Quicksand Fans

Chapter 1 of my newest Multipart project in like... Forever.

I was fully motivated here. Plus, the proper musics helped.
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The sound of blades clashing, magics exploding echoed across the Wonderland Marsh's land. Sauda was launching one dark orb after another as Aquarius dodged them for dear life as she returned the favor with her own star empowered light magic every now & then. Though Sauda avoided most of Aquarius's light, she still got knicked by her light here & there. But what Aquarus was really trying to avoid was Sauda's sword, and for plenty good reason, too.

That sword of hers could easily send Aquarius into madness if struck by it. But, Aquarius kept Sauda's Xal'atath Sword at bay with her personal spear, the aptly named Dragon Yari. "Get out of my world, Sauda!" Shouted Aquarius, blocking a sword attack from Sauda as the 1/2 Mermaid Starseer then delivers a kick to Sauda's stomach, sending her flying back into a tree. "Not until I get my prize, you softhearted bitch!" Sauda shot back at Aquarius.

"Not on your life!" Aquarius proclaimed, just as she takes a jab at Sauda with her yari, just for Sauda to sidestep the spear and avoid getting stabbed by it, and Sauda counters with her sinister axe, but Aquarius managed to avoid getting struck, and having her spear bypassed, too. "Damn, you!" Sauda cursed angrily as her attack missed, just in time to get slashed at by Aquarius's Celestial Sword. Sauda defends herself from each sword strike that came her way.

Eventually, she traded the axe for her own Xal'atath Sword once again. "Just get out of my way and hand over the secrets to this land's magic!" Demanded Sauda. "Never!" Aquarius exclaimed as she kept her assault going. "You're really asking to be torn apart at this point!" Growled Sauda, just as she finds herself in a sticky mud pit that held her fast, and would not let go easily. "Shit, shit, shit!" She cursed. Sauda then grabbed Aquarius by her ankles right away.

Without warning, Sauda dragged the 1/2 Mermaid in roughly, and slammed her onto the ground; namely solid one, while making sure the mud held her fast, too. She then materialized a dark dagger in her right hand, and aimed it for one of Aquarius's eyes, intent on stabbing it to rob half of her sight; and perhaps the entirety of it. Aquarius however, grabbed Sauda's wrist, slowing her dagger clutching hand as Sauda struggled to drive it down into her left eye.

Sauda kept the struggle up for as long as she could, which wasn't very long at all as her grip on her materialized dagger was lost, and she dropped it; causing to dissipate into thin air. With a mighty roar, Aquarius shoved the Supreme Princess off her and threw herself forward at her archenemy. However, Sauda managed to escape the mud, leaving her legs coated. As she turned to one of the marsh's magical ley lines however, Aquarius got out of the mud soon after.

"That magic does not belong to you!" She said, snatching the evil princess into a head lock. "Get off me, you softy bastard!!" Sauda shouted, throwing Aquarius off her, and towards another ley line. But Aquarius prepared a critical Divine spell, just as Sauda prepared to siphon the magic from the present ley line she stood by. By the time she noticed Aquarius's however, the spell was launched, and Sauda was struck, knocking her off balance and stunning her.

Aquarius then pulled a pendant up from her breasts; a pendant that housed portal magic. And with this, Aquarius intended to use it to banish Sauda back to the Supreme Realm, where Sauda lived these days. But then again, none of the Supreme Ones stay there permanently anyway... "Return from whence you came, Sauda!" Aquarius proclaimed, as she fired a beam of magic behind Sauda, opening a portal in no time at all with great ease.

However, the portal opened was not to Sauda's own home dimension as Aquarius had intended. She noticed that something was wrong. "Wait, that portal's not to Sauda's dimension!" She said. Suddenly after, things got worse as the portal went haywire, as it started to pull not just Sauda in, but Aquarius as well! "What the hell did you do?!" Sauda angrily asked, just as the portal's suction lifted off her feet and pulled her towards it with no resistance at all.

Sauda however, grabbed onto the branch of a tree and held on for as long as she could. Which wasn't very long at all as her grip was lost and she was dragged into the portal at all. Aquarius soon felt the pull finalize on her as well. She too grabbed onto a tree and held on for as long as she could. While Aquarius held on for longer than Sauda did, the branch she held onto snapped, and Aquarius was pulled through as well, and the portal closed behind her.

At the same time, at the campsite set up by her fellow nomads, Garnet stood watch over her people, making absolute certain nothing threatens them. Ajax noticed his mother with her arms crossed. "You're certainly on alert today." He says. "Naturally," Garnet said. "You know that my role as Chieftainess is to our people." She added. Ajax just nodded. "I still can't believe the luck we had in finding this oasis." He says. "Thanks to your keen eye." Garnet says.

"By the way, have you seen your father?" Garnet asks. "Yeah, I saw him working on an alchemy project." Ajax answered. Garnet just smirked. Then, a bright flash in the skies of the Northern Wastelands lit up. Both mother & son noticed this right away. Garnet growled some. "Vars... Is this one of the Gods' actions again?" She asked. But then, the light opened up, revealing a portal. Then, the silent winds of the desert, filled with the screams of a woman.

"Huh? Who the...?" Ajax says, as he stepped up a bit to see who was crashing down. But as soon as he stepped closer, Aquarius was in view, screaming as she fell down fast from the sky, and right in Ajax's path. Ajax gasped. "HOLY SH--!!" But he could not finished his shocked curse, just as Aquarius crashed into him, sending both into one of the desert's clay pits that was nearby. Garnet flinched from the sight. "Ajax?" She ran over to the clay pit right away.

Then stopping in her tracks, she found him splattered with clay. "Ajax, are you all right?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm okay..." He said. Then, both noted Aquarius's thrashing legs, and not too soon after, Aquarius straightened herself upright, her body flipped so that her legs were under instead of her breasts. "Ow, that really stung..." Said Aquarius, as she then spat the clay out of her mouth, then shook her heads. Ajax blinked a few times, then he smiled with happiness.

"Wait a sec... Aquarius?!" He asked, his joy clearly shining through. Aquarius glanced to Ajax. "Ajax?!" Aquarius said, just equally as happy as he was. Garnet cleared her throat, startling Aquarius, and making her glance to the chieftainess nervously. Shivering, Aquarius was clearly intimidated by the sight of Garnet's imposing figure. "Young lady, who exactly are you?" She then asked. Aquarius gulped. "M-My n-n-name is..." Aquarius stuttered as she shuddered.

Garnet chuckled. "Do not be afraid, I am not your enemy." She says, smirking. Aquarius sighed in relief. "My name is Aquarius Socrates." She finally says, nice & clearly. "Hmm, so you're this Aquarius my boy's told me about." Garnet said, a hand on her chin. Aquarius nodded. "He said you saved him from being part of a quicksand collective as well, and then you gave him a safer, cozier sink in quicksand." Garnet then says. Again, Aquarius nodded.

"Well any friend of Ajax shall be a friend of mine." Said Garnet, stretching a hand down to Aquarius to help her up; which she accepts, just as Ajax got out of the clay by himself. Aquarius then immediately looked around the land she stood upon. "This isn't my homeworld..." She immediately notes. "Where... Where am I?" She then asks. "This is the world of Palus." Ajax answered. "Palus? You mean... This whole land is it?" Aquarius asks, puzzled.

Garnet chuckles. "Oh no, this isn't the only land here." She answered. "Where you stand now is the Northern Wastelands. A vast desert, as you can see." Aquarius scanned the vast land before her very eyes. "Wow, wastelands is right..." She said. "You can say that again..." Ajax quips. "Sadly, food & water can be hard to come around, which is why my people migrate in constant search of it." Said Garnet. Aquarius blinked & looked at Garnet, raising a brow.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Aquarius exclaimed. "What's the matter?" Asked Garnet. "Constant search? Migrate?! Are you saying you're like... Nomads?!" Aquarius asked, shocked. Garnet smiled a bit & nodded. "That is correct." She said. "Do you travel to search as well?" She then asks. "Uh, not really. I'm actually the opposite. A homesteader." She answers. "And yet you seem to have the heart of an explorer." Ajax said. Aquarius nodded in response.

"It's kind of my thing, and duty." She said. Ajax then remembered something. "Oh, you got to tell me!" He exclaimed. "How on Earth did you even get here anyway?" He then asks. "Oh, well. With this." Aquarius says, pulling her portal pendant from her breasts. Garnet blinked. "Did you seriously pull that from between your cleavage?" She asks. "Where else would I keep it?" Aquarius giggled. Garnet just smirked & shook her head, leaving it at that.

"Anyway, this pendant houses portal magic. I can use it to open a portal to whichever world I wish to visit!" Said Aquarius. "Nice! Did you make it?" Ajax asks. "Yes I did." Aquarius said. She points to the gem in its center. "This gem focuses the magic inside, and it... It..." Aquarius stopped, looked at her pendant... And horror replaced her cheerful demeanor. "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!!" Aquarius panicked. "What? What's the matter?" Ajax asked.

Aquarius shook. "My pendant's cracked! And it's all out of magic!!" She fearfully said. "No, no... It can't be broken...! How am I going to get back home to Olympus...?!" Tears welled up in Aquarius's eyes, and she sank to her knees. She had used the pendant around the ley line present at the Wonderland Marsh; causing it to grow unstable. That had suddenly clicked in her head, making her piece together why she had wound up with a different portal.

"Ugh, I should've stood away from such a strong magical point...!" Aquarius said, her voice breaking. "I can't be stranded here! I have a family waiting for me! LITTLE SIBLINGS EVEN!!!" She almost screamed, just before breaking down into full blown crying. "Chin up, Aquarius." Garnet says, causing Aquarius to look up at Garnet. "What's the point...?" Aquarius sobbed. "My mistake has left me stranded here for who know's how long...!"

"Calm down, Aquarius," Said Garnet. "It's not the end of your world." She then adds. "My husband Amethyst would be glad to fix your magic relic for you." She then said. "You... You mean it?" Aquarius says, starting to calm down. "Absolutely." Garnet said. "But, I do believe you'll be safer with us. As Chietainess, I invite you to stay as long as you can." She then says. Aquarius nodded happily. "Okay! I'd love to!" Aquarius said happily, standing up.

"Then it's all settled." Said Garnet. "Come. The camp awaits." Aquarius nodded as she followed mother & son back to the sight. Meanwhile, back on Olympus, Aquarius's disappearance had not gone unnoticed. Her sister, Fontanne, arrived at the Wonderland Marsh, searching for her older sister. "Aquarius!" She called out. "Aquarius, where are you?!" She then said, looking around. Then, she came upon the sight of where Aquarius fought Sauda earlier.

"What...? This is Sauda's work!" Fontanne said, inspecting the area. Then, she spotted something common in this marsh: A time flower. It had just grown recently. Fontanne immediately went towards it, and the flower opened up, showing Fontanne a vision of the past; namely from the last hour. She trusted the flower to shed some light on what happened, and sure enough, the time flower delivered, showing Fontanne Aquarius's fight with Sauda earlier.

Plus, the flower showed Aquarius & Sauda getting sucked into Palus via the portal Aquarius unintentionally opened up. "Oh no... In another world with that... Bastard..." Fontanne says as her heart sank with worry. "Damn it... I should've been here with her..." She said. "Aquarius... Please come home safely..." She then prayed. "And above all... Give that Supreme Bitch what for!" She finalized. All she was able to do now was pray for Aquarius's safety.

Back in the northern wastelands, Aquarius was shown a tent by Garnet, where a most beautiful man was spotted. "Amethyst!" Garnet said. Amethyst looked to Garnet. "Hey, babe!" He said, smiling. "What brings you here?" He asks. "We have a visitor, and she has a project for you." Said Garnet, as she brings a flustered Aquarius into the tent. Amethyst smiled. "Well, who do we have here?" He asks. "My name is Aquarius." She answered. Amethyst nodded.

"Pleased to meet you, Aquarius." He said. "Where do you hail from?" He then asked. "Well, certainly not from this world..." Aquarius answered. "I'm from a land known as Olympus, which is rather different from this world..." "So you're not descended from the gods then?" Amethyst asks. "I am actually, just... Not the ones here." Aquarius answers. Garnet nods. "Well, in that case I shall permit you to remain with us as long as you need still." She said.

Aquarius nodded. "...Oh! Right!" She exclaimed. "Amethyst, was it?" She then asks him. "Yes, that's right." He answers. Aquarius shows him her pendant. "Would you be able to fix my pendant? I need it fixed to get back to my world." She said. Amethyst inspected Aquarius's pendant closely. "Hmm..." As he looked at the pendant, he felt its magic power was pretty strong, but also unstable. "My girl, I got good news for you." He says, smiling.

"With my alchemic talents, I can have this fixed up in an hour or two!" He exclaimed. Aquarius was overjoyed. "You mean it?!" She asked. "Yep. You just leave it to me." Said Amethyst. "Also, I'll throw in a free power stabilization for it as well." Aquarius nodded. "Thank you so much!" She said. As Amethyst prepared for work, Aquarius left him to his job, just as Ajax came up to her. "Hey, Aquarius, I've been wondering." He started, hand on his hip.

"Did you come here alone?" He then asked. Aquarius suddenly froze up, and started to shudder. She had hoped that Ajax wouldn't ask that. It's true that she did not come to Palus alone. But, it was not with a friend, or a sister of hers. But, he asked, so she was obligated to answer. "N... No... I didn't..." Aquarius answered, trembling. "...Is something wrong?" Ajax asked. Aquarius looked away from Ajax. "It was... With an... enemy..." Aquarius says.

Ajax blinked. "Enemy?" He asked. Aquarius then curled into a ball, as if overcome with grief. "Her name is Sauda Carlyle... She's one of my archenemies..." She reveals. "She was in my world earlier, and I tried to send her back to her own realm... But, my portal magic didn't work as I wanted to, and..." She says, tearing up. "She & I were both dragged here... I feel as if I've brought a big threat to you world...! I didn't mean for that to happen! I'm so sorry!"

Aquarius cried, feeling guilty of what had happened. Ajax just placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her. "It's not your fault." He said to her. Aquarius stopped crying for a moment, and glanced at her friend. "It's not...?" She asked, sniffling. "Of course not." Ajax said, smiling as he sat besides Aquarius. "If anything, it's more of the incident itself to blame." He says. "That's not your fault at all." Aquarius started to feel better slowly. "Still..." She says.

"Since Sauda's here... I can't leave her alone. I need to defeat her. Stop whatever she may have planned." Aquarius went on. "Do you know where she might be?" Ajax asked. "No, and that worries me." Aquarius said. "These Supreme Ones are unpredictably crafty... All 4 of them..." Ajax looks to Aquarius. "Is there anything we can do to help you?" He asks. Aquarius shakes her head. "She's my problem. The fight I waged with her earlier is mine & mine alone."

Ajax nodded. "In that case, we'll respect that wish." He said. "But, please don't be afraid to ask us to help you prepare for a fight before hand, all right?" He then says. Aquarius nodded. "Thanks, Ajax..." She said, smiling. Aquarius soon stood up, her stomach growling. "I'm hungry." She said flatly. Ajax chuckled. "Can't fight on an empty stomach?" He asks, as he stands up. "C'mon, let's go see Lea. She'll fix you up." He said. Aquarius nodded to Ajax.

As Aquarius decided to use this time she had to get acquainted with Garnet's band of Nomads, elsewhere in Palus, the Supreme Princess Sauda had just made her landing as well. She rose up slowly, growling & clenching her fists tightly in anger. "I'm going to kill her... I'm going to kill that softhearted bitch!" She angrily proclaimed. "That marsh's magic is...!" She soon stopped, noting the landscape around her. Fog was everywhere, and in some areas, quite thick.

"Huh. Wasn't expecting to be dropped onto Crocodile Island." She says, before noting that this looks nothing like said island, nor was there a single Kremlin in sight. "Or, is this Moonscar Island? Or, the Krasarang Wilds? Or...?" She soon stopped guessing, as it was becoming abundantly clear to Sauda that neither of these lands were what she was pondering about. And this annoyed her. "...Okay, where the hell am I?" She annoyingly asked herself.

"Mereland Stroics." Said a voice. This catches Sauda's attention, and she turned to the owner of said voice, finding a rather ghostly looking resident. "Who are you?" Sauda asks. "Passerby." The figure said. "You... You are not from around here..." It went on. "Shut the hell up & just tell me where I stand!!" Sauda snapped. "I am not in the mood for your antics!" The figure was taken aback by Sauda's tone. "Feisty." It said, before ultimately giving into her wish.

"Mereland Stroics you stand. A most haunted marsh in Palus." It went onto say. "Palus? This isn't Mythopeia Paradise?" Sauda asks. "And I'm not on Olympus anymore? Or standing in the Wonderland Marsh?" She then asks. "No, no." The figure said. "I know not of what you speak, but you are here and not there." It went on. "North of here, a vast desert. A band of Nomads travel it." It continued. "I've heard enough." Sauda said. "Now I must leave this marsh."

The figure pointed to its left. "Take this path. Safety, you will find." The figure says to her. Sauda headed in the direction that was given to her, and despite the fog threatening to throw her off, Sauda navigated it like it was nothing. She was no stranger to fog at all, as to her, it was like navigating brush. Though Sauda did expect to get tossed off her path for a moment, she ultimately did not and stepped out into the light, and came upon a crossroad soon after.

Sauda sensed Aquarius's presence on the north most path. "So she's here, too." She said, before grinning evilly. "Oh, she's going to be in for a surprise now. Hope you've picked a god & prayed, Aquarius." Before making her way to the Northern Wastelands. Entering the desert, Sauda saw sand as far as the eye can see, but scarcely any life. "How do Nomads survive out here?" She asks herself. But then, she suddenly came to an immediate stop.

"What the?!" She looked down, and found that she had sunk. Into one of the wasteland's clay pits no less. "Damn it, of course quicksand would be here..." She cursed, having already sunk to her knees. As she sinks down still, Sauda noted that there was nothing to grab onto, so she was forced to improvise. Sauda used her black magic to summon forth an evil looking tree, and she pulled out her axe, tied a rope to it, and tossed the axe right away.

Her axe made contact with the tree easily, and just as well. The clay showed no signs of stopping in trying to swallow Sauda, as she was already at her butt, and even that was consumed in no time. Ordinarily, Sauda liked quicksand, but here, the enjoyment was not present. She was intent on finding Aquarius, killing her, and staging a takeover of Palus. Sauda managed to haul herself out of the clay despite the fact that it was extremely thick & gripping.

She didn't even bother slipping under the quicksand. Sauda dispelled her tree & put her axe away, before once more traveling deep into the desert. Meanwhile, Aquarius was spending some alone time with Ajax's sister Lea. She too was in a clay pit, but on her own volition. Lea had joined Aquarius willingly, trusting the 1/2 Mermaid's instincts concerning sinking. "Aquarius, you sure know quicksand, you know that?" Lea asks. Aquarius nodded, giggling all the same.

"Sure do!" She said, smiling. The pit they were in wasn't exactly all that deep, chest deep at best. "When you explore quicksand as much as I do, it just comes naturally." Aquarius says. "Think Ajax & I could get that skilled?" Lea asks. "After all, there are plenty of clay pits here. But, plenty of them are dangerous..." She says. "I have confidence that you both can get very skilled in identifying safe pits from deadly pits." Aquarius answered reassuringly. Lea smiled.

"Thanks, Aquarius." She said, as she & her friend are chest deep. "By the way, you mentioned having kid siblings." Lea said. "Oh, yeah. Cute little girls, and 4 cute little boys." Aquarius responds. "I love them all so dearly... I wonder what they're up to...?" She then sighs, sounding sad. "Chin up." Lea said. "We'll make sure you get home safely." She then adds. "But first you need to defeat that one evil woman who came with you, yes?" Lea asks.

"Yes." Aquarius said. "I can't just let her roam here freely." She then adds. Suddenly, a nomad runs up to the duo. "Ms. Socrates." He said. Aquarius looks up. "That's me." She said. "What is it?" She then asks. "Earlier you described this woman Sauda as a woman who clads herself in darkest black with jet black hair, yes?" He then asks. Aquarius nodded. "She's been spotted heading this way!" The nomad exclaimed. "What?!" Aquarius asked in shock.

She sadly looked to her friend. "I'm sorry, Lea... I... I have to go confront her..." Said Aquarius. "Don't worry. Our mother will watch over us. You go & face your enemy." Lea said. Aquarius nodded & climbed out of the clay, cleaned herself off, and went away from the camp, searching for Sauda. And sure enough, Aquarius spotted her archenemy over the horizon, just as she got up close to where the Nomad camp is set up. Sauda spotted Aquarius & smirked.

"Surprise, surprise." Sauda said. "I didn't think you'd wind up in such a barren desert. Let alone be grouped with a bunch of folks you barely know." She adds. Aquarius scoffed as she stepped down closer to the Supreme Princess. "So what if I don't know them all that well?" Aquarius asked. "They're my friends, and I'm not going to let you harm them!" She then exclaimed. "Always making friends with strangers..." Sauda sighed, before grinning evilly.

"But that's not what I'm here for right now. My aim is to kill you." She then said. Aquarius draws her sword. "Not on your life! I'm not losing to you!" She declares. Sauda laughs. "You stupid bitch!" Sauda said. "I told you back in the Wonderland Marsh: This time's going to be different! This time I'm the one winning!" She then drew her own sword out. "If you think you're so confident, then come at me! Let's go!!" She demanded, and Aquarius charged.

The girls' blades met, stunned in a tight blade lock, yet both wound up breaking out of it to continue swinging them at one another, trying to cut each other. Aquarius came quite close, but so did Sauda, both of whom manage to avoid getting sliced somewhere. Aquarius however, prepared a Divine Spell, and cast it down on Sauda, injuring her some & stunning her for a moment, allowing Aquarius to get an elbow strike to the princess's face in real quick.

Sauda cast Nosferatu on Aquarius, but she manages to shield herself from it. The sound of the fight drew Garnet over to oversee the action. She however, stayed a good distance away. She knew Sauda was Aquarius's problem, hers was protecting her people. As the fight raged on, Aquarius managed to land a slash on Sauda with her Celestial Sword, drawing some blood from Sauda. She managed to slice her left thigh at best. But Sauda just chuckled from this.

"Good ol' Aquarius... Always a thorn in my side..." Sauda said. "Give up, Sauda! There's nothing you can do to change the outcome!" Aquarius demanded. "You're so naive..." Sauda said, putting her sword away. "Have you forgotten already? I said this would be different." To that end, she unveils her Nightmare Staff. Aquarius gasped. "No, you wouldn't dare corrupt this land with the Emerald Nightmare...!" Aquarius said, shaking. "Oh no." Sauda chuckled.

"See, my dad gave me a most beautiful dark crystal that answers to my deepest desires, and I intend to use it!" Sauda then declared. Holding her staff high, the crystal's dark energies started to burst forth. "You should feel privileged! You'll be the first one to witness my new power!" Sauda said, just as the dark magic from her staff enshrouded the evil princess's body. In no time, Sauda was surrounded in a black aura. Aquarius felt a strong rise in power from this.

Sauda laughs. "How do you like this?! Still feeling confident?!" She asks, her evil grin never fading. Unfazed, Aquarius charged forward, sword in hand still. "Laugh at this!" She roared. She swung at Sauda, but her sword's attack just bounced off Sauda harmlessly. "W-What?!" Aquarius asked herself, shocked. Sauda smirked. "Is that all you got? How sad." She says, just before grabbing the 1/2 Mermaid by her hair's roots; and most painfully at that.

Aquarius yelled as the pain was intolerable. "You'd best take some vitamins, cause that didn't hurt at all!" Sauda exclaimed, just before kneeing Aquarius in the gut, and sending her away with a powerful left hook. Aquarius rolled across the sands, coughing up blood upon stopping. But Aquarius refused to give up, throwing 3 critically powered Birds Spirits at Sauda. But they did nothing to Sauda. Not even removing her aura. "No... No way..." She said.

Aquarius was quaking with fear. Her breathing was heavy. "Just as I thought." Sauda said. "You're no match for the new me. It's not even worth the time toying with you anymore." Sauda walked up to Aquarius, charging thunder magic in both her hands. "I'd love to say it was nice knowing you, but... I'd be lying. It's time I rendered the Socrates family one member short for good!" Sauda then drew her hands back, charging more magic into her hands.

Aquarius stood up, but her body refused to stay up. "SAY GOODNIGHT!!!!" Sauda roared as she unleashed her horrific spell on the defenseless 1/2 Mermaid. As she was zapped, Aquarius screamed bloody murder as volts upon volts coursed through her body as Sauda sadistically kept the thunder going for as long as she could; which was actually for a good 30 seconds before it ultimately stopped. Aquarius then fell to the sands of the desert, badly injured.

"Vars... Aquarius!!" Garnet exclaimed, horrified by what she had just seen. "That is a woman of pure evil...!" Sauda laughed evilly. "Oh, yes! Oh yes!!! I did it!! I finally triumphed over one of you pathetic 1/2 Mermaids!! YES, I DID IT!!!" She proclaimed. She then looked at her staff. "As long as this crystal of mine is in tact, I can make any world fall to its knees! No one can stop me!!" Aquarius suddenly coughed. "I won't... Let you..." She weakly said.

Sauda walked up to the sprawled Aquarius. "You still talking like that?" She asks her paralyzed foe, just before unmercifully kicking the downed Aquarius twice to make her scream more, before delivering a third to send her hovering across the sands. Unable to stand by idly any longer, Garnet charged downward, just as Aquarius started to cry in pain, and Sauda moved in for what would surely be her kill. "Well, it's been fun, but it ends here." Sauda said.

She raised her hand soon after. "Oh don't worry though, I'll end it for you quickly. I can't stand to see suffering." She chuckled, before charging dark magic in her hand. "Goodbye, Aquarius Socrates!!" Sauda said sadistically, before being interrupted by a sudden sword swing, which she just narrowly avoids. "Who did that?!" Sauda demanded, only to see Garnet, her huge swords at the ready. "That would be me." She coldly says. Sauda growled at Garnet.

Part of her wanted to fight the chieftainess, but she had already used up plenty of power against Aquarius, and her magic power was really low right now. "You'll pay for this interference." Sauda said, before making the smart decision to fall back, at least for the time being. Garnet turned to the badly injured Aquarius, who was too weak to even get up by herself. Garnet approached Aquarius. "Hang on, Aquarius. I will not let you die here." She said.

Putting her swords away, she picked Aquarius up and returned to camp post haste. Ajax & Lea met their mother as she approached. "W-What happened?!" Ajax asked. "This is no time for questions, my son!" Garnet exclaimed. "Aquarius needs our help! Get the healers on board! Hurry!" Ajax nodded as he & Lea did as they were told. Aquarius coughed, but once more did so with blood, but fortunately not a whole lot. "Gar...Net..." She weakly said.

"Please hold on," Garnet said. "You will survive. You must survive." She then took Aquarius into a tent where Aquarius could rest easy. But her body was in so much pain, that relaxing wasn't easy. "Mother!" Lea suddenly shouted, poking into the tent. "Dad's on his way over, and I've brought medicine." She said. "Good girl." Garnet said. Lea was deeply worried for Aquarius, and so was Ajax. Aquarius was fighting for her life, but needed serious help.

Sauda meanwhile, made it back to the marsh, deciding to use it as a hideout for now. "Damn that woman!" She cursed. "I was so damn close, and she had to ruin everything!" Indeed, Aquarius was right there, and her chance at killing the 1/2 Mermaid was robbed from her. Nonetheless, Sauda was on the loose, posing a potentially big threat to Palus, and Aquarius was the only one who could oppose Sauda to stop her plans from seeing it covered in shadow.

But with how injured she is, will she be able to recover quickly? And what can she do to overturn Sauda's dastardly new dark powers that make her stronger, and worse: Invincible?

TO BE CONTINUED

Aquarius, Fontanne, Sauda: Me

Garnet, Amethyst, Ajax, Lea: Sabbie