The third great clash in the conflict between the Crossroads and the Unmaking proved to be the longest yet. The Siege of Markov had been a lightning rush, a desperate defense that had lasted the better part of the day. The assault on Nausicaa, a surgical strike, aimed to corrupt an arbiter before its planet was any the wiser. Where Darksied struck from unexpected fronts, the Crossroad’s counter offensive was long expected. The battle for Acolyte station had been a grueling assault for both sides. After hours of devastation, the warzone still raged.
As the light started to ebb into twilight, those few with strength remaining continued to struggle for the fate of the planet. This day had birthed hundreds of tales and marked the final chapter for hundreds more, lost forever to the chaos of the battlefield. Only one being had seen the whole of the conflict, powerless to stop the events that had sent the calamity into motion.
She had never sought this power. She had answered the call when the people who needed her had asked, never realizing the profound alone-ness that she had sacrificed her being to become. The isolation had become fuel for Darkseid’s fires, manifesting as the Void through which the Fade would bring unmaking to Cevanti, even as it struggled against titanic forces.
The Markovian army was significant in size, but much of their firepower was now spent. Their grand strategy was depleted. Any sane commander would have ceded the battlefield and fled long ago. But these soldiers knew. They had tidings that Darksied’s power menaced Markov, and that they would not have a city remaining if they fled here. There was never a true offensive against the Unmaking, just a desperate final defense. They fought on, separated into pockets of tired and desperate warriors, struggling to hold against the endless wave of Akata that came, jowls howling with silence. The silence of the Void that waited to end the final embers of Cevanti’s hope.
There was no safety on the battlefield now. Even a dashing former showrunning-demigod could find himself forced into battle, as Akata poured in from every angle. Karl Jak was decidedly unamused. His honor guard of Uber-Jasons massacred Akata with a classless efficiency. It was bloody, but there was no
spectacle to be found in this, aside from the sheer scale of the thing. He sighed wistfully.
An enterprising Akata bounded off the shoulder of one of the Uber-Jasons, slipping through. Its tendril mane swayed in the air, as it lunged, but the metallic echo of an uru hammer, deflected the beast dowards. Kevin stepped forwards regretfully as the weapon returned to his grasp.
“I had hoped we could maintain a non-combative support, Kevin.” Karl sighed.
“Think that ship has sailed, sir.” Kevin replied, watching as the stubborn beast got back to its feet.
Karl’s Ki-blast struck the Akata in the shoulder, punching a hole clear through the beast before vaporizing the whole creature to dust in a flash of light. The glow faded to reveal the grinning mask of the Man in Red.
“And here I thought you had retired?” the masked showman spoke, “a curious choice of getaways.”
Karl shrugged, “It seemed to be the only way for someone to catch up to my quality of programming. You’ll get there someday.”
The Man in Red chuckled, “Yes, I am sure the Abyss was flawless from its premiere.”
The showrunners stared one another down. Neither even gave a hint of notice as a pack of Akta bore down on their location. The silently howling monsters did not reach either of them, however. A wall full of blades, both floating and wielded appeared as Number ten, Number six and Travis Touchdown stepped in to intercept the unmade pack’s charge. A pair of mecha-jasons arrived soon after, cornering the pack.
“Seems you’ve brought quite the posse to this little scrap!” Karl smiled.
The man in Red raised his hands in a theatrical shrug, “Not all of us just use these battles for our R&D purposes.”
“Of course. No need to make me out as some heartless opportunist. You could say it’s thanks to me that they even managed to make this much headway to begin with.” the Syntech spokesman sniffed faintly.
“I suppose you could. But I won’t.” The Man in Red turned without another word, leaping back into the battle with the eager glee that Karl could not find himself matching. The man in Red’s bodyguards moved to follow, a frustrated Travis Touchdown doing his best to keep up.
“Kevin… I think we should look for an exit strategy. This little song and dance has well run its course.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Kevin winced, inspecting a bite mark on his shoulder, “I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect of getting mangled again.”
As the Syntech forces began to disengage, the Man in Red was fully on the offensive. There was a part yet for him to play in this endeavor. He swept between Akata, a masked man on a silent mission. Finally, he spied the combatant he had been searching for. A borrowed bit of power sent him high into the air, away from the hungry jaws. The masked performer landed lightly alongside Shinku. The assassin didn’t flinch, but he watched the Man in Red carefully from the corner of his eye.
“Do you need something?” Shinku asked. The smiling mask continued its unwavering grin.
“I don’t at this precise moment, but it strikes me that you may find yourself in need of these.” The showman tossed a pair of small sparkling items towards Shinku who snatched them out of the air expertly.
“Best of luck!” The man in Red spoke cheerfully before prancing off towards the nearest group of Akata, weapon in hand. Shinku glanced down at his hand, the pair of earrings glittered brightly despite the dusty haze of the twilight battlefield. The blaring of a pair of roman trumpets brought the assassin’s attention to the near distance, where the remaining members of Marius’s forces yet persisted.
Marius’s gladius sunk deep into one of the Akata’s endless numbers. He looked to his men. Their muscles ached with fatigue, and their bodies bled from countless wounds, but still the resolve shone brightly in their hearts. They held their ground, as they had done since the opening blows of this battle, now hours past.
“Fight on, my brothers! This day we win our glory from Mars!” He raised his weapon high, and though weary, his men answered his call. Marius turned to face the next pack of Akata with a rekindled determination. Maximus and John Conner stepped up alongside him, giving a nod.
“We need a defensive formation.” John frowned, “We need to keep our men alive. We need to find a hill or something, quickly.”
“That will be a small matter.” Maximus chuckled, “The sons of Rome make their own hills.”
“Testudo!” the general called out, and the ranks of roman soldiers closed, shields locking against one another in the turtle formation that had served his legion well in ages past. They would be the rocks upon which this wave of Akata would break. The tortoise shell of roman shields buckled and shook as Akatan bodies hurtled against it. Spears and swords were thrust from the gaps in the wall of shields. Marius shouted, his spear finding purchase in the shoulder of a lunging Akata. These were the sons of the wolf, and they would not break here!
They fought valiantly, but the enemy seemed staggeringly endless. The man to Marius’s left lost his footing and fell under the weight of Akata bodies. The gap in the formation would grow and destroy the whole formation if they could not recover. He shouted a warning, they needed to close ranks or the lot of them would meet their end here!
As the Akata pushed into the space, a shadow seemed to rise up from the darkness under the roman shields. The dark katana of Shinku swept upwards in an arc, cleaving cleanly through the front half of one of the lead attackers. The silent assassin swept forwards in practiced sweeps, a single strike for each foe until he had stepped past the outer edge of the shieldwall.
“Thank you, now get back here! You’ll be overwhelmed outside the formation!” Marius shouted, even as his men closed the gap in the shieldwall. Shinku flung his Katana end over end, biting into the flank of a pack leader, a spectral chain trailing from the blade back to his hand. The assassin turned back to Marius with a grin.
“I think not.” Shinku said simply, then fell backwards into his own shadow, disappearing into the chaos of the battle as the Akata pressed against the shieldwall once again.
The other warriors on the battlefield fared little better. Blade darted between foes, trailing lightning. She danced one step ahead of death, knowing that the moment she stopped moving, the Akata would swarm over her.
A bolt of lightning struck the ground behind her, launching fried Akata into the air. She glanced behind her with confusion, knowing it had been too large to be hers. This lightning belonged to the demigod, Zagreus, who strode through the battlefield, wielding it with abandon.
“Now that’s a good bit of smiting!” Father Anderson cackled as he glanced up from his latest kill, “Heathen heresy though it may be!”
The Akata has also noticed the lightshow, it seemed, for a mass of silent monsters was closing in on their position. The priest adjusted his grip on his bayonets, glancing to his masked fighting companion. Snowfall gave a short nod, and the two of them dashed forwards to meet the oncoming enemy. The Akata held no fear for those who had managed to outlast the plague marine.
Nor did it hold any fear for the Thundersharks, a fighting force whose bonds had proven stronger than death itself. Zaiyn swept through akata, twin swords in hand, thoroughly in his element. Coda followed close behind, now measuring her shots as ammo was running low. A nearby whoop sang out as Majima leapt through the air, his knife slicing cleanly through akatan flesh. Kiryu followed in short order, quieter, but no less deadly. A lunging Akata was met literally head-on, as Kiryu smashed his iron brow into a faceful of tentacles with an audible crunch.
The sound was echoed and amplified as Nanaue bit down on an Akatan spine. The king of sharks gave what could best be described as a disappointed whine, dropping the broken beast to the ground and pawing at his mouth.
“Bad num-nums!” He complained to Mr. Satan. The middle-aged martial artist shook his head.
“You shouldn’t be eating them anyway! Here, watch this!” The Multerran martial arts champion leapt through the air. Landing a kick to the jaw of a surprised Akata. The beast reeled sideways, but its tendril mane caught hold of Mr. Satan’s foot, pulling the cringing man off of his feet and sending him tumbling across the ground. Head still spinning, Mr. Satan sat up to find himself face to face with a pair of alien eyes.
He was spared meeting a gruesome fate by the sudden arrival of floating numbers.
“It’s all about knowing how to hit ‘em!” The bird-headed Sunraku slid forwards, his vorpal blade slicing deep into an Akatan jaw. A large number popped into the air nearby as the beast fell to the ground. The gamer stood up with a faint sigh.
“Of course, it’s bad design for them to keep using the same mob like this. Once you figure out the best way to beat them it kinda takes the fun out of it.”
The screeching of pained tires heralded the arrival of Nux’s rover. It swept across the broken ground with abandon, spiked plough crashing through any Akata too slow to get out of the way.
“See? That’s more like it!” Sunraku laughed, “I gotta find one of those!”
His eagerness was not entirely matched by Travis Touchdown, who clung to the back of the vehicle like a chariot, occasionally lashing out at a nearby Akata with his beam saber. The warboy whooped and hollered as they raced across the broken terrain.
“I know we’re taking this to the max, but don’t you think this is a little fast?” The assassin winced, white-knuckling his grip as they swerved suddenly away from a rift of void energy.
“We must! We are awaited in Valhalla!” Nux responded with an eager grin, removing his steering wheel to hold it high above his head.
Travis rolled his eyes, glancing up at the universe in general for any kind of support, but only the chaotic conflict answered him.
“What a wonderful day.” He muttered to no one in particular.
The assassin’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the floating Casa De Metralla, growing steadily larger as it continued its inevitable plunge out of the skies. The castle smoked and burned, but its walls remained resolute. The structure crashed to Cevanti’s surface with a resounding inevitablity, a semi-controlled descent to land upon a massing force of Akata. When the impact’s dust cloud had cleared the structure sat at a slight angle, an impressive crater rising up to meet the floating island.
Brushing a smudge from his flight jacket, the blood-splattered but otherwise unbowed figure of Don Issac stepped out of the castle gates. The Santagrian nobleman gave a short laugh, surveying the battlefield.
“Though I am bereft of my own noble steed, I think it only appropriate to give the call that the cavalry has arrived!” He boisterously announced.
Wasting no further time, Don Issac dove into the fray, bare-knuckle brawling the nearest Akata to get in his way.
Roaring engines sounded overhead, as the surviving aerial forces swept across the battlefield. Spitfires and Quinjets wove through the sky, cannons spinning as they ripped lines of fire through the Akatan swarms.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Whooped Rocket Racoon, laughing maniacally as he manhandled the trigger, his quinjet’s weapons firing wildly, “Ice ‘em all!”
Kopaka, Toa of ice chose not to respond to that particular comment, adjusting a few switches as he pulled out of his sweep.
“We have achieved aerial superiority. Keep out of range of retaliation.” Kopaka spoke instead to the shared commlines, “And avoid direct conflict with the enemy commander.”
The instructions went all but unheeded by Nishana and Fawful, as they swooped towards the Fade to support the WYVERN forces engaging the fallen arbiter. The Toa of Ice narrowed his optics, wheeling his own ship back around for the next attack run. If they wouldn’t listen to his advice they could learn from their own pain.
A pair of fighter jets spiraled down through the air nearby, narrowly missing Alexandria’s own as they dove directly through Banshee squadron.
“Watch your distance!” She barked with a scowl, her focus on lining up her next attack run.
The two fighter jets leveled out close to the ground, zipping along side by side.
“They don’t think we know what we’re doing!” Skywarp laughed.
“Eh, human hands aren’t very good for piloting these things. They get nervous!” Thundercracker chuckled.
The pair of decepticons transformed in mid-air, crashing into Akata as they touched down at high speeds. A hit-and-run tactic, as soon as the monsters reacted to the surprise attack, the two of them transformed back and took to the air.
The tactic had achieved its purpose, and the mechanized forces swept forwards into the disarray, cleaving through Akata with ease, General Swift at their head. “Steer clear of the monster on the hill.” She barked, “Keep our lines from crumbling. Take shots at the patrón and we’ll end up being too loud!”
A trio of Titans split off from the main force of mechanized troops.
“No fun fighting guys this little.” Mirage pouted faintly, “We need to go after the big one!”
“Not happening.” Wraith was quick to speak up before her partner got any foolish notions into his head, “I know Void energy. We need more firepower than the two of us to take that thing on!”
“There’s more than two of us!” Mirage argued back, “We’ve got three of us!”
“Uhh… yeah, I agree with her, man” Nico Cinder spoke up from inside his own titan. Mirage blew a raspberry.
“Come on! Dashing heroics is what we’re here for!”
Mirage’s mech zipped towards the Fade eagerly. Wraith cursed and took off after him, with Nico in pursuit.
“Hey there!” Mirage’s voice shouted audibly from Coyote as the titan approached the Fade, cannons spraying the mech. “Guess what you’re about to be?”
The Fade gave no response, only swiping a wave of void energy towards the newest foe. Mirage’s titan leapt over the attack easily, still closing distance.
“Bambooz-” Mirage’s gloat was cut short as another tendril intercepted him in mid air, hurling his titan down into the ground with enough impact to leave a crater.
Wraith’s Titan wasn’t far behind, sliding to a stop beside Coyote.
“Talk to me, idiot!” She shouted, but Coyote’s lights were dimmed and there was no response.
She and Nico grabbed the non-responsive machine with their titans, and the three of them began to retreat from the Fade’s vicinity as quickly as they could manage. Nico glanced to his left with a start. A scything tendril of void energy whipped past on Ronin’s sensors, then the world fell out from under him in a jumble of lights and pain.
When he could think again, both Ronin and Sam were calling his name.
“Mhere, ‘mgood.” He slurred, realizing that he was the wrong way round in Ronin’s cockpit.
“Apologies, Pilot, my geist-drive lacked sufficient power to evade the strike.” AK spoke mournfully.
“It’s okay.” Nico coughed. His head was still spinning, he needed air, “We sideways?”
“My mobility has been crippled and my power systems are failing. You will have to continue on your own.” Ronin’s voice was already starting to wobble.
Not alone. Sam’s voice was quick to echo in his thoughts.
The instinct to survive pushed Nico into motion, and Sam broke open the cockpit with ease. Nico slid free, coughing as he struggled to get clean air back into his lungs. He stood atop Ronin’s chassis watching the mosh pit around him. It sure looked a hell of a lot like they were losing.
“Might I suggest…” AK’s voice sounded from inside the Titan’s cockpit. Nico crouched down, listening to the mech’s quieting speech.
“I wish to remain of use until my power is depleted. One of the easiest actions I can still perform is that of amplification.”
As Ronin spoke, parts of his armor plating slid aside. Where most mechs would sport portable missile launchers, this titan had been equipped with what could only be described as speakers. Nico stared at them for a moment, then gave a soft laugh.
“Righteous.” He responded simply.
Nico stood up, Red Chord materializing into his hands. The trusty guitar was already connected to Ronin’s systems. The Akata would surely swarm in moments, exposed like this, but what the hell. The soul of Rock was in the defiance anyway. He took the stance, raised his pick, and breathed in.
Red Chord screamed out across the battlefield in radical tones. Ronin’s Chassis was a smoking pile, but even the ruin of the broken titan was managing to shoot showers of its sparks in time with the music. Across the field of battle, burdens were lightened, breaths made easier. The hellbound heroes of Cevanti found themselves compelled on to avenging angels, stepping light and swinging hard.
As Nico played, a hedge of flames sprang up around his impromptu stage, warding away the approaching Akata. It seemed their Supreme Commander was nearby, and he approved of Ronin’s memorial concert. Nico would play on, until they’d all gone down to hell or brought the hells to here.
“Finally! Someone with good energy for conquest!” Altanis laughed, her hooves galloping across the battlefield as she trampled through the enemy lines. The strategy had played its part in the battle, and tactics had been implemented. It had fallen short of victory, so their only choice now was to rely on gambits. Dispatching these Akata were a meaningless threat to the enemy. If she was going to make them hurt, there was only one choice. She closed distance with the Fade, a demonic eagerness glinting in her eyes.
Nishana and Fawful swooped past the Fade, their weapons playing off its armored plating. A blast of void energy fired from the mech in response, clipping one of Nishana’s engines. Atlantis pulled to a halt, watching with a frown. Conventional gunplay seemed barely to faze the thing. They needed something stronger.
“Boros! Prepare yourself!” She gave the conqueror only the briefest of warnings, before telekinetically hurling him towards the Fade. Boros only laughed, flying through the air to land a punch to the side of the Fade’s head. The impact wrenched it’s head sideways. Void energy spilled from the crease in the armor, lifting Boros from the Fallen arbiter, though he tore free another plate of armor as he was pried loose. The Void tendrils held Boros in their grip, as though seeking to tear him limb from limb.
“You believe yourself stronger than the conqueror of galaxies?” The cyclopean conqueror boasted, straining against the grip.
Atlantis was tempted to see whether Boros could hold up to his boasts, but that would do nothing to win the current conflict.
“Right here, you pathetic wretch! Here is Darksied’s foe!” She bellowed. The mech turned slowly in her direction, Atlantis fixed the Fade’s gaze with her own, a golden luminance filling them. There was no notable response from the Fallen Arbiter. The Fade’s tendrils bore down on Altanis, her own telekinetics holding them at bay. No avenue for a mental attack then. They would have to overpower it physically.
That was inconvenient. It was difficult to assess the physical damage they had managed to inflict on the thing. Wherever they broke through the machine, the miasmic void seemed all too ready to close the gap. Atlantis grimaced, digging in her hooves as she strove to hold back the Fade’s assault.
Gundam Epyon rushed forwards, energy whip/blade clashing against the Fade’s void tendrils in a desperate ploy to draw the arbiter’s attention. The mech’s damaged head snapped sideways, wisps of void energy trailed from the Fade’s damaged eye. The void tendrils strained against Epyon’s attack, coiling around the length of the weapon as they clashed. There was a flare of purple light, and Epyon’s weapon shattered into pieces.
“Aw cripes!” Flak had only the briefest moment to react before Epyon was sent hurtling backwards. The damaged mech plowed a furrow in the earth, kicking up debris and Akata as it crashed backwards.
With a distorted roar, the Fade leaped into the air. The void-trailing comet crashed down onto the damaged Epyon. It flared an array of void tendrils, stabbing them into the downed mech in numerous places.
In response the Epyon drive began to audibly hum, giving off an ominous glow.
“Get some distance, people!” Wraith shouted, swerving her titan away from the Arbiter and its current prey. The overloaded Epyon drive ruptured, and mech exploded in a sudden shockwave. Even The Fade staggered backwards from the cloud of smoke. Pieces of debris arched high into the air.
“Your turn!” Whooped one of the falling chunks of debris. The eagerly grinning form of Princess Flavor plummeted down onto the Fade from above while Lilith emerged from the ground beneath the arbiter’s feet.
---
Doctor Olivia Octavius crawled through the vents of Cytokine HQ with the lightest of steps. She had already had one near brush with Cevanti’s defenses, and she could ill afford to cause a further disturbance until WYVERN forces were well away from the planet’s reach. But the allure of Cytokine secrets perched this close at hand was too tempting to simply ignore. She would just be particularly discreet about her actions to ensure she wasn’t caught.
Olivia peered from a grate in the vent. According to her schematics, this was one of the main server facilities that Cytokine used to store their technology. The jackpot as it were, for accessing Cytokine’s systems. And yet for some reason, it looked to be entirely without surveillance.
At first Olvia presumed it must be a trap of some nature. But as she peered closer, her goggles picked out several elements that registered as part of the defensive grid present in the rest of the facility. For some reason they had been disabled. Her confusion was only deepened when two figures stepped quickly into the room, their attire and mannerisms making the clandestine nature of their mission. Lieutenant Hawkeye, of Cytokine, and Hiro Hamada, of the ARC.
The pair crossed to the central terminal, Hawkeye taking a defensive position, her eye on the door, despite ostensibly being an officer of this very corporation. Hiro Hamada settled down at the terminal, inserting a series of keycards then cracking his knuckles.
“Thank you for doing this, Hiro.” Lieutenant Hawkeye spoke over her shoulder.
Hiro swiveled round in his chair, chuckling faintly. “Hey, no problem! I totally get where you’re coming from with all this. One of him is more than enough! Let’s just, uh.. hope we get in and out of here undetected, yeah? Don’t want to be causing an international incident or anything.” The young hacker gave a nervous smile and a few half-hearted finger guns in Hawkeye’s direction, then swung back around and got to work.
Olivia winced as a signal flashed across the HUD of her goggles, inwardly thanking herself for the foresight to keep the signal entirely visual when Ridley contacted her..Priority one and during a battle. As curious as she was about the situation below, she needed to respond to this. The scientist crept silently back until she could risk a whisper.
“This is Olivia. It’s not a great time… what’s wrong?”
“Fusion. What is it?” Ridley’s voice was irritated, worn thin, and insistent. He was in poor shape and a poorer mood.
“What?”
“Our elite team members are behaving drastically out of expectation, and the only thing that General Flak will offer me by way of explanation is the word Fusion.”
“It’s Princess Flavor actually, sir!” the voice of the self-proclaimed princess flavor joined the call, under Flak’s comm connection.
Olivia adjusted her goggles slightly.
“It’s more or less what it sounds like, Ridley.” She spoke in the loudest whisper she dared. “The combination of two warriors either through their own power or through the assistance of outside means. It subsumes both of them physically and mentally into a gestalt of the pair.”
“Physically and mentally.” Ridley repeated, and even without seeing him, Olviiva could tell he was narrowing his eyes.
“No need to worry.” The voice of Lilith joined the conversation, it sounded correct, but there was something out of place about her manner of speaking, “We have an agreement not to pry.”
Olivia frowned, “Strictly speaking, Lord Ridley, I’m not sure a fusion is
able to maintain that kind of separation. The two bond over their shared commonalities. The closer the two constituents can match their personality, the better the fusion becomes.”
The silence was deafening. Then Lilith disconnected from the discussion. Ridley’s displeasure emanated from his silent portrait for another moment.
“There is a war to win. We will deal with this later.” He said very curtly, then the comm line went silent again.
Olivia sighed, adjusting her position in the cramped air vent. Now to go back to dealing with her
own bit of nightmare.
----
Lilith’s acidic goo stretched out from behind the Fade, tar-like tendrils extending red knives like barbs as they latched onto the mech in several locations. Princess Flavor leapt into the air, delivering a diving punch to the fallen Arbiter’s jaw. Simultaneously, Lilith pulled down with each of her barbled lines, A horrible rending sound emanated from the Fade, and it bent backwards under the combination of attacks.
There, visible under the torn mech, was the mass of void energy at the Fade's core. Any hope this discovery may have held was swiftly erased as the void core shot off a torrent of purple energy. The void missiles launched from the Fade's core in waves, tessellating back and forth across the exposed surface like some form of horrible fireworks display.
"Find shelter!" Mustang shouted, as the wave of missiles began to arch back down onto anything and everything within a hundred yards. As the sky darkened, the state alchemist scrambled towards the nearest outcropping of debris, knowing that he wouldn't make it there before they touched down.
"Commander! Cease movement!" The synthetic voice of Ashe-0 caught his attention. He slid to a stop as the massive wardroid crouched over him, four arms raised to shield against the barrage.
"Ashe, don't be a fool, you don't know if your armor can stand up to this!" Mustang grit his teeth.
"I am too large to find cover." She responded without emotion, "It was the best choice to become cover."
At that point the missiles struck home. The void energy ate hungrily at anything it touched, burning holes away to nothingness with a potency acid would envy. It came in waves, a barrage, then a momentary lull, before the next downpour of destructive void. Crouched under Ashe-0, Mustang cast his gaze through the rain of destruction, looking for other survivors whenever there was a gap to see through.
WYVERN's assault had been forced back by this onslaught. Even an acidic fusion like Lilith could not endure the direct barrage, and those not able to fly away from the attack were collecting under a dome of Altanis's protection.
It seemed that the champion of Dante's abyss had found shelter as well. The mouse and his newest best buddies were crouched together around Taeli. The Jedi's arms were held extended, deflecting away the void that sought to claim them with the aid of the Force.
A short distance away, Ben Kenobi did the same for the soldiers under his command. Being bonded to an orgosynth did not change a Jedi's instinct to protect.
Nor was that instinct reserved to Jedi alone, for Saryu and Silver had also brought their powers to bear, holding back the onslaught with their powerful shields to protect Beta and Fei.
Not all were so securely protected however. In the gap between salvos, Mustang caught sight of the pompadour-clad street tough Josuke, dragging an injured soldier, PJ if Mustang wasn’t mistaken, away from the rapidly disappearing mech they had been using as cover. They were moving too slowly. Mustang grimaced as he anticipated the grisly end the volunteer medic had in store.
Then with a desperate shout a red-clad youth dashed towards the exposed pair, clapping his hands together. There was a flash of lighting, and the ground itself rose in defense. Taking the form of a giant hand, the alchemical shield protected Edward Elric, Josuke and PJ from the final wave of the Fade’s barrage.
“Everyone okay? Lucky for you I was close by!” The red-coated alchemist stood up, a very satisfied grin on his face as he looked at the pair behind his impromptu shield. The kid had talent, Mustang had to admit, that was a handy skill to operate that quickly. The group was still too exposed for him to be patting himself on the back like that. Even as Mustang watched, a silent Akata came bounding in from the flank.
*SNAP!*
The Akata gave a silent howl as it burst into flames, mere seconds before reaching its targets. The pint-sized alchemist whirled about in surprise, bladed metal hand at the ready.
“Careful, Kid!” Mustang called over, “You keep getting in over your head, and there won’t be backup around someday.”
“Yeah, yeah. You should be thanking me for saving your sorry asses! Especially when you forced me to come along!”
“Frankly, I expected you to be long gone as soon as the fighting started! There’s enough chaos here for someone your size to slip away easily.”
Mustang turned away from Edward as the young alchemist fumed. The Supreme Commander swept an arm outwards, his eyes on the Fade once again.
“Alright everyone, this is going to take a coordinated assault!”
“That’s my favorite flavor of salt!” ‘
A singularly excited voice brought the arrival of truly unexpected support. Caboose piloted a smoking forklift across the debris-strewn battlefield at relatively impressive speeds. He drifted the warehousing machine to a stop, hoping off and running over to salute.
“Sorry I’m late, Principal Mustang! Rush hour was
the worst!”
“Er… right.” Mustang took only a minute to recover his momentum, turning to the nearby warriors who had stopped to listen to his strategy, “The Fade can counter our assaults measure for measure. We can’t simply rely on strength or numbers to win us the day. So, we make her take a gamble. Split into groups, take your shot, then get back out of range. Hit and run, and maybe we’ll stay alive long enough for the Fade to be unlucky in picking the actual threats.”
“Underhanded.” Orion sighed, “But we are short on options.”
“A shell game.” Ben mused, starting to stroke his beard by habit before remembering the orgosynth he was wearing. He adjusted his stance, resting his arms on each other.
“Oh! We were playing that game in the car on the trip here!” Caboose’s wide grin was audible even under his helmet.
Mustang ignored the spartan’s comment, turning to the masked man in the lab coat.
“McNinja, are you up for leading the first swing in the series? We’ll back you up as soon as we can get proper exits coordinated.”
“C’mon… I didn’t get those PhDs for laughs.” Dr. McNinja sighed
“I thought people said we weren’t making those jokes anymore back when we were sneaking into the base!” Caboose huffed.
Doctor McNinja rolled his eyes, then put his hands to his mask and whistled. The rainbow trail of Sparklelord appeared and the good doctor leapt aboard with confidence.
“Just make sure you get help quickly, or I’ll have to cancel my six o'clock!”
The motorcycle brigade of Dr. McNinja, Owen Grady and the remaining members of the Markovian Minutemen circled around in a wide arc. Mollymauk clung to the back of the bike with equal parts trepidation and eagerness. Their firearms skipped futilely off the Fallen Arbiter’s armor plating, but the Markovian minutemen remained in high spirits, bantering with one another between refrains of Dr. McNinja’s ghostbusting chant. They were certainly catching the Fade’s attention.
A void tendril shot forth from a hole in the armor. The limb cracked like a whip as it attempted to pick off the irritating riders. They wove and danced around disaster, not daring to get any closer now that they had the things attention. Another swipe from the limb caused Dr. McNinja to veer drastically. Instead of spinning out, however,Sparklelord recovered, even radically jumping off of a ramp of debris. The good doctor took the opportunity of the added height to hurl some conspicuously rounded shurikens at their foe.
“Not to go out on a limb, but you should get that checked out! Looks infected!” He shouted between verses.
Daemon Targereyon swooped down upon the back of Ceraxas II. A gout of flame belched from the dragon mech’s mouth. His glove had been destroyed, but all the same Mustang held up his hand. The Alchemical formula carefully recreated on his skin glowed briefly with a blue light. Alchemical lighting arched through the air, taking the dragonfire and maintaining it. The swirling inferno clung to the side of the corrupted mech when any normal fire would long have exhausted its fuel supply.
A tendril of void energy burst out of the attack. Flames still trailed from the thing as it snaked across the battlefield towards Mustang at surprising speed. There was a blurring of space, then Orion appeared beside him. The Saiyan warrior had two fingers held to his forehead. Orion grabbed a hold of Mustang’s uniform, leaping the both of them into the air, then flying backwards and away from the Fade’s retaliation.
The former galactic general was the next to try his assault. Ben leapt gracefully over the Arbiter’s extended grasp. His lightsaber hummed through the air, then squealed as it made contact with the next void tendril. Sparks flew as the energy blade bit into the void energy, but failed to cut it cleanly.
“Oh I have a bad feeling about this!” Ben frowned.
Agreed. His new companion spoke urgently. A pair of Symbiote strands shot from Ben’s back, pulling him swiftly away from the fade’s reach.
The honking forklift of Caboose was a decidedly more obvious assault, moving at full speed from straight ahead. The Fade was evidently growing frustrated however, and brought a series of void tendrils to bear against the already damaged machine. Caboose leapt from the machine with a terrified wail as the attacks smashed down.
Directly into the vehicle’s payload of null grenades.
The tendrils evaporated in the shockwave, along with any of the Akata that had been unfortunate enough to be caught in the vicinity. The fallen arbiter reared back off-balance from the unexpected attack, and the void core pulsed noticeably as it reconstituted its appendages.
They had damaged it, but The Fade remained resolute. An inarguable
fact of the battlefield, no matter how many Akata they managed to dispatch. As Mustang watched, another wave of void energy rippled through a squad of Markovian soldiers. Those who had not been utterly removed from existence were sent flying, blood trailing from many wounds. They had no hope for victory while the fallen arbiter remained.
The Clockwork Colossus appeared to the Fade’s left, The mech was damaged and sparking dangerously, but Gizmo and Gadget did not seem to be considering retreat. The mech’s chest plates began to tessellate outwards, exposing the machine’s glowing core. The pair of pilots pressed the button simultaneously.
“Fire! Cosmic Cannon!” They shouted in unison, as the Clockwork Colossus poured out its remaining core energy in a beam of raw power. Its energy smashed into the side of the Fade, cracking its plating and skidding it across the ground a few feet before it managed to react. The fallen mech’s heels dug into the broken earth, a welling of void energy swirling in to repel the attack. With an ear-grating hum, the purple void energy began to drive back the cosmic cannon. The purple beam of power clashed brightly with CC’s best efforts, but the battle-weary mech and its two plucky pilots would not be able to maintain this power for long.
Mustang cast about for an available source of fire. Ashe-0, legs destroyed and propped up by her three remaining arms, glanced in his direction with an expressionless stare that Mustang interpreted as a questioning glance.
‘We have to keep it on the defensive, Ashe. Every second it’s not under attack is more lives lost!”
“Understood.” The cyclopean warmachine pivoted without further hesitation, turning to regard the Fade. Her singular eye sent forth an ocular beam of energy, crashing into the Fade from a different angle. Another well of void energy rose to meet her attack, but the reprieve at least slowed how much ground CC was losing in its attempts to hold back the Fade’s counter attack.
There was a shout of rage from somewhere on the far side of the Fallen Arbiter. Orion burst from a mound of rubble, holding his hands out before him. Ki began to well up in his open palms, flanked on either side by the glows of Grawor and Isabelle as they amassed their own ki. Grawor’s orgosynth rippled as she charged the ki-blast. Issabelle stood firm, her own ki held out to the side of her in one hand. Shouting In turn, the three of them released their attacks, the trio of ki-blasts, slamming into the Fade from behind, forcing yet another division of the void energy that it used to counter the attacks
“We have to do this!” The floating form of Asriel Dreemurr brought his own magic to bear. The massive form of the chaos buster was held firm in the monster boy’s hands, and he poured rainbow energy downwards from it, only to be met by the Fade’s void power. The monster boy’s eyes widened, he had expected the counter, but the power behind it was more than he would be able to keep up with.
He cast about for an avenue of escape, but his rescue came instead in the form of a green-haired orgosynth. Yuuka Kazami floated into place alongside Asriel, her own master spark charged and ready. The additional laser pushed back against the void energy, the two of them managing to match the Fade’s counter.
“That’s it, team! We can’t give up!” Mickey Mouse held his key-blade aloft, siphoning the power from Jaina’s sorcery, Beatrix’s blood magic, and proto-seventeen’s buster cannon into a swirl of energy above his head. Their complaints at his theft were drowned out as he fired the combined energy into the Fade from yet another angle.
The Fade adjusted its footing, but even with the multitude of attacks, it seemed to be able to match them all. Not one of the attacks was gaining ground in their struggle, even as the Fade battled against a multitude of fronts. It would only be so long before someone’s energy ran out, and the Void that powered the Fade showed no signs of relenting, even if they had managed to stalemate it for a moment. They needed more yet more power.
“Come on, come on!” V ‘s HUD display was a series of static lines as she fought with the archaic systems of the orbital station. She and Iris had attached themselves to a field terminal, but even with the added processing power and Jewels at the terminal to decipher some of the more exotic sequences, the weapon still refused to lock onto the target, or initiate the power sequence.
“Stupid thing’s playing hard to get!” The murder drone growled.
“I think I can get the power started. But that won’t do us any good!” Iris frowned, “It doesn’t see the Fade as a valid enough threat to be a target. It just keeps referencing a tyrant-class target?”
“Well, help it make up its mind! If I don’t get to blow something up, I’m gonna be hungry!” V leered at Iris. The android did not acknowledge the threat, though there was a bubbling of rage from G.L.O.O. in response.
Jewels’ gaze drifted up from the terminal towards the distant spectacle of lights and energy. She ran the targeting diagnostics once again, just to confirm she was right. The old systems of the orbital platform were incredibly archaic, which unfortunately also made them frustratingly resilient to their efforts to coax the system into targeting the Fade. Once again, it responded with only a single “tyrant-class” target identified. She closed her eyes, then stepped away from the console.
Her first steps were hesitant. She was probably going to end up dead before she even made it over there. The multitude of beams battling in the Fade’s vicinity were almost too bright to look at, but she started to pick up speed as she closed the distance. She just needed to get close enough to let the system target her… she could manage that much, right?
“Ah!” Iris exclaimed in surprise, “There we go! Target locking!”
A surge of light trailed down the cables that were plugged into the back of V’s chassis. The murder drone began to convulse, as though struggling to survive the sheer power required to operate the orbital station. When it became obvious that her shuddering was in fact a glowing cackle of glee it wasn’t exactly very comforting. V reeled backwards, laughing toothily. A yellow bar sliding across her HUD display like a loading screen.
“Gahahahahahaha! Now it’s time for the
real show, meatbags!”
There was a welling of electrical power, then the murder drone flung her arms out wide, leering forwards with a thirst for absolute destruction.
At first there was no sound to herald the coming devastation, just a growing light in the sky far above. A pale blue, then growing to a white hot light, as though a star had chosen all of its light to shine upon a single point. Now the melting atmosphere began to thunder and rage. Mustang’s shouts were inaudible as he tried to sound the call for shelter. The only sight was the blinding white of approaching annihilation. The only sound was the roaring wave of oncoming death.
Crouched in a crevice of broken earth near the base of the Fade, Jewels closed her eyes and waited.
*uh… hey there.
She cracked one eye open in confusion, to find the casually grinning skull of Sans, crouched next to her, hands in his pockets.
“What are you doing here?” Jewels hissed in disbelief.
*me?
The skeleton’s voice was casual as always, but sweat was beading down his face,
*was just making sure the thing couldn’t leave. but uh… you should come with me. anything that sticks around here’s gonna be pretty boned.
She didn’t really understand what the skeleton was talking about, but it also wasn’t like she had a lot of options. Whatever monster she was now, she wasn’t ready to die yet. She nodded. Sans smiled at her, one eye glowing with blue light.
*fade to white.
The orbital laser made contact. The shockwave rent the air,sending nearby ships into disarray as they struggled to keep airborne. Cracks split the ground as the nearby ground desperately tried to vent the energy back into the atmosphere. The battlefield was torn asunder, Tremors shook the planet for miles in all direction, uprooting trees and tumbling long-dead ruins down
Deep within the cocoon of isolation within the Fade, a brief glimmer showed itself. This was not a vision, it was something Ember Ramsay could actually see with her eyes. She reached for it like a lifeline, and the orbital laser crashed down to the surface with a welcoming, all-encompassing embrace of destruction.
When vision returned, the sight of the Fade still standing crushed Mustang to his knees in despair. They could try no more than that. Exhaustion blurred his vision as he stared at the smoldering, void-smeared avatar of their planet’s inevitable demise. Wherever they managed to break the armor, the void within would rush to claim. There was no strength of power that the vastness between stars could not withstand. The Void-bound husk of the Fade raged out a tirade, the world around them erupting with dark and violent energy at every angle. Cries of pain and explosions of rock and dirt surrounded the unbowed Fade in an orchestra.
But there, amidst the morass of unmade void, was the unmistakable shape of a hand, pressing against the edge of the void from within. It was a chink in the wall. As he watched, a warping of space shimmered in the air where the palm pressed against the void’s border. Like a lens in space. They would have no better shot than this.
Mustang staggered to his feet, reaching for his communicator. It cracked to pieces at his touch. He cast about urgently. Void energy erupted forth, launching him sideways with sudden violence. As he was flung through the air, he flung his hand upwards. The smearing alchemical circle glowed briefly, and a nearby flame burst skywards in a tall arch before he crashed to the earth in a heap. It was the clearest signal he could manage.
“FIRE IT NOW!”
A call came across the radio and the crew manning the experimental void cannon knew what to do. It had been primed and ready for this exact scenario. The lead technician inserted a key into the control panel and turned it before jamming a throttle lever forward all the way. Immediately and violently the cannon spewed forth a beam of concentrated energy that rocketed it’s way up the middle of the battlefield before slamming directly into the torso of the Fade. The effects were immediate. The damaged mech dropped to its knees. Its newly formed void appendages flailed wildly before vanishing all together. The excess void energy that was building up around the core of the Fade dissipated just as fast as it had been gathering. The tears in reality began sealing shut and all over the battlefield the deployed projectors began to report that zero void energy could be detected sending them into standby mode. Suddenly a ray of light pierced through the heavens and cast a beam down upon the disabled mech. The light seared away the corruption surrounding the Fade and without warning the audible yell of a woman breaking free of her binds crossed the battlefield. A brilliant flash of golden light illuminated the entire area as a beam of bright white energy burst forth from the center of the Fade, ripping apart the mech’s internals. The beam shot high into the sky and exploded into a ball of golden energy that was just as bright as the sun. The Akata began to retreat and flee from the area. The Unmaking soldiers and cultists that remained began to sizzle and burn in the warm glow of the ball of light now hovering above the battlefield.
Particles of light began to rain down upon the heroes and the soldiers of Markov, healing their wounds and empowering them. The golden orb of light shot further into the sky of Cevanti until it had reached the upper atmosphere. In a display of pure power the orb unleashed billions of rays of light that rained down upon the planet. The streaks of healing energy encompassed the planet and rained down upon the survivors of the war and of those still in Markov. The Unmaking corruption left behind began to wither away and burn harmlessly in the light. Those serving Darkseid, hidden or otherwise, were struck down or engulfed by the energy being cast down upon the planet. The wild zoids began to retreat from the area until all enemy combatants had fled and the only thing that remained were the victorious heroes and soldiers of Markov. Cheers and cries of victory could be heard from all over the battlefield as the giant orb of light fell back down towards the surface of Cevanti and hovered just above the ground. The rain of light particles continued to fall. Those who had been injured found themselves healed. Those who had been corrupted by Akata or Unmaking found themselves cured of their afflictions.
As if the battlefield couldn’t get any brighter the golden orb unleashed a flash of light blinding everyone momentarily. When it was gone all of the heroes who had given their time to Markov were assembled behind the lines in a nearby field of wheat. The orb of light let off another flash and as the light faded a woman was left behind standing at the head of the group. She had shoulder length brown hair, green eyes, and a lithe but curvy frame. She held a wide happy smile on her face as she looked at the group of ragtag heroes before her. Surrounding her was a faint aura of pure white energy that gently wafted off her person.
“Hello everyone!” She said cheerfully.
“My name is Ember Ramsey. I suppose I have all of you to thank for freeing me from my prison!” She said, tilting her head to the side while smiling.
She eyed everyone in front of her before spotting Roy Mustang. She giggled and jogged up to him, giving him a big bear hug.
“Royyyy! Thanks so much for leading us in our time of need!”
She pulled away and bowed low. “Thanks to all of you who fought valiantly to save me from Darkseid’s clutches. I owe you my life.”
Ember moved to the head of the group and took Roy’s hand in her own, looking up at him with a smile. After a moment she turned her attention back to the group of ragtag heroes before her.
“I’m sure everyone has a bunch of questions! I’ll do my best to answer them!” She said with a big smile.
Sans was the first to come forward. He made his way to the front and raised his hand.
“What I’d like to know…is when you knew you weren’t you anymore?”
The Arbiter scrunched her lips together in thought.
“During the Siege of Markov when I was killing innocent people. At first I was operating under the assumption that everyone was a soldier from the Empire of Ilos. That I was back in the war, but killing innocents was never the MO of the resistance. I figured something had happened to me, I just didn’t know what.” Ember explained, a sad look forming on her face.
Roy spoke up this time. “You weren’t you. We can’t hold you responsible for the deaths caused during the Siege. You were under Darkseid’s control.”
“I’m hoping that with a little bit of work I can honor their memory.” Ramsey said, smiling again.
“How strong are you really?” Boros spoke from behind a few people, coming forward a bit.
“Is there really no way for someone to return to their home dimension?” Gizmo asked, interrupting.
Ember smiled softly. “I really don’t know how strong I am, Boros. What I can tell you is that I’m stronger than I was. I stole the essence that was controlling me and the Fade for my own and used it to amplify my own power. It will never harm another person ever again.”
The young woman pursed her lips. “Gizmo…I am afraid that that one thing is beyond my ability. I have the power to split time and space inside the Multerra universe, but I am not capable of opening dimensional exit portals to other universes. I only have the ability to summon others or casually observe origin universes.” Ember explained with a firm nod.
Ridley stepped forward, his draconic form looming over the others. “How do I kill Darkseid?”
Ember laughed, the energy floating around her flared up a little bit. “That’s the million coin question isn’t it? I have a few ideas that I will share in time. I need to meet with the leaders of Markov and assess what’s going on. I haven’t been present for quite some time. I need to catch up.”
There was mumbling amongst the group. She had ideas? Did that mean there was a way to stop Darkseid? That the Arbiters could help?
“Either way. Now that I’m free I plan to join you in your fight against the Unmaking. That’s why I’ve cleansed Cevanti of any trace of Darkseid’s corruption. The planet is secure and under my protection once more.”
“Is there anything you can tell us about your fellow arbiters?” Chara asked, stepping forward through the crowd.
Ember grinned. “I don’t know if this is relevant, but Me, Emperor Terrance, and Davy Jones used to disguise ourselves as regular citizens of Opealon and go fishing. It was an annual thing we did. We’d kick back, Davy Jones would get us a ship, and the three of us would drink and fish. We haven’t done it in a while though as you can imagine. With everything going on. I hear you guys saved Jones from the Unmaking too. Thank you for that as well.”
Ben cleared his throat which made everyone look his way for a moment. “Is there anything else on Cevanti that poses a threat like the Fade did? I’d hate to have another emergency with those unstable energies.”
Ember nodded and squeezed Roy’s hand, who spoke up. “Cytokine Industries is going to lock away all relevant information regarding void technology in their vault. Aria is going to see to it personally.”
The young Arbiter interjected. “As for the Fade itself? It’s gone. I disintegrated it. It will never hurt anyone ever again.”
Some of the members of the group clapped and cheered. The Fade was truly gone. They had won the war.
“Is this really a simulation? Am I able to return home?” John Conner asked, emerging from within the group.
Ember shook her head and frowned. “I’m sorry, John. This isn’t a simulation. You are in a different universe. As I’ve said before, I am unable to send you home. I am sorry.
Miss Ramsey didn’t like giving bad news.
“How do you become unforgettable?” Lilith asked from behind a few other members.
She shuffled her way forward and crossed her arms.
“How did I know you were going to ask something like that Miss Lilith? You already are unforgettable. Each and every one of you is a war hero. You’ll never be forgotten as long as I draw breath. You can count on that.”
Ember smiled.
“Oi! It’s my turn!” Mollymauk shouted from the rear. “Can I get a selfie with you, you absolute beauty?”
The young Arbiter giggled. “Yes, of course!”
Ember let go of Roy and beckoned for the man to come over to her. They got in real close together and took the picture. Ember gave her best smile and held up the peace sign. She gave Mollymauk a big bear hug before letting him go.
“Thanks, love!”
“Of course!” Ramsey said with a small wave.
Orion raised his hand and the young Arbiter beckoned him forward.
“We know that you’ve been controlled by Darkseid and that we’ve saved you from his clutches. Do you know his weaknesses?”
Ember shook her head, a serious look forming over her features. “No. Unfortunately I do not. I wish I could tell you more. I plan on meeting up with Terrance and Jones again for our fishing trip soon. I’m sure they’ll be happy to know I’m safe. I need to consult with them. Anything we come up with we’ll be sure to share with all of you. I promise.”
“I would also like a selfie. Don’t worry I totally won’t use it for advertising. Also, money would be great. Can I have what’s in your pockets?” Nico Cinder spoke up.
Ramsey laughed again and beckoned the man to her. They took a picture together and before he returned to the group Ember gave him a big hug.
“I have nothing in my pockets, but I can give everyone something for helping me. Thanks for reminding me.”
Ember lifted her hand, palm up, above her head. A beam of golden light shot up into the sky and illuminated the area. One by one a beam of warm light enveloped each hero standing before her. Magical energy sparkled around everyone before being absorbed into their person.
“There. I’ve given my blessing to each of you. You should be considerably stronger now. The blessing is permanent and if you ever meet another Arbiter they’ll know you’ve crossed paths with me.”
Everyone in the group before her began to examine themselves and look up at the sky, curious about what had hit them.
“Thanks so much, Miss Ramsey!” Isabelle shouted from the back.
Ember smiled and nodded, taking Roy by the hand again. Shinku made his way to the front of the group and raised his hand as well.
“Do you feel alone?” He asked.
The young Arbiter frowned. “Of course not. I have all of you. I have the people of Markov. I have my freedom again. Even though Darkseid would love to capture me again, that’s never going to happen. I’ve seen to that personally.” She smiled.
“If that’s everything you guys wanted to know then I’d like to meet with the leaders of Markov now. I’m going to give all of the data I have about the End and life on Cevanti before the war to Cytokine Industries to store in their data bank. If any of you would like to read it, it’ll be there for you. Of course, you can always come find me at a later date and just ask! I’d be more than happy to share my experiences over a cup of coffee or something.” Ember said with a smile and tiny giggle.
“I’m going to take your supreme commander here and I’m going to go now. Once again, words cannot express my gratitude towards all of you. I wish you the best of luck with all of your endeavors. Hopefully my blessing will assist you in your life here in the Crossroads.”
With that said, Ember tugged on Roy's hand and pulled him into a march through the field of wheat towards the command tent that was situated nearby.
+800 Essence to all PC Participants and +5 to all Markov Factions
