Multiverse Allies: Willy's Survival Tale

*This story takes place in the Leftover Levels Up/Multiverse story arc. Prior installments from this plotline are linked at the end of this story*

   Willy hid underground in his worm form while Kirk tore through the grassy terrain outside of the royal castle of Prosperity. Thanks to the modifications Hugh had given him, he had four arms to wield his metal word swords with, while two additional arms were available for creating new blades by writing words in his journal. His wife Serenity was untouchable as long as she was dancing, and she had eight legs to work with. Willy knew there was no way he could face these foes head on, especially since his fighting ability was limited. But if he could touch his opponents somehow, he could turn them into worms and clinch the win.

   Kirk kept slashing through the ground in an effort to ideally slice Willy while he was even more vulnerable as a worm. The four sets of metal word swords together read the phrase "skewer this fishing bait." Several of Kirk's ground strikes had come very close to doing just that, but Willy managed to be lucky enough to avoid getting impaled by Kirk's words.

   "You're great at hide and seek dude, but I will find you eventually!" Kirk jeered. "You can't avoid my word blades forever! And even if you did, my wife is invincible as long as she is dancing! And once she stops to strike a pose, you my friend will be blown off of this island, far away from your hopeless friends!"

   "In the off chance that I have to take over, I will dance until he's in my sights!" Serenity chimed in maliciously. "I can easily rest a couple of these legs when needed, so fatigue is a thing of the past!"

   Willy cursed at the true words of his enemies. He couldn’t hide from Kirk's blades forever, and Serenity's dance skills made her untouchable. He then had a gutsy idea: maybe he could utilize the blades instead of avoiding them. He would be in pieces if he made a wrong move, but making no move would lead to his death anyway.

   Willy waited for the next slash attempt, then pulled himself onto one of the metal letters while the blades briefly paused. He did his best to blend in with the letter e from the "skewer" word blade, then waited until the blade was raised all the way in the air. Before Kirk could swing again, Willy dove off of the weapon and landed on Kirk's back. He then transformed back into his human form while Kirk transformed into a worm. Willy grabbed Kirk's worm body before he could disappear into the dirt.

   "Nooooo! Change me back this instant!" Kirk hollered, only audible to Willy.

   "Not before I make a deal with the Mrs." Willy smiled. "Hey Serenity, if you strike a pose now, your husband will be the one in the ocean. What will your next move be?"

   "Please please please, don't kill my husband!" Serenity sobbed. "Please reunite me with him, and I swear we'll let you go!"

   "Yeah man, we'll call this off, honest!" The worm version of Kirk cried out in terror.

   "Alright, I will reunite the power couple if you let me go." Willy said gently. He then walked to Serenity with Kirk in tow.

   "Open up one of your palms, and I will put Kirk in it." Willy requested. "Once you are holding him, the power of your love should take care of everything."

   "Awwww, that's so sweet!" Serenity gushed, holding out the palm of her right hand to receive her husband back.

   Willy held Kirk over Serenity's palm, then gently dropped him into her hand.

   "So when will he be human again?" Serenity asked in a concerned tone.

   "I don't recall ever saying I would change him back." Willy replied as he touched Serenity's shoulder. "I just said I would reunite you. And now you will have even more in common!"

   Serenity screamed as everything around her grew bigger, and her arms and legs disappeared into her also shrinking body. Soon enough, she and Kirk were both worms in the palm of Willy's hand.

   "Nooooo! I trusted you! How could you do this to me too?" Serenity cried out in anguish.

   "Serenity please, your husband would have killed me the moment I changed him back, just like he's been trying to do this whole time. And don't act like you wouldn't have struck me down if you had the chance as well."

   "Fair, but we surrender for real man!" Kirk pleaded. "Please make us human again and we we will stand down. You have our word!"

   "We are for real Willy, we are done. Honest!" Serenity added.

   "I can't trust either of you as long as your boss is still here." Willy retorted while gently placing the worm forms of his enemies on the ground. "Besides, you both let Hugh alter your bodies so much that you were barely human anymore. My allies and I are going to overthrow your tyrant of a leader. Once we've done that, I'll come back for you. Maybe then I will consider changing you back. But until then, cherish the time you have with each other, no matter how the rest of your lives look."

   Kirk silently embraced Serenity as Willy walked away. Before he could walk into the castle, he noticed a snow leopard blocking the entrance.

   "Greetings Willy, I am pleased to make your acquaintance." The snow leopard said politely.

   "A cat that talks?" Willy asked. "Didn't expect that. Are you one of Hugh's flunkies too?"

   "Of course not. And what is so weird about a talking cat? Can't you turn yourself and others into worms, and didn't you just fight two people with multiple limbs that had powers from writing and dancing? Anyway, just like the man you and your allies are fighting to assist, I am also not of this world. My owner is Multan, one of the gatekeepers of the multiverse. I have the ability to prophesy, and I have come to warn you of what will come."

   "A prophet cat? That's a new one." Willy grinned. "Ok, I will hear you out. What is your name, and can you tell me what will happen at the end of this conflict?"

   "My name is Prophecat, and this is what Multan is allowing me to share. The kingdom of Prosperity will recover and return to not only what it was before, but even better. You and your allies will play an integral role in the healing of your country. However, one of you will lose their life in the process."

   "Well that figures." Willy said dejectedly. "And I take it you are not allowed to reveal which one of us won't make it?"

   "It is forbidden for me to do so, as all of you will no doubt attempt to prevent this, which will result in your country remaining in Hugh's corrupt hands. However, if you wish to run away now that you are aware of your potential fate, you are free to go. But the state of the kingdom will no doubt be impacted."

   "Not a chance." Willy smiled. "I'd rather not die, but I won't let Hugh destroy Prosperity either. I will give this rebellion my all, even if it costs me my own life."

   "You are a wise, good man." Prophecat said warmly. "I will step aside and allow you to catch up with your team. I will return when it is time for the silhouette man of the prophecy to return to his own world."

*****

   "So that's how you bested Kirk and Serenity, and caught up in time to save us from that weird Hansel and Gretel simulation!" Hypnorc said enthusiastically.

   "So one of us is going to die per that cat, huh?" Janet said in a dispirited tone.

   "Yeah." Willy said solemnly. "I figured it would be only fair to warn each of you as well should you want to bow out and preserve your life. I won't think any less of any of you if you do."

   "Out of the question." Anti-Hero said boldly. "Per Prophecat's prophesy, if any of us doesn't fulfill our role to the end, Prosperity dies. And I won't let that happen."

   "Willy, Janet, and Hypnorc smiled and nodded in agreement as they raced to catch up with Leftover. No matter what was fated for any of them, they pushed forward with a full commitment to assist in the final battle that was about to unfold.

Coming soon: the conclusion to the "Leftover Levels Up/Multiverse" arc!

*****

Prior stories from this plotline:

- A Non-Hypnotic Suggestion - https://theprose.com/post/475973/a-non-hypnotic-suggestion

- Leftover Levels Up - Part I: Entering The Multiverse - https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/41d2fe/

- Leftover Levels Up - Part II: Old/New Friends & Foes - https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/2qk4yo/

- Leftover Levels Up - Part III: Multiverse Showdown! Anti-Hero vs Janet - https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/azurfp/

- Leftover Levels Up - Part IV: A Scent of Danger - Nostrel Attacks! - https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/llqvl3/

- Multiverse Allies: A Fairy Tale Trap - https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/95mcgm/