Chapter 9: The Last Fight


The threesome entered the throne room after taking Janice's advice of not entering any of the smaller doors. All of them were apprehensive and jittery, itching to get the fight over with and (in the case of a certain Neko and blonde) get married.

Something was different about the throne room. There seemed to be more trees in the courtyard on either side, and the room was well decorated with white, yellow, and red. Mikey had to make note of the trees on the other sides of the windows, for it could easily have been their trump card in this fight. He had been practicing controlling his magic a lot lately when the girls had left him in solitude to do girl stuff. Over time, that had proven to give him more comfort using it, to the point where he felt he could survive on it alone in most fights. However, he knew that he would still have to work with the girls if he wanted to stop this madness.

His enemy's deep voice interrupted him from his thoughts. "I was wondering when you three would get here." The king mused. "Though I personally thought you would be a little worse for the wear."

"Cut the small-talk." Bananas said in an unusually callous voice.

Mikey stepped forward. "Her Majesty Queen Gallifery requests that you pull back your forces immediately before more direct action is taken." He announced in an official voice.

Granton laughed. "What kinds of action can a couple of women and a pathetic excuse for a half-breed take?"

There went the last drop in the bucket for Mikey when it came to patience. Vivi bit her lower lip, knowing this was going to end badly. She was used to sexism back home, but she knew that Mikey was far less tolerant about racism. It was too late though, because Mikey already had his sword out.

"You'll be surprised…" Mikey hissed. "And you'll also be buried by the time we're done with you."

"Is that a threat or a promise, Mikey?" Bananas asked as she drew an arrow from her quiver.

"Nma, consider it both." Vivi answered.

The captain suddenly charged forward, but seemed to disappear for a split second before showing up behind Granton trying to slash him. However, the king had a pair of twin swords out in a flash, blocking his attack. Mikey continued parrying and slashing in a flurry of angry half-cat. Granton was a skilled swordsman, they had to admit, but could he take on all of them at once?

Suddenly, Vivi got an idea. "Bananas, you shouldn't fire that arrow yet." She warned before whispering her plan in the archer's ear.

"Oh…" Bananas grinned. "I get it. Ready when you are, Vivi."

Vivi placed her staff in front of her, light gathering around the curved head. Instead of doing a spell herself, however, she transferred the light into Bananas' arrow. Being extremely careful not to hit Mikey, she let fly the radiating arrow. It nailed the king right in the back with a painful cry, just as she had hoped.

Granton glared back at the two and quickly made his way over to them. Bananas saw what he was going to do and rushed out of the way. Vivi wasn't so lucky, yelping when the back of the blade met her and she collapsed. "Vivi!" Bananas tried. It was no use though, because the blonde was out cold.

Mikey glared, gold eyes shining brightly as his lips pulled back from his teeth in a threatening snarl. If he was angry before, he was absolutely furious now. In fact, if Bananas didn't know better, he was almost acting more tiger-like than human-like. "I'm going to kill you!" He snarled, raising his sword. "Bananas, take cover!"

He didn't have to tell her twice. The archer could feel the ground beneath her feet trembling, so she obeyed and went for the doorway where she knew it was safe. Suddenly the glass on either side of the throne room gave way; the thick branches of the trees ensnared the king to the point where he was completely immobilized. He cried out in pain. "Please! Have mercy!" He begged.

Mikey glared. "Why should I? It's obvious you can't take what you give."

The king yelled in pain when Mikey curled his fist under the bottom of the hilt of his sword, causing him to become even further constricted between the braches.

Bananas looked away when she heard a blood-curdling scream and she shuddered. When she felt that she had the stomach to look back, she saw the limbs of the tree retreat back to their original places in the courtyards. The body they had been constricting was limp on the floor, and the one that had been manipulating them was standing above him. Bananas could have sworn Mikey looked like a demon when he looked back at her, but he also looked completely exhausted.

The boy stumbled over to his fiancé, kneeling down next to her unconscious form. He seemed like he was in pain as he lifted her limp body up to his. "Mikey?" Bananas tried.

He was silent. Then Vivi squirmed a little in his arms. "Nma… Mikey that hurts!" She yelped.

"Vivi!" He breathed, relieved that she was okay. Embracing her, he ran his fingers through her soft hair, using the time he had with her carefully. "Thank goodness…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt your little moment, Mikey…" A new voice interrupted as Carolina appeared. "But you all look half-dead."

Bananas looked at her strangely. "Where did you come from, ma'am?"

"Neptune." Carolina answered dryly as she took the very weak Vivi from Mikey. "Either way, I came to help you until you can get professional medical attention back home."

Mikey looked up at his mother. "Mother, what about this country?" He asked. "It's bad enough that the economy is downright pathetic, but if they don't have a ruler…"

Carolina shook her head. "I'll take care of that. The good news is that the forces are already retreating."

The threesome grinned. "Yes!!" Bananas cheered.

"I'm glad you're all giddy and excited. Bye-bye!" She waved before shouting, "Return!"

In a flash, they were back at the palace in Altomar, Mikey carrying Vivi bridal-style. "Nma, put me down please, Mikey." Vivi smiled. He obeyed, but didn't let go of her hand after he had set her down next to her.

Gallifery had been expecting them because Carolina had informed her of the shift in her control over nature, which could've only meant one thing to the spirit. The queen seemed very pleased with them, a warm smile on her face. She had since garbed herself in a green dress with intricate embroidery near the top and a gold necklace.

"Welcome back." She greeted. "I heard you defeated Granton."

Mikey nodded. "Yes."

"It was so cool!" Bananas raved. "Mikey was so mad it was like the devil himself was there! How did you do that?"

The captain shook his head. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I just saw Vivi knocked out like that and that made me mad. Speaking of which, Vivi how're you feeling?"

Vivi rubbed her aching side. "I can feel where I was hit. It hurts a lot…"

"You look like you're in a lot of pain, Vivi. Why don't you go get that checked out?" Gallifery suggested.

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Vivi had obeyed the queen's orders and Mikey escorted her to the infirmary. The doctor inside poked at her with needles and other medical instruments for what seemed like hours, but was only about twenty minutes before he reached his verdict.

"It's a pretty heavy bruise…" He mused, looking at the lovely shade of purplish-green on Vivi's stomach. "If you aren't careful, there's the possibility of a hemorrhage, so just in case make sure you drink a lot of milk and get more fruit in your diet."

"Nma, I will." Vivi nodded as she and Mikey left the infirmary.

"I'm glad you're okay," Mikey began as they meandered. "But a hemorrhage?"

Vivi nodded. "Internal bleeding isn't that rare, but it can be bad. Nma, especially if it goes unchecked. It's also bad to not have enough Vitamin K, and that's why he told me to drink milk and eat fruit."

"Ah." Mikey understood Vivi's explanation of this medical stuff he didn't particularly understand. This was the first time he had ever been to an actual doctor's office in his life. The closest thing he had ever gone to was a shaman when he was younger and racism was still a big issue. Not exactly a pleasant memory for him because he had to smell incense that smelled too much like grass… or something.

"Nma, I can't believe we're getting married tomorrow…" Vivi mused distantly, staring at the ceiling.

Mikey grinned and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I know. I'm feeling a little nervous myself."

"Don't be too nervous." Vivi comforted before kissing him on the cheek. "Nma, I'm nervous too, but I'm just trying to focus on the future."

Mikey nodded before letting go of her hand so she could go to bed for the night. "I think I'll do that too." He agreed before giving her a goodnight kiss. "Goodnight. Make sure you get a decent amount of sleep."

Vivi smiled as she opened the door to her temporary apartment. "I will.  Goodnight." She whispered.