Tama didn’t wake up at all over the course of the night. It wasn’t until mid-morning when she finally opened her eyes. Sabi consistently kept checking to make sure she was alive.

  Kita had shown up, and Sabi had sent her away. A maid had come in and Sabi had forced her out.

  Tama’s eyes opened and she looked at me before smiling. “Nya! Tama was super tired. She took a nap.” I giggled and nodded.

  “You took quite a long nap Tama, it’s the day of your coronation!” I said as cheerfully as I could. Tama sat bolt upright and winced. She clearly still wasn’t fully healed. She recovered from a lot in her life.

  It was actually kind of concerning that she was healing so slowly. Then she frowned. After a moment, she grabbed the necklace and tried to take it off. She tried again.

  Then she looked at me and pointed at it. “Saki! Tama can’t get this collar off!” She continued trying to pull it as I watched sadly. She stood, and pulled as hard as she could, but her muscles gave out from strain and pain.

  “It’s a necklace, Tama.” I said as calmly as I could, making sure not to choke. She paused and turned to me. She looked confused.

  Then she looked around the room before looking back at the necklace. After a moment, she fell to her knees. “Nya, Tama gets it. Saki is making a big mistake though.” She said quietly as she looked me in the eyes.

  “I don’t think so Tama.. not this time. You need to heal, once you are better I will remove it.” Tama looked at the necklace for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. She smiled at me with tears in her eyes.

  “Saki will see, this won’t end well.” Tama said quietly as she climbed off the bed. Sabi instantly became her clothes without prompting and covered her. Tama sighed, but continued over to the door.

  “Let’s get this over with.” She said dejectedly. Her tail lashed, but she didn’t seem as upset as I thought she would be. She seemed more.. Scared.. Like she knew something would happen. I climbed out of bed and shifted back. Grabbing my clothes, I put them on and walked over to her.

  She was so.. Calm about all of this and it was unnerving. But the way she looked at me, she seemed fearful, not upset. But it wasn't me.. Why was she scared? We were in a castle full of guards and powerful nobility. Anyone of them could stop anyone outside.

  They would also all be at the ceremony. Tama was completely safe here. No one wanted her harm within the castle walls. Tama just opened the door and walked out on her own. I followed as we made our way down the hall.

  She tried to blink at least a dozen times, but gave up and just started running. I followed and we made it to the foyer. She walked up to the double doors and looked back at me again. “Is Saki sure about this? Tama doesn’t want this…”

  I swallowed at her words. Maybe.. Maybe the necklace was a bad idea. Maybe I should…” Before I could finish, Manna appeared next to me. She grabbed Tama, Tama tried to swing her dagger, but she was so weakened it glanced off Manna.

  Manna leaned in and whispered to me. “Thank’s Saki, As always, the perfect..little..pet..” Then she was gone and a void sphere flew where she was only a moment ago. My eyes went wide in horror as I finally realized what Tama had meant.

  I hadn’t even seen Manna.. How had she… I turned to see the front door had been shattered, right outside I could see guard corpses littering the grass and cobble outside. The gates were destroyed.

  I fell to my knees. Just.. just like that.. Tama.. was right. Purple flooding my vision, I let it. Nothing mattered anymore. This.. this was all my fault. I should have just trusted her. I should… Everything went black.

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  I sighed as I Manna lifted me into the air, her fully dragon form now carrying me. I feebly attacked her claws and skin. But without my water or air, without Serenity… I sighed.

  Manna’s voice entered my head. “I told you she would betray you little one. Now look at what she had done. She has made you helpless, weak. She is a failure. But not to worry, soon you will be so much more and you won’t need her.”

  I watched as the castle began a distant spec. I frowned as I noticed there was a pulse of purple really big that covered the entire area, then clouds covered everything.

  “My my, " she actually snapped. That psychopathic Kitsune actually erased everything. Can’t say I am surprised. Maybe she will be your first target.. After all, she just erased a city.”

  Kita suddenly appeared and slammed down. Manna roared as she twisted, I noticed her wing was smashed and utterly useless. We twisted as we began to fall into the forest below us. Kita appeared next to me and tried to pull me free, but another green dragon, Millarie, slammed into her from the side and she was pulled away. Manna refused to let me go and her wing began to slowly heal.

  That was when a ball of pure black flew past Manna, missing her by inches, it hit a bird and the bird just.. Died and began to fall from the sky. Mixie suddenly formed from the shadow of a claw and stabbed Manna’s leg.

  Manna’s limb jerked and she loosened just enough I was able to slip out. Sadly, I could do nothing except fall to my death. Mixie appeared and reached out to grab me, but a third dragon, Corsis, managed to claw her and she was sent flying back.

  “They will not take you from me!” Manna screeched in my head as she flew directly towards me. Before she could reach me, Rodrick appeared and punched her in the face. She swirled in circles and then twisted back.

  She tried to bite Rodrick, but he sidestepped with ease. I saw his lips move, but I couldn’t hear him, my hearing was almost nothing without my air. Mixie reappeared, grabbed me, and launched me higher into the air before vanishing again right as Corsis tried to grab me.

  Suddenly a large green bubble formed and everyone stopped moving. “ENOUGH!” Manna screamed in my head, and based on everyone's reactions, theirs too. “I have been patient, no more games. She is my chosen and you will respect that!”

  A singular large purple sphere appeared and pierced the bubble, it flew directly at Manna. She tried to dodge it,she really did. But Rodrick grabbed her and held her in place. The sphere went clean through her body and out the other side.

  Manna… died. The green bubble vanished and everyone began to fall. I watched as Manna’s corpse began to twist as it fell before reaching terminal velocity. Sabi wrapped me in a bubble and slowed our fall.

  Kita appeared a moment later and grabbed me, Sabi returning to her gi form. Kita was wearing a silver collar on her neck and I looked away. Kita shifted so I was above her, then she blinked rapidly down until we were near the ground. She gently let go before blinking and hitting the ground.

  Standing, she summoned a large bubble of thick water that Sabi added to and I landed safely in it, being slowed by the massive amount of thickness.

  As the water drained away, I slowly stood and looked around. There was nothing left… the entire city was gone. I stared blankly at where the castle used to be. “Where is Saki?” I asked Kita.

  Kita looked at me puzzled but answered. “She um.. She did something that erased the city, then passed out in the crater over there by where the castle used to be.”

  I nodded slowly. “Nya. Tama was afraid of that. Now Tama has to fix everything.” I shook my head and smiled. “ Tama needs Saki’s help.” With that, I made my way back to the ruins of the castle.

  I reached the crater and carefully climbed down, after tripping and almost falling Sabi put me in another bubble and floated me down. I walked up to Saki. She was completely naked, all nine of her tails were out and everywhere. Her eyes were puffy and red but closed.

  She was barely breathing. I walked up next to her and whispered. “Sabi, heal her.” My tail lashed back and forth and I sighed with tears in my eyes.

  Saki suddenly jerked and gasped. Opening her eyes she looked at me. “I…” I gently put my finger over her mouth.

  I smiled and giggled. “See Saki, now this is a real purple party!” You even cleaned up the bodies. Tama leaves piles everywhere.” My tail gently rubbed her back as I gently lifted her.

  She giggled, then began to laugh until she coughed up blood. After a moment she looked around the crater before closing her eyes and letting her head fall forward. “It’s.. it's all over. I tried so hard.. We got so far.. But in the end.. It doesn’t even matter. I had to fall to lose it all, but in the end.. It didn’t even matter.”

  She paused, then giggled for some reason. “So.. what now?” She asked after a long moment. Even as she spoke, her 9 tails began to reduce to one and shrink.

  I leaned in and gently kissed her on the cheek before leaning in close to her ear. “TAKE THE STUPID NECKLACE OFF SAKI!” Saki jerked back in shock as I glared at her. She seemed stunned but I pointed at the necklace.

  After a moment, she shakily brought her hand up to the necklace and it fell off. I sighed in relief as my water and air returned to me.