Luz tried to break away the rubble stuck on her, but failed. "Can't use Glyphs, can't outsmart him." She grumbled. "Think Luz, what's the play here?" Bill was way too strong for her to do anything. If it wasn't for Starry Quartz existing, she might have lost hope. Even if the fight was totally one sided, the fact they were able to keep Bill's attention for so long was a miracle.
She thought she dealt with the worst of the worse on the Boiling Isles…but this was next level mayhem. The only thing she had going for her now was plucky determinism, something that didn't really matter when there was a triangle on the loose that could atomize her with almost a thought.
Luz had to shake her head away from the doubt. Starry was still out there, that means they still had one powerhouse on the battlefield willing to fight to the bitter ends of the universe to save everyone-
And then Steven crashed next to her, bruised and battered. "Bastard …" He coughed. "I'm gonna … maim him …" He tried to push himself up, falling to the ground.
"Hey…bro….great job….staying in…the game…" She tried to joke to ease the tension and failed miserably. "So…it's been a rough day…."
"Like nothing else." He groaned, slowly crawling over, flickering pink as he lifted the rubble off her and tossed it away. "Go find the others … I'm gonna try holding him off."
"Steven….you were swatted away like a fly facing him head on…if you do that while unfused, he's going to squish you like a grape." Luz reminded him.
"Probably." The boy admitted. "But we don't really have many options as it is."
"Enie menie miny mo." The mad triangle joked from a distance. "Who to maim and who to throw?" Nightmarish screams emanated from a direction. "I found you!"
"Steven…" She turned to him. "Do you have any other plan that doesn't involve just throwing yourself really really hard at the guy?"
"No, but I can turn myself into a kaiju and rip out his eyeball." Steven grew horns on his head.
"Or you become an easier target for him to blast you to ashes." Luz pointed out
"Well if you have a plan, I'd love to hear it." He turned to her with an eye roll. "Because our option pool is significantly negative."
"Let's turn these ducks into cooked stew! Always been a fan of poultry!" Bill shouted in the distance.
"I…I…" She was drawing a blank. She had nothing. "I…I don't have any other plans, but I don't want to see another member of my family try to sacrifice themselves again." Luz gave him pleading eyes. "Eda did that to save me from Lilith, King did it to save me from the Collector..I don't want to experience that again."
Steven stared at her, before groaning in frustration. "Damn it … now what? Starry Quartz was essentially a nuclear reactor for magic and he treated it like a joke."
"I suppose whatever you did with the Diamond's wouldn't work here?" She asked, already knowing the answer to that.
"I was lucky to get close to them at all. This guy has no attachment to anything but chaos and destruction. It's like a pre-earth Star if she continued to set Mewni on fire with flaming rainbows." Steven sighed. "Just for once i'd like some outside help for a guy this high above our weight class."
"I know the feeling. Back on the Boiling Isles, that was pretty much me for everyone. For so long, I struggled to punch up against everyone with magic." Luz laughed. "Eda even called out the formula for saving me by that point during Grom…that's when I had my first dance with Amity."
"My first dance ended with me feeling like a freak." Steven chuckled a bit brokenly. "It was my first time fusing with anybody. If Star wasn't there, I would've been scared to touch anybody…I probably wouldn't have even tried to date anybody if she didn't keep pushing me in that direction."
"Ah, pushy siblings, gotta love them." She smiled, placing her hand on his shoulder. "If we get out of this alive, is that the route we're going to go with Ian? Pushing him forward, supporting him even when he doubts himself?"
"Telling him that everything's going to be okay, even when it's not." Steven let out a small tear as they heard a loud boom in the distance. "Telling him it's not going to be the end of the world even when it totally is."
"Helping him with homework we barely understand, giving him the facts of life when the hormones finally set in." Luz cried a little along with him. "Tease him about his crush even though his love life will probably be more complicated and worse than ours was."
"Guiding him through constructive teen angst and rebellion. Teaching him to ride a magical pink Lion with no problem but keeping him far away from a car out of fear of him crashing into something." Steven continued to laugh. "Contemplate our own life choices when our more rebellious friends start influencing his actions."
"Help him with problems that are probably just ours coming back to haunt us." She laughed as well, falling onto the ground, feeling tears run down her face. "Hugging him when he loses someone and giving him all the ice cream he wants."
"It's a lot … I wanna be there for him but I don't know if we'll make it." Steven said. "If stuff like this just keeps popping up over and over … is my own kid gonna grow up in an adopted family just like I was?"
"Well, that depends on whatever choices you and Kelly make." Luz spoke honestly. "Like I said, I've been in a whole circle of my loved ones making a big sacrifice to keep me safe. And yes, sometimes I'm inclined to do the same thing." She sighed. "But like you said, you're not your Mom. You're not the chosen one, or the product of some sort of complicated destiny. You're Steven, and you can choose what you want to do with your life, in spite of the bad things that come our way."
"Thank you…you have no idea how good it feels to hear that." Steven smiled. "Sometimes I just think I'm nothing more than the sum of Rose Quartz's mistakes, but..I have things Rose never had. I got to be human, I got to have two loving families….and I got to see it expand into something amazing."
"Humanity is awesome dude, don't knock us down." She grinned as she fist bumped him.
"Yeah, we're awesome." He grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for being here. I'm glad I have another sister in my life."
"Glad to have another brother." She grinned as she held on tight … enveloped in a warm light. Oh, her first fusion!
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KO looked down at his bloody hands. "Well, if TKO was still around, even he'd find this too much." The boy muttered to himself. Things had been a bit intense lately, with the nightmares, then Strike, and now a psycho triangle wanting to turn them all into toys. But he was sure with a bit of elbow grease and hope, they could get through this.
Hope was looking pretty dried out though as he walked along. His friends were scattered all over the place, captured, or turned to stone now, and it was getting hard to keep track of who was where now, or what became of them. He saw Wander turn into a giant spoon and bubbles entire body got turned into literal bubbles
And as for the Pine Twins … oh god the two of them got the worst of it if those screams were any indication. "Oh would you look at that!" The voice of Bill shouted out. "It's Half Baked! How would you like to have human flesh shoved down your throat until you pop like a balloon!?" He heard such horrible things … and wasn't able to do a thing about it.
"Bastard …" He turned, seeing Star's damaged body trudging along. "Gonna … blast him …into ….next week." She growled trying to make it forward.
"Star!" He ran up to his friend, worried about all the blood marked across her arms as she dragged herself across the ground. "You're okay….ish."
"As okay as you can … be against someone like him." She groaned. "KO, tell me you can hit ten times harder than when we fought the Diamonds, please."
"I can try, but that would take about two full power up sequences that would take about an hour to complete, and I think we might become dust by that point."
"Greeeat." She grumbled. "Alright, take whoever you can and break out for help. I'm gonna try distracting him for at least a few minutes."
"Star, he batted you around in that dragonfly form like you were a toy mouse in front of a cat." KO reminded the girl. "Do you even have the strength to stand up by yourself without falling?"
"If I make some magic stilts … maybe." She admitted. "But our options are very limited as they are, and right now he's only being held back by his own sadism."
"As for you Fuse Box … lets shove you together with a thousand souls!"
"Then let's use that time…wow, I feel guilty for that…to think of a more solid plan." KO closed his hands. "We've gotten out of tougher scrapes before."
"Have we? He's making the Diamonds look like a pair of really big dominos in comparison." Star groaned. "The closest we've come to facing someone like him head on was Omni, and he got taken out by my ghost family because he would've put black holes in my head if they didn't."
"I mean, look on the bright side." He tried to stay positive. "If things were really bad, time travelers would have come back to help us, right?" Please let deus ex machina be applicable here.
A portal opened up, some dude with goggles and a track suit popping out. "Please tell me I'm not to late-" A collar popped on his neck.
"Blendin, my favorite time traveler!" Bill shouted out as the man was dragged away. "Thanks for reminding me I need to incinerate Time Baby again once he reforms in the next thousand years!"
"Well, the future is doomed." Star laughed brokenly. "At least space time will explode not because of something I did…then again, we failed to stop Bill, so…guess I'll be fine with sharing a fourth of the blame."
"Only a small bit. This was on all of us Star." KO reassured her. "Sometimes heroes don't win, and that's okay." He gently picked up the girl. "We just get back up, and try again."
"Hehehehe, I've been doing that in circles for the past five years.." Star cried a river of tears. "My brother accepted that we always have to keep fighting to keep our happiness…..but…but I'm just so tired of it." She got on her knees and tried to wipe her eyes. "I'm not good at protecting people, I'm not meant to be a hero…I just make everything worse."
"Who said you had to be good at it?" KO asked, holding her tightly. "All we ask is that you try." Just try to help people, even if you fail. That's what made a person a hero.
"But … what if people just die endlessly?" She asked. "What if it's a downhill battle?"
"The thing about hills is that you can always keep walking up them." KO patted the older girl's back. "You can stumble, and you probably will fall down a couple of times, but the only thing that can stop you from moving at all is you."
Star shuffled, holding him tightly. "How is it that the youngest ones are always so inspirational?" She asked no one in particular.
"Hopeful optimism combined with a simple world view that likes to get straight to the point plus real world experience." KO summed up. "I've fallen down hard plenty of times, and when I did, I was always able to get back up, even if I had to start over." He smiled up at the girl. "It doesn't matter how many times you have to, as long as you're trying, the world will be a better place for it."
"Ok KO, I think we used up all our conversation time." Star sighed at the sight of a massive implosion. "So come on … let's be heroes." For some reason he always felt like epic theme song music played in the background whenever someone said those words.
"Yeah!" He grabbed Star's hand and held it high! The greatest heroes in the multiverse!" She laughed as her face started to glow, and he felt a weird warmness take over his body as a bright light flashed before them.
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Bill finished clearing the scorch marks out of his eye. Seriously, everyone always went for the eye! "Alright, let's see. Dorito head and British Crumpet, smart but there's always smarter…so you two got upped on the redundancy factor!" He yelled as he summoned tiny black holes into the air near the brats.
They were saved by a grappling hook from egghead, who had a literal half of his head gone after he cooked it into an omelet, and flew out as the objects crushed. "Your tyranny ends now, adult."
Bill laughed. "Adult!? I'm so old the concept lost meaning ages ago." He grabbed the egghead by the leg with a chain made up of screaming lighting. "Age and evil are completely irrelevant to each other, ya dumb kid! How about I show you with a ball of madness?"
"For a guy made of triangles, you sure are obsessed with balls!" Ghost Girl called out as her split body passed through most of his traps and monsters. "Weird quirk you have or is there something you're trying to hide from everyone?"
"I don't need to tell you how I identify." They rolled their single eye, snapping some souls of ghosts not meant to be born into existence as they chased after her. "Hah, like the world's most satisfying game of pac-man! Boy, messing with reality really brings me back to the good old days! If I didn't want to expand my party, I'd just settle here and torture you children for all eternity!"
"Even if you succeed, do you really think you'll be able to get away with all this damage to the universe?" Calamity Blue shouted as she was on a table about to be dissected like the frogs she used to live with.
"I don't see why not. The Koala said fuck it, the snake's dead, and the Aoxotol won't do anything to stop me!" Bill cackled. "Not to mention that all the former gave you in terms of protection was Glossaryck, who you made powerless, and the Guardian, who's so old he needs a replacement to fight me." He got up close and personal to Calamity Blue. "Gotta say, between him and the Kwamis, they're WAY too invested in you meatbags. Trusting you boring mortals with ultimate power."
"Maybe that's because you're a maniac that wants to kill us all." She growled. "We may not be fun by cosmic standards, but we've learned the lesson on how to handle great power."
"Aww but that's just boring." They whined. "Who wants peace when you can get chaos!" He stabbed her arms and legs, laughing his non-existent heart out. "Now, where are you Tikki, Plagg?" Despite everything he was doing, Strike did have a point about being pragmatic. Might as well take out the two genuine threats to himself. "Don't make me rip you out of Dusty Claws and Lucky Bug personally, I'll probably take out an organ or two while I'm at it!"
"Hey Bill!" He turned to a new guy, a darker look to their skin with black hair and a pink gem onto their stomach, wearing a giant witch hat that had cat ears sticking out of them. "Time to face Luven!"
They stared at the fusion for a few moments, before cackling. "This is your last stand!?" He shouted with amusement. "You're weaker than you were as RoseCorn, what makes you think Wannabe Bud can do anything?" The mortal effort was amusing.
"This!!" They raised their arms, making a massive bubble. Oh wow, he was so scared. Even as it shifted, gaining shapes and lines more … intricate … "Nuclear Warhead glyph combo, times twenty!"
"This is nothing, I still have Rose Bud's shield!" Bill yelled out definitely, raising said power up to block the incoming warhead. "With my power in the mix, it'll be more than a match for…"
Kaboooooom!
The moment it landed, Bill found himself training in irradiated fire, a fire that burned him like no tomorrow. "WHAT THE HELL!?" Bill cried out, doing his best to focus with all the infecting burns now etched deeper in his skin. "You're half of a wannabe witch! You have no power!"
"Did you forget Steven is the biggest magic amp this side of the multiverse?" The combo brat asked. "What do you think made Starry as strong as they were?" The fused freak laughed. "Helps when that wannabe, as you so put it, has more understanding of how magic works on a fundamental level. That and sibling love, that's always good."
"Fine then, but you still have no shield." They began punching through space, wrapping their hand around Wannabe Bud's throat. "I can still just attack till you're dead."
"Not if I can help it, you dastardly three sided shape of chaos!" A bright magenta light flashed before him and smacked him-OH FOR THE LOVE OF CHAOS!
"SERIOUSLY! STOP HITTING ME IN THE EYE! YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME GO BLIND AT THIS RATE!" He yelled, trying to push past the blurry ness. "TELL ME WHO DID THAT OR I'M GOING TO GET REALLY ANGRY!"
"Just a good samaritan, you foul fiend!" The magenta light died down, revealing a four armed muscular figure with red hair, a bandana mask that went over the eyes, and a rainbow cape behind them that gave off the look of eagle wings as it floated in the air. "By the magic of Mewni, and the power of friendship, you, my geometric nightmare, shall fall today! So says Ion! Hero of the void!"
"… I have heard of less stereotypical heroes in super friends." Bill muttered. "So how about we murder the concept all together." They began blasting out screams that were not meant for mortal ears, causing blood to pop out of said useless orifice.
"YOUR POWER IS MIGHTY, THAT IS NO LIE!" Power Corn shouted, somehow able to make themselves heard amidst the screaming. "WHICH IS WHY I SHALL COUNTER WITH THE POWER OF PIE!"
"Oh, pie, I am so scared.." He saw dozens of pies fall to the ground on him….pies that started shocking him with a million volts with every splat! "AHHH! TASER PIES, REALLY?!?!?!"
"A twist on Moon Butterfly's exploding pies. Just add a little lightning sauce, and boom! Literally!" Power Corn laughed like a little kid before turning to Wannabe Bud. "My fair sibling-friend, are you faring well?"
"I'll be hearing the ringing in my head for the next month, but I'm fine otherwise." Wannabe Bud rubbed the blood out of their ears. "So Star fused with KO I see…huh, never would've seen that coming."
"This coming from the combination of Steven and Luz is quite the ironic notion." They chuckled.
"You know how it is, siblings for life." The fusion chump grinned.
"For life is very accurate." Bill turned off oxygen. "Because I'm going to eradicate you all today!" They shouted, forming hands out of the ground to squeeze them into powder. "Best part about you freaks fusing together is that I now get to kill four birds with two hands!"
"Not if … we say anything … about it." Wannabe Bud created another mega glyph, bringing in a full scale tornado to send everyone flying about. "We're stopping you, right here, right now. No one else has to get involved."
"Actually, would you mind two more joining in?!" A familiar looking red with black spot yo-yo wrapped around Bill and circled around him as it wrapped all over his body. "Because the Scarlet Scarab has just gotten his wings, and he's ready for a flight!" Spoke Karate Geezer, wearing a suit of red and black spots stylized like a gi.
"Scarlet Scarab …" Power Corn stared at the latex covered figure, before shaking their head. "KO already has someone he loves, don't stare."
"Pfffft, you think that's going to help you in any way, Lucky Geezer!?" Bill laughed as he began shifting out of Yo-Yo. "Tiki must really be desperate to accept an old fossil like you!"
"It lets me do this!" He swung his Yoyo once more, bouncing off of multiple objects around them before it landed-
"THE EYE!" He shouted in agony. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?"
"The same thing that's always wrong!" Another familiar voice shouted. "We're too crazy to give up!" Before a power pole slammed Bill straight into the ground.
"Dusty Claws, you're sounding much more girly than I remember you being." He groaned as the pole was shoved right through his body.
"My claws may be dusty, but my spirit is unbreakable!" The figure that sounded like Parasite Blade showed themselves, revealing a leather clad skin tight outfit with a large cat-like domina mask on her face along with hair styled to look like cat ears. "You may be a chaos god, but now you'll have to deal with the terror of Calamity Luna!"
"I call copyright!" A bloody Calamity Blue shouted.
"Calamity Luna …" Wannabe Bud began drooling, before shaking their head. "No, no, Luz has a girlfriend."
"So four kids who think their heroes want to try and take me on." Bill said quietly, feeling nostalgic. "Good thing it's not my first time killing children!" They grew multiple arms, snaking them into snakes that tried to bite everyone there.
"And even better that it's not my first time tangoing a tango with a venomous viper!" Power Corn spun like a tasmanian devil and rapid hit each snake in the head.
"When the four of us are together, there's nothing you can pull out against us." Lucky Geezer grinned as he tied up a few snakes. "You isosceles triangle."
"Don't objectify me!" Seriously, it was almost as bad as that fan asking the angles of his body. Perverts man, everywhere.
"You don't like us staring at you, fine, I can more than help with that!" Dusty Parasite jumped in the air. "Shoot me out, Luven! Give it all you got!"
"You got it, Calamity Luna!" Wannabe Bud created another glyph bubble, tossing it right into Dusty Parasite, making her bounce off it like a bumper in a pinball machine, with her claws sticking right out.
"CATACLYSM!" She activated her power, her dirty hand landing right on…
"AGGGGGGHHHHH! MY EYE! YOU INCINERATED MY EYE!" Bill screamed into the cosmos, trying to focus much of his power into regenerating it…but.. "I CAN'T REGROW IT! YOU IDIOTS! I CAN'T USE MY EYE!"
"Haha, you mad?" Dusty Parasite asked.
"I will enjoy feasting on your entrails!" They formed a maw, turning bloody red as they shot out tentacles and teeth, ready to just get it over with. "I don't need to see you to obliterate you!"
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Luven created another bubble glyph, enhancing gravity as it shot down on Bill, who soon got up. The odds … weren't good. Four kids, technically six, against an ancient god who didn't believe in logic. "How do you like that, Dusty Parasite!?" Bill screamed as he smashed Kelly into the pavement! "You took my eye, only fair I take your head!"
"I think you're taking eye for an eye out of proportion." She groaned, using the pole to push her way out of the hand. "Hey Scarab, Lucky Charm!?"
"On it!" Marco yelled as he shot his yo-yo up in the air. "LUCKY CHARM!" A flash came out, and out came…"A microphone!? I get it wants me to be resourceful, but there has to be a practicality standard with this!?"
"Hate to break to you Lucky Geezer…actually I don't, but you can't sing your problems away this time!" Bill grabbed the Yo-Yo and pulled Marco over his head. "Luck is useless unless you know how to use it!"
"We know how to use it well!" Ion punched the arm grabbing Marco. "And we do have a habit of singing …" Lighting up four magenta powered first, Ion spun the around like a drill and began wailing on Bill's now distorted head. "We're best friends, and we'll fight to the end!"
"Time to pull a scene from a movie." Bill opened his mouth larger than a castle. "The one where everyone dies!" And tried to chomp down on Ion, getting them in his sick mouth, their fusion brother struggling to keep the mouth from closing.
Well, we've lasted this long, can't think about giving up now. Right back at you, sis. The two voices agreed. Fusion is so awesome! Yeah, it took me time to warm up to it, it helps that we took the time to build up our friendship. Now what can we do here? Your glyphs etched in my bubbles can hurt him, but it's only scratching the surface.I say we just hit him until Calamity Luna and Scarlet Scarab can do something … man they make latex work.
"LET THEM GO!" Marco yelled as he flipped over more tentacles. "It doesn't matter how long this takes! We'll fight you to the ends of the universe itself!"
The bastard smirked as they finally closed their mouths…swallowing Ion. "If that's your take, fine, let's bring an end to this stinking universe!"The ground rose, cracking as the staticy sky started to fritz even more. "Beyond the fourth wall, no one can hear you scream!"
They started bulging internally. "But we will hear that scream, and we will save them!" Shouted a voice as Bill looked downright sick. "For we are heroes!" They busted through Bill's body. "And here I thought thou was heartless?" They held up the organ in question.
"STOP RIPPING MY BODY APART!"
"Stop trying to kill us all then!" Luven shouted as they threw another Mega Glyph, pouring magma into the open wound.
"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" With half of their body gone, he pounded the ground, sending out a shockwave that broke apart the ground, sending everyone floating driftless in the air on floating rocks. "I DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT THE POWER ANYMORE! ANY MULTIVERSE WITHOUT YOU BRATS IN IT WILL BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME! I'LL TEAR APART REALITY TO ITS SEEMS, I'LL REDUCE EXISTENCE TO ASHES IF IT MEANS I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO A BUNCH OF MORONIC KIDS THAT DON'T KNOW WHEN THEY'RE BEAAAAAAAAAAT!" With all that yelling, the shockwaves kept sending them flying to every corner across the void
"Well we pissed him off." Calamity Luna muttered. "Marco, you finally figured out what to do with that microphone?"
"No…I don't." Marco looked around. "Everyone that could be used with this is useless, no boom box, no stereo…it's nothing."
"Maybe you're not looking deep enough." Ion patted Scarlet Scarab on the back. "Maybe it's not a matter of what it'll work with, but who can work with it the best."
"Who.." Marco rubbed his chin, before looking at Luven. "You are half Steven, if anyone can figure how to work with one of these, it's you."
"Thanks, but how can I?" Luven grabbed the red mic, inspecting it. "The only thing I can think to do with this is sing."
"Maybe that's what we need." Kelly turned to him. "Remember that day with Spinel? The music was half the reason we were able to get so far."
"The moment you start singing, I remove sound from existence at the cost of not being able to taunt you absolute pathetic excuses of meatsacks!" Bill shouted, charging at them.
Ion changed himself as well, looking like a brightly colored comet as they tackled Bill. "I believe in you, Luven! Show the universe thy musical might!"
Are we really going to do this!? Looks like it. Yes! Come one bro! Look deep down, and sing from our sugar infested hearts!
Taking in a deep breath, Luven closed their eyes, and though long and hard about what they wanted to say right now. To their friends…to their family. "I really hope we can do it." They sang. My first song!You mean besides the injector? That didn't count, it didn't have the dramatic relevance "Cause it's all depending on me."
"I know I must save this home I've come to know." Calamity Luna sang with a smile, rushing forward with their staff, fearless in the face of danger as they used their hair to maneuver. "And brave the dangers of armageddon."
"Saving everyone before they're beaten." Scarlet scarab joined her, as they met up with Ion, trying to push him back."
"...I mean, how hard can that…!." Luven kept their eyes closed, focusing on the mic in their hands.
"END OF THE LINE, WANNABE BUD!" Bill came in close, ready to strike.
"….be…!?" Luven opened their eyes with a bright smile, using her mic like a wand or staff, and blasting bright sunny light right into Bill's gaping eyehole.
"IT'S ALREADY GONE! STOP ATTACKING THERE!" The monster shouted as the sky's started to clear up. "Wait…that feels like the sun….there should be no day here!"
"I'd question physics, but I give up." Scarab shrugged.
"Looking up at a sunny sky, so shiny and blue!" Luven continued to sing happily, skipping across the floating debris as they started shooting more fluffiness and rainbows all over. "And there's a butterfly!" They pointed to Ion, who blushed with a wave.
"Well, isn't that a super fantastic sign? It's going to be a fantastic day." Ion sang with a wide smile, kicking Bill to the ground with a unicorn power stomp. "Such marvelousness It's gonna bring!"
"I gotta pocket full of songs that I'm gonna sing!" Luven cheered as they created a mountain of fudgy lava that Ion kicked Bill into
"And I'm ready to take on anything!" Marco dumped a pile of marshmallow toppings right on the monster's face. "Hooray!
"That's it, song's over! Say goodbye to sound waves!" Bill snapped his fingers.
"Some super fun surprises around each corner!" Luven still continued to sing, summoning five giant stereo systems around Bill and blasting him echo-echo style from every angle.
"Wait, no, I shouldn't be hearing anything! I'm in control of this world!" Bill screamed as his non-existent eye began to bleed out. "WHAT IS HAPPENING!?"
"Just riding on a rainbow!" Luna sang as she rode a rainbow like a surfboard and smacked Bill right in the back. "I'm gonna be okay!"
"Hey!" They all sang together.
"I'm not giving up today." Scarab sang, swinging their Yoyo in trajectories. "There's nothing getting in my way!" And throw floating debris right on top of Bill
"And if you knock knock me over..I.will. get back up again!" Wasn't that the truth of all of their lives.
"Oh!" It was cathartic when something was going their way for a change.
"DIE DIE DIE DIE!" Bill shouted, throwing around rusty knives and bloodied skulls without care or aim.
"If something goes a little wrong!" Ion charged through riding on top of a dragon made out of their own power, boiling bill in their air with brightly lit fire. "Well you can go ahead and bring it on!"
"Cause if you knock knock me over, I. will. get back up again!" Luna scratched the side of Bill back, leaving a trail of blood leaking from it. "Woah! oh oh oh, get back up again!"
"Woah! oh oh oh….." Scarab swung in, delivering a high velocity kick to Bill.
"ENJOY DEATH BY SUBZERO, KIDDIES!" Bill created a willwind that began covering the void in a thick sheet of white.
"Ahhhh!" Scarab screamed before Luven stepped in, sing even louder in their mic to summon fire that cleared a path.
"I'm marching along and I've got confidence!" Luven charged forward. "I'm cooler than a pack of peppermints!" They created giant peppermints that they shoved down Bill's throat. "And I haven't been this excited since…..I can't remember when!" That last part was mainly the Luz side of them. The Steven side was more cautiously optimistic.
"I'm off on this remarkable adventure!" Ion came in, a wide smile on their face as they landed fire punch after fire punch. "Just riding on a rainbow…!"
"YOU WILL DROWN IN THE ABYSS!" Cipher surrounded them in a thick fog of shadow, one that seemingly had no end in sight.
"What if it's all a big mistake?" Scarab pouted. "What if it's more than we can take?" A thing about being human…and Mewman…and a witch….and woolet….the thing about being alive…there's always going to be some kind of doubt that gets in your head.
"No! We can't think that way…!" Luna shouted, snapping everyone out of the funk. "...cause I know….!
"We're really really gonna be okay!" That was all Luven needed to hear to blast sunshine through the dark trap Bill had them in, all of them shooting out like missles right at the fiend.
"Hey! I'm not giving up today!" Ion landed a four way punch right where the crotch area on Bill would've been.
"I would be lucky to not have those … but you already shot my eye!" Bill shouted, before sending Ion flying.
"There's nothing getting in my way!" Said combo walked it off with a grin. "And if you knock, knock me over, I will get back up again!"
"Oh!" They all moved around, circling Bill and attacking from a distance.
"If something goes a little wrong!" Luna rushed in, muttering 'cataclysm' as she grabbed his arm. "Well you can go ahead and bring it on!" And used her pole to move away as the other hand tried to squeeze the life out of him.
"Cause if you knock, knock me over, I will get back up again!" Luven shot some more mega glyphs, blowing Bill up all over his body.
"Get up, get up, get up!" Scarab tangled all of Bill's tentacles, leaving him helpless as he floated in place.
"Woah!"
"Get back up again!" Luven enlarged their mic to hit Bill across the face like it was a giant vlub
"Get up, get up, get up." Luna expanded her weapon, using it to pin him against a wall of the Void.
"Woah!"
"Get up, get up, get up." Ion created multiple energy hands, wrapping them tightly around Bill to lock him even further.
"Woah!"
"If you knock knock us over, knock knock us over…!"
"DAMN YOU ALL….!" The monstrosity cried out as they all converged on him.
"I….will…." Luven charged a super gigantic ball of sound, song, sunshine and happiness, and aimed it right at Bill. "get back up again." Luven smirked as they threw it. "NOW EAT HOT EXPLODING MAGIC SUCKA!"
KABOOOOOOOOM!
An implosion appeared, starting to suck everything within, the world itself starting to turn to dust. "My fair scarlet scarab, I believe this is where you jump in."
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Marco grabbed the mic and tossed it in the air. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" A bright red flash covered everyone as Luven was able to breathe easy, and peacefully make their exit.
========================================================================
Steven took a sigh of relief, watching as Bill tried to struggle his way out of what appeared to be a giant bubble made up of rainbows and glyphs. "Well, that was cathartic." He muttered. "How's everyone else doing?"
"I just sang a musical number after fusing. Besides the trauma, I'm doing fantastic." Luz smiled. "Seriously, those magic Ladybugs are something else, I feel super refreshed!"
"I know right?" Star smiled. "The internal bleeding is completely gone." They may have pushed it pretty close today. "How's it feel to successfully wear tight spandex while kicking ass, Marco?"
"Amazing!" Marco shot a fist in the air. "I was there, then 'fsssh', I was there, and then I was there in a swing! I love being a superhero!"
"Anyone want to take a picture?" Kelly came by, giving a pose in her suit. "I wanna recreate this suit for tonight." Steven blushed as she approached him. "You know, to celebrate."
"Oh sure, celebrate." Bill rolled his now only single eye as he was back in the baby form. "This minor victory, woopie."
"You have no humility, do you?" Dipper asked, holding onto Mabel tightly in a group hug with Ben and Gwen. Keven just patted them on the back. "You lost, give it up."
"Oh, and how exactly did I lose?" They asked.
"Ah, you got your ass kicked, you're back in your baby form, you're trapped, and you don't have any powers anymore." Ben pounded his fist as he showed off his omnitrix.
"Yes, and I'll come back." He said in a voice like he was speaking to a child.
"Not if we kill you." Gwen growled. "Trust me, I have a lot of pent up aggression right now."
"Oh sure, sure." He rolled his eyes. "And tell me how well did wiping me from existence work last time?"
"You know we could always try erasing his brain now that he's human, leave him a real drooling thumb suker this time." Mabel suggested. "Match his age mentally and physically."
"Oh it's not over, it never is." He growled. "My soul is immortal, I will forever come to haunt you! Sure it may not be this century, heck it may not even be this millenia, but I'll come back to fight whatever new strength you got harder than before and-"
"Not if I have something to say about it, 'boss'." Strike came out of the rubble.
"... Hey, we cool?" KO asked. "Because …"
"I'll give you a five year head start if you give me the brat."
"No arguments here." Phineas waved off, causing everyone to stare at him. "What, just because I'm a nice guy means I have to roll with everything? Even I have limits."
"Never thought I'd see the day." Number One chuckled. "Alright everyone. Let's regroup, get this mess sorted out, and see how long some of these people have been frozen."
Various agreements ran about as Steven began walking, holding onto Star with a half hug as they tried to leave this nightmare … and then Strike's downed pen started to glitch. "Oh what now?"
"I've got it." Rex walked up with a growl himself, holding onto it … before pausing. "It's … radio is being hacked?"
"Oh, maybe we can get some more tunes playing in the background as we figure everything out." Molly suggested with a bright smile.
The sound of gentle guitars began to play from the object. "There is someone … walking behind you …" A voice rang out. "Turn around … look at me."
"An … odd choice in music." Jake the dog pointed out. "Isn't this a really old-"
"I give up." They all turned to Bill, who genuinely looked afraid. "Take me wherever you want."
"What, you're suddenly afraid now?" Star rolled her eyes.
"There is someone … watching your footsteps." The gentle tune continued as Bill began to fight against his prison in a frenzy. "Turn around … look at me."
"I'll do anything, just get me out of here! You don't want to be in the same Multiverse as that guy! If we don't leave now, we're all dead!" Bill banged on the bubble he was trapped in. "Get me out of here, GET ME OUT OF HERE!
Step "There is someone …" Steven's entire body was floored with an overwhelming malice. He was nothing but a pink pebble in a black sea. Step "Says he loves you …" There was no point to the universe, it was a plaything to mad beings that loved agony. Step "Here's my heart … in my hand …" Hope was a construct made to avoid the reality of agony that would forever plague all reality. Step "Turn around …" Stop trying to help. Step"Look at me …" Gaze upon despair. Step"Understand." That all actions are futile.
"There is someone … standing beside you." They stood next to him, a tall, leand figure clothed in a fancy black suit matched by a top hat, a mere wave of the hand and their souls would disappear like dust in the wind. "Turn around (turn around), look at me (look at me)."
"Bill Cipher." Spoke a voice with amusement and disappointment. "I believe this is the first time we've formally met."
"There is someone … to love and guide you…"
"Hey…I…such a…pleasure to meet the big guy himself!" Bill laughed brokenly, still pounding on the bubble to escape. "I mean, since you killed the snake, I've just been…dying to meet you.."
"Turn around (turn around), look at me (look at me)." There was a chuckle not meant for mortal ears.
"A funny choice of words, considering your predicament." They walked forward. "I'm confused, you took a deal with the Axolotl. Are you really that scared of me?" With a mere tap, the barrier broke … along with a small portion of the void.
"I've be waiting … but i'll wait forever." There was nothing anyone could say, they could only stare in horror at the thing before them, unable to move an inch of their bodies. Every instinct was screaming it was hopeless to run or fight. "For you … to come to me."
"No! I just…I needed to…buy myself a little time after my plans got ruined! Can't destroy existence if I'm nothing but mental energy fragments!"
"Turn around … look at me …"
"Ah, now I see the confusion." They nodded. "Unfortunately, we're changing our business model. I mean sure, destruction to balance out the Axolotl, but our main goal is just watching fun little things … like Steven Universe."
"Turn around … look at me." Why was he named? Why did this thing find him fun?
"I'm so disappointed. Especially in such an amalgamated universe such as this one, I expected you to be more impressive, not some scared little child that begs for his life at any moment he's threatened." The thing glared at Cipher. "You could've been so much more than any of your variants, but you couldn't handle it."
"I'll be waiting … for now and forever."
"I um, it's power. I got hit with so many rules. If the Koala didn't exist before I could of-"
"Even my best minions don't just make excuses." They sighed. "I guess we could always see what I can do with the one valuable thing about you."
"For you … to come to me."
"The um, the one valuable thing?" Bill asked.
"Turn around … look at me …"
"Why yes …" They obliterated the boy with a glare, the triangle left behind sucked into a coat pocket. "Your soul …"
"Turn around (turn around) …" This was him … "Look at me …" The biggest of evils. And now it was focused on them.
"Ah, I do believe I haven't properly introduced myself." The thing coated in black gave them all a sinister smile. "I'm Black Hat, villainy is my game, and existence is my playground." They tossed a card. "If you're ever in the market for despair, give me a call … but to be fair, I'm coming either way."
"Black Hat…" Steven whispered that name fearfully. "So you're the Hat Orgaku said to watch out for?"
"Thank you for reminding me, I need to grab them too." They nodded. "You've all been causing quite a ruckus across the multiverse. Things haven't been this lively ever since I strangled the life out of the snake." He snickered. "And as much as I love seeing the chaos unfold, eliminating these many heroes at once would be a bit of a damper."
"So you … don't want to kill us?" Bubbles asked hopefully.
"I mean, I'll still do my job and stop progress enough so things don't over evolve into deities, but what's the fun in wiping out everything?" They smiled. "Watching you all endlessly fight without any hope of a happy ending … it just fills me with glee, you know?"
"So you just like being evil for the sake of being evil?" Star summarized.
"Ding, ding ding, we have a winner!" The thing cackled. "Yes, heroes and villains duking it out. The heroes are constantly struggling to fight for peace while the Villains have no choice but to rely on me for resources. I run a business across the universe, and I have cards set on every side. People work for me at my pace, whether they know it or not."
"And … the Koala …" Marco asked.
"Yes, God, always trying to run a tight ship … but don't worry, I won't kill you all JUST yet. You're all too interesting to just get rid of right now." Black Hat snickered. "Now don't get me wrong, I despise heroes with a heated passion." He turned to them, power, darkness, hopelessness emanating from his body. "The only thing I hate worse than heroes is happiness … but call this a bit of an investment." They held their fingers together. "I want to see what amazing villains you can let me work with."
SNAP
And everyone was home. Everyone was blinking, shocked that they had found themselves in the middle of Nexus city. "What the.." The hat suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"And you my boy…I have to say, I usually find your story rather dull, but you…you're such an interesting variant. You accomplish so much goodthrough so much mayhem. The Multiverse is a brand new playground thanks to what you've accomplished." They raised the hand that could end all existence, and patted him. "…I can't wait to play with all of it." The sky lit green as Black Hat was enveloped by the darkness. "See you around, Kiddo."
And then that was it. "Steven! Star!" Mom rushed up, holding them tightly. "There was a light and everyone was gone. The gems went in to lend a hand. Are you alright?"
"....I….I don't know." Steven felt himself stiffen. He had no idea what to make of Black Hat…only that the darkness of the universe reached far…fardeeper than he ever realized.
"Mom?" Star asked quietly, her voice sounded absolutely drained and worn out, small hits of fear laced it. "Do you mind if we sleep with you and dad tonight?"
"I'm just gonna … call my own folks." Marco said, beginning to walk away. Nobody in the group looked like they were all right. All their injuries may have disappeared, but the metal scars were far too fresh in their minds.
Heck, even Kelly was debating calling her mom from the glance she got on her phone. "Come on … just to talk … just need closure …"
This…this entire day, week, however long it was, it was a mess. It was just too difficult to imagine any kind of bright side to this situation..
"Steven!" "Luz!" Both kids turned their heads to see his earth dad and his step mom running towards them in a panic.
"We were so worried!" Earth dad cried as they were practically smushed in a hug. "Ian wouldn't stop crying." He showed off the little guy himself, looking joyful as he reached out for them.
"… Sorry to worry you buddy." Luz patted the boy's head, as he laughed. "Just got trapped in a … dark place for a moment."
"We'll be more careful next time." He assured the little guy, even if he knew it wasn't true.
"Ste…Ste….Lu….Lu…" Their little brother chuckled as they got to hold onto them.
…So what if they just faced the incarnation of all evil? They were all still alive, and they were here, right now at this moment able to carry their little brother. For this one moment, everything was alright in the universe.