisk looked at the note. “We have one more thing to do.”

Luci peeked over her shoulder. “...Grab Meggy? Why?”

“Boss wants it, it’ll be done.” Yam shrugged. “Just means a payday to me.”

“HEY!”

The criminals turned around to see Meggy glaring at them, her weapon in hand. “Get back in your cells.”

Luci grinned. “Oh, this is gonna be fun…”

Whisk shook a little, stepping back. “I’ll… I’ll go f-find the contraband. I c-can’t fight without my m-mask…”

“You do that.” Luci grinned as she and the Spud Buds moved towards Meggy.

Whisk turned and walked out. She took another look at the note. A moment of doubt crept into her before she shook it off. “K-Keep it together, girl,” she muttered. “For Chet.”

“Sir!”

Klaw groaned as one of his minions ran in. “What is it, Charles? Weren’t you banned from this room after what happened last time?”

“Er…” Charles paused. “I-I suppose so, b-but…”

The doorway then exploded. Mr. WPNZ stormed in, aimed a machine gun at Charles, and fired, taking him out instantly. As Charles fell, Desti and Auri leapt through.

“You good, kid?” Desti asked.

“That was very violent,” Auri muttered. “I don’t think they’d ever let us show that again.”

“...I kinda thought it was badass…” Desti mumbled quietly, crossing her arms.

“Hey, Klaw.” WPNZ grinned. “So this is where you’re hidin’.”

“STAY BACK!” Klaw shouted. Before he could do anything else, though, WPNZ rocketed forward (literally) and folded out a chainsaw. He sliced right through Klaw’s robotic legs. The cyborg fell to the ground, and WPNZ planted his foot atop him.

“Stay down.” WPNZ looked up at Desti and Auri. “Got ‘im!”

“Sweet.” Desti walked over to the two. “Sorry, Klaw, but you’re done.”

Klaw began to laugh. Desti and WPNZ paused, glancing at each other before looking back at the cyborg. “Uhhhh… you good?” WPNZ asked. “You’re… beaten, you shouldn’t be laughing an’ stuff.”

“I may be beaten…” Klaw grinned. “But I hear your friend was alone at your place…”

Desti froze. She grabbed Klaw’s hair and tugged on it, causing him to yelp in pain. “What. The hell. Did you DO?!”

“D-Don’t know exactly what, but my men are there.” Klaw grinned, even while he was in pain. “Told them to get back at you… by any means necessary.”

“If Meggy is hurt, I will kill you,” Desti whispered. It was quiet, but Klaw could just hear how serious she was. If he weren’t still riding the high of how he’d turned the tables on them, he’d be terrified out of his mind.

Desti got to her feet. “WPNZ, take care of Klaw. Just make sure to let me know where he is. If Meggy is hurt, I am going to kill him. Auri, with me.”

Auri looked a little shaken by Desti’s tone, but he nodded and followed her out.

“WPNZ…?”

Mr. WPNZ froze, looking down towards Klaw. The cyborg looked up at him, recognition in his eyes. “It’s… it’s you…” He chuckled. “I’d heard you’d run off like I did.”

WPNZ scoffed. “Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“What, did things not work out with Katana? That is who you ran off with, right?” Klaw grinned. “She split with you? Or did something else happen?”

“Shut up.” WPNZ stomped on him, but all Klaw did was laugh even more.

“It’s that new body, isn’t it?” Klaw’s grin widened. “ That’s why you’re back with them! You’re in debt! Man, does she even know what you’re doing right–”

WPNZ activated his rocket boosters, cutting off Klaw’s words with a loud scream. The fire of his boosters reflected off his metal face as he just… smirked. He smirked as he coldly, brutally killed the cyborg without moving a servo.

“I told ya to shut up.”

Desti and Auri burst onto the scene, only to find but three cyborgs in the brig. The rest of the house was empty. The cyborgs turned around.

“...Hi?” One of them smiled nervously. “It was like this when we got here, we swear!”

“BULLSHIT!” Desti blasted one in the face while grabbing the first one by the throat. The third moved to intercept, only for Auri’s spear to hit him right in the face and knock him off his feet. “WHERE IS SHE?!”

“Sh-She was taken!”

“Yeah, so where?!”

“Not by us!” the cyborg gagged. “Sh-She was taken by those people in the cell!”

Desti clenched her free hand into a fist before slamming the cyborg into the wall, knocking him out. She turned around, storming past Auri.

“Desti…?”

After a moment, Desti let out a loud roar of anger and anguish, slamming her fist into the wall and knocking a huge hole in it. After a moment, she removed her fist, breathing heavily.

“Whoever the hell is behind all this…” she muttered. “They’re gonna pay. They are going to fucking pay.”

Meggy groaned as she awoke. She looked up to see Luci sitting in a chair nearby. “L-Luci…?

Luci perked up, looking at Meggy with a grin. “Ah, you’re awake. Good. Boss has some special instructions for you.”

“H-Huh…?” Meggy tried to sit up, only to… just be unable to. She noticed the restraints holding her down, and began struggling. “Wh-What are… wh-where…?”

“Don’t worry…” Luci rose, towering over Meggy with a sick grin on her face. “Boss has plans for you, according to Whisk… and I am looking forward to what’s planned.”

Meggy’s crimson eyes widened. She struggled against her restraints. “W-Wait… who’s your boss? What’s going on? L-Let me go! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!”

Luci just smiled. “We’ll see, once the boss gets here. Until they do, though… sit tight.” She leaned in. “This is gonna be a fun ride.”

Meggy’s eyes shrank in fear. There was nothing she could do… but wait. Wait for whatever was going to happen to her.

Chapter Text

Day three of the gang war…

Meggy struggled against her restraints, doing what she could to try and free herself. She looked generally healthy. They’d kept her fed and everything. It was… weird. “Please… someone tell me what’s going on!” she demanded. “Why am I here?”

Sweets groaned. “Her voice is annoying, when can we just… do whatever it is we’re supposed to do?”

Whisk was still, just looking at the small device that had their orders typed out on it. She had to do a double take. Surely that couldn’t be right… was someone just that petty?

Luci groaned. “Give it here.” She snatched the device from Whisk’s hands despite her protests and read it aloud. “Says… ‘torture Meggy or I ain’t showing up’...” She frowned. “Weird. And these things show up just… really well timed? Am I just crazy?”

After a moment of silence, Luci shrugged. “Eh, it’s not like I’m against torture or some nonsense. Now the car battery makes sense.”

“Why are you doing this?!” Meggy cried, struggling against her restraints. “Why?!”

“Honestly?” Luci shrugged. “Dunno. Boss just really hates you for some bloody reason, I guess? Wants you outta her way. Not my job to care.”

“You don’t need to hurt anyone!” Meggy’s eyes moved to Whisk. “Wh-Whisk! We’ve worked together! You helped Desti! Sh-She told me! Y-You’re better than this!”

Whisk was silent for a moment before turning away. “Just get it over with.” She cast a small glance towards Meggy. “Sorry, Spletzer… I’ve got too much at stake.”

Whisk walked out of the room, leaving Luci and the Spud Buds with her.

“Ooh! Ooh! Can I get first go?” Mash asked excitedly.

“Nah, I’ll do it.” Luci scooped up the button. “But I like your enthusiasm, mate! I’ll give it to you next.”

“Yes!” Mash grinned. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this!”

“You won’t break me,” Meggy spat. “I’ve endured worse than anything you can dish out.”

“Meh.” Luci looked at the pad again. “Jeez, this is specific… even wants us to say a certain word every time we shock.” She shrugged. “I’m sure there’s a reason.” She lifted her thumb to the button. “Draw.”

Meggy’s eyes widened, a horrified realization coming to her moments before the shock came. Her scream echoed through the building. Whisk, in the next room, clenched her fists.

“It’s for Chet…” she muttered. “You’re just keeping him safe… you’re doing the only thing you can…”

Even so, Whisk couldn’t stomach the sound. She moved over to the window, opened it, and used her claws to climb up the side of the building towards the roof. She needed air.

I run and hide,

But there’s no hiding from yourself…

Can’t escape

Gotta find my own way out…

Now there’s no time to take a break.

Gotta push against what is fake.

Now you and me, side by side,

All of us can win the fight!

Now you see the truth of me,

Breaking under reality,

Begging to finally be free

From this darkened night!

Stand together, we stay strong.

Guess you’re what I was missing all along.

Now I think everything’s going wrong

And only one end in sight…

Back in this Sunset Paradise!

Three days later…

Emerald observed a large, crystalline structure. It functioned almost like a computer, each side showing different posts where members of the Gem Gang were stationed. Some were in firefights (literally, in some cases). Others were just hanging around. Emerald was not one to bother their subordinates when they were being a bit lazy. It’s not like some of them had much to do.

Of course, Emerald did need to check on their commanders. Leave the twins alone for too long, they’re bound to get distracted by something or other.

“Ruby, report.”

Silence.

“Ruby, stop screwing around with Sapphire and report.”

“W-We’re not screwing around!” Ruby stammered over the communicator. “Diamond almighty, you try to do your job and… ugh, a-anyways… the Flames and the Cyborg Corps are making some damn big pushes. And the new police force, well…”

“Cyborg Corps is on high alert,” Sapphire interrupted in her more monotone, locked-in voice (via the same line, oddly enough). “Someone’s coming after them.”

“Interesting…” Emerald muttered. “Very interesting indeed… update me on that situation as it progresses.”

Inside the main Port Aurora base of Cyborg Corps, their new commander (replacing the late Klaw) slammed his robotic fist into the wall. He was big, beefy, surely a force to be reckoned with. “Give me something to work with here! Why are our guards going silent?”

“They’re silent, Commander Armstrong,” one cyborg reported. “But… it’s what’s NOT silent that I’m worried about.”

A loud explosion and the sound of gunfire (plus someone laughing madly) echoed through the base. Then, an explosion knocked the door off the hinges. Armstrong stepped forward, watching, waiting for their challenger to appear from the smoke.

“Who’s there?!” he shouted. “Show yourself!”

After a moment, Auri Bori stepped out, a determined expression on his face. Armstrong snickered. “This kid? Really?”

“What about his backup,” another voice said. From the smoke emerged Mr. WPNZ and Desti, both of whom had their respective weapons at the ready. WPNZ grinned. “Go ahead, make my day.”

“ATTACK!” Armstrong shouted. Various cyborgs leapt into battle… but were all almost immediately mowed down by a barrage of gunfire from WPNZ. Those that were out of his range were quickly blasted by Desti or had their robotic limbs stabbed by Auri’s spear.

Within a minute, the cyborgs in the room had been downed. Armstrong scowled as he stepped forward. “Fine. I’ll do this myself!” The burly cyborg charged ahead. He swung his fist towards Desti… only for her to catch it. His eyes widened in pure shock. “H-Huh…?”

“My turn.” Desti grabbed his wrist with her free hand, swung Armstrong around, lifted him up, and then slammed him into the floor before finally throwing him into a wall. The large cyborg collapsed onto the ground, coughing.

“Ow, my scrotum…”

Mr. WPNZ planted his foot atop Armstrong as Desti loomed over him. “Alright, this is how it’s gonna work. You’re gonna spill the info we need, or WPNZ here will show you what exactly happened to your buddy Klaw.”

Auri frowned. “Something… happened to him?”

“Not now, Auri.” Desti turned her focus back to Armstrong. “We clear?”

Armstrong huffed. “You think I’m scared of you, girl?”

Desti took a step forward, reaching towards him.

“Okay, okay, fine, I give! Just don’t sling me around like a goddamn ragdoll again, God…”

“Alright.” Desti crossed her arms. “Looking for Meggy Spletzer. Ginger, short, hot as all hell.”

“Don’t think that’s an unbiased description there,” WPNZ muttered. “Some people might not think she’s hot.”

“Well, they’re wrong. Now shut it, I’m not talking to you.” Desti turned her gaze back to Armstrong. “Talk.”

“I ain’t seen nothing about this girl,” Armstrong muttered. “Klaw ran into her and you three before, I know that. That’s all I know, I swear!”

Desti glanced at WPNZ, who increased the pressure on Armstrong, causing him to yelp. “Hey, hey, I told you, jeez!”

“I… think he’s serious, Desti,” Auri muttered, turning to his much taller friend. “He doesn’t know anything.”

After a moment, Desti sighed. “Fine. Whatever. He’s yours, WPNZ.”

“What?!” Armstrong struggled against his restraints. “Hey, y-you said you’d let me go!”

“I said he wouldn’t kill you,” Desti corrected. “And he won’t.”

“Got a nice comfy spot for you on my ship,” WPNZ said with a grin as his wrist opened up. From a cannon in his arm, chains fired out, immediately tying Armstrong up. He scooped the cyborg up and hoisted him over his shoulder. “There we go, nice and comfy, eh?”

“Not at all,” Armstrong grumbled.

“Meh. Don’t care. I’ll deal with you.” WPNZ turned around. “You comin’, Purple?”

Desti sighed. “I just…” She paused, then shook her head. “Y-Yeah. I’m coming.”

Desti followed WPNZ out, with Auri trailing close behind. Naturally, he was worried about her. She’d been ruthless ever since Meggy disappeared…

“Desti?”

“Hm?” Desti looked up from the computer. There were bags under her eyes, and her veins were visible in them. Her hair was still messy. “Oh… hey. Just looking through our security footage again. Seeing if I can find any clue as to who they’re working for…”

Desti rewound the footage, watching as the Spud Buds, Whisk, and Luci took Meggy captive.

“They robbed the vault of all the Phoenix Urns we found, so it’s gotta be whoever recruited them, right?” Auri suggested. “Question is… what do they want with Meggy?”

“Who cares?” Desti clenched her fist. “When I find out who’s behind this, I’m gonna kill them.”

“Hey, I’m back.” WPNZ ducked under the doorway as he entered. “Had to… take care of Armstrong. He’s ready for transfer.”

Someone came on his radio. WPNZ turned away for a moment. “Not now …! Ugh, yes, wherever, I don’t care, just… just do it.” He turned back to the other two. “Sorry, my guys are idiots sometimes. Speakin’ of idiots, is the mayor involved at all?”

“Nah, that asshole took off the moment he realized he didn’t stand a chance in the gang war,” Desti muttered. “Goddamn cardboard pussy…”

“Cardboard…?”

“Nothing.” Desti waved him off. “So what else do we have here?”

“Well…” WPNZ pulled out a small tablet and set it down. Some projections popped up. “With Cyborg Corps out of commission, we still have to deal with the Gem Gang, led by Emerald, and the Flames, led by Storm. The Pack, I dunno their deal, but they’re not on my list nor do they seem to be doing much, so meh.”

“So… what are the deals on those two?” Desti asked, leaning in.

“Gem Gang. Group of crystal guys. Led by Emerald and their children, the twins Ruby and Sapphire. They’ve got their fingers in a dozen operations worldwide. Dunno what they want from the Phoenix Egg. They’re never really clear on their motives.”

“Now, as for the Flames…” He gestured to a holographic image of various people, one of whom was a woman with fire for hair. “Genetically modified rebels, fire powers. They’re loyal followers of the Phoenix and want to seize control of Port Aurora because they think they’re chosen or some shit. Crazy-ass peeps. Leader’s a chick calling herself Torch.”

Desti sighed. “So, we’re dealing with… rock people, samurai, insane fire people, and whoever the hell this other guy is. Great.”

“We should go talk to them!” Auri said, grinning widely. “Take down these criminals, and maybe we’ll draw out whoever the big boss is!”

“Hell yeah.” WPNZ scooped Auri up and held him on his shoulder. “I like this little man. He’s got spunk. Let’s take ‘em out!”

“Or we’d be playing their game.” Desti rested her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers in front of her face. “Think about it. Hiring Whisk, recruiting the Spud Buds and Luci from Marty, knocking his power base out from under him over here… this new boss of theirs is making a power play. Their hires all show up, screw up their plans, and get locked up just DAYS before the gangs hit the island. They just break out and completely vanish as the war kicks off. It’s too perfect. What if, by taking out these other guys, we’re clearing things out for… whoever this is to take over?”

“Look kid, I’m here for the job and that alone.” WPNZ set Auri down. “I do that, and I get my break. I’ve been waitin’ years for a chance to get back to findin’ my family.” He leaned closer. “Don’t screw this over for me.”

“You can take them in later,” Desti argued, stepping a little closer to WPNZ. “Right now, we need to focus on the bigger picture. This new person is trying to play us all like fiddles. We can’t let them do that.” She began to pace. “Maybe… maybe we can find out who’s behind all this, by working with them, just for a bit? Get Meggy back, stop whoever’s manipulating all this, then end this gang war.”

Auri smirked, glancing up at WPNZ. “You know, someone who’s playing both of these big crime families outta be worth a lot to bring in…”

WPNZ paused, thinking for a moment. He finally let out a sigh. “Ugh, fine. If this gets screwed over and you two die, don’t blame me.” He turned around. “I’m gonna take care of some… unfinished business. You guys do what you need to.”

Desti nodded. As WPNZ left, she turned to Auri. “Okay. Auri, we need to split up. I’ll take the Gem Gang, you go to the Flames.”

“Wh-Why me?” Auri asked. “Why can’t I go to the rock guys…?”

“You were revived by the Phoenix Ashes,” the purple-haired woman replied as she knelt down next to him. “If these Flames do worship the Phoenix Egg or whatever, maybe they’ll listen to you better…?”

“I… guess that makes sense…” Auri nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it!”

As Meggy’s screams died down, Whisk peeked back in. “Is… is she alright?”

“Does it sound like it?” Yam asked, grinning as he, the other Spud Buds, and Luci stood over the strapped-down Meggy. She was panting, but seemed to have fallen unconscious. Slight burns were on her body. “Why would you care?”

“I…” Whisk averted her gaze. “...just think if we hurt her too much, Desti’s going to have our hides.”

“Please.” Luci scoffed. “Like I care what that bitch tries to do. This is fun! Revenge is underrated!”

Mash giggled. “I love shocking this sheriff!”

“Th-Then… I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed…”

The group froze as Meggy finally spoke. But… she sounded different. A different accent, for sure, more Western. Yet… she sounded familiar still.

“Wait a damn minute…” Luci muttered.

Meggy chuckled, her maroon eyes darting to meet Luci’s blue. “C’mon… you gonna get these damn things off me, or do you want your pay given to Whisk?”

The group of criminals glanced at each other.

“Oh… an’ get me somethin’ nice to wear.”

Desti walked through the halls of the old, abandoned Port Aurora mine. Her research had tracked the Gem Gang here. It made sense; gem-based criminals, based in a mine. Funny, how that worked.

“HALT!”

Desti froze as two figures leapt out of the darkness. One red, distinctly male, and one feminine, female. Both glimmered in the light of the torches lighting the cave, glowing eyes that matched each other’s color glaring down at her. They had some sort of hair-type structures that appeared to be made out of smaller crystals, that almost… hovered next to each other? It formed something of a chain. Where the red one’s was somewhat long but stopped at the neck, the blue one’s seemed to be longer, and was held back in what looked like a ponytail.

The red one (Ruby, WPNZ had called him) leaned closer. “You’re that police lady, aren’t you?”

“I’m here to seek an audience with your…” She paused for a moment. “...parent. Boss. Whatever you want to call them. I’m here to see Emerald.”

“Nobody sees Zizi without their permission!” the blue one (Sapphire) snapped, stepping closer. “So screw off!”

Desti balled up her fists… that is, until a call came through Ruby’s radio. The red gem creature answered it. “Y-Yes, Zizi…?”

“Let her through. I have a feeling she wishes no harm on us for now. She came with no weapons.”

After a moment of silence, Ruby sighed. “Fine. We’ll… escort you to the boss.”

Desti nodded, heading onwards, with the twins trailing close behind. They both eyed her suspiciously, and she could hear some whispers.

“If she tries anything to hurt you or Zizi I swear…”

“Chill, brother. I trust Zizi’s judgement. They’re usually right on these things.”

“I don’t like risking it. I… don’t like risking you.”

“Watch your words…!” Sapphire’s tone took on a sharper hiss. “You don’t know who…”

It was about then that they paused, noticing Desti’s head tilted slightly, as though she were listening in. Sapphire’s eyes narrowed. “Keep your ears to yourself, jackass.”

“Bitch…” Desti muttered, turning away. The twins didn’t speak again until they reached the central control room. There, standing alone in the center, was Emerald: tall, green, and bearing some similarities to both Ruby and Sapphire.

“Ruby. Sapphire. Wait outside.”

“But…”

“I said wait outside, Ruby.”

Ruby huffed, clearly annoyed. Sapphire put an arm around him and led him back out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Desti crossed her arms. “Your kids are weird.”

“...are you here to insult my children or do you have a purpose?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Desti sighed. “Okay, so… I’m on the trail of some… crime boss. Now, nothing’s confirmed, but I have a feeling they’re trying to get you and the Flames out of the way. I… think they’re trying to play this gang war.”

“Hm.” Emerald began to slowly pace. “You know… I’ve noticed. Marty lost his hold here. That doesn’t just happen. I’ve known someone else has been at play, I just don’t know who.”

Emerald glanced at Desti for a moment. “Perhaps… your idea holds merit.”

“Idea…?”

“I’m not an idiot, I can put pieces together.” Emerald crossed their arms as they looked down at Desti. “You want to try to ally the Flames with my family against this threat.”

“...yeah.”

“I would be more than willing to meet with them.” Emerald paused for a moment. “But you need to be there. I will not meet with them alone.”

Desti nodded. “Got it. Figured that was the case anyways.”

“Good.” Emerald pressed a button on their “throne”. “Ruby, Sapphire. Escort Desti outside, if you will.”

It took a moment, but the door soon swung open. Sapphire dusted herself off a bit as the two walked in.

“I told you it wouldn’t take long enough…” Ruby whispered.

“Shut up…!” Sapphire hissed back as they reached their parent. “W-We’ll take her out, Zizi. As in, outside. A-As in… uh… w-we’ll get her out safely.”

“Good.” Emerald nodded. “Go.”

Ruby and Sapphire nodded and quickly led Desti out of the command room and through the base. Desti eyed the two for a moment, then just shrugged to herself. Meh. 

She just hoped Auri was having as much success as she was…

For Auri Bori, he was like 90% sure he was about to die.

“THIS CHARLATAN DARES COME INTO OUR GROUNDS AND CLAIM WE MAKE PEACE WITH THE GEMS!” one of the Flames, a woman, shouted, her hands ablaze as she held them to Auri. Around them, a crowd cheered, clearly excited for what could very well be the end of his life.

“G-Guys…”

“Worry not, heretic…” The woman leaned in closer, bringing the fire towards Auri’s face, inch by inch. “The Phoenix will forgive you when you are cleansed by the fire…”

“H-Hey now…” Auri stammered. “W-We can talk this out…! We don’t… y-you don’t have to kill me!”

“STOP!”

A loud, commanding voice rang through the room. From the crowd emerged a woman taller than even the tallest men in the cult. She was dressed in regal wear, purple flame patterns dancing across her red dress. Her hair was an eternally-lit flame, her eyes a piercing yellow. She stalked towards the stage, where Auri was bound.

“T-Torch!” The woman put out her hands and rose. “This… this nonbeliever wanted us to make peace with the Gems! To let them…!”

“Silence, Dedra.”

Dedra froze. Torch leaned down to Auri. “I sense something in you, child…” she mumbled, pressing a finger to his forehead. An orange glow surrounded Auri, a small Phoenix pattern briefly appearing on his head before fading… and another appearing on hers. After a moment, Torch rose.

“He has been Touched.”

Whispers broke out among the crowd at this. Auri was just confused. “Touched…? Huh? I haven’t encountered any predators.”

Dedra snorted, but a swift glare from Torch silenced her. The leader of the Flames spoke again. “Touched One, you have been blessed by the Phoenix. You have bathed in its Ashes, been given its blessing. And so, we will follow your guidance.”

“But…!”

“Silence, Dedra.”

Dedra fell silent again as Torch turned back to Auri. “Now… why should we ally with the Gems? I would like to know the reasoning of this action.”

“Well… there’s someone out there playing us,” Auri replied. “We think, anyways. Th-They seem to want the Phoenix Ashes for themselves, and are absorbing them from the island itself.”

“They’re killing the Phoenix’s sacred ground…?” Dedra muttered.

“It is decided.” Torch rose. “We meet with the Gems, discuss terms, and settle this once and for all! FOR THE GLORY OF THE PHOENIX!”

“GLORY OF THE PHOENIX!” the crowd chanted back. Auri felt very uncomfortable being at the center of all this.

WPNZ looked over at his hitmen underlings. “Well?”

“Armstrong and the others are at the bottom of the river,” he reported. “I don’t know why we had to be secret about it…”

“Hey, those officer guys have a home field advantage.” WPNZ smirked. “Long as we keep workin’ with them, we’re more likely to bag our guys quicker. Keep up appearances for now. Once this… mastermind or whoever is outta the way, we move in. Or, if the crime bosses we’re after get killed in the crossfire, even better. Then we can pack ‘em up and go home. Either way, we win.”

WPNZ stared out across the ocean, his smirk falling in exchange for a more… longing gaze. “I’m… gonna see ya soon, Katana. You and the kids, and… and I’ll help you. I’ll help get ‘em ready for this world. Promise.”

“...who are you talking to?”

“Nobody.” WPNZ turned around and began to walk away. “Finish it up here. Should be about time for the meeting.”

Emerald and Torch sat across a table from one another. Desti and Auri sat in the other two chairs. Mr. WPNZ attempted to sit in one, but it broke under his weight. He promptly scooted out of the way, instead choosing to stand off to the side while hoping that nobody saw that (everybody saw it).

Ruby and Sapphire stood behind Emerald, exchanging glares with Dedra, who stood behind Torch.

“So…” Emerald leaned forward. “We seem to have encountered… a common enemy.”

“Indeed.” Torch’s hair flickered, lighting up a bit brighter before dimming back down. “This… criminal who seeks to drain Port Aurora. To take the Ashes for themselves, and would use all of us to reach that goal.”

Emerald’s eyes flicked towards WPNZ. “...and he is?”

“An ally.” Desti stood up. “We need everyone we can to find out who this is, take them down, and get my goddamn girlfriend back from them.”

“Anyone who seeks to protect the Phoenix’s power is an ally of mine.” Torch nodded towards WPNZ before turning her attention back to Emerald. “I am willing to make peace against this enemy if you are.

“Agreed.” Emerald rose. “I’m glad to be able to set our differences aside.”

Before another word could be said, Emerald’s radio buzzed. “Sir! There’s some people here, they’re mowing through us –”

The voice cut out. Emerald lifted their radio. “Peridot, respond! Peridot !”

WPNZ quickly switched out his hands for gatling guns. “Guess they came for us, then.”

“Shit!” Desti swore as she drew her Blaster. “We just gathered everyone for them!”

Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald rose, their bodies shifting, gem-constructed swords and shields forming from their arms. Torch and Dedra  set their hands ablaze, ready for the fight ahead.

There was a moment of silence. Another. Another.

“...is anyone gonna–”

Auri was interrupted as the wall was blasted open. A scythe flew through the air, spinning, before embedding itself right in Torch’s face. The woman’s flames – both on her hands and head – flickered and died before she collapsed.

“TORCH!” Dedra cried, backing away. After another moment, she turned and ran.

WPNZ began to fire into the smoke, but suddenly, something landed next to him. The cyborg froze as he gazed down at it. 

“...EMP. Great.”

The EMP went off, paralyzing WPNZ where he stood. Desti swore to herself as she fired. “No more games! Come out!”

From the smoke emerged Whisk, Luci, and the Spud Buds. Luci pulled her scythe from Torch’s face, mangling what remained further. “Hell yeah. Finally get to let loose!”

“Stand back!” Emerald shouted, their arm shifting into some sort of cannon. “I’ve got this!”

Emerald fired, and the resulting blast knocked everyone off their feet (aside from Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire, of course). As Desti recovered, she looked up to see a figure emerging from the smoke. Long hair that swayed from the outside breeze. What appeared to be a cowboy hat atop their head. The clinking of spurs could be heard as they walked.

Emerald stepped forward, preparing to confront them. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, trying to confront me. Trying to harm my children . Well–”

Then, the person reached down, pulled a pistol from their holster, and fired it three times through Emerald’s head, blowing it apart into several chunks. Ruby and Sapphire let out a dispaired cry as their parent’s body fell to the ground.

“ZIZI!” Sapphire cried, rushing towards Emerald’s corpse as Ruby held her back.

“GET OUT OF HERE!” Desti shouted. “GO!”

“We need to go, sis,” Ruby whispered as he held Sapphire close. “We’ll come back for them, but we need to go!”

Sapphire reluctantly allowed Ruby to pull her out the back hallway as WPNZ recovered, leaving him, Desti, and Auri alone with the criminals. They surrounded the trio, forcing them to back up against one another. WPNZ cast a look at Whisk, and his eyes widened in recognition, but then he shook it away.

"Whisk?!" Auri gasped. "Wh-What are you doing...? I thought you were past this kinda job!"

"...I've got too much at stake." Whisk looked away. "Sorry, kid. I can't risk it."

“And I thought you were decent..." Desti spat before turning towards the figure in the smoke. “And who the hell are you?! What the hell did you do to Meggy?!”

Then… she laughed. Yes, she, because it was a woman’s laugh. Desti froze. She knew that laugh. But it sounded wrong. Almost like…

“No…”

“Desti?” Auri glanced up at her, and was surprised to see terror on her face. He’d never seen Desti terrified like this. Scared, sure, but when she’s scared she’s also angry. This was… new. “Do… do you know her?”

The figure emerged from the smoke, and both Auri and WPNZ froze at the sight. She wore a garb familiar to Desti, one she’d never seen in reality. Vest, boots, the red hat with the goggles and headphones… it was all there. Her orange hair swayed in the wind. Her crimson eyes looked over the trio.

Meggy Spletzer snapped her fingers, glancing towards her cronies. “Leave us. Do what we talked about.”

Within a few moments, Luci, Whisk, and the Spud Buds had filed out, leaving Desti, Auri, and WPNZ alone with the ginger.

“Meggy…?” Auri muttered, shocked by this turn of events. “How…?”

“Up-bup-bup.” Meggy shook her head. “She’s not drivin’ right now. Sorry, squirt.”

Desti’s teeth clenched as she glared at her girlfriend… or rather, her other, less kind half. “Sharp-Eye. I thought you were gone.”

“Sharp-Eye…?”

“Not now, Auri.”

“See, I thought so, too.” Sharp-Eye Meggy smirked. “That is, ‘til your little girlfriend let me back in.”

“Huh…?”

“Back when that TV fella attacked. She realized how much she needed me there, when she was runnin’ with that red fella. Call it a moment of weakness or whatever, but she let me back in.” The cowgirl snorted. “What, didja really think I’d just be gone just like that ? Somebody like me ?”

“Alright, so, uh… what’s going on?” WPNZ asked, looking around. “I thought she was supposed to be on our side.”

“Not now!” Desti snapped, before glaring back at Sharp-Eye. “Why?! Why can’t you just leave us the fuck alone?!”

“Oh, y’know, I’m an outlaw.” Sharp-Eye placed a hand on her chest, smirking with that shit-eating grin. “I have places to run, y’know. But I can’t just… do that with dear Meggy running around up here.” She tapped the side of her head. “So…”

Desti froze. Her eyes widened as her mind raced to piece together what Sharp-Eye was implying. “Wh… what are you…?”

“Meggy may need me…” Sharp-Eye grinned. “But I sure as hell don’t need Meggy. So, once I get that Phoenix Egg, I’m thinkin’ it can give me a brand-spankin’-new body, separate from her.”

“Oh.” Auri smiled a little. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“‘Course, I don’t know what that’ll do to poor, little, broken Miss Spletzer. Meh.” Sharp-Eye shrugged. “Could be fine, could leave her brain-dead. Who knows, really?”

“Oh.” Auri frowned. “Yeah, that’s not good.”

“Back off.” Desti stepped forward.

“Oh, you won’t hurt me.” Sharp-Eye smiled. “Do that and you kill your precious girlfriend. Now, you three stay right there, or…”

Sharp-Eye then pulled out her pistol and held it up to her head.

“You…!” Desti froze where she stood, glaring daggers at the one puppeting her girlfriend’s body.

Sharp-Eye backed out the hole she came in, grinning as a rope came down. “I’ll see you later. Or not. Have a blast!” She grabbed onto the rope, and it lifted up to a helicopter above (piloted by Sweets, while Russet kept Mash busy so he wouldn’t mess with the controls). 

As the helicopter flew away, Desti stormed over to the wall and slammed her fist into it. “FUUUUUUUUCK!” she roared.

“The hell was Whisk doing here…?” WPNZ muttered quietly. After a moment, he shook himself off. “Well, looks like the gang leaders are taken care of…”

He paused, listening. “Hey, you guys hear that?”

Desti and Auri paused, hearing a quiet beeping echoing through the warehouse.  Desti’s eyes widened as she recognized the sound.

“BOMB!”

Before anyone could react, the entire warehouse went up in flames as explosives set around it detonated. The warehouse caved in, and Sharp-Eye laughed from above.

"What if they lived?" Luci asked.

"Why do you think I left Whisk behind? She'll take care of it if she cares about her little boyfriend." Sharp-Eye smiled as she turned away. “Now… I’m one step closer to being free …”