Elwood Tenkaichi: An Arthur Story

Chapter 29: Come Back, Molly!

Fern careened into the battlefield with a thunderous smash. Everything hurt, but she had to keep moving. It was clear by now that her life depended on it.

I can't keep this up, Fern admitted to herself. I have to try to end this as soon as possible...

Fern waited, embedded in the rubble, as Molly whistled down closer in a divebomb.

Just a bit closer...

Fern disappeared as Molly crashed down, only to reappear above her, grappling to lock her wrist behind her shoulder.

"This again?" Molly teased through gritted teeth.

"Yield, Molly. Please!"

"Well," Molly grunted, "since you asked so nicely..."

Molly flared her ki with enough force to send Fern flying off of her.

"This aikido schmaltz ain't gonna work on me, girl," Molly taunted, rolling her shoulder. "You want this to end, you gotta end it," she grinned.

"That's not how I was trained," Fern groaned, forcing herself back up.

"Too bad," Molly replied, her face darkening as a spark of electricity went off between them.

Nothing's working, Fern thought. No matter how much force I try to use, she brushes it off.

"Wait," she whispered in realization.

"Saying your prayers?" Molly laughed. "Hope you asked for a miracle. Time's up."

Fern stood in place as Molly kicked off the dirt to rocket towards her, whamming her into the ground. There was no resistance.

"This is bad," Jenna screamed. "F-Fern's given up!"

"I can't watch this," Binky sighed, turning away.

Time seemed to slow as Molly could no longer hear anything, save for the thunder of her knuckles against Fern's face. She had her pinned, laughing maniacally in her face.

George's knees gave out beneath him; the sight was too much to bear.

Through the punches, Fern looked up defiantly, delving into that crazed glare in search of her best friend. They locked eyes and, suddenly...the punches stopped coming.

Molly's laughing gave way to stifled grunting as her fist halted in the air, trembling.

Fern smiled sheepishly, muttering as best she could. "The soft...and the pliable..."

The strength in Fern's eyes somehow steeled Molly, and her words pierced her heart--whisking her back to their time in the Sphere.

Molly groaned, clutching her head. She stumbled off of Fern, falling backwards onto the ground.

A voice exploded in Molly's mind--shrill and chilling.

Insolent child! What do you think you're doing? FINISH IT!

"N-no, I..."

"That's it," Fern whispered, shambling to her feet.

Red arcs of lightning began to crackle around Molly again as she writhed on the ground.

Fern entered tai chi stance.

"W-what on Earth is she doing?" Prunella blurted under her breath.

Molly growled, huffing violently as she struggled to her feet.

DESTROY HER! DO IT NOW!

She conjured memories of Fern's soft-style during their training. Molly was terrible at it in the beginning but, through it all, Fern had always been patient with her. And in the end...

Molly mimicked Fern's stance, quivering in her movements.

Fern took a deep breath, continuing slowly, flowing through all the forms they knew. It took every ounce of her will, but Molly followed her movements as the others gawked in silence, utterly dumbfounded.

W-what nonsense is this? The foreign voice demanded.

The soft...a-and...the pliable...

Foolish girl! You cannot deny your true nature! Your fists crave flesh--your knuckles yearn for blood! You are a violent creature! A BULLY!

"--AGH!" Lightning sparked about Molly's figure as she yelped. Her aura burst into view around her, strobing wildly between a pulsing red and a violent purple.

But she did not waver.

...w-will defeat...the hard--

I COMMAND YOU TO DESTROY THAT GIRL--

"...and the strong!" The final word left her lips as she completed one last tai chi form.

Suddenly, Molly's ki exploded, the purple waning to a brilliant red.

Tears fell from behind Marina's blindfold as everyone else was forced to avert their gaze.

"They did it," she awed.

Molly's aura faded from view as she fell on all fours, catching her breath.

She looked up at Fern, who smiled down at her. Molly gave a tired smile back, but the moment was cut short as Fern wobbled, about to fall.

"Fern!"

Molly rushed to catch her before she hit the ground.

"And...and you said my soft-style was dorky..."

"Yeah...but I was wrong. It saved me. You saved me, Fern..."

"Nah, you...you did that all by yourself."

"Stop it."

"Maybe I helped a little..." Fern grinned; it hurt to move her face.

"Fern..." Molly was crying behind her bangs. "I'm so sorry. I'm so--"

"It's okay, silly. It's okay...I knew it wasn't really you."

"You still believed in me. Even when I was...you never gave up on me..."

" 'Course not. You never give up on people you love."

Molly smiled, sniffling. "You're hopeless Walters. You know that?"

"Am I still pretty, at least?" Fern couldn't keep a straight face.

Molly exhaled, amused and astonished at Fern's spirit. Molly's rampage had left Fern with a black eye--she was bruised and scuffed all over.

"Yeah, twerp," Molly chuckled, remorseful but happy. "It's actually an improvement."

They laughed together as everyone looked on without a sound.

Molly placed her hand to Fern's chest and took a deep breath.

Marina could see Molly transfer a portion of her own ki into Fern, brightening her lifeforce. Fern smiled as she felt her strength return.

"Now, come on..." Molly helped Fern back onto her feet as the others ran up to meet them. George stopped short of embracing Fern.

"Are you two okay?" Marina asked first.

Fern gave an assuring nod, but Molly was too nervous to respond immediately.

"Molly?" Binky called.

"It's me, Bink," she promised.

"Is it over?" Jenna asked, her voice shaking.

Molly and Fern traded solemn glances, putting everyone back on edge.

"The...thing that did that to you," Marina started, "It's still here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Molly said bitterly. "And I know who it is," she spat, turning to look out into the stands.

The rest turned and followed her gaze to see Lakewood Elementary School Secretary Cecilia Tingley standing proudly in the distance.