Sector LN, Part 8: Centuries Old Feud

Hivory Mountains

A golden statue of Gruntilda towered over the center of the factory lobby, reminding all the workers who was in power. At the feet of the statue was a silver one of Capital B, who was certainly not as powerful, but it was good enough. The vice-president in question had finished polishing his statue before facing up at Grunty's. "Some day…" he spoke with a twinkle in his eye, dreaming of big things. "Eh?" He heard a door close and glanced right, seeing the closet. Curious, he marched over and opened it, but nothing was in here but janitorial equipment. "Must've been a draft." He closed it and moved on.

In reality, Sucy Manbavaran was in the closet, having drunk a Complete Invisibility potion. Her friends on the other hand were shrunken inside her cloak pocket. "This feels so weird!" Akko whispered. "Like, we know Sucy's carrying us, yet it feels like we're just floating for no reason!"

"And I could totally squash you all for no reason." Sucy remarked. She held up a map and cast a spell to shrink it, slipping it in her pocket. "Here you go."

"Good, she was able to get a map from that bee." Diana said, using Lumos to provide a light in the dark pocket. "Let's see… Gruntilda should hopefully be up in her office, and the only way up there seems to be via the elevator. Otherwise, I assume she uses her broom. However, the Quickwarp, I surmise would be in the research laboratory."

"What if it's in her office?" Akko asked.

"Master Constanze says Quickwarps need a lot of energy to transport to other planets." Stanbot said. "The most energy would be transmitted to the laboratory."

"Hey, Bee Guy, we got a tooth to pick with you!" Hearing a valley girl's voice outside, Sucy peeked outside, seeing the Totally Spies (Sam, Clover, and Alex) approach Capital B. "Your library is like a total bore!" Clover said. "There isn't a single magazine!"

"What are you talking about, there are plenty of magazines!"

"Yeah, like anyone wants to read Bees Weekly."

"It's those spies again." Hannah said. "They weren't all that tough, but they also had a fourth one. And she was vicious."

"Hey guys, the potion wore off." Sucy whispered, the girls hearing her voice and looking up.

"I guess we'll have no choice but to fight." Diana said. "Listen, Constanze, Lotte, and Sucy will search for the Quickwarp and try to recover the Vibranium. Hannah, Barbara, Amanda, and Jasminka will fight those spies. I know it seems like overkill, but there's always a chance the fourth spy will show up. If you manage to beat them, quickly go to join Lotte's group; they'll most likely need help. And Akko, you and I will go to capture Gruntilda. I'll give everyone a map so no one gets lost. Geminio." Diana cast a spell to make the map split into copies. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yeah." Akko nodded seriously, the others sharing her determination.

"Good. Then… let the mission commence! ENGORGIO!"

"EHN!" Capital B screamed when the Nine Witches exploded out of the closet, casting spells in every direction to knock out the workers. "THEY'RE HERE!" B flapped his wings and flew into a door on a high walkway. "Kill them, you brats!"

"You could've said 'please'!" Alex yelled.

"Let's go, Akko!" Diana yelled, mounting her broom.

"Right!" Akko hopped on the back as they took off.

"Not so fast!" Sam tried to fly after them with a jetpack- "WHOA!" but a vine grabbed her by the legs and brought her down.

"Hey, we got a score to settle, you know!" Barbara remarked, the vine coming from her pot.

"Yeah, you're looking at the new-and-improved Hannah-Barbara!" Hannah followed.

"And you aren't going anywhere without dealing with us!" Amanda smirked, drawing her wand.

"Fine, if that's how you wanna play it." Sam replied, using a lipstick laser to cut the vine holding her and getting to her feet. "No way we're gonna lose to wannabes like you."

"What should I do, Amanda?" Jasminka asked.

"Keep the underlings from interfering, but also try to eat as much as you can. You're our trump card in case this gets out of control, okay Jasminka?"

"Okay, Amanda. You can count on me!"

"Alright, team!" Fire brimmed in Amanda's eyes. "Let's rock and roll!" (Play "Here We Go" by Moonbaby!)

"Wait, that isn't the right song!" Alex panicked.

"Too late, the fight's already started!" Sam yelled.

Boss fight: Totally Spies

Alex flew up and swung a hardened Haki leg at Amanda, who countered with a flaming leg. They kept swinging kicks until Amanda decided to pull back, her leg aching a tad. The nails of Alex's suit extended as she used Shave to zip up to Amanda and scratch parts of her body. Angered, Amanda lit her body aflame and spun on one foot, becoming a flaming cyclone. "Geez, cool down, much?" Alex remarked as she tossed a Freeze Bomb to freeze Amanda in place. The athlete mustered her Fire Chi and melted herself free, prompting Alex to impale her hip with her heel.

"Try to MAKE me, bitch!" Amanda channeled fire to her feet and dashed away. Smirking, Alex's heels retracted, becoming fit for running as she raced after the firebender. Speeding around the room, Amanda glanced back and smirked, whipping her leg around and sending a flame wave. Alex gracefully leapt over it, doing a flip with her foot coming down on Amanda. The witch smirked and drew her flaming rapier, stabbing Alex's leg.

"AAAAAHH!"

"You're an athlete, walk it off!" retorted Amanda, performing an aerial kick to the jaw.

Meanwhile, Clover used Paper Art to dodge Hannah's spells, then the spy Shaved behind her for a kick to the spine. "'Guess I'll have to be light on my feet, too." Hannah whirled her wand above her and changed her outfit into a white robe with a halo, angel wings, and Greek sandals. Her body became much more nimble, dodging Clover's kicks with ease as she rolled behind the witch and cast the Jelly-Legs Jinx on her.

"WAH!" Clover fell over. "I will not let this outdated brat outdo me!" Clover switched on a helipack and flew overhead, grabbing lipsticks from her belt. "Try to outrun these!" The lipsticks fired homing energy balls, but when Hannah brought up a Protego, they easily shattered the barrier.

"Whoa, those are strong. Let's see how they fair against my Mirror Gown!" Hannah switched into a shiny, reflective dress, and by spinning around, the beams bounced away. When she was turned, Clover swooped down and tackled the witch, slamming her against the wall and dealing some punches. Hannah zapped a spell to blast her away, but Clover had already attached a mechanical device to her chest.

"Get ready to be zapped!" Clover declared, seconds from pressing a button. Taking that as her cue, Hannah swiftly switched into a puffy dark-pink. The "Rubbergum" negated the Shock Bomb's effect, and it burst afterwards. The Jelly-Legs Jinx wore off on Clover, who could again use Shave to zip over and kick Hannah from the side, the witch bouncing several feet away. "It's time for Mime!" Hannah turned herself into a mime with a red- and white-striped shirt, black pants, and a white face.

"As if THAT'S gonna help you!" Clover zipped up for another punch, only for her fist to come in contact with an invisible wall. Hannah smirked, using mime maneuvers to build walls and a roof on every side of Clover, including a roof. The spy then looked confused as Hannah seemed to be holding an imaginary rope. Hannah pulled the rope, flattening Clover between two of the walls.

Sam released flying pods into the air that would hover above Barbara and attempt to zap her, but the witch dropped Piranha Plant seeds and had them grow to tall size, devouring the pods in single bites. Sam shot lipstick lasers to behead the plants, but Barbara had dropped Wriggle Plants, insect-like vines that crawled over to Sam and up her body. Disgusted, Sam Shaved and tried to shake them off, but they had climbed onto her head, distracting her enough so Barbara could hit her with a stun spell, which unfortunately affected the Wriggle Plants as well.

To the witch's surprise, Sam was unphased, and the spy shot her in the shoulder with a lipstick laser. "News flash: we've been tied up so many times, we're immune to stun spells!"

"That makes absolutely no sense!" Barbara yelled. She threw up a Protego when Sam zipped up to attack her, and before the shield could disperse, Barbara set up three Fire Flowers to shoot flames at Sam.

"Missed me, but you do not have to kiss me!" remarked Sam, flying overhead and plummeting down with a Screw Kick. "YOW!" The air seemed to burst and blow her back.

"I'll leave that up to my Hiss Plant, thank you!" Barbara was holding a pink potted flower with a large, catlike mouth. The flower hissed and shot concentrated air bubbles, Sam swiftly dodging them as she Shaved up to Barbara and kicked the plant away. "YAH!" Sam yelped, realizing she stepped on a venus flytrap, which began munching her foot. By the time she could stab it with her heel and kill it, Sam was baffled at the sight of purple spores descending like tiny parachutes. "What is this, purple snow?"

"I thought you were the smart one." Barbara remarked, casting a little spark from her wand. "Boom."

The spark set off a chain reaction in the Bomb Spores, engulfing Sam in flames. "WAAAAAHH!"

"And they thought they could beat Diana's apprentices. OHHHH HO HO HO!" Barbara laughed haughtily.

"Alright, it looks like we got their number." Amanda smirked.

"That's what YOU think." Sam retorted, shaking the soot off. "But I got a little surprise: Clover, Alex!"

"Right behind you, Sammy!" The three spies grouped up. Much to the witches' confusion, the spies hugged and smooshed their faces together.

"Uh… what's going on?" Amanda asked.

"I ate something called a Fuse-Fuse Fruit." Sam replied. "It allows me to scientifically merge with anyone!"

"And with the power of our friendship," Clover followed, "our combined form will be invincible!"

"Just look at the way we press our faces together!" Alex concluded. The spies began to wobble and spin around, and with a flash, the three were now one. They were three times taller and overweight, shaking the floor with her massive feet. The pudgy fusion had brown hair, a pink top, and black shorts, and the shirt listed her name as 'Betty.' "Whoooh ho ho ho!" she giggled when her body wobbled. "I feel like a big, mushy marshmallow. I bet it would hurt pretty bad if I sit on you, whoh ho ho."

"Ugh, what a monster." Amanda glared. "Jasminka, we're gonna need you for this. Are you all filled up?"

"Mmm." Jasminka gave a thumbs-up. Putting her food away, Jasminka cast a spell to make herself round.

"Oooo, ho ho ho! Big ball!" Betty stomped over.

Amanda went into Fire Fury, twirling her leg with the intent to kick her ball-shaped friend. "Amanda, you're gonna pop her like a balloon!" Hannah shouted.

"Amanda O'Neill goes for the goal! Will she MAKE IT?!" And so, with terrific power and passion, she KICKED Jasminka, striking Betty with the force of a cannonball. Jasminka bounced up to the ceiling and bounced down to hit her again, then Amanda ran in her path to kick her at the giant again, and Jasminka ricocheted around the room, hitting Betty over and over. "Time for a TOUCHDOWN!" Amanda leapt up, caught Jasminka on her feet, and blasted fire like cannons to shoot her down, striking Betty with greater force.

"BUUUUOOOOOHHH!" The supersized spy hacked vomit out, her body wobbling like a lava lamp before breaking into three again. (End song.)

"Ewwww…" Alex moaned. "Sam, I feel like your lunch ended up in my bladder. UECK!" Amanda stamped her in the head and knocked her out.

"I really hate rich little snobs like that." Amanda spoke with a sharp glare. "Sigh… hey, I didn't hurt you too badly, did I, Jasminka?"

"It's okay, Amanda." Jasminka smiled, her body having deflated. "I knew if anyone could do it, you could."

"I still can't believe they broke apart that easily." Hannah said.

"I'll tell you why they did." Amanda put an arm around her friend, Jasminka's pudgy cheeks giving a blush. "Even when they were fused, my bond with Jasminka was way stronger."

"Okay, warmhearted moment over," Hannah said impatiently, mounting her broom, "let's go help Lotte's group!"

"Right! C'mon, Jas!" The three took off in the direction Capital B flew. Barbara had the spies tied up by a Piranha Plant Snake, leaving them in the closet before joining her friends.

"At least we didn't have to fight that purple spy, yet." Barbara said in relief.

Grunty's Office

Gruntilda and Mandy watched the fight on her laptop, then swapped screens to see Lotte's group pursuing Capital B, and Diana and Akko headed for her office. "Eh… hold on a minute."

"What is it?" Mandy asked snootily.

Grunty reached in her drawer for her list of Avalaran operatives. She flipped through and found Sector LN's page. "Just as I thought… Diana Cavendish. As if the stars were granting my wish."

"You mean you know her?"

"She is a descendant of one of Luna Nova's Nine Olde Witches. The same as my ancestor, Brunilda. Hak kak kak kak." She laughed. "It's no coincidence that there are nine witches invading our base. Crushing them will put an even greater smile on my face. I eagerly await the arrival of my ancient rival."

"That's cheating."

"And YOU!" Grunty jabbed her finger at her. "I expect no slack when I order you to attack! Even against those would-be heroes, I expect no less from CP0."

In a western hallway

Lotte, Sucy, and Constanze were in hot pursuit of Capital B, flying down unending hallways and passing countless rooms. "Ehn… they can't be after me, can they? No, they must be heading for the Quickwarp. I don't know how they uncovered our plan, but I'll stop them here!" The bee slammed his body against a switch on the wall.

"Guys, watch out!" Lotte yelled, the trio pulling their brooms back as hatches opened on the ceiling.

"Gebede-boobah! Hebele-doo!" Hundreds of round, yellow creatures dropped from the ceiling, clothed in glasses and blue overalls. "BEDEBLAH! BANANA, BANANA!" The creatures amassed below the witches and formed towers, trying to munch them as they desperately cast spells to knock them off.

"Ehn hehn hehn! Our Minions will be the end of you!" Capital B declared, escaping further down the hall. "Just as they were almost the end of Disney!"

"Minions?" Sucy questioned, disgusted by the creatures. "Oh, yeah, they were the mascots for Illumination before Disney bought the company. Since then, they just disappeared."

"They must've sold them to Grunty at some point." Lotte figured. "I think now's as good a time as any to try this." She drew a purple Rainbow Monkey book from her satchel.

"What is that?"

"It turns out, Kirie Beatles from Sector V was a Ghost Whisperer, too. Even though she was mute, her voice could reach the spirits of Rainbow Monkeys. And only with this special song, that has been known for generations, can one summon them! Here it goes!"

Rainbow Monkeys, Rainbow Monkeys

Oh so very round and super chunky!

The Minions ceased, seeming delighted by her singing. Sucy and Constanze were appalled by the childish song.

Bringing love wherever they go

Everyone's made of a big rainbow!

The spirits of the colored monkeys began to materialize and beat the ever-loving snot out of each and every Minion.

Oh, red and orange… and pink and blue!

Sucy couldn't see the monkeys, but she relished in the sight of blood spewing from the Minions, their glasses forced into their eyes and their heads being eaten off as though they were bananas.

Rainbow Monkeys, Rainbow Monkeys

We! Love! Yoooouu!

"We'll just leave them to you." Sucy said. "Constanze, let's keep going. Here, let's use these." She grabbed a Speed Potion and poured it on hers and Constanze's brooms, the two flying at high speed.

Capital B fixed his eyes on a room up ahead. "In case they make it this far, I can trap them in this roo—OOF!" The bee was rammed by the two witches, crashing onto the floor of said room.

"I'll take care of him! You go ahead!" Sucy yelled. Constanze gave a thumbs-up and flew to a door across the room. Capital B pressed a remote to seal the door, but Constanze sunk down and zipped under the gap just in time.

"EHN!" Capital B flipped up and smashed Sucy under his back before flying off. "What does it matter? Even if she gets into the Quickwarp, there's no way of her taking on the Kremling guards."

"Then I better take care of you quickly." Sucy said.

"You'll have a hard time with that!" B extracted a green potion. "I think it's time for your 9:00 execution!" The vice-president chugged the potion down and grew to twice his height.

"Is that all? I could make a Growth Potion WAY stronger than that."

"It's better than my former insignificant size. In any case, I won't allow you to ruin Gruntilda's plan! I owe her too much for letting me into this factory, and I'll defend it to the very end!" (Play "Final Beeting" from Yooka-Laylee!)

Boss fight: Capital B

"Get ready to BURST, little witch!" Capital B swooped over Sucy and stabbed his stinger down, but the potioneer dodged with surprising ease, her feet gliding across the room as she outran the overgrown bug. In truth, this was thanks to a Slippy Silk she slathered over her left foot, using her right to kick the floor and slide across it with ease. As Sucy skied away, she chucked red exploding potions at Capital B, his body turning black with soot as he tried to withstand the pain. "Ennh!" he grunted. "You won't be treating my library like an ice rink when I honey-fy the floor!" The bee flew to pull a lever, oozing honey into the room from the ceiling.

Sucy's feet ended up sliding into some honey, giving Capital B the chance to fly and sting her directly in the face. Sucy dodged her head left, and when B's stinger got drenched in the honey-fall, she threw a potion over the ooze to solidify it, causing B to sink down with his stinger weighted. Sucy cast a spell to get her feet free, then cast "Reducio!" in attempt to shrink the vice-president.

"Nice try! But this Growth Potion makes me immune to size spells." Capital B forced himself to fly up and then slam the hardened honey against the floor to break it. "Maybe this would serve as an alternative: the power of Dr. Clown's Scatter-Scatter Fruit!" Sucy watched as his giant body broke into smaller clones, all smirking deviously with the desire to sting her. Sucy threw more Burst Potions, but the bees continued to divide until they were a swarm of regular bees. "Bet you never had THIS many angry bees on your tail!" The bees swarmed all around and stung Sucy from all corners, even trying to get under her clothes to ensure her whole body would swell.

However, Sucy wasn't phased at all, merely trying to grab and squash as many bees as possible. "Hehn?! Bees, pull back!" They all swirled together into a single mass again. "Something's wrong! You should be bursting like a bubble by now!"

"I'm immune to poison, dumbass. What's a few little holes gonna do to me?"

"Then I'll just make the holes even bigger!" Capital B divided into his larger segments, surrounding Sucy once again. Just as they swooped in for a simultaneous stab, the witch drank a whitish-blue potion and seemed to vanish. "Ehn?! Did she turn invisible?!"

"Over here." The bees about-faced, seeing Sucy smiling wryly by a puddle of honey. "Hope you don't mind, but this honey is getting annoying." She poured more hardening potion around the honey, moving at breakneck speed to cover the entire room.

"Keep running, brat! Speed Potions never last long because the calories burn too quickly when you run!"

"They don't burn as fast as you do." Sucy smirked, pointing overhead as some Burst Potions dropped on them. The bees broke into smaller segments again, and Sucy drew a can of purple bug spray as she zipped around and released a toxic cloud around the room. The bees choked on the gas, so Capital B reformed into a larger form and pressed another wall switch to open the vents, sucking the gas out. "Huff, huff…" Sucy slumped on her knees, gasping for breath. "This potion is definitely better for Amanda…"

Capital B reformed into one entity, his rotten teeth a devilish grin. "So long, witch!" His stinger outstretched, B flew in for the kill.

Hearing the bee close in, Sucy stretched to full height and- "AAAAH!" B's stinger was seen coming out of her stomach, drenched in blood.

"Hehn hehn hehn! I doubt you're immune to blood loss! I'll just shake ya around a bit until you fall apart." B turned upside-down, shaking his behind as Sucy flapped about like a ragdoll. "Hehn hehn hehn- huh?"

He realized that Sucy ripped open the tip of his stinger and was pouring a pale purple potion into it. Sucy quickly shut the stinger and cast a spell to repair it. "UNGH!" B furiously tried to shake her off. "What did you pour into… mwuh?! EEEEHHHNN!" He began to writhe as his body shrank, causing Sucy to drop on the floor.

"Surprise… keh." Sucy coughed, weakly turning to him with a smile. "That's an Anti-Effect Potion that nullifies other potions. I was waiting for the perfect chance to get it inside you. Even if my methods were a little unorthodox… cough."

"EEEEHHHNN! Uwaaaaahh! Waaaaaahhh!" Capital B shrank out of his clothes, until he was the size of a thumb-sized bee. The chubby bug tried to lift his body toward the vents, but found himself trapped between Sucy's long-nailed pale fingers.

"What's wrong?" Sucy turned him to face her wicked grin. "Not gonna use your scatter power? If you do, I can easily destroy you all with a single spray." She grabbed a jar and tossed the bee inside, quickly sealing it up. "For now, I'll just keep you with me. You'll make an excellent guinea pig. Heek keek keek kee…" (End song.)

Laboratory

"I vonder vhat I am to call zis operation?" Von Kriplespac thought aloud. "How about 'Operation: Bon Voyage,' no no, too French, ja? Perhaps I vill go vith 'Supreme Explosion,' no no, not clever enough. Or I vill call it-"

"Von Kriplespac! We have trouble!" Grunty's image appeared on the monitor. "Get through the Quickwarp, on the double!"

"Vhat, vhat the hell is happening, Mistress?!"

"The Kids Next Door, they are here! Do not let them get near!"

As if on cue, the door blew open. Constanze shot him a glare through the smoke, her gun loaded as she shot all the weasel guards in the room. "AGH!" Kriplespac acted quick and flipped a switch, deactivating the Quickwarp. "Ho ho ho! Very close call, ja, but you vill not be heading to Sauria so easi—LAAAH!" He was shot in the stomach.

"HURRRR!" roared Constanze, the Stanbots storming in and shooting mini lasers up at Kriplespac.

"No no! Vait vait! V-Ve can talk zis out, ja? Vone German to another? Y-You are German, ja? No? Can you please just STOP IT!"

Constanze gasped when the Stanbots were restrained by something. The robots levitated and flew at her like a swarm, leaving Constanze no choice but to shoot them down. "Oh ho ho! You did not know I vas metalbender, ja? Gives you disadvantage." Kriplespac levitated the remains and launched them at Constanze, the mute witch running. "Run all you like, little vitch, but I vill not open ze Quickwarp until you die, ja? Vell, go on. Go die now." Kriplespac flew some Stanbots around Constanze and was able to ensnare the witch and strangle her.

"Don't worry, Constanze, we're here!" Kriplespac gasped when flames burst into the room: Amanda, Lotte, Sucy, Hannah, Barbara, and Jasminka stood in the doorway.

"Careful, Sucy." Lotte said, helping her friend to stand. "Give the healing potion some time to take affect."

"Don't act like the potion expert here." Sucy said, weak of breath.

"Leave Constanze alone!" Amanda yelled, shooting flames at Kriplespac, dropping his control of the Stanbots. Constanze ran and leapt at the professor, yanking him out of his chair and holding a gun to his neck.

"Oh no no no no no, please do not shoot, do not shoot please!" the weasel wept. "You need me, ja? Y-You need me alive, you vant to use Quickwarp, ja?"

"HRMPH!" Constanze jabbed the gun against him.

"Okay okay, ja ja ja! I vill open it right now, yes, yes!" Constanze dragged the weasel over to the switch and flipped the portal back on. She then brought him before the device. All the while, Amanda smirked at Constanze's violent nature. "Eh, excuse me, Sharpclaws? Z-Zis is Professor Kriplespac, o-open the Quickwarp, ja? I vould like to come over zere."

"Kriplespac? We begin operation already?"

"N-No no, I need to do final checkup, ja, final checkup vould be good."

"Rawwrrrr. Okay. You come in now."

"Good, good, ja should all be good."

"RAAAH!" Amanda dove into the Quickwarp, landing in a room filled with humanoid dinosaurs with horned helmets and swords. "Hey, she's not the professor, get her!" The pirates charged at the witch, but Amanda combined her wand and rapier to create her golden sword and cut the dinosaurs down.

"We'll guard this side of the warp." Lotte said, she and Sucy staying behind.

The other witches leapt through, with Constanze still holding Kriplespac at gunpoint. More pirates charged into the room, Amanda and Jasminka combining their strengths to hold them back. "Alright, TALK!" Barbara yelled at the professor. "Where's the Vibranium?!"

"C-Code MW66-V."

"What?!"

"CODE MW66-V!"

"Acknowledged." The witches whipped around at a large computer terminal with three screens. One of them displayed a squad of five Flying Krocks, their engines igniting as they took off for the heavens.

"AAAH!" Hannah screamed. "THE SHIPS ARE TAKING OFF!"

"Correct! Und zere is no STOPPING ZEM!" Mustering his metalbending, the professor willed the terminals to compress.

"UNG!" Constanze shot the scientist dead (or at least stunned him senseless).

"Dammit!" Amanda cursed. "He must've set them to attack a different target!"

"Hurf!" Constanze aimed her remote wand at the device and channeled her magic, beginning to steadily repair and restore it.

"Looks like you have a plan, Constanze." The firebender smirked. "Alright, we'll protect you as soon as you're done!"

"HOOSHAVAK goo looshak, Steven?!" a voice rasped from the PA. "Hick gorkak Kriplespac goo loosavak? (What is going on down there, Steven?! Why did Kriplespac launch the ships?)"

"GENERAL SCALES!" cried one of the dinosaurs on the floor. "Higorko sukona—DAH!" Jasminka stomped his head and knocked him out.

"GROOLAS FAK! (I'M COMING DOWN!)"

"Uh-oh. That doesn't sound good." Hannah said, shuddering.

"Hurry up, Constanze!" Barbara shouted. "I think their boss is coming!"

And right she was, for a pair of green-scaled claws shook the halls. He could smell the blood of the human intruders, longing to drench his claws with their blood.

King of the Kremling Krew's Sharpclaw Division

Bounty: 980,000,000

GENERAL SCALES

With Akko and Diana

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" As the two witches flew down the corridors, the Cavendish left a trail of stunned guards in their wake.

Akko took the time to drink a blue potion called an Ether. "Making a Ley Line sure takes a lot of magic, but I think I'm all good."

"Good, 'cause we're gonna need it!" Diana yelled as a wave began to wash over from ahead in the hallway. The two witches transformed—Diana a dolphin and Akko a shark. Other sharks swam up to snack on them, but Akko bit back while Diana whipped them with her tail. Akko struggled to maintain the strong form, but when a shark bit Diana on the back, the red-eyed witch changed into an octopus, wrapping tentacles around the shark to squeeze it. Diana escaped and spotted a Water Stone on the ceiling, swimming up to ram the magic stone and caused the water to drain away. The sharks began flapping about on the floor, so the witches went airborne again to get away.

"You're hurt!" Akko yelled, seeing the gash on her back. "Here, this will help." She grabbed a Healing Potion and poured it on the wound, watching it shrink.

"Sigh, thanks." Diana smiled. "Look, there's the elevator!" They slowed to a halt and set foot before a golden elevator door with Grunty's symbol. More Gruntlings tried to charge them, but Diana cast more spells to hold them back until the elevator opened. The two ducked in, and Diana used magic to quickly close the door.

"Phew, we made it!" Akko sighed, pressing the 'Top Floor' button. "Our match with Grunty is just an elevator ride aw-wah!" She looked back and down, shocked at seeing a fallen drink dispenser with a green duck's head inside.

"Quack. Hello there. I'm Dr. Quack. Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh… yeah!" Akko replied nervously. "We, uh… sigh, I'm just gonna ask, what happened to you?"

"A freak accident. Hey, wanna take one of my quizzes?"

"No thank you." Diana replied.

"People who come to meet Gruntilda usually have to get past me. I ate the Quiz-Quiz Fruit. I can turn any large room into a quiz room and force you to answer my questions. …As soon as I'm in a more comfortable position. Could you help me up?"

"Perhaps later."

"Awww…"

With that, they could only wait patiently as the elevator rose ever higher. Akko tapped her foot, mindlessly studying the décor. She then studied her wrist. "Pretty long tower, huh?"

"Indeed." Diana said.

They waited more. The music was rather pleasant and eased their minds a bit. "Doesn't this remind you of that minecart cave we went to last year?"

"Yes, a little bit."

"That was pretty boring, huh?"

"It was."

They waited for a few more moments, and Akko began to grumble in impatience. Eventually, the music stopped. Ding! The doors opened.

The two stepped into the hexagonal office as Gruntilda stepped around the desk, Mandy by her side. "Diana Cavendish… you have a lot of nerve to come here. What business have you with me, dear?"

"We're on official Kids Next Door business. We won't allow you to harm the Supreme Leaders!"

"So, you really have discovered my plan. Curse that Mickey, I know he had a hand! …in this. But perhaps this was convenient for me… After all, Miss Cavendish, you and I have a history."

"Yes, I'm well aware… Gruntilda Winkybunion. Descendant of Brunilda Winkybunion of the Nine Olde Witches."

"HUUUH?!" Her eyes stretching, Akko looked between Diana and Grunty. "She's related to one of the Nine Witches, too?!"

"You mean you STILL haven't memorized all the Witches' names?!" Diana shouted at her. "In fact, I could've sworn I mentioned this a few weeks ago!"

"Okay, okay, calm down! I'm not good at history, you know that!"

"The Nine Olde Witches should come naturally to a Luna Nova student, you dolt! Sigh…" Diana calmed herself and faced up at Grunty. "But yes, our meeting was no doubt fate. After the Nine Witches founded Luna Nova and began to teach classes, Brunilda Winkybunion became infamous for secretly teaching dark magic to students. This led to criminal activity, conducted by those students, from robberies, brainwashing non-mages, and even murders. Fortunately, the chaos ended when the culprit was found guilty."

"And guess what wretched witch was responsible?!" Grunty asked, her skull wrinkling. "It was Beatrix Cavendish! Your ancestor was hailed as a hero, while my family was reduced to zero! Oh, but she couldn't just leave it at that: Beatrix decided to place the Curse of Misfortune on poor Brunilda, ensuring that all her future deeds would end in punishment! The curse spread to her family, forever dooming the Winkybunions! Even her fellow Olde Witch, Lucinda Talzin, could not undo the curse! And because of our infamy, everyone detested me! I was forced to flee to Earth to study in Hogwarts, never to be allowed in Luna Nova or ANY school on Avalar. And with my education, through trial and tribulation, I founded Grunty Industries, and erased my ancestral history. You would never know how it feels to suffer, to have everybody fear and despise you, while you bask in your inherited riches."

"Diana, did your ancestor really curse Grunty's family?" Akko asked.

"…" Diana released a sigh. "Yes. And on behalf of the Cavendish name, I wholeheartedly apologize."

"The hell with your apology! I want you to break the curse! I know the spell, but only a Cavendish can undo it. So, remove my curse or my assassin here will slay you both!"

"That won't be necessary. I'll remove your curse of my own free will." With that, Diana calmly approached Grunty and drew a symbol in the air with her wand. "I, Diana of the House of Cavendish, hereby relinquish the curse that was cast upon you. Finite Incantatem!" The symbol flew into Gruntilda, her makeshift body shining with gold light. In a few seconds, the light vanished.

Grunty examined herself, her scowl showing suspicion. "That's it? Something's wrong. It feels like nothing happened at all!"

"Because nothing WAS wrong! My ancestor would never place such a curse on someone, even her own enemies. Your misfortune was as a result of your own actions! You've kidnapped, killed people, committed one crime after another, no matter how much you attempt to hide it! The fact that you are reduced to naught but a skull proves that you even created a Horcrux! With the hard work you devoted to building this company, you had many chances to begin anew, but you still follow the criminal path. You've brought bad luck upon yourself."

"We'll see who has bad luck when I get through with you! Meet me on top of the tower, and we'll settle our centuries-old feud once and for all! Mandy, you dispose of the extra!" Gruntilda mounted her broom and flew up through a hole in the ceiling.

"You mean I get the dumb one?" Mandy retorted. "This'll be my easiest kill ever."

"Hey, Diana?" Diana turned to her friend as Akko bowed her head in slight shame. "I hate to ask this, but… do you think you could help me beat her?"

"Are you kidding?!" Mandy shouted. "You're too scared to fight me YOURSELF?!"

"Shut up! I'm sorry, Diana, it's just… I'm not good enough to hold a show all by myself. I don't think I can beat her without at least one of my friends… and since you're here, I thought…"

Diana tipped her chin up, facing Akko with a smile. "Of course I'll help you, Akko. But you should know, I don't know the first thing about showmanship. However, I am great at following instructions. So… would you please guide me?" Akko beamed and gave an ecstatic nod. "Good." Diana lit her wand and touched it to her head. I will use Telepathy Magic so you can communicate instructions to me in secret.

Good! Then here's what I want you to do…

"Look, you girlfriends talked long enough." Mandy fixed a glare. "You got three more seconds before I cut you down."

"Then wait NO LONGER!" Akko danced into view, twirling the Shiny Rod as it shone like the stars. "Because it's time for a special private performance by the one and only SHINY AKKO!"

"With special guest star, Diana Cavendish!" And both witches cast their wands up at the ceiling, transforming the office into an illusion of outer space. Mandy was nearly taken aback when it seemed like they were floating over the planet.

Diana sprinkled some magic to turn their uniforms a shiny white. "You can handle the special effects." Akko said. "Leave the hard part to me."

"Hm hm, understood."

"Ugh…" Mandy scoffed in utmost disgust, cracking her neck. "I am so assassinating every magician that I see from now on."