CRBA, Episode 20: Battle

Care Root’s Bizarre Adventure, Episode 20: Battle

>Darkness.
>Spinning.
>The motion between the worlds is nauseating.
>For a few endless seconds, there's no "up".
>The pain by your heart thumps against your skin, the spearhead sticking out.
>You worry you're dead, that they've cast some kind of magic on your sisters and sentenced you all to oblivion.
>But then there's a crashing.
>Another side, a light.
>You feel your form moving, the flesh melting and being resculpted as the light blinds you.
>There are screams - your sisters - but your eyes fail you.
>You can't tell if they're open or closed, now.
>And then there's new air against you, colder than before.
>As the light falls away to sky once more, the pain in your chest redoubles.
>Is this some game by the sorcerer?
>No, you can see the landscape - nothing like the shores you just conquered.
>The air sticks to you in a way you weren't used to.
>And then, suddenly, you're falling.
>You try to maintain your magic against whatever's interfering with it, but it doesn't return.
>You drop out of the air like a mudpony.
>Your sisters appear above you, you can hear the flash and glitter of the spell.
>It's a war with the wind to turn your head, but you do.
>They're still the same colors, both terrified and like nothing in Equestria.
>The three of you are so scrawny and undersized, freakish limbs pawing the air.
>You can see the cruelty of the sorcerer.
>He exiled you instead of fighting, and stole away your beauty to match.
>They stare at you, gaping with too-wide mouths full of flat teeth and too-beady eyes that cry against the air.
>Falling beneath each of them, almost touching, are their focuses, still bright red but disconnected now.
>Not yours.
>Neither of them appreciate the landscape around you.
>But you know they'll grow to, or have to.
>You've angered a force that you should have been wary of.
>But in your case, it was the pegasus, the spearpony, who you should have feared.
>Another brutal moment of anticipation, and you smash into the ground.
>The spear hits it before you, like a stuttering in a breath.
>Your body jerks forward, then back down against the pull of gravity.
>It splashes from your chest to your extremities, and your limbs move without you moving them, new muscles jerking and tensing under loose, thin skin.
>They fall to the earth after you, and you can't see them make the impact.
>The thought arrives, small and quick against the plunging force in your bones.
>Is this really how you...?
>Something wracks your body, a spasm starting in your lungs.
>Air forces its way out of you insistently, your body working to spray out whatever's churning inside you.
>Hot seawater pounds in your stomach.
>And then something comes loose, comes up in a great eruption.
>You spit it out, amid red and salt.
>Your own focus.
>A small, rubylike gemstone that sails through the air.
>And then it's lost to you.
>Your muscles settle and petrify against the earth, the furthest parts of your limbs still twitching.
>You're alone.
>Your sisters are stirring, you can hear them, but there's nothing but sky for you.
>You were raised up out of the seafoam following the two of them.
>And you made a great war against Equestria, with its own ponies for your weapons.
>Even at the final moments, when retreat was still available, you charged ahead and led the final strike.
>But now, in this shivering world, away from everything you used to know, you're silent.
>Your journey has come to an end.

>Be Care Root, driving as fast as you can.
>Lunch rush traffic is rearing its head, so you avoid the main roads.
>There are kids playing outside across the neighborhoods, utterly oblivious.
>You wonder if CHS seems particularly empty today.
>Has anyone noticed that so many students are gone?
>Twilight's next to you, texting furiously, checking phone numbers.
>Meanwhile, ｢Timbuk Three｣ runs through the connections to each, checking where they are and what's around them.
>Another three moments go sailing into the ether.
>You see each one of them.
>Buying a second house.
>First words.
>The year no one got sick.
>You can see around all of the phones now, and so can she.
>The house seems to be empty.
>The rooms have no signs of struggle or damage in them.
>But the phones are just... discarded.
>Left on beds or tables.
>Trixie's is inside of her glove compartment, and Diamond's is just on the sidewalk.
>Mr. Rich's is... far away from all of the others.
>You try to light up a map of that area, but all you get is a headache.
>Okay, first candidate.
>But if they're all separated, then you need to prioritize.
"We need to get to Derpy before anything else."
>She hesitates for a moment, and then nods.
>"She'll probably still have the gems. But if she's under their spell and we're not careful, that's going to be the end of it! I don't think either of us would be able to hurt her!"
>That's right, neither of you could hurt her intentionally.
>But there's already some kind of attempt made to distract you, so it probably won't come to that.
>The plan is to waste time until the sun sets, making you run around on a wild goose chase until you've wasted your energy.
>Then ｢Spinal Tap｣ can swoop in and pluck it from you.
>It would be game over, victory without fighting.
>As if.
>You reach a stop sign, and let your car stay perfectly still.
"You're going to have to hold on for this."
>You don't make eye contact with Twilight, focusing on the sky.
>"Wh-what are you about to do?"
"I'm cutting to the chase."
>You stare at the sun, the giant nuclear spotlight that rules time and life.
>And will it to bend.
>Around Canterlot, everything goes dark for a moment.
>Someone with a high-speed camera could capture all the constellations.
>But then the sun reappears, over the far horizon.
>Falling as fast as you can manage.
>You're bundling as many small moments together as you can for this.
>Dances, dinners, quiet moments in the dusk of age.
>Don't let all that kindling burn for nothing!
>You clamp down on it, teeth grinding, and it goes over the horizon.
>And you can feel ｢Spinal Tap｣ before it appears.
>It swims through the air as fast as possible, and you concentrate on the shard.
>It glows with an aura of light and lifts out of Twilight's hand.
>And then the car lifts up, too.
>This might cause a scene, but you don't care.
>｢Spinal Tap｣ appears in front of Twilight, taking up the floor to the ceiling.
>It's diminutive compared to the regular version, a neutral curiosity in its wide eyes.
>And with both hands, it cups the gem to its smooth, alabaster-plastic body.
>Then it's back outside, rushing off into the sky as fast as it can.
>And your tether holds.
>The whole car lifts up, and Twilight cries out, clutching at her seat.
>Then you go zipping off after it, the wind pelting your windows.
>You ignore the lurching, dizzying motion, or the feeling of moving at eighty miles an hour without touching the pedals.
>And you shoot across the sky, as fast as possible.

>Be Sweetie Belle, on a kind of stakeout.
>Both of your colleagues and fellow Crusaders are in a funk.
>You understand how they feel.
>You really did try to solve all of this on your own.
"Maybe it wasn't right to tell him, but we couldn't keep it a secret from him forever!"
>You insist to the silence overtaking the scrapyard, or whatever this place is.
>It's full of those big rectangular boxes that go on ships.
>Scootaloo tenses.
>"If this all goes wrong, it'll be because of my big mouth."
"Don't be ridiculous. We all tried our best, and there's no way the portal won't get opened. If we have to, we can just hit him and remove the future where he wins."
>It'll hurt him, of course, so you don't want to do that.
>But it's an option.
>Scootaloo shakes her head.
>"That's not it. I wasn't supposed to tell either of you about what's really going on."
>...Yeah, you'd guessed.
>Apple Bloom shrugs.
>"Can't be too bad for us to know."
>"No, they... they got rid of both of your memories, before. They wanted as few people to know as possible. I only kept mine because I was so... loyal..."
>Scootaloo's voice peters out.
>Bloom puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles encouragingly.
>"We understand why you didn't tell us sooner."
>You, on the other hand, frown and think.
"...Do you think if we told him everything, he'd have changed his mind?"
>Scootaloo turns very serious.
>"It's not our choice."
>Well, yeah, it could ruin your last secret weapon.
>If he could untie that knot, he might really stop Equestria being saved.
>But you'll know if that happens, because he'll show up right here.
>Bloom talks.
>"I'm just worried he'll go along with her sending us, and it'll hurt something."
>Yeah, you feel that way too.
>Sunset wouldn't have wanted you put in harm's way by going to talk to him alone.
>But it was the only chance you had at peace, without turning it into a big intimidation play.
>You still feel like, if he knew everything, he might do the right thing.
>Even if you're torn about wanting him to.
>You want him to survive, after everything that's happened.
>Any of the other versions, the petty murderers, they could be turned into fuel.
>But something about him here is still noble.
>Even when he learned what he was supposed to be.
>He should be grateful, and trying to help!
>It wasn't the weight on his back or freedom, it was love or death, good or evil!
>You did your best to make the right decision!
>Scootaloo breaks your fit of face-scrunching.
>"Here it is. We've secured it before, but... you wouldn't remember that."
>She waves with both hands at the container.
>This is where you're supposed to be, but you're not supposed to know about who's inside.
>You understand why she had to do this, even if it's not pretty.
>It's just your job to secure it, which is bad.
>Bloom sees it at the same time you do.
>"Is the lock supposed to be broken off?"
>You're about to step closer when the sun goes out.
>And then reappears, a fair distance away.
>There's a groaning from inside of the container.
>She can feel the energy.
>He's active.

>Be Care, trying not to crash land.
>You're more than close enough to see where you are.
>It's the Factory again.
>It's still abandoned, this time covered in a yellow weave of police tape.
>In fact, there are police cars in the parking lot!
>You really don't want to make this any messier than it has to be.
>Of course, if they see a big flying car, they're going to start asking questions.
>And if this all comes back to Derpy and her family...
>You turn the sun back off as you get close.
>Twilight startles again.
>Oh yeah, she's here.
"Okay, grab on. We're going to have to try this another way."
>You hold a hand over to her.
>She looks at it for a moment, and then grips onto your arm with both hands, eyes squeezed shut.
>It actually hurts, despite her size.
>But it's good enough.
>You focus ｢Timbuk Three｣ on the car around you.
>With a shockwave of light, it disintegrates.
>You grip the steering wheel with your free hand as the waves of blue travel from one end to the other.
>And then it comes free, as the rest turns to dust around you.
>Both of you aren't sitting any more, but the tether carriers you further without the car.
>You keep the wheel in your spare hand, and Twilight is absolutely silent as you fly the rest of the distance.
>It's heading for the hole the gems already made, more than a week ago.
>No one's bothered to patch it up, you can tell.
>But you're divebombing straight through!
>With a burst of energy, you overtake ｢Spinal Tap｣.
>The hole's approaching, but you snap the shard back into the hand Twilight's holding onto.
>And then both of you collide with the ground, hard enough to rattle the building.
>There's a blinding light with your arrival, and then you put the sun back in its regular place.
>Your whole body relaxes from the overdrive you just put your Stand into, and you get the familiar anxiety of avoiding looking at the lights.
>But you've definitely made an entrance.
>As everyone's vision adjusts, you can suddenly hear the hum.
>The background noise, like machinery, but you know there's no power in here.
>It's darker than anything.
>Twilight lets go of you, and you can see who's with you.
>Adagio, standing with her arms crossed, utterly unaffected by you.
>Derpy, sitting down next to her at the shattered remains of the conference table.
>Silver Spoon, standing in one corner, with Derpy's mother and Catcher Pouch.
>All of them have ghostly, robotic expressions.
>They're not quite dead, just... vengeful.
>Like they've realized the effect you've had on their lives and woken up.
>Adagio speaks.
>"Nice of you to come early. I was hoping to get a few things finished before this was wrapped up. Sunset Shimmer's still on her way, and so's my sister."
>Where are the gems?
>Your eyes sweep the room for a second before you make them out.
>One's around Adagio's neck, and the other's in Derpy's hand.
>The third's... not here.
>"I wouldn't do anything too hasty if I were you."
>She says.
>Fuck that.
>You hold up the gem shard, and Derpy's flies for you.
>They connect in your hand, forming a single, perfect whole.
>And before anything else can happen, you launch it back up out of the hole you came down.
>｢Timbuk Three｣ propels it like the tail of a rocket, heading for the upper atmosphere and beyond.
>If it can reach a sizeable fraction of the speed of ligh-
>Agh!
>There's a flare across the lights, and another one burns out on its own.
>The gem spins in the air for a moment and rebounds off of a wall of solid light three miles above you in the air.
>Adagio smiles thinly at the pain on your face.
>"Not working out for you?"
>Her eyes move from you to Twilight.
>"Don't worry, Sunset will be here soon. Once she is, we'll just take her mind by force, and get rid of all of these little Stands in one swoop. If you want to save your girlfriend's life, you'd better make a deal before that happens."
>Her eyes sparkle and taunt you both.
>You get a fix on the gem, just to make sure no one else interferes with it.
>Twilight speaks while you take care of it.
>”This isn’t going to work out for you, Adagio. Sunset’s too harmonious to be affected by you, and if she arrives with the Rainbooms they’ll be able to defeat you the same way they did before!”
>Adagio’s eyes don’t lose the glow, but the humming seems to draw closer around her.
>Her smile doesn’t waver.
>”He doesn’t know, does he? About your little rescue?”
>Twilight doesn’t react.
>This is some attempt at goading the both of you.
>Probably to waste time.
>You don’t need that.
>First priority…
“｢Timbuk Three｣!”
>Derpy and her family light up blue as you lift them off of the ground.
>Then Twilight, then yourself.
>You were hoping for some moment of panic on Adagio’s face, but she’s still nonchalantly pleasant.
>You just want to wipe that smile off of her face, to stop this!
>But you can worry about that in a moment.
>With a little coordination, you launch everyone up through the ceiling, burning a half-dozen new holes in it.
>The sudden velocity squeezes against your face, but you maneuver everyone to one side.
>You need Silver more than anything right now, but you need to -
>｢Spinal Tap｣ appears next to Derpy, who’s closest to you and Twilight.
>It wheels through the air towards you, turning its whole body.
>｢Timbuk Three｣ throws up a shield, which gets broken through just as quickly.
>You move yourself further away, out of range, and try to steer the rest of the group.
>This wouldn’t be an issue if you were on solid ground!
>In a single smooth curve, ｢Spinal Tap｣ moves past where you used to be and swings for Twilight.
>You barely catch it, but another shield goes up, this one triple the thickness.
>｢Spinal Tap｣’s power resonates through your Stand, and then it breaks through!
>Another shield, broken half a second later.
>You throw up more, trying to pull Derpy out of the way without changing where you’re going to land.
>There’s too much momentum on all of you, you have to plot all of the trajectories at once!
>｢Spinal Tap｣ is insatiable.
>And then something - catches.
>The shield doesn’t appear.
>Your heart drops out of your chest, but the lights are still there.
>In the two seconds it takes to check them, it’s already too late.
>｢Spinal Tap｣’s fist drives into Twilight’s stomach, and then four more come before the force can carry her away.
>She’s thrown out of the blue glow!
>You scramble to catch her again, but something else hits you.
>It’s a great big purple fist, covered in bumps - the orange kid’s Stand.
>You’re too shocked to respond, and it passes into your chest.
>｢Timbuk Three｣ pulses, and you fight to control it and spin around.
>Back behind you, Derpy’s family’s gone.
>You’re flying Derpy, Trixie, and her two old-time henchmen.
>This was Adagio’s Stand!
>Damn it!
>You realize that Twilight’s still heading for the building and try to catch her.
>And then it’s… too much.
>｢Timbuk Three｣ flashes again, and you drop out of the sky.
>You're heading straight for the roof, close to the end of that long single hallway.
>Okay, okay...
>You dig deeper, focusing past whatever's going on inside of your body.
>Your Stand picks up the slack, and you give it the reins a little more.
>With a few pinpoints of energy, you open up enough holes in the surface for everyone, which buys you a little more time.
>Then comes the hard part.
>You have to push against the force of gravity without snapping everyone's skeletons in half.
>It takes a light touch, which you aren't capable of right now.
>But for just a little more of your future...
>Damn it, don't think about it until this is all over!
>The fist twists inside of you, and at the feeling of it passing through your veins and muscles, your mind unlocks a little.
>You let go, and let your power take whatever it needs.
>Whatever can bring all of you out of here safely!
>And then he's flying backwards, away from you, a fist of light protruding from your chest.
>You're not sure why it doesn't burn you, but you're too busy catching him.
>And then you land, yourself.
>It's not pleasant, but it works.
>A few platforms between you and the ground, made to break easily.
>You'd flash back to being thrown out of the hospital by Mr. Rich, if you had enough room to think.
>The hallway's as dark as ever, apart from the sunlight in the holes you've made patchworking its way across the floor.
>No sooner do you think that than everything lights up around you.
>A blue glow makes the hallway visible as far as the eye can see - and it's not good.
>Everyone's here, no one's hurt badly.
>But you're not alone.
>The floor is peppered with bodies, every couple yards.
>The Shadowbolts.
>A couple of students who you don't recognize.
>And... policemen, still in uniform.
>They're all knocked over like broken toys, splayed out and unmoving.
>You take a deep breath and look around for the cause.
>But she's already staring at you, from a ways upward.
>Aria, arms crossed, staring at the light you're emanating.
>You call it off, and wrest back control of your Stand.
>It squirms back into your conscious mind as the room darkens again.
>She doesn't make any moves, although you're ready for them.
>And as the light retreats, you realize why.
>Below her, in her shadow, is Twilight.
>Her eyes are closed, and she's not moving.
>Without moving her arms, she pulls her hands apart.
>A small stick of inky black appears between them, and then shoots upward, curving slightly.
>A sword.
>Your ears ring for a moment, and you realize that it's coming from her, another hum.
>But then it's coming from the whole building.
>You remember what it was like to be put under their spell before, partly.
>Just a shutter of the mind closing, up and then down.
>You'd never experienced anything like that before, so you weren't able to defend yourself.
>This time, it strikes you as something wet and slippery, worming its way into your pores and making your heartbeat pick up even faster.
>You resist it and create a ball light in front of her, hovering in front of the weapon.
>Nothing happens.
>What you can see is a network of black cords coming off of the hilt, spreading backwards behind her in a dozen directions.
>You seek out the lines and try to snip them off, but her hands are already raised up.
>It's like watching the executioner at the guillotine, in the last few seconds.
>But the worst part is the look of satisfaction in her eyes.
>No!
"｢Timbuk Three｣!"
>You flash the entire hallway with light.
>After your vision clears, you see her, a step backward and covering her eyes with an arm.
>The sword's gone.
>The relief wells up in you.
>Now you just have to pull-
>Hrhk!
>Someone grabs you from behind, like they're hugging you, squeezing the air out of your chest.
>Pink arms around you, glowing green.
>Bands of light push against them, moving them a few inches off of you for a moment.
>But then the glow redoubles, and they wave straight through your barriers.
>Then they're back around you again, harder.
>You can't breathe.
>No, no, you can, it just... takes a few seconds.
>Your body lurches forward as you try not to react, to control yourself and figure out what to do.
>And then Derpy steps in front of you.
>She's staring directly at you, but there's nothing of her inside there.
>It's like you're a stranger to her, or something worse.
>The connection's still there, you still have the lights!
>But ｢Spinal Tap｣ appears behind her, just as merciless as ever.
>It and her take up most of your vision.
>And then you snap out of it enough to realize that there's other movement.
>Behind you - you can't turn to see it, but ｢Timbuk Three｣ bends the light to hit your eyes.
>All of the cops, all of the Shadowbolts, everyone.
>They're getting back up.
>They were playing possum.
>Towards the back, you can see the real Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara.
>They should never have had to come back here!
>None of them should!
>Derpy sees the pain on your face and grimaces.
>A great shuffling of feet, and suddenly things get more crowded around you.
>Over her shoulder and under her ability, you can see Aria readying another blade, holding it over her head.
>No!
>｢Timbuk Three｣ flashes everything white again.
>The girl behind you squeezes tighter, so this time you have to blink spots out of your eyes while you try to breathe.
>And then ｢Spinal Tap｣ cracks into you, faster than you can defend from.
>Something gets pulverized in you, and you feel the burn of ｢Timbuk Three｣ under your skin trying to protect it.
>You don't have the oxygen to really feel the pain right now.
>But then you see her again, from where you're trying to double over.
>Twilight's still knocked out, but now Aria's stooping down to her.
>Trying something different.
>You try to pull her away, but the light's preoccupied.
>The feeling of trying to multitask like that makes the world go dark at the edges for a second.
>And then the humming comes into your ears again.
>Why is all of this happening right now, today?!
>You just wanted things to work out the way they were supposed to, for her!
>You wanted to get rid of these gems and all the trouble that went with them!
>Even for you, in your position, that wasn't too much to ask!
>You surround yourself with light and force it outwards.
>The glowing Stand detaining you starts to crush back down for you, with fatal strength.
>But you finally fall forward.
>After a moment of setting up barriers to withstand ｢Spinal Tap｣'s fists, you get off your hands and knees and sidestep Derpy.
>Aria's lifted Twilight off the ground completely now, gripping her by the neck as her body hangs in the air.
>And then you see Trixie, in between both of you.
>She smiles fiercely, meanly, and throws a hand up towards you.
>And suddenly she, and the hallway, shrink away into nothingness.
>You grit your teeth and go flying down it, chasing after her.
>And then you're overtaken, just as fast, by the flaming green girl.
>She's flying herself, and she smacks into one of your barriers like a fly on a swatter.
>You zoom ahead past her as she tries to pick up speed again, but you don't seem to get any closer.
>Trixie's still there, standing between you and the giant thorny spikes Aria calls out of the wall.
>You double down on speed and try to bridge the gap through sheer force.
>There's only so many building-wide flashes of light you can pull off here!
>Then the glowing girl smashes into you from behind, green flames licking around you as she tackles you.
>She's not able to stop your forward motion, so you don't pay attention to her.
>Aria's no longer looking at you.
>You're out of time.
>Another burst of speed forward, trying to get past Trixie before it's too late.
>You fire a laser straight at Aria's gem, and it bounces off harmlessly.
>Another at her skull, and it has no effect.
>With a waving motion that goes up one arm, across the shoulders and down the other, Trixie switches hands.
>And then you're back where you started.
>You put a disc of hard light through Aria's wrist, but her hand stays attached.
>You just... can't force it inside.
>It might actually be true that nothing from this world can hurt the Dazzlings.
>They're just... made of something different.
>You give up trying to save energy and do another flash of light.
>But this time, the spikes on the wall don't disappear.
>You realize, in the moment without shadows, that their shadow's coming from Aria's mouth.
>Alright, you just need to re-engineer an attack that can reach-
>｢Spinal Tap｣'s fist cracks into you, and you and your other assailant go crashing into the nearest wall.
>You almost don't register it over everything else that's happened, or the sense of failure.
>How on earth can you be outmatched?
>But as you launch yourself out of the corner, pink girl still weighing you down and crushing into your ribcage, you can see her.
>It's...
>It's too late.
>Dangling in the air, her body pierced in not a few places, Twilight's body is completely limp.
>Your latest light runs out, and gravity's forces you back down, skidding against the floor like a human bobsled.
>You can see her, distantly, and then Trixie waves her hand again, and the hallway shortens again.
>Fifty feet closer, you can see the expression on her face.
>Despondency, or sleep.
>She...
>She was the only one in this whole conflict you didn't have to convince to join with you.
>The one who came because she needed to get out of a bad situation, who stayed out of gratitude!
>And they could have used her!
>She was just a friend of Sunset's, she wasn't magical like the rest of them were!
>If they could've made her become the monster that caused this mess to begin with, they'd have impossible power!
>They weren't even doing what was best for their own survival!
>Aria watches her own brutality with no expression.
>Further down, Adagio's boots click against the floor, her steps neat and orderly.
>The song gets louder in your ears, overtaking more of your thoughts.
>You feel the hands digging into you more tightly, the army of footsteps approaching from behind you.
>And you scream.
"NO!"
>And everything lights up.
>Every wall, floor, ceiling, contour and piece of machinery, all of it's suffused with a great blue glow for just a couple seconds.
>And then all of it, the whole Factory, disintegrates into the air.
>As the sunlight hits her Stand, Aria turns away from Twilight.
>Her body falls unceremoniously to the torn-up concrete, her long hair veiling her face and one hand outstretched.
>And now you can see everybody.
>Adagio, further down, finally looking surprised.
>Aria closer to you, then scattered throughout the building a bunch of police playing dead, and a few friends.
>At the very entrance, probably just coming in before this started, Sunset.
>And past her, in the parking, more stuff you can't worry about right now.
>You try to grip the gems around the Dazzlings' necks with your Stand.
>They don't move.
>It's like trying to grab onto something that's been greased.
>As soon as that fails, you're launching yourself off of the ground again.
>But this time you do it on one side, and corkscrew in the air.
>Your rider gets in contact with the ground as you zoom forward, and the friction forces her to let go.
>The lack of indoor acoustics makes it easier to ignore the song, but as you get closer the feeling comes lurching back to you.
>Keep your head on your shoulders.
>A single burst of energy and you've reached Aria.
>You don't attack her, just grab the pendant around her neck.
>The stone burns your palm, but you hold onto it as you hang in the air.
>And then you rip it free.
>As it comes loose, Aria's hand shoots up and grips your arm.
>You know from experience that they can break arms like no one's business, but it doesn't matter.
>You just need to snap Silver and Derpy out of it!
>With a thought, you send the second gem zipping up into the air, as high as it'll go and away from both of you.
>You don't actually have somewhere for it to land, but she doesn't know that.
>She's taking all of this pretty well, for someone who just lost their grab at absolute power.
>But Adagio's still walking over.
>You bend the light to check on the rest of the people behind you.
>They're standing stock still, eyes peeled on the sky for a moment.
>And then, as you send it out of range, their heads fall back down towards you.
>No.
>Towards Adagio.
>She has the last one.
>Take that and it's over, all of it.
>You try to force ｢Timbuk Three｣ to move you, but you can feel automatically that it's going to wrench your arm out of your socket.
>So you stand still, and play exhausted.
>Aria's grip doesn't tighten, and she doesn't threaten you.
>But the song starts up again as Adagio gets closer.
>You don't know quite how she's doing it without moving her mouth, but you can hear it clear as day.
>Something calling out to you, compelling you forward.
>Aria falls away from you, even though she hasn't moved and her hand has you in a death-grip.
>Adagio slowly becomes the focal point of the world.
>If she touches you, you're done for.
>That was the moment she got you back in the cafeteria, a lifetime ago.
>How could you have ignored that for so long?
>A world with magic in it...?
>A world that was nothing like you'd expected, in all the years of you sticking your nose in books on graph theory.
>What was the matter with you, that made you think staying in high school and being miserable was the only path for you to take?
>She steps closer, and finally speaks.
>"To be honest, I wasn't expecting this much of a fight from you. You were supposed to come in through the front door after it was already too late."
>Sunset's running closer, but she's not going to make it here in time.
>At least the Crusaders aren't here.
"Ghrh."
>You work your mouth as Aria bends your arm behind your back, turning you into a frozen, pained statue.
"You're not going to get what you want, you... murderers."
>Adagio frowns for a moment, and looks almost confused.
>Then she notices Twilight's body, as if for the first time.
>Her eyes flick over it like skimming a newspaper, and then she looks at you pityingly.
>"You're like a trained dog, aren't you? Always jumping through somebody's hoops."
>You ignore whatever game she's playing now.
>You just have to get close enough to rip off her gem and fire it away.
>Then, in the chaos, figure out how to subdue the two of them.
>That's the best Plan A you've got at this point, the least risky option.
"I've always tried to do the right thing! And I've never killed anyone just to have my way!"
>She grins a little through the pity.
>"Oh, you're the noble, self-sacrificing soldier, aren't you? Never mind if you burn off someone's arm or put a little girl in the hospital for a couple of days. But that's alright. You can put all of that worrying on the shelf and be our soldier, now."
>Her voice turns almost seductive, and as you inhale you realize that the song didn't stop when she started talking.
>It's obvious that they want you, it's why Aria hasn't tried to murder you yet.
>You or Sunset, they need one of you to defeat the other cleanly.
"You won't be able to take back the gems from me. If-"
>Suddenly her hand flies up, a few inches from your mouth, fingers dancing in their pink sort-of-glove.
>"Your next words are 'If you give up now and go peacefully, I'll stop what Sunset's doing and I'll make sure that she doesn't bother you again.'"
>You flinch a little at the outstretched hand, but she pulls it away from you.
>And then you reflect on what she said.
>You hadn't rehearsed what you were going to say next or anything, but that sounded like it would've come out of your mouth.
"I don't want to fight you. If I have to, I can pull the Rainbooms here across the city and have them defeat you, but that's just more fighting. I don't want any more of that."
>"Then you should have thought things through a little more before coming here. You did have a whole day before you started playing tricks with the sun."
>She shrugs her padded shoulders.
>"At any rate, you don't really have a choice any more. I can tell what you're thinking, and we both know any last-minute counterattack like that would take time and concentration that you just don't have right now."
>Aria's grip tightens on your arm and pushes it into your back, forcing you forward a step.
>You dig in your heels as best you can.
>Adagio's only an arm's length away.
>"As for giving the gems back, we both know that you'll summon them back here as soon as I order you to. There's nothing you can send away that you can't bring back. And as for stalling for time..."
>She steps to one side for a moment, and her voice turns high pitched and clicking.
>Suddenly, everyone behind you turns around.
>Sunset's close, but she's still approaching, and she stops for a second at the sudden small army of Stand users and drawn guns.
>A surge of energy from ｢Timbuk Three｣, and a little plate of light launches her into the air, sailing her above all of them.
>Even she doesn't know what just happened, but she scrambles for control in the air and lands running.
>Adagio utters something else, her eyes glowing red as she does.
>You realize what - Trixie's the last thing between all of you and her.
>She throws out a hand and activates ｢Abracadabra｣, making more space that Sunset could cut across in a minute of running.
>Too much for her to affect what's about to happen.
>But neither of the Dazzlings look pleased with themselves.
"You shouldn't use the same trick twice. It's too easy to beat."
>Sunset runs past Trixie, who's casting a hand out ninety degrees in the wrong direction.
>You spun her a little just in time - it helped that you'd already bent the light Sunset was giving off from hitting her eyes.
>As Adagio frowns and goes for the kill, reaching for you, you snap your arm out too.
>Both of them brush against each other, and then yours is clenched just short of her neck.
>This gem's even hotter than the last one, but you grip it tighter as her hand rests on your shoulder.
>You try to pull it out, towards you.
>If you can just do that one, simple thing...
>But something spreads inside of you, a feeling of disconnection.
>As if by gravity, your eyes rise up and lock with hers.
>No.
>They're flickering now, not red but green around the edges, and she smirks.
>The song's deafening now, just a few chords of ad-libbing, just one voice.
>But you couldn't silence it.
>You couldn't...
>Derpy...
>Aria lets go of you and turns to fight... whoever was coming to help you.
>But your body doesn't move.
>You're still hunched forward a little, and her hand moves to your neck.
>As her fingers brush it, you hand weakens.
>The grip relaxes, and then...
>You let go, and your arm falls back to your side.
>You can only see the gemstone in your periphery now, as ｢Timbuk Three｣ becomes something outside your reach.
>You watch yourself from within yourself as she binds you.
>Even the lights become inaccessible, though not gone.
>Not all of them, not yet.
>You were saving them all for someone.
>There's a lot of noise and commotion behind you, but it doesn't concern you.
>You haven't been told to turn around yet.
>Care Root, the person, shuts up shop and walks away for parts unknown.
>Now you're under their spell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIcuJHTRPgE
[Timbuk Three - Sunshine is Dangerous]

｢To Be Continued｣