(36)

"There it is!"

"Finally!"

"I don't know how much longer I can keep running ..."

The club room door was a welcome sight. The repeated battles, however quickly they were over, and the constant fleeing were taking their toll on the girls, and they redoubled their efforts to reach the doorway.

They gave one final push into their legs as the door opened ahead of them, light shining through. Not the light of the abyss, but genuine sunlight from a window beyond. It was the most beautiful sight they'd seen all day.

The girls piled through the door, and the moment the last was through, Red slammed the door shut behind them. Immediately, the humming and rumbling stopped, and they all gave a sigh of relief.

"It's about time," Riko scolded them as they knelt on the ground or leaned against the door. "Have you got any idea how long I've been waiting?"

Ran, Reina and Natsumi looked to Sword Witch, but she was looking straight ahead.

... at an identical face, long hair worn loose, and clad in the school uniform with the freshman neckerchief. Nariko Kelly's face was grinning as she looked over the four of them, arms crossed as if her superiority was already confirmed.

"Kelly?" Ran asked, looking back and forth between the twins in confusion. "Why is another Kelly here?"

"There's only one Kelly here," Nariko insisted in reply, giving a stomp of her foot. "The other one's a fake!"

Sword Witch got her feet under her and moved over to a chair before plopping down again. "It makes sense," she said. "We got the boss rush, we cleared the environmental hazard chase, now we get the last boss. Arbiter's nothing if not traditional, I'll give him that."

"Hey!" the other brunette protested. "You of everyone here shouldn't be ignoring me, you know!"

"I'm not ignoring you," Sword Witch countered. "I'm taking a breather. Besides, you haven't even pulled out the Coliseum yet."

The others were starting to pull themselves up, too. It was Sacred Witch who asked, "The Coliseum?"

Sword Witch shrugged and tossed a hand back toward her. "Hardly enough room to fight in here, right?"

Ran swallowed audibly. "We have to fight Nariko?"

Nariko crossed her arms again, this time more in irritation. "I'd settle for just fighting the faker, but it's not like the rest of you were ever a match. Sure, four on one's fine by me."

She turned and grinned at Flame Witch, who was already starting forward. "I know at least one of you've been chomping at the bit for that opportunity for years."

The redhead stopped short of actually attacking, only seething and clenching her fist. "Oooh, I did not miss this attitude."

"Darling and Dear were right," Sword Witch agreed. "You're not quippy at all. You're just--"

"A bratty know-it-all, I know," Nariko cut her off, tossing her hair. "I've heard it before. I can't help it, I actually do know it all."

But her counterpart just relaxed an arm over the back of her chair. "For someone who knows everything, you're very bad at prodding me for a reaction."

"It's because you know it's what I'm doing, so you're just ignoring it." The untransformed girl shrugged. "You might as well be cheating."

Reina stepped forward. "Why are neither of you more disturbed by this?"

"Why?" Sword Witch scoffed. "Obviously, she knew we were coming. As for me, well, it all made sense the moment she showed up. Nothing's changed. It's the same old tune Arbiter's been playing all along."

Nariko stomped toward her at that. "Don't treat me like I'm some sort of puppet, faker! I'm fighting for my existence here!"

"So is everyone else in this room, Kiddo," came the reply, making a vein on the schoolgirl's head pop. "Welcome to the club."

"What did you call me?!"

Rather than repeat herself, Sword Witch turned her full attention to Nariko for the first time since she sat down. "But we're fighting for something else, too. Where's Haru?"

Nariko seethed, hissing through her teeth. "I told you not to ignore me! Haru's fine, I'm keeping her safe! She'll come back with me and everything will be normal again!"

"Yeah?" Sword Witch asked. "You think she'll be just hunky-dory with you offing all the rest of her friends?"

"Pshht," the other girl went with a dramatic roll of her head. "I'm not going to kill any of them. Just you, imposter."

"I'm just curious, why do you keep bothering calling me an imposter and a faker when you know I'm ignoring it?"

"What else am I supposed to call you?" Nariko demanded. "Defective? I'm not calling you by my name, that's for sure."

"And Haru's going to be fine with you killing me just because she's got you?"

Now, Nariko turned to face her pony-tailed counterpart with a cocky grin. "You're joking, right? You've gotta be joking."

"I have a horrible sense of humor."

Behind her, Flame Witch scoffed. Both brunettes ignored it.

"She chose me!" Nariko threw her arms wide. "How do you think she ended up here in the first place? How do you think I ended up here?"

"Five-D shenanigans."

The remark earned Sword Witch only a scowl before Nariko continued. "Haru wanted the real Riko back, not some faker that can't remember anything. Fighting to the death was the Arbiter's idea, though. You're right, I'm sure she wouldn't like it. But there really isn't a choice anymore, anyway. After all, you've got to fight, too, you know. What's going to be your moral excuse for killing me?"

"Fair point," Sword Witch admitted. "Then the real question is, will you lose any sleep over it?"

"Lose sleep over it?" the doppelganger repeated. "I'm taking back my life, my family, my friends! Have you even told my parents about your charade yet?"

At that, Sword Witch stood up. "It's not a charade. We already had that conversation. I am Nariko Kelly."

That got a laugh out of Nariko, who spun about on the spot. "But you don't believe that. None of you do. And Haru doesn't. She wants me back, imposter. Not you. Me. She's tired of holding you up all of the time, did you know that?"

When Sword Witch didn't immediately have a comeback, Nariko dropped the arrogant tone and stepped in closer.

"You know, this doesn't have to be a big deal," she said more quietly. "The fight has to happen because we let the Arbiter make the rules, but I can make it quick. One lightning bolt, and it can all be over. We both want what's best for Haru, and for the team. You won't even feel a thing."

Sword Witch closed her eyes, her head declining. The words weren't lies. Tricks, maybe, but they used the truth. Was she really such a burden to everyone? Sure, she'd helped get through the rough parts, but they were in uncharted territory now. Was an outside-the-box thinker really needed so much anymore? Had she outlived her usefulness?

Maybe not, but was she selfishly holding onto that excuse to avoid giving everyone their friend back? To avoid giving Yoshi and Anna their sister back? Marcus and Saki their daughter? And what of poor Haru? The brunette's own shortcomings had driven her to bargaining with the Arbiter.

Yes, she was still young, and it could easily be called a mistake of naivety, but it had still happened. Haru wanted Nariko back that badly.

She could feel her resistances begin to crumble, the same forces that fended off an enhanced Dakunaito weighing down on her shoulders like pillory stocks.

"No! Stop Riko!"

Her eyes snapped back open. "Haru?!"

The television in the corner was on, and in it, the blonde's face was pressed against the screen, desperately straining against it with the urgency of her words.

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But it wasn't a directive for Riko to stop. It was an order to stop her, and Sword Witch's eyes immediately went to the school girl, but she looked just as confused.

"Don't let her give up, not like that! The Arbiter--"

But the feed cut and the television went off again.

"Tch," the school girl grumbled. "Traitor. I was so close. All you had to do was sit there and be quiet, and everything would have been okay again."

But the other Witches were losing their hesitation. One by one, they came to stand again behind Sword Witch.

"I see," Reina spoke for them, and her gaze was like a headsman's ax. "You're not really Nariko at all. You really are just a construct, the Arbiter's puppet."

"I wouldn't have been!" Nariko insisted back. "All I had to do was get rid of the faker, and I would be back to my old self! But fine! You all want to fight now? I told you I could take you all on!"

She jumped back, lightning flickering at her fingertips. Sword Witch's eyes widened and she lunged forward, too, grabbing the girl just as she threw the card skywards.

Nariko grinned right into Sword Witch's face, as if to say how much she was about to regret doing that, then shouted, "TRANSFORM!"

The blast of lightning sent Sword Witch flying backwards as the electricity settled in around Nariko. She turned and spun, its static solidifying into boots, a skirt, bracelets, flared gloves and a faux v-top with cloth pauldrons in flashes of light.

"Brilliant Storm of Ambition! Thunder Witch!"

With that declaration, the room changed, and by the time Sword Witch got back to her feet, Thunder Witch was gloating over the featureless yellow void they were all now standing in, semi-translucent marble floor stretching into the distance in every direction.

Off to one side, Haru sat on her knees inside of a gilded bird cage suspended in mid-air.

"Well?" Thunder Witch inquired, clearly enjoying the moment. "What do you think of my Coliseum now that it's out?"

Sacred Witch cast her gaze and her senses around. "This place is completely saturated with raw magic."

That drove the Witch to throw her head back in laughter. "I'm not surprised Tamashini would notice! It's not just saturated! This entire plane is nothing but raw magic energy!" She held a hand out toward the group as lightning began to spark across her palm. "It's the Arbiter's gift to guarantee I can't lose! Thunder Cannon!"

Shield Witch grunted as the spell collided with her barrier, and two other Witches stared as the barrier cracked in the brief instance of the assault.

The fourth Witch didn't care.

The ponytailed brunette bolted for her doppelganger, blade drawn back. Thunder Witch ducked under the slash and jumped back to avoid the follow-up kick in hauntingly familiar patterns. With one deadly difference.

She's fast, Sword Witch thought as she took a shocker attack like a taser to her knee instead of it just being shoved away. Even though her follow-through with a Shining Lance was immediate, Thunder Witch was already dipping to the side and the beam blazed harmlessly past her ear. Faster than me.

I need to be faster. I need more power.

Her eyes glowed dimly as she focused on demanding more. More from her body. More from her magic. More from the evangelium.

Thunder Witch's laughter echoed in the wake of her evasion. Shadow vines leaped up to grab at her, but both she and Sword Witch were no longer in the zone of control they sought to grasp. She spun out of the way of fireballs from two different directions.

And each miss was punished with blindingly-fast casting. Ran's defenses were absorbed with protecting the main party, but even so, her barrier wasn't getting enough time to regenerate. Holes were growing in its membrane.

More!

Sword Witch tried hard to harass her, to keep her too busy to split her attention, but she was too fast. The evangelium and hordestadt were starting to grow warm against her skin, and a sensation like an impending sore throat was beginning to seep into her body.

More!

If she could just get her hands on the electric imp, she could end it in one blow, but it was like chasing wind. Thunder Witch seemed to gloat in how close she stayed, encouraging the continued attempts as if they were nothing more than the opportunity to show off.

She knew what Sword Witch was going to do. She could see it coming. She had the speed to counter. At each clash, she was moving before the blow even came.

To a degree, the brunette could do the same. It was how she could engage for so long outside of Ran's protective barrier. The longer she fought Thunder Witch, the more she could see her tells, identify what was coming, figure out how to avoid it. The gap was closing, but not fast enough. At this rate, she would burn out before she learned enough.

MORE!

The light from her eyes trailed behind her movements as what hair was unrestrained began to hackle and spark. The itching sensation intensified and expanded, and her sword hand grew uncomfortably warm, but her attacks were coming closer.

Thunder Witch seemed to notice, too. Her attacks against the other Witches started to slow as she focused more on her counterpart.

"I don't know how you're doing that," she complained as she turned to avoid a thrust and turned the movement into a pirouette to avoid the swipe toward her, "but it's not enough! It can't be! You don't get it, I have unlimited energy! You'll kill yourself before you can--"

That's when she saw it, a path to progress. Thunder Witch was preparing another Cannon, Sword Witch was attempting to pin her down with shots from the pistol. She lunged, aiming to make the pistol more difficult to avoid from closer in, but Thunder Witch wasn't aiming for her.

Thunder Witch's eyes widened as both of them turned out of the way of their attacks, Sword Witch allowing the beam to pass down and slam again into Shield Witch's barrier, finally shattering the perforated construct like glass even as the pistol's beam soared past her.

And then she froze as the sound of metal blasting apart and Haru's yelp reached her. Sword Witch wasn't aiming for her, either. A feint?

Sword Witch's hand closed around her collar and yanked her down, aiming to slam her hard into the ground, no doubt for a coup de grace.

But Thunder Witch's face split into a smile an instant before they both kept going, swinging around as if they were suddenly in zero gravity, tethered only to some vague point in space.

Rather than break out, she drew back her firing hand, lightning beginning to dance around it. "Did you forget already? Pure energy! There is no floor, idiot! Thunder-- Huh?"

As she thrust her hand toward her enemy, Sword Witch actually reached forward and grabbed it, palm to palm, gritting as she concentrated on power. More. More power!

I NEED MORE POWER!

Thunder Witch's eyes widened as she witnessed the energy of the plane begin to shift into her opponent, golden-blue jewelry beginning to glow white, the roots of her hair toying with the yellow of pure electrical energy.

"You stop that! That's MY power! You have no right to it!" She shoved her hand forward again. "Thunder Cannon!"

"SHINING LANCE!"

The clashing energies began to flash and spill from between their palms as they entered a magical arm-wrestling match, each pouring more and more energy into the centimeter of space. The spells stretched longer and longer as they struggled, refusing to cut the power, to finish the attack, to release their white-knuckled clasping of the other's hand.

"Furious Dragon's ... EXPLOSION!!!"

Thunder Witch turned to look at the incoming fireball, but couldn't pull away. When she tried, Sword Witch refused to let go. Instead, they entered a struggle trying to wrestle the other into the path, but with nothing to push against, they just continued to turn and rotate in "mid-air."

As a last-ditch effort, they both shoved one last mass of energy through their spells, just before the third collided.

Neither even heard the explosion as the light, heat and energy briefly overwhelmed everything, and then, somehow, gravity had reasserted itself, as both landed on their backs on opposite ends of the battlefield.

Sword Witch was mildly aware of grunting with the impact, but little else. Hands reached out and grabbed her, lifted her up off of the ground, but she was still too dazed to process it.

"Riko! Tell me you're okay, Riko!"

"Haru?" she asked, cracking her eyes against the washed-out light of the planar arena.

"I'm right here! I'm not going anywhere ever again! Just be okay!"

"Tell Red ..."

When her words were cut short by a cough, another voice interrupted. "Tell Red what? Are you going to complain?"

"... I was gonna say ... nice shot."

"Pfft, yeah, you'd better."

She made a conscious effort to find her feet and get them underneath her, and the hands helped her stand. She looked to them for something to focus on and found Haru smiling at her from one side and Flame Witch - supporting basically all of the weight - on the other.

Ran and Reina had their focus trained on the other side of the field, where Thunder Witch was bound in shadow chains and wrapped in a bubble field.

She didn't seem upset, though. At least, not about the containment.

"Why ...?" she asked plaintively. "Why did you run to her and not me?"

Haru moved to put herself in front of Sword Witch. "Because you're not my Riko! Maybe she's not all of her, either, but she's more Riko than you are!"

"You're only saying that ... because you can't feel my emotions ..."

Haru hesitated at that, but Sacred Witch spoke up instead. "Prove it, Kelly. Answer me truthfully. If you didn't have to kill Sword Witch, would you let her go?"

The order was delivered with authority. It was a monarch demanding a response, and Thunder Witch's teeth ground as she tried to resist.

"That's ... not a fair question, Tamashini ... Ask another!"

"I asked that one. Answer!"

She grit her jaw. "I can't let her have her way with my family, my friends, my life! I won't share with her!"

"Riko would never be so selfish!" Haru screamed across at her.

"Ask her, then," was the cold response. "You can tell if she lies, after all."

The gazes in the room turned to Sword Witch, but she didn't hesitate to answer. "What's one more sibling but a good thing?"

That answer made Thunder Witch seethe again. "Fine! You want to side with them?! You want to abandon me?! I'll reset the whole thing! No more Sword Witch stealing from me! Humiliating me!"

Lightning began to surround the witch despite the chains and barrier. One moment, Sacred Witch retracted her outstretched hand with a hiss as if she'd grabbed something hot and the chains shattered. The next, Shield Witch crumpled down to one knee, and the lightning exploded out.

"Shocking Lightning ..."

By this point, Sword Witch was confident she knew a finisher charging when she saw it. She reached out, grabbed the untransformed Haru around the waist and tossed her back into a surprised Flame Witch's arms.

"CRASH!!!"

The great bolt of lightning came from between the hands of the false witch as she finished her spin, and reflexively, Sword Witch threw all of the effort she'd reached in the battle with her back into her demonic gear.

Somewhere inside her, she felt something protest, but she ignored it as she lunged forward and shoved her sword to the sky, dragging as much energy in as she possibly could and hoping against hope it would do what she wanted.

The bolt leaped from its trajectory to strike the sword with an explosion of energy she thought beyond imagination. She vaguely heard Haru cry out again, but she refused to be distracted. The energy that lanced through her, she grabbed it, forced it into the blade as it glowed white hot, like an electric fire in the darkness the whole realm suddenly seemed by contrast.

Ahead of her, she heard Thunder Witch swear. "What are you DOING?! You fucking CHEATER! That's not possible! You can't just take that! That's MINE!!!"

"No," Sword Witch growled back through her concentration to keep the raging energies at bay. "I'm Nariko Kelly. Lightning ... belongs to me!" She shoved the sword toward the sky again. "DARKNESS CRUSHER!"

Dark flames engulfed the brilliantly white blade, swirled with it, fought for dominance. That thing within her went from protesting to painful, but she forced her will into holding the conflicting powers. Unseen to all, the blade of the unlimited evangelium began to crack.

Thunder Witch took a step back. "What are you doing?!" she repeated. "How are you doing it?!"

"I'm finishing this," she answered through the strain. "As for how ..." Sword Witch's eyes burned as she began a rotation with that heavy blade overflowing with power. "I'm SWORD WITCH!"

"FURIOUS DRAGON'S EXPLOSION!!!"

And as she brought the sword down, filled to bursting with dark fire and blazing light, the blade shattered, and all the realm with it.