Sector MG, Part 3: Kiki’s Delivery Misfire

Orchid Bay, Maine

Orchid Bay was a beautiful seaside town with a rather unique history. Kiki Yamaka heard the stories and wondered if they were true. The minute she soared through the invisible Veil on her broomstick, her eyes were opened: demons of all shapes and sizes were walking the streets amongst the humans, who were blissfully unaware. It was a utopia where demons made home away from the darkness of the Underworld. Kiki imagined that such a town could not exist without chaos, but she would not question it. Still, she thought the town was a lovely place and wanted to study it more, but she remembered the satchel hanging from her shoulder.

Kiki pulled out her map of Orchid Bay and steered her broom skyward, so that her own perspective matched that of the map. With this, she was able to track the place circled on her map: a lone house near the woods. Kiki flew in that direction. Behind the house in question was a garden, and a chubby old woman in a purple flower robe was tending to plants. "Excuse me! Are you Mrs. Jasmine Lee?"

The elder looked up with curiosity. "Well, either you must be here to advertise the new circus in town… or you're the delivery girl who's bringing my Faux Flowers."

"Right you are, Miss! All the way from France!" Kiki reached into her satchel and extracted a package, landing and handing it to Jasmine.

The woman opened it and took out a wide blanket with floral designs. "Perfect! This will fool those Munchers." Jasmine threw the blanket over an empty area as it grew flowers. A group of baby Piranha Plants bounced out for a healthy snack, but when they ate the Faux Flowers, they wilted. "Ha ha ha! They're meant to produce hypnotic pheromones to any plant-eating predator."

"Ki ki ki!" snickered Kiki threw her teeth. "That should keep your garden safe for a while." Kiki's phone rang. "Oh, it's the Postmaster!" She answered, "Yes, Osono-san?"

"You've got another order, Kiki. This man claims his house is in the sky above the southeast coast of the Red Sea. He sounds like a nutcase. Think you can do it?"

"Of course! A floating house shouldn't be that hard to spot. Just send it over and I'll get it there in a blast." With that, Kiki set her Vanishing Box on the ground. It was connected to a larger box at the delivery post, so when Osono set the package inside, Kiki could pull it out in smaller form from her box, to which it would expand to size.

Kiki took off on her broomstick, about to leave town, but not before an iguana dinosaur caught her eye. The beast was terrorizing a nearby neighborhood, and was battling a 14-year-old girl with a purple streak in her black hair. Kiki flew in its direction and shouted, "HEY, JUNE! Wendy says 'HI'!"

Juniper Lee looked up at her with a smile. "Well, RETURN THE MESSAGE!" she declared, jumping the iguana-saur's teeth and kicking down on its head. "And tell her I'll be seeing her soon!"

Kiki nodded and took off for the heavens. "Hmm… the Red Sea's kinda far away. This calls for the jet booster!" Kiki opened a tiny compartment and pressed a button. An engine appeared on the base of the broom, blasting off like a rocket. "WOOOOHOOOOO!"

So, my name's Kiki. I'm the lone employee of Kiki's Express Delivery. I attend the Mahoutokoro School of Magic in Japan. On our 3rd year during summer vacation, we have to find a job that makes use of our magical abilities, serving not only wizards, but non-magic people, in order to give people a more pleasant view on those who use magic. Unfortunately, my greatest skill was flying, but I was able to find work in a magic shop and become the delivery girl. Nowadays, owls have been dubbed 'obsolete' because people use email to send letters now. But owls can't carry packages, that's for sure! …Nor can they be trusted to send bills.

Kiki shut off her engine once she was at the Red Sea. She drew her magical map, which changed from Orchid Bay to match the sea. "And the southeast coast is… that way!" She soared that way. "Let's see, a house in the sky… hu-! There it is!" She spotted an ordinary yellow, blue-roofed house held up by a cluster of balloons. Kiki flew up and landed on the doorstep, casually knocking on the door. "Hellooo! Package for Mr. Frederickson!"

An old man who was roughly Kiki's height answered. "We-heh-hell. Looks like that Witch Delivery Service wasn't a hoax after all. So, where is it?"

"Right here!" Kiki presented the package from her satchel.

"Perfect!" Frederickson tore it open and extracted a missile launcher from the smaller box, much to Kiki's shock. "This will give those sky pirates what-for!" He limped over to a window and opened it. "GET OFF MY SKY LAWN!" He fired two missiles and destroyed two flying pirate ships.

"Ki ki ki… well, I hope everything goes well." Kiki said sheepishly. "Good-bye, Mr. Frederickson!" She got back on her broom and leapt off the doorstep.

Now that I'm a Kids Next Door operative, you would think I would use 4x4 craft to carry out my orders. But flying in a high-tech ship just isn't a substitute for flying on broomstick. The wind on my face, the incredible view of the world splayed out before my eyes… I've seen so many beautiful landscapes and places. This is the world we Kids Next Door have sworn to protect, and the people whose packages I've sworn to deliver.

"Kiki, just got another order: someone in Hawaii is ordering Electro Cookies. I've already called the island and made the order, but I'll need you to travel there and get them. I put the money in your Vanishing Box."

"Sure, Osono-san. Where is Birka again?"

"I heard it's currently traveling over Russia."

"Well, that shouldn't be too far. I'll get there in a jiffy!"

Of course, sometimes having 4x4 craft can be a huge lifesaver.

Kiki was faced with a furious canyon of storm clouds. She pressed another button on her broomstick, and a pink S.C.A.M.P.E.R. materialized around her. Steering the craft with her broomstick, Kiki was able to navigate the storm, dodging every lightning bolt with a start. Once she was at the main island, Kiki disabled the ship and exposed herself to the harsh winds, her hair standing up. She located the bakery on the shopping street and went inside. "Hello, Sir. My name is Kiki. I believe you received a call about some Electro Cookies?"

"Oh-zzzrt, so you're the kid-dzzzzt." said the adult Birkan. "Yep, I got 'em right here-zzzt." He held up a rubber box.

"Thanks! Here's the money."

Once Kiki was able to escape the storm, switching off her ship and using the Broom Boost to get to Hawaii. Her magic map changed to match the island state, and an area within a jungle was circled. Kiki flew there and found a training area where Tom Taylor was doing push-ups with five steel blocks on his back. "Excuse me! I'm looking for a person named Gedra?"

"I'M Gedra!" Kiki noticed the Minish on top of the blocks. "So, you brought the Electro Cookies? Wow, I honestly just made that order as a joke, I didn't think they would actually get here! Just put them on the ground in front of him." Kiki obeyed and dropped the electric cookies on the ground as Gedra hopped down. "Alright, Tom, open up."

"Ugh, screw you, Gedr-AAULP!" Gedra used a rock-jab to shove a cookie into Tom's mouth. Tom was forced to chew and suffer the shocks, making his training even harder.

"Shut up and push, Tom. You'll have to work triple-time if you wanna match up to Anthony, and you ain't stopping 'til you can bend Permanite!"

"Ki ki ki… Sorry." Kiki blushed.

"Like the hustle, kid! Here, have a tip." Gedra raised a tiny purple bean, Kiki holding her finger down for him to put on.

"Um… Thanks!"

Kiki took off for the heavens again, viewing the direction of Groudon Volcano as the Volcano God was stretching awake after a good nap. "Do we have any more orders, Osono-san?"

"Not at the moment, Kiki, but I think you've earned yourself some rest. Though I'm surprised how well this website is bringing in customers."

"Ki ki ki! I guess I added my own magic touch to it!" Kiki grinned.

"Well, it was certainly a good business decision on our end! I think someone might just be getting a raise soon…"

"Ki ki ki… I'll hold you to that! See you later, Osono-san." She hung up. "Sigh… 'think I'll go see how Moonbase is doing." She reactivated her S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and took off for space.

Moonbase Cafeteria

"But it was thanks to the KND's hackers that I was able to get the website popular." Kiki told her friends. "With the rate we're going, I'll have more than enough credits when I return to school."

"Still can't believe your school is makin' you take a summer job." Phil said, taking another purple pill from his jar and eating it. "The worst WE gotta do is a summer reading."

"Yeah, my school doesn't really give us summer homework either." Oliver replied.

"Well, you guys are lucky. Still, I really love my job. I'll be sad to give it up."

"Sakura-chan, you look so beautiful in that dress!" a girl said from a table over. Kiki looked over to see.

"Thanks, Tomoyo-chan, but do you have to tape me? We're not even on a mission." Sakura was wearing a bright blue dress with glittering crystals. Kiki recognized her and her teammates as Sector TD from Tomoeda, Japan. Sakura was also a student of Kiki's school, but her friends were non-mages (except for that Li boy). Every time she would see Sakura, she would always be wearing a new and pretty dress.

Kiki's eyes directed over to a curtained cafeteria table, where Sector $ had more fancy meals for their lunch. They were always dressed so posh and colorfully. The dress Kiki was wearing was a hand-me-down from her grandma. She was told that it used to be traditional witch's attire and that Kiki would be a great witch if she wore it. Now Kiki thought she only wore it to avoid hurting Grandma's feelings. Inside, she would like to wear more pretty dresses and show them off to all her customers. Unfortunately, she already made the logo for her business (a 2-D version of herself in a black dress, riding a broom with a letter attached).

"Oh, that reminds me." Phil said, ducking under the table and pulling up an orange satchel. "Kiki, I made more Package Bombs and stocked up your other satchel."

"Oh, thanks, Phil. Ki ki, I guess the villains won't be ordering from my business anytime soon, ki ki ki!"

"Why do you say your own name when you laugh?"

"Hm? Uh… I don't know, really." Kiki blushed. "It's sort of a force of habit."

"Really? Even if I do THIS?" Phil set the satchel next to the other one and started tickling Kiki's armpits.

"KI KI KI KI—PHIL, STOP IT—KIKIKIKIKIKI!"

"Haha, man, you are such a weirdo!"

"She isn't the only one." Oliver snickered.

"Geez, why don't you two find a room?" a snide voiced asked. Phil stopped tickling as they looked back. A tall boy with orange hair and droopy ears with holes in them had approached them.

"Who're you?" Romeo asked.

"Name's Lars, from Sector BC. Listen, you're that delivery girl, right? See this pizza I got in my hand? Some guys asked us to bring it to someone, but we think the job is more suited for a professional. Here, I'll pay ya 30 bucks in advance." Lars handed her the money.

"Uh, thanks, but it's only pizza. Who'm I delivering it to, anyway?"

"See for yourself." Lars gave her a small slip of paper.

Kiki read the name and address: Mandy McKenzie – Boogey Coast, 10 miles offshore of Beach City. Kiki felt a chill travel through her heart. Her teammates looked over her shoulder and gasped silently.

"Isn't… Mandy… a Pirate Emperor?" Oliver asked.

"Well, now ya know how WE feel!" Lars shouted. "You think we want her ship just sailing right by our town?! That's why the pizza people asked US to deliver it, but we ain't takin' our chances with that monster! Figured you wizards would have a better time than us."

"You can't just make Kiki do that!" Romeo stated.

"No." Kiki took a deep breath. "'No matter where you are or what obstacles stand in my way… Kiki's Express Delivery will deliver your package in utmost condition.' I've already taken the money." Kiki drew her wand and cast a spell to seal the pizza box in a magic package. "I can't just turn down a paying job. And I can't show discrimination."

"But Mandy's a criminal!" Oliver argued.

"Well, it's just pizza. It's practically the same as giving a missile launcher to a retired old man." As her friends shared confused expressions at this note, Kiki placed the package into her satchel and wrapped it over her shoulder. "I'll be back soon, guys. I promise." She grabbed her broomstick and bravely walked out.

"Huh. Better you than us." Lars remarked.

Ocean close to Beach City

Kiki used her map to pinpoint Beach City's location on Earth. It wasn't hard as it was just a coastal town west of Florida. It was supposed to be daytime, but the skies were dark as night. It was rumored that the presence of Lord Mandy forced the sky to be dark, but Kiki never believed it was true. The fear could not be more noticeable on Kiki, and no doubt Mandy would feel it coming. Regardless, Kiki steeled herself and flew down to the dark ship surrounded by ghostly flames.

"There's a hole in my head where my BRAIN used to beeee!" Django was playing and singing a jolly tune that the pirates sang and danced to. "My bladder is dry where I USED to peeeee!" The only people not impressed were the Division Commanders: Azula of the Flame Division, Cindy Cortix of the Undead Animal Division, Cortez of the Phantom Division, and Rā's al Ghūl of the Shadow Division. Their tables were on a ledge above the main deck, but below Mandy's throne.

The bored Pirate Emperor was drinking some Blood Wine when she glanced up and spotted a shadow against the full moon. At that instant, Kiki felt as if death were gazing at her. The crewmen ceased partying and looked to where their captain was staring. Kiki took another breath and slowly lowered her broom down to the level of the commander tables. "…Emperor Mandy… my name is Kiki Yamaka… and I have a delivery for you." She fearfully pulled the package from her bag. "It's a… pizza from the pizza place… at Beach City… Don't worry, this package is just… a magical protection…"

Kiki glanced to her left and met Azula's fiery, murderous stare, and the glimmering green of Rā's al Ghūl's eyes. She glanced right and found Cortez's single blue eye glimmering in his skull, and the manic look of Mandy's psychotic daughter. Kiki was helpless prey surrounded by the strongest pirates in one of the most terrifying crews.

"Well? Are you going to bring it or NOT?" demanded Mandy.

Kiki flinched back to reality, gulping and carrying the package up the stairs. She was now directly in front of Lord Mandy, whose head was propped on her hand in boredom. The box was trembling in Kiki's hands. "Well, here it is!" Kiki quickly said with a smile, placing it on Mandy's lap. "Just cut it open and the pizza will be there safe and sound in its box! No tip will be necessary, 'kay bye!" She hopped on her broom and soared off like a rocket.

"Sigh…" Mandy drew her sword. "Okay, time to see what's so special about Beach City pizza." She violently stabbed through the tape.

BOOM!! The commander's area erupted with smoke and fire.

Moonbase Cafeteria

Nothing had changed since Kiki had left, returning to her sector's table with the greatest look of relief. "Siiiiigh. Man, that was so scary. But it actually wasn't that bad."

"You sure, kiddo?" Phil asked. "'Cause you… kind of left your bag here." Phil indicated the orange satchel on the table.

"Oh, no, that's just my bomb bag. You can tell the difference because the KND logo-" She lifted said bag up: it displayed her delivery service logo, "…on the… bottom. …!" Kiki frantically lifted her current satchel, which read 'KND.' "…But, the pizza…" She quickly opened it and drew a package that displayed her logo, symbolizing its magic touch. Kiki undid the package and the pizza box came out. "EEEK!" Kiki's hair stood as though she were on Birka, and she lost any color on her features.

"Uhh… Kiki?" Wendy spoke worriedly.

". . . . I gave one of my Package Bombs to a Pirate Emperor . . ."

"Kiki?" Romeo spoke, not hearing her very quiet, nearly breathless voice.

"I GAVE A BOMB TO PIRATE EMPEROR MANDYYYYYYY!!!"

This caught the attention of all operatives in the room. Some of them shared Kiki's panic. "What's all the shouting about?!" Cheren ran in. "What about Emperor Mandy?"

"CHEREN!" Kiki zipped over and grabbed the shorter boy by the shoulders, grinning ecstatically. "Thank goodness you're here! Emperor Mandy's your aunt, right?! Perfect! You can talk to her, convince her not to kill me!"

"Er, I'm sorry… what's the nature of your conflict with her?"

"You know those Package Bombs I use in combat? Well, I gave one of them to Mandy on accident, and there's a chance it blew up in her face."

"Oh. …Yeah, you're kinda screwed."

"WHAT?! B-B-But, we're the Kids Next Door. We saved the universe a hundred times. Surely, we'd be able to handle a silly pirate crew!"

"Mandy is a cold-hearted woman who commands tens of thousands of demons and brings any who meet her gaze under her control, and she has control of over 500 towns and their resources, and probably a few towns on other planets. And considering most of her crew are demons, they'll just come back to life. Heck, she might actually have spies that work in Underworld Prison."

"But the Kids Next Door have WAY more forces than that! If it gets REALLY bad, we can call the Galactic Armada and make short work of them!"

"I don't want to start a war with a Pirate Emperor right after we restored the FREAKIN' UNIVERSE!!"

Cheren's outburst scared Kiki into silence. Cheren sighed. "Kiki… people are still trying to relieve their selves after everything that's happened. Operatives AND civilians. I just want people to remember what peace feels like."

"So, I'm just supposed to live in fear until Mandy finds and kills me?!"

"Mandy's not gonna kill you!" Cheren laughed. "Just… give you nightmares beyond your wildest imagination. So, you're probably gonna live in fear either way!"

Kiki was clasping her head, heart racing, mind swirling with frightening thoughts. "Mandy is gonna search the whole planet for me. She'll burn down every town, question each and every person who might have some sort of connection to me. So obviously, she'll start with Japan, but since I'm a witch, she'll head STRAIGHT for Mahoutokoro, and the teachers are gonna find out what I did, and then I'll receive an 'F' for the program and probably be expelled, which means NO MORE magic and NO MORE flying, so then there's NOTHING to stop Mandy from having her way with me, OH GOD, MY LIFE IS OVER!!"

"Kiki, calm down!" Wendy said. "We'll protect you from them, we promise."

"And besides, Mandy is a Logia, so it's not like she would be hurt." Oliver assured. "You just need to calm down. Everything's going to be fine."

They heard alarms outside, recognizing it as a distress call from the Global Tactical Station. The group rushed out to find Lars' face on the screen. "PLEASE, HELP US! Mandy's pirates are destroying the town, th-they're breaking into our treehouse—AAAH, LEAVE ME ALONE! I'll give you all the donuts in Sadie's room!!" He ran away.

Panini brought up a satellite image of Beach City, cannonballs blasting aimlessly as pirates marched on the streets and set everything to flames. "It's terrible, Cheren! Just what is Mandy's grudge with them, anyway?!"

"Hey, look!" Romeo pointed. "It looks like some of them are gathering at the pizza place!"

Kiki looked closer: those people in question were the four commanders. But more importantly, she noticed the name of the restaurant: Kiki's Pizza Delivery. "Oh, no… they're looking for me in the pizza shop. They think I work there! Those people are gonna get hurt because of ME!!"

"I can't believe they have a restaurant with the same name as Kiki." Romeo said.

"Then we have to go down there and stop them!" Hat Kid declared. "Don't worry, Kiki, we'll make sure you-"

But Kiki was gone. In her place was a Vanishing Box. Oliver bent down and cracked it open, finding a tiny Kiki. "I'm staying in here where she won't find me! Please hide this box where she won't think to look!" She pulled it shut.

"Siiigh. Look, just get down there and try to minimize the damage. I'll put this in my office." Cheren picked the box up. "Afterwards, I'll go down there and try to reason with Aunt Mandy."

Beach City, Florida

Mr. Fryman cried as he ran out of his restaurant, his aptly-named hair on fire. Flame spirits were flying into the arcade and possessing the consoles, which captured the customers and started to "play" with them.

Cindy Cortix, Kimaya Heartly, and Django de los Muertos were at the mayor's house, holding him at sword, Keyblade, and guitar point respectively. "Hand us the Key to the City, or we'll burn this place to the ground."

Mayor Dewey was shuddering against his fallen desk. "Th-Th-Th-The Key to the City i-is the property of the Beach City Board of Politicians, a-and is not to be given to any-"

Cindy's eyes flashed with fear. "AAAAH!" The mayor began frantically waving his arms. "It's behind the picture of the missus! G-Get 'em off me! Get these filthy seagulls OFF ME! !"

Peedee Fryman (Numbuh Well Done) was stuffing fries into a red gun and blasting flaming fries at the demons closing on their restaurant. "There's too many! I don't think this place will hold for much longer!"

"Then we're left with no other choice." Ronaldo spoke seriously. He turned and bowed before a poster of three colorful women in fairy clothes making majestic poses. "I beseech thee, O Girl Power Freedom Fairies: descend upon your Rainbow Pony and protect us from the Dark Forces!"

He looked up at his poster, hoping the heroines would jump out. Three beautiful Flare Dancer demons broke through the poster. "YAAAAA!" Ronaldo ran.

The leader of Sector BC, Connie Maheswaran (an Indian girl in a blue T-shirt and yellow shorts), was clashing swords with Rā's al Ghūl, who had black hair, black clothing with bare muscular arms, and shining green eyes. Rā's was able to cut Connie's waist, but Connie seized the chance to stab him in the stomach. She flipped away, clutching her wound, but Rā's summoned Shadow Clones to attack all at once, Connie barely ducking and slicing all three. She was forced to run when female ninjas charged to attack her.

"I can't believe we're wasting our energy on this small, defenseless town." Rā's said to Cortez.

"Yohohohoho! There be no greater declaration of war than a bad pizza delivery, amigo." Cortez replied. He was a skeleton ghost with a blue eye in the left socket, an eyepatch on the other, a classic captain's hat, and a black coat.

"Well, I've got the Key to the City." Cindy and her group returned. "Is Azula finished destroying the pizza place?"

"Arr, she takes her time with it, she does."

The aptly-named Pizza Family were cornered in the back of their restaurant, which was burning beautifully in the sapphire embers. Azula was even more vicious than before with her burned, scattered hair. "I had finally gotten my hair JUST the way I wanted it, and your stupid bomb RUINED IT! Now, I'll ask you again… where, is, KIKI?!?"

"I keep tellin' you that I'M Kiki!" yelled an African-American girl with a yellow bandanna. "And I have no idea what you're talking about! I'm not a witch and I DIDN'T send you a bomb!"

"GRRRR!" Azula burst with fire. "Listen, you, if Mandy hadn't ordered us to not kill anyone, I would have already. But she wants our victims to know fear… and I don't need fearbending to do that." The princess abruptly grabbed Kiki and her twin, Jenny by the necks. "NOW, BRING ME THE WITCH!"

"The only witch in here is YOU!" Azula whipped around, finding Romeo Conbolt with a deathly glare.

"Who the hell are YOU, brat?"

"I'm here to stop you!" Romeo cast Ice Flames to douse the blue flames around the restaurant. Azula blasted flames that Romeo dodged before grabbing her with a violet flame and forcefully throwing her back and out of the restaurant. "Get out of here!" he yelled to the Pizza Family. Romeo jumped after and tossed flames to combat Azula while the family was able to escape the restaurant and run away from the fight.

Oliver had already engaged Cortez in combat, casting light spells to damage the ghost while Cortez sent Ember spirits to burn him. Oliver summoned a storm to weaken the spirits and strike lightning on Cortez, but the storm ended in seconds. The pirate grew two extra arms, each with a different sword (and one with a hook) and threw slashes at Oliver, the boy trying to run and heal himself.

Phil was blasting Skeleton Soldiers off of Stalhorses and Hat Kid threw her hat onto one of the undead horses to possess it. She trampled down some demons, and when Kimaya leapt over to slash the Stalhorse to pieces, Hat Kid rematerialized and threw her hat onto another one, then tried to run over Cindy, who dodged and beheaded the skeleton. Cindy dodged again when Phil shot at her, resulting in Mandy's daughter shooting a Scare Stare at him.

The next minute, the world turned red and black around Phil as gigantic, venom-drooling cats snarled at him. "AAAAH! OLLIE, HELP!" Phil ran around crying. "THEY'RE GONNA EAT ME! OLLIE, PLEASE!"

"Phil, you're just fine, calm down!"

Rā's knocked the sword out of Connie's hand and was about to do away with the girl. "PROTEGO!" Wendy jumped in the way just in time and blocked him with a shield.

"Hey, you're that magic girl!" Connie recognized.

"Leave him to me. Go and protect the citizens." Wendy ordered. She dropped the shield and blew a Sky Dragon's Roar to blow Rā's back, but the Demon's Head recovered and poofed behind Wendy for a quick strike, to which she dodged and countered with Ventus Incendio (or "fire tornado" in layman's terms). However, Rā's twirled his sword with equal speed to blow the flames away and slashed with such power that it cut the earth, and would have cleaved Wendy perfectly had she not evaded.

Boogey Coast

Cheren Uno leapt out of his R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. onto the deck of Mandy's ship. Demons were about to attack him- "Stand your ground!" ordered the Creeper. "He's Lord Mandy's nephew. Likely here on a family visit, I'd wager."

"Where is she?!" Cheren demanded.

"She's in 'er cabin. Just up there."

Mandy was playing Wi-Fi on Mario Kart XX. She was playing as Peach and racing Bowser, whose player name read K. Rool. She lost the race by a few seconds. "Damn you, Kroctus…" There was a knock. "This BETTER be important, Creeper."

Cheren kicked open the door without a second thought. "Aunt Mandy, why are you attacking Beach City?! You realize I have a sector there!"

"And you realize that no one sends me an explosive pizza without severe punishment?"

"Well, excuse a humble pizza place for trying to get rid of dangerous criminals that are looming just beyond their shore." Cheren said, deciding to protect Kiki for the moment. Actually, this probably isn't gonna help.

"You know, Cheren, earlier during my pirating career, I actually paid a small visit to this town. I was 12, I think. Beach City was peaceful. The people were kind, the weather was nice… unfortunately, she was there. Mindy." Mandy practically crushed the controller in her hands. "That brat's family just scored a fortune. They were richer than ever. And Mindy…" Mandy clenched her teeth. "She was an even worse monster than before. She was… nice. She made herself the friendliest person in town in only a week. The older kids invited her to a party, she flashed her money and ordered the best quality pizza and French fries, and the people happily obliged. Then, they looked at me, at my hideous scowl, not with fear, but mere hatred over the fact that I wasn't 'showing a little more love.'"

"What's your point?"

"Eventually, I just got so sick and left this dump. But now when I look back on it, I remember just how hard I worked, how much I struggled, while Mindy gained popularity through unearned money and kindness alone. Did Mindy ever get possessed by a demon? Did Mindy ever inject herself with 30 Fear Toxins? Did Mindy's own parents hate her because she was constantly tormented by her own fears? NO! She was a privileged child who never had to fight for anything, surrounded by people that loved her! Well, I won the respect of my crew through fear and power and I'm DAMN well proud of it! And I returned to this city to see if they would acknowledge my new position, and it seems like they have. Believe it or not, they earned my respect when they made that little stunt. But I'm going to make them respect ME!" Mandy shot a glare to Cheren.

The world reddened around the young leader as the corpses of his mother and father lay before him. He drew the Master Sword and found it shrinking in his hand. Mandy smacked him in the head and knocked him down as she walked out. "By the time I'm through, this happy town will know the beauty of fear."

Osono's shop; Koriko, Gotland

"Yes, Mr. Pines." Osono said into her phone. She was a young, pudgy woman with ginger hair, dark-brown eyes, and a green shirt with a white apron. "Don't worry, these Sugar Fairy Spoons are as real as you or me, they'll spice up any meal you make. Yep, electronic pay is just fine. I'll have my delivery girl send them over in a jiffy." She ended the call and began to call Kiki. "Hopefully she's not too busy with other matters." However, she heard a faint ringing from the Vanishing Box. Curious, Osono opened it. "GYAH!"

"AAH!" Kiki yelped. "Oh, it's just you, Osono-san!"

"Kiki! What are you doing in the Vanishing Box?!"

"Uhh… it's a long story."

"Well, I suppose it's good that you're here. I have a delivery for you; some man in a forest in Gravity Falls, Oregon."

"No! I mean… Osono-san… I don't think I should do deliveries for a while."

"Well, why on Earth not? After all the good business you brought me, it'd sure be a shame for it to end so soon."

"I'm sorry. It's just… well… I…I made a huge mistake."

"What is it, Kiki? Go on, tell me."

Kiki sighed and chose to explain. Not wanting to worry her too much, Kiki left out the identity of the customer, explained only how she was in KND and used Package Bombs for combat. "Ohh, is that what happened… well, Kiki, it's okay to feel bad, but hiding in a magic chest whose initial purpose was to help cowards hide isn't going to help. What you ought to do is return to the customer and tell them it was an honest mistake. Granted, you'll probably be paying their hospital bill… that is, if you're lucky. Thank goodness you didn't make the delivery on behalf of my shop."

"I promised my mom that I was going to be a good witch. I told her I was ready to take care of myself. Now my school is going to take away my wand. They're going to be so disappointed in me. I won't be able to fly anymore! I'll be stuck on the ground for the rest of my life and have to get a job in archaeology like my dad!"

"Look, Kiki," Osono lifted her out of the box and set her on her feet, "a witch isn't condemned for life for making a silly mistake. Heck, professors expect you to mess up all the time! What they really wanna know is how well you own up to your mistakes. That kind of humility is what distinguishes the good wizards from the bad wizards. And I know you're not a bad witch, Kiki."

"Sigh… I know, Osono-san… but I'm so afraid." Kiki faced down at her shoes. "So many things could happen."

"Do you want me to go with you and help straighten it out?"

"No, I couldn't get you involved. …Oh, who am I kidding. I've already gotten my friends involved—I've gotten the pizza place involved, too. All because of my stupid mistake." Kiki clenched her fists and grabbed her broom from the chest. "Only I can go and fix it. Osono-san… if I don't come back, I just wanna say, it was an honor working for you."

"Oh, you'll be back before you know it, Kiki. Now, hurry along now. The sooner you're finished, the sooner we can get back to business!"

"Okay!" Kiki raced outside and hopped on her broomstick, beaming with courage. "I'm off to Beach City! Gotta go before Emperor Mandy kills my friends!" She switched on the engine and zipped off.

"Ha ha ha! Fly safe, sweetheart!" Osono waved. "…Wait. Emperor Mandy?" Where had she heard that name before? "PIRATE Emperor?!"

Beach City

Oliver used Lumos Solem combined with Reducto to create an explosion of light to break Cortez's body into pieces. Cortez's head remained floating as a blue stone was exposed from his coat, charging an energy beam that blasted Oliver across town.

Wendy was surrounded by Rā's al Ghūl clones, creating cyclones to blow them away, but she was eventually forced to conjure a Protego to recompose herself. However, Rā's hardened his sword with Armament Haki and was able to crack Wendy's shield, much to her surprise. "HYAH!" Rā's was stabbed in the back by Connie, who jumped back as Rā's about-faced, leaving Wendy to drop her bubble and cast a Jelly-Legs Curse on him, followed by kicking the assassin away with a Cyclone Kick.

Romeo was continuously blowing Ice Flames onto Azula, but her sapphire flames were not running low any time soon. "Heh heh heh." Azula smirked as Romeo's flames were dwindling. "It's impressive that you can force your flames to freeze rather than burn, but it takes more energy to do it. I'll melt you dry and those pizza fools will share your FATE!"

Cindy sent a swarm of undead cats after Phil, but Hat Kid possessed an Ember to set fire to the cats. Kimaya farted a Gas Bomb and exploded the Ember, forcing Hat Kid out as she lay weakened on the ground. Phil helped her to stand, but it was then they felt an unsettling chill in the air.

"AAAAAAH!" The second Lord Mandy stepped onto the shore, the entire town was awash in fear. Her very body reeked with a dark-red mist, she was fear embodied, and her very presence kept anyone from thinking rationally.

"NO! MOM! DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN! PLEASE! NO!" Wendy screamed.

"It's not true!" Romeo cried, holding his privates. "I'm not like my dad! I don't like older girls, I swear!"

"Please don't die, Mom! Please, I'll do anything!" Oliver followed.

"GYAAAH! TURTLES! TURTLES!" Hat Kid screamed. "DON'T EAT MY PARENTS! NO! (Wow, do we all have parent issues?)"

"From now on, Beach City is the property of the Boogey Pirates." Mandy declared. "As per tradition, we will mount the Boogeyman on a stake in the center of town to establish my position over fear itself, and over YOU."

"Stop this RIGHT NOW." declared a brave girl's voice. Mandy whipped upward and spotted Kiki.

"THERE she is!" Azula snarled. "The WITCH!"

"Kiki!" Wendy exclaimed.

"So, you're back to join the party." Mandy said.

Kiki's skin tingled from the Fear Chi radiating from her. With another deep breath, she set foot on the beach before Mandy. She got to her knees and bowed to the ground. "Please spare these people. They had nothing to do with this. That bomb was mine. I was asked to deliver you the pizza, but I gave you the bomb by mistake because…because I was afraid. I was afraid and I wasn't focused. So, please don't hurt these people, Lord Mandy. It was my fault and mine alone. If anyone should get punished, it should be me."

Her teammates were frozen with worry and shock, anticipating the worst for their friend. Mandy's commanders were looking with curiosity. Kiki kept her head bowed, not daring to look her in the eye. She heard Mandy draw a sword and hold it down in front of Kiki's face, allowing them to see reflections of each other. "Would you be willing to cut your arms off?"

Kiki gasped and looked up. Mandy looked inquisitively. "Your hands are what gave me the bomb. You must cut them off and see that they never harm anyone again."

"N-No! I mean…" Kiki hugged herself, "It was an honest mistake! I'm really, really sorry, but I promise I'll be more careful from now on! Please don't make me cut off my hands! Please, I beg you!"

"Well, then we're at an impasse. You don't want me to destroy the town, yet you don't want to punish yourself in their place. What to do, what to do…"

"She said she was sorry!" Wendy shouted. "What do you get out of torturing her more?!"

Mandy shot a glare at her and trapped Wendy in another nightmare. "Hmmm… Well, I suppose I still owe you Kids Next Door for destroying Big Mom for me, and I suppose saving the universe so that we didn't have to get involved. So, I'll spare this town… from more torment. But know this." Mandy knelt down to the young witch. "I'll remember your face… and I hope you remember mine… on the day that the Grim Glarer Mandy looked on you with murderous intent, and spared your life." And, with a smile that looked so soft and kind, she said, "okay?"

Seeing such a rare look up close was more scary than anything. Kiki couldn't bring up the words, only nod. Mandy stood and declared, "MEN, we're leaving. Pick up your toys and get back on the ship."

"Are you kidding?!" Creeper yelled, holding up the large stake with their former captain, Boogeyman strapped to it. "Do you realize how heavy this guy is?!"

"Can it, Creeper."

"C-C-Creeper?!" Boogey stuttered. "W-Where am I?! What is this?! W-Why do those people have French fry hair?! Does this place have any lions?!"

In minutes, the entire town was free of demons and pirates and the ship sailed into the horizon. They dropped Cheren on the beach, but the leader was coming to. Kiki held her racing heart as her teammates met up with her. "Guys, I'm so sorry I got you all involved in this."

"It's okay, Kiki." Wendy touched her shoulder. "We all make mistakes sometimes. At least we weren't hurt too badly."

"Iiii… wouldn't be too sure about that." Hat Kid spoke, indicating the burning buildings and injured townspeople.

"Let's go around and start healing them." Oliver suggested, Wendy nodding.

"I'll call MaKayla and have her timebend the buildings back to normal." Cheren said.

"You gonna be okay, Kiki?" Phil asked.

"For now, I will be. But I can't stay. Kiki's Delivery Service needs to get back on track!" Kiki smiled, hopping on her broom. "A nice flight will get this off my mind. But first, a quick trip to Moonbase to switch out my bags." And to the moon she soared.

"Good on ya, kiddo." Phil smiled.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo Fryman still lay half-dead on the floor of the ruined restaurant. He awoke to a shining light, and before his eyes were his heroines. "Never fear, Earthling!" declared Grace Fairy in a gorgeous pose of her slender form. "We are here, to save the daaaay~!" She sang like an angel.

"Girl Power Freedom Fairies… where were you…?"

"We were in the middle of acrobatics class." answered Afro Fairy, wearing sunglasses over her eyes. "But now we're here, to save the day!"

The shorter one, Tomboy Fairy, was eating a tire. "I inspire girls to be their self no matter how society treats them!"

"You're not even the real Freedom Fairies. You're those lame 2030 knockoffs. Boo hoo hoo…" Ronaldo fainted.

"Hmmm… Well, things seem to be wrapping up here, Fairies." Grace Fairy said. "COME, Gingerbeer! To Bobopolis!" Their rainbow pony descended, neighing as they mounted her and rode to the sky. Sector BC's treehouse snapped free of its stem on the distant cliffside and hit the ground. "OW! My ear holes!" Lars yelled.