Despite Dulce's proclamations, her feet started to hurt. Felícia pulled herself to the tree. A kick with her heel made Felícia grit her teeth in pain, but her feet sank into the mud all the same. In front of her, the sky was alight with fireballs and the clanging of metal. Although Felícia noted that the various steel columns inside the creature are melting in the heat. Her feet are starting to hurt less, the soothing sensation doing what it was supposed to do. Next to her, Dulce was staring at her amulet. What is it that you want, Felícia wanted to say, what do you want the most in the whole world? What Felícia wanted was to fight, yet her body refused that command.
"...where is she?" Dulce asked.
Felícia scanned the sky, leaning on her right foot. There was no sign of the other girl. Come to think of it, she hadn't heard the telltale singing in a while.
ー¡El gallo!
As much as Felícia barely liked the other girl, even she wouldn't have wished harm on her. Cursing in pain, she forced herself to keep running. A small pile of feathers seemed to be heading in her direction. Catching her, Felícia set her down immediately. Dulce was not far behind, checking the other girl over.
"...this one is fine. Do not worry," The other girl stated as the smell of burnt feathers wafted. "The feathers shall grow back into their full finery."
Dulce looked at the sky, the soot and smoke staining it black. "There is no possible way to win. We should go home, say goodbye to Sra. Tanaka-"
"No!" Something about her defeated attitude re-energized the other girl. "If we give up now, we'll leave thousands to a fiery end. Should we accede to submission, this creature shall end the cities of beautiful Brazil much like Rio today. When we meet our ends, do you wish that burden upon your soul?"
"Great speech," Dulce murmured. "But I question how we are supposed to accomplish this."
"Your amulet," Felícia stood up, despite the massive pain. "Back home, you said two is better than one. Well, the three of us can easily defeat that. I find it hard to believe that someone like you, who travelled across the Americas for the promise of shelter, would have nothing that drives you. Your teacher believed in you, for whatever reason."
Dulce nodded. "I do not know if this will succeed." She traced her fingers on the amulet. "All I have ever wanted was a simple life, learning from Lǎoshī, drawing, giving back to the community, and helping people when needed. Now more than ever, I want to rise above, above the obstacles and challenges that I face. I need to be resilient to face all that is to come."
Nothing happened.
Dulce shrugged. "That was a good-"
The amulet exploded. For a brief second, the three girls were awash in black and white. Finally, Felícia thought.
The moment her feet lifted off the ground, Felícia wondered if all transformations had a side effect. The tree that she was leaning on earlier was uprooted, as well as some of her neighbours' houses. Multiple shirts, free of their lines, floated like birds. When she looked down, almost all of her neighbourhood was suspended in the air, ripped out of the earth. The other girl was visibly in shock and trying to swim through the air.
"Meeeeeé."
She looked at the origin of the sound. There was a sheep flailing around, its white wool a stark contrast against the black sky. Grabbing onto a branch, she dove in and caught the sheep in her arms.
"Meeeeeeeé." The sheep looked at Felícia.
"Dulce?"
"Meeeé."
"Well, alright then. Keep us in the air, I'm pretty sure that sudden contact with the ground will kill everyone. Do you know how to become a human?"
Dulce shook her head. "Meeeeé."
"It's simple. Think of yourself as a human. Imagine hair instead of fluffy wool, or something like that."
She took Felícia's advice to heart, for no sooner was Felícia done speaking that she felt a comfortable sensation in her hands. White wool, attached to a human arm. Dulce stared back, her white hair billowing with her large cloak.
"I guess it worked?" She asked.
Felícia nodded. "So, ready?"
"Yes." She took out a small paintbrush. "I remember using this."
"I'll leave you to it."
As a house swung into view, Felícia grabbed onto the clothesline and used it for momentum onto another clothesline. The other girl had apparently recovered, judging from the loud chanting that seemed to fill Felícia's ears. Felícia herself summoned the little cloud and hopped on after enough clotheslines. The towering creature was unaffected, its feet firmly rooted. Guiding the nimbus upwards, she spied the other girl forcing metal girders around the molten legs. The titan called forth more meteors from above, but they were suspended in midair. Felícia grinned, grabbing a few cards from her amulet and speeding along next to the creature. As she moved, she noticed Dulce on one of the buildings drawing something with her paintbrush. Interestingly enough, the ink hung in the air. With her other free hand, Dulce flicked and the meteors soared upwards into the sky.
Coming close to the creature's head, Felícia let loose a barrage of mud and sand. With another card, she transmuted it into stone.
"Heh, it'll never see me coming."
Something about Dulce's transformation set her mind running. While she never tried it, maybe she possessed the power of magnetism. Swinging back to the other girl, she tapped on her shoulder.
"Hm? Why are you here?" The rooster's mask reflected the light of the fireballs.
"I need to ask you a favour." For her idea, Felícia needed to work with this girl, crazy as she is. "Can you make some iron rods?"
"Oh? This one made the agreement upon the condition, insisted upon by the monkey, that her business would not be interfered with."
"I am not-"
"Very well, then this one has her own terms to dictate in the future. What are your designs regarding the rods?"
"Stick them in that monster, see if I can attract other magnetized objects, and maybe ask Dulce if she can draw something."
"What makes one think that she can execute this design?"
"You know how everything lifted in the air once Dulce transformed? For me, anything that was magnetic was attracted to me. I might be able to harness this."
"A risky design, but one with no failures should we succeed. Very well, this one will produce the needed rods."
The other girl started singing again. The air shimmered as iron rods took on shape. At that moment, Dulce appeared cradling a goat horn and holding her paintbrush in one hand.
"What are these for?" She asked.
After a quick explanation, she nodded. "If I draw a fence, it may delay it long enough for you to enact your plan. As for where...the bay perhaps?"
Felícia agreed. Directing the little cloud to the bay, she loosed most of her deck in the bay. Two iron rods erupted out of the surface of the water. She tested with a gentle nudge. They stuck together. Satisfied, Felícia looked up-and found the giant starting to break free of the fence, a molten fist emerging from the paint coming off of the fence. Calling for her cloud, she zoomed in front of the giant.
"Hey! You there!"
The fist stopped trying to grasp Dulce, whose cloak seemed to be unharmed.
"How about we play a game? Just you and I, a little game?" Felícia grinned. "Pick a card. If you draw Hearts or Diamonds, you'll remain trapped. If you draw Clubs or Spades, I'll free you." Although in the battle she wasn't able to touch the creature without being severely burned, she trusted that it would be easily visible.
Though there was no sign of acknowledgement, the hand reached out and delicately touched one of the cards. Before it burnt to a crisp, Felícia read the card the creature picked.
"The Ace of Clubs. A deal's a deal. Dulce, ¡borras el valla!"
Dulce did as asked, while the other girl looked askance at her.
"What are you doing?" She asked Felícia.
"Just trust me." She whispered into the rooster's ear
Soon, the fiery creature was freed, surprisingly docile to the girls. Felícia watched Dulce painting and motioned with her hand to the creature to the bay. The other girl followed, softly warbling all the while.
The water sizzled inside the bay, with steam clouding Felícia's face. Her cloud trembled, apparently not used to near-boiling temperatures. Dulce was working on the finishing touches, and the other girl was waiting patiently, holding a few cards in her hand.
"Alright, so there is a prize at the bottom of the bay. Go grab it, and I'll let you go."
The creature lumbered outwards, with steam following in its wake. Felícia trailed behind, watching the surface of the water. At the deepest part of the bay, it lunged downwards, presumably in an attempt for the prize. Above her, the rooster is watching with interest, hanging off of a floating staircase. The creature's body is starting to cool off, its hands and legs sizzling into solid rock. With only the back having any sort of blaze, Felícia floated closer to the back.
She almost wished a prize was at the bottom of the bay, and snapped her fingers.
The cards whistled in the air as they spun, Felícia brushing her fingers against them. In an instant, small fireworks exploded above the creature's head. The sudden rising of the head prompted the other girl to cry out. The metal rods impaled the giant through the chest provoking a roar and a vicious swipe. The girl jumped and kicked the stone hand. Felícia realized that there were spurs on the back of the girl's shoes, sharp and pointed. They formed a small crack in the creature, who released a bellow of pain. Watching it trying to remove the rods, Felícia descended below the surface of the bay. The iron rods barely breached the surface. She held onto it with her hands, focusing her willpower into the two rods. Above, the towering giant was fighting the rooster and Dulce when it seemingly lost its balance, but she knew better. Urging the cloud up, they breached the surface with water droplets clinging to her hair and clothes. Attracted by the rods in the ocean, the rods in the giant propelled themselves to them. Felícia moved to the side as a wave of water rose from the giant. She smirked when she looked at its face. The stone melded with the rest of it, rendering it blind. Hopefully, that gave enough time for Dulce. She zoomed around the titan.
"How does it feel to be tricked by a teenager? Actually wait, three teenagers." Felícia held up three fingers. "Can you see my fingers? No? How come? Is that because your face is covered with stone now?"
She heard grumbling beneath the waves. It heard her. Dulce was still putting the finishing touches.
"So you can hear me still? Tell me, why are you here? Surely not to fight teenagers, since you are doing a terrible job of it."
There was no sound.
"Oh nothing huh? Now-"
A hand grasped Felícia, with the cloud disappearing into mist. Her feet are throbbing again.
ー¡Ahora Dulce!
She needed to escape first. The giant's hand is forming a fist, but the space is large enough for moving around. She wasn't able to squeeze through any of the gaps between fingers as a human, but...as a monkey she can. The only problem is how. Is it the same as transforming? Probably not, otherwise, she would have transformed into one the ten times she used the amulet after the first time. She tried to imagine herself as a monkey. One with dark brown hair and a tail and–
A soothing feeling overcame her. When she lifted her hands, they were decidedly hairier and rougher. Her tail was larger now. She scurried towards the gap between the index and middle fingers. Finally free, just enough time for Dulce's massive net to start falling towards Felícia. Dulce was floating on a beam, her paintbrush tracing a faint shape around the giant. Felícia summoned the nimbus, who obeyed her immediately. Dulce was nice enough to leave tiny holes, which Felícia happily sped through.
The shape was now complete, so Dulce floated upwards on her ladder. Felícia tried to speak, but all that came out was screeching sounds. She popped back as a human a few seconds later.
"Do you know what's going to happen?" She asked Dulce.
"I do not know, but it would be best to be a safe distance away," replied Dulce.
The shape was now a gaping square maw, swallowing the giant, the net, and a decent amount of seawater. Dulce erased it quickly. Heading back to the city, Felícia dismissed the cloud. Dulce was reassembling the favela, and the rooster was watching the horizon.
"I never had the time to ask, but you mentioned you came across the ocean. You from Portugal?" Felícia asked.
"No, this one is not from the sun-kissed lands of Iberia, despite this one's proficiency in both of their tongues. This one is from a beautiful land of rich wine, passionate love, and bright summers."
"France?"
Felícia swore the girl beamed as bright as the sun. "Oui."
"You know, you were pretty alright for someone who led a Calamity here and broke my window."
"And this one would speak to your skills and quick mind despite your ill-tempered character. Now, this one believes that a fair lady seeks your attention."
Dulce waved at Felícia, only for the other girl to take her hand.
"It was a pleasure serving the will of the light alongside you, and this one finds you much amicable and of great power." The rooster leaned in and kissed Dulce's hand.
Dulce blushed red. ーU-uh-uh, gracias.
ーDe nada. ーThe other girl just smiled.
They just met, what right did that girl have to kiss her hand? Felícia rolled her eyes. The gall of that girl.
A few minutes later, she was walking with Dulce back to her home. Dulce's spirits seemed to be lifted, her two black strands bouncing with her smiles. Felícia noticed sheep ears where Dulce's ears would usually be.
"You know, the three of us make a great team. It has been a while since I have talked with anyone without fear, and I would like to be with you and the Dawnbreaker." Dulce mentioned.
"Thanks for the sentiment."
"You know, there is another item that Lǎoshī gave me. A...world map with many dots. No labels, maybe you can help? Am I saying this right?"
"Probably where the others are located. Was France on the map? And yes, you're getting slightly better." Are all of the French as crazy as the other girl?
"From what I...remember, yes. But you can help!"
Her smile was beaming and deeply genuine. To explore the world, outside of her little empire...A tempting thought, but-
"Sorry, but Avó needs me."
"Of course! It is important to attend to family. The Sun Summoner and I will be here for a day or so." With that, Dulce walked off. "Tell your abuela to not worry about me!"
"I will!"
Calling up the cloud again, she commanded it towards her house. There, she was startled by her avó staring. Three suitcases were packed and Avó's room was empty.
"Avó, what-"
"Neta." Avó straightened up. "Go with the girls, Dulce and the other one. I have to leave this house. Don't worry about me." She kissed Felícia's forehead. "Go."
"Why-" The shutters were shut in her face.
What was going on? Felícia was about to leave when she spotted an unfamiliar object attached to her house. Upon closer inspection, it was a thin black antenna. At the tip was a blinking hot pink light. Felícia glanced around. There was no one nearby, animal or human. A single touch and peaches tumbled at her feet. Felícia took a bite out of one and placed the rest on the cloud. Away she flew, yet questions danced in her mind.
Who placed that antenna on her house, and why?