Elwood Tenkaichi: An Arthur Story

Chapter 32: Cosmic Vengeance! Enter Shin Fern

"My, my!" Tingley taunted. "It seems big things do come in small, pathetic packages!"

Fern's eyes were opened to the Truth; she was one with the universe now, and could see every thing for what it truly was.

"You are not a living being," Fern assessed as she gazed at Tingley. "Simply negative energy."

The very next moment, Fern was across the field as Tingley felt the force of a supernova explode against her gut, catapulting her into the stands with a deafening boom that sent shock waves through the air.

"Unreal!" Jenna raved, breathless.

"Could this...be yuán qì?" Marina wondered aloud.

"Huh?" Jenna puzzled.

"Origin chi," she explained, "The original energy at the heart of all things...Fern has managed to tap into that power, revealing her truest self!"

With a thundering roar, the spot where Tingley had crashed erupted in a violet explosion, destroying that portion of the stadium to reveal Tingley floating in the center of the blast. Her entire midsection--the point of Fern's impact was missing, or rather unveiled--replaced only with writhing shadow. She trembled in anger as she beheld her sorry state, looking up towards Fern with death in her eyes.

"HOW DARE YOU?" she boomed, winding up a supercharged energy blast before hurling it across the field towards Fern.

"Get down!" Jenna cried, diving away as the others did the same.

Fern lit up in a mushroom cloud as the orb made direct contact, causing the ground to quake as bits of rubble rained back down, pelting the field for a whole minute.

"Such spirited children," Tingley smirked, relaxing. "What a pity--"

Fern stepped out of the smoke unharmed.

"What?" Tingley hissed.

With every step Fern took across the field, Tingley grew more and more unnerved as the earth beneath Fern's feet was born anew, patches of grass and tiny flowers blooming in the ethereal blue fire she left in her wake.

"You are a parasite," Fern condemned, her voice humming on the wind with a supernatural cadence of absolute authority.

Tingley volleyed a stream of energy waves at her, but Fern's stride remained unbroken--an unstoppable force of nature closing in.

"All you will ever do is take," she continued, the gleam of her eyes heralding her approach before emerging once again from the smoke. With a subtle pulse, every dust particle surrounding her ignited into glittering sparkles that danced through the air.

"Enough!" Tingley snapped, the veins in her temples swelling close to bursting as she gritted her teeth in rage, the ground rumbling beneath her as red electricity crackled about.

"Enough," she repeated as her shoulders relaxed, the corner of her mouth suddenly curling in a deranged smile. "You've made your point, child," she chuckled before giving in to unrestrained laughter. "I should have seen it sooner," she mused, glaring at Fern--not in anger, but in hunger.

Tingley boomed forward at mach speed, splitting the earth behind her--hand outstretched like a talon to clutch Fern's forehead.

"Oh no," Jenna whispered, her voice quivering.

It was then that Fern snatched Tingley's wrist--faster than even Marina could perceive.

"Before you die," Fern started, causing Tingley's eyes to widen in horror, "Know what it is to lose something."

As if clenching her fist around nothing at all, Fern tightened her grip. The very same hand that had struck Molly dissolved into dancing specks of starlight before ever having the chance to hit the ground. The others had no choice but to cover their ears to defend against Tingley's agonized screech.

She stumbled back, falling to her knees as she grasped the stub in shock--the same roiling shadow that occupied the space where her diaphragm used to be lurching out from her wrist.

"I swear," Tingley growled, her voice drenched with hatred, "I will--"

"No," Fern interrupted, her voice unsettlingly calm as she approached. "No more lives for you to take. No more bodies for you to steal. No more."

"WHA--"

With one hand, Fern raised two fingers to Tingley's forehead. She looked up at Fern as her bloodshot eyeballs quaked in dread.

"Shinkūken."

Fern snapped her hand into a fist as her genki pierced Tingley's head in a dancing shaft of light that lit up the entire stadium, reflecting off the gray clouds overhead. She was swallowed entirely in Fern's super-energy, exploding into nothing as her shriek was finally drowned out by silence.

The only thing left was her broach, which rolled eerily around on the ground before finally falling flat.

Fern's glow disappeared as she fell limp, face first into the dirt.

"FERN!" Sue Ellen called out as the others gasped, rushing to her as everyone followed suit.

Terrified by what she might find, Sue Ellen hesitated before turning Fern over.

"I don't think...I can do that again..." Fern whispered as she looked up at her friends, all of whom let out sighs of relief.

"Let's hope you never have to," Marina smiled.

"You did it, Fern," Jenna soothed, her cheeks wet with tears.

"You saved us," Prunella thanked.

Fern shed a tear as she turned her head to look at Molly across the field.

"I-I can't move," she stammered, trying to keep herself together. "Could someone take me to her?"

Without a second thought, Binky picked her up and carried her to their friend, setting Fern down beside her. Unable to use her legs, Fern dragged herself towards Molly, finally burying her face in her gi as she gripped it with both hands.

Everyone stood in silence as Fern wept over Molly's body.