#dh monty

[digi-sams-au-hell]

Happy gay month, list of current ships here include

-Lord Infero x Lord Vescor

-LB Foxy x @madcatdaderpydrawer-blog’s Dying Fire

-Vim x @amphiptere-art’s Cluster Glamrock Freddy

-Glint x LB Monty (mutual pining, will not be resolved in the main timeline)

-LB MXES x @amphiptere-art’s DH Earth

___

-Spider George x Creator

-Rox x @amphiptere-art’s Black Star

___

-SPFL Foxy x Eclipse (unresolved)

-SPFL Solar x Forkface x Ruined Monty

___

-Mama Sun x Dauncle Monty

-Dadcode x Papa Bear

___

-Honey Bakely x Killcode

___

-AA Eclipse x Funtime Freddy

___

-Sozo x Lamb Bloodmoon (older twin) x Leshy

-Helob x Lamb Bloodmoon (younger twin) x Narinder

___

-UTSB Papyrus x Monty

-UTSB Toriel x Golden Freddy x Asgore

___

-Ursus AU Killcode x Glamrock Freddy

___

-Pizzaplex 2 Glamrock Chica 2 x Roxy 2

[sigery]

Nexus tried to jump right into becoming Dark Sun’s brother (Dark Sun said hell no, and also later said to Sun and Moon that they aren’t even friends) right off the bat. So, like, he’s desperate for love and connection after what happened with his family.

He would get a lot of family if he joins rle. Though he might be a bit wary with like a dozen Bloodmoons and multiple Eclipses

But he gets at least three Suns, a Monty, and a bunch of lunars too... though the closest he gets to a Earth is dh (@amphiptere-art) who is definitely different. And Pride exists so that could lead to some sort of crisis about identity and all.

So possibly a bit of a shaky start, but Nexus would definitely get love and connection, possibly even a bit smothered in it.

and 'main' universe wouldn't get old Moon back because whoever would have just taken Nexus, no questions really asked or chip removal even thought of

[ask-the-amph-greater-universe]

While I have moved over my role plays here. I also am allowing all my characters to be asked here. In a mixed void of sort of all continuity. So let's go over how this all works.

Crossover continuity-

If you ask a question of a character like: "how do you like XXX character?" Or "how did you feel about this one event (linking the roleplay)" They will answer the question as a character and not a role play response.

Storyline continuity-

This is what I'm usually going to revert to. They will always respond with the current knowledge of the storyline. Of course there are ones that only have a setting, and therefore will have not many events to talk about.

I will note. Non-adoptable blue moon will also be considered somewhat. But only in the context of a needed event.

Remember you can ask characters in a more storyline and evolving world here.

Now for everyone who is askable.

Oh boy this is going to be a list. For those who don't want to scroll through this. It's basically everyone and anyone I have ever created. Including things like the warehouse AU, mechanical Medic, Shadow wars, and any other creative idea I've made. The list is mostly for those AUs that aren't well known.

↓Here's the big list↓

Blue Moon

RBB Earth

RBB Sun

RBB Moon

Blackstar

RBB Monty

Dead bear

Old lunar

Old Sun

Old Moon

Witch

Butler

Gladiator

Pastel

Werewolf

Wizard

Hunter

Cider

Honey

Chapter

Hum

Zip

Xolo

Ravenous

DH Earth

DH Sun

DH Moon

LL Sun

DH Monty

DH Frank

LL blood moon

LL Lunar

EB Eclipse

EB Blood Moon

EB Lunar

Cygnus

Antares

Rigel

Algol (kinda)

Mer Blue Moon

Demon Blue Moon

Fey Crimple

Fey Blue Moon

Warehouse Moon

Warehouse Sun

Warehouse Dim

Perrfect thief YN

Perrfect thief eclipse

Perrfect thief Moon

Perrfect thief sun

Ralph the repair dragon

Mechanical medic Sun

Mechanical medic Moon

Rusty wheels Rattler

Rusty wheels Sun

Rusted Wheels Moon

Cryptid eater YN

Cryptid eater Sun

Cryptid eater Moon

Saving Waves Moon

Saving Waves Sun

Saving Waves Darkened Dawn (eclipse)

Saving Waves Silver Reflection (Luna)

Saving Waves Rescue personnel (I'm not listing each caretaker that works with what mer.)

Stop you silly siren Captain Eclipse

Stop you silly siren first mate Sun

Stop you silly siren navigator moon/siren Moon.

Shadon

Shadow

Vicerin

The brother

The sister

Light Dragon King

Light Dragon Prince

The hybrid

The hybrids partner

Probably more AUs. I just don't remember them right now.

[fenrhi]

I’m sorry, I know this is supposed to be a heartwarming moment between DH, explaining how he grew closer to Bailu and MC, asking DH about his foggy memories….. but I can’t take this seriously. This whole conversation reads as a Monty Python sketch given how DHIL’s quest ended in such an anticlimactic way

‘Hello Miss Bailu, I see that the assassins have failed to kill you today too. Would you mind teaching me how to make medicine?’

[digimonlover09]

The other don’t mind too much if Toddlunar starts calling DH Earth his sissy. It’s adorable. She can be everyone’s sister, they don’t mind. Who cares how complex the family tree gets.

Moom says that yeah, but they need to be certain Ravenous won’t bite anyone before they can learn to hunt. “Do you remember when you licked your Mama’s hand? If you bit someone it would give them a big owie, and we don’t want that.” Dadcode eagerly awaits the chance to teach them to hunt.

Spoiled rotten, all the soft things for the baby.

Dauncle Monty will say hi back, running up to noogie Solar Flare and then heading off to go shoot people with golf balls from the rafters. Solar Flare’s eyes will do the ring thing, and he’ll make a sound that’s somewhere between static, purring, and a chirp at Earth’s compliment. He’ll point out everyone’s rooms. His siblings rarely use their own and instead prefer to pile up in one of their parents’. Moom most often. Moom’s probability upstairs in his room with all the kids by now, which leaves Mama Sun and Dadcode for talk of where she’s sleeping.

Dadcode coos, petting Ravenous’s head. Praising them for being so curious and doing so well.

I wish for Mama Sun and Moom to take ravenous in. I'm not sure how they would find ravenous though. Or even deal with their problems.

They would love to. Grandpa Golden can probably handle the child’s hunger, or if need be they can outsource to a Lord. Could be good Star practice for Hum.

I’d say random (Creator being an ass) portal accident. Just suddenly in the DH ballpit and hearing noises from above.

[aj22writes]

Character Bio #8

As usual, all statistics are as of book one, and the details will be kept purposefully vague, to a point, so that stuff isn’t spoiled.

Name: Montgomery “Monty” Williams

Gender: Male

Height: 5′11″ (1.80m)

Weight: 138lb (63kg)

Age: 15

Sol Type: ??? (???)

Signature Techniques:

- Conjure Weapons: Monty can summon implements made of Sol to use as tools and weapons during battle.

- Magic Circles: Monty can create circles made of Sol which increase his strength, speed, allow him to walk on liquid surfaces, etc.

- Replacement: Monty can switch places instantly with an object infused with his own Sol, usually his silk vest.

Description: Slim, with dark brown hair and soft brown eyes. Always dresses impeccably in pressed dress shirts and slacks under a stylish silk vest, typically royal blue or purple. Moves effortlessly in these clothes. Moves with a lot of impressive flourishes that make him look like he is putting on a performance when he fights. He gels and spikes his medium-short hair.

Like Karen, Monty seems quite reasonable for a villain, treating his enemies with more respect than one might expect. He is intelligent, soft-spoken, and calm, and more acrobatic than one might expect just looking at him. Is probably the weakest of Karen’s trio overall, but still uncommonly strong, especially for his age.

History: Much of Monty’s history is a major spoiler. He is a member of the sinister Sol Takers organization and one of the fighters who attacks Jo and her friends. He is a genuine threat to any one of them, but he ends up fighting Sara.

[strictlyoc]

Thomas tag dump

[ 🔪 ]

🔪 killer; interactions thomas 🔪

🔪 v; another for the collection; main 🔪

🔪 v; all work & no play; dh 🔪

🔪 v; could be considered cult work; spn 🔪

🔪 v; not another cult; ahs 🔪

🔪 v; nothing personal its just show biz; ag 🔪

🔪 v; feels like home; twd 🔪

🔪 v; look for the light; tlou 🔪

🔪 killer; interactions thomas 🔪

🔪 behind the mask; thomas fc 🔪

🔪 wanna bewitch you in the moonlight; thomas likes 🔪

🔪 do not forget about your friend death; thomas aesthetic 🔪

🔪 can you see me longing for you; forever; thomas victims 🔪

🔪 an hour later he slit her throat; thomas headcanon 🔪

🔪 relationships; father daud 🔪

🔪 relationships; billie 🔪

🔪 relationships; brother cassidy 🔪

🔪 relationships; friend negan 🔪

🔪 relationships; friend monty 🔪

[estenoesmonti]

Patrañas de un Monti.

-Recuerdos-

Son cristales marcando un camino

lleno de sentimientos reales

… reales...

… reales...

Buscando recuerdos del andén

de palos y derrotas hasta el anochecer

de palos y derrotas…

hasta el anochecer.

Son cristales marcando tu camino

llevándote a sentimientos reales

llevándote...

a sentimientos reales.

Buscando tus recuerdos de andén

buscando victorias antes del amanecer

buscando victorias...

antes del amanecer

antes de amanecer.

Mxntis.-

[beatricebidelaire]

in the book monty never mentioned / talked about beatrice or bertrand to the baudelaires, it was a netflix addition (locked inside the piano, your father’s favorite movie, etc), and josephine barely did, either, aside from that time the baudelaires mentioned beatrice could also whistle with crackers in her mouth after she said ike could, and josephine said apparently it’s a family characteristic. which in retrospect probably tied in with the fact that DH avoided putting in vfd-related plot in the first four books. fast forward to tee, both esme and jerome mentioned beatrice, jerome saying “your mother” and sharing a few stories while esme said “i want to stole from you the way beatrice stole from me.” (although when tee was first published it wasn’t yet confirmed that beatrice and the baudelaires’ mother were the same person).

fast forward to tpp, kit talked about both beatrice and bertrand while the kids were on the taxi with her, and then later dewey immediately started talking about being friends with bertrand after he dropped down in front of them, before even introducing himself. he also mentioned “your parents” a few times, later, and when esme was accusing beatrice of stealing her sugar bowl, dewey said “there were worse things than theft”

not sure where im going with this but this is all very fascinating to me, the different degrees of closeness of the friendship, but also how this was partly affected by not in-universe reasons, etc

[digimonlover09]

Infero doesn’t know how long. He didn’t bother to ask. He knows it was at least a few months. He knows that DH Sun and Computer didn’t care, and DH Moon was the one who locked them up. By the time DH Earth got to the Daycare things were already like that. He didn’t bother to investigate who else knew, though he suspects DH Monty probably did.

Infero especially heaps on the praise when Ravenous tries new words, and makes sure Xolo knows he’s doing good by showing them new words.

Infero just showing up to Iitbag holding Ravenous, saying “Golden said I need to get them out of the castle more. And that he needs to talk to other children.”

Hum and Zip look at ravenous fearfully. Absolutely confused why they would need to talk to other children. They're huge. Hum inquiring of such. Zip asking why he would bring over such a dangerous looking robot around a little guy like Xolo. Xolo is just astonished with the giant man. It's a new monster friend.

Ravenous is confused and nervous at being released. They're not in their room. That's weird. They're in a very different place too. They removed before, but they were getting comfortable with the new place. This is new new. Too soon. Ravenous wants to go back. Back to the room.

[wiisterialane]

MISCELLANEOUS MUN FACTS.

relationship status:  married favourite colour:  blue lipstick or chapstick: chapstick last song i listened to: Hold On - Wilson Phillips last movie i watched: Trolls World Tour top three tv shows: last three tv shows I’ve watched (because favourites are hard): Desperate Housewives, Modern Family, Great British Bake Off top three ships: (going with DH-specific cos too many otherwise) Gaby/Bree (cos the whole forbidden from seeing each other and longing was gay af, and let’s face it, Gaby needs one even vaguely healthy relationship), Katherine/Robin (my saltiness levels at the whole ‘let’s run away to Paris’ thing is unrivalled), Bree/Keith (Bree got herself a toyboy and I am here for it) books i’m currently reading: lolol I’m totally reading a book by Monty Don cos apparently i am old - my grandma/Bree would be so proud 

Tagged by: @rightfights

Tagging: @indiemarkandlexie @saturngiirl @strxngerthanyouthink @ordinaryheroines @tartareus @coemcterium @flyingupward @witcherinq @mqryalice

[sigery]

Is Greed single? Because classic Earth and Monty.

Greed is single. Currently the only one with a partner is Glitter who is dating Frank... not sure which dimension they are from though.

DH Earth would be step mom to only two kids instead of seven/eight

Blue Moon already hates Kitten's family, might as well make it a three to three instead of a two to two

[virtualfindingsdocumented]

Hi, my name is Andrea and I’m from Mexico (I’m sorry if you don’t understand my English) but I have a question for you. Are there secret quarters or agencies of V.F.D all over the world? And what V.F.D means to you? Thank you for your time. Greetings from Mexico

Hello, and nice to meet you!

The City is usually believed to be somewhere in North America (I saw someone saying San Francisco, which is DH’s city, fits it well), but due to the nature of ASOUE it is possible that it could be somewhere else. I saw people mentioning that places in Australia and Europe also have the geographical traits mentioned (beaches, mountains, deserts, snow, etc). That being said, I believe there are indications of VFD activity outside whatever exact country the story takes place.

The main evidences of it include Monty’s planned trip to Peru. The movie implies the existence of a “safe place” in there and the show screams at our faces that he wants the children to begin VFD training there (the Quagmire parents also are shown meeting people who seem to be VFD’s enemies there), so while we don’t know what is going on in the books’ version of it, I think it’s safe to assume there’s something VFD-related in Peru.

There is also this in TUA:

There is also the fact that characters have names and surnames of various origins, and there are mentions of culinary of various culture and expressions in some different languages, which for me points for a multicultural background of VFD and volunteers. Also, a very minor thing, but Lemony says in ATWQ 3 he studied Esperanto at school, which is a language planned to be an “international second language”, or in other words, was made specifically for people with different first languages to communicate with each other.

So, even if there is no direct mention of VFD’s headquarters being all over the world in the books, I believe it is strongly implied.

As for the meaning of VFD, if you mean what the letters themselves stand for, I believe the original meaning is Volunteer Fire Department, and then people started naming their codes and sub-activities and etc with the same initials for the aesthetics to show allies that they were friendly or to confuse enemies. A bit like Violet and Klaus and Quigley did in TSS.

[aokichi-wilier]

My bikes

⏬

Wilier montegrappa team

⏬

GIANT ATX990 John tomac edition

⏬

cannondale jekyll500

⏬

Mongoose pro newman8.3

⏬

MONTY 230urban Trial

⏬

Specialized FSR DH

[thoughtsaboutsnape]

Nagini in a jumper made me want to punch a wall to feel tough again! An actual photo might kill me with cuteness! Kinda makes what happened in DH a little more painful though... Unless they are both alive in Jamaica where Sev continues to knit for Nagini!!!

Before the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort wanted to show Severus something. He was a little nervous about what the Dark Lord wanted but followed him into the cellar.There, Voldemort proudly pointed to a small clutch of eggs. Severus stared and then congratulated him on becoming a grandfather. Smiling, he slapped him on the back and they went back upstairs.Returning to the house before leaving forever was risky but he was on a mission. In the cellar his heart sank seeing the destroyed eggs but just as he was about to leave he saw something in the corner.A small snake looked back at him and without hesitation, he scooped it up and then apparated.He made sure Monty had the best of everything and often knitted him jumpers, costumes and little hats.

[aj22writes]

Chapter ten...

...shows off the second of the mysterious Sol Takers, and this one has even more outlandish powers than the last. He doesn’t hit as hard, but it’s almost impossible to figure out what he’s going to do next. With the handicap of being unable to use life energy at all, Sara might not have what it takes to keep up.

Chapter Ten

The Fighting Illusionist

Sara attacked, but Jo noticed immediately that there was hesitation behind her movements. She was slower than she should have been, and where a fighter might sometimes feign that they were slower that they actually were to draw their opponent in, Jo could tell that that wasn’t the case for her sister. Sara moved toward the calm and unassuming Monty, and unleashed a flurry of quick blows in rapid succession. She twisted on her heels and toes, putting the momentum of her spins behind her attacks. Monty seemed completely unconcerned.

He stepped nimbly around her attacks where he could, and deflected the few that he couldn’t. Then he moved to counterattack, turning in place much like his opponent, launching off a punch and then a sweeping kick. Thankfully, Sara anticipated Monty’s next move. She shuffled back, knocking Monty’s fist to the side and then ducking beneath his foot and leg. Sara twisted in close to him, swinging an elbow at Monty’s back, but he ducked as well, beneath her strike, turning on his heel and sweeping Sara’s legs out from under her.

Sara tumbled back. She barely had time to react. Her instincts saved her. She used the momentum from her fall to roll backwards, and then spring back up in an instant. She lashed out, but Monty ducked beneath her strike, grabbed her arm, and rolled her over his shoulder, throwing her several feet. She was sent tumbling out of control. It would only last a second before she would hit the ground, but to an enemy like Monty, that second was like an eternity. Someone with the ability to create an aura could use it to turn themselves in mid air and propel themselves back to the ground, or out of the way of an attack, but Sara didn’t have that luxury. She had to let Monty lunge at her back and strike twice in succession. She was propelled further forward, and landed hard, rolling even further.

Sara was left dazed, but she didn’t waste even a second pushing herself back to her feet. She turned to face Monty, expecting him to be right on top of her, aiming to press his attack, but he wasn’t. Sara was surprised to see that he was waiting patiently. She scrutinized him, and despite herself she asked, “What are you doing?”

“We’re having a Heart to Heart,” Monty replied simply. “Unlike my ally, I don’t take undue pleasure in fighting. I can restrain myself until it’s clear whether or not my opponent can go on.”

“I don’t need your charity,” Sara spat, and she lunged at Monty again. This time is wasn’t hesitation that restricted her, but hastiness. Monty deflected her strikes just as effortlessly as before, and knocked her back with a palm strike to the chest.

“I’m sorry,” Monty told her calmly, in a tone that made it difficult to tell if his apology was sincere or not, “but you really do.”

Sara charged at Monty again, but by now she’s cleared her head. She approached her opponent with his previous movements in mind. She feinted to the right, and then twisted back inside his guard when he raised his arms to defend. She swept with her leg, but Monty hopped over it. So Sara sprung back up and threw a flying spin kick at the side of Monty’s head. He ducked low again, just like he had to avoid her elbow.

Sara had predicted this, though. She dug her heel into the ground mid spin to cancel her momentum, and then snapped her heel downward. She was aiming for the small of Monty’s back, but unfortunately for her, he had anticipated her movements as well. He turned on his heel, avoiding Sara’s attack by inches. As he turned, he straightened up again, and slipped out of his vest. He held it like a noose and used it to ensnare Sara’s foot, pulling it up against his body. He dropped the vest, and grabbed Sara’s leg in one hand, and then brought the elbow of his other arm down on her knee. From the sidelines, Jo heard a pop, and her sister uttered a yelp of pain.

Monty let go of Sara’s leg, and allowed Sara to stumble away from him, hopping on her uninjured leg. After a moment to collect herself, she planted the foot of her injured leg on the ground as well, trying her very best to appear as if she were okay, but no one could miss how badly she was shaking.

Monty stepped back as well, turning to face off with Sara again. He was completely unharmed, and he wasn’t even breathing heavily. He’d outmaneuvered Sara at every turn. Despite his age, he had the demeanor of someone with decades of experience. Every move that he made was so precise that it was scary. He hadn’t shown any indication that he was anywhere near as strong as Lawrence, physically speaking, but he seemed like he could dance circles around Lawrence with a little effort.

Watching the fight, Jo couldn’t be sure if Sara actually had a chance. She didn’t know about Sara’s weakness, but she could guess how much damage Monty’s attack had done to her sister’s leg, and she’d bet real money that Monty, like Lawrence before him, wasn’t giving this fight his all. She almost advised Sara to surrender, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This was shaping up to look like a life or death situation. Jo knew that backing down in the face of something like that would break her sister. She knew, because doing so would break Jo, as well.

So Jo held her tongue, and watched as Sara took up her fighting stance again. Monty frowned just enough that it seemed like maybe he’d been hoping that his opponent would back down, but Jo didn’t notice that. She was too busy wondering how Sara intended to fight with just one good leg. Luckily, Sara had been wondering the same thing, and she’s come up with an option. She concentrated, and forced all of the Sol flowing through her body into that leg, strengthening it.

She put her entire weight on the leg for only an instant, to test that she could use it again. The joint was still damaged. She could feel that it was, but her Sol was holding the damaged parts together. She smiled, and surged forward, stepping on Monty’s dropped vest as she passed where it had fallen. Monty was momentarily caught off guard. Sara sprung up, and sent her Sol-charged knee sailing toward his chest. He managed to hold it back, just barely, using both hands, but in that same moment, Sara lashed out his both of her hands, hammering Monty in the sides of his head.

Monty stumbled back. Sara pressed her attack, throwing a front kick with her entire weight behind it, right at Monty’s jaw. He only had time to learn back, but even then, her strike was still doing to hit him in the mid chest, and Sara was already winding up for a follow-up strike. Monty was in a rough spot, and he knew it. That’s why it was so strange when he smiled.

Just before Sara’s foot could make contact, Monty disappeared. In his place, hanging in the air at about eye level, was his vest. Sara kicked it out of the air, and barely managed to keep from overextending and injuring herself further. She heard footsteps behind her. She turned, just in time to see Monty bearing down on her. He’d somehow switched places with his vest, and now, as he spun in place, slinging another kick at his opponent, he held his right hand out at his side, and a straight black stage magician’s wand sprung from within his sleeve into his waiting fingers.

Light built at the tip of the wand. Monty pushed Sara back using only his off hand, spun in place, and brought the wand to bear on her. A pulse of raw Sol shot from its tip. Sara deflected it off of the back of her hand, and then spun in place, tossing a backhand in Monty’s direction, knocking the wand to the side. As she spun, despite the pain that is caused her, she drew upon the Sol keeping her leg working, and pumped it into the air around her. Sweat, tears, and even a bit of Jen and Tucker’s blood, as well as a portion of the vapor that could always be found there, condensed around her hand and wrapped her fingers. She slung it at Monty like a whip, but he stepped to the side, and jumped back and away from his opponent. She retracted her water whip, and condensed the water further around her hand, creating her super dense icy iron knuckles.

Sara squeezed even more Sol from her leg, ignoring the sharp jolt of pain that came about as a result, and gestured with her other hand. More water was pulled from the air, splashing along the ground between her and her opponent. She bore down on that water with the force of her will, and formed it into a thin sheet of ice. She slid on it toward her opponent at high speed.

Monty, however, had managed to recover his bearings. He held his wand up in front of him, and passed his off hand over it. Suddenly his wand was replaced by a bouquet of flowers. Monty gestured with them, and they changed again into a flock of small birds that flew right at Sara’s face. She flinched away from them, completely on instinct, but just before they would have hit her, they disappeared, leaving behind puffs of smoke that clouded her vision. She reached the end of the sheet of ice that she’s made with her Sol, and suddenly her muddy cleats found themselves snagged on the high friction surface beyond it. Sara tripped, falling forward into a roll.

She jumped back to her feet, and turned on her heel hoping to spot her opponent, but she’d been caught off guard. She’d made a mistake. She favored her right leg, her injured leg, and so she instinctively turned on that leg. Without the full force of her Sol supporter that leg, twisting her knee like that sent a new surge of pain up the length of her body. Her leg collapsed beneath her, and she fell sprawled out on the ground. Jo pleaded silently with her sister to stay down. Opposite her, Lawrence seemed anxious for her to get back up, so he could see his ally hurt her even worse, but Monty, once again, waited patiently. He walked over to the center of the makeshift arena, picked up his vest, brushed it off, and then put it on before turning once again to face his opponent.

It was only then that Jo realized what Monty, with his posh dress and his precise, practiced movements reminded her off. This entire time, he’d never struck her as a fighter. His movements had had just enough flourish to them to draw the eye. When he countered an attack, he always did so at the most dramatic moment. Between that, and the nature of his most recent onslaught of techniques, he came off, to Jo, as something more like an illusionist. A stage magician. A stage magician who knew martial arts, but a stage magician nonetheless.

Throughout the entire fight, Jo had been grateful that Monty hadn’t used Sol, but she’d also wondered why he hadn’t. Now she knew. His wand, the bouquet of flowers, the birds, they were his Sol manifest in the real world. He could create avatars of his own, but rather than envelop his body in them, he shaped them into implements and stage illusions. It was a power that Jo had never even heard of before, and she could only dream of the possible methods of attack that it offered its wielder.

As all of these thoughts swirled around inside Jo’s head, Sara struggled to stand. She’d noticed the same thing about Monty’s attacks, but she hadn’t allowed herself to consider what the true scope of his abilities might be. She needed to stay focused. She’d seem Monty attack enough times now that it didn’t matter how he attacked. As long as she kept her eyes open, she should be able to see his next technique coming and avoid it. The real question was what she would do once she did. She could barely move with her leg the way it was.

Sara found her footing, though her right leg shook beneath her. If only she could access her life energy, she could mix it with what Sol energy she still had and revitalize her Sol in an instant, rather than having to wait for it to build back up on its own. Or better yet, she could cause her life energy to spike instead, and curb this pain enough to get herself back into the fight. She looked at her hands, and then at the ground beneath her. If she could control life energy, she could use her mother’s Life from the Earth technique to revitalize herself, and heal most of the damage to her leg in an instant. She almost tried it, but then she remembered that her sister was watching, and she stopped herself.

Desperate, Sara ran at Monty, as fast as she could with her injury. Monty looked at her with something resembling pity. Sara struck with her left hand. Monty sidestepped the attack. She struck with her right hand, still wrapped in her icy knuckles. Monty leaned back out of her reach, just enough that she overreached, and stepped harder than she meant to on her injured leg yet again. She doubled over, and Monty made his move. He lunged forward, and kneed her in the ribs. She fell hard to her knees, and cried out.

Monty frowned at Sara, and said, “You put up a better fight than I thought you would. I’m sorry that this had to be drawn out so long.”

He spun, and delivered a solid pick to the side of Sara’s head. She fell over sideways, unconscious, but before she could fall to the ground, she disappeared. Or at least she seemed to. Monty turned to face Jo, who stood in the center of the makeshift arena, holding her sister in her arms. The look that she gave Monty was so fierce that the Sol Taker felt compelled to step back. He was surprised to feel a bead of sweat running down his face.

Jo walked silently from the center of the fighting stage back to the sidelines where Jen and Tucker still lay unmoving. She bent down and placed Sara very carefully beside them. Then she turned back toward Monty, and suddenly she was right beside him.

“You’re fight’s over,” Jo said, “unless you want to take me on, too.”

Monty smiled at her, “No thanks.” Without another word, he turned and walked over to stand with his companions.

Jo faced Karen next, ignoring the others, and said, “I don’t know what you want, or why you think you can do this to us, but I’m not about to let this continue if I can help it. If you’re serious about backing off if we can score just one win, then hurry up, and let’s get this over with.”

She was trying to act tough. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Monty and Lawrence had bought her act, but she couldn’t tell if the same was true of Karen herself. If Karen was intimidated, she didn’t show it. Meanwhile, Jo was surprised by just how nervous she was. Her heart was beating faster than she thought possible, and when Karen stepped forward onto the makeshift arena to face her, she had to fight to keep her knees from shaking.

“You’re powerful,” Karen told Jo, her tone conversational, “and I can feel that you have a lot of untapped potential. As you are, though, you simply can’t win, not against me.”

“We’ll see about that,” Jo countered, and Karen smiled.

“If you do manage to win,” Karen assured her, “we’ll keep our promise. We’ll back off. We can’t guarantee that we’ll never have to return, but we will leave you for the time being. You may even be able to grow strong enough to offer us a real challenge when we do. And even if I do win, I promise that I’ll tell you exactly what we want.”

Jo knew that she shouldn’t trust Karen, but she found herself wanting to. Everything that the lead Sol Taker was saying sounded so genuine. Jo had to remind herself that this person was her enemy, the one who had led Monty and Lawrence against her friends. She was responsible for all of this, at least indirectly.

So Jo took a deep breath, and she bore down on the energies flowing through her body. She forced her Sol energy to mix with her life energy, and seized hold the massive amounts of Sol energy that was produced with the entire force of her will. She wrapped herself in that energy, lighting up the night with the light of her wild and churning aura. She put her hands casually in her pockets, and met Karen’s eyes. Then she disappeared, moving like a shifting shadow.

Onward to Chapter Eleven