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It was a bizarre feeling, passing through several different spaces seemingly all in the space of a second. Even more so when you were trying to keep track of up to ten other people and trying to land vaguely in the same place. At some point even the most willing and determined have to give up and just concentrate on landing somewhere, preferably somewhere far away from a horde of angry tooth-balls. Eleanor felt her chest tightening as they travelled through the torrent of impossibilities. She used one hand to hold tightly to her partner’s shell and the other to hold tightly against her chest, in an effort not to vomit into the spatial anomaly. Well, you have to be considerate with these things. The two of them landed with a thud, and Eleanor rolled off, smacking against the floor and groaning. “No, that’s alright. Only a few more magical wormholes to go, I’m sure...” She moaned, and tried to get to her knees, holding her head as she did so. Her arm was still in pain; less sharp now, but still constant and very much affecting her judgement. Bracing herself, she looked down at the damage, and winced. It was still bleeding freely, the wyrm having left a lovely great bite mark. Chelydramon shuffled forwards, and sniffed the wound with a tact and delicacy unbecoming of her bulk. “Are you okay?” “That’s gonna be annoying. Should heal though.” “That ain’t what I said.” The turtle’s eyes swivelled down, and she stared into the girl’s fraught face. “Are you okay?” Eleanor puffed her cheeks out, and she was about to answer, when there was a flash nearby, followed by another thud and a volley of raised voices. The girl pointed backwards. “I think someone else has joined the party.” Gingerly she got to her feet, still holding her hand around the top part of her arm. The girl and the turtle had landed in some form of antechamber, held up with large, ornate pillars that stretched upwards twenty metres or more. It seemed to lead to other, similar rooms, although the pillars occasionally interlinked, so trying to find their way out of their current room was already way harder than it needed to be. When they reached the next room (a very similar one with the exception being that the pillars were green instead of purple) they found Ursula and Lorelie sitting on the floor next to a much disorientated looking Kobolmon. Shrewmon bounced up and down beside them all when she saw Eleanor and Chelydramon. “See? We made it! We’re in the middle of the core! Oh my god, I never thought I’ve get to see this place! It’s so cool! A little boring, I mean, but...it’s cool!” Eleanor chuckled, and raised a hand when the other girls saw her. “’Sup.” Lorelie gestured in return, before catching Ursula’s eye, and looking away, her screen flashing pink momentarily. Ursula bit her lip, and stood up hurriedly. “I...sorry, I, uh...I didn’t mean...” Lorelie flushed, and fumbled with her PDA, tapping wildly. “You-“ “I just-“ “I mean-“ “I didn’t-“ “you said” “I mean” “oh” “Forget about it.” “No I didn’t” “You just” “I wasn’t sure” Lorelie typed at her device again and again, each time erasing what had come before and getting more and more flustered, until a little jet of steam burst out of the top of her now-scarlet D-Psyche with a high-pitched peeeeeep. At this point Ursula gingerly reached out, and held the device down, still looking the other way. “Just...forget about it. Please.” Lorelie stopped, and looked up at Ursula, her face completely blank. The taller girl coughed deliberately, and held the corners of her shirt. “I was excited. I would just like us to get through this. I’m sorry for distracting you.” “What the hell are you two talking about?” Ursula rolled her shoulders and pulled at the strings on her hoodie, before realising that her hoodie was slightly out of reach to perform her hide-away trick. She had to make do with clutching her knees, and doing her best attempt at a perfectly normal natural smile. “It’s nothing. Absolutely nothing. I may just have made a small misjudgement.” Eleanor ran her fingers through her hair, pouting as she looked between them. “Did...something...happen...between you two...oh.“ She looked at Ursula’s scarlet face. Then over at Lorelie, who was kneeling upright, her screen glowing bright pink. Eleanor’s eyes widened. “Ohhhhhh...” Pause. Then back to Ursula. “I mean good on you, but really? Now of all times?” The situation was saved from further awkwardness by Shrewmon’s shrill voice. “So where’s the Funnyman? When do we get to pop a cap in him?” Ursula clapped her hands together, swallowing her feelings. “Yes. That is a good idea. Where is he?” She looked around, for the first time properly noticing her surroundings. She rubbed her chin, and frowned. “Come to think of it, where are we?” Tap tap tap. “We’re in the core...I think...” “I know, but where? It’s even bigger than I thought it was; the Funnyman could be anywhere.” Kobolmon rolled forwards, swaying from side to side. “Ooh goodie, I like a good treasure hunt.” Ursula sighed. “Kobolmon, you’d be happy if the Funnyman dangled you upside-down over a lava pit.” The troll’s eyes widened with delight. “I like lava!” “I know, you sweet thing, I know. But right now, we’d just like to find out where he is.” She turned back, only to frown as she noticed the others looking at her. Particularly, staring at her midriff. She instinctively held her hands around her waist. “What is it? What are you looking at me like that for?” Shrewmon raised a claw. “I think we might be being watched...” Gingerly, Ursula pulled her hands away, and looked down at the screen at the front of her D-Psyche. She yelped, and batted at it, watching as the static, grinning visage flickered and vanished off to one side. “What the fuck?” “Ow!” Eleanor hopped up all of a sudden, her foot sticking outwards as the same face flashed up on her screen. It wobbled, and the mouth opened while the D-Psyche gave off a horrific scraping screech, almost like metallic laughter. The face disappeared once again, leaving the group stunned. B-ding! “You’ve got mail!” The noise made everybody jump, but in particular Lorelie stood bolt-upright, feeling her whole head vibrate with the incoming call. Eleanor and Ursula looked at one another. Lorelie’s fists closed tightly, and she stopped shaking. Her screen was showing a face. The same face; a single cartoon eye and grinning mouth, shaking back and forth. It would have been silly, had it not come from one of the tamers’ own party. As it was, it was a new and frankly terrifying development. There was a crackle, and the Funnyman’s voice sounded again, distorted and without anything resembling form, personality, or especially charm. Eleanor muttered. “We’ve guessed.” Shrewmon stepped forwards. “Well come and get us then, if you’re so clever!” Kobolmon stuck his lip out. “He’s teasing us. That’s not very nice.” Chelydramon sighed. “Mate, you have very strange expectations when it comes to horrific evil forces fucking with your very life.” BANG The screen flashed blue, then red, and Lorelie raised both hands and banged on the side of her D-Psyche with a ferocity that she hadn’t displayed before. She winced, and shook her hands as her screen returned to normal. On looking up again, she noticed the other two girls staring at her, and fumbled for her keypad. “I’m not wasting time standing around taking insults.” She waited for a couple of seconds, then let out an electronic sigh and started typing again, her screen showing a distinct ‘-_-‘ expression. “R we going to find him or what?” It really was a case of trial and error. The exits were hard enough to find as it is, and each new room got a bit bigger and a bit more confusing. Some bits seemed normal, or at least as normal as could be expected, with tiles interspersed with bright crystals, random floating lights hovering through the short corridors, and strange graffiti encompassing great segments of smooth marble, flicking in and out of existence. Then there were the slightly odder, more distressing things. A vast random pile of wires in one corner, constantly shuffling around. A large split in the floor filled with discarded car parts. A single mechanical hand swinging from a long pole from the ceiling, trailing pipes everywhere and making sure to give the group the finger no matter where they looked at it from. Then the environment opened out rather suddenly. The chamber walls grew more jagged and rocky, though still with an artificial edge to them, and the ceilings opened out into the strange iridescent sky above. Pretty soon the series of chambers had gone completely, and the pillars holding the buildings up had morphed into huge spires that scraped an unseen surface up above. From here the parts of the Funnyman’s influence were far more obvious on a wide scale; many of the great spires were smothered in wires, and long, hanging cables fell from seemingly nowhere and scraped along the ground, their cores wickedly sharp. The girls stayed together, avoiding the rough ground underfoot as best they could, with Chelydramon and Kobolmon helping them over some trickier bits. The valley was mostly silent, which only added to the tension and the distinct lack of small talk going on right now. Although it didn’t make much difference; the precipitous peaks above were more than a little intimidating, and there was the general feeling that something could jump out at them any minute. They shifted forwards slowly, staying on high-alert. Eleanor looked back over her shoulder, trying to follow the path they’d come on. From her new vantage point she could see the join; two completely differing worlds slammed together without much view for presentation. She wondered how many more such pocket worlds existed in the core. Why were they so different? What were they for? And which one would they find the Funnyman in? “Eleanor, watch out!” Ursula leaned forwards too late as a cable drifted around the other girl’s ankle. She hopped a few feet, then fell forwards, reaching out and stopping her fall with her injured arm. “SHIT!” Ursula helped her up, but Eleanor pulled away quickly, brushing herself off. She sniffed, and muttered her thanks, before rejoining her partner up ahead. Ursula placed a hand on her hip. “She is having a really hard time, isn’t she...?” Kobolmon made a face, and raised his hand, before wiping it on the nearest wall. “I keep stepping in her blood.” “...okay.” “It’s icky.” “I can imagine it is.” The troll stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry. “Stupid worms.” “Exactly.” Eleanor groaned up ahead, and glared over her shoulder. “I don’t need your pity!” Ursula sucked in her lip, and drew her fingers across them. Eleanor laughed half-heartedly, before wincing, gently rubbing the bite on her arm, which was still oozing nicely. Chelydramon was padding on all fours beside her; she looked down, and gently nudged her partner. “That looks bad. We can stop for a bit, you know.” “Chelydramon, you know exactly what I’m gonna say, don’t you?” “Is it something along the lines of ‘ Fuck off, I’m not stopping, how dare you suggest something good for my health, fuck you, fuck you, fuck everybody?’” “You’ve got it.” “Well you know...I’m just saying...” The girl sniffed, and looked away. “It’s just typical anyway. It’s all my fault though. I no pay attention, I get bite. Might as well suck it up and keep going. No point stopping the whole fucking mission to sort out my mistake.” 
The great turtle rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, no point beating yourself up over a mistake, either...” “Wazzat?” Chelydramon sighed. “I said before it’s not really the bite I’m that worried about-“ She stopped, and her mouth hung open, her forked tongue wriggling in the air. Eleanor leant forwards, but Chelydramon held out a paw, stopping her from moving. “Something’s there...” The others caught up, and peered around them, looking in the direction Chelydramon was pointing. Shrewmon clambered atop her shell, squinting and sniffing the air. “What the heck are they?” Standing before them were three...things, hopping around in the middle of the valley and paying absolutely no attention to any of them. At first glance they looked almost like horses, albeit quite small, only about the size of Labradors. But as the group stared, so their equine visage distorted into something more bizarre. Their front legs were large spikes that stabbed the ground with each movement, while their rear legs curved around like a grasshoppers, coiling and springing out again. They weren’t so much walking as hopping, like a clockwork toy that was on the verge of winding down, only to bounce upwards again. One of them hopped a little in their direction, and the group got a better look at it. Two spiny feelers stuck out from below its neck, like the mouth of a crab, and several wires and hoses wrapped around its neck, forming a mockery of a mane. In fact come to think of it, its horse-like head seemed extremely fake up close, almost having a sackcloth texture. The creature had no eyes; instead two criss-crossed wires where its eyes should have been. It stopped, and its body buckled for a second, juddering downwards with a horrendous scraping and clicking sound. For a moment it stayed there, completely stock still as if it had just died. Suddenly it jumped, springing eight feet into the air and flipping backwards. It landed on its feet and bounced around a little, before returning to its regularly scheduled hopping. The tamers and partners watched, mesmerized and rather terrified by the whole affair. Lorelie squeaked, and held out her keypad. “Between these and the cannibal ponies I’m never going riding again.” Eleanor held a finger to her lips. “So...what are we gonna do now?” Ursula raised a finger. “My philosophy would be to not disturb the freaky clockwork horsey toys, thank you very much.” “Well yeah, but we need to get past them.” “Do we? Do we really? Is the Funnyman definitely this way?” Eleanor grinned at her. “Thinly veiled sarcasm; there’s the Ursula I know and love.” Shrewmon hissed atop Chelydramon’s shell. “They’re tiny though, aren’t they?” She tapped the turtle behind her ear flaps. “Can’t you, like...step on them or something?” Chelydramon let off a low rumble. “I don’t think that’s a great idea...” Shrewmon scoffed, and jumped off, landing in front of the group. “Cowards. If you won’t take them on, I will.” “No no no no wait!” It was too late; the shrew was already scampering ahead over the rocks at breakneck speed, heading straight towards the ponies while screeching at the top of her lungs. “Bad fucking horseys! Get the fuck!” The three creatures froze mid-movement, and their heads twisted simultaneously, snapping towards the approaching Rookie with clockwork precision. Shrewmon didn’t care; she unsheathed her claws and held them out, not even slowing down. “I am a partner to a powerful human being! You can’t hurt me! Scrape Nail!” She rushed forwards with her claws, striking with as much strength as she could...and hitting thin air. The horses sprung upwards before she could hit them, bounding around the edge of the valley and hopping back down like little windup toys. “What the...” One of them approached her, bouncing from foot to foot. It stopped just in front of her, its mane writhing like so many snakes. All of a sudden it sprung forwards, its spiny feet opening up into something like a snare trap. “WHAT.” Shrewmon ducked, and the legs scraped over the top of her head, drawing blood. The horse landed just behind her, but immediately it sprung backwards, not even taking time to settle. This time it struck gold, as its legs opened and it clamped herself around her back. “GET OFF! GETOFFGETOFFGETOFF!” Shrewmon dropped to the ground and rolled. She spat acid everywhere. She slashed and stabbed behind her, but the horse would not let go. And as she writhed, its legs opened out even more, sending out little pins that stuck into her flesh, sucking up data. “Acid Splash!” Shrewmon’s attack was wild and desperate, and she dropped to one knee as the pony gripped tighter, its false head flapping around with the movements. The acid struck one side of it, but only darkened the side of its face. Still, it screeched indignantly, its criss-crossed eyes pumping in and out with some kind of fluid. Shrewmon fell again, just holding herself up with her claws. Her vision was blurring, and she could see her own data flowing up through a dozen tiny pipes that suddenly protruded from her arms. She pushed herself round, each movement becoming more and more difficult. “I can’t...die...you can’t make me...” She held out an arm, staring out into a distance she couldn’t see. “Lorelie...help me...please...” From their vantage point, the girl shuddered, and stood up, her D-Psyche letting off an incredible noise. Ursula and Eleanor clutched her by the shoulders, but she turned to each of them, stabbing at her keypad. “We need to attack! Now!” Ursula hesitated for only a second, before dragging the girl upwards onto Kobolmon’s back. “Hold on! We’re going to save her!” “Wait...” Eleanor watched as the others rushed forwards, her pleas unheard. She held her injured arm, and looked up at Chelydramon. The giant turtle blinked expectantly. “I’m just surprised you haven’t gone yet.” “Oh...” Eleanor groaned, and held out a hand, the turtle bringing her up onto her shoulder. Chelydramon grinned. “That’s more like it!” “Bite me!” “I would, but someone beat me to it.” “You cocky mother-“ The turtle rushed forwards before Eleanor could retort, catching up to Kobolmon with ease. The horse-bug-thing’s head snapped upwards, distracted by the oncoming assault. Shrewmon wriggled, grinning upwards weakly. “Now you’re getting it...” The horse didn’t answer. It didn’t need to, as the other two bounced downwards, standing directly between it and the two oncoming Champions. The clicking noise increased in tempo and ferocity as they crouched down, their manes waving wildly. Their legs buckled, just for a second. And then they jumped. “Ansturm der Flamme!” “Deadlock Jaw!” The two Champions lunged forwards at the horses before them, but the two creatures just bounced off to the sides, their legs flailing wildly. For a moment Kobolmon and Chelydramon had a clear opening towards the third, and they rushed forwards. Crack The other two ponies bounced off from the valley walls one after the other, changing directions in an instant. One of them flew rapidly, aiming itself directly towards Kobolmon’s head before he or Ursula had a chance to react. “WATCH OUT!” The creature connected with a clang, causing the troll to veer completely off-course. Lorelie and Ursula held on for dear life as their mount staggered, with the horse being thrown off and rolling in the dirt like a cheetah losing its prey. Not that it seemed particularly bothered, as it contorted its body and rolled back onto its feet. It trilled, hopping in an almost annoyed manner before bounding forwards again. Eleanor looked over her shoulder, cussing under her breath. “Damn, these things are freaky. Keep going, Chelydramon.” She frowned, aware that the turtle was slowing, and she leaned across to look in her partner’s eye. “...Chelydramon...?” The turtle glanced back, suddenly out of breath. Eleanor gasped as she saw strange blue patches forming over her partner’s face, and a thin trail of liquid leaking from her eyes. “I think...I’ve got a stowaway...” Eleanor whipped her head round, and saw the third pony clinging onto her partner’s shell, just a few metres below. Its legs were splayed, and its head-cloth was flapping in the wind, but most notably the pipes and wires around its head had unravelled, and were currently drilling through her partner’s shell and into the flesh beneath. It shuddered, and its legs dug in deeper, cracking the shell even more. “Aw fuck no!” The girl gritted her teeth and slid down, reaching out with her D-Psyche and firmly kicking the beast in the face(?). The pony reared back, and whinnied, before it dug in with its legs and hissed at her. The pipes flailed for a moment, before rapidly shifting course towards her leg. “Oh no you don’t! I’ve already had one of your lot take a fucking bite today; you can find something else! Like my fucking boot in your fucking face!” Eleanor grunted and kicked out again, catching the creature in the chest, but it simply sprung back into position. “Eleanor, get back up here!” The girl shimmied back up, keeping her eyes on the second rider. It cocked its head, then slowly made its way upwards, each movement stabbing her partner in the shell. “It’s not going anywhere, Chelydramon!” “Hold on! Get to my neck!” SKREEEEEEEEEEEE The horse let off an ear-splitting noise and swiped angrily with its front legs, the ends scraping across Eleanor’s knees. The girl hissed, but pulled her legs away, tucking herself into her partner’s shell as close as she could. Already she could feel her partner running. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. “No hitchhikers!” Chelydramon rushed towards the side of the valley and slammed her back against it, finally dislodging the parasite. The horse rolled away, but for some miraculous (read: jammy as fuck) reason it landed on its feet and began hopping around like a drunk bunny once again. “Ah no you don’t! Deadlock Jaw!” The turtle opened her mouth and snapped downwards; she missed the horse by inches save for a couple of pipes in its mane. All of a sudden its moves became even more erratic. Neon blue steam burst from its neck and covered it in thick smog, through which it kept bouncing. Chelydramon threw a punch down, but missed. Another punch, and a savage kick outwards, followed by an elbow. “Yow!” The horse had spun itself wildly like a mad blender and slashed her forearm deeply. Chelydramon pulled back, cursing inwardly and trying to keep track of her tiny assailant. Whatever shape it had now was obscured and moving wildly; a flurry of spinning blades and wires. To make matters worse, the blue fog wasn’t going away. In fact it was getting thicker, and its presence made Eleanor’s and Chelydramon’s eyes water. “You’ve got to be kidding me...” Over the other side of the valley, Ursula looked across at the blue cloud and held her breath. “This is bad.” “Loderndes Leuchtfeuer!” Kobolmon rushed forwards, spraying bright light in all directions as he tried to catch the pony, but it kept climbing all over him, taking a claw here and a swipe there. He blasted downwards, but the creature rolled beneath him and stabbed upwards with its forelegs, causing the troll to howl in pain. “This is extremely bad.” Lorelie jolted, and held out her keypad in front of Ursula’s face. “We can’t get to Shrewmon like this!” Ursula looked back helplessly, unable to help. She yelped, and pushed Lorelie down as the horse’s forelegs swung over their heads. Ursula just managed to hold on, but Lorelie let go, pushing herself off from the troll and running off down the battlefield. “Lorelie!” “I’ll get her myself!” Ursula watched the girl’s screen as she ran, showing a determined face and a faint red glow. The taller girl nodded, and pulled herself onto Kobolmon’s back, bracing herself as she watched for the horse’s next strike. Lorelie didn’t know quite why she was running, or what good it would do. All she knew was that she had limited time before the other ponies came running after her. Her partner lay prone in front of her, the same blue and purple patches pulsing on her skin as the pony stood over her. There was a sickening smell in the air, and the glow of little specks of data all around. Lorelie didn’t pay any attention to that; she just ran forwards, opening her arms wide in an effort to tackle the beast herself, like she’d seen Callum do so many times. Her D-Psyche flashed, and opened just a tiny bit, letting her voice echo out into the valley. “....let go of my PARTNER!...” The girl flung herself forwards, grabbing the horse by the back legs. It didn’t go as planned; the springs dug into her as she crashed to the ground, and she only succeeded in spinning the creature round a little. She tried to push herself upwards, but as she looked up she suddenly found herself confronted by the squealing visage of angry horse, with the wires dangling beneath its fake maw like tentacles. Lorelie screeched, and thrust out a fist as hard as she could muster. Her fingers hooked the material of its face, and she pulled. The horse immediately panicked, digging into the ground and letting off electronic whinnies. The girl didn’t give in however; she grunted, strained, and finally tore the cloth. Falling backwards, she felt it come apart in her hands, before looking up right into the horse’s unveiled head. It wasn’t a horse. It was never going to be a horse. She’d gathered that much. But even so, she didn’t think anything could have prepared her for the half-biological, half-technological horror that greeted her. A mass of pistons wrapped in wires and what seemed to be blood vessels. Several clouded eyes staring out at nothing. A long, fleshy tongue that protruded out of the top of its distorted snout, and two reservoirs of bright blue liquid, running down grooves in its head like poison, or blood. “AAAAEEEE!” 
SKREEEEEEE The abomination hopped forwards, and its head seemed to open up in flaps, until it didn’t even resemble a face as much as an autopsy in a server room. The creature gurgled, and the poison tanks churned as it prepared to dowse Lorelie with the terrible liquid. “Acid Splash!” Lorelie opened her eyes beneath her D-Psyche, and she saw Shrewmon crouched next to her; breathing ragged and skin ruined, but alive. The horse writhed before her, its head steaming as the two poisons reacted violently with one another. Shrewmon looked across at Lorelie, and forced a smile. “I’m not...done yet...” Lorelie held her shoulder, but the shrew pushed her hand away, trying to stand on shaking legs. “I knew you wouldn’t...let me die yet...you...promised...” Those legs buckled, and she fell to one side, staring face up at Lorelie from her lap. The girl held her tightly, not looking up at the beast a few metres away as it shook the rest of the acid from its face. Shrewmon reached up, her expression pained as she ran her hand up to Lorelie’s D-Psyche. Slowly, she ran the back of her claw down one side. “You promised...” “GET AWAY FROM THEM!” “Ansturm der Flamme!” Kobolmon rushed forwards with a flaming fist, slamming the not-pony in the neck and sending it rolling away with a ferocious clicking. Lorelie looked up at Ursula, riding atop her partner with her D-Psyche pulsing behind her. The taller girl smiled downwards, and held out a hand. “Do you need a lift?” Lorelie held out her hand, before drawing it back, her screen flashing uncertainly. She reached for her keypad, typing wildly. “I need to help Shrewmon. I need-“ Ursula held a palm up, and nodded. Kobolmon shook beneath her as he prepared to strike again, as both the techno-horses began to hop once again towards him. “Bring her up.” SKREE “Move!” Kobolmon rushed forwards and slammed both palms down towards the two advancing ponies, but they contorted in opposite directions, spiralling up his arms and leering at Ursula. She kicked at one of them, but the other wrapped itself around her arm and yanked her from her partner’s back. “Come here!” The troll reached out again and wrapped his huge palm around the horse’s body, grinning savagely even as it twisted in his grip, tearing the flesh. He rolled backwards, and Ursula noticed that the other one had made its mark as well. Ursula jumped, and looked around. Lorelie was pressing all over her D-Psyche with her free hand, but it was no use; the Funnyman was back, flickering around on her screen. There was a shuffling in Lorelie’s arms, and Shrewmon stretched out, her weak arm pressing against her partner’s screen. “Get...get away from her...” “Aaaargh!” “Kobolmon!” Crash The troll fell back against the wall, rolling with the two horses as he tried to tear them away from his body. He was infected as well, the blue mould spreading all over his wounded body. Blood dripped from his head and his mouth, and his lanterns were flickering wildly. He was still smiling though. Some things never change. Ursula stared helplessly at her partner. Then back at Lorelie, who was shaking her head, trying to rid her device of the Funnyman’s presence. Ursula shook; she was trapped. Useless. Just another bystander as the world – her world – pulled itself apart. From Lorelie’s D-Psyche, the Funnyman laughed metallically, and called out to Ursula once again. Ursula gritted her teeth. “I’m here to take you out, just like the others are.” Ursula flinched. Lorelie reached out with her hand and struck her own D-Psyche again, but it did nothing except let off a horrendous screech. The girl pointed with a shaking finger, even as her own voice was betraying her. “...behind...you...” Ursula turned around as if in a daze, only for the horse to slash out at her. She jumped back just in time, feeling something trickling down one cheek. A nasty blow, though thankfully a shallow one. Ahead of her, Kobolmon was well and truly down, though he held on tightly to the other pony with all his strength. Synthetic voice and human voice tussled, and Lorelie’s essence was thrust down again, hidden beneath layers of static. Shrewmon reached up, but the girl knelt down, holding her tightly in her arms. She stared up at Ursula, the girl standing between her and the deadly oncoming creature. The horse bounced sideways, and gave off something like a whinny. Lorelie called out again; a single tiny sound in the void. “...Ursula...” The taller girl looked back, and her eyes were sad. “There’s just one thing I want to know.” Ursula flinched. She held up a hand to her face, wiping beneath her eyes. Then she stared into Lorelie’s screen, her face rigid even as it kept taunting her. “After this is all over, can we still be friends? You and me?” From behind the Funnyman’s haze, Lorelie stared up. She clenched her fists, and nodded, holding Shrewmon in her arms. Ursula grinned, and turned back towards the oncoming beast, her D-Psyche emitting orange lights as she did so. The girl held her head down, and her arms up. “That’s all I need.” 
Ursula sighed, and wiped her cheek as she spread her feet apart. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I didn’t, back then. But I do now. I’ve come this far with all of them and I’m not gonna let them down!” In front of her, the nightmare horse reared back, its front legs spinning wildly as it aimed towards both girls at once. Ursula’s D-Psyche flashed brightly, the metal creaking as she raised her arms; a last bastion against the Funnyman’s assault. “Come on then, if you’re so sure! Send me back to where I came from! You want me to fall? Make me!” The pony rushed forwards, all its limbs raised in a serrated dance of poison and death. The girl shut her eyes, awaiting the deadly blow. But instead she felt herself being pinned in place, her arms shivering as the beast struck her. Opening her eyes, she watched as her arms pressed forwards, held by hundreds of tiny rods that sprung from her back. Her feet dug into the ground below, supported by even more rods and pistons that spread outwards from her D-Psyche, forming a solid, impenetrable wall. The horse strained, screws popping and springs twisting, but no matter how hard he pushed he couldn’t budge her, only pushing her further into place. Ursula gritted her teeth, and pushed backwards. Through blurred vision she could make out Kobolmon, shuffling next to the wall as lights bobbed through the air in front of him. She smirked. “Still standing, right?” “...always...” Ursula took a step, pushing against the horse even as it gripped her even more tightly. And another one. And another. Step by step, pushing her way forwards, and holding out a hand. Kobolmon pushed himself up. He practically fell forwards, reaching out with a long, muscular arm as the blue patches reached his head. The two reached out. And their hands touched. “Kobolmon, Psyche Synergise!” 
Ursula’s D-Psyche opened up, shining bright lights all around, but mostly on her partner. The troll shook with energy, his body glowing brighter with every tremble, and he braced himself to charge. As he did so, his body began to morph, rippling and swelling and growing in size. “Evolution Activate!” Ursula held on for dear life as her D-Psyche shuddered, letting of far more noise than even Callum’s or Eleanor’s had on reaching this point. Kobolmon just swelled all the more, curling up even further as the sound of steam and mechanisms emanated from his blinding figure. The flames flickered up, and finally blew away in a burst of steam, revealing his new form. The troll had grown significantly, and as he had, his wheels and frame had expanded into a full-blown mechanical cart; pipes, rivets, groaning wheels, cast-iron and Digizoid lacing every surface; the lot. The beast-man’s top half had grown as well, with his legs now entirely encased in the vehicle below. He hunched over, his back-muscles rippling as two vast gears protruded from his spine, spinning slowly but powerfully. His arms were more muscular than ever, with steaming furnaces on his shoulders and strips of metal bolted onto his joints. In one hand he held a large headlamp bolted to his cart, while in the other, his fingers curled around a small sledgehammer, glimmering with a copper shine. His ears and nose had grown again, protruding from a bushy red beard that covered most of his torso. His eyes were covered as well, by a set of goggles that took up the entire top half of his face, merging with a miner’s helmet covered with several bright lamps. The troll leaned back, and laughed more heartily than ever, showing great tusks protruding from his lower jaw. He swung his hammer, and let off two great bursts of flame from his shoulders. “Sindrimon!” 
The horses juddered in front of the new figure, contorting every which way as they bounced forwards. One of them lashed out, legs akimbo, but Sindrimon raised an arm and countered it effortlessly with his hammer, grinning as steam poured from his body. “I think that is quite enough from you!” The first pony trilled and reformed itself, and the other one shot forwards, striking Sindrimon in the side with a lashing barbed cable. But this time the troll wasn’t even fazed, and he countered with a great swing, cracking the hand across the knuckles. He shifted back, and rammed forwards, several wires coming loose from the beast’s tightly-wound frame as he laid into it with punches. The other pony writhed furiously, inverting its front and back legs and flipping forwards like an acrobat. “My word, you are so much fun to battle!” The horse shot forwards, with Sindrimon catching it just in time, holding the blue blade just inches from his face. He strained, his hands shaking and his cart wheezing from the pressure, before the blade burst in a miasma of blue goop. For a split second the horse was distracted, revealing the plethora of circuitry on its neck. That was enough for the newly assembled Ultimate, as he twirled his hammer in one hand, the club glowing red-hot. “Vulkanabsteig!” The horse’s head buckled from the massive impact; one far larger than it had any right to be for such a proportionally small hammer. The horse wheezed. Splintered. Spat flames as fissures appeared in its surface. Then its head exploded like an egg in a microwave, sending bright orange liquid flying in all directions, where it pockmarked the floors and walls of the valley. The other horse stopped, and quailed, before shimmying backwards. There was an angry metallic cry, and the Funnyman’s screeching voice resonated in everybody’s heads as it was purged from Lorelie’s D-Psyche. Ursula breathed out as she stepped forwards, her D-Psyche finally releasing her from the floor. She smiled without realising it, still feeling the energy burning inside her. Still, she swallowed her adrenaline and looked up at her partner “I think it’s time to ride again, Sindrimon...” The troll reached out with his hand, and in one smooth effort he pulled Ursula up onto his platform. The two turned, and saw Lorelie standing alone in front of the carnage. The other horse was nervous, hopping back and forth as its tongue lolled every which way. The other one was in even worse shape, although remarkably it was still standing, bouncing back and forth and angrily waving its bloodied stump of a neck, which ended in an arrangement of twisted metal and pipes like some grotesque flower. Sindrimon rushed forwards past the distracted creatures, and Ursula held her arm down once again. This time there was no hesitation; Lorelie leapt up to join her, and they helped lay the still-barely-conscious Shrewmon down on the troll’s cart. There was a scraping behind them; the horses were getting restless again, their bodies going into overdrive and spurting blue fluid all over the place. Ursula looked up at her partner, who grinned, putting his hammer away and clamping both meaty fists around his main headlamp. “You want me to get their attention?” “Go for it.” The lamp spluttered into life, glowing a dim orange at first, then growing in intensity, joined by the lamps on the trolls’ helmet, back and cart. He snickered to himself, and tensed himself, his whole body glowing a bright orange with a fierce internal energy. “Glühlampenexplosion!” A vast beam of light shot out from the lantern, exploding all around the canyon and sending red, yellow and orange fireworks high up into the sky. The ponies were sent careering off to the sides, the flames picking them up like a hurricane. The blast died away, and Sindrimon bit his lip, watching as the new massive hole in the canyon in front dripped with molten rock. “Hehe...whoops.” SKREEEEEEE He didn’t have any time to relish in his new power as the horses hopped forwards again, both of them looking in even worse shape than before, with parts of their bodies still on fire and many of their pipes leaking. But they were still hopping into the battlefield like nothing had changed. Ursula hissed. “Yikes, these things are tough...” The two ponies rushed forwards at once, their front-halves opening up to reveal a mass of blades and hoses, but Sindrimon swung with his hammer and batted them both away. Still, one of them managed to slice across his arm, and he winced. “Stay close, you three! This could get rough...” The flashes and booms resonated around the canyon, reaching Eleanor and Chelydramon as they tussled with their own persistent opponent. With every move they made, her own horse would just contort into another shape and strike back. Chelydramon was feeling the pressure now, with blood dripping from several wounds around her snout and limbs. “I don’t know how much longer this is gonna take...” Her eye swivelled back, and she stared at Eleanor on her shoulder. “I could really us some extra help.” Eleanor didn’t answer. She held tightly on with her injured arm, her spare hand running over the wyrm’s wound. “How can you trust me so much...?” “Mangrove Mace!” The horse flew forward, but connected with Chelydramon’s weapon and fell to the ground. It tried to roll away, but was caught by the turtle’s foot striking downwards. It struggled for a moment, before hissing, and momentarily exploding in a mass of spinning barbs. Chelydramon pulled back, blood pouring from fresh wounds as the horse reconstituted itself. She smiled, and nodded over at the troll’s battle, where he was drifting round and round on the canyon floor spinning his hammer at mach speed. “I guess it’s like with those two. You bring out the best in me.” The turtle smiled, and reared up, shrugging as she nudged Eleanor down into her palm. “Come on now. We need to bring it to the next level sooner or later.” Eleanor took in a breath, and held onto the turtle’s fingers, feeling the energy building within her once again. It wasn’t as much as before; less rage, and more doubt. Yet still, the feeling was almost the same. “You’re right. Of course you are. We’re here to stop the Funnyman. We ain’t stopping until either he’s bust, or ‘till we are.” Chelydramon laughed. “Damn right.” “Chelydramon, Psyche Synergise!” “Evolution Activate!” Eleanor held on tightly as she flew upwards, held by her rapidly expanding partner. The turtle reached out and pressed a palm against one side of the canyon, crossing her legs as her staff materialized beneath her. The horse stared as well, whinnying indignantly at its opponent’s sudden growth. “Minogamemon!” No sooner had the turtle landed than the horse leapt up, its entire front half splitting open and spraying blue liquid right towards the turtle’s enclosed head. Minogamemon turned away, and swung outwards, catching the horse with her staff and sending it tumbling down. “You are absolutely vile. Primordial Staff!” She struck downwards again, catching the horse in the flank. As it glowed, she struck the rock and a tree sprouted out, yanking the horse off to one side. It struggled, and cut itself loose, but before it could escape the turtle lunged forwards with an immense punch, sending it crashing into the canyon wall. It righted itself again, though less certainly this time. One leg was buckled beyond belief, and it didn’t so much hop as judder in circles. Still, it remained as aggressive as ever, dodging Minogamemon’s two follow-up kicks and spinning upwards with a horrendous screech. It latched to her forearm, digging in with its blades and emitting blue poison into the flesh. “Vitality Sphere!” Minogamemon raised her staff and lunged down with the webbed end, catching the horse before it could run away. It was encased in a light that spread outwards, sucking up data from the hapless creature, before she spun the rod and slammed it down on the ground. This time, when she removed the weapon, the pony didn’t get up, instead collapsing into bits of metal and flesh, as after what had seemed like an eternity, the clockwork finally ran down. Minogamemon sighed, and raised a palm to Eleanor, who remained held tightly onto her shoulder. “Come on you, ride where it’s a little safer.” She lifted the girl down to the rim of her shell, and held the root of her staff up, where the tips were still holding a flickering orb of light. “Hold your arm in there.” Eleanor did so, wincing as the light reached out and grabbed her. It stung incredibly, but when it finally let go, her arm was far less painful and the wound had closed up, though not completely healed. “Thanks.” Minogamemon stood up straight, and gestured over. “Well that’s one down. Fancy stomping some more?” Eleanor clenched and unclenched her right hand, before pressing her fists together. “Er, always?” “Glühlampenexplosion!” The newly headless horse reared up as Sindrimon’s blast shot in front of it, and it galloped away with surprising rapidity. The other wasn’t so lucky as its hindquarters were caught in the wall of flame, mostly dissolving in an instant. It screeched, and the remnants of its head fell off as it thrust blades at Sindrimon. One hit its mark, slicing the troll’s shoulder, but he knocked the others away with some well-timed hammer blows, and rushed forwards with fire in his eyes. “You are but a machine! You have NO POWER over me!” The horse’s legs split apart and it grasped Sindrimon’s shoulders, latching onto him as he charged. Ursula and Lorelie ducked as thin blades stabbed outwards, feeling around for any sort of weak point on its enemy. But if it found one, it didn’t seem to bother Sindrimon at all, who merely kept rushing forwards, banging his anvil and laughing. The horse snarled in his face, but the troll responded with a sound headbutt, crushing the horse’s remaining poison sac with the blow. Without warning Sindrimon reached out and grabbed the horse by what remained of its neck, slamming it down on the anvil on his cart and raising a red-hot hammer. “Vulkanabsteig!” The pony didn’t even have time to react before its head was caved in by a massive blow, strong enough to send red-hot veins flashing all through the cart and even through Sindrimon’s body. He raised his arms, bellowing with laughter even as steam billowed from his mouth. “I am flame incarnate and all metal shall bend to my will!” 
Lorelie squeaked behind his ear, and Ursula knocked him in the back of the head. “Behind you, flame incarnate!” Sindrimon swerved rapidly and swung outwards, catching the headless horse on the chest and dislodging one of its shoulders. It didn’t stop it, only making it mad as – despite the lack of much of its head – it still tried to bite everything within reach. “Sindrimon!” “Glühlampenexplosion!” The troll veered around clumsily and clutched his lamp, sending a beam out that seared the side of the horse’s messed-up body. It galloped off to one side, and rearranged the remains of its body into a massive lance, before turning and galloping at the troll at full speed, fully intending to impale him through the chest. He was completely unfazed, simply raising his hammer and charging himself at the screeching menace. “Primordial Staff!” A shadow fell over the epic joust as Minogamemon planted herself above them, swinging her staff and plucking the horse from the ground. It struggled, unleashing an explosion of blue poison which struck the turtle on one leg. She stumbled, but didn’t let go, instead swinging her staff out and slamming it against the rock on either side of the canyon, again and again. After the fourth time, she let go, and the pony rolled downwards, knocking against Sindrimon’s cart as he looked up disappointedly. “I was dealing with that already. It was going to descend in a blaze of fiery torment.” Minogamemon crouched down, prodding the troll in the forehead. “This is a battle, genius, not a playground for your weird obsessions.” SKREEEEE The two Ultimates jumped as the pony scrambled around, still not entirely dead. It kicked Sindrimon in the head, before making to gallop away, its tail spinning around behind it. Sindrimon turned, and grasped the bladed end firmly, yanking it back. “I’m not done!” There was a sickening gurgle, and a vat of cloudy bile erupted from the horse’s battered hindquarters. Sindrimon frowned, holding up the tail as it wriggled in his hand, still attached to several of the horse’s internal workings. Impressively, the not-horse itself made it a good hundred metres before the lack of any organs caught up with it, and it collapsed in a heap on the ground, still twitching maniacally. The troll pursed his lips, and held the mess of pulsing organs up for all to see clearly. “Well that’s disappointing.” Ursula grimaced, and knocked her partner in the head. “Put that thing away! Nobody wants to see it!” “No wait, hold it up.” Minogamemon crouched down as Eleanor stared at the writhing tail, and in particular at the end, which twitched left and right, pointing in a definite direction. “Is it me or does that look like an aerial?” The other two girls stared up at her, and she shrugged. “Well...sort of.” “It might be,” tapped Lorelie, staring down the valley to where the horse’s corpse was already dissolving. “Do you think it could lead us to the Funnyman?” “It’s better than nothing.” Eleanor sighed. “Though I thought we were gonna save these Ultimate forms until we found him for real. Knowing him this’ll just give him a head-start.” Minogamemon’s eyes flicked towards her. “Well, at least we can find him now. That’s something.” “Excellent.” Ursula nudged her partner. “Lead the way, my flame-obsessed friend.” Sindrimon grinned, and, after shaking the twitching tail to get rid of any excess organ matter, he rolled away down the winding valley, with Minogamemon lumbering along behind. Ursula smiled down at Lorelie as they lurched forwards at an ever-increasing speed. “I guess we wait for the boys there. Do you think they’ll know where they’re going?” “They’re smart. They’ll find their way. : )” The girl paused, and her hand hovered over her keypad. Then she braced herself, and typed again. “Thanks. For earlier.” Ursula looked confused for a moment. Then she shook her head. “I should be thanking you. You helped me get my head in the game.” “It was really nice what you said.” A slight tinge of pink ran across Ursula’s cheeks, and she scratched it with one finger, hurriedly changing the subject. “Are you ready to win this thing?” “Always.” Lorelie’s screen beamed, and together they stared forwards as Sindrimon led the charge, holding the aerial out like a dousing rod. Lorelie knelt down, running her hand over Shrewmon’s battered form as she held her keypad one-handedly. Slowly, absentmindedly, she pressed the keys again. One, two, three. She held it up, keeping it to herself. “Now more than ever before.” TO BE CONTINUED... |