It was certainly a lot smaller than Marvin had expected.

The secret base of James Mallory and the International Defence Association, and the stage where the battle for the whole world’s future would apparently be fought.

And it was, for all intents and purposes, an outdoor public bathroom stall made of marble, squished between what appeared to be a relatively modern apartment complex and a gothic mansion covered in moss.

“The strongest magic of the world resides here,” said Chiron as he stroked his beard.

“Really? It doesn’t look like much to me. Like a marble bathroom stall more than anything else.”

Amdis laughed at Marvin’s observation, walking forward to touch the door of said bathroom stall. “I thought you’d have more of an appreciation for seemingly unimportant, pathetic, things. Or is relatability not a good thing anymore?”

Marvin clenched his fists. If there was one constant in the universe it was that, be it as an ally or foe, Amdis would forever be able to get under Marvin’s skin, and lead him to at least nearly act irrationally.

But what maddened Marvin most was that Amdis was right. No one would suspect this place of being anything significant, and that was precisely what a secret base was supposed to do.

“Remember what you were taught Marvin. Feel the universe through your conduit. Your prosthetic leg, I believe it was?”

Marvin had to do a double take at hearing Chiron’s words. He was right. It was his prosthetic leg, a portion of his life that used to dominate him. That day. And yet, he hadn’t let it be so for months. It was still a major part of him, the whole of his past was, but it was

And it wouldn’t be so if it wasn’t for Marly and everyone else. Taking a deep breath, he focused on it. Suddenly he felt the whole world around him shift. It wasn’t much, but it was there.

Suddenly, it was as if the whole place was bigger. If there was something more there. As if something was in the marble stall. He opened his right hand, a heptagram starting to glow within it.

“Snow Blade.”

The pure white sword appeared in his hand, the snow particles appearing alongside it. Whatever was in there was dangerous, and he couldn’t afford to fall there.

But all he managed to do was to take a small step forward before a large rested on his shoulder, the sound of clopping accompanying it. It was Chiron, and he squeezed Marvin’s shoulder tight. The dark haired boy turned to look up at the centaur.

Chiron didn’t say anything, but Marvin could see something in his eyes. A look that he had only ever seen back when his parents had first…passed. It was full of pity and sympathy, a look that he used to hate whenever it was directed at him.

But there was something else there as well. A look of genuine understanding and empathy. While he didn’t know the specifics, Marvin knew that Chiron was fiercely loyal to James Mallory. And now he had to face him as an enemy.

It was somewhat ironic how, at that moment, their greatest foes and greatest threats were the Mallory family and their followers, when the Mallory family was also full of members they would consider their friends, family and even more.

And it wasn’t just him and Chiron either. Adam and CB were in the same situation as well. This was a battle that nobody wanted to fight, not even James Mallory Marvin would like to believe. But it was one they all needed to fight.

He turned back to Amdis. Even he needed to do this. Because he needed this in order to die.

“Why?” Marvin found himself asking before they could do anything. “Why are you fighting with us if James Mallory and the Magesmiths could help you as well. And, as much as I hate to admit it, without you on our side we never stood as much of a chance. You could have a surefire victory. Without any doubts.”

Amdis smirked as he turned back to the boy. “I think it should be obvious by now, but I don’t like surefire ways to victory.”

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“Yeah but-”

“There are things that you do not know. Things you do not need to know. Let’s just say that I want to go out on my terms, and I am not the only one to think so, trust me on that.”

“Amdis, you shall enter first. Marvin, stay with me. James will most certainly not be alone and, even if he is, we can’t underestimate him.” said Chiron as he motioned for Amdis to go ahead.

“The Caelum Terra is the one place I’m useful during the day time. You better count your blessings and hope we don’t leave it now.” Amdis took a deep breath.

He reared his arm back, punching the door with all of his might. An unnatural, screeching sound came out of it as it flew off its hinges into the white nothingness that looked to reside on the other side.

Almost instantly, the form of a Magesmith charged through the door, punching Amdis so hard that he started flying backwards. Chiron rushed to catch him, barely managing to do so before he went too far and setting him down at the cloudy surface.

“You shall not interfere, vampire scum! Neither will you, traitors!” The Magesmish charged at them once more, but Amdis managed to block them, grabbing both of their arms with his own, and headbutting them so hard that their featureless golden mask was cracked.

“You really think it would be that easy to deal with me?” he continued hitting the, with everything he had, with the Magesmith barely managing to keep up and block some of his attacks.

“Amdis!” said Marvin as a plan started to form in his head and he raised his left arm forward. “Get in the damn door!”

Looking back at the boy and smirking, the vampire grabbed the Magesmith by the neck and laughed. “Tonight I dine in hell my friend. Why don’t you join me?” With that, he pushed both of their bodies through the door, and into the infinity of whiteness.

A glowing heptagram appeared on Marvin’s arm. “If I shoot a torrent of flames through the doorway and the commander is there with Marly, what are the chances they’ll escape in time?”

“Over a hundred percent I would think,” said Chiron confidently. “So you want to go in guns blazing? An interesting strategy young Perlie, and just what we might need.”

“Ignis,” said Marvin and the flames came out of his arm before gathering into a small ball in his hand and shooting themselves into the white abyss that was through the door.

Without another word, Marvin charged in himself, barely registering the words of caution the centaur threw at him and the clopping of his hooves as he rushed to catch up. Marly was on the other side, and he wouldn’t rest until he got to her.

The whiteness overtook all of his vision, and no smells and sounds to be found, before he was suddenly pulled back to the real world, and what appeared to be a massive platform cast in shadow, floating over a large cityscape.

On the floor were symbols, symbols that perfectly matched up with the ones on Marly’s back.

But before he could take more of a look at his surroundings, the form of James Mallory rushed at him with his sword thrust forward. He didn’t have a chance of dodging the attack.

It was Chiron’s right hand on his shoulder pushing him to the side that saved him, while Chiron defended himself by using his left arm guard to block the sword and push it away from him. He then reared to force Mallory to go back. The two men then just circled each other, neither doing anything to move.

“You may think I’ve betrayed you James, but I seek only to help you. Nothing more, nothing less. I know you won’t see it now, but I will forever be by your side my friend.”

James Mallory’s eyes narrowed as he stopped moving and the golden stone on his rapier’s hilt started glowing. “You’re here old friend, that’s all I can ask of you.” With that he rushed at Chiron, and the two started properly fighting with each other, being surprisingly equal.

But Marvin didn’t really care for that. Nor did he care for the two clear super beings, Amdis and the Magesmith, fighting among themselves at speeds barely visible to the naked eye.

He needed to find Marly. He needed to-

“Marvin.”

He turned around at that voice behind him, the voice calling his name, and saw Marly standing there, dressed in light blue jacket, with dark blue shirt and pants with a golden M at her chest, holding a sword limply at her side.

Clenching his own sword tighter, Marvin disregarded all scraps of logic he had picked up in his few times in the battlefield, and hugged her. He held on to her so tightly as if she were going to disappear.

“You’re here. I’m here. We’re together,” said Marvin, repeating them a couple of times in his joy and relief of finally seeing her again.

“Ma-Mar-Marvin, p-please,” said Marly, barely managing to stutter her words out in a single sentence.

Before Marvin could react at all, she used her supernatural strength to push him back a couple of metres. Getting up and gathering himself together, Marvin also saw that she had unshed tears in her eyes. And she was pointing her sword at him.

No, no, no, no, no-

“I’m sorry Marvin.” She was fully crying at that point.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t physically or emotionally or mentally, or in whatever capacity of the word, he couldn’t do it.

“I have to do this.”

And she did indeed. But so did Marvin. And so they rushed at each other and began fighting themselves.

Marvin and Marly. They had been there for each other through the worst moments of their lives that they were there for.

And now they were fighting each other for the right to the future of the world.