Koopin shivered in the grasp of the raptor's hand, a cold air of death sweeping over him that replaced the warmth he had once known.  The raptor's eyes, blacker than any he had known, gazed upon him curiously with intrigue.  His voice now resonated with unquestionable evil from the depths of the netherworld.
	"Hmmmmm...another strange shelled creature.  Still the same eyes of innocence, but perhaps less desperate."
	"Wh-who are you?" said Koopin fearfully.  "Wh-where's James?!  What have you done with him!?"
	"I have some terrible news for you, boy.  James is not well...you should have listened to him and run."
	"P-please...just...wh-who are you?"
	"I am the death of this land, and all the other worlds that James has travelled through, including my own.  My hunger now spans beyond centuries of your understanding."
	"Y-y-you're a demon!?  S-some kind of monster?!"
	"Monster?  Hmhmhmhm...you call a starving creature desperate to feed a monster?"
He dropped Koopin from his grasp, the koopa quickly backing up and whimpering on his back before he felt another force from behind him.  Shrieking with fear as he turned, he saw the scissors now floated above him, shimmering the same vile aura that James had before.  They suddenly opened above him before plunging down on his neck, Koopin screaming as they stopped just short of his throat.  Both tips impaled into the ground on both sides of his neck, before sliding back up to allow him to run off.
Despite his fearful sprint in a desperate instinct, he was stopped by James' body suddenly blocking him from out of nowhere, shoving him down hard with a solid push onto his back.
	"Now you run?  Stupid boy, you mortals never listen the first time so why should you listen a second?"
	"G-...g-g-go away!  GO AWAY!  L-l-let go of James and leave him alone, leave us alone!"
	"And why would I listen to you, a weaker individual than my host..."
Koopin suddenly felt a deep sniff against his neck, turning around to see the creature had suddenly appeared behind him, despite being clearly in front of him the whole time.  When he looked back twice, he had already gone and remained only near him, grasping his throat once more as he cried out in fear.
	"...especially one who acts the role of the female, sodomite?"
	"Wh-wh-what?!  Wh-what do you mean?!"
	"If you are beneath my host in intimacy, then you are worth even less of my contempt and respect than his prey.  All it takes is one little twist of my fingers and I snap your neck like a brittle twig."
	"N-n-n-no!  S-stop it!"
	"Not even going to say please?"
	"Wh-why should I?!  You're a monster, what do you care, just let me GO!"
	"...hmmm...strange...your fear disappeared rather quickly...wait."
A gentle press of his clawed thumb on Koopin's throat made him gasp and choke hard, his air running out incredibly fast as pressure was put on his windpipe.  He clawed furiously at the raptor's hand, crying out silently.
	"There it is."

He released him once more, causing Koopin to fall onto his knees and cough horribly, almost choking back the air, looking up with fearful eyes.
	"I see that my host holds you in very special regard, for whatever reason.  Perhaps he enjoys having someone weaker to dominate over...of that I can understand."
	"Wh-why are you...where did you come from?  Why are you doing this to him?  Why are you making him suffer?!"
	"Make HIM suffer?  Have you not considered how I may be suffering?"
	"H-how could a monster like you suffer?"
	"By being starved!  By being treated like nothing more than a wretched object of a dark legacy!  Do you know how long it has been since I had to feast on a wretched soul?!"
The scissors began to radiate more strongly behind the raptor, intensifying to a sickening blood-purple hue.
	"I...I don't-"
	"Three years!  Three of YOUR wretched years, and I am tired of being abused and put down within my place like a dying whelp!  Your wretched friend from another world owes me a great debt for my power, and he must keep his end of the bargain if he wants to keep his sanity intact!"
	"Wh-what debt?!  Where did you come from?!  What are you doing to him?!"
	"A debt that has been conceived six years in the making, one that took half that time to create with enough strength to force his hand as if it were my own.  His body, wretched as it was, was far more superior and stronger than the worthless stillborn I was first given, onto a silver platter.  In another time, I was known as the Scissorman.  Now, I have taken your dear friend's form with a new title as the Scissoraptor.  I come from a mansion far away, beyond your own world, and it is by his hand alone that he shall fall beneath my shadow...as well as you."
	"Wha-...m-me?  Why me?!"
	"You do not think I shall let you live to see the end of this day after all that I have revealed, now do you?  I do not wish to lose the element of surprise when hunting my prey."
	"H-hunting...prey?  Oh stars...n-no, you don't mean-"
	"I mean PRECISELY what you think, my little sodomite."
Koopin slowly stood up, a fearful realisation coming through into his mind.
	"No...n-no no you can't, you wouldn't!"
	"Ohhh but I must.  Just as you must need to your daily bread, I must need to mine, no matter how well that James Campbell has tried to sate me over the past few months.  This forest is filled with mystery and confusion...it will make a fine lair for me to retreat to.  I will offer you a last gift from your lover.  Run.  Let us see how long you last in the five seconds you leave my sight."

The Scissoraptor chuckled with the sound of reprehensible darkness, his voice like that of a hand scraping across a ruined tombstone.  Koopin immediately began to run, trying desperately to want to escape as he reached the edge of the clearing.  He reflected on the last words the creature said to him.  The darkened eyes of pure evil, the very aura of cruelty radiating from his lover's body.  He was terrified for what this creature would do if it were ever unleashed outside of this forest.
Then he started to realise.  Why James had been acting like this.  Of course by now he realised that it was this demon's influence, but then he realised something else.  Something that caused him to reflect on the past three years of his life.
He said he was doing this to protect me...all those trips to Rogueport, all that hiding away, keeping me away from the scissors so I could never touch them...he wanted to keep me safe from him.  ...I can't let it end like this.  Not after all he's done for me.  ...I can't run away.  I know why I can't run away...it would make everything I've done pointless if I did.
Koopin stopped at the edge of the clearing, and turned back towards Scissoraptor.  The creature simply looked back towards him, before swiftly blurring out of Koopin's focus and reappearing mere inches in front of him, staring down upon him with a contemptuous sneer.  The koopa was clearly terrified, struggling to speak his words firmly.
	"Are you deaf or is your mind inferior too?  Did I not tell you to run?"
	"I won't run.  I-i'm not running away, not while my James is in danger."
	"He is not in danger...yet.  You however I cannot say the same."
	"I don't care," said Koopin fearfully, "I love him too much to let someone like YOU hurt him, you monster."
	"Once again you fail to comprehend what is a monster and what is a creature that demands survival.  Do you truly think you have the mental capacity to comprehend my desire?  I am not a creature of cruelty, I am merely a creature who consumes like any other.  I may not feast on flesh, but it is still the same, mortals like you must consume every day, what is different from me than you?"
	"Because if I know what you're saying, I don't murder people."
	"Do plants and other creatures feel the same way beneath you?  Does all life not exist to consume other life in a vicious cycle?  I am merely a propagator, a slave to the cycle that rises above you.  Your soul is nothing more than food, and the only reason I do not destroy you now is that the creatures of this world amuse me...with their pathetically childish innocence.  I enjoy such a quality within mortals...it makes their fear far more incomprehensible."
	"You're evil.  I don't care what you say, you are NOT getting past me and hurting anyone else ever again!"
	"Spare me your pitiful false courage, do I have to repeat myself?  James understands me, he is nothing but a monster himself, who in turns begets a master to control him.  Your dear lover is the beast you so callously stand against, whereas I...am merely the one who sustains him-NGH!"
Scissoraptor suddenly lurched back in surprise when he was punched in the stomach unexpectedly.  Looking down, he saw Koopin, standing with a frightened but furious look.
	"...you..."
	"Shut.  The fuck!  UP!"

With a furious roar came another powerful punch to the face, countered in turn by the monster grabbing the fist and shoving back Koopin hard.  He stumbled, but soon went into his stance, ready to fight.
	"Hhhhmhmhmhm ha ha ha ha...do you actually think you can fight me you pathetic sodomite?"
	"I won't let you hurt anyone, you monster!"
	"Stupid boy.  Why would you even dare fight me instead of running for your life?  Do you not fear me?  I can see it in your eyes."
	"James would do this for me!  I...I can't be scared!  I'll stop you!"
	"With what?  Your kind words or your naive little mind?"
	"No, with my FISTS!"
The koopa gutpunched again, but Scissoraptor anticipated it and blocked, making Koopin grab his arm and bash the upper arm with his elbow to make him fall back in some very slight pain.  The beast was bemused by the audacity of the koopa.
	"Hmph, so you DO wish to die."
Koopin said nothing and went back into his battle stance, ready to fight as Scissoraptor merely grinned with a cruel chuckle.  The visage was frightening to see, a dear lover possessed by pure evil.
	"I have rarely tasted the blood of those like you...you will be a very special kill to me, boy.  It is very rare a mortal should ever face me in such a manner...I will give you time.  I can kill you with but a single strike, but now I am intrigued by how little you can harm me."
The creature clicked his clawed fingers as the scissors behind him slowly flipped upside down in the air, opening the blades like that of a clock.  A darkened flame burned softly between the scissor tips.
	"Five minutes.  That is how long I shall let you fight before I kill you...I hope you will enjoy the feeling of your lover's claws slicing through your throat."
The raptor walked forwards confidently as Koopin braced himself, ready to fight with a trick up his sleeve.  He readily punched across the snout of his foe, followed by several more punches to the side and a spinning kick.  Taking the first few hits, he grabbed Koopin's leg before punching straight onto in the back of his shell, slamming him down with a squawk of pain.  He swiftly rolled back up, waiting for the next opportunity to attack.

He did not attack first, waiting with fearful trepidation for Scissoraptor to make the first move, a simple backhanded slash countered by Koopin by using his own backhand.  The demon however simply lunged forwards and slashed across Koopin's face, scarring his cheek as he cried out.  But he held his ground, retaliating by punching straight into the eyes and bullrushing him with a clothesline maneuver.  Using a footpin, he shoved the creature down hard onto his back, before he floated back up with a sneer of contempt.
	"Four minutes."
The scissors clicked behind him like a clock, as the demon approached him once more, but teleported just before Koopin could strike.  Appearing straight beside him, Scissoraptor slashed at his arm, making Koopin flinch and shriek as he quickly spin-kicked in retaliation.  The kick connected with the creature's head, who grunted before Koopin spun once more and slammed his injured arm straight into Scissoraptor's gut, brutally punching hard enough to make him slightly hunch over.
Koopin did not relent, readily slamming his fist once more into the demon-possessed body higher up, going for the chest before a final third strike for the face.  Before he could hit the raptor's face, Scissoraptor grabbed the fist in his waiting hand and squeezed threateningly.  Koopin felt as if his fingers were going to be crushed, making him wince and gasp before he was punched in the stomach.  Even with his shell, the power of this creature inside James' body could surely be felt in the form of a bruising pain, almost heaving from the blow.
	"Three minutes."
He waited for Koopin to recover his breath, before allowing him to strike again.  Koopin feinted with another punch, before swinging low with a roundhouse kick at the legs, forcing Scissoraptor to buckle.  As he bent down slightly, Koopin summoned his will for a furious axe kick, slamming his foot up high with a scream and straight into the demon's chin, before striking down onto his head from below.
It stunned the demon well enough for Koopin to dodge him to the side before slamming a hammerfist straight into the back of his head, spinning in his dodge to gain more power.  But the demon had disappeared just before it striked, leaving Koopin to spin wildly and force him to rebalance himself.  Scissoraptor reappeared behind him, but Koopin saw him just in time to dodge before he slashed violently through the air.

Koopin swiftly charged forwards with a brutal knee-strike, forcing it straight into the creature's gut once more only for Scissoraptor to once again block him down.  A single slam of his hand down on the knee before punching Koopin hard across the cheek, bruising him considerably.  Spitting hard from the pain of his now-swollen cheek, he roared and charged forwards to duck low as if about to kick, before he made a rising uppercut straight into the unexpecting demon's chin once more.  He even managed to scrape his knuckles across the chest.
Scissoraptor grunted and slightly stumbled back, more in surprise than any actual pain before summoning a furious energy into his fist.  One single punch straight out went into Koopin's gut, cracking the shell as he shrieked almost silently.  Falling back into a rolling tumble, he whimpered and struggled to get up.  The throbbing pain in his gut made him want to vomit, and he almost dry-heaved just to get rid of the feeling.
	"Two...minutes."
Koopin snarled before forcing himself to stand back up, reminding himself of why he was doing this.  With a cracked shellbelly, and a somewhat hunched walk as he struggled to regain his second wind, he ran forwards with desperation.
	"DIE MONSTER, YOU DON'T BELONG IN THIS WORLD!"
Swinging his fists with less caution and more strength, he spun hard into a double hammerfist motion, striking across Scissoraptor's face, before using the momentum to make a spinning roundhouse kick.  Further cracking across the now-wounded raptor's jaw, he slammed another furious uppercut lower than before, straight into the gut once again around the solar plexus.  The raptor responded by bending over to grab Koopin's right arm.
In retaliation, he tightened his grip on Koopin's arm before viciously sending a rising knee strike straight into the upper arm.  The koopa's arm suddenly snapped, the major bone forced both ways to crack violently into a bend, making Koopin scream with a heart-wrenching agony.  Pushed violently away, his right arm hung limply at his side, forcing himself to not kneel in utter torment at his broken limb.  Clutching it hard, he gently got back up, ready to fight once more.
	"One and a half minutes left."

The mocking of time by the Scissoraptor only fuelled Koopin's desperation, as he hastily rushed forwards waiting for the demon to strike.  The moment he did, he braced himself and turned his right arm towards him, wincing as his deadened arm took the blow before he shoulder-charged him hard.  Pushing him back, he pulled his left arm back with a tremendous punch straight through him, a violent haymaker that cracked through Scissoraptor's jaw.
The creature noticed his jaw was out of alignment, looking down at it with great distaste before grabbing it in one hand and cracking it back into place.  He smiled smugly as if nothing had happened, which only scared Koopin just enough for him to not react quick enough the moment the demon phased forwards.  Soon he was on top of him, and Koopin's first reaction was to snap-kick him in the gut.  The raptor grabbed at his foot, clutching the ankle tightly with a cruel smile.  Then the scissors came down hard from above, swishing over his head.
The flat of the blades was so powerful from the sheer strength of this demon's force, that his right leg followed the way of his right arm and was broken in two.  Koopin barely even registered the snap, but the pain was like lightning through his whole body.  He spasmed backwards in shrieking pain, falling to roll onto his side while desperately trying to clutch his ankle.  He couldn't find the strength to get up in time, as the Scissoraptor proclaimed.
	"One minute left...unless you have some great power hidden beneath you, your end is nigh."
	"A-AAAAAH!  AAAAAAAAGH!"
Koopin could only respond by sobbing into the grass, whimpering as his broken leg twitched in instinctive pain, his right arm pressed underneath his body in an attempt to numb the pain.  Soon he tried to stand up, shivering and forcing himself not to stand on his right leg, which bent out from his body awkwardly.  But he could find no balance, and soon crumpled again, screaming as he hurt his leg even more.

	"Forty seconds...this is why I prefer toys, they don't scream endlessly when I break them...but then they don't react in pain either so that does not make them better I suppose."
	"A-AAAANGH!  NO!  I...I won't...LOSE!"
	"Your body has been broken, yet you still dare to stand before me?!  Am I not a wretched enough sight to fill you with despair?!"
	"I...won't...run."
Koopin's breath turned ragged with pain, gritting his teeth as he sat in an awkward position, half-folded knees beneath him while clutching his right arm.
	"I...I love...James.  And I don't care...what you are, you are NOT going to win!  I won't LET you win!"
	"Hmph...it is rare I witness such foolishness.  Do not try to sway me with words of love and hope, when I have extinguished that flame many a time in my existence, both in your world and many others."
	"James saved my life, so now I'll save his!"
Koopin struggled to stand, clutching his broken shoulder hard with a dragging leg, but only able to reach a few inches closer before falling once again.
	"I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANYONE!"
	"Then I shall correct your mistake."
A simple click of his fingers brought the scissors to his side, ready to aim straight towards Koopin like a piercing lance of evil.
	"Your shell shall not save you, your light shall not linger.  You shall become another wound upon my host's wretched body, when I pierce your naive little heart.  Fifteen seconds."
All Koopin could do was kneel from weakness, desperate to fight but too wounded to continue.  He gazed up above through the barest of light between trees, shivering as he held his one good hand to his heart.  His tears of agony ran true from his cheek, as his thoughts stayed with him in the form of a prayer.  He had nothing else he could do.
Stars...please...help me.
	"Six seconds."
Help me save him...help me save James from this evil monster.
	"Four."
Give me the strength to fight him, so I can win him back.
	"Three."
Please!
	"Two."
PLEASE!
	"Die."
Screaming like a banshee, the scissors shrieked through the air across the forest clearing.  Yet while they had struck true in their path, they never could pierce into warm innocent flesh.  Something had stopped them, striking the air with a piercing sound.
	"...what?"

The flat indignation within Scissoraptor's voice said plenty.  Koopin's body was now shielded within a transcendental light, soft and pale with the colour of lavender.  The shielding light soon folded inwards to shatter outwards hard, as if it were glass, striking the scissors back towards the raptor demon's side.
	"...what did you do?!  What is this MOCKERY?!"
Koopin slowly began to rise up, floating within a glowing essence of soft gentle light, nurturing and yellow.  His limbs started to repair themselves somehow, arm and leg bathed within light only to be reformed unbroken, without a sound.
	"The power of a wish," said Koopin with awe.
Slowly settling down back onto earth, he looked over his body with a strange yet calm curiosity.  He knew by the warm feeling what this power was, but to think he would even be given such had concerned him.  His shell began to shine, the two arrow-shaped markings forming into another whole new shape.  Glimmering pathways of light formed on both sides of his marks, changing them into a star.  Clarity soon opened within his mind.
	"...you.  You're the darkness I was warned of."
	"What?!  Who warned you of me?!  My darkness exists outside of time and prophecy!  BEGONE!"
He sent out his scissors once again, but Koopin simply held his one hand upon his heart, clenched it into a fist and imagined a shield.  He had felt that flicker in his mind before when he clutched a hand to his heart in prayer, the need to protect.  It seemed to work once again as the scissors clanged hard against the strange force.  Scissoraptor shivered the moment the scissors hit, as Koopin demanded:
	"I said before...go...AWAY!"
Striking the air in a backhand motion, he shattered the shield once more to send it hurtling towards Scissoraptor, who simply grabbed it out of the air like it was a toy.  He was indignant, furious with outrage.
	"How can a mortal as pathetic as you manage to repel my blade?!  You were snivelling and broken but a few minutes ago you pathetic WORM!"
	"As long as I have that wish," said Koopin firmly, "the Stars themselves will protect me.  The Stars have granted me my wish, my wish to protect my love, and to keep him safe.  I don't care what happens to me, but so long as James or anyone else I love is in danger I will NOT die.  Now I'll fulfil my own wish, by destroying YOU!"
	"You FOOL!  Do you think your little dreams will keep you alive?!  What sort of childish prattle do you believe in?!"
	"You tell me!"
With a roar that made his shell shudder with power, he charged forwards with an incredible speed, a blinding rush that Scissoraptor struggled to anticipate before trying to block Koopin's punches.  A rapid-fire four-hit combo across his face, he ended with a furiously strong blast of light within the palm of his fist, punching straight into the raptor's dead eye.  A shuddering roar of fury and pain came from the demon as he stumbled back, swinging out his scissors in defence.  Koopin's fists now glowed strong with a pure white light.

	"RARGH!  You DARE to burn me with your FEEBLE LIGHT!?!"
	"THIS IS WHAT THE STARS TOLD ME!  TO PROTECT PEOPLE FROM DEMONS LIKE YOU!  I BECAME STRONG JUST TO PROTECT JAMES!  NOW LET GO OF HIM, OR ELSE I'LL MAKE YOU!"
	"Arrogant boy, you cannot comprehend the power that I've been coursing through the body of your lover for several years, and I hardly think I will leave because of you."
	"Let...him...GO!"
	"Don't you understand anything!?!  My machinations are timeless!  Your life is not, and neither were the lives of those he had slaughtered before, both here in your world and far away in other lands!
	"Wh-what?!"
	"Open your eyes, sodomite!  Has he not told you why he has travelled so far away from you every once a while?!  There is only one way to sate my hunger, and the poor wretched naive creatures of your world shall suffice!"
	"...no...no.  I don't care what he's done!  I've seen the shame and fear in his eyes, you made him do it, YOU MADE HIM!"
	"HAH!"
Striking out with his scissors in a rushing charge, he slashed furiously across Koopin's body, forcing the koopa to try and block the dreadful blades with his empowered wrists.  The darkness clashed against radiant light, forcing Koopin's arms away before he was forced to trap both of the blades together, within his own wrists crossed into an X.  The scissors had tried to open to cut venomously at Koopin, but his wrists now blocked both tips, the demon snarling:
	"Ignorant child, I will enjoy making him see your face when you bleed that "holy" light from your eyes."
	"He never will.  Now fight me for real!  I'll send you back to whatever darkness you came from!"
	"Hmph...very well."
Shimmering in front of Koopin, he reappeared halfway across the clearing to give himself a running start, his blades before him like a fencer's sword.
	"Let us see if your childish dreams can withstand my centuries of darkness."
	"Never underestimate somebody with a dream.  A dream is all it takes for someone to do what's right."
	"If all the dreams of all the children I have ever met could not defeat me, as I made them bleed down my blades, how do YOU think your wish can possibly stand up to me!?"
	"I don't know.  But one thing I do know is that I love James, and that is my ONLY wish!  To save him, no matter what you do to me!"
	"Hmhmhm...ohhh to think I was once brought into this world within a child...when I took his dreams, and made them mine within the womb of his mother in worship to me....perhaps you are right.  Children do have powerful dreams.  They kept ME alive for some time.  But they will NEVER destroy me.  Now die for me!"

Scissoraptor charged with scissors hung low, grinning cruelly as he striked in an arcing slash upon Koopin's head, before spinning fast to thrust straight into him.  Koopin blocked the first strike with an overhead guard, his wrist somehow guarded by the light to not be cut clean through by the scissors.  When the creature spun in order to thrust with the momentum of his blade, swinging in a full circle, Koopin dodged inwards to his right with a vicious punch to the face, the light further burning into the demon's eyes.
Roaring in pain, the creature swung horizontally with light-breaking speed, striking across Koopin's face both ways before phasing out of his vision and slashing hard into his gut.  His shell had been repaired by the light, but the bruising pain soon resurged as Koopin winced.  But he retaliated by spinning on one leg to strike out with a mighty roundhouse kick, once for the head which missed, and another to the legs which didn't.
With the demon buckling slightly from the back of his knees, Koopin took his chance and kept his momentum, swinging down a tremendous axe kick down onto the back of Scissoraptor's head.  This time it worked, the creature not expecting such strength to resurge from the koopa.  He only turned more furious as he swung down once more, both blades pierced out to scratch down Koopin's face twice, scarring him deeper.  Even down his shell with a scraping sound he could harm him.
Koopin quickly dodged back before Scissoraptor charged again, scissors now fully out as he cut viciously for his throat.  The koopa did not take any chances and used his empowered fists to block the blades on the inside, before forcing them apart and punching straight into Scissoraptor's face.  The light radiating from such only further damaged the demon, making him flinch back before trying to stab at Koopin repeatedly.  He got one lucky hit off right into the shoulder, but nothing more.
As the demon regained his vision quickly, he released his scissors from his grip and allowed them to float freely around his body.  Now they began to weave through the air around him, seeking to destroy.  Both demon and weapon charged together, forcing Koopin to have to deal with two opponents.  Furious slashing attacks came from the demon raptor, whilst the scissors aided him with brutal slices of surgical precision.

He wasn't able to cope with two attacks from different directions, for everytime he blocked and countered a slashing claw, the scissors would strike down upon his shell or limbs, scarring him deeper.  He knew he had to get away, as he bullrushed the demon body with a footpin and shove before charging past him.  When the scissors followed after him, he swung low and made a rising scissor kick in fitting retribution.  His boots slammed twice into the blades, kicking them back with a shuddering groan from the Scissoraptor.
Despite being empowered by the stars above, he was still finding himself starting to run ragged, exhaustion starting to settle in as the creature saw his chance.  Shifting forwards with scissors slicing hard through the air, he slashed in time with the blades, doubling up his attack as Koopin desperately tried to block and dodge.  Striked down across his arms and legs, he took the brunt of one slashing blow to the arm and propelled his knee straight into the creature's leg, making it bend forcefully so.
Stumbling slightly to the ground, Scissoraptor sneered and made a daring move in surging a deeper powerful darkness from within, causing a shockwave to strike out like a ball around his body.  The force of darkness slammed Koopin back hard, falling into a roll before swiftly standing back up.  He took a moment to focus his breaths, regaining his wind and spirit to await the next attack.  Now the demon started to use its arcane influence, slicing a dark ribbon of evil power across the grassy clearing.
The grass in its wake had wilted to beyond death, the barest patch of soil now dried and deadened.  Koopin however dodged quick enough to not know its influences on him, before charging forwards into a flying kick, planting his boot straight into the creature's maw.  In retaliation, Scissoraptor roared with sickening fury and grabbed at Koopin's throat, violently strangling him.

Koopin, caught up in the rush of battle, spat into the demon's face to make him blink and pause very briefly in surprise, before pulling him down hard on top of him.  Just as quickly as he had done so, he slammed his feet straight into the Scissoraptor's scaly gut, pushing him hard off of him and onto the grass.  The creature however slowed down its fall through its dark influences, floating briefly before calmly stepping onto the soil.
With roaring fury, Scissoraptor grabbed his scissors and swung low across Koopin's legs, slicing his knees with blinding speed and making him scream before buckling.  He forced himself to dodge-roll before the scissors could come down on his head, keeping away for now before he could stand up and grit his teeth against the pain.  The demon came charging for him once more, forcing Koopin to clash his shining wrists against rusted steel.  Koopin had never realised how strangely cold the weapon was, even after such battle.
	"What manner of child can withstand death's certainty for so long?"
	"I'm NOT a child!  My NAME is KOOPIN!"
	"Do you think I care?!  Stop fighting against your fate and DIE!"
	"NO!"
Headbutting the raptor hard, he made Scissoraptor flinch before trying to kick for the gut, but the raptor was quick enough to slam the scissors down onto his leg.  The painful blunt force was enough to make Koopin limp briefly, winching before he grabbed at the scissors on the outside of their blades.  Soon he found himself within a tug-of-war against the demon, quickly planting his boot straight into the side of Scissoraptor's knee and forcing him to buckle once more.  In his weakened grip, Koopin yanked the scissors away before striking him down with the blunt edges.
Panting heavily, Koopin now found himself wielding the dreaded instrument, the evil permeating clearly from it.  Then he realised something.  The demon wasn't in FG.  It was merely using him like a puppet from afar.  Koopin grinned with a light of understanding, holding up the blades and feeling strangely lighter than he expected them to be.
	"Now it's MY turn."
	"Hah, so you realise that the weapon wields the warrior.  And how exactly does this change anything?"
	"Oh it changes everything.  ...STARS!  Give me STRENGTH!"

Koopin raised the weapon high like a shining sword, pointing towards the heavens.
	"Give me the strength to banish this demon from the one that I love!  Make evil retreat from within his heart!  Release him from his torment!"
With that proclamation of a wish, the koopa's body turned all the more pure with light, radiating an incredible brilliance that almost consumed him from sight.  His shell glistened with nothing but starlight, as the scissors became enveloped within that same innocent light.  As soon as the steel deadly tips began to glow, the demon raptor's body began to twitch into seizure.
	"A-A-ARGH!  AUUUGH!  Wh-whAt aRe yoU dOing yoU FOOL!?"
	"FREEING JAMES FROM YOUR EVIL!  I DON'T CARE WHAT HE'S DONE FOR YOU, YOU WILL NEVER HAVE HIM!"
	"YOU...W-WReTCHed SODOMITE!
The Scissoraptor roared an unearthly howl, screaming in pain as the light enveloped his original source, the scissors starting to shine with a true brilliance he had rarely ever seen.  A deep scorching light started to infect his form, twitching within the rust which undulated and changed across the steel like a hidden creature.  The scissors started to glow stronger, the light mixing against darkness to create a strange grey monochrome, starting to envelop Koopin's hands.
The demon's puppet also showed the effects, his eyes blanking out from black to grey, while occasionally reverting back to green.  Roars of furious anguish shook through the earth, but Koopin stood his ground.  He wished harder with all his might, wishing against everything he feared to fight back against the evil.  Not for him, but for James.  The darkness began swarming, and Scissoraptor found himself left with one desperate option.
A darkness soon came towards him, rushing violently with a guttural roar.  All he could do was brace himself, his heart tightening with all the strength he could muster, eyes widening with the coming of fear.

James woke up the moment he heard Koopin scream.