February Chapters: Soul God, Reaper-Dragon, Discord's Pride, Oneshot

Soul God Chapter 3

The immediate aftermath of the Winter War went smoothly, despite how unsettling Ichigo's allies found his new...state of being.

Of course, some jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Stay back you hollow bastard!" Omaeda yelled, standing protectively In front of Soi-Fon with his Zanpaktou drawn.

Ichigo looked at the man and distinctly remembered beating him in one hit, without Bankai. With that in mind, he calmly stepped forward.

"I said, stay back!" Omaeda exclaimed, swinging his Zanpaktou at Ichigo, going right for the shoulder but fully expecting an attempt to block or dodge.

Ichigo didn't dodge or block.

Omaeda stared in shock when his blade stopped harmlessly against the shoulder, unable to even scratch him.

Ichigo glanced at it with an exceeding amount of patience.

"Tch. I'll show you! Smash-!"

"Oh, give it a rest," Soi-Fon called, sitting slumped against a wall, out of energy and barely conscious after all her wounds. "That's obviously Kurosaki."

Ichigo tilted his head to glance at her. Soi-Fon squinted, wondering why she got the distinct image of him greeting with a "Yo!" to her?

"But...his clothes are different colors! And he has a hollow mask on!" Omaeda pointed out.

"And he can obviously kill us both right now if he wants. Now stop being an idiot before he kills you by accident," Soi-Fon ordered flippantly.

"Captain..." Omaeda said, almost whining.

Ichigo ignored the large man as he approached Soi-Fon, crouching down next to her. "Aizen dead?" she asked bluntly.

He nodded in confirmation before looking her up and down.

"Is Lady Yoruichi alright?" was her next question, watching his sharp horns carefully. Specifically 'alright' because she knew she was alive. This close, Soi-Fon would know if Yoruichi had been slain.

She grimly wondered if that shock would have been enough to kill her in this state?

Something like a growl escaped from Kurosaki as he reached to pick Soi-Fon up, one arm around her back and another under her knees.

"Hey! You can't move her, she's too hurt!" Omaeda protested urgently.

"It's fine," Soi-Fon said, her voice regaining some strength as she eyed Ichigo suspiciously. "Surprisingly so. What did you just do, Kurosaki?"

He didn't answer, he just stood up and held her before turning to-

Soi-Fon stiffened and realized they were suddenly somewhere else. Still in the Fake Karakura town and, she quickly realized, among allies.

"Ichigo!" Orihime greeted with a smile. She wanted to wave, but she was currently focusing on healing someone.

Namely?

"Lady Yoruichi," Soi-Fon realized in relief.

"Soi-Fon!" the Goddess of Flash returned with a grin. "You're okay. Good, I was beginning to get worried about you. I even asked Orihime to heal up my leg so I could go check on you."

"Your leg?" Soi-Fon said in alarm and realization as she instantly scrambled out of Ichigo's arms and rushed over to Yoruichi, kneeling by her side. "Aizen did this?"

"Honestly, I got off lucky compared to most. Kisuke would have a concussion right now if not for Orihime," Yoruichi assured before taking on a playful look. "But enough about that, I didn't take you as one for being carried like a princess, Soi-Fon~"

The Second Division Captain instantly blushed in embarrassment. "That was only because I was-" she started to protest before abruptly standing up. She suddenly began touching herself all over, searching for injuries. Then she looked to her arm or lack thereof. If it had returned, she might have decided this was a dream. She rounded on Ichigo in bewilderment.

He stood there with his arms crossed and despite the mask, she got the distinct impression he was amused by her antics.

"You healed me?" Soi-Fon realized in confusion. "Since when can you do healing arts?"

"That is something that came with his makeover," Yoruichi supplied. "We think he's...something like what Aizen was trying to become. In case you didn't notice, we can't feel his reiatsu."

Soi-Fon blinked. She thought she had just been too tired and wounded to notice anyone besides Yoruichi's spiritual pressure, but no, she couldn't sense him at all. As the head of the Stealth Division, that was both alarming and interesting since Kurosaki was clearly still in Bankai, and wearing his Vizard mask…and normally very poor at hiding his presence.

"He, um, also can't speak right now," Orihime supplied with an awkward smile. "Or he could but something weird might happen."

Soi-Fon looked at the human with a furrowed brow. "What do you mean, something weird?"

Ichigo sighed, gathering their attention as he leaned down to grab a stone from the ground. He casually tossed it at Soi-Fon, who caught it in narrowed-eyed confusion.

-"Melt"-

Soi-Fon stiffed at his voice. It was his, but with it was something else, something more. Like the wind of a hurricane stirring up waves in a pool of magma. Her eyes shot down to the rock and watched in fascination as it did just that, it melted.

But the stone didn't turn to lava or even to water. It simply...oozed apart into a stone-colored soup that flowed off her fingers.

She looked back- and he was suddenly right in front of her. She tensed as he reached out and made a lazy slashing motion at her hand. Her eyes went wide as the liquids leaped up from the ground and back into her hand, reforming the same solid stone.

"See? He says stuff, and it happens. Apparently, he made Kisuke's mouth disappear," Yoruichi informed, despite having watched the scene with her own fascination.

That brought Soi-Fon out of her stupor, dropping the stone. "I would have rather seen that as a demonstration," she drawled. "I can see how this would make conversation harder."

"Oh, he hasn't shown you the alternative yet?" Yoruichi said with a chuckle. "Come on, sit down. Orihime should be able to restore that arm of yours."

-"She can't.-

Everyone looked at Ichigo in surprise.

"I can't?" Orihime repeated in response, getting a head shake.

'...What do you mean, she can't, Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked with a frown. "Look, I get that you didn't restore the Old Man's arm to not offend his pride, but-" she suddenly stopped before glaring blankly at Soi-Fon. "Little Bee, if you try to turn down getting your arm restored out of some petty indignation, I am going to make you redo all your basic training, three-times over."

Soi-Fon actually paled at the threat.

Ichigo grunted, suddenly behind Yoruichi. "Oh, so you prefer to be behind a woman, eh, Ichigo?" Yoruichi teased over her shoulder, grinning at her latest student.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, reaching up to grab the top of Yoruichi's head. She would have made another joke about this if he hadn't turned her head to face Soi-Fon. She got the impression he wanted her to look at the space where the arm should be.

She felt something from Ichigo's gauntlet. She decided to not think about it too deeply right now and welcome whatever information he was trying to convey.

She saw the image of Soi-Fon with both arms, but one of them slowly turning to bones. Then she watched the rot be undone only for it to restart again. The image looped several times for Yoruichi before she batted Ichigo's hand away.

"I get it, I get it," Yoruichi said with a sigh, looking apologetically at Soi-Fon. "I think he's saying that whatever was destroying your arm would be restored with it. Why, I don't know, but that's what it looked like."

Soi-Fon nodded in acceptance as she glanced to the ground. "Thank you, Kurosaki. I'd rather not relive that again," she said sincerely, looking back.

He was gone.

Soi-Fon was far too annoyed that he was able to do that to her. "Where did he-"

Someone grabbed her by the back of her clothes. She tried to spin to stab them, but she found a distinctive gauntlet grabbing her arm.

"Kurosaki, what the hell!?" Soi-Fon exclaimed in frustration as he casually brought her over and forced her to sit down in front of Yoruichi. "Are we SURE he's not an enemy now?"

"Positive," Yoruichi said, glancing up at Ichigo. "Okay, what is it? You saying Orihime can't fix it, but you can?"

Ichigo shook his head before pointing to Orihime and then to himself.

"Oh. We both need to do it?" Orihime realized in surprise…and maybe a bit of excitement about doing something together with him.

Soi-Fon grimaced. On one hand, getting her other arm back would be much more appealing than any replacement the Twelfth could give her. On the other, if this went wrong, she'd have to go through getting her arm rotted away and chopped off again. "Fine, I'll give you one try, Kurosaki," she said, handing her Zanpaktou to her Goddess. "Lady Yoruichi? I hate to ask, but if something goes wrong...?"

Yoruichi lost all humor from her face and nodded with a scowl as she took the blade. "Ichigo, please don't make me dismember my first student," Yoruichi requested with a pointed look at the transcended being.

Ichigo didn't respond. Instead, he knelt behind Soi-Fon's shoulder and waved Orihime to come closer. The orange-haired girl did so, albeit a little uncertain of what he had in mind. Raising her hands, she summoned her barrier to form over Soi-Fon's missing arm. "Now?" she asked to Ichigo.

He shook his head and placed a hand on Soi-Fon's shoulder. In one instance, Soi-Fon's arm reformed as if it was never gone. But at the tip of her fingers was a dark reiatsu that was already starting to turn her fingers to bones. Soi-Fon hissed in pain.

"I reject!"

At Orihime's command, the decaying powers of Barragan were banished away and Ichigo finished restoring the fingertips once more.

Soi-Fon relaxed, looking numbly at her arm, raising it to flex the fingers. It was back. Her brain hadn't really had time to process that it had been gone earlier, and now it was back; albeit, the skin was paler on her arm than the rest of her body. Still, it was a bit much to take in.

She was brought out of her musing as her Zanpaktou was placed back into her hand by Yoruichi, holding it by the blade with a smile. "You did good, Little Bee," Yoruichi said with a smile.

Soi-Fon sighed. "My lady, I was barely an annoyance to Aizen in the end."

"Yeah, join the club. The only thing he found interesting was my legs," Yoruichi said with a grin.

"...What?" Soi-Fon said darkly. "Was there anything left of him to castrate, Kuro-"

She turned and found that he was truly gone this time.

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't notice him leaving either," Yoruichi informed her with mock sympathy. "So, Orihime, what do you-"

She stopped and looked at the obvious lack of Orihime in the area.

"I guess he took her off to help heal the others."

Indeed, the remaining injured were patched up, if not fully healed by the combined efforts of Retsu, Hachigen, Orihime, and Ichigo.

Granted, some wounds weren't physical.

"Is she going to be alright?" Toshiro asked in concern.

"Physically, Lieutenant Hinamori is fine now," Retsu said with a frown. "But I fear the harm done to her mind after what she endured.

Toshiro balled his fists, close to drawing blood, as he cast his eyes down in shame.

"It may have been your blade that stabbed her, but it was Aizen's hand that cast the blow," Retsu reminded softly. "Do not despair so great, Captain Hitsuguya."

"Captain Unohana, I...don't believe she actually knew what was going on. Or if she did, she refused to believe it," Toshiro said with gritted teeth.

It took a moment for them both to realize a new presence was among them.

"There's nothing you can do here, Kurosaki," Toshiro said, refusing to look at the horned lord. "Not unless you can heal the mind."

Ichigo hummed but made no form of comment on that subject. Instead, they both furrowed their brow, ignoring the discomfort as their minds were invaded by the image of the Head Captain standing in the Captain Meeting room back in Soul Society, which was otherwise empty.

"I'll assume that wasn't entirely literal," Retsu mused, turning to face Ichigo. "The Head Captain is waiting for us?"

Phrasing it as a question was as much a formality as Ichigo nodding to confirm it.

"Kurosaki? Could you retrieve...anyone to watch over Momo?" Hitsuguya asked softly, looking at the transcended being.

Ichigo's eyes soften as if to say that he didn't even need to ask.

End of Chapter

Reaper-Dragon Chapter 3

"Be safe, Brother! Doth recall to write! And be wary! Mortals may misassume your demeanor for a lich!" Minnie said as she hugged Junior, obviously fretting over him despite her encouraging yet nervous smile.

"Minnie! Mins! I'll be fine," Junior assured, pulling her back with a cocky grin. "Who knows, maybe we can have a Nergal V Dragon spar when I get back."

"Thy best train hard if ye doth not wish me to humiliate ye," Minnie warned with a small grin.

"She does have a few years' head start on you," Mandy reminded, watching the goodbye exchange with a neutral look. "But given who will be training you..."

Junior gave his mother an annoyed look. "If you're not going to tell me why he's a big deal, why bring him up at all?"

Mandy smirked, annoying him more.

"Boy, ya ready or not?" Grim asked impatiently, standing next to a portal he had opened with his scythe.

"Yeah. See ya in a week!" Junior called with a wave as he leaped through the portal, his father sighing before trailing after.

Roughly an hour later, Junior found himself and his father still walking along a mountain range with a path leading up a steady slope, overlooking a wide field of green grass and verdant trees with a blue sky overhead.

The last detail is what got his attention the most.

"So, this is what the sky looks like. It's like Halloween Town, but...different," Junior said idly, looking up at the blue ether and the white clouds.

"Eh, ya see de sky in one morta world, ya've seen dem all," Grim waved off uncaringly.

Junior tilted his head. He normally got along fine with his dad, but ever since they came here, he had been kind of standoffish for some reason.

"So, Mom's world is called Earth. What's this place called?" Junior asked curiously.

"It's gotta lot of names, dependin on where ya be," Grim answered unhelpfully.

"Well, what do YOU call it then?" Junior tried again.

"Dragon-Dunghole," Grim answered flatly.

Junior groaned. "Okay, Dad, stop. Just stop," he said in exasperation.

"What'sa matta, boy? You drop one of your rib bones?" Grim asked, looking back with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but I'd like to know why you're acting like you lost a rib bone up your metaphysical butt," Junior answered pointedly.

"Don't got any idea whatcha talkin abou," Grim said irately.

"Really? Cause I distinctly remember you talking about bringing me to a mortal world one day and showing me some of your favorite reaping spots," Junior reminded, crossing his arms. "And the entire time we've been here, you've barely talked to me at all."

"I'm sorry, did ya want to talk about what nice weather we're havin?" Grim retorted, rolling his sockets.

"Hell's bones, Dad, What Is Wrong?! You're acting like...like..." Junior trailed off, his nonexistent eyes blinking. "Oh."

"Oh, wha, Junior?'" Grim asked testily.

"You're acting like Uncle Nergal is coming to visit," Junior realized slowly. "But Uncle Nergal is Minnie's...Bio-Father, I guess?"

"Ya, I don't particularly like de whelps yer moder fooks on de side," Grim said flatly.

"But Mom's not here," Junior noted, staring intently at Grim. "Dad, are you...worried that Minnie likes Uncle Nergal more than you? That...I'm going to like this dragon-guy more than you?"

Grim's silence was telling.

"Wha de fook, Dad!?" Junior exclaimed, his father's accent slipping out in disbelief. "You think we're going to drop you like a Tartarus potato the moment we get another "Father" we can pick?"

Grim grimaced and looked off to the side.

Junior rubbed his brow. "Well, I'm definitely your son. I was jealous of Minnie, and you're jealous of the Uncles that put us in Mom."

"Lovely phrasing, Junior," Grim said with a snort.

"Yeah, well..." Junior trailed off. "Dad, I love you."

Grim started at that.

"Yes, I love you, Dad. I'm pretty sure I say that once a month. And yeah, I'm excited to meet my new Uncle- and yes, he's just an uncle to me. Why? Because I have Dragon-Powers! And whenever I can finally tug out my scythe powers, I'm going to be begging you to come train me so much you'll wish you had hair to pull out," Junior rambled on.

"...Son, I..." Grim paused and rubbed the back of his skull. "It's jus tha Minnie, she...it be feelin like she be driftin away from me."

"Dad, you ever think it might have something to do with the slimy demon comments towards Uncle?" Junior asked.

"...I love da girl, Junior. And when yer Mom had her, I wanted ta make her a reapa, like you. Like us. But your Mom wanted a Nergal-brat, and reapin her woulda killed the worm," Grim explained with a sigh. "And yeh, I'm going to call her symbiote a worm. It's an asshole, even ta Minnie."

"I...will ask what that means another time," Junior decided. "Also, I don't know what to tell you about the whole thing with Mom wanting a Nergal-kid. But Minnie loves you, Dad. Hell, I could tell that even before Halloween town."

Grim looked down at that, deep in thought.

"Dad, just...after this, go home, hug her. Tell Mom off and go spend a day with Minnie or something. Hell, you're the Grim Reaper. I'm sure there has to be SOMETHING you can teach Minnie that Mom and Uncle Nergal can't."

"...When da fook did you get wise, Kiddo?" Grim asked curiously.

"I think pulling the rib bone out of my own metaphysical butt helped a bit," Junior admitted.

Both skeletons stared at each other for a moment longer before they both burst out into laughter, Grim throwing his head back while Junior held his knees through the laughter.

"Ahhh, dat was good, Boyo. I needed that," Grim said, wiping a nonexistent tear from his eyes.

"Good. Now seriously, where are we going? " Junior asked, glancing at the summit behind Grim. "My Scaly Uncle up there?"

"Sort of," Grim answered, waving Junior to follow him again.

As they went, Junior felt something. Like a tug on his soul…or rather, a tug from his inner dragon. Without prompting, black scales and claws began to form on his right arm. He glanced back and saw his tail was now covered in scales too.

Looking at his claws, he could feel the air growing heavy and warm. Heat and cold didn't hurt him but he could still tell when the temperature changed greatly. "Is this a volcano?"

"Hardly, Junior, hardly," Grim answered as they reached the top of the "volcano" and saw within.

"Wow," Junior said slowly.

There was a massive crater in the mountain, going down deep. Within that crater were the ruined remains of a great city of stone and metal.

And lying upon those ruins was a massive dragon, larger than Castle Grimskull. So large, that over a third of this great city was now crushed beneath the slumbering form. The scales were smooth and dark olive green, the wingspan as wide as it was long, and the horns curved upward like a bull's…or a crown.

From the nostrils came great heat and power, the air shimmering with the searing temperature "...Mom fucked that?" Junior said with wide eyes.

"Dat she did. Granted, he took human form for dat," Grim said in displeasure, before looking thoughtful. "Dough-"

"Dad, shut up, I don't need more mental images," Junior said pointedly. "So, how do we wake him up?"

Grim shrugged. "Don't know. Ya got any ideas?"

Junior looked back at the giant beast that sired him. "Yeah, I got something," he decided, sifting his hands to his mouth, one boney and one scaly. "Vopraan vok, nibo vrii!"(Wake up, lazy scales!")

The snoring suddenly stopped. The ground rumbled like a small earthquake as the massive muscles moved. With a snort of smoke from the nostrils, the long neck began to raise that mighty head from its resting place. Ash and debris fell from the body, plummeting onto the ruins below. With a great yawning roar, the dragon sat up and turned its powerful gaze to stare at the two.

"Dinok."(Death)

The dragon's voice was slow and rumbling, like the thunder of a distant storm, drowning out the sounds as he stared at Grim with eyes fearless of Death. Those eyes turned to Junior and he realized they looked like orbs of burning coal, black with smoldering veins of fire and power originating from the pupil.

"Vrii Qeth."(Scaled Bones)

He breathed the words and exhaled a short tendril of fire. His tone was welcoming and warm.

Junior blinked and was suddenly very happy that having a dragon soul came with the instinctive knowledge of Dragon Customs.

"Nomah,"(Uncle) Junior greeted, letting out a short flame as well.

Grim rolled his eyes. "Of course, yer version of wavin hello involves spittin fire."

The massive dragon rose to its feet, the massive wings making a brief gale of wind with a single flap. The dragon was enveloped in a burst of magic light, powerful enough to even make a young reaper go blind for an instant. When he looked again, his new uncle was gone. Junior was about to ask where he had disappeared to, when he heard a thud to his side, prompting him to look over and see the same dragon was now shrunken down to the size of an elephant, landing down near them.

"Uncle, am I? Is that the relationship that was decided on, Death?" the dragon asked neutrally as he strode up to the skeletons.

"Don't preten like you're starvin for kids," Grim said warningly.

Junior looked between the two. "Dad? Are you going to introduce me to my Uncle or what? I'm getting tired of just thinking of him as "The Giant Dragon,"" Junior requested.

Grim scoffed. "Junior, dis be Alkoth, Father of all Dragons."

Junior stared so wide, his eyes would have fallen out. If he had them. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I prefer the title of Prok-Zohiik,(Arch-Sirer) thank you," Alkoth said casually before looking down at the dragon-reaper hybrid. "Grim Reaper Junior. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Even more to see you in the scales," he added, nodding to Junior's draconic limbs.

"Nice to meet you too. Assuming you and Dad don't try to bash each other's heads in," Junior said, looking Alkoth up and down. "Father of All Dragons? So, what, are you a Dragon God?"

"Most gods wished they were me," Alkoth said with a derisive snort of smoke, turning to Grim once more. "Is there anything else, Dinok?"

"Nah, I'd rather not be around yer scaly ass any more dan I hafta," Grim admitted, looking to Junior while leaning down to give him a hug. "Be safe, Boyo. An as much as it pains me ta say it, listen to yer Uncle. Dis be his world, he know it best."

"I will, Dad. I'll see you in a week or two. Have fun with Minnie," Junior said, returning the hug with a smile.

Grim chuckled as he released his son, glaring up at the dragon for a moment. "I find out me boy was eva in real danger, and I be makin an orphan out of every dragon," he warned menacingly.

"I'll hold you to that, Dinok," Alkoth said with his own glare.

With that, Grim nodded curtly, before vanishing as a gust of smoke and ash.

Junior blinked. "That was awesome. Hope I can do that one day," he said before turning to look at his new uncle. "So...Uncle Alkoth?"

"Nephew, or Kravein, I suppose I should call you then," Alkoth remarked.

"Right. Is that...going to be a problem?" Junior asked carefully.

Alkoth shook his head. "He is your father. He raised you, and I respect his right to that title, as long as he respects the right...and the necessity of me training you," Alkoth assured, his scaly maw smiling. "That doesn't mean I'm not glad to meet you."

"Yeah, Mom said you visiting the Underworld would cause problems. I guess you being the Father of All Dragons has something to do with it?" Junior predicted.

"Indeed," Alkoth mused, lowering his head to look Junior over. "Can your wings emerge yet?"

"Hmm? Yeah, one sec," Junior answered, concentrating just slightly to make the limbs of scales and leather emerge from his back.

"Then come, let us take to the skies. I prefer to teach and fly at the same time," Alkoth instructed, flapping his wings and taking to the sky.

Junior didn't have time to question that, flapping his wings to fly after the shrunken-but-still-large dragon. They both rose higher and higher into the clouds until their wings could scrap against the watery fluff.

End of Chapter 

Discord's Pride Chapter 8

A change of scenery was good.

The sea floor rumbled as great krakens and immense crustaceans fled in terror, shockwaves resounding at the very bottom of the Fathomless Trench, great screeches bellowing out of it. Chunks of the cliff sides began to give way and fall down into the blackness, disappearing where even Alicorns dared not tread.

With a great roar in his ear, Discord was thrown out of the trench, through the lip of a cliff. He stopped in mid-water, shaking off the dust.

A change of scenery was very good…new places, new people, and new enemies. Fighting in water was very different from in the air.

Discord smirked and popped his neck. "Come on, Cippy, I know you got more in you than that," he called out in the waters.

A deep, rumbling growl reverberated in the waters, before his foe answered his challenge, pulling its head over the edge as it crawled out from the bottomless pit that was this being's home. Its form was massive, easily the size of an Ursa Major.

This one, Discord decided, was easy to explain to mortals, but it'd be so hard for them to understand. It was a deformed, lanky crocodile...with a body made of more crocodiles. Not like a swarm of them, no. This behemoth creature was made of hundreds of different sizes of crocodile HEADS. Not only each limb, but each section of each limb, even the "claws" were in fact crocodile heads. Even its own head was made of three separate heads.

This was Teo Cipactli, Hunger incarnated; a divine monster that never stopped eating, because it was never satiated. Its belly would never be full. If given the chance, it would devour the whole world, and even itself.

"My, your dental bills must be a nightmare," Discord remarked idly as the many, many eyes leered at him. "Let's see if I can't add a few more zeroes to it."

With that threat given, the crocodilian horror lunged forth, with far more speed than any aquatic behemoth had the right to and with every single mouth opened.

Discord snapped his fingers, prompting the entire ocean to turn into...gelatin…red cherry gelatin, to be exact. The God of Chaos smirked as he watched his foe struggling in the thicker substance, obviously eating every bit it touched.

The smirk vanished as Discord saw that the jelly was slowly turning back into water. "So, I was right," Discord muttered in thought as his work was slowly undone, "leaks" of water sprouting forth from the shaky substance. "You're not magic-resistant at all. You just eat literally everything, including magic."

Cipactli stopped its feasting to look in Discord's direction. Did that collection of heads just smirk at him? Discord thought so, but was he more interested in the fact that Cipactli's main head opened its mouths.

With a roar, the monster unleashed a ball of angry red energy from its maw, barreling through the red jelly and into Discord.

He saw it coming a mile away, but he still only barely managed to catch and hold it back. It was actually fighting against him rather well, this raging ball of... "Wait a minute! This is my magic!" he said with a scowl, head-butting the attack and sending it to the sea floor. It erupted on impact, returning the entire seascape to normal "Oh, you right twat, you vomited my own magic at me?!"

Cipactli roared in response, lunging at Discord once more. Discord snorted, deciding to meet him head-on. He flew between the fingers, and the mouths of the fingers, landing on the forehead of the wrist. The mouth of the forearm lunged forward in an attempt to bite him.

In that instant, Discord knew he could end it. All it would take was a bit of Discording to corrupt the mind of one head. It wouldn't last, but it wouldn't need to. He'd just need this head to take one bite of itself and Cipactli's limbs would start to eat each other alive.

But that would defeat the point of challenging this one in the first place.

Discord leaped up to meet the jaws, slamming his talons into the mouth. The head let out a roar of pain as Discord swam back beyond its jaws, smirking up at the "main" head of the beast. Cipactli growled and shot the other hand forth, the smaller heads forming the digits that were all trying to snap and bite at the chaos lord, who dodged them with ease.

"You're not used to putting this much effort into a small morsel," Discord mused knowingly, dashing by a strike from the middle finger. He grabbed this finger-head and began to bend and pry it off, his draconic foot on the snout of another head desperately trying to bite at him. With several heads screaming in pain, he ripped his target off and tossed it aside. Without another instant wasted, he "tossed" himself a fair distance from his foe, observing Cipactli holding his injured hand.

Discord watched on keenly, half expecting the hungry god to simply reattach the limb. Instead, he saw Cipactli...shift, for lack of a better word, its many heads moving about, if only slightly. The severed fingers of smaller heads turned to coral as it floated down to the sandy floor, while Cipactli leered at the devious-looking Discord.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did that hurt?" Discord asked mockingly. "Here, have a hug to make it all better~"

With a great clap of his hand, and a shockwave echoing through the sea, Cipactli could sense that something was about to happen. It turned around and saw a great stone giant rising up, in a crude likeness to Discord himself. The stone serpent lunged forward. The great crocodile roared, ready to meet it with a raised fist, but found said limb caught in the grip of another stonecord rising out of the ground.

It tried to bite into the second, but a third sprung up, its tail wrapping around Cipactli's largest mouths and holding them shut. The first arrived as a fourth and final emerged, converging and wrapping around the beast. They turned bright as they began to turn into lava and fuse together.

Cipactli snarled, devouring the magic of the constructs binding it. Discord smirked as he poured more of his magic into the stonecords, the four slowly fusing together as a great bond around the great devourer. "You want my magic? Choke on it!" Discord called out viciously.

Cipactli struggled in vain as more and more of its mouths were covered by lava and then, once devoid of magic, the substance rapidly cooled and hardened…pinning the mouths closed and binding him down.

Discord raised an eyebrow as Cipactli's struggle weakened. "Is that it? I expected this to last a bit longer," he said with a head tilt, watching as Cipactli's form started to glow ominously. "...Oh, he actually is choking on it," Discord realized in surprise.

A great explosion wracked the sea, the burst spreading for at least a mile before Discord neutralized the kinetic energy and any potential tsunamis. He watched as the bubbles cleared to reveal...nothing. Nothing but a sea of crocodile heads, all turning to coral as they fell down to the depths.

Discord narrowed his eyes as he saw a green tail vanish into the canyon, but made no move to go after the creature. He didn't come here to slay anything, just test the mettle of the great devourer. Satisfied, he decided to savor his victory for the moment.

"Discord the Draconequus."

The moment was short-lived, it seemed.

The God of Chaos looked toward the voice and found a creature that looked like a mixture of a fish and a lion, with green scales and a red mane, along with two horns atop its head. Surrounding the regal creature were a dozen merponies in armor pointing spears at him.

"Do I know you?" Discord asked uncaringly.

"I am Leo, King of Aquastria," he introduced sternly. "Now tell me why you have disturbed the crocodile?"

"I was bored and he sounded like a good spar," Discord answered with a shrug. "Oh, right, you're Celly's 'cousin,'" he recalled, remembering some political marriage or another between nobles in Equestria to merponies of old.

Leo snarled, horns glowing with great power. "You endangered the lives of all below and above the seas, just to satisfy your boredom!?"

"Unless you can provide a better challenge," Discord offered bluntly. "Or one of your soldiers, perhaps?"

More than one stiffened at that.

"I know Celestia gives you a rather long leash in Equestria, but her-" Leo started, only to find his mouth filled with foam.

"If you think I'm on a leash, you're wrong. I've just agreed to play nice with most of the world," Discord said, feigning a yawn. "But please, DO go whining to Celestia. Go ahead and tell her how I made it so the great devourer won't be a threat for hundreds of years," Discord suggested dismissively.

"...What?" Leo asked with a confused look, his soldier sharing surprised looks as well.

"Cippy will need at least fourteen hundred years to get that form back. Still, he'll probably be a problem again by...I want to say six hundred? Let's say six hundred," Discord gave off with a twirl of his claws. He didn't need to look to know that the merponies were feeling somewhat relieved by that. "Anyway, I'm done here. I suggest leaving though. I'm sure the rest of the megafauna will start fighting over this area soon, once they realize Cippy isn't a problem right now."

Without another word, he left, shooting up and out of the water faster than a cat out of a bath. He ascended into the sky. "Well, that was a wonderful way to eat up some time," Discord joked to himself, looking at the dark and clouded sky. "I wonder how everypony is doing? And how bucking long was that festival supposed to be again?"

"Hey!"

Discord grunted as he glanced just over his shoulder to spy the fleet of airships that were floating just behind him, crewed by large grey creatures with white manes, covered in dark armor with a blue insignia. The lead ship was mere feet away from him, and on the bow of the ship stood a large white satyr adorn with a crown, glaring at him.

"What?" Discord asked bluntly.

"You know which way to Equestria!?" the figure bellowed. "Some winds got us all turned around."

Discord was fairly sure that was his own doing. "And what are a satyr and a pack of yetis flying to Equestria for?" Discord asked conversationally, examining his claws.

"They call me the Storm King. And what I want is conquest and power. You know, the usual," the Storm King answered with a chuckle, holding up a staff that split into two points with a crystal held between them. "I've been looking for a new commander, and you look like the strong type."

Tirek at least had the respect to make it seem like a partnership. This one was actually trying to recruit him as a petty minion.

Still, Discord decided it would be rude not to answer.

Discord floated forward, and the Storm King backed away to give him room to land.

Discord's tail casually flicked him aside, knocking the staff into the air as the king went tumbling over the deck and into the sea below, screaming in terror as he flailed helplessly through the air.

Discord caught the staff effortlessly, paying no mind to all the warriors pointing weapons at him. He tilted his head, hearing a distant splash of water as the screams silenced. "I wonder if the krakens or the crabs will get him first?" Discord asked idly before he looked to the yetis.

They flinched, and one of them fell back in surprise.

"Don't worry, I won't kill any of you weaklings," Discord assured before nodding over the edge. "But I can't say the same for the sea monsters."

They were wavering, but they didn't give in yet.

"I'll give you one chance to give up after this," Discord said as he snapped his talons.

Nothing happened, but that only made them all more on edge.

Then, they started floating off the deck. No, even the ships were floating as if gravity was gone. The entire fleet was weightless in the sky, some starting to tip upwards at impossible angles. The yetis grabbed onto what they could, using their spears to pull themselves to something, anything stable.

His point made, Discord snapped his talons again.

Gravity returned and the ships lurched back into a proper balance, swaying dangerously as they settled. Many of the crew were flung off the edge but found themselves safely teleported back on deck.

They got their feet again, stupefied and terrified by the display. They no longer had the nerve to attack.

"Good," Discord said as he turned to take a step onto the edge, about to fly off.

"Wait."

Discord paused to regard a lone yeti that walked up to him, braver than his fellows. He reached up and removed his mask.

"Who are you?" the yeti asked, bewildered and amazed as he gazed up at the chimera.

He was almost annoyed he even had to tell them. "My name is Discord."

"Discord," the yeti repeated the name, and Discord was at least pleased to hear the respect mixing in with the fear. "May I ask...why?"

Discord regarded him with minimal interest. "Today is important to a friend of mine in Canterlot. I'd rather it not be ruined."

Their nervousness grew, and Discord frowned in suspicion.

"There is something you should know then," the yeti said carefully.

"He sent a ship ahead, didn't he?" Discord predicted, sighing. "Of course he did."

End of Chapter

Oneshot: Zuko the Exiled

It was a small trek out of the village to the shipwreck. The sun was setting now.

Chief Hakoda approached the slope of snow near a wall of ice facing the shipwreck, looming ominously over everything like a dark reminder of all the horrors taking place out in the world. There, as Bato said, were six warriors, all hiding behind the curve of the snow in their heavy coats. it wasn't a perfect cover, but the only place on the ship that would have a clear view of them was from the upper levels of the command tower.

"Any activity?" Hakoda asked, crouching down in the snow with them.

"A shadow every now and then, some echoes. Nothing telling. They don't seem to know they're being watched yet," one of the warriors answered grimly.

"Good. Hopefully, they're still too busy making a shelter to keep watch," Hakoda said with a frown. "We'll wait for the sun to finish setting. We'll be able to sneak in unseen and they'll be weaker at night, and in the cold."

"What do you think they're doing here, Chief?" another asked in concern and dread…Heno, Hakoda recalled. He lost a few family members in the raids as well.

"Who knows? The new Firelord has been on the throne for barely two years now. Maybe he decided to finish where his father left off," Hakoda remarked darkly.

That was another thing the world was still getting a handle on. Firelord Azulon had been ruling the Fire Nation and commanding its war effort for seventy years. Then, a year after Kya's death, Hakoda heard the news, as did the rest of the world: The Firelord was dead. They said he passed away from old age in his sleep, but many liked to believe the news of the Fire Nation's defeat at Ba Sing Se, and the death of his grandson, had caused his miserable black heart to give out.

After all, it left too bitter a taste for most to think a man like Azulon passed away peacefully after all he had led the Fire Nation to do.

Still, a change in the enemy leadership threw everything they knew into question. There was probably even a brief, naïve hope around the world at the time that the Firelord, Ozai, might actually end the way. Hakoda didn't see the Fire Nation even considering a ceasefire until the hundredth year of the war ended, and only if the war had become too stalemated.

Which was why Hakoda had decided to risk going on the offensive; the goal was to end the war, end it with the Fire Nation having anything less than total victory. Realistically, turning the tide entirely was a pipe dream. The Earth Kingdom would never be able to retake the colonies the way things currently were.

But going on the offensive might not be possible if this situation turned out for the worse.

"Chief! Chief!" another warrior called as he raced over, a bit too loudly.

"Keep your voice down!" Hakoda hissed, the other men doing similarly.

"Sorry, sorry!" he said, panting as he held his knees. "I just ran...back to the village... then back here...to find you."

"Ran from where?" Hakoda questioned.

The exhausted warrior pointed in the direction of the coast. "My wife...we found something on the coast, west of here. Must have been a quarter mile. It was a metal ship."

"Fire nation!?" another whispered urgently. "How many?!"

"None!" he gasped out. "It was small, like a metal canoe almost. A dozen men could barely fit in it, less with supplies!"

"That explains how they got here," Hakoda stated, narrowing his eyes at the shipwreck. "Be careful. If they're well supplied, they might have some extra tricks for us to worry about."

They all grimly waited until the sun's last rays were peaking down before they journeyed over the crest of the slope. Each one of them routinely looked up for any sign that they were being watched or had been spotted.

Entering the belly of the beast wasn't hard. Waterbenders long ago managed to make a hole in the side with a path to climb to it, likely to better deal with the forces inside the ship itself.

The true troubles were navigation and stealth. Hakoda and some others knew a bit of the basic layout. They had to, in case anyone really did get lost in this death trap. And metal that was cold and breaking did not lend to a quiet environment. Mercifully, the ship groaned and creaked on its own. So long as they didn't make too much noise, they wouldn't-

They all froze as a loose piece of the wall fell off and landed on the floor with an echoing bang.

-alert anyone.

Hakoda cursed by the spirits as everything fell disturbingly silent. Too silent. They waited, and waited, for any sign of a reaction.

Someone started running on the level above them.

"They've heard us!" Hakoda called as they all started rushing forward, searching for a way up with spears gripped tightly for whatever they might face.

They reached the hall and were greeted by an empty corridor, filled only with patches of snow and ice.

And a fiery glow from one room.

The air grew thick in anticipation as they slowly crept forward, checking each room for any potential enemies. They found none, but that only increased their tension, knowing they were getting closer and closer to a fight. Hakoda could feel the sweat forming on his brow, making the chill bite just a bit more.

It was still too quiet.

They reached the lit room, and at last, his men formed up behind him. He couldn't see anyone from this angle. If they were still in here, they knew what angle they were coming from.

With a deep breath and a quick nod to the warrior, they sprang forth!

Instincts took over in that crucial moment, rushing forward and ready to strike at anyone before him, to dodge a fireball or spear. Seeing nothing to fight made them quickly check the corners before the adrenaline wore off into anticlimactic numbness.

There was no one here, but someone definitely had been.

A fire was in the middle of the room. In it was burning some paper, a bit of oil if he was right, and a broken piece of wood. And some leather was thrown in there, judging by the stench undercutting the room.

"Maybe they ran off to the top levels?" Heno suggested while he and two other warriors stayed with the chief and the rest kept searching the rooms.

"Without their coat?" Hakoda asked doubtfully, picking up a thick coat of black and red, tossed over the corner. "Fire Nation aren't built for the cold like we a-"

"What is it, Chief?" one of the others asked as Hakoda came to a stop.

"I'm not sure," he answered with a scowl, opening one of two small chests that had been concealed under the coat. Inside, he found small jars and strange supplies. "I think this is medicine?" he said, uncertain and confused.

"Why would a scouting group be lugging around medicine?" Heno asked in confusion.

"I don't think it was a scouting group," Hakoda said, about to check the other.

"Chief, take a look at this," one of the warriors called over curiously.

"Hmm, what is it?" the chief asked as he approached, seeing the man staring at a wall.

"Take a look," he said, pointing to a mark on the wall.

Hakoda blinked. Clearly someone with gloves had brushed a layer of frost off the wall, leaving behind a gloved handprint. It almost didn't seem that important until he held up his own hand to compare it to the print.

It was much too small.

They all leaped to attention at the soft thump that echoed through the room. But all of them played the part well of pretending to not know where it had come from, looking around warily.

"I swear this place is haunted," Heno remarked, leaning his arm against the wall as he saw Hakoda casually move around the room to discretely get over to the other side of the room…namely, to the vent. "I mean, think about it? How many people had to have died in here when it got trapped in the ice? If that doesn't spell a recipe for angry spirits, I don't know what does."

He would have kept rambling on, but Hakoda managed to quietly climb on the bench just below the vent, bracing himself. He had to time this perfectly...

There was a gasp in the vent as he reached in, faster than a viper-centipede, and ripped the vent-lurker out with all his might.

However, Hakoda had expected to be pulling out a skinny yet full-grown man from the metal tunnel, landing them on the ground. So, he did not anticipate that his target was actually much smaller and lighter, his throw sending them slamming into the opposite side of the room, collapsing against the cold wall.

All spears were pointed at the interloper, but they were all stunned in disbelief as they laid eyes on their adversary.

They barely even registered the small knife, held at them with a small and trembling hand. It was a boy, no older than thirteen of age. He was dressed far too thinly for the cold of the south, his ragged breath coming out in clouds against the fridge air. His hands were obviously showing signs of frostbite. He was pale, his hair was black, and one side of his face was covered in many bandages, holding some kind of medical cloth in place over his eye.

But the one eye he did have visible was golden.

Unmistakably Fire Nation, and clearly filled with terror.

But more importantly...

"It's a kid?" one of the warriors said in shock, relaxing his spear.

"Don't let your guard down!" Heno hissed, glaring untrustingly at the child.

"Heno, are you seriously scared of a child?" the other warrior asked with a scowl.

"I don't trust anyone Fire Nation, especially with a weapon," Heno retorted, prompting the boy to turn the trembling knife at him. "Don't point that at me you ashspitter!" he yelled, hitting the boy in the head with the bottom of his spear.

"Heno, that's enough! He-" Hakoda started, only to stop as the fire in the room grew larger and hotter. The boy bit back a scream, clutching his face in agony with the knife falling to the ground.

"See! He's a Firebender! We-" Heno started, only to be grabbed from behind in a headlock.

"Stop panicking, you half-mooned polar bear-dog."

"Gilak?" Hakoda greeted in surprise.

The large man nodded, releasing Heno. He glared at the younger warrior with distaste. "Get your head out of the snow, Kid. Panicking and lashing out like that will get you nowhere."

"It's a Firebender, by the spirits!" Heno retorted in frustration.

"Heno, that's enough. Go help the others search the ship," Hakoda ordered sternly. Heno looked ready to argue but thought better of it as he stalked off. "I'd ask what you're doing here, Gilak, but we can discuss that later. Right now..." he paused, looking back to the boy.

He was clutching his bandaged face in agony, staring at them like a wounded animal…which wasn't unwarranted after Heno's assaults.

Gilak nodded as Hakoda came down, taking a knee to stare into the frightened child's eye. Without saying a word, he slowly offered the red coat to the boy. The child's face went through a range of emotions: Confusion from lack of comprehension, shock from understanding, doubt at the offer, and suspicion of all other large men wielding weapons. Still, finally, he took it and quickly wrapped it around himself to get even a bit of warmth back.

"What is your name?" Hakoda asked, keeping his voice a neutral middle ground between authoritative and soft, hoping to prompt some answers from the boy without scaring him into shutting down on them.

"Z...Zuko," he answered with a pained voice, holding his bandages again.