“Face it, Subterra,” Sombra’s voice echoed in Shiho’s now empty cell. “Your friends are doomed. Join me. We will change your fate. Forget about them.”

Subterra backed away from the dark oil and retreated towards the stairs. She had a strong desire to get out of this enclosed area and out into the open, even if that meant running into another one of TWI’s people.

“You-you won’t win, Sombra. You’ll never have me.”

Already, oil began to spill out of Shiho’s cell, pooling around the corridor floor as she got back on the first step. She had to hope Josher and Leilani would stay safe as she attracted Sombra to herself.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to hurt you. But you leave me no choice now.” A lanky man with wild black hair stepped out of the cell. He gave his grey suit a brush with one hand before pointing a finger at Subterra. “I guess I should tell you now. You know, I was never going to work with you. It was just a ploy to get you to TWI and be done with all this. Imagine the rewards I would have if I was the one to deliver you. Alone. All me. Tirek and the Flim Flam brothers never stood a chance, but you don’t stand a chance against me.”

“I never trusted you for one second!” Subterra threw her words at him like she was trying to hit him with a rock. “If you think you’re so good, then face me head on! It’s because you can’t, right? If you could beat Curtain Call in a fight, you’d have done so. If your Stand has to rely on capturing others, that means your power can’t be that high.”

Sombra’s eyes narrowed and he bared his fangs. As in he had actual fangs sticking out of his mouth, two, where the incisors should be. “We’ll see who’s powerful, little girl. Black Water!”

Sombra disappeared in a blink, leaving only a ripple as his Stand burst from the ground in front of Subterra, neighing in her face before splashing oil from a puddle towards her.

Crafteon yanked Subterra down the stairs, almost making her drop to the bottom as the oil splashed across the top of the steps, leaking down towards her.

“While they remain within the oil, I cannot harm them, even with my shadows,” Crafteon whispered. “We have to lure them out.”

Black Water’s arm emerged from the top of the stairs, swiping through the oil to send more of it down to Subterra. She dodged it and kept running. Subterra knew she couldn’t get any on herself. If she did, that just meant he could reach her wherever she was. And that was what gave her an idea.

“We’ll need to limit his space,” she said under her breath. “We have to remove his oil.”

She suddenly remembered the fire they had started on the oil puddle above and hit herself for forgetting about it. It had been her only light source outside Shiho’s cell and she should’ve figured it out sooner.

“We’ll need to cut off his territory,” she said to Crafteon. “We need more fire.”

She sent out Crafteon to a portion of the nearest wall and her Stand smashed its fists into it, dropping little pieces of rock across the floor. With its shadows, Crafteon broke off and refined two pieces of stone till they were smooth and sharp, giving them to its master.

Subterra slid one piece of stone across the other on her way back to the stairs, watching as oil continued to descend, spreading down from the puddle at the top of the steps. With one big flick and a grunt, she shot out sparks from the stones and she watched as two of them landed on the cascading oil, and immediately, the entire stairwell was set ablaze. The flames spread up to the top of the steps in a flash and she could hear a shout of surprise at the top before raging flames blocked out all other sounds.

“That will have to force him out. We will destroy him and his strength will be yours.” Crafteon spawned shadows around its wrists and catapulted itself to the second floor by grabbing the railings and pulling up.

Subterra lit up the oil puddles between her friends and Sombra before rushing to their cells. With the fire spreading, it would be a good idea to get out of here.

“Leilani, Josher!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Get up, we need to leave!”

Josher was out of the cell immediately, his goggles dangling off his right hand. His head was darting around left and right, trying to find the enemy, but all he saw was the fire.

“Fire? Again? Is Tirek back?” He raised a hand and curled his fingers into a fist.

“Someone called Sombra,” Subterra briefed. “He’s already taken Shiho, Ocellus and Calypso. We need to get Leilani and get out.”

“Leave that to me.” Josher put his goggles back around his neck and summoned Down Under. The brute of a Stand smashed through his cell wall, and grabbed Leilani just as she was getting off the bed. “Leilani, we’ve got to go!”

She didn’t even have time to say anything as Down Under smashed the railing to pieces and dived down to the first floor. Subterra was about to follow, when a bestial roar erupted from beyond the flames.

Sombra walked through the fire, his back and part of his hair aflame. His eyes were red with fury. “I tried to play it nice, Subterra. I wanted you to live. TWI needs you for her grand scheme, but you’ve made this personal. Not like I cared for her plans. Let’s see who’s darkness is greater. Mine or yours.”

“We don’t have to do this, Sombra.” Subterra raised both hands. “Just leave us be. We gave Tirek the same chance. We want the same thing. We want to stop TWI.”

“I had shown you kindness, Subterra, and you spat in my face.” Sombra ignored her words. “This ends with you or me dead. I was born from shadow. My species were the original rulers of the Frozen Wastes, but the crystal ponies came and invaded our land with their light. I fought back time and time again, only to be foiled by the princess and her allies. But no, since coming to this world, I have developed power beyond their control. TWI may have her finger on me at the moment, but with you, I can have her exactly where I want her. Too bad you won’t be alive to see me finally destroy everything she has built up.”

He lunged at Subterra, but the girl curled back and Crafteon flew at him from behind her, grabbing him around both wrists as shadows poured out from the spikes behind its back.

“You dare to touch the king?” Sombra growled and Black Water lunged out from his chest, crashing into Crafteon with both fists, knocking both Stands back.

Black Water punched Crafteon repeatedly in the face, keeping it on the ground as it spread its oil from underneath it. Black Water had no legs, instead, it could only originate out of the pools it created.

Subterra ran forward to help, sliding one of her makeshift splints against the other, sparking another flame in the pool Black Water was emerging from. The enemy Stand immediately let go of Crafteon and sank back into its pool before fire engulfed it completely. Sombra did the same, disappearing under the oily mess.

“I will not lose everything I’ve gained since coming to this world,” Sombra said, his voice echoing around the prison block. “

Something dripped onto Subterra’s face from above and she ran a hand down her cheek to see it was a single droplet of oil. She looked up to see Black Water crawling down from the second floor, sticking to the side of the wall. When it noticed her detection, it threw itself down at her and Subterra only had a moment to leap away as Crafteon caught her and swung her up to the second floor with its shadows. It spread out a cloud of darkness before the both of them, hoping to catch Black Water in its worst fears, but the enemy Stand just threw itself at them again, launching them higher as they passed the third and fourth floors of the prison.

Sombra slipped out of his Stand’s oily body, grabbing Subterra around the left arm as he smiled evilly. “You’ll never beat me, Subterra. You should’ve joined me. TWI would’ve made my life so much easier if you had just come along.”

Subterra didn’t like the way these villains spoke with them, but perhaps they could still be reasoned with. “I-If you let my friends go, I’ll come along with you.”

Sombra shook a finger. “No can do. You wronged me, Subterra. This ends with you dying here! And so will your friends. Already, they must be close to drowning within Black Water’s oily world. I’d give it about an hour before they run out of oxygen. But don’t you worry, you’ll be joining them soon!”

Black Water punched at Crafteon, but Subterra’s Stand caught its fist, holding it in place. Unfortunately, Black Water was made of oil and its hand slipped past Crafteon’s fist and reformed in front of its face, crashing into its mouth.

Subterra flew back, and Crafteon managed to escape Black Water’s grasp and grab its master, using its shadows to swing itself higher. They were now at the sixth floor, the highest floor of the prison and Crafteon kept itself near the ceiling.

“Oil is a liquid. If you get it on the ceiling, it’ll just drip down,” Subterra said, holding on to her Stand’s arm for support.

Sombra roared and Black Water’s body dissolved into a ball of oil before launching up at them at the speed of a bullet. Crafteon almost didn’t have enough time to dodge it, but it dropped down, detaching itself from the ceiling, falling as Black Water smashed into the concrete ceiling hard enough to shatter it.

The ceiling revealed a night sky that was slowly brightening. Crafteon swiped at falling debris, using it to get itself closer to the ground. Black Water cradled its master as Sombra hissed at the sky.

“Daylight will soon be upon us. We have to end this now.”

“Daylight?” Then Subterra remembered what Sombra said. “Sombra said he was a creature of the shadows. He must not be able to go into sunlight.”

And that gave her a plan. As they reached the bottom, Subterra broke into a sprint, following after Josher and Leilani in the direction they left. Crafteon stretched its arms to its sides, spreading out shadow in all directions like massive tentacles around them. Black Water pursued them closely, weaving around each tentacle as it tried to grab them.

That’s when Crafteon began to close the shadows around itself, attempting to catch Black Water in the darkness. Black Water sank down into its puddle each time a tendril attempted to grab it, splashing more oil forward as it emerged each time. It could keep pushing itself towards Subterra at great speed, but also avoiding Crafteon’s attack as Subterra dashed out of the foyer and back into the tunnel to the entrance.

“I’ll destroy you!” Sombra snarled as Black Water reached out and grabbed Crafteon around the throat. “I will not be beaten down by some nobody that believes their darkness is stronger. I am King Sombra, and you will fall before me!”

Subterra gasped as she fell to the ground in a slide, her throat constricted from Black Water’s hand around Crafteon’s neck.

“That’s what… you think.” Subterra managed a smile for him. “I know your weakness… Sombra. You really… are a creature of the dark.”

Black Water was suddenly wrapped around the waist by shadow and Crafteon lowered the shadows surrounding them, revealing that they had long left the confines of the prison and were now back on the dirt path before it. The sun was just peeking over the treeline now and light was pouring in towards them.

“No, no!” Sombra scurried back, but this distraction gave Subterra the chance to rip him from Black Water’s oily surface. The sun rays touched his face and immediately he recoiled and started steaming. “Gaaah, the light!”

Black Water began to steam as well and it melted away to reform a meter away, but that was the second moment Subterra needed.

Subterra got on one knee and placed one hand against it and raised the other one behind her head. “Crafteon, now!”

Shadows spilled from her Stand, more than before and they enveloped Black Water before solidifying before it, taking the shape of a heart.

“No, no, not that! No!” Sombra dropped to his back and attempted to creep away, but it was too late.

The shadows around the heart were released and what emerged was a crystallized heart, about the size of a disco ball. It spun in place and bobbed up and down and it terrified Sombra greatly.

“Crafteon’s shadows can manifest your deepest darkest fears, and this is yours, Sombra,” Subterra explained. “It is entirely real and it will harm you.”

The heart began to glow and Sombra struggled harder as he crawled back, trying to get back into the prison. “No, nooo! Not yet!”

A bright and powerful light was expelled from the heart, forcing even Subterra to avert her eyes. The blast touched Sombra and he shrieked before vanishing completely, obliterated by that which he feared most.

Crafteon watched as the heart faded back into shadows and breathed in. “Yes, do you feel that, Subterra Shiver. His darkness is ours…”

Subterra’s head was spinning now and she dropped to her knees as her body started to realize how tired she was.

“One more down…” she breathed as she closed her eyes. As Crafteon said, she could indeed feel it, a greater darkness boiling within her, filling her with power. “I can feel it, Sombra’s need to destroy TWI and Equestria.”

“Then you know what must be done.” Crafteon looked her in the eyes before Subterra collapsed.

• To be Continued...-

Author's Note

Black Water here!