EnderBound: SOUL of Hatred

Chapter 13: Ionia NEO

(Perspective: Ionia)

I might be a robot, but that doesn't mean I am unaware or have a lack of feelings. My name is Ionia, like the Ionian module of music. I am a pop star in Fourside. I sing, dance, and do all the things a pop star would. Originally, I was in to killing monsters, but Jeff reprogrammed me to understand that monsters are our friends. My appearance consists of cream-colored "skin", a green tank top, short pink hair, blue facial hair, and a wheel where my legs would be. I have another form that I only use when I perform. It does grant me legs, but I like my normal form the best. I don't have a verified gender, but I use female pronouns.

Anyways, I had just finished one of my big performances when I got a call over the phone. I quickly picked it up.

"Hello darling," I answered flirtatiously, "This is Ionia speaking."

"Ionia, this is Kumatora," she replied, "I need you to put Fourside in lock-down mode. We have a major threat in Eagleland. Someone known as Willow will try to start an invasion in your city. Tell everyone to stay inside and not to go outside unless accompanied by a PSI user with the trait of Determination, Perseverance, or Kindness."

"I understand," I responded, "But darling, you better be careful as well."

"Don't worry about me," Kumatora said, "I'll be fine. I almost defeated her already. I gotta go. See you later." She then hung up. I walked back on to the stage and tapped the microphone.

"Excuse me," I said, "I have just gotten word from Kumatora that we are supposed to enter lock-down. You are all required to stay here." As soon as I said the bad news, everyone in the audience panicked. The room became louder than a night at a Taylor Swift concert.

"Please calm down," I continued, "As long as you all stay inside, you should be fine. My manager will provide you with the food and water you humans and monsters will need." I walked off the stage and grabbed my NEO kit. It was a special kit Jeff instructed for me to use whenever there was danger nearby. All I had to do to activate it was to open the case and press the one button inside it.

"She must be here now," I said to myself, "But where would she go?" Then an idea popped in my head. She would head to the football stadium. I figured because it's a wide open area for picking fights with people. I had to find a way to help. I snuck out the door backstage and hid near the stadium. While I was hiding, I heard two voices approaching the gate. I took a peek and saw Henry and Frisk break into the stadium.

They must be heading to fight Willow, I thought, they might need help. I heard the commotion going on, trying not to get involved. But it was the last straw when I heard Frisk scream "no" as loud as possible. I looked over and saw Henry lying as if he was dead on the ground.

"Tell... Asriel... I'm sorry," he said. Then, he became dust and his SOUL remained to float above his remains. I ran into the stadium.

"Oh dear," I said, "Looks like we've got a bit of trouble here." I looked over and saw that Frisk had changed her appearance. She was no longer Frisk and instead was Penelope. Willow looked at me.

"Well, well," Willow said, "Has the pop star finally come out to play?"

"Why yes of course," I responded with a smile, "And I've got a little surprise just for you." I opened up the NEO case and pressed the red button inside. Suddenly, my body transformed into a greater, more beautiful version of my EX form. My metal hair grew down to my hips and kept its fabulous pink color. My facial hair had went away entirely, leaving me a clean, metallic face. My outfit changed into bright green leotard with a light green skirt and hot pink boots. This new form allowed my left arm to transform into a cannon if I ever so desired to do so.

"Darling, stealing SOULs and taking lives is no way to show true beauty," I told her, "It's time I taught you a little lesson." I then transformed my left arm into a cannon and pointed it at Willow. I fired a large laser blast consisting of Determination, a trait Willow was weak to. Poor Willow however was unable to dodge it and was knocked back slightly. She looked at me and smiled evilly.

"You think that's gonna be enough to defeat me?" she asked, "You know I'm practically immortal, right? Thanks to my SOUL of Deception, your attack barely did anything to me."

"Oh darling," I told her, "Perhaps you should be more aware of where you place those SOULs of yours. You never know what could happen if someone were to stab it or shatter it." I winked at Penelope, who then jumped at Willow and tackled her. I ran then up to Willow and kicked her into the bleachers with my robotic strength. She landed on her feet and slid along one of the benches. Then she started to run around me, most likely heading for Henry's SOUL. I quickly ran to it and grabbed it before she could get to it. I stored it into a safety compartment in stomach area. Not only would it keep the SOUL safe, it would also grant me a boost of Kindness. I then fired another blast at Willow. She used Deception to transform into a bunch of bubbles before reappearing in front of me.

"Ionia, did I mention how much you annoy me?" she asked me.

"You just did," I answered, "Give up already. You already know who's gonna win this fight." I transformed my arm cannon back into a regular arm and summoned a green digital longsword. However, despite its digital appearance, it was a powerful blade consisting of the powers of Determination and Kindness.

"Let's dance," I said to Willow. I vertically swung my sword at her. She summoned a scythe and blocked the attack. I took my sword and swung it horizontally at her. She once again used Deception to transform into a bunch of bubbles and dodged the attack. As she did, I noticed something quite peculiar. Every time she transferred into bubbles, a dark yellow SOUL would teleport along with it. This gave me a genius idea as Willow reappeared in a nearby spot.

"Think you can dodge forever, don't ya?" I said to Willow, "Perhaps you're right." Willow looked at me and laughed.

"You're gosh darn right I can!" Willow said, "I could dodge for as long as I want! It's all thanks to Deception!"

"It would be a real shame if that SOUL were to be destroyed by something," I told her. I then held the sword in my right hand and transformed my left arm into the cannon again. I swung horizontally once again at Willow while preparing my arm cannon for another shot. She dodged and turned into bubbles again. As soon as she did so, I shot the dark yellow SOUL and destroyed it. She transformed back into a girl and fell to the ground, coughing up a dark yellow liquid. She turned to me.

"Why you little!" she shouted, "I ought to get you back somehow!"

"Well darling," I responded, "It isn't nice to get revenge. I'm only doing what I can to help."

"Well, maybe you need to try harder then," Willow said. She teleported to Penelope and stabbed her with the scythe, revealing her pink SOUL. I gasped with despair. She then grabbed the SOUL as Penelope fell to the ground. Willow then grabbed her SOUL and absorbed it.

"Ah, the power of Fear," she said, "It's all mine! Looks like you lost, pop star!" Suddenly, Ness, Asriel, and Chara teleported to us.

"Not so fast," Ness said, "You've got three more SOULs to worry about. Perseverance, Love, and Determination. And we've even brought a little friend with us." Ness stepped out of the way and revealed Ralsei, who was crossing his arms and had a smug look on his face. Willow looked at him and growled.

"You fool!" she said, "You weren't supposed to lose control of my Hatred!"

"I'm sorry Willow," Ralsei said, "It was out of my control."