Act 3: Nothing in the Dark

(Written by YukiShinoya444)

“Wow, this place is huge!!”

Yuki clasped her hands as she looked around, obviously in awe of the place. It looked relatively normal, but with a yellow sky along with a few sounds that made everyone feel a bit uncomfortable.

“It’s quite beautiful... don’t you think?”

“Define beautiful,” Akari muttered in obvious disgust. “There’s no sun... No moon... No nothing that makes the sky soothing.”

“Cheer up, Akari-chan!” Hinata exclaimed, slapping her on the back, effectively shoving her a bit. “All we need to do is just be optimistic!”

Akari laughed a little, obviously pained. “Y-Yeah...”

Yuki opened her mouth to say something but shook her head. “Well, Saiki-kun agrees with me right? Saiki-kun?”

The black witch looked over at her boyfriend with a smile. “Saiki-kun?”

Her smile vanished when she saw Saiki shaking, his eyes shut tightly.

“Saiki-kun, what’s wrong?!”

Saiki instantly perked up, glancing at Yuki. “Yuki-chan, it’s...”

Before he could say anymore, he collapsed, shivering even more so. “I-It’s getting out of hand... It won’t be long now...”

Yuki quickly rushed to his side. “Saiki-kun! Saiki-kun! Saiki-kun, what’s going on?!”

“Yuki-chan... If my aura ever gets fierce, I want you to stay away as far as possible.”

Yuki blinked twice. “What are you talking about? First off, Saiki-kun, your aura feels just fine!!”

“You said you draw your powers from the dark element...” Kurumi murmured, walking up, the blush on her face intensifying. “This place reeks of it...”

Nick took slight caution. “Saiki... Care to explain?”

Saiki sighed. “I’ve just about reached my capacity in this place... The only thing getting weak is my sense of self...”

Hinata blinked. “I don’t get it, Saiki-kun. I’ve spent weeks in snowstorms, but I’ve never once collapsed or anything...”

“I never once used my elemental energy... I’ve always kept it in focus for only emergencies...” Saiki shook his head. “But I’ve never been in an area with darkness in every corner... With Yuki-chan around though...”

He stopped, feeling the black witch’s arms drape around his shoulders.

“No worries!” she exclaimed, smiling brightly, oblivious to the danger. “Now I see why Saiki-kun never once got angry at me when I lost control of my powers!”

Saiki perked up, blushing, and smiled. “Yuki-chan, arigatou...”

Helping him up, Yuki looked above and sighed.

“Still... Minna-san... We must remember the reason why we’re here...”

“To stop Malefor? Kinda hard to forget...” Nick muttered, clenching his fists.

“Watch yourself, Nick-kun,” Moriko stated in a warning voice. “If Saiki-kun’s senses are weak in a place like this...”

“Quite the opposite, Moriko-chan,” Saiki intervened, patting Yuki on the head ever so gently. “I said the only thing weakening was my sense of self... I suppose I’ll get over it though...”

Akari blushed darkly. “Opposites attract... Is it a magical one or...?”

...No. I really admire him, but still...

“Well then, I don’t need to be the one to say anything...” Kurumi started, putting her hands on her hips.

“Let’s move on, shall we?”

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“Urgh...”

Yumi shivered, looking around. “I really don’t like this...”

“Yes...” Akemi agreed, sighing. “This place must come from all the dark emotions within the human heart...”

“Anger, sorrow, hatred, envy, jealousy... Regret, perhaps?” Saiki looked around, feeling more and more uneasy by the second. “We’ve all experienced these feelings one time or another... It can’t be helped.”

Doremi gulped, and nodded. “Yes...”

“But that’s okay... It’s only natural, isn’t it?” Momoko asked, smiling. “Deep down, we’re all only human.”

“True...” Riiko responded, nodding. “But it still just doesn’t give off any good vibes...”

“Really? Nick-kun doesn’t exactly give off positively bright vibes either...” Moriko stated, making both Nick and Akemi fluster.

“M-Moriko-chan, that’s mean!!”

“Aw, but it’s true isn’t it Nick? You never think before rushing in... One of these days, you’re going to regret not being patient.” Moriko then sighed, shaking her head. “But, still... It’s a good thing how nosy you are...”

Nick made a face. “Mori-chan... What do you mean by that?”

“You’re a lucky one is just all,” the jade witch shrugged and moved on.

Hazuki adjusted her glasses. “Moriko-chan... sure says confusing stuff.”

“Actually she’s right...” Saiki admitted, a little embarrassed. “To be successful, you need about three important things. A plan, a strategy, and a little bit of luck... Now that I think about it, we could consider ourselves lucky...”

“Ironic, isn’t it Doremi?” Poppu asked, making her fluster.

“Does that really mean anything?” Nick couldn’t help but ask, feeling a tad uncomfortable.

“Nick-kun, you always manage to pull through for everyone... Especially Yuki-chan... I just think it’s luck that I even met her...”

Yuki flushed. “It was destiny, wasn’t it?”

Her boyfriend folded his arms, huffing. “Some things are, some things aren’t. It’s destiny I was born with abilities that would kill me sooner or later... It’s luck that I’ve managed to survive this far... It’s destiny that we’re here... But it’s luck that we’ve been doing so well...”

“Prophecies. Gotta love ‘em,” Moriko stated, giggling a bit.

“But if we try to reach out...” Fami then started, blinking. “Would it be possible to prevent destiny?”

“I guess it depends...” Haruka answered, sighing. “Won’t we need luck then?”

“Great. Now I’m startin’ to question everything we’ve been goin’ through so far...” Aiko groaned, scratching her head. “Destiny... Luck?”

“Should Hana-chan really worry...?” Hana wondered, placing her finger on her chin, confused. “Are we lucky...? Or not?”

“We shouldn’t worry.” Nick stated, stepping up. Saiki quickly perked up, a suspicious look in his eyes.

“I wonder about that...”

The green witch apprentice looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Nick-kun, you have yet to learn some decent patience... I can’t blame you, but it certainly doesn’t mean I’m alright with it...” the wizard stated, turning his head. “If you continue on, someone’s bound to get hurt... Have you ever once paused to think about your actions?”

Nick flinched, understanding full well what Saiki was referring to.

“Just as I thought,” Saiki deducted, snapping his fingers. “You’re just someone who’s taking their luck and strength for granted... or taking advantage of it.”

“Saiki-kun!!” Yuki intervened, getting between. “You’ve just gone too far! I know Nick-kun doesn’t really think before anything... But then again, I don’t really do that either, do I?”

“Precisely, you have the same problem.”

The black witch froze, looking down, a little hurt by what her boyfriend was saying. “So... There’s something wrong with me?”

Saiki sighed. “Of course not, I was just saying...”

“You said too much.”

With that, Yuki turned heel and continued forward, head hung low. Nick looked at Saiki a bit questionably.

“Saiki...”

He avoided his gaze, looking down with an unknown expression. I’m always too hard on people... But, how else am I supposed to...?

Nick just shook his head and followed after Yuki.

“Come on, let’s just get going.”

Everyone else shrugged and obeyed, with the exception of Akari who walked up to Saiki.

“Is this one of those strange human traits where you’re really hard on the people you really like?”

Saiki flushed. “A-Akari-chan, that’s...”

“You do mean well, right?”

“Yes, but... Sometimes, I just hate myself for that...” the wizard shook his head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Yuki-chan...”

If...

Ta-thump.

He paused.

“...Then again, I wouldn’t be able to take it, either.”

Akari blinked. “What do you mean by that, huh?”

“If I put everything into words...” Saiki muttered, sighing. “Even I would be confused by its meaning...”

Suddenly he flinched.

“Saiki-kun...?”

“Akari-chan, I suggest we get moving...” he stated, looking about. There’s someone here... And I don’t think it’s the dark master...

Akari nodded.

“Oh... Okay.”

(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)

“Wow...” Riiko noted. “This is a weird place...”

“Kinda brings back memories of the End of the World, doesn’t it, Kellysi-chan?” Aiko wondered.

“PLEASE don’t remind me of that...” Nick responded.

“What was this... End of the World?” Yuki wondered, as she hadn’t been there when it had happened.

“It’s kind of a long story, Yuki-chan,” Nick explained. “It happened just a few hours before the time reset that happened when we defeated Morticon...”

(flashback)

When the light cleared, all the Ojamajos (including the fallen Nick) had been transported to a mysterious cathedral high up in the purple-tinted sky. Many other smaller cathedral-style structures were floating around in random places.

“Where are we?” Doremi asked.

“I think it’s some kind of spacial distortion that Morticon created,” Fami noticed.

“Hana-chan doesn’t like this place! It’s WAY too creepy!” Hana exclaimed, clinging to Doremi.

“It’s like Morticon twisted the world so he’d become more powerful!” Hazuki noted. She looked over towards Momoko, who was crying over Nick’s dead body.

“Is there any way we can stop him now?” Aiko asked.

“I’m sure it might have been possible...” Onpu noted, turning towards Nick’s lifeless body, “...if he was still alive.”

“Nick... no...” Ichiyou stated, her eyes starting to tear up.

Momoko just couldn’t seem to stop crying. Poppu wanted to cry herself...

Just then, Momoko felt a mysterious presence nearby. She looked up from Nick’s body and looked around.

“What’s up, Momo-chan?” Aiko asked.

“I don’t know...” Momoko stated. “It’s like I just felt Nick’s presence in the wind.”

“You felt his presence?” Fami asked. “Could that mean he’s still alive?”

“I’m not really sure,” Momoko replied. “But I say we take this chance while we can. It’s probably the only way we can save Nick.”

“But how is that going to be possible?” Onpu inquired. “We can’t use our magic to bring him back!”

“Wait a minute,” Fami noted. “I remember something the Queen told me. There were these seven crystals that had the power to grant any wish. I bet that if we collect those crystals, we just may be able to bring Nick back!”

“Wait! Hana-chan’s getting a voice from the Queen!” Hana exclaimed. “She’s telling Hana-chan that Morticon’s power flung the crystals across the world!”

“That means we’ll have to split up in order to find the crystals in time!” Doremi responded. “It’s our only chance!”

“All right,” Momoko stated, standing up. “I’ll be the leader of this group. Just like the last time. Let’s MOVE OUT, everybody!”

With that, the Ojamajos split up and headed out towards the portals that had just opened up. Before Momoko had entered her own portal, she turned towards Haruka, Fami, and Ichiyou.

“Watch over him for me,” Momoko simply stated before entering her own portal.

(end flashback)

“Yeah, like that was real fun,” Nick stated sarcastically. “I had to sit around while you girls had all the fun!!”

Yuki couldn’t help but sweatdrop at that last statement. I guess Nick-kun really does like a challenge...

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“Ah. So the night elemental has a weakness after all,” Malefor noted after listening into the Ojamajos’ conversation. “This I could use to my advantage. I could just have him kill all of the others and then use his own overloaded power to free myself from this blasted prison.”

Malefor turned to his apprentice. “You know what must be done.”

The female responded by bowing respectfully. “Yes, Master. I will see it done.”

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“Did Morticon really kill you, Nick-kun?” Akemi wondered.

“Almost,” Nick responded. “The others went out to find the Majokai Crystals. They saved my life with those crystals.”

Just then, the conversation was interrupted when they all noticed Saiki fall to his knees, clutching his head. Nick was the first to notice that Saiki’s aura was pulsing like mad.

“What’s wrong, Saiki-kun?” Nick wondered.

“I knew it...” Saiki stated, his head throbbing even worse than before. “That stupid dark energy... Yuki-chan, I want you... to run!! NOW!!”

“What?” Yuki wondered, but it was too late; Saiki had already began charging for Yuki, but Nick was over there in a flash, using the flat side of Hanyou Hikari’s blade to stop Saiki’s attack.

“Girls, this doesn’t look good... something in the air’s messing with Saiki’s sense of reason! We’ve got to find a way to snap him out of it!!” Nick exclaimed.

Everyone else nodded, and had transformed in a matter of seconds.

Nick nodded towards Yuki, Momoko, and Kurumi, who understood what Nick was referring to. With a quick push, Nick knocked Saiki back a couple yards, and quickly rose into the air, following Yuki, Momoko, and Kurumi. They were all covered in a cocoon of light, coming out in their Purifier forms.

“For one so brave for the sake of love... the Black Purifier of Courage, at your service!!”

“For one who never backs down in the face of challenge... the Green Purifier of Bravery, at your service!!”

“For one who would never betray her friends... the Gray Purifier of Loyalty, at your service!!”

“For one so truly touched by the power of emotion... the Yellow Purifier of Love, at your service!!”

“All right, let’s do this!!” Nick exclaimed, gesturing to Momoko, who quickly nodded, dashing forward and pushing Saiki away from Yuki, which gave Nick the leeway to charge forward and pin Saiki to the ground.

“Girls!! QUICKLY!!” Nick exclaimed. “I don’t know how long I can hold him!!”

Momoko nodded, joining hands with Yuki and Kurumi.

“Peruton petton pararira pon!!”

“Pururunu pikapikan chanchii!!”

“Puripuni pikipika chachaki!!”

All three of them began glowing with a bright light.

“PURIFICATION!!”

With that, Saiki forced himself out of Nick’s grip, only to be nailed by the three-way burst of Purifier energy.

When he fell to the ground, Yuki had already rushed up and caught him in her arms. The black witch apprentice also noticed that Saiki’s rapidly pulsing aura had retracted to a bearable level.

“Saiki-kun?” Yuki asked, tears in her eyes.

“Yuki-chan... what just happened?” Saiki wondered, his short-term memory obviously being clouded by the dark energy.

(Written by YukiShinoya444)

The black witch blinked before smiling.

“Thank goodness!! Saiki-kun’s okay!”

Saiki blinked twice, still confused before his eyes widened.

“It... It got out of control, didn’t it?”

“What? Oh... Um...” Yuki stammered for a bit, desperately trying to think of a way to explain this in a way to prevent her boyfriend being eaten alive by guilt.

“Well... Of course not! You just conked out on us is all and...”

She was cut off when she felt his arms drape around her shoulders, pulling her into a deep hug.

“You’re lying again, Yuki-chan.” Saiki whispered, holding her close enough to feel her shortened breaths as well as quickened heartbeats.

Yuki frowned, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “Saiki-kun, it isn’t your fault, it’s...”

“Yuki-chan, you have no idea. No matter how many times I think about it... The answer comes back, clearer than before.”

“I don’t understand...” Akari started, walking up. “Just how...”

“The Dark Master must of known...” the wizard responded, smirking slightly. “And since I’m an elemental... There’s no stopping the power surge... I’ll keep being a threat until I’m dead... I’m sorry, Yuki-chan.”

Yuki quickly shook her head. “No! No way, Saiki-kun! I don’t care what you do, I’m not going to let anyone take you from me! Never again...”

Saiki sighed deeply as he separated himself from Yuki, shaking his head. “That by far has to be the stupidest mistake you’ll ever make...”

Nick huffed. “Isn’t that a bit ironic...?”

Saiki instantly perked up, looking at Nick with a slight glare.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Nick-kun?”

“Weren’t Yuki-chan’s powers unstable when you two first met?” Nick recalled, sighing. “You never gave up hope on Yuki-chan, but you give up hope on yourself... Isn’t that irony for ya?”

“Nick...” Momoko started, getting a bit uneasy.

Saiki simply smirked and sighed.

“Figures you’re the one to scold me for something like this, Nick-kun. As usual, you’re quite slow when it comes to understanding the circumstances...”

Nick raised an eyebrow but the wizard quickly added, “That’s usually a good thing, you know.”

“So... Where are you coming from?”

“That...”

Saiki then winced, looking uneasy for a few moments. It’s starting up again...

He quickly shook his head. No! For Yuki-chan’s sake... I have to keep it under control! Focus, Saiki, focus...

Click.

Saiki let out a sigh of relief. Good... It’s bearable for the time being...

“Saiki-kun...?”

“Nan demo nai,” he quickly replied, waving away Yuki’s concerns. “I was just about to say...”

Noticing Nick tense up, Saiki just smiled.

“...Never mind. It was nothing important.”

Yuki soon turned suspicious and hopped up.

“Saiki-kun, you’ve been acting strange ever since we came here... I know about the elemental thing... But...” she frowned.

“But... It feels like you’re a different person entirely. I... I don’t like it.”

“What do you mean by that, Yuki-chan?” Doremi asked, a little confused.

“Doremi-chan, that’s...”

“Yuki-chan.”

“E-Eh?” Yuki froze, looking at Saiki with wide eyes, already pretty anxious.

“S-Saiki...kun?”

Saiki glanced at her, making her flinch, shivering under his gaze. He let out a light sigh.

“Yuki-chan, you’re pretty much the same case.”

The black witch blinked. “I-I... I am... Aren’t I? So what...? Is it really that bad?”

Silence.

“Is it?”

He shook his head and continued forward, pretty much turning his back on her completely.

Kurumi blinked and glanced at Yuki, her fists clenching while she chewed on her lip.

“Yuki-chan...”

“I-It’s only natural...” her look alike whispered, half to her, half to herself. “Saiki-kun’s always hard on me... Strange...”

She coughed, blushing darkly. “I... I still haven’t gotten use to it...”

“It’s only natural...” Akemi echoed. “Yuki-chan, now you have me worrying anymore...”

“It can’t be helped. We still need to keep our eyes on Saiki-kun... Elemental, remember?” Moriko waved her finger. “If that was how he is when his powers got a little out of control, imagine if... If...”

Everyone was silent.

“If... Malefor turned his dark energy to the max...” Nick muttered. “I highly doubt Saiki-kun would be able to keep anything in check...”

“Actually, more likely he would...” Momoko stopped seeing the horrified look on Yuki’s face.

“Saiki-kun... would never be able to... In the end, his life could get shortened... Or...”

“Or worse...” Akari finished, her eyes widening with shock. “I had no idea our powers could be so deadly... N-Now... I’m afraid...”

“N-No worries, Akari-chan...” Hinata stammered, laughing a bit. “This is only because, well...”

“Saiki-kun doesn’t deserve this.”

“Huh?”

All stared at Yuki who seemed both angry and determined.

“Saiki-kun has never done anything with ill intentions... He... He’s never even thought of doing anything for himself before! It’s not fair... Why can’t I...?” She shut her eyes tightly.

“Why can’t I be the one to suffer...? Saiki-kun, my Saiki-kun...”

Her boyfriend’s smile flashed in her mind. All she wanted was for him to smile... Was that so wrong?

“It’s good to care.” Ichiyou noted. “But... Moriko-chan’s right. We need to keep an eye out...”

“You never know...” Yumi added, nodding.

Nick then looked ahead, an odd glimmer in his eye.

If that’s really the case... I may have to keep a close eye on Saiki...

He bit his lip.

Even... if that means restraining Yuki-chan.

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Saiki winced again, holding his forehead.

This is strange... A power increase in this place is normal... But a burst of it? Maybe...

Throb.

He stopped, his head beginning to throb, making him feel dizzy all over again.

N-No... I can’t let it...

“Saiki-kun!”

Saiki perked up automatically. “Yuki-chan...”

He then frowned deeply and stayed silent, only for his head to begin throbbing again, this time worse than before. Saiki clenched his fist.

Whoever’s doing this...

“Isn’t it amazing? The power...”

The wizard’s coal eyes widened.

N-No... Yuki-chan...

“Hmph.”

Saiki quickly shook his head. Who are you...?

“Saiki-kun?”

Turning around, his voice grew barely below a whisper.

“Yuki-chan...”

Meeting his girlfriend’s confused brown eyes, he frowned.

It’s about to start...

(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)

“Are you sure they’ll be all right?” Momoko wondered.

“Just trust them, okay, Momoko?” Nick responded. “They’ve pulled each other out of so many sticky situations before. This time’s no different.”

Momoko nodded, whole-heartedly agreeing with her boyfriend.

Suddenly, Cyndi tensed up. “Those shadows are back...”

Cyndi’s statement was true, for at that very moment, hundreds of the shadow creatures from before popped up.

“Man, don’t these freakos ever give up?!” Moriko exclaimed, already getting into the action by firing off a Sakura Scatter that mowed through a whole row of the creatures.

Poppu noticed that there were a lot of lights in the area. “Perfect,” Poppu stated, holding her hands out and drawing on the electrical energy around her.

“All right, Doremi, time to show you how I do energy ripples! Discharge!!”

With that, Poppu threw her arms outward, dispelling all the energy she’d collected in an electric energy ripple that vaporized a good number of the shadow creatures.

The battle seemed to drag on longer than it should have, since for every shadow that was vaporized, ten more seemed to join the battle. Before long, the Ojamajos were easily getting overwhelmed.

“There’s too many of them!!” Doremi exclaimed.

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Poppu shot back.

“Cyndi-chan, is there any way we can stop these things?” Nick asked.

“If I knew, Nick-kun, I would have stopped them long ago!!” Cyndi replied, struggling against her captor’s grip...

...and suddenly, she was free.

Nick was about to backhand his own captor, but was beat to the punch by a burst of golden energy that blew the shadow creature away.

Before anyone knew what was happening, all of the creatures that had been surrounding the Ojamajos had been vaporized.

“What the heck just happened?” Aiko wondered.

“Wait a minute... who is that?” Momoko inquired, pointing to someone who was standing at the top of a nearby mesa.

Nick took a good look at the new arrival. She appeared to be about Momoko’s age, give or take a few months. She had long, flowing emerald hair that descended to about her waist. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of cerulean blue. However, the most peculiar thing about this new arrival was the armor she was wearing. It was a form-fitting suit of armor that seemed to be crafted out of pure gold itself. She was also holding a staff in her right hand. At the tip of the staff was the same mysterious symbol that her armor was modeled after.

“Why don’t you boys try me on for size?” the new girl stated, giving a cute wink. Not wasting any time, she hopped down from the mesa and onto the battlefield, spinning her staff around both of her hands quite effortlessly.

The instant she shifted into battle stance, more shadow creatures charged for her.

Smiling brightly, she charged for the incoming shadows, deftly swinging her staff and dispatching one shadow after another.

Avoiding one attack and easily countering another, she performed a graceful backflip over a horde of shadows, sweeping her staff towards them as she landed. This created an energy wave that vaporized a hefty chunk of shadows.

By this time, the shadows were attacking back at the new arrival, but she effortlessly dodged each attempted strike.

“Oh, please. Is that the best you’ve got?” she taunted, dispatching more shadows with a simple flick of her staff.

Kicking up a nearby cliff face, she spun her staff, creating balls of energy in front of her.

“Gold Tracker!!” she exclaimed, launching the spheres of energy she’d just created. Each sphere locked onto its target and quickly and mercilessly vaporized the shadows.

Landing quite gracefully on the ground in front of another horde of shadow creatures, she brought her staff above her head.

“Naughty, naughty, dark boys,” she teased. “Gold Blitz!!”

Grinning cutely, she slammed her staff into the ground in front of her, and this created waves of gold energy that ripped forward, creating deep trenches in the ground. In a single second, more shadows had been vaporized.

“Don’t even think of running away,” she teased. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Just then, a much larger creature appeared behind her. Nick was about to warn the new girl, but she simply waved her finger, turned around, and swung her staff in an upwards arc, easily knocking the creature into the air.

Still grinning, the new girl leaped into the air and hammered at the large shadow with various strikes before slamming her staff into its head, knocking the creature down to the ground.

On her way down, she slashed right through the middle of the shadow creature, quickly obliterating it.

“All right, who else wants to be next?” she teased. Still more shadows stepped up.

She responded to this by charging forward and displaying some amazingly impressive martial arts skills. Even Nick was completely floored by such a display, and THAT’S saying something!

After a while of this, she hopped back towards the mesa she’d arrive on, holding her staff into the air. The symbol at its tip opened, and gold energy began to gather towards it.

“All right, now eat this!! Gold Rush!!” she exclaimed, holding her now-glowing staff towards the shadows. Almost instantly, thousands of golden energy beams poured out from the staff and instantly obliterated the remaining shadows.

Once the battlefield was calm again, the new girl turned towards Nick and the Ojamajos, who were staring at her in complete and utter surprise.

Nick could only manage to say one thing... “WHOA.”

“I see you’re impressed,” the new girl replied. “I’ve gotta get going now. But for the future, you can call me Marie.”

With that, Marie leapt into the sky, disappearing from sight.

(Written by YukiShinoya444)

“What. The. HECK?!”

Moriko waved her arms like crazy, obviously throwing a fit.

“What just happened?! All of a sudden, some girl we NEVER met just waltz in on us, takes care of the creatures and just left us with only her NAME?! DID I MISS SOMETHING?!”

“True. It’s not everyday some random chick saves you from a bunch of who-knows-what...” Kurumi mused, raising an eyebrow.

Doremi blinked, pondering a bit. “Haven’t I heard the name ‘Marie’ somewhere before...?”

“Eh,” Poppu shrugged. “I’m sure you’re just imagining it.”

The pink witch frowned and sighed. “Maybe...”

“Moriko-chan, please calm down...” Akemi muttered, blushing.

“Mou Akemi-chan! I just wish this Marie girl could of at least explained why she was here to begin with!” Moriko groaned. “But... I suppose I should just put it behind me... But now we’re in her debt... Doesn’t that bother you?!”

“A little...” Momoko admitted, laughing a bit. “But still...”

“Kinda sad we didn’t get to thank her...” Onpu noted, giggling. “I just wonder...”

“...Who she was,” Nick finished. “There’s something mysterious about her...?”

“Oh, her? Nah... Ya think?” Kurumi sighed heavily. “Give me a break... The way she was dressed... There was something mysterious alright...”

“Or just plain weird,” Aiko huffed, folding her arms.

Riiko smiled a bit.

“But, still...”

“Riiko-chan...” Nick started. “This adventure just keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

Suddenly he heard a high-pitched yelp.

“Huh? Yuki-chan?”

The green witch apprentice instantly perked up and looked towards the black witch who currently held an unconscious Saiki in her arms, looking even more concerned than normal.

“What happened?” Nick asked, a little cautious. Yuki sighed.

“Saiki-kun lost it... Nick-kun, his condition’s been getting worse and worse...”

Akari frowned. “I feel bad about this... If only...”

“Don’t worry about it Akari-chan, Saiki-kun’s mine, remember that!” Yuki then sighed.

But now that I think about it... Saiki-kun usually in trouble for my sake... If he wasn’t in love with me... Wouldn’t he be safer? How selfless... I just now realized that.

“Looks like Saiki-kun’s our own personal timer.” Moriko sighed, walking up. “We better stop Malefor soon... Before his time runs out.”

Yuki nodded. “Yeah...”

Saiki-kun...

“Saiki-kun...” she lightly shook her boyfriend’s shoulders. “Saiki-kun...”

She bit her lip when she felt him tremble a bit before his eyes open.

“Yuki-chan...”

“This time you really did conk out on us... Isn’t it ironic how you’ve been worrying me lately?” Yuki smiled, helping her boyfriend up before turning to Nick.

“Nick-kun...”

Kurumi walked up.

“Yuki-chan...”

The black witch puffed her cheeks and hmphed before turning to Saiki. “Ne, Saiki-kun...”

If he wasn’t in love with me...

Saiki turned to his girlfriend, a little curious.

“Yes Yuki-chan?”

...Would I be able to take it, or accept it?

Yuki sighed. “...It’s nothing.”

All for Saiki-kun’s sake...

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“So some girl named Marie showed up and saved you guys?”

Nick nodded, sighing. Yuki frowned, looking pained.

“And yet... I missed ALL that?!”

“No worries Yuki-chan.” Haruka stated, chuckling. “We were a little freaked...”

“But face it,” Ichiyou laughed. “Weird stuff happening to us is pretty normal.”

“Still, I wonder about this Marie-chan...” Saiki pondered. “I wonder what business she has here... Moreover why she was carrying a staff around if what you said was true... Staffs are pretty much my great-great grandfather’s time...”

“Are they really that ancient?” Doremi wondered, a little confused. “Usually in the Human World fairy tales, that’s what they use...”

“That’s probably how long ago it was,” Saiki sighed, now a bit annoyed. “The only thing good about the Human World is often the food... Most humans nowadays don’t even believe in magic...”

Hazuki nodded, adjusting her glasses. “True... Some people even fear it...”

Yuki sighed. “Wasn’t there a time where they just burned random people because they believed that they were magic users...?”

“They certainly didn’t get lucky... Most of the people sacrificed were just ordinary people...” Saiki shook his head. “Times have changed, but still...”

“We sure get off-topic easily...” Riiko observed, giggling a bit. “But it’s normal... I suppose.”

“Define normal,” Yumi laughed, sighing. “It appears Kellysi-chan here just loves getting mixed up into trouble.”

“Ah, I knew that since we were kids!” Momoko giggled. “It’s always been that case.”

Nick flustered. “So help me...”

“Eh, I always get mixed up with people with trouble following them around.” Saiki shrugged. “First Onii-chan, now Yuki-chan... It’s rather interesting...”

“Hm,” Doremi smuggled a laugh. “Akatsuki-kun was like that...?”

Saiki blushed, thinking about his dear older brother before shaking his head. “In our relationship... He was always the first to make a move... Still, I always worried.”

“That sounds just like you,” Kurumi giggled. “I say...”

Saiki then instantly perked up, looking around. What was that...?

“Saiki-kun, something wrong?” Yuki asked, almost immediately on the offensive.

“...I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Ya have a bad feeling about everything...” Aiko huffed, folding her arms. “Get to the point.”

Hinata blinked.

“Does it have something to do...”

“I’m afraid so...” Saiki winced, holding his head before heaving. “What are they planning to do anyway...?”

Yuki gulped.

Do they... want to take Saiki-kun from me?

Nick then flinched, realizing something. If they know about his elemental powers... They would know how it increases at an alarming rate... Almost to the point where he loses it...

...Still, what are they...

He stopped, his eyes widening.

...Of course.

(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)

“COULD SOMEONE TELL ME WHO THAT WAS?!” Malefor exclaimed after seeing what Marie had just done to his shadow army. “WHO IS THIS CLICHED UPSTART?!”

“Settle, Master,” the mysterious female voice replied. “You remember the legends, right?”

“The legends? How can she be from these legends? WHO IN THE HELL CARRIES A STAFF ANYMORE?!” Malefor shouted.

“Wait...” the female voice noted. “It may have been her...”

“Her? Who is...”

At that point, Malefor understood.

“Ah... Marie, the Gold Ranger, is back.”

We pan upwards and see many mysterious objects and figures obscured by the shadows.

“Hmm... but she has no idea what she is up against this time. No idea at all.”

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Nick took a good look at the path ahead. It split into two separate pathways. The path to the left held a lot of those grinding rails like you’d see in a skateboarding game. The second path appeared to twist down a winding railroad.

“So... which path do we take?” Akemi asked.

“That should be obvious,” Nick replied, tossing Doremi and Momoko two crystals of their respective color. Once they had the crystals in their grip, they instantly transformed into the Pink Storm and Wind Beacon airboards, respectively.

Nick threw his own crystal into the air and leaped, coming down on his Ojamajo Star airboard.

Aiko flustered at this. “You still HAVE that old thing, Kellysi-chan?”

“Lily-chan did say I could keep it,” Nick replied, referring to one of his friends from the mysterious Floating Continent.

“Okay. We’ll search the rail path. You guys check out that side, and if you run into any trouble, let us know, okay?” Nick explained, to which the others nodded.

With that said, they split into their teams and headed down their respective paths. Unbeknownst to all of them, they were being watched.

“They are progressing quite well. This is definitely news for the master.”

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“Wow,” Doremi noted as the trio began flying over what appeared to be molten lava. “NOW I’m glad these things can float.”

“I remember what you always said when Mai-chan started babbling about its technology,” Momoko responded. “You always used to cut her off and say ‘It floats, and that’s good enough for me’, right?”

Doremi blushed at this. “You had to bring that up, didn’t you?”

“Do you still remember your first race with her, Nick?” Momoko asked.

“So, you want to challenge me?” Lily stated.

“Ready when you are,” Nick challenged as the two racers tensed up.

Without a second of warning, both Nick and Lily shot off like bullets, nearly knocking the others to the ground.

“Why are they going so fast? And why is Hana-chan dizzy?” Hana asked, holding her head.

“We’d better catch up with them!” Momoko exclaimed as the others began charging after the two racers.

Lily performed a graceful spin attack with Gold Streak, but Nick deftly maneuvered Ojamajo Star out of harm’s way. The emerald witch apprentice retaliated with a leaping lunge attack, but Lily raised her arms and blocked the strike.

“I see you’re pretty good,” Lily had to admit.

“Guess I just naturally picked up the talent,” Nick replied, always modest about his abilities.

“I think it’s time I got serious,” Lily stated, focusing and speeding up, shooting far ahead of Nick.

However, what Lily didn’t notice was that her acceleration had left a trail of air that Nick leapt onto, riding the turbulence caused by Lily’s instant acceleration.

Needless to say, once Nick passed her, Lily was pretty surprised.

“What?!”

“Biggest rule of racing, Lily-chan: observe the front and watch your back,” Nick stated, chuckling as he sped up himself.

Lily only smirked, a mysterious amulet on her wrist glowing with a silver light. “Now I’m serious.”

Nick suddenly felt a mysterious magical pressure that he’d never felt before. He looked behind him, only to see Lily for a split second before she disappeared, and was suddenly in front of Nick.

The force of Lily’s sudden attack knocked Nick straight off of the Ojamajo Star and right to the ground.

“Pretty good for your first race,” Lily stated before zooming off.

Nick watched as Lily’s retreating form became smaller and smaller.

“Something tells me we’re in for a rough ride...”

“How could I forget that?” Nick responded. “Especially considering what happened after that...”

“HEY, GUYS!!”

Nick perked up, looking to his left. There was Marie again, riding on top of her staff much like Nick was riding his airboard.

“Long time, no see, huh?” Marie teased.

“Something to that effect,” Nick responded. “Hey, I just wanted to thank you for bailing us out back there. Who knows what might have happened if you hadn’t shown up...”

“It’s just what I do,” Marie responded.

“Say, Marie-chan?” Doremi wondered. “How long have you had those powers of yours?”

“Oh, this old thing?” Marie noted, motioning towards her staff. “To tell the truth, I honestly have no idea. I’ve had this thing for as long as I can remember, and I spent most of my teenage years harnessing these powers in secret. I mean, who would believe that I had command over the power of light?”

“Very good point,” Nick stated.

“I heard Malefor might be hiding out here,” Marie noted. “And if you guys are here, that must mean you’re trying to stop him. If you ever need my help, just ask, okay? I’ll be there just as soon as I can.”

“You got it,” Momoko replied.

Marie gave a cute wink before zooming off.

“Interesting girl,” Doremi noted.

“No kidding,” Momoko replied.

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“My dear. Is it ready?” Malefor asked.

“Yes, master,” the mysterious female voice responded. “It is working at one hundred percent efficiency.”

“Good. Soon, they will know fear. As will that Gold Ranger girl.”

With that, Malefor turned towards four dragon-like creatures.

“Well, well, Ignitus. Your time is running out. Either you tell me where that protégé of yours is, or you will all pay the price.”

The red dragon that had just been addressed simply snorted. “Torture me all you want, Malefor. You will get nothing from me or the others.”

“Hmph,” Malefor grunted. “Very well. But mark my words, you will talk sooner or later.”

Malefor gazed at the crystal ball he was using to observe the Ojamajos. “Maybe if you won’t spill your secrets... I can get them to talk.”

This caught Ignitus’ attention. “Not them, Malefor! They have nothing to do with this!!”

“Never you mind, Ignitus. They have been undermining my plans for far too long, now. Remember what I said... I will get you to talk. One way or another. You and the other Guardians would do well to keep that in mind.”

Malefor focused on Saiki. “All right, then. It is time for that night elemental to cross over to my side. Just a little more, and he will be all mine.”

(Written by YukiShinoya444)

“Huh?”

Saiki stopped, looking around. “Was someone...?”

I don’t like this... Not one bit.

“Saiki-kun?”

“Oh... Yuki-chan...” The wizard flinched, forcing a slight smile. “Do you, ah... Do you need something, Yuki-chan?”

Yuki blushed, folding her arms behind her back, trying to look as casual as possible. “Can I... Er...” Shaking her head, she looked at her boyfriend with sparkling brown eyes.

“Saiki-kun... Can I ask you something?”

Saiki looked surprised for a moment but nodded.

“Yes... What is it?”

The black witch looked down. “Ne Saiki-kun... About... About your elemental energy...”

He froze. Of course...

“I’m sorry Yuki-chan.” he whispered, clenching his fists.

“Huh? You don’t need to be! Cause lately I’ve been asking myself if... If Saiki-kun didn’t like me... Wouldn’t he be safer? The answer’s obvious, isn’t it?” Yuki bit her lip.

“You wouldn’t be in danger... If I didn’t always selfishly drag you along... My problems, my issues... I always rely on you, and that isn’t very fair at all.”

Hearing this, Saiki perked up, staring at her in confusion.

“Yuki-chan...”

“Either way... I can’t help it now... So there’s just one thing you need to know, Saiki-kun...”

Yuki took a deep breath.

“I... I believe in you.”

The wizard’s eyes widened as she continued.

“Whenever my power got out of control... You were always there to help me, and...”

She smiled.

“Nick-kun once said that it’s how you use that power that counts... Drawing power from the dark element... Using dark magic... It doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s your intentions that matter... I think when Nick-kun said that... It made me feel pretty hopeful for once... Because I only use that magic to protect you...” Yuki blushed.

“A-And... That’s what I really wanted to say!! Saiki-kun, even now, when you’re in trouble, you still think of other people... Have you ever once thought of yourself before...? If you have, that must of been a really long time ago! You’re really kind, Saiki-kun...”

She then realized something.

“And... Hey... You’re pretty noble too, even with your royal blood... A prince always thinks of his people right? Is that where you get it from?”

Saiki blushed himself and looked away.

“Yuki-chan...”

The black witch giggled.

Oh, Saiki-kun...

“You get flustered so easily... It’s so cute! Saiki-kun, just remember that I won’t give up on you, so don’t give up on yourself!!” Yuki winked.

“All you gotta do is remember what counts, is that so hard?”

“It’s not very easy... Yuki-chan.” Saiki smiled slightly. “I’ll lose it one way or another... It can’t be helped.”

“Aw Saiki-kun... You’re doubting yourself already!” His girlfriend just sighed. “Just remember though... No matter what... I love you. I always have and I always will. Strange, at first you usually treated me like a sister or something...”

The younger prince just groaned. “That’s...”

“No matter.”

“Hm?”

Yuki waved her finger. “No matter what you do, no matter what you say. Saiki-kun will always be Saiki-kun... It can’t be helped after all, right?”

His eyelids lowered.

Yuki-chan...

The black witch leaned over and kissed his cheek, making him fluster.

“Saiki-kun... Aishiteru.”

“Yuki-chan...”

“OI!!” Aiko’s voice rang out. “Too much of Kellysi-chan and Momo-chan!”

“Oh, give them a break.” Moriko huffed, obiviously annoyed.

Yuki laughed. “Ai-chan never changes!”

“You don’t either...” Saiki mumbled without a second thought. His girlfriend looked surprised but smiled sadly.

“Is that a bad thing, Saiki-kun dearest?”

Saiki shook his head. “No... Not at all.”

“I’m really glad!! After everything... It’s like a dream for you to say that... I-I mean... uhh...”

The wizard just smiled.

She’s always been the same, and... and even I haven’t changed all that much either, really...

His smile vanished.

...What am I thinking? I can’t run from what’s fated to happen... But... Yuki-chan...

He winced.

It’s starting again...

“Saiki-kun?”

“Huh?”

With that, Saiki met his girlfriend’s gaze, noting the concern in her eyes.

“...It’s nothing.”

Yuki nodded, though still a bit suspicious.

“If you say so...”

Kurumi sighed at the sight.

It’s kinda sad... Now that I think about it...

“Ne... Akari-chan... You command the light element right?”

Akari blushed and shook her head. “I-I may be a light elemental but... But I don’t know much about my powers...”

“That’s right!” Hinata gasped, almost surprised. “You haven’t really used your powers all that much have you, Akari-chan?”

“N-No...”

Akemi blushed and smiled, walking up.

“No worries, I’m sure you’ll be great. Even the most unlikely person can be quite powerful...”

Akari blinked, flushed, and stammered. “T-Thank you... Akemi-chan...”

“Aww! That’s my Akemi-chan!!” Moriko squealed, glomping the crystal witch. “You never cease to make me proud you know, Akemi-chan dear!”

Akemi flustered. “M-Moriko-chan!”

“You’re so cute, Akemi-chan...” the jade witch purred, rubbing her cheek against her flushed friend’s. “So adorable... Kawaii, kawaii!”

The crystal witch blinked, still blushing like crazy.

S-She’s so flattering... That Moriko-chan!! She may have a nasty temper, but she always... Urk! S-She never changes...

Haruka only laughed at the sight. “I see they’re chummy... As usual.”

Glancing at Ichiyou who simply smiled back, she blushed slightly before smiling brightly herself.

...As usual, huh?

“Hey... Um, guys?”

“Huh?”

All stared at Cyndi, who seemed to look a little uneasy.

“Um... That Saiki guy... He’s a night elemental, isn’t he?”

“You didn’t know?” Hana wondered, a bit confused. “Hana-chan thought you knew...”

“He is.” Kurumi answered simply, raising an eyebrow, now on the defensive. “What about it?”

“Sorry about that Cyndi-chan, we must of forgotten to mention that...” Hazuki apologized bashfully, fiddling with her fingers.

Onpu shrugged. “We just... figured.”

“Huh...” Cyndi sighed. “If that’s the case... I wonder why he’s still hanging around with us...”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fami questioned, a bit confused.

“And you want an answer? It’s the girl who looks like me.” Kurumi huffed, blushing a bit. “You know, Shinoya Yuki-chan?”

“Wow, talk about ‘friends with benefits’.” Cyndi noted, her eyebrows raising.

Everyone looked confused at this, while Kurumi bit her lip, obviously not liking the sound of the former dragon’s voice.

“Cyndi-chan...”

“Sorry, but it’s just interesting. He’s a good guy... I know that... But you should know... Someone like Yuki-chan could give his power an extra jolt. Thing is, elementals can also gain power from a certain aura surrounding a person... But those elementals are a bit special, so...” Cyndi paused, seeing the thoughtful looks on Hinata’s and Akari’s faces.

“...What’s up you two?”

“Thing is, Saiki-kun...” Akari started, stammering. “He never, ah...”

“...He never mentioned that.” Hinata finished, sighing.

Akari bit her lip.

Why would Saiki-kun leave something like that out... Did he not know?

“Poor him... Probably didn’t want his girlfriend to think he was taking advantage of her...”

She perked up, blushing.

That just might be it...

“Ooh, what are you talking about, anyway?!” Kurumi pouted, shaking her arms like crazy. “S-Saiki-kun’s not selfish or anything like that!!”

“I never said he was...” Cyndi smiled a bit. “...You like him, Kurumi-chan?”

The model flinched.

So much for getting over my crush...

“...So what?”

Poppu shook her head. “What DO you mean anyway, Cyndi-chan?”

“I mean IF the dark master knew... It could be a lot of trouble... I say we keep an eye on him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he betrayed us anytime soon...” Moriko stared at Cyndi as if she was crazy.

“...Saiki-kun? You serious?”

Cyndi stared back in confusion.

“What?”

“W-Well... It’s just...” Riiko started, a bit nervously.

“I may not know him that well... But well enough that he has a pretty solid relationship with Yuki-chan.” Yumi confirmed, folding her arms and nodded.

“T-That and well... He’s a bit of a worrier... Also...” Akemi laughed a bit. “He’d never turn his back on Yuki-chan...”

He really likes her... Even I notice quite easily... I even envy them a bit.

“Saiki-kun’s like that...” Kurumi sighed, flustering a bit. “He wouldn’t...”

Cyndi frowned, but smiled.

“...Oh well. We’ll see soon enough.”

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“SO... How do you think Nick-kun, Momo-chan, and Doremi-chan are doing?”

“Who knows?”

Saiki winced again, holding his head.

D-Darn it... Every passing moment... It gets worse... Soon enough... Huh?

He perked up, his eyes blank.

Yuki, on the other hand, didn’t appear to notice. “Well I just hope they’re okay... Right Saiki-kun? Saiki-kun...?”

Silence.

Yuki blinked, confused.

“Ne Saiki-kun... Something wrong? Saiki-kun? Sai... Aah!!”

In one swift and unexpected movement, his hand was at her throat, squeezing her windpipe in the same way Nick had when he was under the dark influence.

“S-Saiki-kun... What are you... It hurts!!”

The others quickly noticed.

“What are you doing, Saiki-kun?!” Moriko called out, clearly surprised. “That’s your girlfriend you’re strangling right now!!”

“See, I knew he couldn’t be trusted!!” Cyndi hissed. “Don’t worry Yuki-chan, we’re...”

“NO!!”

“Huh?” Cyndi stopped, clearly confused as her gaze was set on the black witch, eyes blurred with tears but still serious.

“I-If you lay even one FINGER on Saiki-kun... I’ll never forgive you!!” she choked out, grasping the grip on her throat. “Don’t you dare hurt him!!”

Cyndi blinked, surprised.

“But... Why...?”

“S-Saiki-kun...” Yuki whimpered, looking down at her boyfriend’s cold face before shutting her eyes. “I-It’s me, Yuki... Please... stop...”

Saiki seemed to look surprised before he turned dazed, his hand slipping off her neck...

...As he collapsed, unconscious.

“Saiki-kun!!” she exclaimed before coughing terribly to revive herself. “S-Saiki-kun...”

The black witch quickly crawled over Saiki, lightly shaking his shoulder.

“Saiki-kun... Saiki-kun...”

Cyndi’s breath quickened as the boy’s eyes fluttered open, his vision focusing on his girlfriend’s concerned gaze.

“Yuki-chan...”

Yuki blinked but shyly smiled.

“...You okay?”

Cyndi blinked twice, surprised, but then simply smiled at the sight.

Huh... She really does love him...

(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)

Malefor seethed; he certainly didn’t look too happy. “I almost had him... but that darned twilight girl keeps interfering with my plans!”

“If I may make a suggestion, Master,” the female voice responded. “If we capture the twilight girl, there will be nothing to stop the night elemental from succumbing to your power.”

Malefor thought about this for a moment. “That’s perfect!! With nothing to restrain his powers, he will become my willing pawn with enough persuasion. How should we go about this?”

The female voice laughed spryly. “Oh, you will love this, Master.”

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Finally, Nick, Momoko, and Doremi reached the end of the molten path and dismounted from their airboards.

“Well, that was fun,” Doremi noted. “I haven’t actually used that thing in a while.”

“You must feel lucky that Nick taught you all those advanced techniques, huh?” Momoko teased.

Doremi flustered at this. “I told you, Momo-chan, the only time I ever fell off of my board was because Poppu was pulling on it!”

Momoko giggled, turning to Nick, only to notice that he had just fainted.

“AGAIN?!” Doremi exclaimed. “What is with these fainting spells of his?!”

“Relax, Doremi-chan,” Momoko responded, holding Nick close to her. “I’m sure the Chronicler has his reasons.”

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“All right, back here again,” Nick noted after waking up back in the Temple of Dreams. “Okay, Chronicler, what is it this time? I thought you’ve already taught me all the elements I need to know!”

“There is one more element you have not yet learned,” a new voice interjected. “I will help you on that front.”

“Okay, so you apparently know that I’ve been training with the Chronicler,” Nick stated. “Would you mind explaining who you are?”

With that, a gigantic red dragon stepped out from the shadows. “I am Ignitus, the first of the Guardian Dragons and a master of the element of fire.”

“All right, then,” Nick wondered. “So, what else do I need to know about this element?”

“Head into the temple, and you will know,” Ignitus stated, the nearby doorway opening.

Shrugging it off, Nick decided to take the advice of Ignitus and enter the door.

Just as all the other times he’d come to the Temple of Dreams, more of the familiar shadow creatures surrounded him.

‘Use the power of fire,’ the voice of Ignitus instructed. ‘Only fire can stop these lonely souls.’

Nick nodded, transforming his wand into Hanyou Hikari and swinging it in a massive arc above him, a wave of fire traveling along Hanyou Hikari’s path.

“Take this, freaks!! GREAT AETHER!!” Nick exclaimed, wailing on the shadows with a flurry of punches, kicks, and fiery sword slashes before holding the sword above him and then bringing it down, slamming all of the shadow creatures to the ground below, vaporizing the shadows in a fiery explosion.

Once Nick had landed safely back on the ground, he looked curiously at Hanyou Hikari. “Whoa. Did I do THAT?”

‘And you can do so much more with the power of fire,’ Ignitus stated. ‘Go on, and you will learn how to use this power to your advantage.’

Nick nodded, heading down the path.

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“SNAP, TOBIUME!!” Yuki exclaimed as she released Tobiume and faced down someone who had just grabbed Saiki. The only known feature about her was that she was a girl; everything else about her was shrouded by the shadows.

“Hey, you! Stand still!” Yuki exclaimed, swinging Tobiume at the mystery girl to no avail.

The mystery girl let go of Saiki and continued to fly around before settling down next to Yuki’s boyfriend. The black witch apprentice immediately spun around.

“I SAID STAND STILL!!” Yuki shouted, holding her wrist towards the girl and unleashing a beam of light from it that trapped the girl in a golden, glass star. Yuki immediately zipped forward and started slashing at the girl with Tobiume at random intervals before bringing Tobiume back and driving it into the glass star, shattering it and sending the mystery girl crashing into a nearby wall.

“Ugh... you’re good,” the girl responded. “But, I guess if you really love that boy so much, I should probably take you instead.”

With that, the girl snapped her fingers, and just like that, Yuki had disappeared.

“YUKI-CHAN!!” Hinata exclaimed. “You’d better give my tomodachi back, you little freak, or you’re going to learn the worst thing about getting a cold sore!!”

Hinata held her hands out to back up her threat, snow energy flowing around them.

“Yeah, you’d better bring Saiki-kun’s wife back RIGHT NOW!!” Akari exclaimed, joining Hinata with her fists glowing a bright yellow.

“Sorry, girls,” the mystery girl taunted, “but you’ll have to do better than that to faze me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a delivery to make.”

With that, she disappeared, leaving the Ojamajos very confused.

“Who the heck was that?!” Aiko exclaimed.

Kurumi said nothing, having noticed that a powerful dark aura was beginning to surround Saiki.

“Um... Ai-chan, I think we’ve got bigger problems than that,” Kurumi stated, pointing towards Saiki.

(Written by YukiShinoya444)

“Urgh...”

Yuki’s eyes fluttered open as she struggled to get up. “What... What just happened?”

Suddenly she realized something, snapping up.

“Wait, where’s Saiki-kun?!”

“Isn’t that interesting? Even in your current condition, you’re thinking about him...”

Yuki perked up at the voice and growled.

“You again...”

The girl smirked, lying against a nearby wall behind Yuki.

“What do you want, anyway?!” the black witch snapped, getting straight to the point. “And where’s my Saiki-kun?!”

“I’m sorry... But in a few short moments he won’t be, as you say, yours.” She hmphed, folding her arms. “I just need to make sure you don’t interrupt the master’s plans again, Shinoya.”

Yuki bit her lip.

“What do you mean by that, huh?”

A light laugh.

“You’ll soon see for yourself...”

“Enough games!!” the black witch exclaimed, charging, only for her to disappear and reappear out of her reach.

“No need to go crazy, Shinoya.”

“Where’s Saiki-kun?!” she demanded, far above joking status. “What have you done to him?!”

“Oh, just a little boost. Boy should thank me.” the mystery girl chuckled. “Soon... He’ll belong to the dark master and that will be that. Even you, Shinoya, will have no more influence over him.”

Yuki froze, letting the words sink in.

What could she possibly...

Her eyes widened in horror.

No... Anyone but Saiki-kun... I don’t... want him to be taken from me...

“You couldn’t possibly mean that!! Saiki-kun will always be Saiki-kun, and you could never change that!!”

She clenched her fists.

“A-And I can’t... let anyone harm him... Cause... As I said before, no matter what you do, he will still be Saiki-kun won’t he?”

The mystery girl smirked.

“Won’t he?!”

“You’re plotting out your own demise... Besides, it’s destiny.” she shook her head.

“No matter what you think, little twilight girl, that night elemental will become a pawn of the master’s... It’s his fate.”

Yuki blinked and shook her head in disbelief. “No! I don’t believe you! Saiki-kun will ALWAYS be Saiki-kun!! And I’ll go prove that... right now!!”

Just as she turned, the black witch and then pulled back, slamming against the wall as well-concentrated dark energy held her in place.

“W-What the?! Let me go lady!!”

“Ah, ah. I can’t possibly let you interfere with your so-called beloved.” the girl replied, waving her finger. “I need you to stay still until he no longer recognizes you.”

Yuki’s eyes widened.

Until Saiki-kun no longer recognizes me? That wouldn’t happen... S-Saiki-kun will always be Saiki-kun... my Saiki-kun... My...

Her eyelids fluttered shut as she slowly lost it.

My... Saiki...kun...

“Saiki-kun...”

The girl made a face at Shinoya before shrugging.

“...She confuses me. Worrying about him before her own friends... Hard to believe.”

She then smirked.

“I wonder if she still keeps that belief... While her own beloved finishes her off.”

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“Huh?”

Momoko perked up, almost surprised. Doremi blinked twice in confusion.

“Ne Momo-chan... Something wrong?”

“I... I just had this sinking feeling all of a sudden...”

The yellow witch looked down at her still-unconscious boyfriend before sighing.

“Nick... Something tells me our friends are in trouble. What do we do, huh?”

Doremi frowned. “How much trouble... Momo-chan?”

“I don’t know Doremi-chan, it’s just an uneasy feeling...”

The pink witch shrugged. “Oh, I’m sure they can handle it. After all they have both Yuki-chan and Kurumi-chan with them... Not to mention Hinata-chan, Akari-chan, and even Cyndi-chan.”

The blonde American smiled.

“Yeah... I sure hope so, Doremi-chan.”

Her smile turned dazed as she looked at Nick.

What would you think...?

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“Huh?”

Nick stopped, looking around. “Momoko?”

He then shrugged and continued forward.

“I better hurry up...” he told himself, sighing. “For some reason... I have a really bad feeling that something’s going to happen... And it’s not something good.”

“Ah... How right you are, young one.”

“Ignitus!!” he exclaimed. “What’s going on in the waking world?!”

“For another time... For now, you need to master the fire element...”

Nick made a face and groaned.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah...”

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“Saiki-kun... Snap out of it!!” Kurumi exclaimed, holding her hands out to block a dark shockwave. “This isn’t like you!!”

“Did I ever mention how I so did NOT see this coming?!” Moriko protested, flailing her arms about, obviously angry. “You happy, Cyndi-chan?!”

Cyndi groaned. “I GET it, Moriko-chan! Anyway... We ought to just knock him out... Maybe to keep him out of trouble...”

“I’m sure Yuki-chan would throw a fit, but...” Onpu considered it. “It’s either that, or...”

“She’s not even here!!” Hinata groaned. “So we cross that bridge when...”

She stopped when she noticed a dark swirl of energy gather in Saiki’s hands and only had time to gasp before he unleashed it.

“HINATA-CHAN!!”

Hinata took cover and waited for an impact. She heard it... But she didn’t feel it.

“H-Huh?” she wondered, uncovering her eyes before they widened in horror.

“AKARI-CHAN!!”

Akari shivered, her entire body covered in bruises while her clothes looked terribly ripped.

“H-Hinata-chan... Are you okay?” she asked, her voice cracked with tears.

“Akari-chan, you shouldn’t of done that!!” Hinata yelled, all too worry for her friend’s shape. “Look at you!!”

“Hinata-chan...” Akari started before turning to Saiki’s expressionless face.

“S-Saiki-kun... I always looked up to you... Please, wake up.”

She shut her eyes tightly.

“I don’t want to be forced to fight!! We’re the same aren’t we?!”

Saiki said nothing but waved his hand, unleashing yet another shockwave that knocked Akari to the wall, making her fall down to the ground, shaking with pain.

“Akari-chan!! Ooh, you’ve really gone too far!!” Hinata exclaimed, raising her hands. “I don’t care who you are, NO ONE hurts Akari-chan like that while I’m around!!”

Akari’s eyes glimmered. “H-Hinata-chan... no...”

“Don’t you dare!!”

“Huh?” Hinata stopped, looking at Kurumi confused. “But why...?”

“We can’t harm Saiki-kun... Imagine how Yuki-chan would feel... Remember what she said after Nick-kun had attacked us under the dark influence?!”

“Ah...” the snow elemental’s hands dropped as she frowned, on the urge of crying herself. “I don’t want Yuki-chan to hate me... But what are we supposed to do then, huh?! I can’t just sit there while Akari-chan gets hurt!!”

“I feel your pain...” Moriko muttered, glancing at Akemi, who immediately blushed.

I don’t know if I could take it if anyone harmed Akemi-chan...

“If only Yuki-chan were here... So she could give us permission to hurt him.” Cyndi groaned, earning a glare from Kurumi.

“She isn’t... And I’m not exactly the next best thing...” she mumbled in response, sighing.

Yuki-chan... If you were here, we wouldn’t even be having this problem...

She quickly shook her head.

But I’ve still got to try...!!

“S-Saiki-kun...?”

He barely casted the gray witch a glance, but for some reason it still got her heart pounding.

“U-Um... It’s me, Kurumi... remember?”

No answer. Kurumi flushed.

“You know... The girl who looks almost exactly like Yuki-chan to everyone but you?”

Still nothing.

“S-Saiki-kun... Please just wake up! I know you’re in there!! What would Yuki-chan say about this?!”

At Yuki’s name, he seemed to perk up, something stirring in his eyes. Kurumi looked a little surprised at this.

“Figures... You react to Yuki-chan’s name... Listen... Saiki-kun... I...”

Suddenly she was slammed with another shockwave, making her lose her balance.

“Kurumi!!” Hana exclaimed, immediately rushing up to the fallen gray witch. “Kurumi, are you okay?”

Kurumi’s eyes opened, dazed.

“Hana-chan...”

Akemi bit her lip, tears just spilling out.

“Get ahold of yourself, Saiki-kun!! Can’t you see your own actions?! Fighting is wrong, and aren’t we all friends?! I know I’m no Yuki-chan... But... please...”

She began sobbing.

“Please just stop attacking us!!”

“Akemi-chan...” Moriko started, taking her friend’s shoulders to comfort her before turning to Saiki.

“What is your DEAL anyway?! The way you always let on, Saiki-kun... I NEVER thought for one moment that you would even think about it... Come on, you’re Yuki-chan’s boyfriend, so SNAP OUT OF IT!!”

Saiki seemed to pause, just shook his head... and vanished.

Kurumi instantly perked up. “He’s gone!!”

“Not for long...” Cyndi muttered, clenching her fists. “I highly doubt he’ll come around...”

“What are you saying?!” Akari demanded, getting up with the little strength she had. “Saiki-kun’s still Saiki-kun!! That’s what... Yuki-chan said.”

“Do you see her here, Akari-chan?!” Cyndi shot back. “Because of our weaknesses, he got away! I should of just killed him the second I figured out who he was!! He might revive the dark master with that power of his!”

Poppu frowned. “Still... In a way... He is our friend...”

“And he means the world to Yuki-chan...” Fami continued, her shoulders drooping.

“Saiki-kun’s never really done a thing wrong...” Aiko muttered. “But...”

“How can you say such a thing, Cyndi-chan?” Hazuki asked, her hazel eyes glistening under her glasses. “It’s just...”

Cyndi huffed. “From what I observed... He was nothing but trouble.”

“That wasn’t his fault,” Ichiyou stated, hands on hips. “It was his elemental energy...”

Haruka nodded. “He really is a good guy... Not just to Yuki-chan...”

“Do you want the dark master around?!” the former dragon exclaimed, now angry. “I just don’t see what’s so great about keeping him alive!!”

“It makes Yuki-chan happy, doesn’t it?!” Kurumi shot back, just as angry. “Would you just listen to us, Cyndi-chan?! He’s our FRIEND, and that’s that! It’s not like he WANTED to hurt us, oh no... That was NEVER the case!!”

Cyndi paused. “So...”

“So... we just try to believe...” Akari’s weak voice spoke up.

“I-I, for one... Believe in Saiki-kun... He’s still my friend... Didn’t you ever have any friends, Cyndi-chan?”

Cyndi’s shoulders drooped.

“I did... But that was a long time ago... You know what, fine. But... First we need to find Yuki-chan...”

Maybe she’ll knock some sense into him...

(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)

Nick took a good look around. There didn’t seem to be any way to go on.

“Just great. I search for twenty-five minutes and come to nothing but a dead end,” Nick stated, slapping his forehead in frustration.

‘The power of fire will show you the way, young one.’

Nick suddenly noticed something he hadn’t before: on a nearby wall was a flame crest that resembled the element Nick was learning how to master.

“Oh, I see,” Nick stated, finally understanding. He walked over to said wall, charged his wand with the power of fire, and struck the wall, which retracted and revealed a new pathway for Nick to follow.

“Wonder why I didn’t think of that before?” Nick wondered.

Continuing down the path, Nick eventually came across frozen sections of the walkway.

“I’ll probably have to unfreeze this to go on,” Nick stated. “As if it had to be any more obvious.”

Nick decided just to make short work of the ice with his newly-discovered elemental attack, Aether, in which he tossed his wand into the air, leapt up to grab it, and came back to the ground with a fiery downward slash.

“Easy as pie,” Nick commented once the path was open.

The next room was no different, frozen in a block of ice. The only problem was that once the ice had been melted, more shadow creatures came pouring out.

“Oh, great, as if I didn’t have enough trouble here!!” Nick exclaimed, spinning around and creating a fiery energy ripple that easily dispatched the shadows.

“Okay, now this is starting to get old,” Nick stated after clearing the room of shadow creatures, only to have even more show up.

‘Do not fear the fire, young one. Let its power build within you, then release it in a great blaze.’

Nick decided to just go with it, concentrating the elemental powers flowing through him and rising into the air, as he had with many attacks of this nature before.

After a couple seconds, every shadow creature in the room was drawn towards Nick, whose eyes were glowing a bright fiery red, and before anyone could react, Nick thrust his arms outwards and a great maelstrom of fire spread out from his body, effectively obliterating all of the shadows in the area.

Nick dropped back to the ground, his eyes returning to their normal color. “Whoa. That was pretty neat.”

‘Nicely done, young one. You have proven yourself worthy of the power of the elements.’

“Thanks for the tip. Now, is there some way I can stop the Dark Master with these powers?” Nick asked. “Because some of my friends are in danger, and they’re gonna need my help!!”

‘Patience. You will see them again very soon. For now, take this new attire. It will be most fitting towards your powers.’

A bright flash covered Nick, and when it receded, he was wearing new clothes; namely, a flannel shirt that was multi-colored, a silver pair of shorts that seemed to glow with his Purifier aura, and a matching pair of flip-flops.

“Nice outfit,” Nick commented.

Before Nick could thank Ignitus, a glowing doorway appeared in front of him.

“Well, time to do what must be done,” Nick stated to nobody in particular, walking through the doorway.

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Nick woke up staring towards Momoko’s beautiful green eyes.

“Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty,” Momoko teased, kissing Nick on the forehead.

“Wouldn’t YOU be Sleeping Beauty?” Nick responded, blushing a bit. “I thought I was the prince.”

“Times change,” was Momoko’s simple answer. It was then that she noticed Nick’s new attire.

“Cute outfit,” Momoko noted.

“I do look good in it, don’t I?” Nick teased.

“You’d look cute in anything,” Momoko responded, giggling a bit. She’d gotten so much better at flirting with her boyfriend by now.

“Is that a challenge I hear?” Nick stated. He knew what was about to start.

“Nick?”

“Yes, Momoko?”

“Stop talking.”

With that, Momoko leaned forward and joined her lips with her boyfriend’s. They stayed like that for about ten seconds before they pulled apart.

“I never get tired of that,” Momoko noted. “I just wish we could do some more of it...”

Nick smiled at this statement. “How about this, Momoko: you and I can do all the kissing we want right after we take care of the Dark Master, okay?”

Momoko blushed like crazy at this simple proclamation. “Deal.”

Doremi could only sigh at this. “What am I going to do with you two?”

It was just then that Nick noticed something peculiar. “Wait a minute. Where did Yuki-chan and Saiki-kun go? I can’t sense their auras anywhere around here...”

“That can’t be good,” Doremi noted. “We’d better hurry up, and boy, do I mean HURRY!!”

With that, all three of them were off, though Doremi tripped on a tree root along the way.

“Aw, man... there goes my perfect record...” the pink witch apprentice stated.

(Written by YukiShinoya444)

“Will you guys HURRY UP!!”

“As if we’re not already TRYING!!”

“Calm down, Moriko-chan!”

“Oh Akemi-chan, just let them be.”

“B-But Cyndi-chan...”

Kurumi stomped her foot, obviously angry. “Focus!! If we don’t find Yuki-chan soon... We could be in some huge trouble!”

“Tell me something we don’t know.” Poppu muttered, rolling her eyes. “We’re always in trouble...”

“Poppu-chan...” Akari started before sighing. “Um...”

“True, but nothing like this.” Onpu corrected, waving her finger. “It’s always been pretty bad...”

Especially when Yuki-chan’s involved...

“It can’t be helped...” Haruka shrugged. “It just can’t be helped...”

What do we plan on doing anyway? Sheesh... Now that I realize it... Saiki-kun was absolutely right when he said we took too much advantage of our luck...

She clenched her fists.

We need a plan...

“If only Nick were here...” Ichiyou sighed, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure he’d know what to do...”

Kurumi blushed at hearing Nick’s name but sighed as well, looking down at the ground with sad, shimmering brown eyes.

“You... You’re absolutely right, Leaf-chan...”

I honestly have no idea what to do... I sure wish Nick-kun WAS here... Maybe he...

She quickly shook her head and spun around.

“We still gotta try, don’t we?!”

“Kurumi-chan...” Riiko started, perking up.

Humphing, the gray witch stormed forward until she turned at the corner...

CRASH!!

“Eep!!” Kurumi yelped, falling back. “What the he... Nick-kun? That you?”

“Huh?”

Nick blinked and grinned, raising his hand.

“Heya, Kurumi-chan!”

Helping her up, Momoko and Doremi rushed up.

“Oh... Hi Kurumi-chan.” Momoko greeted, waving. “Nice meeting you here.”

“I wish it was just at a better time...” the model responded warily, a slight smile tugging at her lips...

Only a slight.

“What do you mean by that, Kurumi-chan?” Doremi asked, confused.

“She means... Our day has just been going from bad to worse. Yuki-chan’s disappeared and oh, did I forgot to mention that stupid night elemental betraying us?” Cyndi hissed, obviously displeased with the whole thing.

Nick’s eyes immediately widened.

“You mean... Saiki?” he asked, almost in disbelief. “Whoa... Never would of put it past him...”

“It wasn’t his fault!!” Akari protested, rushing up. “It was never his fault!! S-Saiki-kun... just lost it as soon as Yuki-chan was gone...”

“I see...” he replied, biting his lip. “So that’s it...”

That was what was wrong... This is bad... Yuki-chan will be crushed when she finds out!!

His fists tightened.

For her sake... I better come up with something...

“If you continue on, someone’s bound to get hurt... Have you ever once paused to think about your actions?”

Nick considered this before shaking his head.

So what if I’m impatient...? Still... impatience will only cause trouble at a time like this... Shoot...

“I say the first thing we do is find Yuki-chan.”

Everyone else just nodded.

“Already on it.”

Kurumi smiled.

I’m still... I’m still so worried...

Oh, Yuki-chan...

She then blushed as she realized something.

“Oh, by the way Nick-kun... Nice outfit.”

Nick laughed a bit nervously.

“Um... Thanks, Kurumi-chan.”

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Saiki-kun...

Yuki winced as her eyes reopened as she looked up, rather confused.

H-Huh...? Where did that mystery chick go?

Looking around, she made a “huh” sound.

Crackle.

Yuki got up, rubbing her now-freed wrists.

Bad guys should know better than to leave a girl alone... It’s rude.

Smiling brightly, she pumped her fists.

“Good as new! Now all I have to do is find my Saiki-kun!!”

She clapped her hands, smiling at the light twilight energy they gave off.

Good... Still in the clear...

The black witch looked around one last time before scampering off.

Saiki-kun... No need to worry! I will definitely find you... I...

I promise...

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Saiki held his head, wincing. He didn’t know what to do anymore...

...Or who was who.

“There you are.”

The wizard instantly perked up, his coal black eyes darting to where the mysterious girl was standing.

She smirked.

“For the first test... Do you remember anyone called Shinoya Yuki?”

His hand clenched into a fist as he let out a light breath, obviously not in the mood to talk.

“Hmph. Still slightly... Listen night elemental, you now have orders to kill her... understood?”

He nodded, though still a bit confused.

The girl let out a wicked chuckle before she disappeared.

“Keep to that order.”

Saiki just blinked and was about to take a step forward when...

“SAIKI-KUN!!”

He froze as he heard the voice and someone pounce on him from behind, two arms wrapping around his waist as she pressed against him.

“S-Saiki-kun... Thank goodness, you’re alright!!”

Saiki looked over at the girl, his cold gaze turning slightly confused.

Yuki spun around him, taking his hands in her own.

“I was really worried you know!! I thought I would never see you again!”

She hugged him tightly.

“My Saiki-kun...”

I’m so glad...

Saiki blinked as he instinctively returned the embrace, his eyes turning expressionless.

“Who... are you?” he asked in a raspy voice, his fingers digging into the cloth covering her back.

“Hm?” Yuki’s eyes half-way opened as she nestled in closer to her boyfriend’s chest. Her eyes then shot open as the question sunk in.

What?!

She separated from him, looking into his apathetic gaze. She blushed as she just smiled sadly.

“You don’t remember me, Saiki-kun...? Very funny. It’s me, you know... Shinoya Yuki.”

At the sound of her name, his eyes widened and he shoved her back.

“S-Saiki-kun?”

Without warning, she felt his hand come into harsh contact with the side of her face, knocking her down.

Yuki yelped, holding her cheek in pain. She turned back to Saiki, her big brown eyes filled with pain as well as shock from being hit.

What the...?

His hand was trembling no doubt, but his face was only cold and expressionless... His coal eyes seemed blank compared to the soft heart-comforting gaze she was so use to.

“Saiki...kun?” she wondered, her heart pounding.

She immediately ducked when he swung his fist at her, gasping.

T-This... This is just like that time with Nick-kun!!

“Saiki-kun, it’s me!!” Yuki called out, still shaken up. “Why are you attacking me?!”

He said nothing but approached, still looking down at the trembling girl with no sign of his usual feelings for her.

The black witch blinked and scrambled back. “S-Saiki-kun...”

“No matter what you think, little twilight girl, that night elemental will become a pawn of the master’s... It’s his fate.”

She blinked again.

Is this what she meant? My Saiki-kun... There’s just no way...

Suddenly she noticed dark energy form from his wide open palms. Her eyes widened just before she was hit, sending her a few feet back, spinning before landing painfully on her side.

Yuki hissed as she got up and looked at Saiki.

“Saiki-kun... It’s me... Yuki! Please stop...”

His fists trembled, but he showed no sign on recognization on his face. Then, he once again raised his hand.

The black witch gulped.

S...Saiki-kun...

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Nick looked up.

“Yuki-chan?” he wondered. “What was that?”

“You sensed Yuki-chan?” Kurumi asked hopefully, to which he nodded.

“Yeah... Barely...”

“Well, that’s great right?” Ichiyou wondered. “She’s okay... isn’t she?”

“...I sure hope so.”

Suddenly he flinched, looking around.

“Nick...?” Momoko questioned, looking confused.

“Momoko... There’s someone here... Looks like Yuki-chan will have to wait for the time being...”

His girlfriend blinked, but nodded.

“I... I see.”

Growling, he stepped forward.

...I just hope she’ll hold through...

(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)

Just then, a massive rumbling began shaking the area around them.

“What IS IT with these STUPID RUMBLINGS?!” Moriko shouted.

Suddenly, Nick, Momoko, and Cyndi shivered. “No... don’t tell me...”

As if to confirm their fears, a massive black dragon with golden scales, silver-white headgear, and immense red wings flew onto the scene.

“Malefor,” Nick noted, surprising everyone present. “So, you finally decided to show your face, huh, you coward?”

“Since the Shinoya girl is currently being disposed of, I figured I may as well finish the job by killing the lot of you. Once you are out of the way, nothing will stop me from reawakening the Eternal Night and devouring this world in the darkness it so richly deserves to be buried in,” Malefor explained with a vicious grin on his long-toothed face.

“Not gonna happen, freak!!” Nick exclaimed, readying his Magic Bracer. Everyone present did the same. “This ends now!!”

Hinata, Akari, and Cyndi stood in battle-ready stances as everyone transformed.

“There’s steak in it for me, right? Magic Dimension, open!!” Doremi exclaimed.

“I’ll do my best for my friends! Magic Dimension, open!!” Hazuki exclaimed.

“Time to kick some butt!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Aiko exclaimed.

“Always for my loyal friends!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Onpu exclaimed.

“There’s nowhere I won’t go for you!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Momoko exclaimed.

“Hana-chan at your service!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Hana exclaimed.

“I’m a cute little sister!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Poppu exclaimed.

“Towards a lovely future!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Fami exclaimed.

“I won’t lose to you!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Nick exclaimed.

“It’s my feelings and my choice!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Riiko exclaimed.

“This is the superstar’s life!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Yumi exclaimed.

“It’s going to be okay!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Akemi exclaimed.

“You’d best stay on my good side!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Moriko exclaimed.

“Let’s try this cute pose!! Magic Dimension, open!!” Kurumi exclaimed.

Malefor was not at all fazed by the transformations. “Good. Now I might actually have a challenge.”

“The unlucky bishoujo from the Magic Dimension, Doremi-chi!!”

“The sweet bookworm from the Magic Dimension, Hazuki-chi!!”

“The super athlete from the Magic Dimension, Aiko-chi!!”

“The famous idol from the Magic Dimension, Onpu-chi!!”

“The exotic beauty from the Magic Dimension, Momoko-chi!!”

“The hyper queen-to-be from the Magic Dimension, Hana-chan-chi!!”

“The tiny cutie from the Magic Dimension, Poppu-chi!!”

“The future lady from the Magic Dimension, Fami-chi!!”

“The courageous fighter from the Magic Dimension, Kellysi-chi!!”

“The shy girl from the Magic Dimension, Riiko-chi!!”

“The pop superstar from the Magic Dimension, Yumi-chi!!”

“The ballet dancer from the Magic Dimension, Akemi-chi!!”

“The nature freak from the Magic Dimension, Moriko-chi!!”

“The worldwide starlet from the Magic Dimension, Kurumi-chi!!”

Malefor smirked. “Bring it.”

Nick and Akemi were the first to charge forward, but were just as quickly knocked away by a swipe of Malefor’s long arms.

Doremi pulled out her bow and aimed an arrow straight for Malefor.

“Like mere arrows will harm me, little girl?” Malefor taunted. Doremi fired the arrow anyway, and it traveled in a straight line and struck Malefor, freezing him in his spot.

“What... what sorcery is this?!” Malefor shouted, completely stuck from the arrow that Doremi had just fired.

Just then, Doremi fired another arrow into the sky.

Moriko looked like she was about to freak out at what seemed to be such a pointless waste of ammo, but Doremi waved her finger and said “Wait and see.”

Sure enough, about a second later, hundreds of energy arrows came raining down from where Doremi shot her second arrow, each and every one causing damage to the great dark dragon.

Once the barrage was over, Doremi fired one more arrow that struck hard, sending Malefor crashing into a nearby wall.

“Lucky shot,” Malefor stated after brushing the effects of Doremi’s attack off. “It won’t happen again.”

At that point, Malefor disappeared into thin air, attacking so fast that no one could even see it coming. Within the space of five seconds, all of the Ojamajos had been knocked straight to the ground.

“Now do you see that it is hopeless for you?” Malefor stated matter-of-factly. Nick and Momoko were the first ones to rise.

“Not a chance, freak!!” Momoko exclaimed, slowly regaining her balance. “There’s no way we’re going to give up!! We’ve come this far, and there’s NO WAY IN HELL that we’re going to back down now!!”

“Truer words have never been spoken, Momoko,” Nick stated, pulling out the seven Majokai Crystals, which began spinning around him and Momoko. A bright halo of light appeared above them. Wasting no more time, they both jumped into the halo, coming out quite differently.

Nick’s hair had thickened, shifted to a bright gold, and flowed upwards as if by an invisible breeze. His eyes had shifted to a bright emerald green.

Momoko’s hair unfurled from its buns and joined into seven ponytails that glowed the same gold color as Nick’s hair. Her eyes had become a soft golden yellow.

“All right, then, aijen, what do you say we send this freak back to the sewer he crawled out of?” Nick stated.

“I’d be happy to,” Momoko responded, joining hands with Nick as both of them shot into the sky, where Malefor was charging up an attack that was sure to end the battle with one blow.

“Just a little more, and these wretched Ojamajos will be history!!” Malefor exclaimed. “WHAT?!”

The dark dragon couldn’t see the attack coming until it was too late. Nick and Momoko slammed into Malefor’s chest, knocking him back a few yards and interrupting his attack.

Nick teleported about three feet back, summoned his Purifier aura, and held his hands towards Malefor.

“There’s no way you’ll be able to survive this, Malefor!! YOU’RE FINISHED!!” Nick exclaimed, gathering all the energy he could find for one final attack.

However...

All of a sudden, Nick reverted back to normal in the middle of his charge.

“Well... that experience was pretty short-lived...” Nick stated before falling towards the ground. Momoko was able to fly down and catch her falling boyfriend just in time. “What happened?”

“Something in this space-time anomaly is messing with the alignment of the Majokai Crystals,” Momoko noted. “Basically, with the Crystals out of balance, we’re on our own here.”

Momoko landed softly on the ground as she changed back as well. Malefor laughed evilly at this.

“Now!! Say goodbye to your pathetic little lives!! THE END HAS COME!!” Malefor exclaimed, raising his wings and creating an enormous ball of dark energy above him.

“Oh, that can’t be good,” Moriko noted.

(Written by YukiShinoya444)

“S-Saiki-kun... Please... stop...”

Yuki looked up, trying desperately to meet her boyfriend’s gaze.

He still can’t hear me...

“Saiki-kun...”

She clenched her hands into fists, pushing herself up as she stood, still biting on her lip.

I’m not weak...

Her shoulders then just drooped and she sighed heavily.

But... I can’t... lay a finger on Saiki-kun... Cause... Saiki-kun is still Saiki-kun...

The black witch shut her eyes tightly.

What am I supposed to do?! I pledged that I’d never EVER hurt him!!

She once again shot a glace at him and her fists tightened.

“Saiki-kun... Do you have any idea what you’re doing right now?! You’re stronger than this!! I know you’re in there Saiki-kun... I... I just want my Saiki-kun back! Please... Saiki-kun... Snap out of it...”

Saiki didn’t even seem to react as he once again approached her, and unleashed a shockwave that knocked her a few feet.

Yuki yelped as she scrambled back on her feet, only to fall back down, shaking. She gasped as the boy approached her, and turned over to her side, hands clutching on her head as if to brace herself.

The black witch yet out another yelp as she felt him grab her arm and twist it in a painful position, forcing her to face him.

Yuki bit her lip to the point where she began to taste her own blood and shivered.

W-What’s he going to do...?

Her eyes widened when his hand raised and she immediately closed them, just waiting for another painful impact...

However, his fingers only lightly brushed the front of her cheek as his hand settled on her face, his thumb gently stroking her delicate lips.

What the...?

This caught Yuki off-guard as her eyes slowly opened, staring at him in confusion while flinching from the surprisingly cold touch.

This is... different... she couldn’t help but admit silently. Normally it’s very warm... But, still... Is Saiki-kun...?

The black witch blinked, meeting her boyfriend’s blank eyes as he just sighed before biting his lip. She blinked again.

Saiki-kun...

Just then his hand snapped to her throat, tightening around her windpipe as he held her up in the air with surprisingly little strength.

“Aah... Sai--Saiki-kun!!” she choked out, gripping the hand around her neck. “S-Saiki-kun... That... That hurts!!”

Tears welling up in her eyes, she shut them tightly, wincing.

D-Darn it... When is anyone going to give my throat a break?! Saiki-kun... Saiki-kun...

Mind made up, she reopened her eyes, staring straight into Saiki’s. Noting the slight hesitation, gritted her teeth.

“L-Look at me!!”

He instantly perked up, confusion lit up in his eyes. Yuki’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“S-Saiki-kun... L-Look... In my eyes... Who do you see?”

Saiki blinked, tilting his head to look into her chocolate brown eyes, his own eyes widening at the sight of his reflection.

“There... The boy I love more than anything... The one I want by my side forever... Saiki-kun.. Please... I don’t want to fight... I never do...”

For a moment he seemed like his old self but he quickly winced, a dark aura surrounding him. His grip lessened, allowing Yuki a little air in her lungs.

“S-Saiki-kun!! You are NOT Malefor’s pawn... You are Saiki-kun! My Saiki-kun...”

Saiki held his head with his free hand, it throbbing worse and worse.

Yuki tried once again.

“Saiki-kun, you’re not anyone’s pawn... You have free will, don’t you?!”

He released her, letting the black witch fall flat on her bottom. Yuki slightly winced but looked back at her boyfriend.

“Come on... I know you can do it...”

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“Nick-kun, we have to think of something!!”

“Already on it, Kurumi-chan!”

Kurumi frowned, gulping as she stared back at Malefor.

Yuki-chan...

Her fists clenched.

Saiki-kun...

She gritted her teeth.

That’s right... For both those two’s sake... I can’t lose now! And I certainly can’t give up!!

The gray witch perked up.

That’s it!!

“Nick-kun, let’s try a purification spell!” she exclaimed, surprising him.

“A simple purification?” Nick questioned in response. “I... I don’t know if that will work...”

“If my powers alone were enough to purify Cynder... Than the two of us together...” Kurumi just held out her hand.

“Just... Just trust me on this.”

The green witch apprentice nodded, taking Kurumi’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Don’t take it seriously, Momoko.”

Momoko simply grinned and shrugged. “What ya gotta do is what ya gotta do, right?”

Nick and Kurumi both nodded.

“Thank you, Momo-chan...”

“Oh, here’s some advice!!” Moriko exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

“What is it, Mori-chan?”

The jade witch grinned as she held up a finger. “Don’t die!”

Nick sweatdropped.

“I’ll... I’ll keep that in mind...”

Good ol’ Mori-chan... huh?

He and Kurumi quickly turned to Malefor and nodded.

The shot was fired.

“Ready, Kurumi-chan?!”

“Definitely!!”

“Asobu soba de sakiyaki sore!!”

“Puripuni pikipika chachaki!!”

The two pulled each other close, and threw out their palms.

“Double Ojamajo Purifying Light!!”

The purification spell came in contact with the dark energy, immediately exploding into a bright light that caused everyone to cover their eyes.

“Huh... Impressive...” Malefor noted as soon as the light cleared. “Not too shabby...”

Kurumi turned to Nick grinning, and nodded.

“Malefor...” she started, her voice sugared with the sweetness she reserved for her kid fans.

Her look turned determined.

“...You haven’t seen nothing yet!!”

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“SAIKI-KUN!!”

Yuki blocked another dark sphere, gasping as she rubbed her arms, feeling her blood stain her fingertips.

“Saiki-kun... Please snap out of it...” she begged, almost desperate.

Saiki lightly growled and raised his hand, letting out a static lighting that sent shivers up her spine.

A-Alright then...

“I’m not going to back down!!” she exclaimed.

“The waves of my own feelings, take--”

“Yuki-chan...”

Huh?

Yuki immediately stopped, her eyes sparkling with horror.

Saiki-kun’s still Saiki-kun...

“I... I can’t hurt him...” she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. “It’s Saiki-kun... How could I?”

The wizard took advantage of this and struck, knocking her down to the ground. Yuki slowly got up, gazing at him sadly.

Saiki-kun’s still my Saiki-kun...

She closed her eyes tightly and threw her fist, immediately making him brace himself...

“Yuki-chan...”

Only for her punch to fly right by his cheek, just barely harmlessly brushing his face, surprising him.

Saiki looked at her questionably, his eyes widening at the sight of her tears.

“I won’t... I won’t harm you... And I won’t let anyone else harm you either!! B-Because...”

She covered her mouth, muffling a sob. “Because... I...”

His hand reached out to pat her head before he froze, shook his head, and backed away. Saiki raised a trembling hand at her once again, making her perk up.

“S-Saiki-kun... please...”

(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)

Suddenly, Cyndi perked up. “Wait a minute... when I got a good look at Saiki... I noticed something peculiar about the dark aura he was emitting... that must mean that Malefor is controlling him! I’ll just bet that if we can defeat Malefor, we may be able to break that spell!”

“Well, then, what are we standing around here for?” Nick exclaimed, aiming straight towards Malefor.

“The bow and string of a determined boy, take this!! Ojamajo Arrow of Light!!”

Malefor easily dodged that attack.

“Is that the best you’ve got?” Malefor taunted, but, in his gloating, he didn’t notice a second Arrow of Light heading straight for him.

The second beam of emerald light collided with his head, destroying his headgear.

“You will pay for that, you scum,” Malefor growled.

“Tell it to someone who cares!!” Nick shot back.

One after another, Nick kept firing his signature attack towards Malefor until the sky was literally filled with emerald energy.

“You’re persistent for someone of your age,” Malefor stated.

“Momoko’s been telling me that for years now,” Nick replied, joining hands with his girlfriend.

“The rainbow of hope...” Momoko chanted.

“The glimmer of promise...” Nick continued.

“In a world without light, let our presence shine forth and destroy the shadows!!”

Malefor began aiming another stream of dark magic for Nick and Momoko just as a bright aura appeared around them.

“Double Ojamajo Rainbow Blitz!!”

With that, Nick and Momoko thrust their free hands towards Malefor, discharging a burst of rainbow energy that struck Malefor in the back, interrupting his attack.

“I’ll tell you this,” Malefor stated. “Not much can anger me, but you little brats are really starting to get to me.”

“Then how about we end this?” Nick suggested.

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Yuki quickly dodged another shockwave, still trying to get Saiki to come to his senses.

“Saiki-kun, PLEASE!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!” Yuki exclaimed, somersaulting forward to avoid another attack. “It’s me!! Don’t you remember me, Saiki-kun?!”

Saiki seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before regaining himself and letting loose another shockwave.

He stopped back there when I called him... that must mean that the Saiki-kun I know is still in there somewhere... I’ve got to keep trying to reach him!! Yuki thought.

Through all of this, Saiki had found time to teleport behind Yuki and nail the black witch apprentice with another shockwave, sending her tumbling to the ground.

“Saiki-kun... please don’t do this... remember who you are...” Yuki stated, only to be hit with another shockwave and sent flying a few yards back. Still, Yuki managed to be able to stand up despite all the hits she’d taken. She slowly stumbled forward, even as Saiki continued to fire shockwaves at her.

“Please, Saiki-kun... please answer me... this isn’t anything like the sweet, kind-hearted boy I fell in love with...” Yuki stated, draping her arms around Saiki. The boy struggled, but Yuki would have none of it.

“Saiki-kun... remember who you are...”

Not taking any more chances, Yuki leaned forward and pressed her lips to Saiki’s, causing the boy to pull back in surprise a bit. Yuki still kept her liplock, though.

Please, Saiki-kun... come back to me!

Saiki still struggled against the black witch apprentice’s grip, but suddenly...

Click.

Saiki’s eyes opened wide in surprise before he began to kiss Yuki back. This really pleased her.

Looks like he’s back...

Once they pulled back, Saiki couldn’t help but smile. “I never get tired of that.”

It was then that Saiki noticed how beat-up Yuki was.

“I did it again, didn’t I? I lost control and I nearly killed you, didn’t I?!”

Yuki pulled Saiki close to her. “I don’t care about any of that, Saiki-kun. I’m just glad you’re back with me now...”

“It was Malefor, wasn’t it? He tried to make me kill you, didn’t he?”

Yuki nodded. “I think Nick-kun and the others just ran into him...”

This caught Saiki’s attention. “If that’s true, we’d better get over there and help them!!”

Nothing more needed to be said as Yuki and Saiki raced towards the battleground.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

“This ends now, brats!!” Malefor exclaimed. “I’ve had about enough of you now!!”

Malefor’s attack, however, was interrupted by a familiar shockwave attack as Yuki and Saiki rushed to join the others.

“Ah, so you’re Malefor,” Yuki noted upon catching sight of the dark dragon himself.

“Guess it’s time to show you what a twilight witch like me is capable of,” Yuki stated, turning the control dial on her Magic Bracer.

“All for my dear Saiki-kun!! Magic Dimension, open!!”

Yuki blew a kiss before striking her post-henshin pose.

“The twilight princess from the Magic Dimension, Yuki-chi!!”

“You didn’t kill the Shinoya girl?!” Malefor exclaimed. “You do remember your orders, don’t you, Shidoosha?”

“Not a chance, Malefor!!” Saiki exclaimed. “I’m done being your puppet!! Crescent Blade!!”

Hundreds of crescent-shaped energy blades came streaming from Saiki’s open palms, cutting into Malefor’s scales and causing him to bellow in agony.

“Damn it, boy, you are really getting on my nerves,” Malefor stated.

“Just give it a rest,” Saiki shot back, joining hands with his girlfriend.

“From the lovely feeling of the first kiss...” Saiki chanted.

“To the throb of my beating heart...” Yuki continued.

“Even if it’s all in vain, there’s no way we’ll fall to your persuasion!!”

Malefor roared and charged for the two.

“Double Ojamajo Cross Heart!!”

Yuki and Saiki thrust their hands towards the dark dragon, discharging a dual heart-shaped energy beam that knocked Malefor back a few feet.

“That’s it,” Malefor growled. “Time for you all to die.”

“MAN!! Is this guy invincible or something?!” Moriko exclaimed.

“It’s gotta be this space-time anomaly!!” Saiki explained. “It’s boosting his power exponentially!”

“Wait a minute, that gives me an idea!!” Nick shouted. “If we can weaken Malefor enough so that he can’t use his power, we should be able to trap him in here! That way, he won’t be able to get out!!”

“Well... it’s the best plan we’ve got, so I say we go for it!!” Moriko exclaimed, shifting into stance herself.

(Written by YukiShinoya444)

“Well... Who’s ready?” Kurumi asked, smiling brightly.

Both Hinata and Akari looked at each other and nodded.

“Hai!!”

“Yuki-chan, why don’t the two of us start?” she asked, extending out a hand. Yuki nodded and placed her hand in Kurumi’s.

“Whatever you say, Kurumi-chan.”

Her look-alike nodded, blushing a bit.

Yuki-chan...

“Powers of the forbidden twilight...” Yuki chanted.

“Energy of the mysterious moon...” Kurumi chanted.

“Together, rise up to protect and conquer those who stand in our path...” They clapped their hands together and pulled each other close. They drew their free hands back.

“Double Ojamajo Twilight Barrage!”

Moriko quickly turned to Akemi, and nodded. Akemi nodded as well and the two joined hands.

“To the spirits of purity...” Akemi chanted.

“For the one true hope...” Moriko continued.

“Together into our hands, we shall eliminate the negative energy from this world!!”

They pulled each other close.

“Double Ojamajo Flash Freeze!!”

Malefor let out a roar, spreading out his wings to block the attack.

“I’ve had enough!!”

Rising up in the air, the dark dragon growled, causing everyone to tense up.

“It’s not much longer, now...” Cyndi mused, clenching her fists. “We best be ready for it...”

Saiki nodded in agreement, sighing.

As long as I don’t lose it again...

Yuki suddenly latched onto his arm, grabbing his attention.

“Yuki-chan...”

His girlfriend smiled. “Just remember, I believe in you, Saiki-kun...”

The wizard flushed, and smiled back.

No... I certainly won’t... For Yuki-chan’s sake.

“Shall we continue?” Nick asked, grinning. Momoko nodded.

“Definitely.”

“The gracefulness of a girl who can dream, take this!! Ojamajo Aura Star!!”

“The bow and string of a determined boy, take this!! Ojamajo Arrow of Light!!”

The dark dragon dodged the two attacks, earning a grunt from Nick.

“He just won’t give up...”

“Kinda like you?” Moriko suggested, narrowing her eyes. Akemi flustered.

“Oh, Moriko-chan...”

“Aw, Akemi-chan... If you want to say something, than just say it!!” the jade witch exclaimed, taking her childhood friend’s forearm.

The crystal witch looked surprised for a few moments before stammering.

“M-Moriko-chan!! What are you... Um...”

Moriko cracked a smile. “Tell you what, my dear Akemi-chan! As soon as this is all over, I have as much fun with you as you want! That okay, Akemi-chan dear?”

Feeling Moriko caress her cheek, Akemi flushed a deep shade of scarlet and nodded.

“H-Hai!!”

Aiko simply groaned at the sight.

“Those two... I often wonder ‘bout them...”

“Ditto...” Yumi agreed, to which Riiko nodded.

Still... It’s nice at how close they obviously are...

While Haruka and Ichiyou simply smiled at each other, Kurumi huffed.

There’s plenty of time in the world for that... What I want is know is what to do to stop Malefor... We need to focus on Nick-kun’s plan, and that’s that! Is that...

The gray witch gulped.

Is that so hard?!

She heard Malefor roar, and instantly perked up.

A-Apparently... But still... Yuki-chan... Yuki-chan...!!

Glancing at Yuki, a heavy sigh escaped her lips.

Oh... What is wrong with me?

“Incoming, everyone!!”

With that Malefor thrashed his tail, causing the group to quickly scatter like leaves, all of them obviously trying their best to defend themselves.

Saiki held tightly on Yuki and his eyes scanned Malefor.

We need to keep up our strategy... And somehow ultimately strike down Malefor with a mighty blow... And I have a feeling that tail just might be our ticket.

“S-Saiki-kun?” Yuki shakily wondered, blushing lightly as she separated herself.

“Hm?”

The black witch was silent for a few moments before biting down on her lip.

“We... We should continue...”

Saiki looked confused, but nodded.

“Yes...”

Doremi took her stance. “Ooh, we better hurry!” Poppu nodded.

“I couldn’t agree more, Onee-chan.”

Fami smiled as well. “Obaa-chan... Let me try!!”

“Holding on for the sake of my future, take this!! Ojamajo Pretty Storm!!”

Malefor roared again and took higher ground, making both Cyndi and Saiki flinch.

Is he...?!

Cyndi soon calmed down as her shoulders drooped. “This is insane... We need to hurry...”

“We’re trying but...” Hazuki adjusted her glasses, letting out her breath. “He’s stronger than we thought...”

Onpu frowned. “Our situation never looks good...”

Momoko bit her lip. “Nick...?”

Akari gritted her teeth. “We can’t give up!! Hinata-chan, perhaps if we combined our power... We might be able to weaken him enough!!”

Hinata blinked and smiled. “That just might work!”

Nick simply grinned. Looks like Akari-chan’s standing tall...

The light elemental beamed. “First, let me try! No matter what happens, the brightest light will always shine through, right?”

Her friend nodded.

“I guess...”

Akari smiled and stepped forward, beginning to glow with heavenly light. Malefor growled, covering his eyes from the brightness.

“A... Akari-chan...” Hinata started, surprised.

“Now...” Akari started, clenching her fists.

“Let’s do this!!”

(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)

Akari was the first to step up, her hands encased in a bright silver glow.

“All right, dragon boy, let’s see how you dance!!” Akari shouted, firing numerous beams of light energy towards Malefor, her long cherry hair blowing backwards in the breeze with each shot. Malefor was able to dodge some of the blasts, but the rest hit dead-on, causing extreme damage.

Malefor retreated back, obviously realizing that his defenses had been weakened from all the time he had spent fighting the Ojamajos, and had decided that now would be the best time for a tactical retreat.

However, Nick had expected this move, and threw his hands towards the retreating dark dragon.

“SILENCE WALL!!” Nick cried, a bright purple wall of energy forming around the immediate area. Malefor stopped short of the shield, easily expecting to break it apart with a quick blast of his dark dragon flame...

...only to find that his attack didn’t have any effect on the shield wall.

“Sorry, dragon boy, but you’re not escaping this time,” Nick taunted, proud of the new trick that Momoko had been helping him perfect. “The Silence Wall can repel all magical and physical attacks from inside the shield wall. I’m sorry to say it, but you’re trapped in here now.”

“So, a battle to the end it is, then?” Malefor stated, firing numerous dark energy bursts for the Ojamajos, who nimbly dodged.

Hinata then stepped forward, snow energy concentrating around her. “All right, Malefor, let’s see how you like this new trick I just came up with!! SUBZERO SHOCKER!!”

With that, Hinata aimed for Malefor, discharging a burst of absolute-zero cold air that constricted Malefor and electrocuted him, sending him for a crash landing.

“Ever heard the phrase ‘shockingly cold’?” Hinata taunted, giggling a bit at her own pun.

“Girls! Can you distract Malefor? Momoko and I need a little time here!!” Nick exclaimed, joining hands with his girlfriend as the two rose into the air. The others nodded, focusing all of their attention on Malefor.

“The force of the unluckiest pretty girl in the world, take this!! Ojamajo Storming Spike!!” Doremi was the first up, using a telekinetic grip to grab objects near her and toss them straight for Malefor.

The dark dragon batted the attack away and charg