Final Round

Serenity observed her surroundings. She could even appreciate the sanitized odor of the room, which made her grimace.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" the grown-up Alan asked, standing beside her.

"Maybe."

"But what value does watching this have? I thought you'd dig through more recent memories…"

Serenity made the illusion fade away until only a blank slate surrounded them. "Why would I want to skim through events I already know about?" She shrugged, as they looked into each other's eyes. "I'd rather know what makes your head tick, Little Mouse."

"Hey…" He snickered. "After all that creepy flirting you've been throwing at me, I'll really think you took an interest in me."

Serenity grinned, putting her palm against his forehead. "Either you're too stupid, or you bumped your head really hard some time ago." She giggled. "Either way, I'll have plenty of time dissecting your brain once we go home."

"Enough of this," he said sternly, grabbing her hand. "What's your real goal? Are you working for the Singular?"

"What if that's the case?"

"I'll stop you then so you can't harm others."

"Are you saying you'll go against the Embodiment of Progress, Alan?"

"That again? What does that even mean?!"

"It's our main objective which hasn't changed since we left Earth. We just want to help you. The Tandem."

"By wiping us out?! The Singular has killed millions!"

"That's old history, and from a certain point of view, a necessary sacrifice. We could not commence our study with so many subjects back on Earth. But here? We have learned a lot from you here in The Novus."

"...Y-You're kidding me."

Serenity smiled.

**An unnerving smile.**

"You can't stop this, Alan Warden. We will help humanity's last generation reach a new evolutionary stage! In preparation for what's coming next…"

***

**

*

Serenity ended the spell, and the world around Alan seemed to swirl inside his eyes. He unintentionally laid back, finding the moon up in the sky, which seemed to welcome him back to reality. Then, Serenity's face blocked it from view. Her eyes looked at the brink of tears, and her lips were forming a twisted smile.

"Oh, Alan Warden, I knew you had it in you! I knew it from the moment I saw you hacking that NPC back in Londorus as if it was child's play! This… This is perfect!" She then contorted back, stretching out her arms to her sides, laughing. "Not only do you possess the talent, but your mind is also genuinely pure and free of malice… the perfect canvas!" She began moaning, hugging herself. "Thinking about your potential drives me crazy! I--I can't help myseeelf!"

"Um… s-something tells me I won't like where this is going, but I'll have to ask anyway! Are you surrendering? Will you stop this nonsensical attack, then?"

"Of course!" She beamed, standing up. Her eyes shone wickedly silver and her platinum hair reflected the moonlight, making her look angelical for only a couple of seconds. "After I bring you with me."

**I knew this was too good to be true!** he thought as he felt the ground below him getting muddier. In an instant, the surrounding area turned into quicksand.

"Oh, I can't wait to improve you!" she intoned while half of Alan's body sank. "Don't be afraid, leave it in my hands! With my help, you'll turn from a weak, tiny mouse, into a feral, vicious tiger--"

Serenity turned to her left as a burst of blue fire impacted her.

The incandescent flames made the shadow surrounding Alan retreat for a brief instant, leaving him buried in the ground.

Bella fastly came to his aid and pulled him out.

"B-Bella, did you do that?"

"No, Master Alan. This is Master Amelia's magic."

Something glowing above demanded his attention. Someone was suspended in the air, surrounded by a series of blue will-o'-wisps. Then, the figure descended in an instant, occupying the space between Alan and his enemy. Although her hair had changed to the color of the aquamarine gemstone, Alan recognized her immediately.

"Amelia…"

Floating inches from the ground, Amelia showed Scarlett's detached head, before burning it to a crisp. "Good luck regenerating from that," Amelia said softly, making her best Ashley's impression.

The unharmed Serenity did not twitch an eyebrow at such a sight, and yet, she stepped back.

"Amelia?" Alan called. "Is that really you?"

She turned back, and floated toward him. "Alan, you're safe," she whispered, holding his face to kiss him on the lips. He could not feel the heat of the will-o'-wisps surrounding her, only the warmth of her mouth and delicate fingers. "I came in time. Oh, I'd never forget myself if I had failed."

"Amelia… You…"

"What is it?" she tilted her head to her left side, frowning. "Are you hurt? If that's the case, I'll make sure this bitch pays."

"Y-You stole my first kiss!"

She opened her eyes wide and her pale skin got full red. "I-I didn't know that! I did it without thinking, okay?! I'm sorr--Wait no, I'm not sorry! You'll have to deal with it! This was just a regular French tradition called 'La Bise', mmmkay?! B-B-Because I'm French, remember?! So don't overthink it!"

"Ah, it's fine, don't get so flustered. It felt nice," he said, half-smiling. "Nice blue lipstick, by the way."

"S-SHUT UP! This makeup it's just part of my current form! And don't you worry, I won't kiss you ever again, you heard me!"

By their side, their NPC giggled, saying: "Oh, my!"

An overwhelming pressure interrupted their moment. A few feet away from them was Serenity, exerting an exorbitant amount of magical energy.

"Getting in my way again, Amelia Laflamme? Fine, so be it. But before we settle the score from last time, let me tell Alan this: My partner's defeat was due to relying too much on her human side."

"Human side?" he muttered as Amelia got in front of him.

"Get back, Alan. I got this."

"Do your best!" Serenity said, as her entire body turned black and liquified in front of their eyes. "As for me, let me give you a taste of the future that awaits you! We will help humanity evolve! It's just a matter of time!"

From the increasing black terrain sprouted human figures, and for a brief moment Alan thought they would be more doppelgangers. **But they look too alive…**

"Alan, what's the current situation?" Amelia asked, returning to a calm demeanor.

"Unus Town's residents have been evacuated, Anastasia fell in battle, and Ashley is currently looking for Serenity's real body." He swallowed. "What you see can't be harmed. That enemy in front of us is an illusion."

**And yet, when she touched my forehead, it felt very real.**

"Is that why she survived my blue flames?" Amelia asked, before taking a deep breath. "So everything is in Ashley's hands, right? I'll be the distraction from now on, then. Retreat, Alan, I'll take it from here."

"But…" He glanced at the human figures strolling to them until recognizing a face among them. "Paul?"

"Who?" Amelia asked as Alan stepped forward.

"Paul! Are you okay?!"

"We are a unity," Paul muttered as if he was in a trance.

"Isn't that the guy that tried to steal your rusty sword?" Amelia asked, frowning while watching the other four approaching them. "The baker is there too. They're acting like they're under her… Get back!" She pulled Alan from the collar of his shirt, just before Paul could stab him with a dagger. She then used one of the will-o'-wisps at her disposal, and crafted a blue wall to stop their advance.

"Combined, we are one…" Paul said from the other side in an absent tone of voice.

"They're not shadow clones!" Alan cried as Serenity could be heard laughing at a distance.

"That is right! But would it be a good idea to put them out of their misery?!"

"If you insist," Amelia murmured, enlarging one of her will-o'-wisp, but Alan grabbed her wrist.

"Don't hurt them! Something's wrong!"

"Why not? They'll respawn anyway. I've seen this strange behavior before, it's some sort of mind control. Trust me, I'm doing them a favor."

"Yes, but Serenity wouldn't be so cryptic if it was that easy! Please!"

Amelia looked at the distance, where Serenity's signature two-headed dragon was emerging from a summoning circle. Then, the entirety of the black shadow invading Unus Town retreated, gathering around the monster.

"Miss Amelia!" Serenity yelled from the distance. "Will you be able to protect him from me and my new brothers at the same time? If my Eye of the Sage is correct, you don't have any mana left! How can you control those fire orbs then, I wonder? Could it be that you can't produce any new fire in that state?!"

Amelia clicked her teeth. "Bella, keep protecting this fool, please."

"I will, Master Amelia."

"Help these people then, Guild Master, I'm counting on you," Amelia said, giving him a determined look.

He chuckled. "If you said it like that, I can't fail."

After nodding at each other, Amelia flew upwards, looking like a rising blue star. As she took the wall with her, turning it back into an orb of blue fire, the possessed citizens resumed their attack.

"Master Alan!" Bella called, blocking another attack from the brainwashed Paul. "We can't stay here!"

Alan glanced at her body. **I didn't notice that her fight against her doppelganger had left her this injured. I'm so sorry, Bella.**

Another citizen charged against him, but Alan dodged with ease thanks to the still-active Fire Buff that Belphy had cast.

Alan was about to give orders to the NPC, but a nearby voice made him flinch. Clara Dominguez was standing atop a sunken house, with a drone hovering by her side, as she commentated:

"Oh, the plot thickens! Even after losing another precious teammate, our hero's spirit does not falter, for the kiss of his beloved one has invigorated him! Now Amelia Laflamme, the strongest of the guild, has parted to finally defeat the evil witch! An epic fight, I bet... But we're not focusing on that!" She grabbed the drone and pointed it to her face. "If what you really want is to watch another boring max-level battle, then switch channels, you bastard! There are thousands of streams for that already! But how many channels depict the struggles of the underdog? Have you, my dear audience, forgotten what being powerless used to be, back when--"

"What--the--hell… ARE YOU DOING?!"

Clara quickly pointed the drone in his direction. "Hey, here it is! Alan, a quick comment for the audience?"

"Are you streaming this?!"

"Well, duh! We'll talk about revenue later, okay?"

"This isn't a game, Clara! Why would you--?!"

He shut his mouth, coming to a realization. **Maybe recording this is not a bad idea after all…**

Alan glanced back at his pursuers just a few feet away from attacking him. He then jumped toward Clara, carried her over his shoulder, and escaped with Bella following him closely.