Machina gave a shout of alarm, and the roots flew to meet him, wrapping around his body, entangling the cables. He roared and lashed out, lightning streaking from his hands, blasting away the wood. Roots and iron cables twined around one another like maddened snakes, swirling in a hypnotic dance of fury.


Ash dropped from the cables, hitting the ground by a metal tree, winded and dazed but still trying to get to his feet, staggering after his weapon. There was a strip of pale wood beneath the trunk--one half of the snapped Witchwood arrow--and lunged after it.


A cable wrapped around Claire's leg, jerking her off her feet. Machina was glaring at her, his arm outstretched as he fought the web of roots. The cable tightened around her leg and dragged her toward him. The furious face of the Iron King loomed closer.


Ashs blade slashed down once more, cutting into the cable, severing it. More cables whipped toward him, but the Winter prince stood his ground, sword flashing as iron tentacles writhed around us.


"Go," he snarled, slashing the end of a cable out of the air. "Ill hold them back. Go!"

She scoffs, standing as more roots burst from the ground and fight off the king's cables. "If anybody should be going it's you, I have more strength than you right now." She mutters, suddenly grabbing her sword and swiping it at the cables coming towards them, a quick cut.

The Witchwood arrow was lying next to a trunk. Ash refused to give up, and because of that, a cable sliced through his defenses and slammed into his shoulder, staking him to the ground. Ash howled, swinging his sword weakly, but another cable knocked it from his grasp.

She sneers, her sword slicing both of the cables, she grabs his sword, tossing it to him. Roots help him up, a gentle hold on him to keep him up.

For a moment, his attention was riveted on Claire, but then his gaze snapped to Ash, who now had the Witchwood arrow in his hand, and lightning flashing in the depths of his eyes.


Just as he reached him, something slammed into his back, driving the breath from him. Ash couldn't move and realized that one of the cables had stabbed him from behind. Strangely, there was no pain.


Machina drew Ash to him as roots and cables waged their war overhead.

The roots circling his torso, pinning his other arm, tightened around him, but he didn't seem to notice. "Foolish prince. This is where you will fall."

His hand tightened on the Witchwood, feeling a faint beat of life still within. Ash growled weakly. He didn't have the energy to speak so he used the rest of it to drive his arm forward, sinking the arrow into his chest.

Machina's lips gaped in a soundless scream. He arched his head back, still screaming, and green shoots erupted from his mouth, spreading down his neck. A strange pulse of energy, like an electrical jolt, coursed through Ash's body, making his muscles spasm. The cable flung him away; he hit the ground and pain lanced up his spine. Clawing himself upright, he looked around, unsheathed his sword, and rushed to Ethan's cage. One stroke of the ice blade smashed the door open.

Ash leaned against the cage, holding his shoulder, dark blood streaming down his skin. Behind him, the door burst open, and dozens of knights poured inside. For a moment, they froze in shock, staring at their king in the center of the garden.


Machina still writhed in his prison, but weakly. Branches grew from his chest, his cables turning into vines that bloomed with tiny white flowers. As they watched, he split apart, as the trunk of a brand-new oak burst from his chest, rising into the air. The Bluetooth phone dropped from the branches and lay, winking, at the roots of the tree.

(Wait for Kitten?)

She sprints over to Ash, her eyes dimming as her energy fades. She keeps just enough of energy within her to spread plants over his wound, keeping the blood in. She slowly sits down, curling her knees to her chest and resting her head on her knees. Her hands were still shaking, she couldn't stop them.

(Yeah.)

She quickly gets back to her feet, staring in shock.

Ethan runs to Lin, hugging her legs

The knights turned on them with a roar. They rushed forward, but suddenly, the ground trembled. Rumblings filled the air as the iron throne began to collapse, shedding jagged shrapnel like scales. A tremor shook the ground, causing everyone to stagger.


Then, a huge chunk of the garden cracked and fell away, taking several knights with it into oblivion. More cracks appeared as the courtyard began to come apart. The knights howled and scattered, and screams rose into the air.


"The whole towers coming down!" Ash yelled, dodging a falling beam. "We have to get out of here, now!"


"People," said a familiar voice, and Grimalkin appeared, twitching his tail. "This way. Hurry. This air is making me sick."

She dashes towards the cat, picking up her brother and carrying him.

She mutters something before jumping up and sprinting after Grim.