These sentient trees weren't half bad at fighting, they all attacked Itzpapálotl viciously, slashing at her with blade-like claws, some even morphed their hands into wooden axes while others sprouted branches that were sharp and pointy as spears, yet all they could do was inflict mere scratches upon the violent goddess. They also charged at her without caring that they'd get slashed in half or cut down in an instant.
"I was hoping he could hold her off better. Flat Snark is already strong to begin with, but it takes a while for him to get to full power. Some of our battles have lasted an entire night" Alice said and you could heard a slightly echoing annoyed grumble coming from above.
"By the way, that reminds me... you said 'Good evening' when you arrived but uh, It's like 11 AM I think" You said, getting reminded of that slight oddity when she mentioned the night.
"Oh? Are you sure it's daytime?" Alice smirked and glanced up at Flat Snark, who then summoned gusts of wind that parted the clouds above you and Alice herself, revealing a full-on night sky with bright stars and all.
"Wait what?! Am I going insane?" You said in utter disbelief. Unseen by the two of you, even Itzpapálotl was utterly baffled.
"Diddle diddle, the banquet of the night" Alice spoke "I can only use my Ploys in the night, Diddle diddle can ensure that it's night time so I can always wield them in combat but if it's already night, then it can deepen it to make them stronger" She spoke in a soft whisper, her voice very delicate and soothing-sounding. "That goddess made my job a whole lot easier by blocking out the sun. The night shall be mine now"
"D-Dammit" Itzpapálotl growled. Now that it was a full-on night, she wasn't even sure she could dispel it anymore. It felt like what she took for her own advantage was seized from her, and the fact that it was not even a deity but a "mere" witch only enraged her all the more for it.
Seeing his chance to strike, Flat Snark, posing as a golden moon in the sky with green smoke forming a skull around it, so that the "moon" was one of its eyes, shone brightly and then fired down a barrage of spears made of golden moonlight, which managed to pierce Itzpapálotl's body, making her look like a glowing pincushion.
"Whoah" You were in awe to see that this girl could wield a familiar so powerful that he alone was able to hurt the terrifying goddess. Those moonlight spears not only pierced her flesh, they were burning the wounds as well. She quickly pulled them out and forcefully made her wounds close. You were no expert but it looked like the stunt cost her a sizable amount of energy. You looked around to find your grandpa's machete but a small hand grabbed you by the wrist.
"Don't bother. You're going to kill yourself if you keep fighting, leave it to me" Alice said, squeezing your wrist a little more but nowhere near close to hurt.
"That weapon is powerful, but it consumes the user's mana and right now you only have about enough to maintain vital functions, lose any more and at best you'll be out cold again, at worst you'll be dead"
"A-Alright, sorry" You said, almost by reflex. She chuckled at this response and looked at you in the eye. Even though she was quite a bit shorter than yourself and actually looking up, somehow you felt like you were the one looking up at her.
"No need to be, you didn't know" She said "Can't get mad at someone for something they didn't know that's not outright obvious. I just hope you're not some knucklehead that tries to step out the window in a second floor"
"Why would I- Nevermind... I'm not that stupid" You replied, catching on a bit late that it was some sort of joke "I like to think I'm smarter than that but I can't give myself too much credit" Alice only giggled at your answer but quickly looked back at Itzpapálotl, once more surrounded by the sentient trees.
"Looks like I'm going to need more to deal a decisive blow" She said as she let go of your wrist and began floating up in the air. Your eyes widened, she could fly without a broom?! It was surreal, she floated upwards and then flew around at her leisure, scanning the area, looking for something and when she found it she smirked and floated back down until her dainty feet gently touched the ground.
"You chose a perfect battlefield" She smiled at you and then got a more serious look, glancing quickly in the direction of your grandparents' house.
"That building is made of stone, isn't it?"
"Yeah" You nodded, not sure why that was relevant right now but you weren't going to lie to the one person trying to save your life.
"Flat Snark, double down on holding her off" She commanded. The moon-like monster up in the sky grumbled with reluctance but then it glowed intensely for a split second, making not just the trees but the grass, flowers and bushes come to life, making for a larger army that all focused solely on attacking the Obsidian Butterfly. At the same time, Flat Snark charged up more energy and fired more volleys of golden moonlight at her with uncanny precision. Alice took a deep breath, closed her eyes and then began to sing in a hauntingly beautiful voice:
"London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My fair lady
London Bridge is broken down
Broken down, broken down
London Bridge is broken down
My fair lady
Build it up with wood and clay
Wood and clay, wood and clay
Build it up with wood and clay
My fair lady
Wood and clay will wash away
Wash away, wash away
Wood and clay will wash away
My fair lady
Build it up with bricks and mortar
Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar
Build it up with bricks and mortar
My fair lady"
You noticed that she had recited another nursery rhyme to summon Diddle diddle but not Flat Snark. Then again who were you to question how witchcraft worked? But just mere moments after she sang her little song, while Itzpapálotl desperately tried to get away from the sentient plants to attack her there was a mighty tremor that almost knocked you off your feet. Alice remained steady though, as if completely unaffected.
Your grandparents' house crumbled down before your very eyes but then the rubble began to rise up, chunks of stone rearranging themselves as if being built up by countless invisible hands, assembling all of those into the form of fingers, then a hand, then an arm and eventually a monstrous, vaguely humanoid golem-like thing rose from the rubble. It was massive, about 26 ft. tall give or take. Its arms were disproportionately large and the shape of its head vaguely reminded you of a shark's.
"Thames Troll: Giant of the Bridge" Alice said in a more threatening yet solemn tone. She took a look at Itzpapálotl and then looked back at Thames.
"Destroy her" She commanded with bone-chilling seriousness.
'Holy crap' You could only stare in awe as the stone giant began walking towards the ongoing battle, making deep, echoing snarling sounds that vaguely reminded you of a whale's though no whale ever sounded as threatening.
"Are you kidding me, walking trees, a golem?! HOW DARE YOU?! TO THINK YOU CAN BEAT THE DAUGHTER OF A PRIMORDIAL WITH CHILDISH WITCHCRAFT-!" Itzpapálotl roared in absolute anger but at that very moment one of Flat Snark's moonlight spears pierced her jaw, forcing it to stay open. She then let out a blood-curling scream that outright shattered the ethereal projectile and caused both Alice and yourself to take a few steps back, though Thames remained unfazed and kept walking towards her.
Seeing this, the goddess extended her arm and fired an obsidian knife that seemingly came out of nowhere. The deadly projectile made sounds as if it were cutting the air itself while traveling but it shattered to countless pieces upon hitting the stone troll's body. Itzpapálotl then aimed both hands at it and launched two torrents of raging fire that swirled horizontally, straight towards it. Those flames hit the troll like waves would do to a rock, they sort of splashed against it but didn't even char it a little bit.
Thames then raised one of its massive arms and formed a fist, turning it into a demolishing hammer that swiftly descended upon her, making a powerful booming noise, creating a shockwave that shook the ground for a split second.
'Did that thing... beat her in one hit?' You wondered, waiting for the cloud of dust to settle down and actually see if it worked. However, before the dust cleared, a raging torrent of fire erupted from the ground, damaging the troll's hand though it quickly repaired itself and reformed.
Itzpapálotl was panting while growling heavily like a demonic beast, her eyes were glowing red intensely enough to pierce through the night's darkness. Her clawed hands had some leftover fire around them, as if you needed any evidence that she'd fired those flames.
'Slay all the sacrifices, now!' She issued a command in her mind. Elsewhere far away, in some dark and secluded place, a small group of Tzitzimimeh gathered a group of over a dozen captured people they had in what seemed to be an ancient prison that's been in disrepair for centuries. They mercilessly slaughtered the entire group and the blood spilled from their wounds appeared to burn up by ghostly flames, leaving no trace behind.
"I don't know how but she's getting stronger, tch" Alice said but she sounded more annoyed than concerned, almost as if she could still handle this "Thames!" She commanded and the troll swung one of its massive hands at the goddess who not only stopped the hit but shot a fireball that made such an explosion that large chunks of stone in the troll's torso flew off.
"Diddle!" Alice called out loud and several giant forks and knives sprouted from the ground below Itzpapálotl, who flew higher into the air to avoid getting skewered but then those oversized utensils flew at her like spears. She shot fireballs at some and blocked others with her wings, making them bend and twist out of shape and then fall to the ground and shatter. Even though they seemed to be made of steel when damaged they shattered like glass and vanished into countless bright particles that quickly scattered to the wind. You then noticed that her fists were clenched and shaking from sheer rage.
"She will pay for that" She declared in a bone-chilling tone. You really had no idea what the hell you got yourself into but at this point all you could do was watch...