”What’s your name?”

”Frost.”

”You alright?” John asked.

She nods subtly. ”Yeah, i’ll live.”

”Phew, i’m tired! I’ll be sleeping in tonight.”

”Yeah, me too. I sure had a lot of fun today.”

The trip back was thankfully, uneventful. The bats had stopped pursuit after a minute, so all the shamans were able to head back to the village without incident.

-----
They were in sight now. ”I see them; they’re back.”

Frost and the others landed on the dock, worn out after all that action. ”Phew, i’ve spent too long…?” Her voice trailed off when she saw someone looking at her. ”Irving?!” She ran to him to hug him.
”I thought I lost you forever.”

”I missed you too.”

Karma couldn’t help but smile slightly. ”I didn’t know you had a soulmate.”

”Me neither, he never seems to get bothered by much.” Kyano responded. ”Anyways, I think we should all get some shuteye now.”

”Uhh- yeah.” Everyone started to leave, tired after a somewhat dangerous flight. ”Kyano.”

The mechanician turned his head. ”Yeah?”

”Thanks.”

”...no problem.”

-Several hours later…-
Rigley was sleeping by clinging to the edge of the roof of the Spirit Guides’ tribe house. He didn’t do much. Didn’t talk, help, nothing. Ate and sleep. Hm? What’s that I sense? No, could it be? It’s them!

At the Wind Masters’ tribe house, it was also a quiet night. Frost was outside, sitting on the roof. ”Mm…”

”Can’t sleep, huh?” Irving appeared several feet behind her.

”No.”

Irving walked over and sat beside her. ”What’re you thinking about?”
Frost just bunched up where she was and didn’t answer. ”Alright.”

”Sometimes I wonder why we’re all here… we just collect cheese, all day, every day.”

”I might have an idea. Maybe it’s-”
Here it comes.

”What the- why do I hear dramatic music?” Frost looked over the ocean. There didn’t seem to be anything coming. Then what…?

Then they saw Rigley flying above them. ”They’re coming! They’re coming! The bats are coming! I can hear their sonar!”

Irving made a halfhearted gasp. ”What, again?!”

Frost stood up, wings ready. ”Come on, let’s take them on.” She leaped up into the air, and Irving followed.

”They’re pushing it, going for a second attack.”

The bats were starting to get close enough to be visible. ”That’s them, alright. Listen up! Don’t take them on by yourselves, they’re dangerous; all of them!”

“There are only three enemies. Including that traitor.” And there were nine bats.

Another bat smugly laughed at this challenge. “What a joke. You better not get hit.”

”Bring it on.” Irving immediately fired a warning shot at the bats; they all dodged it.

Frost pointed at the lead bat, which had a purple headdress. ”That’s the one leading them right now! Take her down!”

“Aria, they’re shooting cannonballs at you! Dodge!” She dodged. ”Rigley, you traitor! Why’d you run away, coward?”

Rigley stayed a safe distance from Aria. ”You should fight for what you believe in, Aria. Not for people like Gram.”

She scowled. ”Shut up!” And then fired a cannonball, which would’ve hit Rigley had he not been pushed out of the way by Glass. ”Not everyone is like you all! We have the power to be who we want to be!” She summoned a companion crate on Aria, causing her to drop a few yards before teleporting out of it.

A familiar, nerdy mouse appeared too. ”Don’t forget about me.” It was Alexander.

”Don’t worry, Aria. I’ll support you.” Another team of bats came into the tangle of mice and bats, led by a bat with a yellow headdress.

Both sides relentlessly fired cannonballs each other, with barely any results. Most of the bats were getting shot down, though. Unfortunately that didn’t have much effect as they were being replaced by additional bats and wizards.

Rigley passed by the wildling bat who led the second group in. ”Claise! I don’t want to fight! Why are you letting this happen?” He had never fired any cannonballs since the beginning of the battle, he was just flying around.

She hid her tears as she shook her head. ”I don’t have a choice, Rigley.” She was about to fire a cannonball at one of the shamans, but then someone whizzed by her.

”Hey, ya miss me?” John the spiritual guide flew in, assisted by Karma and Aliyah.

Karma scoffed as he reflected a cannonball at a wizard. ”Come on, let’s see what you’re made of! I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

”Frost? When did you come back?” Aliyah asked, having not witnessed Kyano’s team of mice returning.

”Just this afternoon.” Though they were in the middle of a vicious air battle, Frost kept calmly talking to Aliyah. ”Do you remember the things we’ve done all those years ago? I forgave you, now do you forgive me?”

”...yes. I’m sorry for-”

”Look out!” A cannonball flashed by, grazing several mice and bats before hitting Claise and knocking her to the ground. ”Claise!” Rigley flew down to catch her.

Irving wasn’t entirely sure what just happened. ”Dang, who did that? I wasn’t paying attention.”

Rigley ignored the bats as he tended to his ‘friend’. ”Rigley… Gram is coming… he’s got an army of bats behind him...”

”Got you now, traitor.” A bat with a crimson headdress flew down towards the spiritual guide bat to bite him.
But someone quickly teleported right next to him and punched him before he got too close. ”Gah! Who did that?”

Frost smugly floated near him. ”Right here.”

Gram sneered at her. ”He captured you, and you’re going to protect him?!”

”Yeah, is there a problem with that?” She asked, obviously not intimidated.

”You little- Oof!” A cannonball hit him, but it didn’t do much more than that. ”Over here!” Shynx gave a wave to him. The mechanicians were here now.

Klara was meagerly floating above the crowd. ”Uhh, guys? I didn’t want to tell you this before, but I don’t really like flying!”

”Don’t worry, you can count on us instead.” Kyano said, flying into the fight. There were now even more cannonballs to be shot at the bats.

…

The bats may have had the numbers, but the shamans had the skill, and the speed. The mice were quickly able to push them back with a flurry of cannonballs and the occasional melee attack.
They left in the hurry- they even left behind the bats that were knocked out of the sky.

All the shamans cheered on as the bats fled over the sea. Was today a victory? Or was it something else?

”M… Mister Irving?”

”Yes, Rigley?”

”One of the wizards you captured… she’s my friend, and… and I think we’re ready.”

”Ready for what?”

”We can reveal the truth.”

”About…?”

-Spiritual Guides’ Tribe House, Morning-
The wildling wizard was called up for an announcement, as she was one of the many bats that was shot down over the village. She was nervous.

Spiritual Guides all around stood idly by, waiting for someone to say anything. Aliyah stepped up to a podium to speak. ”Your name is Claise, correct?”

”...” she mumbled incoherently. ”...yes.”

”Would you like to reveal the intentions of the bats attacking the village?”

More silence followed. The bat was reluctant to speak, but she did anyway. Rigley asked her to. ”The war five months ago.” She said lightly. ”The anvil god was banished.” The listeners watched on with anticipation as she took a deep breath for her next sentence. ”But the anvil god has returned. And now, he’s in -our- village. It says it’ll hurt us if we don’t do what it demands, so we’re forced to fight for something we don’t believe in.”

Everyone around gasped at the sound of the anvil god. ”Wha? Are you sure?”

”It’s true.” Rigley answered. ”The Anvil God made us attack people we didn’t want to.”

Karma growled slightly. ”Then I say we’ll just have to banish the Anvil God again!”

”Wait, hold on a second.” Aliyah says. ”If the bats are -so- reluctant to attack us, then why is the lead bat so intent on fighting us?”

Claise rubbed her arm nervously. ”I… his name is Gram. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. For some reason, he’s very violent, like he wants to help the Anvil God. One of my friends, Aria is also like that too. I wish I could help them, but i’m too weak…”

”...”

-----

The three heads of the tribes have made their decision. The Anvil God had to be banished again, for it should not be along to bring chaos upon the world.
Ten mice were ultimately chosen to go on this journey: Irving, Aliyah, Glass, Shynx, Klara, Kyano, Karma, Alexander, John, and Frost.
Also, the two wizards Rigley and Claise would be coming along, for they felt it was their duty to fix the mistakes that their brethren had made.

It was now early morning. ”Is everyone ready?” Irving asked the shamans.

”You can count on it, Irving. We’re all ready to end this.” Karma responds.

”Mhm.” Aliyah says while making a subtle nod.

Good! Irving gave them a smile. ”Alright, i’ll be readying the spell in a few minutes, so you all can fly.”

The shamans all had a few minutes to mingle with each other. Starting with Shynx and Glass. ”We’ve come so far. Don’t you remember the day of the coronation?”

”Yeah, like it was yesterday.” Glass says, smiling as she looks at the sunrise. ”Now we’re part of something bigger. So let’s do our parts and free the bats!”
”Yeah!” Kyano replied in agreement.

Frost approached Rigley, who was rubbing his wing with apprehension. ”Hey kid, remember me?”

”I kidnapped you. But look- i’m s-”

”Sh, sh.” she interrupted, holding a finger to his lips. ”It’s quite alright. I forgive you.”

Rigley was rather shocked by that. ”Really?”

Frost nodded. ”Mhm. You did what you had to.” She said before walking off.

Irving approaches Aliyah, sitting in the edge of the pier. She seemed a little glum. ”Hey, you alright?”

She wanted to look away, but… ”Yeah, i’m… no, i’m not fine!” she buries her face into her hands, crying. ”I’ve always been in love with you ever since i’ve met you, but now…”

”There, there.” He sits down next to her and comforts her. ”I’ve always known your feelings for me, but… i’m sorry. I can’t exactly describe it to you.”

”W-why not?”

”It’s complicated. When I started helping you become a shaman, there was this hollow look in your eyes. You didn’t understand love.”

She huddled up where she was, sniffling some more. ”Am I just gonna be alone, then?”

”No no. There’s friends. Remember that story you told me about how you lost all your friends?”

”Y-yeah…” Aliyah stuttered.

Irving pulled her a little closer. ”I promise, you’ll never lose friends again. Do you believe me?”

Aliyah turned to look at Irving with her sparkling eyes, and hugged him closely, letting her tears soak into his fur. ”I…”

”Careful now, you got a captive audience.”

Everyone laughed.

“Not really a big fan of shaman fights.” Klara comments.

Karma scoffs in response. ”Really? It’s exhilarating to weave through the cannonballs and fire at enemies.”

”Not for me.” The ten shamans and the two wizards had decided to take a break at the old fortress. All the bats that were previously guarding it had left, to an island behind it…

”Look at them!” Alex said, pointing at all the bats flying around the place. ”There’s so many.”

Shynx looked at them all, but she wasn’t fazed very much. ”Whatever. We can do anything as long as we stick together!”

Frost facepalmed at that. ”That only happens in the movies. If we don’t want to get hit, we shouldn’t make ourselves such easy targets.”

”There’s still hundreds of em.” John said. ”How’re we gonna get past that?”

”I wish we didn’t have to fight them. They’re all being used for evil…” Glass said solemnly.

Aliyah sat on the edge of the castle, giving her wings a few flaps in the air. ”The anvil god is past them. We have to put a stop to it.”

”Unfortunately, this means we’re gonna have to go past them, whether they like it or not.” Karma states.

”Who paid you second-tier characters to talk? Now hold on, i’m busy surveying the area.” Irving says, only somewhat silencing everyone.

”Second-tier… what?”

The wind master rolls his eyes, though neglecting to look at John. ”Alright, let’s do this. Alright everyone!” he turns around to address them all. ”We’re going in, and we’re gonna find out where the anvil god is! So search everywhere!”

”What about the bats?”

”Stay away from them. If any of the wizards are shooting you, repel them in any way you can.”

”Aren’t you supposed to give us a rousing speech?”

Irving shakes his head. ”No. This isn’t independence day. Except, it may be for a few of you, but still. I didn’t come all this way to encourage you with a speech.”

Frost smiles slightly. ”Then let’s go.”

-----
Engage.

”They’re finally here…”

”Everyone! Ten shamans are coming, along with the two traitors! Don’t let them get any closer to the island!” The surrounding bats caught sight of the mice and flew towards them. “Alright! Let’s get em!”

There were many wizards amongst the bats. They charged up cannonballs and fired at the shamans. ”Dodge!” All of the shamans dispersed and split up, avoiding the cannonballs.

“They’re getting away!”
”Let’s not fight, please!”
Gram growled. ”Grr… hunt them all down! Blow them out of the sky, NOW!” He seemed really angry, especially after his multiple losses.

”Gram! Stop this!” Claise yelled. The wizards danced through the skies, creating colored vapor trails behind them. ”We don’t have to fight! Just please, call off everyone!”

”Hmph. We never had to fight.” He fired a cannonball at Claise, who barely moved out of the way. ”But you chose your side, and now... you’ll lose!” The bat fired another cannonball.
”Got another!”
”Watch ou-” Too close. Rigley dived into Claise, and the cannonball only grazed them. ”Come on, let’s go!” The two bats flew away before Gram could get another shot off.

Another wizard flew in, this time after Irving. ”I’ll take care of that one.” It was Aria, the physicist bat.
”John, keep an eye out.”
However, Aliyah noticed quickly enough. ”Irving! There’s one coming in behind you!”

He glanced behind him. ”I see ‘em.” When they got ready to fire a cannonball, Irving pulled a somersault in the air and slammed into Aria’s back. ”Hurk!” She was sent careening down to the ocean, and the splash made it clear that she wouldn’t be coming back out to harass them for a while.

A few bats dove into the water to rescue her, so there was no risk of her accidentally drowning… hopefully.
”It’s time for double trouble!”
”Come on, Gram. We’re trying to help you, why’re you trying to fight us?” Kyano asked, avoiding constant barrages of cannonballs.
”Dammit, he’s engaging me!”
”I’ll not listen to your lies! Only by destroying your worthless town will we be free!” Gram launched a cannonball at Kyano, which bounced off of him. ”Gh, you’re gonna have to try a little harder than that if you want to shoot me down.” He rushed after the wizard, who turned around and started flying away.

”We’ve scoured the entire island, where’s the anvil god?”
”Krik! Break! Break!”
”I don’t know, but it’s gotta be around here somewhere!”
”Go away, please!”
”You have no idea…”

Suddenly, a red circle of light appeared on a patch of ground in the island. ”Hey, what’s that?” Three triplets of spinning anvils fly out of the circle of light and flew straight towards the shamans. ”Woahwoahwoah-” One of the spinning anvils is too fast, and collides with Irving.
He disappears, and feathers fly out from where he was.

”Irving, no!” Frost yells, but she has no time for anything as an anvil triplet comes flying towards her too. Despite her best attempt to outmaneuver it, it strikes her too, and she bursts into feathers.

”Aliyah!” Kyano attempts to shoot the last anvil triplet with a cannonball, but the torque of the spinning anvils is too strong, and it bounces off. It rushes towards Aliyah, and then it happened… she was blown into feathers too. ”No…”

”Foolish mice. It was a mistake to think that you had a chance against me. And now… you’ll all pay the price!” A thick barrage of cannonballs erupts from the red disc, and not one mouse or bat was able to evade.

They all fell.