Dragon Ball: Untold IC

[Naval Monte]

--

Elizabeth sighed when she heard what Ovan told her. Poor guy still thinks dealing with these angels will be easy. How I wish I can trade places with him now."

Of course that bliss is fleeting as she learned the hard way and now it was Ovan's turn to lose it, just in a more delicate manner than Elizabeth's and the Order. The witch would instruct him to follow her. 

As the two walked into the hallway they would find candles lit by purple blue flames illuminated the dark corridors. The gray stone interior would occasionally have runic engravings be found on them, the most reoccurring was a triple armed spiral.

The rich dark carpet kept their feet from touching the floor as suits of plate and chainmail armors standing up, almost like unmoving sentinels waiting for commands from their long deceased queen to fight and die under her orders. The two would find tapestries depicting mythical heroes, creatures, and old gods once worshiped by the people of the North before unification.

They would see artwork depicting the warrior nobles of the North, the ecclesiastical mystics that served many sacred and secure roles as they were legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals, and political advisors, along with their  main role of being religious leaders. Bards were seen with the nobles and druids. A few tapestry showed the commoners but more often a druid or noble was present and the artwork served to make the aristocrat or mystic look charitable to their people or to make them strong rulers.

"First off these attacks are not in their nature, not even the ones that hate our guts to fantasize on bathing our blood and making us scream in an orchestra of pain won't have the balls to break their creator's sacred rules like this." She became silent to build some suspense in her next line.  "At least, that was the case. You see their realm is in a nine way cold war with others and drastic actions like this would risk the other powers getting involved. So for a long time the incursions from Yggdrasil, the Cosmic Nimbus, the realm of magic that is home to faeries, elementals, angels, and many other magical beings, often had a few beings crossing through, often those beings summoned by a mage." 

When When the two began to approach a painting frame depicting a young woman with long ears looking at them Elizabeth would wave her hand at the painting. The painting showed the mother of Princess Beryl. The infamous Witch Queen of the North, Queen Metallia.

"Hi many times great grandma Metallia." She stated with the same casualness as addressing any other relative, unconcern on how Ovan would react to her revealing to be a descendant to a key player in the Warring States and that she was technically royal by that link.

"But it looks like the angels found something they believe can tip the balance of power heavily to their favor. So much so that the other powers believe the angels would start Ragnorak. Which when you remove the mythological epic flair is just a Cold War turning so hot that not only would all of Yggdrasil burn, but it will take all adjunct realms with it." She looked at Ovan.

"Meaning we all will burn if the angels succeed with their mission and if you think you can escape to heaven or hell after your death I'm not sure it would be spared from the conflagration. I know Maikai will burn if this cold war erupts into a full blown war. Angels and Demons don't get along after all."

She turn forward as she leading him through the halls. Ovan would see a few mages wearing masks that were mostly faceless, only having two holes for eyes to see through. Their hoods were up to cast a shadow that hid everything but their masks. The mages watched the two as they patrol the halls. If Ovan was very observant he would notice that their hands were close to weapons by their sides.

"The angels believe that the key to their success can be found by Serena's magic. Not only was she almost kidnapped by an angel during the first attack but the faeries think she is linked to this as two powerful ones tried to kill her when the angels attacked my home." The witch frown as she had a few memories of the attack flash before her eyes.

Without thinking of it she clinched her hand into a tight fist. "The other attacks were just them holding back Ovan. The angels were gauging the Earth's power compared to them. When they discovered who would pose a greater threat they showed their true power." The witch began to dig her nails into the skin of her palm. As her fist trembled in barely contained rage blood would begin to slide off her fingers and drip down on the floor.

"500. 500 out of 2,000 mages that lived on Airceltrai barely survived their attack, Ovan. But the worst was that one of their masterminds, an angel named Gebel,  was not only able to fight against multiple mages on his own but that damn thing was able to pull a cheap shot to win a fight against me quickly. Not even Spicer wasn't able to fight against Gebel for long because he pinned him on the wall because the angel stabbed his sword through his guts. Spicer only survived because Gebel let him run away. He had to collapse an entire temple on him to get away." The witch told him, eyes turning blood red, canines growing, as tattoo markings began to appear on her flesh.

"If that wasn't bad enough those winged freaks kidnapped my mother! I don't know why or what they are doing to her but if it wasn't for my injuries and the magic of Raguel I would be out on Yggdrasil. But as it stands the Order needs a Grand Master and I was going to take my mother's place eventually so I have to stay to deal with the angels invading the Earth. Especially now that they are removing the kiddy gloves for us."

The two would soon see another painting showing a red eye and haired woman. She was princess Beryl, the former resident of the palace whose spirit is said to roam it. "Hey many less times great grandma Beryl." She waved in the same casual manner as with Metallia. "Thanks for allowing me and the others to crash in your place for a while." She said to the painting. As the two walk by from the corner of their eyes the painting for a brief moment looked as though to have smiled. But should any of them look back the painting would look the way it was before. How it always looked.

Elizabeth shrugged as she kept moving forward. From a chamber whose doors were open the two can see a few mages performing some ritual as they called upon the powers of the gods in an ancient Terran for the gods to aid in the ritual as the lead mage lifted a wooden staff high into the air. The other mages in the circle chanting in unionized as they were on their knees.

One mage held a goat by a leash as the animal tried to break free. As they walked past the room the mage with the staff took out a dagger as one of the kneeling mages brought out a bowl as the mage with the goat forced the animal to enter the circle. Elizabeth waved her hand. "Ignore that. Just a summoning ritual being done. The blood sacrifice is being done to ensure the ritual goes off well. The angels were messing with our magic during the attack which is why so many died since we couldn't get out so easily." 

The two would hear the goat screaming in fear before its cries were silence, replaced by loud chanting that grew distant as they walked away from the scene. Another chamber was producing smoke that came out from the open door. Inside that one they saw mages performing alchemical experiments and others making strange devices and talisman. A few mages saw the two and waved at them before returning back to their work.

"With my mother captured my sister, Serena, and Spicer all agreed to go to Paradiso to rescue her while the angels are distracted with invading Earth. Though I think only Serena and Nymph will return. No offense to Spicer but Yggdrasil is difficult for mages to navigate through, for mortals it is impossible. His fate was sealed the moment he stepped through that rift."

Elizabeth would stand in front of a large door. "Oh, before you complain about me wasting too much time talking we won't be attacked for some now. The angels just gain a major victory and they are going too busy consolidating their gains for a while. That is the window of time you have to train your team." She would throw open the door and reveal another chamber with Jules and other elders and masters standing around a great table with a large map of the world on it.

Ovan would see Elizabeth walk ahead and see her clothing change to a set of enchanted armor. A set once worn by Queen Metallia. "Besides we can create a portal to where you want us to go. So tell us where you are and we will go there. Or, maybe you can move your equipment and team to our place so we can offer you magical protection? Despite the setback thrown at us our magic can still affect them. Your team is gonna need our magic in this war." She gave him a smile. "But you guys will have to pay for the rent." She teased as she flash him a toothy grin.

[The Republic of Atria]

Liz led him through, going on a long-winded explanation about how the angel's attacks are weirdly out of character since they either couldn't or wouldn't ignore their creator's wishes to leave humanity alone and would risk a war with some other realms that he wasn't sure was really as big a thing as she was making it out to be. "You know, I'm starting to think that if you all just practiced some martial arts instead of trying to tamper with things you don't understand, we wouldn't be in this scenario." He said, arms folded. "I say that from experience. Some things should just be left alone because of how dangerous they are." He finished as he remembered the vision he received from the Font.

She then met up with some of her family. "Look. I've got no clue what a Yggdrasil is. And I honestly don't really care. If they're prodding and poking to test us, they're in for a shock. No offense to Spicer, but he's not very good at fighting, and I'm far more powerful, and dare I say, skilled than him. He's too wrapped around Glacia's finger. He's all but incapable of thinking and acting on his own and it's holding him back. I can say with absolute certainty that whoever this Gebel jerkass is, I can take him. I can also say with certainty that if I had the power I do now, I could take Floe and Glacia in a fight at the same time and win easily. Even if they used that weird whatchamacallit." He said, clenching his fist and smiling. "In fact I might even have been able to kill Fuar as well. Shame Ikki got to him first."

She explained that Spicer went to traverse Yggdrasil and insisted that "mortals can't navigate" in it and he rolled his eyes. "I doubt that. No offense, but too many people say that sort of thing when it's simply untrue. No offense to anyone, but Spicer is stronger than a lot of you. And I'm at least an order of magnitude above him. So if you all can do it, I imagine he's competent enough to figure it out. Probably."

After that, Liz grabbed some armor and gave her the location of where he was training Arashi and Higu. However, she did suggest moving them here would probably be faster. While he didn't buy that they would need their magic, it would be easier to move his stuff here than move the whole town to where he was. "Yeah, I think bringing them here would be easier. I need find out where I can order a better gravity chamber anyways."

They teleported him back to where Arashi and Higu were training. "Change of plans you two. We're moving north for awhile. We got some friends who're gonna help us. Pack your socks."

[Ranoria]

Arashi

Getting his ass handed to him day in and day out had been nothing short of brutal, but Arashi's body was built to handle it. With a combination of the healing pods and his natural healing factor meant that he could be back up on his and raring to go seemingly faster than he was broken down. It was certainly the most intense physical training of his life, as he usually entered the state of pseudo-meditation natural to his race in order to grow stronger.

And it was working. Not in the sinew of his body, or the power of his heartbeat. No, his body was as powerful as it could physically be, shapeshifting ensured that. But his ki, that was what Ovan's training was bolstering. He could already feel the improvement in his senses, reflexes, speed, strength. And he figured it couldn't hurt to keep going while the human, whom had far surpassed any perceived limits, was handling his business.

Of course, in the middle of his own exercises, Ovan reappeared, and Arashi never knew until he laid eyes on them, having cast his scouter aside for the time being. He gave his new tutor a sloppy salute and nodded, "Gotta say, I'm skeptical of your having any friends, Ovan," Arashi reached down for his scouter, "But hell with it, lets go."

[Britanania]

Me and the boys

Vanir: Niflheimr

Spicer entered the spacious room and made his way over to the kitchen where Serena was. The idea of a monarch, especially one as powerful and revered as Serena preparing a meal did not sit well with the Saiyan.

The Arcosians are like deities, and are treated as such, he thought, his mind drifting to his years serving Emperor Kalt and more recently to Glacia herself. It is categorically out of the question to imagine them preparing their own meals, let alone serving others. Although Serena isn’t too different from a deity herself...

Still, in the few years Spicer knew Serena, he noticed a tension between her desire to fulfil her role as a monarch and a longing to be treated like a normal person, and at that moment as Spicer reached the threshold of the kitchen he felt tension between his tendencies to treat Serena like the monarch he knew she could be and the girl she wanted to be. Part of that tension, Spicer also thought, laid in part with her own convictions as a sovereign and the box her government made for her. Serena was humming lightly as she prepared the meal, sprinkling a bit of spice amongst the mix to add that extra bit of flavour to everything.

“Your Majesty,” Spicer finally called out to Serena from the doorway of the kitchen after a few minutes of introspection.

Her humming stopped and she turned her gaze momentarily away from the meal to the Saiyan standing underneath the archway that separated the kitchen-dining room combo from the living room.

“Do you want any help?” A sense of worry tinged the Saiyan’s words, inspired in part from Serena’s trance-like state from earlier.

She shook her head. “No, I'm just about finished…” She said, then glanced over to the dining room table. “You can set up the table if you’d like?” She waved a hand to it, plates and utensils had already been stacked on the surface, it just needed someone to properly organise it. Spicer nodded as Serena’s magic stacked the silverware and plates and the Saiyan dutifully began setting up for the trio.

“As you wish,” he said tenderly. Serena was about to ask where Nymph was when the front door opened and a gentle breath of cold air burst into the building.

Nymphaea came barreling in from the cold. The Saiyaness sniffled as she tried to breathe through her nose until she sneezed loudly. The mage stuck out her tongue after sneezing. "I'm done setting up the wards. I think I'm starting to feel under the weather guys." Nymphaea’s eyes were pink-tinged, puffy, and wet as she closed the door behind her, shutting out the frigid Niflheimr air and walked into the kitchen which was warm from the residual heat of the stove. Still, she was clutching herself tightly as if still out amongst the frigid air. “The cold here is a lot worse than the Heights.” She acknowledged, being born and raised in the Northernmost region of Earth she was used to being cold, but this was a chilling kind of cold that rattled your bones and held onto you even when surrounded by warmth. Her magical cape wrapped itself tightly around her shoulders and chest.

“It is…” Serena agreed, despite the fact that she hadn’t noticed it at all during their trek here. Then again she hadn’t noticed anything until a few moments prior to setting up camp. “I’ve got something to warm us up though! You can help Spicer set up the table,”

Nymph perked up then, for a moment wanting to get closer to see what it was that Serena had prepared, but stealing her nerves just enough to turn and walk over to the aforementioned table where Spicer was already fumbling about. “Have you ever done this before?” A genuine question not meant to be condescending by any means. Spicer was a soldier and an alien one at that. What would he know about domestic tradition practised by Earthlings?

Spicer fumbled momentarily with his handling of one of the plates, and Nymph giggled in response. “I’m going to take that as a no, here just follow my lead.”

In no time they had the table set up and ready to go, Nymph taking one seat and giving Spicer a pointed look to take the one adjacent to her, rather than bug Serena about doing more in the meantime while they waited on her. The way he shuffled about awkwardly, looking eager to do more than was necessary, the young witch could tell that it made him uncomfortable to simply sit and wait. “How’ve you been feeling Spice?” She’d ask in an attempt to distract him. “Haven’t had any tingling sensations? Or any sudden urges to combust?” A mortal without magic had never entered Yggdrasil before so his presence here was, in a way, monumental.

“I think you might have been wrong about that,” the Saiyan mumbled as he sat down. “Where did that superstition even come from?”

Nymph shrugged and leaned back against her chair, her cap cushioning her back. “ Magic effects non-mages a little differently… I heard it’s not rare for people like you implode when in centres of high magical concentration.” She tilted her head then cupped her chin. “Then again you are way stronger than your average person, so maybe that’s your saving grace here.” Even mages couldn’t enter Yggdrasil in their physical forms, her mother and sister were the first that she knew of that did, but like the time before they had tagged along with Serena. Maybe she was the key here? Something about the magic the Queen used both times must’ve increased their ability to survive here somehow.

Speaking of Serena, the Queen came to the table with a pot which she would place on the tabletop. Opening the lid, the sweet aroma quickly filled the room and left Nymph’s mouth to water. Immediately her conversation with Spicer was forgotten as she grabbed a bowel and presented it to Serena who chuckled at Nymph’s eagerness.

“Sorry to keep you guys waiting, hope you’re both hungry!”

“You know I am!” Casting those protective charms had left her a bit peckish, and her infamous Saiyan hunger was clamouring for something to fill her gut.

Moving along Serena filled everyone’s bowels, before closing the lid on the pot and moving it back to the stove. Coming back she sits down, grabs some chopsticks, and begins to eat her meal, Nymph in turn rapidly consumes about half of hers before pulling back and slowing down, wanting to savour the taste and her portion a little bit longer.

“Thank you, Serena,” Spicer said as the queen filled the general’s bowl. He had grown more accustomed to Earthling cuisine in his year serving on Earth and knew this to be pork ramen. He similarly broke his chopsticks and slowly consumed the mean, making a few sideways glances as Nymph ploughed through the meal.

“Did your mother used to make this?” Spicer asked as he put his chopsticks down. He knew the subject of the young queen’s parents was a sensitive one, but Spicer also knew that on Earth it was customary for mothers to teach their daughters the ins and outs of cooking--at least, so Nymph told him.

Serena lowered her chopstick. “Yes, it was one of her favourite meals actually.” They had eaten it so much growing up that there were times where she had gotten sick of it. Now, what wouldn’t she give up to be able to taste her mother’s cooking again? “She was certainly different, everything I aspire to be really...” She trailed off, before clearing her throat and resumed eating.

Spicer’s eyes lingered on Serena for a moment or two as she finished speaking before he also went back to his meal, unsure if he made a wise choice.

"My mother taught me how to cook too," Nymph said to the two as she turned to them. "Us mages practice herbalism and alchemy which has some positive effects like knowing how to cook. I can even cook up some Heights cuisine for you guys for breakfast or dinner." She gave the two a wide smile.

Serena almost choked on her food as she remembered her experience seeing Heights food during her time with the mages. The queen composed herself and put her chopsticks down.

“I appreciate the offer, Nymph, but is that really a good idea considering Spicer might not survive it? she asked, happy to at least use Spicer as an excuse to get out of the nigh inedible food the mages usually ate.

Nymphaea blinked. "I ate the food sometime before I became a mage. I think us Saiyans can eat what most people can't." She turned her attention to Spicer. "Maybe we can awaken his nodes with magic food?" She covered her mouth as she giggled.

“Considering what the Mindhoirites did to me, and I almost died, I would prefer to avoid that,” the Saiyan general replied with a murmur. Nymphaea glared at him as her cheeks puff up. "You two are missing out on good food." She turned her head to the side as Serena and Spicer let out small chuckles before they continued with their food. After a moment or so Serena placed down her chopstick and spoke again.

“So I’m thinking we should talk about the elephant in the room.” She said. “That small light that came to me… it showed me things about Yggdrasil that I don’t think any of us were cued in about.”

Nymph, who had finished her bowl, rested it down and tilted her head at Serena. “What do you mean?”

Serena turned her gaze to Nymph. “Now that we’re in Yggdrasil, the only way to get to the other realms, is to go through a portal that acts like some kind of cosmic root. It’s the only way in and out of each realm… so you can imagine how heavily guarded these things must be.” She sighed. “It showed me the way to the portal that exists here in Vanir, and I think its control of my body was its way to guide us there but…” The light was nowhere to be seen now. “I think we might be on our own for a little while.”

After he put down his chopsticks again, Spicer waited a few moments before speaking.

The light guided us here, but can it really be trusted? Did this Raguel capture Alex knowing we’d go after her, and sent that light to ensnare us? If Glacia were here, she might know…

“I don’t think there’s much more we can do tonight, as it is,” he finally said. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us out there, so taking this slow might be the best course of action.”

Nymphaea placed a finger on her chin as she looked up at the ceiling as she pondered the question posed by their current situation. "Perhaps we can hide in glamour so we can blend in with the natives?" The mage suggested. "It might not last long for us because chances are they will sniff us out but we can use it to get close to the portal to book it to the next realm."

“What are the natives of Vanir like?” Spicer inquired.

Nymphaea folded her arms in front of her chest. "Vanir is the realm of Elementals. This realm is home to spirits and beings heavily associated with elemental forces that make up the universe. They range from the class five of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Heart; other elements do exist." She raised both her hands out.

"For us mages, we find that people have particular elements they align with. For example." Nymphaea's right hand would combust into flames, she left surrounded by a vortex of air, both appendages producing sparks that travel up to her shoulder and chest, causing her hair to stand up and becoming more spiked up.

"My elements are Fire and Wind, with that combination giving me electricity as a third elemental alignment." She explained. She turned her attention to Serena. "I think you might have a strong Earth alignment. At least that is what I get from the few times you use magic. Though Light might be your strongest."

“My magic could preclude the use of elementals,” the young queen pointed out as she instinctively moved a hand to her chest. “But even so, I think that’s beside the point. We might have to conceal ourselves, but if we’re fortunate we can sneak out of here undetected.”

Nymphaea caused her elemental display to cease. "Correct. So I will disguise myself as an electric elemental, Serena either as an Earth or Light one, and Spicer will be an elemental beast." She boasted as she pointed her chin up.

Nymphaea suddenly feels the urge to yawn and before she can stop herself she would let out a loud yawn. She would look back down as she looked at the two lazily. "Looks like I'm at my limit and with us not going anywhere now I'm going to sleep." Nymphaea got up.

"Good night guys, don't let the Dream Eaters devour your dreams and life force. Because if they get into the habit of eating your dreams every night you might never wake up again." She told them in a saccharine tone.

She would walk close to Spicer. "I heard that sleeping with a partner would make them feel hesitant about eating your dreams since they like to eat people's dreams when they are alone." She would look down at Spicer, giving him a wink, before walking off to her bedchamber. Spicer looked over at the queen.

“Do you need any help cleaning up?” he asked hurriedly, trying to ignore or forget Nymph’s comments. Serena gave him a smile as she shook her head.

“No worries,” she replied with a wave of her hand. The bowls and other utensils, hued with scarlet sparkles, neatly arranged themselves over in the kitchen, and like clockwork, the sink turned on and automatically, as if imbued with sentience of their own, began to wash the dishes for her.

“Magic has its uses, after all,” she said as she moved a bit of blonde hair out of her face. “With all the insanity of the last few days, it’s been awhile since we’ve had time to talk,” she pointed out. Spicer nodded in agreement.

“Yes, our weekly meetings have taken a backseat,” he said dejectedly. Spicer felt his heart skip a beat.

Maybe it’s not the best time, but if things go poorly here, I might not have a better chance… The Saiyan slowly moved a hand to his pocket, where he clutched the small black box that seemed to weigh heavier and heavier as the days went by.

“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” he mumbled out. Serena cocked her head, smiled, and folded her hands across the table.

“That so?” she asked. “I wanted to talk to you about something important, as well, if that’s all right, of course.” Spicer’s heart skipped another beat as he raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? You go first, then.” Serena’s smile faded as she let out a sigh.

“The vultures have been getting on my back again,” she told him.

“About what?” Serena wrangled her hands together.

“They think it’s high time I get married.” Serena put her hands up. “I know, we’re in the middle of a catastrophe, and that’s all they can think of, and of all people, they want it to be Shepard! He’s like a brother to me, but they keep insisting on it, and I don’t know how long I can keep them at bay.” Serena let out another sigh.

“I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem right but as Sovereign, I have certain duties and this is one of them.” Serena gave Spicer a sad smile.

“Sorry about dumping this on you, but I had to tell someone, and I trust your input.” she mentioned, asking for his advice. Spicer meanwhile looked thoroughly dejected and his shoulders slumped as he removed his hand from his pocket. He took a big breath before he began.

“I think you should do whatever makes you happiest,” he told her, perhaps weakly, but with a smile all the same. He focused on the sapphire gems she had for eyes, eyes that so enchanted him “I think whatever you do, you’ll make the right choice.” Serena shot the Saiyan a smile in thanks, her eyes focusing on the intensity of his dark eyes.

“Thank you for that, Spicer. I hope your confidence in me isn’t misplaced.” Serena suddenly rose from her chair, and Spicer followed suit instinctively. She walked over to the Saiyan and threw her arms around him in a tight embrace, feeling the strength of his muscles and felt truly comforted by his reciprocal hug.

“You've always been good friend,” Serena told him softly before she pulled back and blinked a few times.

“Oh, what was it you wanted to tell me?”

“Um, it’s nothing, it can wait for later,” he mumbled out, looking down at his boots as Serena took a step backwards and eyed him for a few moments.

“Well, if you say so,” she replied hesitantly. “In any event, we have a long day ahead of us, so we should both get some sleep.” She gave Spicer a wave as she walked off to her own bed-chamber and quickly closed the door as Spicer stood in the dining area for a few minutes more, the only sound being the running of water and the beating of his heart.

“Damn,” he muttered under his breath.

[Naval Monte]

The cambion gave the white hair martial artist a heated glare as he simply blow off her warnings and displayed arrogance in his own skill. "Nymphy told me that he was the quiet one. Now I wish he stayed as such." the cambion thought as some mages looked at each other, some wondering if Ovan was serious with his claims, others sharing Elizabeth feelings about the arrogant fighter. One muttering about Ki user pride always being insufferable.

What else was aggravating her is him judging the mages practice of magic, but saying that Spicer is stronger than all of them. Elizabeth scoffed at the notion of the space monkey being more powerful than them. But she kept her response to his claims quiet for now. They need to get his team mates.

When they teleport to where Ovan told them where Higu and Arashi was the witch looked around. She overheard the Tohran speaking to Ovan and when he mentioned having friends the witch spoke up.

"Friends is a strong word. More like temporary allies." Elizabeth told Arashi. "He tried to find my sister but he found me instead." Elizabeth shrugged. "Doesn't matter, we all have the same enemy anyways so I'm filling in for her." Elizabeth eyes fell onto Higu and her eyes narrowed.

"You there. What is your name? You look familiar to me." The witch tried to think where she saw the man. She was sure she saw either the man or an image of him from her past travels. But she couldn't place a name to the face yet. It was at the tip of her tongue.

[Britanania]

Collab with Saint, Naval, and Brit

Later that night
Vanir: Niflheimr

Serena had difficulty sleeping that night, aside from the usual issues one has sleeping in a different bed than one's own. No, it was the type of uneasy sleep induced by something far different. She tossed and turned, but couldn’t find a good spot to sleep easy. Not that Serena technically had to sleep to feel refreshed, but she did take comfort in the experience if only because it too seemed “natural”.

“Of course Nymph had to go on about Dream Eaters,” the young queen mumbled as she threw off her blanket and looked at the clock. Of course, it wasn’t working, being in a separate dimension and magic no doubt affecting its properties. Just as Serena was going to try something else, she heard something, a quiet something.

Serena the Voice whispered. Follow. At that moment, the small blue light materialised in the centre of the room and hovered for a few moments before it moved towards the door. Serena nearly fell out of her bed as she rushed to catch up with the blue light, making sure to put on some boots and a coat as she followed it through the living room and out the door into the cold night air of Vanir.

Of course this happens now of all times, she thought as she followed the light through the snow. A heavy and dense fog permeated the environment, and Serena could barely see much in any direction. The light took the queen down a path between two large trees. In the distance, Serena heard the howling of wolves, but she felt no danger; something assured her that she would not be accosted during this trek. The light took Serena through a path towards a cave. Serena hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was wise to enter into a cavern but ultimately put her trust in the light and ventured through.

Inside, however, Serena found that the cave was illuminated by thousands of small crystals and ice structures of myriads of colours, and more important than the sheer beauty of it all, the binding fog did not penetrate.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” she mumbled as she followed along the path. After a while, Serena lost track of how much time had passed as she followed the light through the caverns, the light suddenly stopped. Serena peered over a corner to see a dragon resting by the exit of the cave.

Of course she sighed. The queen was thankful the dragon was asleep for now but with the mystical beast so close to the house it would only be a matter of time before it spots their small dwelling and attacks them. She has to warn others.

The queen would quietly turn around and slowly retraced her steps back to the house, taking great care to not make too much noise to wake the dragon. Serena pondered if the light wished to lead her somewhere that the dragon was blocking or perhaps it wanted to warn her about it? Either way, time was of the essence now.

It felt like hours passed away as she slowly walked back to the house but when she finally saw the house she couldn't help but to sprint forward and fling herself to the door, flinging the door wide open and closing it quickly. It was nearly dawn as Serena rushed to the closet door she could see and open it, seeing Spicer sleeping on the bed still wearing his armour. The queen ran towards his side and began to shake him.

"Spicer, wake up. The voice and orb returned. They lead me to a cave close by the house that has a dragon sleeping close by. We have to pack up and leave before it wakes up."

Spicer blinked a few times as he rose up and looked at the excited monarch as he processed what she was telling him.

“A dragon?” he frowned. It had only been a few days since his first run-in with a dragon, and Spicer wasn’t eager to meet another any time soon. But something in Serena’s words touched him and he considered the option.

I might have my reservations, but this Voice hasn’t led her astray so far…

“Let’s wait for Lottus, then.”

In the other room, Nymphaea was also having trouble sleeping. As the witch twisting and turning in her sleep she was muttering some words. "No. Run. They are on the other side."

In her dream, she saw the palace the Order was now calling home being covered in smoke and fire. Whole sections of the walls were missing and the ceilings and floors had holes. As she walked around she saw many mages lying dead on the ground.

The Saiyaness looked at the scene with distress as she was reminded of Airceltria. Nymphaea wondered what was happening? Why was the palace being attacked? As she looked around she would look out on the hall to see dark figures running by the hall. The witch would follow behind them as she can hear gunshots coming out as well as energy shots and spells.

When Nymphaea reached where the soldiers ran to she would see them stop as they began to open fire on several mages who were fighting against more dark soldiers and a figure wearing dark robes and hood, wielding a black sword with a blood-red aura who was fighting against the mages.

The soldiers would gun down the mages but most fell due to the mages, but the rogue mage would slay most of the mages before Nymphaea. The figure stood still before they slowly began to turn their head towards her. Nymphaea can feel an incredible sense of dread the more she can see the face of the figure.

When the figure finally revealed to Nymphaea their face the witch felt her lungs taking in a large amount of air. Her blood turned blood cold and her mind stopped working. Nymphaea began to shake her head.

"No. No. No. It can't be true. It's not possible." Her voice cracked as she can feel her heartbreaking under the strain of the cruel revelation before her. As the figure pulled down their hood to reveal more on who it was Nymphaea fell to her knees as she cried out.

"NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The witch called out as the smoke began to consume everything around her and the witch found herself no longer in the burning palace but back in the bed-chamber Serena lent her. With her back on the mattress, she was breathing heavily as she felt sweat coming down her body.

As the witch moved the pillow up she would find herself wearing a pink and white Yukata underneath the sheets. The mage would drop the blanket as she let out a sigh of relief. "It was just a dream." She told herself, trying to ignore the sense of foreboding and dread that she feels every time she thinks of the dream.

The witch decided to try and get something to drink before washing up to try and calm her nerves. She would get off her bed and walk out of the room. Unaware that she was being watched by a Sephirah spirit who would fade once the door was clicked close.

As Nymph entered the main living room she was met by Spicer and Serena sitting on opposite ends of the table, clearly waiting for the witch to join them.

“Excellent,” Serena said as she clasped her hands together. “Now that we’re all here we can get down to business.”

The young queen explained how the light led her through a part of Vanir and through a cave system protected by a dragon, but otherwise safe and easy to traverse, that led out of Niflheimr and into Vanaheimr, where they could traverse others parts of the Nine Realms.

“And more importantly, will save us about five days of travelling, I think,” she concluded. “But I don’t want to do anything you guys aren’t comfortable with, so I’m asking for your input, do we go the normal way or do we take the shortcut?”

Nymphaea would cover her mouth as she let out a loud yawn. She would look at Serena with annoyance. "You woke us up so we can risk our lives trying to sneak past an ice dragon for the possibility of the cave it lives in leading to a shortcut?" The witch bluntly told her.

With her hair being messy and the witch obviously having a bad night she was not in the mood to risk her life to feed the queen's curiosity and risky plan. "I say we go with the route we're on and leave the dragon alone. This thing won't be like the Wyverns back on the Heights. We are in its home realm, that thing will be fighting us at full power, and quite frankly I don't want to discover the hard way if we can handle it now.

Serena nodded in understanding. She disagreed with Nymph, of course, but now her place was to listen to their advice. She turned then to the other Saiyan.

"And you, Spicer?” The Saiyan had his arms folded as he leaned back against the chair. It was a difficult choice surely, and he had the tiebreaker, as it were.

Nymph is right that we barely survived the wyverns and we have no idea how powerful this thing will be, but we also don’t know what else is waiting for us if we go the long way, and I don’t think flying is an option in this fog and not to mention foreign atmosphere…. He lowered his arms and looked over at Serena, her eyes almost pleading to him.

“The Voice has led us properly so far,” he admitted, “and if it didn’t want us to go through the caves it wouldn’t lead you there. I say we take our chances with the dragon.”

Nymphaea would slam her forehead with the palm of her hand, groaning loudly. "For the love of the Kais, you two are unbelievable. You actually want to do this?" The witch shook her head. "I swear, you two are going to put me into an early grave." She muttered as she walked off to the kitchen to get a drink.

After about a half-hour of preparing for the journey ahead, Serena put the house back into its capsule as they made their way down the path the light showed her.

“I can still remember it exactly” she informed the pair of Saiyans, looking back at them before she squared her gaze on the snowy path ahead of them. “Should be another hour before we reach the caves.” Spicer heard Nymph giving out a slight groan as he picked up the pace of his gait so he walked shoulder to shoulder with the queen. The Saiyan warrior didn’t say anything, in fact, he noticed that Serena seemed focused only on the task at hand. He glanced over at her for a moment before he too focused outwardly on the path.

In time Serena led them through the caverns, just as startling and beautiful as the night before. Nymphaea was also spellbound as much as Spicer. The majestic sight before her almost made the Saiyaness let go of her anger at the two for forcing her to go into a dragon's den.

Crystals, fungi, and more all glow in the subterranean passage they crossed through. Nymphaea can feel arcane energy coming from the illuminated items before them, more importantly, she can sense both life and sentience from them. Nymphaea realized that the crystals were the same ones used by some mages to create their enchanted weapons.

"Looks like you two aren't the only crazy ones to venture deep into a dragon's lair." She muttered quietly so her voice didn't echo through the tunnel but loud enough for the two to hear her.

Eventually, the three it to the bend before the final turn. Serena stopped and looked at the two Saiyans.

“All right,” she announced in a low voice as she clasped her hands. “The Dragon is just around the corner so let’s steel ourselves.” Spicer nodded, and as they round the corner to fight the dragon they found nothing.

“What?” Serena gasped. The dragon that had been blocking the path last night was nowhere in sight. “I don’t understand, it was here last night.” Serena tried to reason through why the dragon was not there and Spicer suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Serena, the exit is there,” he turned to Nymph and nodded. “Let’s go.”

[The Republic of Atria]

"That sounds about right." Ovan agreed with Liz's explanation. He wasn't sure what he expected when he went over to get them, but them talking down to him was kind of what he expected. Without any knowledge or even any real care for magic, they were bound to do something like that. Whatever, he didn't call them to have a pissing contest, there are angels invading and killing innocent people. The worst kind of people, attacking people who seemingly had no way of fighting back. That was something he would fix.

As he was about to continue speaking, his expression changed when he sensed a very large power. "Huh... I'm assuming you all feel that too. I'm guessing that's one of, if not, the head honcho. Might as well cut off the head of the chicken now. Maybe that'll stem the tide. If you're coming with me, great, if you're not, also great, just focus on keeping the civilians safe." He said, his aura firing up as he floated into the sky. "Last chance." He said, waiting a few seconds before shooting off towards the large power. Hopefully, killing whoever this was would make the rest realize their mission is forfeit and just leave. If not, well, mopping them up should be easier since they won't have someone coordinating them.

Ovan crashed into the ship that had the power like a bullet hitting a car and flaoted to make himself rightside up. "I'm here to remove some asshole named Gebel or something. If you're not Gebel, well then don't bother, you'll just be wasting both of our time." Already, he was in his Void of Mind state, and just needed a little bit of spinning up before he could unleash his true power.

[Naval Monte]

Six Point Island- Before the Heroes arrival

On top one of the many angelic spiders stood the architect of the Terran invasion, the sword of Raguel chose to slay his enemies on Yggdrasil and to subjugate Midgard to his will. The one archangel feared by all practitioners of esoteric forces and dabblers into protean abilities, known to them as the Witch Finder General. Leading this invasion personally was Gebel

The archangel stood in front of a holographic projection showing three avian angels as he stared down at them. "Status reports on the other fronts." He told them. The middle angel would salute him before speaking. "Our forces have defeated the humans on..." the angel's eyes squinted as it tried to look at something it could only see from its end.

"Par.. ley? Parley city sir? We are rounding up the survivors and taking them as prisoners." The angel would see the one to it's right shaking its head as it slapped the palm of its talons on his face. "It's Parsley City, not Parlay you idiot." 

The middle angel tilted its head slightly. "Parsley City? That is a dumb name. Who on Paradiso would name a city Parsley?" The left one shrugged. "Maybe the same idiot who thought Ginger Town was a good name?" The angel in question would turn to face an annoyed Gebel, making the angel nervous.

"Speaking of Ginger Town sir. We're just three days away from invading the town. The humans have sent their forces to slow us down but much of their war machines are antiquated and their primary weapons can barely put a scratch on us. It would seem their only means of defeating us are the Ki channelers, the magi, and xenos." Gebel let out a chuckle.

"As I expected." He would make a wide swipe with his arms. "Continue on to Ginger Town. Crush anyone who stands in your way and capture the survivors. I want to see that town burned to the ground." The left angel saluted. "Roger. Roger." With those words his hologram faded. Gebel turned to the middle one. 

"Move your forces to invade Four Star City next." He heard the middle one acknowledge the order before he disappeared as he turned to face the last one. "As our spies found the whereabouts of the surviving mages?" The angel shook his head. "Not yet sir. We are still searching for them. But we found a few individuals we believe might be useful with breaking Humanity's morale." 

Gebel began to tap his finger tips together. "Excellent. Watch them. I want our spies to observe them carefully. When the time is right we will either capture them to be used as hostages or kill them. Once we have weakened the resolve of the humans they will be forced to surround and Earth will be ours" The archangel boasted.

"Why do they call this planet Earth anyways? It's covered mostly in water so shouldn't Aqua work better?" The angel questioned, but was largely ignored as Gebel sensed several powerful beings approaching him. He turned to look at the direction where he sensed the different powers coming from.

The archangel began to laugh. "I see they have taken the bait." He turned back to face the angel. "Bring me the mad scientist, observe the rest. I will have to end this conversation for now. I will be having guests shortly." The last holographic angel nodded as he faded.

Gebel turned to face four strange looking angels who floated close by the spider. "I trust you four can handle our guests?" The angel with the face shield would speak.

"We may be using avatars that can only hold a fraction of our power but even that would be enough to subdue most mortals." The other three agreed. "Make sure you make them use all of their powers. I want my spies to record everything about these so-called "heroes". He told them before he turned around and walked to the edge. "I want to see if they are truly as powerful as the humans and aliens believe they are." 

Gebel would jump off the spider as the other four angels teleported, all five hiding their energy signatures.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Elizabeth would sense the powerful aura around the same time Ovan did. When she felt it the cambion began to growl unconsciously as she bared her fangs, black and violet sparks surrounding her. "Gebel!" She snarled out. 

When Ovan began to ask for volunteers to fight Gebel the cambion turned to him. "I'm not missing my chance at having my revenge. I will kill that bastard before anyone can." She would conjure demonic wings made of dark energy and fly out to follow Ovan.

As the group flew towards the island Elizabeth and the others saw massive floating ships in the air as many angels either descended from the air to join the ground forces or crawled out of the shores.

As Ovan landed on a ship the angels looked at each other. He would see them all raise their weapons towards him.

"Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh Adonai Tz'vaot!"

All the angels on board charged forwards while those with ranged weapons released bolts and energy waves.

Elizabeth would unleash a beam of dark energy down at the angels on the ground which would cause many angels from below to open fire in the air to bring her and the group down.

[The Republic of Atria]

The first, and only volunteer to fight was none other than Liz, who was adamant that she would be the one to get the first crack at Gebel and kill him for committing the near genocide. "You know what, that's fair." He started as they arrived on the ship into a swarm of angels. "Tell you what, I'll try to keep these things off you so you can have a fair fight." He said, dashing in front of her, grabbing the closest charging angel and used it as a shield to block the ranged attacks from the ones in the back. "Kick him in the groin for me! The rest of you-" He pointed

"-Are dog food." He said grimly. Dashing with insane speed, he plowed through the remaining angel chargers and into the backline where the angels unleashed another bombardment. However, Ovan was well prepared for this assault, the beams all bending towards Ovan, but instead of striking him, his hands spun in a flowing motion as he redirected every blast attack away from his own body. Some of which even struck the angels who fired them. "That's right freaky things, just keep your focus on me. I haven't had a decent workout in a few days, and I've got students that need to be whipped into shape."

A charging angel lashed out at Ovan, attempting to grapple him. Ovan thrust both his hands to the side, throwing the angel off balance and letting him grab it's leg, shoot into the air and fling it into another melee angel. Slamming down into the ship, creating a sizable dent, Ovan increased his speed, dashing faster than the angels could track and smashing into them, bouncing around the area akin to a deadly pinball. "Keep fighitng drones, you might hit something!"

[Britanania]

Collab with Saint, Naval, and Brit
Vanir: Niflheimr

The trio ran towards the exit of the caverns and saw the light peeking through the other side, but just before they made it through, a pillar of green fire erupted in front of them. Serena put up a magical shield to protect the three from the heat of the emerald inferno. The fire slowly subsided, and from it, the figure of a woman emerged

“Oh dear, what an awkward situation,” she told the group. “Our three little trespassers lined up.”

Nymphaea let out a small squeak as she shrinks back in fear at the sight of the woman. "Oh bloody hell, we just had to run into Hel herself. The queen of Niflheimr and Woden's eldest daughter."

“So you know who I am. I should be flattered mortals know me,” Hel practically spat the words out. “But it matters not.” She turned her attention to the Queen of Earth and smiled. “You, my dear will make such a lovely present for Lord Woden, and will be such a magnificent weapon.”

Serena frowned at their opponent and scarlet magic formed in her hands as she entered a defensive posture, but before anyone could make a move Spicer stepped in front of his two companions and flared his aura.

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” he growled at the Jötnar before leaping into an attack. The Saiyan pulled his fist back for a punch but Hel easily grabbed Spicer’s fist and smiled cruelly.

“You poor, simple fool,” she sighed as she casually tossed Spicer aside like he was a piece of garbage. The Saiyan hit the side of the cave as Serena called out to the likely injured warrior. Nymphaea looked at the display with fear but with Serena running to Spicer she realized that she made herself defenceless to Hel. Nymphaea conjured several threads with her fingers and sent them out to wrap up Hel, keeping her trapped as she began to channel electricity to the Jotun.

Hel cackled evilly as her form changed, revealing herself to be the ice dragon, breaking free from Nymphaea's bindings. Serena gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Nymphaea’s pupils shrank and her mouth was gaping wide as she was paralyzed on the spot by pure fear.

“It was you I saw…” Hel gave little indication of understanding the queen’s muffled words as she opened her serpentine mouth and fired at Serena. The sorceress put up a magical shield but as she did Spicer jumped in the way of Hel’s attack and took the brunt of the damage.

What’s he doing, she thought as the queen fired off a magical blast at the dragon’s scaly body. Hel roared, the attacks more an annoyance than actual threats, as she again fired at the Serena, who easily manoeuvred out of the way and pelted Hel with several more blasts as she flew around the caves.

Nymphaea's body was shaking as she felt the power of Hel. Her legs grew so weak that she fell to her knees. "It's useless. We can't defeat her." Nymphaea was shivering but it wasn't the cold that was making her body shiver. She would bring her hands down on the ground as she began to realize just how much they were over their heads with this mission.

Even as Serena fired shot after shot the mage knew that at her current power level the queen won't harm the dragon.

All she is really doing is annoying her, Nymph bemoaned. But as she thought of giving up her mind began to conjure images of her hometown, both before the attack when she saw mages living their lives peacefully and she was living happily with her family, and how she last saw when the angels attacked. The bodies of mages that she knew personally lying on the ground, landmarks that felt eternal now in ruins, the screams of the dead and dying filling her ears as her nostrils filled the smoke, burning wood, and burnt bodies.

The memories of her sister and mother came to her. All the time she spent with them and when they defended her. Seeing her sister after getting her out of Airceltrai and hearing that her mother was kidnapped by the angels.

All of these memories and more came flooding to her. Each one reminding her why she came to Yggdrasil, why she should not give up now. Her body still shakes but now it was no longer fear. Instead, she felt something coursing in her body, a power both family familiar yet different.

As her nails dug into the ground she would curl them into fits. Blue sparks began to arc throughout her body. A faint shimmer of blues and whites began to appear around her.

Meanwhile, on the far end of the cavern, Spicer again rose from the cold ground of the caves as he shook his head in despair. He watched his comrades fighting against Hel and he sneered.

Maybe they’re right, and I have been useless. I can’t do much against magical creatures like I couldn’t do much against the angels, or Gebel, or even this dragon. I can’t even protect...

The general took a few unsteady steps as he noticed the dragon turn its attentions on Serena and raise her claws for a swipe. A sense of panic coursed through Spicer as he rushed forward with all his remaining speed and power and fired off a few energy blasts against Hel, distracting the dragon who used her talons not on the queen, but on Spicer himself. The claws easily ripped through the back of Spicer’s armour and the Saiyan roared in pain. Serena stopped firing as she noticed what Hel did to Spicer as the dragon fired a blast, this time at Nymph.

As the blast came closer to Nymphaea the witch looked at the attack, a feral snarl of rage etched on her face. The Saiyaness bared her teeth at the dragon. She would throw her head back and let out a loud roar as the shimmers that danced around her would violently explode out into a powerful blast, meeting the blast and causing it to explode.

As the cavern shook and clouds of dust-covered everyone's sight, but only for the shortest time it had, as a shower of blue energies, undercurrent by trails of white and purple, would spill throughout the cavern like a mighty flood.

Serena and Spicer sensed two energies from the current, Anima for Serena, and Ki for Spicer. From the epicentre, they saw Nymphaea standing tall as she looked at the dragon, an azure aura surrounding her with splashes of white appearing at the edges and purple from within it.

"If you want to fight a Saiyan how about you fight one that can give you a real challenge you scaly gothic bitch." The witch spat out.

From her right hand, she manifested a blue orb that shot out sparks of electricity. Around her similar orbs began to form around. She grabbed the orb, compressed it down, and formed it into a spear. The other orbs similarly changed into spears.

"I made a promise to save my mother no matter what and I won't let anyone stand on my way!" She declared as sparks began to soar out from the spears, striking at the cavern walls and causing pieces of them to fly out from the tiny explosions each sparks made from the collision.

"Even if this whole damn realm stands against me I will bring it down to save her!" She hurled her spear at Hel, the others firing off at the same time as the first spear flew off, electrical sparks and embers trailing behind them.

However, the witch was not finished. She conjured both clawed gauntlets and greaves. Blue lines would trail throughout her body as she began to reinforce her entire body as she crouched down, sparks covering her. The sparks became erratic as the witch vanished, leaving behind two small holes where she stood and a dust cloud, before a strong gust blowing across Serena and Spicer, as Nymphaea propelled herself into the air and towards Hel. An evil sound emanated from the mouth of the worm and sounded to Nymph like laughter as a cloud of dust formed where the witch’s blows hit.

However, as the dust settled and Nymphaea approached the dragon, she found Hel looking well. More than well. The worm stood up on its hindquarters and unleashed a torrent of white-blue flames at the Saiyaness.

Nymphaea conjured a massive magic circle that took the brunt of the attack but the force still sent her flying to the cave wall. When she collided with the wall she would feel the wind knocked out of her as she lost her concentration to keep the circle active.

The witch slid off the wall and fell down on the ground. Nymphaea weakly struggled to get back up but found it incredibly difficult to do so. Ultimately she fell down on the floor, too exhausted and injured to fight.

The ice dragon towered over the trio, who were too battered to do much else against Hel. Spicer weakly rose from the ground and got between Serena and Nymph and Hel. An amused chuckle escaped the serpent’s mouth as Serena created a magical barrier in front of them in preparation for the attack.

Please, she prayed out to no one being in particular. Help us.

Hel pulled back for the final blow, but before she did, the blue light suddenly reappeared in front of the Jötnar and exploded like a solar flare, blinding the dragon but leaving the trio mostly unharmed. As Hel roared out in pain, the light floated down towards Serena and then through the open path. Serena made sure her companions were all right as she watched Hel flail about blindly.

“Come on, let’s go,” she told them.

Nymphaea floated up thanks to her cape as she began to heal herself as she followed Serena. Similarly, Spicer hobbled over and headed towards the exit. The group rushed out of the caverns and as they looked back, they saw that the exit collapsed behind them in a glorious explosion of unknown cause and power, until they saw the light coming over the crest of the hill.

"Why does that stupid light wait until now to help," the mage grumbled as they reached the pinnacle of the hill and looked over the plains.

Unlike the winter wonderland, what the found was an environment more similar and diverse like Earth, a place that reminded Spicer of the homeworld of the Solarians. It was a beautiful, surreal place, and they spent a few moments admiring its beauty as they rested. After a few minutes of them catching their breath, however, Serena looked over at Spicer.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” the queen asked the general. Spicer weakly nodded.

“Yes, of course,” he told her as they walked a few paces away from Nymph and her complaining.

“What’s this about?”

Serena took a deep breath and clasped her hands together.

“We didn’t do so well back there,” she admitted and looked at Spicer as he hung his head low, seemingly in shame. Serena took another deep breath.

“Spicer, you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone. You’re a powerful warrior in your own right, just because you can’t fight magic creatures like Nymph and me, doesn’t mean you’re worthless, just don’t try to act so impulsively.” Serena admonished him.

“I know as a soldier and as a Saiyan that might be difficult, though.” she offered with a slight smile. Spicer looked back up at the queen as he fidgeted.

“I was only looking out for you, Your Majesty,” he replied weakly. Serena dropped her soldiers and sighed before she embraced the Saiyan in a surprise hug that nearly caused him to stagger backwards.

“I was afraid of that,” she told him as she pulled back. “Out here, titles don’t matter. Treat me like you would any of your soldiers. Please. Spicer bit his lip and clenched his fists.

Would it make a difference if you knew why I did so, despite me knowing how much more powerful you are? Spicer reached into his pocket.

“Serena, I--”

"Hey guys," they turned towards the sound of Nymph's voice a few metres ahead. "The light is getting away, let's go!"

[Turkducken]

Higashi Urameshi

Where ever Ovan trained them at...

Higu had spent weeks in the gravity chamber. Ovan had taught him how to adjust the gravity settings, and how to use the healing pods in the room over. He would occasionally pop in to see how his "disciple" was handling the gravity training. Which bothered Higu more than a little. "So much for training me, instead he just throws me in and occasionally offers some pointers about my stance in high gravity." he muttered to himself, and although he thought it was stupid, he couldn't argue with the results. This flash pan style of training had improved his abilities exponentially in just a few short weeks. He hadn't actually sparred against another person in a while, but he could feel how different his power was. He hadn't built any mass, but he felt powerful, he could feel the changes in his body.

"But is that my strength? Or the power of that demon inside of me?" that dark thought hung over him for weeks training with Ovan. Although they initially tried to summon that incredible power and transformation out of him, it proved to be just as fruitless as it was when he first crushed that commander however many months ago. Whatever this power was, it eluded him, and he didn't like it.

He exited the gravity chamber, calling it off early today, sweat still dripped and fell from his body. Higu was ragged and wearing nothing but his so called 'fighting shorts'. He sat in the living area of the facility, fixing himself a small bowl of cereal, a sort of comfort food for himself. A door swooshed open and Arashi entered the room. They made eye contact before going about their separate business. "Ovan introduced us but between being busy training and healing, we've hardly had a chance to speak." Higu thought quietly to himself, munching his cereal.

Suddenly Ovan and a Raven Haired Woman appeared in the room. He sat in shock, jaw agape, with cereal and milk dripping out of his mouth. Arashi spun and did a lame salute to Ovan before saying something about the friends we keep. Before the woman interjected correcting the relationship to "convenient allies", and then she turned her attention to him. Mouth agape and drooling milk over himself. Higu wiped his face with the back of his arm quickly, and swallowed hard, before answering her question.

"Ura...Urameshi, Higashi." he stumbled out, "Where did you..?" he started to ask, before being cut off by the sudden appearance of a massive energy on the planet. Ovan made a face and said something about that probably being the "head honcho", and blasted off, telling whoever was up for it to follow. He barely had time to process such a rapid series of events, but apparently they were fighting now. He looked meekly at the other two, before pulling the straps of his hand wrappings tight, and heading towards the door.

He stood a little meekly outside of the facility, Ovan and Arashi had tried to teach him the apparently easy secret of ki flight, but he discovered the very simple reason that the various masters of Teppeki had never taught this technique. It simply went against the very nature of the school itself. Flight wasted precious ki, and even at higher levels of reserves where it was basically free energy, it was still a large use of that precious energy. To put it simply, is that users and masters of Teppeki can't use their Ki for flight. So despite Ovan and Arashi's best efforts, Higu still found himself flightless.

He hadn't really thought about how he was going to get to this immense energy. He thought about going back inside and grabbing his communicator and trying to call a ride from the PTO. But this felt like it would be more than a little humiliating and admitting defeat, so he began to run. He ran at a comfortable pace, not entirely sure as to where he was going, but trying to follow that massive energy nonetheless. He hadn't really been paying attention to just how fast he was traveling, and found himself shocked when he stood at the ocean. He tried to look back towards the facility, clearly thinking that he must've made some mistake or was imagining this, only to look around and find the terrain completely foreign. "Am I that much faster now?" the thought shot across his mind.

Higashi tried to clear his head, focusing on just the source of that massive energy bearing down on the planet. "Yeah it's definitely across this ocean." he sighed to himself. He thought about Ovan just zipping away earlier, "Was flight really that easy?" he pondered. Not entirely sure of what he was doing, and feeling more than a little light headed about his current experiences, he thought about flying and weightlessness and took a running leap. His effort was rewarded in a loud boom, as he soared through the air, shocked at his own power and flight. A dizzying number of miles flew past beneath and around him, blue water gave way to green and brown islands that gave way to more water. He zoomed through the air, only to notice that the once indistinct surface of the water and islands was becoming noticeable.

"Oh shit I'm not flying, I just jumped!" he yelped, realizing his predicament as the ground beneath him roared closer. He smacked into the sandy beach with a muted whoomph, sand flying everywhere. He snapped open eyes he didn't recall closing, to see him standing there perfectly fine on the beach. "This better not be a fucking dream!" he shouted incredulously, shocked at his own survival and strength. "That didn't even hurt!"

He realized he still had much distance to cover until he got to where Ovan was. Bracing himself for another gigantic leap, he thought about trying to aim himself in the air, and how necessary it would be to land so he could jump again. "Fuck it, I'll figure it out." another loud boom rang out in the atmosphere and he was sailing in the sky once again. This time he kept track of his arc through the sky, and managed to deliver a powerful momentum canceling forward punch, it too cracking across the sky, slowing him enough to land on the next piece of land which he jumped off again."A little more practice and I'll have this down." he thought smugly to himself, "I can't believe this works!" he shouted to the open sky.

He rinsed and repeated this process, covering hundreds of miles in mere seconds. The closer he got the more his senses were overwhelmed by this power. It grew and grew as he flew across the sky, and then it disappeared. Higu was shocked, whatever it was it was now trying to hide itself, for whatever reason. He doubted Ovan had finished it that quickly, but for whatever reason this massive power decided that it needed to conceal itself. He was disoriented at first, trying to figure out how exactly he was supposed to find wherever this was now, when he finally saw the horizon ahead of him. Swirling storm clouds, having been violently shoved back by an unwelcome intruder, the clear skies ahead of them betraying the location of whatever this thing was meant to be.

As he got closer to the sea it smelled...sad? He couldn't describe this smell of familiarity, bounding closer before he saw the massive ship hovering over a familiar island. His stomach flipped and fell out of his chest as he realized that it was parked right above Six Point. "No way..." he thought, his vision darkening and heartbeat racing. He summoned the energy for one massive leap, screaming through the air, as he rocketed towards the familiar presence of Ovan. His heart racing he slammed violently onto the surface of the ship, almost catching Ovan in the impact, "Ovan! My family lives here! I've got to go to the surface and save them!" he shouted frantically to his temporary master. Without thinking he punched a hole through the chest of a nearby Angel, and leapt towards the ground, panicking even more as he saw the angelic forces surrounding the only settlement on the island.

He violently slammed through the chassis of one of their machines of war, barely even thinking about what he was doing as he tore a path through invading force. Punching and jumping through the throngs of eldritch horrors, he finally reached the edge of the horde, their numbers just now bursting through the ancient walls surrounding the Estate. Roaring ahead of them, he screamed, "If any of you bastards want to destroy this place, you're gonna have to start with me first!" blood boiling and seeing red he then leapt back into the crowd, letting out a ear splitting "Koujouhou!" as a devastating right hook sent a blast of energy and air careening through the masses of bodies ahead of it. Windows shattered behind him as the explosion rocked the very earth, and the explosion itself splitting the angelic horde almost in half.

Higashi had stopped thinking about his allies or their fights, the only thing he was thinking about right now was just exactly how to kill each and everyone of these things.

"LET'S DANCE THEN!" He roared.

[Britanania]

Collab with Saint, Naval, and Brit
Vanir: Vanaheimr

The light led the group through a forest unlike anything either had seen, not Spicer in his many travels through the Milky Way or even Serena during her brief time in the Feywilds. Flora and fauna of all types, species, and variants mingled peacefully together, but the trio could not spend more than a few fleeting moments admiring the beauty of the environment as the light moved at a swift pace through that ancient and primaeval wood.

Eventually, it led them through the forest, and on its edge, they saw a city, just as magnificent as the forest they passed through, a city that to Spicer seemed familiar.

It looks like Esageard, the Saiyan thought. At the centre of the city, Spicer noticed a thin beam of rainbow light shooting from a tower and into the heavens, that reminded the Saiyan of the Solarian bifrost.

Did the Solarians built their capital to model these deities? Spicer wondered as they marvelled at the urban landscape.

“That’s Asgard,” Serena explained in a whisper. “The home of Woden himself and the other Jotnar.” Spicer pointed to the tower of light.

“I take it we need to get there to escape?” Serena nodded, happy that Spicer was slowly getting the hang of things.

“Yes, it should act like the Solarian bifrost. Well, exactly like it, in fact.”

Nymphaea was staring at the city with awe. Like a child who was seeing fireworks for the first time her eyes shine with wonder as she saw the majestic city. She turned to face the two. “I’m taking souvenirs from that city and you two aren’t going to stop me.”

But as quickly as she said those words her mind soon began to reel back once she remembered who lives in the city. The witch would suddenly slap herself on the face.

“Forget what I said. We should stay as far away from this place as possible. Like how my sister stays away from romantic commitments.”

“We’ll need to sneak into the city, though,” Spicer argued with determination, despite the groans of Nymph. He turned to Serena. “Can our guide lead us somewhere like a sewage system or cistern?” He asked. “I doubt they’ll let us just pop in, after all.”

Nymphaea’s shoulders slumped as she realized that once again she was going to be thrown into yet another near-death experience. “This is karma for kidnapping Clarinet isn’t it?” she asked the sky. “I will repay for that. Just please, stop making the payment be my life.” she pleaded. But as expected, if she wanted to get an answer from the gods she got nothing, which was typical.

By now the light was moving and the trio followed after it as it led them back through the forest and towards an old sewer grate. It took only a few moments for Spicer to remove the iron gate Serena and Nymph moved in to follow the light.

The tunnel was damp, but it was clear that it hadn’t been used for a long time. Some standing water filled the tunnel, but it was hardly ankle-deep, and from the overgrowth, throughout the cavern, Spicer almost imagined they were in a cave, let alone an artificial structure. Serena’s hands glowed scarlet and illuminated the walls of the tunnel as they followed the small blue light for several hours through the winding, labyrinthine passages until they reached a dead-end, an iron door right in front of them. The light hovered for a few moments before disappearing.

“The way forward must be through there, then.”

“Our best approach is to disguise ourselves as the locals,” Nymph told the two as she summoned her new staff and began to use it to trace a casting circle.

Spicer looked over at Nymph with a frown.

“How are we going to do that?” he asked the mage. As Nymph opened her mouth to reply, something made a sound down one of the corridors. Serena raised an eyebrow.

“What’s that?” the queen asked. Spicer took a step towards the sound.

“I’m not sure,” he mumbled. The sound inevitably grew louder and closer to the trio. Serena looked at her allies.

“I don’t want to stay here and find out,” she muttered as Spicer nodded in agreement.

“I have to agree. Let’s go.” Just as Spicer turned, however, from the around the corner came a massive murder of crows.

“Of course, magical ravens. This just keeps getting better,” an exasperated Nymph said as she rolled her eyes. “This must be my punishment…”

The group scrambled, as Serena fired several magical blasts at the corvids as Spicer began to pull the iron gate open.

“Lottus, help Serena,” the General barked at his former subordinate as he struggled to open the door.

The mage nodded as brought her staff to herself as she conjured a barrier to keep the ravens at bay, but it didn’t take long, with both their power and numbers, to shatter through it and forced the Saiyaness to resort to magical blasts, like Serena, to fend them off.

“Too bad we didn’t have a scarecrow…” Nymph mumbled as she fought the corvids.

As the two mages held off the ravens, Spicer finally managed to move the massive door just enough for them to slip through.

“Let’s move!” he told the two as he fired off a few energy blasts to cover their escape. The Saiyan general waited for the two women to get behind the door before he slammed it shut, as the sounds of the ravens slamming the door reverberated. With a sigh of relief, the trio took their first steps forward in the city of Asgard.

[Finland SSR]

Collab between Fin and Anarcho

---

What used to be a single vat installed in the heart of the lab has become an entire complex of cloning machines - the tube in the middle remained, growing the original experiment, but now dozens of others dotted the central chamber of the laboratory remained. Each one housed a different mutant, built from a new complect of genetic data, some seeming like normal humanoids, others resembling tentacled, overgrown monstrosities.

Kita left the supercomputer running, in case anyone wanted to bother him, while he was working on each of the cloning vats, injecting chemicals into bloodstreams and inspecting the DNA code to see if everything was lining up. He couldn’t afford himself to make a mistake when he was, in effect, playing God with life itself.

Outside of the lab, winter winds howled as a small black craft hovered and set down. A young man in a wollen overcoat stepped out of the cockpit. He tapped his glasses for some reason, before walking forward. Stepping up to the door, he reached up, and offered a simple knock.

The door - which more resembled a thick metallic gate installed into a mountain - remained silent for a good thirty seconds, before a speaker installed at a neighbouring panel began to speak in a disinterested voice:

“Introduce yourself or get off my lawn, and whichever you choose, do it quick.”

The young man straightened up, and looked up to the top right, directly into the camera that had been hidden above the door. Offering a sly grin, he said calmly “My name is Orochi. I’m here to offer you a proposal Dr. Kita.” The door remained silent for a few seconds, before the same disinterested voice spoke again:

“Please move two and a half meters back.”

A projector in the same panel would suddenly flash, creating a hologram of the so-called Doctor, sitting in his seat. “What is it?” Kita continued.

The young man stepped back and looked the doctor in the eye. “Dr. Kita, I’m an agent of an organization of individuals who have been quite interested in your work for a long time now. We have felt that now is the time to offer you an invitation to join our operation. This comes with a number of perks, including the reinstatement of your license and all the resources you could possibly want to supplement your work.”

“Interesting. But don’t waste your time with instating useless titles and whatnot. Seeing as I’ve accomplished more than any other doctor without any license, getting it back has kind of lost its value,” Kita replied, cupping his hands as he sat. “What would this entail? What do you need me for in particular?”

“Well, if I might be frank, our genetic research department is rather lacking. You are of course the best on the planet in regards to this particular subject and as such we’re extending the offer to you, as we want nothing but the best working with us. Your work for us would most likely focus on Human modification to work alongside cybernetic upgrades and exosuits, but you would be free to use our resources to pursue your own personal research as well.”

“That certainly sounds close to my taste...” Kita mused. Everything which the man offered almost sounded too good to be true. How likely was it for someone with such a good offer to show up at your door with no strings attached?

“So that explains what I’d work for, that’s most of my questions answered...” he continued, then leaned on his hand. “I suppose there’s only one more. Who would I work for?”

The young man offered a short chortle and replied “A good question. Officially, you would be employed by the Ministry of Justice, though that’s only on the few forms that we need to sign to get your lab set up. Unofficially, well I can’t reveal names until you take the offer and those who want to show themselves eventually do, but our organization is called Tarasque.”

“Tarasque.”

The name of a legendary monster, a monstrosity created of several animals crossed together and turned to giant size - whatever this secret organization was, that was clearly a hint to their nature.

“...Fine then, I’m interested in joining.” the hologram spoke and shut down. Slowly, the door behind it began to open, until it slid wide and allowed a somewhat meek looking scientist to walk out. Several drones immediately began to buzz, watching the scene from above just in case this turns out to be a trap. Kita himself, however, was extremely relaxed.

“Well then, where do we go next?”

“Well, if you’d like to follow me, we’re heading back to the World Capital. We can talk more on the way.”

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Danuja, Somewhere

Danuja looked her double in the eyes, as if trying to determine whether she was just seeing things or not. The double laughed at this and said "Well, strictly speaking you are just seeing things. We're in your head right now."

Danuja stepped back but before she could open her mouth the double reached forward and closed it, saying "Of course I can read your mind sweetie. Well, more than read it, considering I am your mind. The part of it that you can't remember. Well actually, calling me your soul might be more accurate."

The Queen of All Saiyans took in the realm around the pair. It was calm, peaceful. If Danu could pick a heaven, it would be this. Perhaps there was a truth to what this double was saying after all. Danuja faced Jinza and said "So this whole time, I've been some weird monkey goddess, waiting to awaken?"

Jinza laughed and said "Well, not exactly. You possess the soul of Jinza, but you are still very much Danuja. If you were just Jinza, then your existence in this current form would be, for lack of a better word, pointless."

"Excuse me?"

"It's not meant as an insult. There is purpose in the great cycle, and were you to just be the same as everyone of our previous incarnations, we would be in a much worse state than even our current condition."

"You're going to have to explain."

"Yes, I suppose I will." Danuja's vision zoomed to a pinpoint, before revealing several figures standing in a field of red grass. A ghostly purple image of Jinza stood next to her. Jinza began to narrate the scene.

---

"Before there were Arcosians, before there were Herans, before there were even Namekians, there were Saiyans. We were a proud race, and though we did not yet pick up our more warlike aspects, we were powerful and liked to flaunt it. Our people in those days were not bound by atmospheres the way our people are today, and we had long discovered a technique that allowed us to focus on distant life energy and teleport to it. The raids we engaged in and the loot we obtained from these raids made our people stronger and stronger.

This went on for generations, as the Saiyan flood spread across the galaxy, pillaging and taking as we pleased. Eventually, a generation was born leaps and bounds ahead of all who proceeded them. They called us the Godlings, because even at birth our powers rivalled those who our people saw as gods at the time, the Solarians. At the core of our generation were me, my husband, and my brothers."

Danuja took a closer look at the field. One of the figures was a younger looking Jinza, who resembled Danu more in demeanor. Next to her stood a figure remiscent of Scall, but slimmer and more noble, without the look of insanity in his eyes. Besides her stood two figures Danu did not recognize. They appeared to be making a pact of some kind.

"We four, we knew that united group, no threat could ever harm the Saiyan race, for they would have to go through us. Ozaru, Rento, Kallel, and me. The defenders of the Saiyan race and scourge of the galaxy. Those were good days. None rivaled our power, even if their technology made us look primitive. The four of us assembled a treasure that formed the basis of the legendary Armory treasure. And whenever someone tried to cross our race, we eliminated them."

The image of the field faded to reveal the four saiyans defeating what looked to be an army of Solarians on a planet Danu thought looked distinctly similar to Mars. All the fights seemed to be going well, until a crowd of Solarians seemed to swarm the figure Danu could identify as Ozaru. For a moment it looked like he might be overwhelmed, but at the last second, he exploded again, his hair glowing green as his screams echoed across the battlefield.

Jinza could be heard giggling slightly "And, as you can see, we unlocked within ourselves many new abilities. As our enemies pushed us, we pushed back, expanding the envelope of what mortals could achieve. But of course, we were just Saiyans at the end of the day, and our own pride would be our undoing."

The scene cut to the four sitting in a tent, deep into a heated conversation. Ozaru grinned and said with confidence "And why can't we be gods. Surely we are the strongest things in our Universe? Any gods that do exist could be force to bow to us. Our people once thought of the Solarians as gods, and now they bow at our feet."

One of the brothers grinned and said "He has a point. Why shouldn't we be gods?"

Jinza sighed and said to Danu "Oh how charismatic they were back in the day. Ozaru and Kallel were enthusiatic to commit deicide, and I was all to eager to follow them. Only Rento had hesitation, but the bond of our pact was stronger than any fear of the Gods he might have had. I wish I had listened to him."

The scene cut to a beautiful world. Green meadows extended in every direction, and several small planetoids could be seen in any direction. The four saiyans could be seen fighting a green skinned elven figure. The power radiating off the group, both the Saiyans in what appeared to be versions of the form Ikki had taken versus Fuar, and the green elf, who fought unlike any opponent Danu had ever met. Though it was close, the Saiyans appeared to have a slight edge in the combat. "Naturally as our first target for extermination among the Gods, Chei the god of death was an easy first choice. With his powers on our side, removing the rest of the pantheon would be trivial at best. However, we miscalculated."

With a flash of light, two figures appeared above the battlefield. One was a blue skinned humanoid wearing what appeared to be a giant ring and wielding a staff. The other was a small humanoid, distinctly young in appearance, with a shock of white hair atop his head. He wore an odd collar around his neck, a loincloth like belt with a diamond symbol on it, and martial arts pants. He looked on at the situation with disinterest, before floating down. Suddenly, he dissappeared from Danu's vision. The Saiyans were just as suddenly knocked off the Kai. The white haired boy appeared next to the god.

"We had misinterpreted how much interest the God of Destruction would take in our usurpation. Kallel, however, miscalculated most of all." One of the Saiyans pushed himself back to his feet, before charging the two gods. The God of Destruction merely swatted Kallel aside. As the Saiyan flew through the air, he disintegrated into purple dust which likewise dissipated. The remaining Saiyans could only watch with horror.

The scene shifted once more to a rudimentary court house, where the Saiyans sat and faced a group of figures reminiscent of and seated next to the god who they had almost defeated. Jinza spoke over the verdict, delivered in a language Danu could not understand. "We were given a most unusual punishment, one that seemed like a blessing at first. Our race was banished from death. We would not enter paradise or hell upon our demise, but instead our souls would be set adrift amongst Otherworld until we reincarnated into a new Saiyan. We were banished from death. On top of that, our race was to be devolved. And so it was.

Our people were reduced to unintelligent monkeys beating dirt with rock. Meanwhile, as promised, when we died, our souls were set adrift in the cosmic sea. All was not lost though. Soon, Ozaru, Rento and me realized something. The Saiyans had taken to worshipping us, albeit primitive forms of us. Our worship prevented us from reincarnating immediately after death, and instead allowed us to choose our time to return to the Mortal realm. At first we questioned why we would do this, but time revealed the truth as it always did. As Souls were prevented their eternal rest, they became more and more irritable. This resulted in eventually the militant and war like culture our people had. Their very spirits were forced through centuries long all nighters and they weren't happy about it.

Time went on, as it does, and I watched as Ozaru continually reincarnated himself to try and find the answer to escaping our trap. Rento meanwhile meditated to try and find an answer. I watched as these methods picked at the sanity of the last two I truly loved in life. Rento became more and more recluse, and eventually stopped interacting with everyone entirely. Ozaru became... well you saw what his incarnation was like. They lost track of our goals, even as more and more confused Saiyans were thrust into our personal hell as they also became worshiped as gods and were able to control their reincarnation. Our people became more and more restless, and more and more warlike. And then... well you know what Ozaru did."

The scene shifted to show what appeared to be some kind of prison. Figures resembling Demons kept what appeared to be Saiyans back from the bars of the cells. One of them growled saying "Calm down, you'll be sent back soon... hopefully"

"And so is our purpose Danuja. We reincarnate ourself not to gain power for our own gain, or to become a true god, but so that we may end the suffering of our people and remove the Curse of Chei."

---

Danu's eyes opened. She was back on Aku. Before she could react any further, she felt a kick slam into her side. Skidding across the water, she pushed herself up, only to realize she was in Giant Ape form... and in control. On top of that, she seemed to be quite a bit bigger than the other apes on the field. Arsle watched in astonishment from one of the ships. The Ape that was Danu rose above the battlefield, greatly increasing in size. The fur on her back changed from dark brown to glistening white, and her eyes turned from a red color to a deep purple.

The Vicar could be heard muttering "Gods above... Jinza is reborn."

[Aserais]

Makai, Palace of the Demon King

Battaru held Nergal, the former Demon King by the throat, keeping him aloft with one arm several feet off of the ground with an almost bored expression on his face. The size difference was almost comical--Battaru was only 5’4’’, and this demon dwarfed him in size and build, and yet he was as weak as the rest of the pathetic creatures in this realm. The great beast scrambled uselessly at his arm, futilely attempting to get him to release his crushing grip, before the blue demon rolled his eyes and let him go. Nergal landed heavily upon the ground, gasping for air and clutching at his neck, before Battaru floated over with his hands folded behind his back.

“Kneel, cretin. Admit my dominion.”

The former king was still taking in some much needed breaths as he gave the upstart a glare that to most beings would have brought unimaginable fear, some fainting from it. But the upstart wasn’t affected, how could he be after he defeated him? Nergal has faced many would be usurpers in the past and he had bested many without ever truly using a great deal of his own powers, not even when he saved those two witches years ago. How could this nobody be so powerful?

The demon king would look around the room they fought. The fine tapestry that was hung on the walls were shattered as well as the carpet. The floor had holes punctured through and pieces of the ceiling and walls were gone. The stained glass was shattered into many pieces. Only the black throne and the massive painting above the throne remain untouched; the painting showed the king sitting upon his throne with a mortal woman sitting on his hand with her holding on to a small demonic infant who sat on her lap.

Seeing the painting he knew what would happen if he admitted defeat. Nergal snarled. “You think I would relinquish my rule so easily to some upstart who got lucky?” Nergal would begin to gather dark energy within his body. “You think I would fall so easily boy? I didn’t become the king of Maikai by brawn alone you welp!” the dark energy that was building up would explode outward from all sides.

The new King--for that is how he viewed himself already--narrowed his eyes when he felt the energy building up in the washed-up has-been that had once been viewed as the pinnacle of power. He extended one hand as the dark energy exploded in all directions, causing the attack to split around his body without touching him. There wasn’t much left of the throne room after it was done--though there was the slowly-burning portrait of the king and his…

Family.

Battaru turned his eyes to the portrait as it slowly began to smoulder, a wicked smile beginning to form on his once-impassive face.

“Perhaps you are right. Maybe a gentler touch will have to be applied. After all… what king doesn’t need a queen?” the demon asked, slowly turning his eyes back to the one he was… well, he’d be gracious enough to call it fighting.

“And yours is… so lovely, after all.”

Nergal’s pupils dilated into tiny dots. As he howled in fury a dark aura would explode from his body, wings sprouting from his back. “Stay away from my wife, you pretender!” He screamed as he flew forward to deliver a powerful punch to Battaru’s face.

The blue demon caught the deposed monarch’s fist with ease and twisted, pressing down on the joint in a way that forced the king to one knee before he floated forward, just so that the two of them could be face to face when he spoke to him.

“Don’t you understand, old man? I’m the King, now. Because you were too weak to hold onto your throne. Anything that happens to them is your fault,” he told the king, a cruel smile on his face, before he reared his head back and slammed it into his foes, sending him flying back through the portrait of his family and off the side of the castle.

As the demon king broke through the wall and flew out he could see his vision fading. “No. I can’t just lose like this. I have to warn Alex and Elizabeth about this.” the king would use the remaining ounce of his powers to send a telepathic message to some of his more loyal servants to leave Maikai, to warn Alex and Elizabeth of the usurper and his intention of claiming the grand mistress as his queen. As the king finally lost consciousness a few demons would begin to leave the netherworld to reach the mortal plane.

---

Six Point Island

“Midnight Shriek!” Elizabeth screamed as a beam of dark energy blasted out from her hands, a swirling cloud of black smoke surrounding the beam as it tore through several angels and hit the face of one of the massive floating ships.

The boat would scream loudly as it opened its mouth, charging a bright light within as it fired a beam of holy light at the demon, only to have it meet a beam of demonic energy fired from her. As the cambion struggled with the angelic boat she would see from the cabin of the ship several missiles were flying out; silver, ivory, and gun metal black in color, ivory faces on the noses of the rockets, as halo rings surrounded them.

The missiles flew towards the witch as she sent out more energy to push her beam forward. She would stretch her wings out and fire bolts of dark energy at the missiles, striking most of them as they exploded or were damaged enough to make them fly erratically before either crashing into another missile or at an angel. But a few were still flying towards her.

The witch would cancel the attack and curl her body into a fetal position as her wings wrap themselves around her, shielding her from the beam that engulfed her and finally from the missiles as they struck her.

A powerful shockwave shook the ground as a large explosion was seen. From the dust Elizabeth could be seen flying from the sky and crashing on the ground. Angelic birdmen, cybernetic knights, and hulks gathered around the cambion as they saw her on the ground, lying seemingly unconscious.

When the angels aimed their weapons at her they would all see black tendrils shot out from her shadow and impale the ones close by the chest. Their bodies would be raised off the ground and thrown off as the tentacles began to thrash about, swiping at the angels and throwing many away while slashing those struck by the tips.

Elizabeth would slowly get up from the ground as streaks of shadows began to converge around her hands, forming into twin orbs of darkness that grew gradually larger by the second. "Oh, horrors from times immemorial. I awaken you from your deathly slumber to request your aid. As a friend of the shadows, I hereby command you to appear before me. Arise, Army of Darkness!

She would throw the orbs down at the ground and form a large puddle of darkness to summon her monsters. However with this one she added more of her own demonic energy to try and summon her father’s demonic legion to fight for her.

The form that was raised from the portal was only accompanied by five others, rather than the army that Elizabeth had attempted to summon. And yet, the girl was able to feel an almost physical pressure from the amount of demonic energy that poured forth from the relatively diminutive form that rose from the inky blackness. Blue skin, white hair, and piercing golden eyes regarded the flailing tendrils that pierced the angelic beings, and a brow raised before the eyes turned towards the girl who’d summoned him. His attendants, three demonic magi and two burly, ogreish demons, spread out around him, keeping their eyes on the angels that stayed back from the group.

“Hm… Interesting,” Battaru murmured as he stepped out of the puddle of darkness, looking around at the world that he’d been brought into--one that he didn’t recognize, but had to be the Earth that the previous king was so obsessed with. After all, where else would the Demon King have been able to find the previous ruler’s daughter?

And he had been prepared to put his new magi to work searching the multiverse for her--who would think that she would bring him to her?

“Elizabeth, I presume,” the Demon King said with a smile, showing sharp, pearly white teeth as he bowed, completely ignoring the angels that were currently keeping their distance--even if they were bloodthirsty, they could all feel a danger in the air--something that went beyond the others that they had gone up against.

“I’ve heard so much about you. Your father kept a portrait of you in his throne room, did you know that?”

Elizabeth blinked in confusion as the tenebraes still in her shadow lashed out against the angels that got close, giving another reason as to why the creatures dare not approach the demons. “Yes, I knew that because I saw it whenever I visited him. Speaking of my father I summoned his legion but there doesn’t seem to be much of you guys. Also I never saw you before. Are you his newest general?” she asked him as she folded her arms in front of her chest.

She can feel the overwhelming power from the demon making the very air heavy. The dark aura seeping from his body robbed even more dim light that was present, almost plunging them into total darkness, save for the flashes of lightning and energy attacks.

Yet Elizabeth still kept a stern and commanding presence as she couldn’t afford to look weak in front of what could be her future subjects, should she decide to rule in her father’s place. “If you all survive this fight, tell my father that I will need his aid at once. The angels have invaded mother’s home and have destroyed Airceltria and killed many of the mages.” she grabbed her biceps tightly as her lips trembled. She didn’t want to say the next words but she had no choice. It would be a prime motivator to get him to lead his forces to help her.

“The angels have taken mother to Paradiso. Nymphaea and two of her friends have chosen to try and rescue her by entering Yggdrasil but I don’t feel comfortable with that idea. I need some of his forces to try and save mother from the angels.”

“Oh, has she?” Battaru said, a frown crossing his face as he regarded the angelic beings that surrounded them.

“Well, that does complicate matters. Can’t rightly claim a queen who’s been kidnapped, can I?” he asked, turning to the Magi that had once served in the court of King Nergal.

“No, my king,” the demon said quietly, making a point to avert his eyes away from the blue-skinned demon. The Magi, one of the most learned demonic mages in Makai, showed a deference and fear that few could generate--something that Battaru did take pleasure in.

“Oh, I forgot, we seem to have suffered a miscommunication. That is my fault, and I do apologize, miss Elizabeth. You see, your father is no longer in charge of much of anything, any more. I am the new Demon King, by right of conquest. You, however, can call me Battaru. After all, we are both royals here,” he finished, turning away from the sorceress to look at the angels who surrounded them. “And, it appears, we are royals with a shared problem. You see, there are elements of your father’s former realm that take umbrage with my conquest, they think that as long as the heir to Nergal exists, my rule is… well, illegitimate at best.”

Battaru inspected his sharp nails as he spoke, picking at the bed of one with his thumb to remove a slight bit of viscera that he had somehow missed from his last execution.

“I thought to claim your father’s queen, to silence those voices, but seeing as how these… what did you call them, Angels? As they have stolen her away, I am presented with a unique opportunity. I could go get your mother. These creatures should prove no more of a challenge than your father was, from what I can sense,” he said dismissively, cutting his eyes up to a particularly large cybernetic knight, a thoroughly unimpressed look in his eyes.

“I would be willing to return her safely, even release your father to live with his wife for what remains of his life… But, you see, I do still need a queen,” the demon revealed, turning his golden eyes back to the sorceress.

“So, I have to ask you… do you want your mother and father back, safe and sound?”

Elizabeth was silent as she heard how this man not only beat her father out of his throne but now has him imprisoned within his own castle in some dungeon. But to rub brimstone into the wounds he not only wanted to marry her own mother to establish “legitimacy” to his ill gotten gains, but was willing to force her to become his bribe to get what he wanted.

The tenebraes all began to recede back into the shadows as they could feel the power of their caster was growing. The shadowy beings knew that the small demon had enraged her greatly. Elizabeth was grinding her teeth as the whites of her eyes began to darken and the green iris began to turn crimson.

“You think I would gladly wed myself to someone who beat my father and stole everything from him? That I would allow someone to marry off my own mother so they can claim her as a trophy?”

Battaru and the other demons can hear the metal screeching and bones popping as Elizabeth’s body begins to shift and grow. Muscles began to grow, skin growing paler as strange markings began to appear on her flesh, her nails grew longer and darken into claws, and her canines grew into large fangs.

Her dark locks began to grow until they reached her hips. “You can take your deal and shove it up your ass you pipsqueak! I’m gonna save both my parents and my future kingdom and order by my own hands! I don’t need you or those worthless Ki users to do it!” she shouted as a dark aura exploded from her body.

A strong gust of wind blew out as the angels used their arms and wings to shield themselves from the debris flying at them.

Elizabeth made a swipe with her left arm. “I have a better proposal for you! If I beat your ass straight into hell not only would you help me save my mother, but you would give back everything you took from my father and become my personal slave.”

Battaru’s brow rose at the display of power and a small smirk found its way across his face as she grew, some of her father’s genes finally beginning to show on the sorceress. The smirk grew into a full-blown grin, his own fangs showing at the proposal she made, turning to fully face her. Her father had said something similar when he demanded Nergal’s surrender, claiming that he would turn Battaru into a slave, making him an object of ridicule.

The former demon king now knelt at the side of his former throne, chained to the ground and made helpless by the man who currently held his throne.

“Ha! I like your spirit, girl. That does sound like a fair wager, but how about this for a counter-wager: If I win, you become my queen… and what the hell. I’ll still save your mother and release your father from bondage. I am a generous monarch, after all,” he said with a laugh, raising up off the ground until he was eye-to-eye with the now-taller sorceress.

“I do have to warn you, your majesty… Your father had the same bluster you possess. I humiliated him in front of his court and chained him to the floor like a disobedient dog. I hope that you can offer me more sport than he did.”

When she heard that her father was being chained like a dog that would cause another burst from her aura as her wings and tail emerged, the armor of the suit morphing around them to encase the appendages in armor. From her forehead her horns began to grow and her height was finally reaching its zenith, the demonic princess towering over the usurper.

“I will agree to your pathetic wager. But I now want a new term for my deal.” she would point down at his forehead. “I want you to apologize to me for being born in MY world. I will not allow for anyone else to take away more of my loved ones and my other home. Do that and I might spare your life." she told him.

A feral grin would form as her eyes glow brightly. “But I will agree that you are a generous one. It’s been awhile since I felt this thoroughly pissed without feeling depressed about it.” the aura around her would blast off to form a pillar of dark energy that would bisect a ship that was floating above the two.

“My blood is boiling for this fight!” she sends her tail out and wraps them around Battaru’s ankle. Before he can remove the tail the witch would send him flying into the air and she would take off after him. “Show me how powerful you really are!” she would put her hands forward.

“Midnight Shriek!” An energy beam of light purple with dark purple swirling clouds surrounding it would come out of her hands and fly towards Battaru. The angelic boat that Elizabeth was fighting would send out more missiles at the two demons.

Honestly? After all that bluster, the huge show of the demoness transforming and unleashing her full power, revealing her true form, and…

She was just as disappointing as her father.

Battaru vanished from the spot he had been standing in, allowing the Angels’ attack to slam into the dirt and forcing one of his Magi to dive out of the way of the demoness’s attack. His form rematerialized behind Elizabeth’s body, his fingers wrapping around the base of her neck, before she found her face buried several inches into the dirt. He knelt and held her there, a look somewhere between boredom and disappointment on his face.

He had hoped, finally, that she might prove to be a challenge for him, being the daughter of the universe’s most powerful sorceress and the former king of the demons. Instead, she proved to be another disappointment.

“I believe a wager was made, my dear. Are you a demon of your word?” he asked, his voice tinged with boredom as he glanced up at the angels that seemed to be shocked that they had missed.

Elizabeth would grab some of the dirt and try to throw it on Battaru’s face before her tail would latch out and stab him from behind, the arrowhead tip now acting like an actual arrow head due to the armor.

She would push her head up to gasp. “Like hell I will! This fight isn’t over!” Battaru would see her body sink into her shadow along with his hand. He would feel an intense coldness from within the shadow before something bit his hand.

From the shadow of the other demons Elizabeth rose up. She would chant and point to Battaru as chains came from the shadows of everyone, including Battaru, wrap themselves around him. “You ate from the Tree of Might didn’t you? That explains the insane power you have.” Elizabeth would let out a chuckle.

“Funny thing about that.” she would reach to the pouch that she had and begin to search for something within it. “Being the princess of Maikai has some perks. My father gave me something that on Earth would be a once in a lifetime item to get but would be relatively easy enough to get back in Maikai. He was nice enough to give me it as a gift.”

Elizabeth would pull out strange looking fruit “That’s right, I’ve been holding back on eating this thing for the right occasion. Congratulations on being the one to force me to eat it.”

Of course she also left out that she was lucky to have saved the fruit back when the angels attacked Airceltria. One of the gardeners managed to save the fruit and other supernatural plants from the gardens when they fled from the Heights. She didn’t eat the fruit back when they went to fight Fuar because a part of her knew that even with the fruit’s power it would not be enough to defeat him. But she was hoping that it would be enough to defeat Battaru.

The angels would see the fruit and immediately all of them would fly towards the witch, some firing off plasma bolts. They all knew that if she ate the fruit she would become more powerful and that was something they can not allow.

Elizabeth would fly up in the air to avoid the attacks, biting pieces off the fruit as she did so. In the air she would dodge a spear lunge from an angel before she roundhouse kicked it across the face. She would dodge several plasma bolts as she continued to eat more from the fruit.

The angels would fly up to try and catch her before she can finish eating the fruit. Elizabeth would smirk at them as she would stuff what was left of the fruit and begin to chew the pieces. When a knight grabbed her from behind and restrained her she would make a show of swallowing it before turning back to look at them.

The angels would see Elizabeth’s muscles bulk up for a few seconds before being sent flying from an explosion of dark misma that came pouring out from her body, all while they heard a demonic, hellish, scream coming from the witch that echoed through the battlefield.

The angels would begin to set themselves up right and guard themselves as the misma of energy made looking for the witch difficult. The only clue they know that she was still in the cloud was the fact they can sense her presence within and hear her laughing like a deranged maniac.

The angels began to fire holy bolts at the cloud but as the lights went into the dark clouds the speaks of lights were consumed by the misma. The dark cloud would launch out streaks of smoke tendrils at the angels and all of them would scream as they were consumed by the dark power.

The cloud began to disperse as Battaru can see Elizabeth looking down at him. “You got lucky the first time pipsqueak. But now you will face the true might of a princess of Maikai!” She would have her hands pointed down at him.

“Black Velvet Inferno!”

She would unleash a dark purple and black beam of energy down at Battaru. When it hit him it would begin to encase him in a dark dome that would trap him within it. The dome would harden and should he tried to punch his way out he would find that his punches and kicks would do nothing, not even energy attacks would break the barrier.

Suddenly he would be consumed by a bright flash of purple as the energy would unleash a force so great it would vaporize most that were trapped within. The dome would have numerous cracks after the internal blast. One by one, piece by piece, the dome began to break apart to show to everyone what had become of Battaru after enduring such an attack. While the other demons and the angels were anxious about what happened to him Elizabeth had a wide grin. She was confident that she destroyed him.

The tail was knocked aside easily enough, preventing the spaded tip from piercing his body, though that did necessitate allowing the demoness to escape from her place nose-first in the dirt. He looked down almost disinterestedly at the chains that surrounded him, deciding that he would allow this to play itself out--no way she could do anything more than singe him, at best. He looked with dispassionate interest upon the fruit she produced, raising a brow as she accused him of eating it as a way to explain his power.

He’d never even heard of this Tree of Might, much less partaken of its fruit, though the angels that surrounded them seemed to be aware of its danger.


They raced towards the witch, only for her to produce a thick miasma that seemed to block all of their attacks as she ate the fruit, and he felt her power skyrocket--well, relatively, compared to her previously paltry power. It was still not even close to what he brought to bear, but it was a significant increase, enough to give him pause. Perhaps, later on, he could partake of this fruit should he encounter a being that could force him to struggle…

He was so distracted with the thought that he only looked up in time to see the attack heading his way, letting out a disparaging sigh just before the dome of inky blackness surrounded his body, obscuring it from view. As the attack happened, silence reigned on the battlefield for a moment before the pieces of the dome began to fall away, slowly revealing a cloud of smoke rising off of the mildly singed form of Battaru, who looked up at the witch who had just given her all to kill him. A single drop of blood fell from the corner of his lip, which he was quick to reach up and wipe away with his thumb, looking down at the bright red liquid with more interest than he had shown almost anything in these proceedings.

“Well, well. All of that, for one measly drop of blood. To be fair… it is better than your father managed,” he said, looking up at her and the angelic host, before Battaru raised one hand and allowed five balls of ki to form, one on the tip of each finger.

“All you people, you have these named attacks. I think I’ll try it. I’ll call this one… Genocide Lancer,” he said, just before thin beams of light lanced out from each of the balls of ki, each one branching out into dozens more as the bright blue lines arced through the air. The lances of ki pierced the bodies of the angels all around Elizabeth, going through heads, hearts, limbs, and various other vital and not-so-vital areas in the targets, each one leaving a perfectly round hole where it passed through the Angels’ body. The dozens of foes that had surrounded the both of them began to slowly fall from the sky, silently and without protest, until all that was left standing were Elizabeth, Battaru, and his retainers.

He allowed the silence to stretch on for a moment before he vanished once more, reappearing in front of the demoness in a flash, and buried his fist deep into the witch’s gut without warning. He used that hand to hold Liz aloft, keeping her from falling to the ground, and looked down at her doubled-over form.

“Do you yield, Elizabeth? I’d hate to do more damage than necessary. It is unbecoming for a king to harm his queen, after all.”

Elizabeth can feel her body reeling from pain from the punch he delivered. "Of all the places he could have punched me, why there?" she thought bitterly. The cambion now wished she heeded the healers suggestions on staying behind to allow herself to heal from Gebel's stab wound and from whatever curse Raguel placed on her to interfere with her natural healing process and from being healed by most magical methods save for herbal remedies.

The witch glared at him. “You don’t get it don’t you? I’m not just some princess. I'm a bloody Ashwood. If there is one thing that we all have Ashwoods have is our bloody pride. We’re persistent bitches, we will only give up until either our bodies and minds give up or you kill us, otherwise we will never give up on what we set our mind on accomplishing.”

He would see her aura was now starting to mimic the forms of flames. “Right now I’m feeling really determined on defeating you and saving my father and kingdom from your dictatorship!” Her aura would transform into black and purple flames.

Dark purple and black lightning would come down from the heavens. Angels hit by the bolts would combust into flames while the flying boats exploded. From the ground pillars of black light would come down and surround the two demons, all while the fire around Elizabeth raged on. From within the inferno Battaru would see a spectral dragon appear momentarily before it faded.

“I really wanted to use this on Gebel, nor I didn’t want the Ki users to see it either since I didn’t want them to think of ways of countering my spell, but you’re not giving me much of a choice now.”

She would move her left hand forward, placing it on his chest. “I’m sure you know what these flames are so I don’t need to tell you what it is. You know already that existence is now beyond you.” The flames grew bigger. “Cherish this moment Battaru, for this moment is much more vibrant than the darkness that awaits you. Existence is behind you now.” Her arm would be consumed by the flames.

“Dragon of the Darkness Flames!” Elizabeth screamed out as a serpentine dragon made of the demonic flames came out of her hands, consuming Battaru within its head, as the dragon flew towards an angelic ship.

Battaru’s hand came up as the Dragon raced towards him, coating itself in energy that caused the black flames to split around his form and fly off into the distance, engulfing the Angelic ship and crashing into a house in the far distance, ripping off its roof and exposing it to the elements. There was magic in that attack, Battaru had felt it, and even understood a little of the spell matrix--had he been a lesser demon, it would have eradicated him. Not even the Magi who coordinated his creation could have evoked an attack so devastatingly powerful, enough to completely eradicate both the spiritual and physical…

But the Demon King was stronger than the sum of his parts.

Battaru’s form flickered once more before he appeared before the sorceress, looking no worse for wear, and he delivered a punishing strike to her abdomen with a closed fist. His hand reached up and grabbed the demoness’s shoulder before he drove a knee into her gut, then again, then again, not once stopping for sake of pity or mercy.

He had offered her respite from this conflict three times, and three times she had refused him. Now she would see what fate awaited those who denied their rightful king.

His hand moved from her shoulder to her face, palming her much larger skull, before he forced the both of them down towards the earth. The back of her skull collided with the dirt, digging a two foot deep trench into the earth, before he raised his hand with her face still gripped in his fingers. Once, twice, three times he drove the back of her skull into the dirt, creating a larger crater and kicking up a cloud of dust each time. He let go of her skull, only to deliver a hammerfist blow to her nose, cheekbone, eye, jaw, simply raining down strike after strike against the woman who had dared to oppose his will.

By the time he finished, a cloud of dust had kicked up over the island, obscuring their forms from any and all onlookers, only clearing due to a sudden burst of power. A dark purple, crackling aura surrounded the demon king, who’s eyes burned bright like glowing coals. His foot was pressed into the princess’s neck, and his long canines were exposed in a deep snarl as he pressed his weight against the woman’s larynx.

“Yield, Elizabeth. Do not force me to destroy you. If you do, neither of your parents will ever know freedom.”

Dark shapes swim from the corner of her blurry sight, no doubt due to the concussion she sustained. She can feel blood leaking out from her nose like a stream coming down from melting ice. The witch can feel her teeth were knocked loose, some she was sure flew off from the blows. She can feel them being painfully moving to be set back into their proper place while new dentures were growing to replace the old.

She can feel bile wanting to escape but was she trying her best to force it back down. As she forced bile down her throat she too did not want to admit defeat. She was the princess of her father’s domain, of Maikai. She was the chosen future Grand Master of the Order of Ancient Mysteries. She can’t afford to show weakness when she has so much on the line.

She grabbed on to his ankles and tried to squeeze it to crush his bones into fine powder and tear the limb off her throat. But she found that her grip was too weak. Her hands refused to exhort the force she wanted, it was even struggling to stay up.

She realized that she was too weak to remove him by force. Once more she was reminded of how Faur defeated her so easily with a few energy blasts, forcing her to watch as she had to let others fight in her stead. How Gebel defeated her by a simple stomp, a stab, and cuts of her wings and was forced to flee while the monster that butchered her people and destroyed her home got away with all of his crime.

Now when her father needed her to help restore his kingdom and honor, she failed that too. Worse now she was this man’s trophy wife. The witch can feel her eyes burn as she begins to cry, her trembling lips bleeding as she bit down on them with her fingers.

The witch let go of his ankle and turned her right cheek away from Battaru. The witch said nothing, she remained motionless as she beratted herself over her weakness, wondering just how she can go from being one of the most powerful witches around to becoming so weak that even a princess who barely knew how magic works can eclipse her in might? How mere humans who can only use Ki can not only rival her but most likely surpass her.

“Power. I need… More Power… she thought as she can feel her head getting foggy and her vision getting darker.

Battaru’s snarl transformed into a smile as he lifted his foot from her neck, feeling the fight go out of her body as she let go of his ankle. He reached down and gripped her arm, lifting the sorceress to her feet, and let a dark glow of demonic healing magic to surround his hand as he transferred vitality and healing energy into Elizabeth’s corrupted form.

“See, my dear? Much better,” he soothed, letting go of her arm as soon as he was sure that she wouldn’t keel over as soon as he let her go.

Elizabeth wasn’t fully aware of her reality when she was pulled up. She swayed around and stumbled around as the demon began to heal her. Elizabeth would return back to reality as her concussion began to fade and the pain from the angelic curse on her abdomen wound began to flare up. She would clench her stomach and soon she would begin to wretch out her stomach content, blood mixed with vomit. As a puddle of vomit now lied on the ground she would glare up at him.

The urge to strike was still there but she knew that he would kill her if she did that. For now she needed to concede to defeat and wait for the perfect change to take her revenge. “Now what? You’re gonna take me to Maikai so we can get married?”

“Not quite, my dear,” he said, pointedly ignoring the puddle of blood and vomit that his new bride-to-be had left on the floor. “I made you a promise--and I am a demon of my word. After all, what is a King who cannot be trusted? Isn’t that right, Ba’al?” he asked, turning to the magi who was currently letting down the shield he had formed around his king’s retinue.

“Yes, my king,” Ba’al said, even more fearful than he had been previously. Seeing the demon king defeat Nergal had been one thing, but Elizabeth had eaten the fruit of the Tree of Might, and it still hadn’t been close to enough.

“Send a message back to my forces in Makai. Tell them to release Nergal, unscathed, and send him to the human world. My betrothed and I shall be rescuing her mother,” he ordered, turning back to Elizabeth with a sharp-toothed smile.

“Shall we, my dear?”

Elizabeth snarled at him but before she could do anything she would see lightning strike at the walls of the old manor, blowing open a hole large enough for angels to get through.


Elizabeth would sense the presence of four powerful beings appearing in the fight. The two would see a glowing blue magic circle appear under their feet. Elizabeth would flap her wings to get away as massive ice crystals began to grow from the magic circle, trying to both skewer and imprison the demons within it’s frozen confines.

Battaru narrowed his eyes at the glowing blue circle, and as Elizabeth began to flap away, he began to flex a portion of his true power. A dark purple energy, crackling with lightning, pulsed out from his form just as the ice began to rise upwards towards himself and his companions, shattering the frozen water and breaking the spell matrices that bound them to this plane.

His glowing yellow eyes looked up, just in time to see one of the ugliest beings he had ever seen appear before him. The form was warped and twisted, carrying a shield shaped like a face, and wielding a sword that substituted for its right hand. His arms crossed over his chest and he let out a tsk, annoyed that yet another obstacle had presented itself without even the common decency to provide him a real challenge.

“So, you must be one of these Angels I’ve heard so much about. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Battaru, the Morning Star, Demon King of Makai and all its realms. And you? You’re my appetizer,” he said with a vicious grin, bringing his fists up into a brawling stance.

[Naval Monte]

Six Point Island

As the angel look down at Battaru and Elizabeth as the former was prepared to fight it.

“To think humanity is willing to degrade itself by siding with demons. It is truly a sad sight to see.” the angel seem to be remorseful over the idea of humanity working with demons. Yet Elizabeth couldn’t help but to feel a sense of arrogance coming from the being, or perhaps she is only imagining that.

“What choice did you give humanity when heaven itself has betrayed them? Where else should they turn but to the demonic for aid.” The cambion told the angel. Battaru may believe her statement but the other demonic beings can tell that she was lying, but Elizabeth didn’t care if they knew she was lying, they weren’t her main target. No, she wanted the angel to believe her lies.

She want the angel to truly believe that Maikai and Earth have joined forces. She is pinning on the idea of getting the angel fierce enough that she would make mistakes. As the air around them began to turn fridget Elizabeth can feel that her plan was working.

“How unfortunate. To think that this world’s leaders would engage in such filth and heresy. I came here to make sure Gebel did not put too many to the torch but it seems I came in too late. Your leaders are too corrupt to be saved. They must all be removed before they soil all of you.”

Another magic circle would appear below the two. “I’ll shall begin the cleansing by removing your taint from this world.” Elizabeth would fly away as more of the ice crystals began to form quickly.

“Midnight Shriek!” she would unleash the beam of dark energy at the angel who would cast a heavenly glow on her face shield and raise it to block the attack. “Abomination born from a heretic and a devil. Your foul magic is no match for the powers of an archangel.”

More magic circles began to appear around the demons in the air. “Behold. Feel the true might of Paradiso. Now why I, Gabreille, sit on top of the celestial ladder of Paradise.”

From the circles a powerful gust of wind covered in snow and ice shards began to blow from all directions, both to blind the demons and to shred them with the shards. Elizabeth would move her hands out to the side, dark energy covering her hands.

“Obsidian Orb!” Elizabeth bring her hand in front of her chest and thrust them out as she spun around. The energy would streak on the air as it began to form a sphere around her. The blizzard would engulf her and as the shards it the sphere they would shatter harmlessly on her.

Elizabeth would fire off more bolts of dark magic at where she last saw the angel but each bolt would fly off and hit either another angel or a random rock. The archangel as moved within the blizzard and like Gebel she has hidden her energy from the two.
_______________________________________________________________________


As Ovan fought against the angels on the ship one of the angelic hulks stepped forward and punched his chest to declare to Ovan that he was the next opponent. As the angel summoned forth his mace from the ether the angel was ready to start the fight.

“Do not waste your time fighting this gnat. Raphael shall be making the opening to those stubborn walls. Assist the others down on the ground in taking the castle.”

Just as predict from the deep, booming, voice coming from the heavens Ovan and the angels would see multiple lightning bolts strike down at the walls of the manor, shattering them to pieces. With holes now open wide enough for most angels to enter some began to go right in.

The angels that Ovan was fighting against would begin to fly away, some forming portals and entering those to leave him behind.

“You are powerful for a human. An oddity for your kind.” the voice told him. “Normally you humans are more content to either toil your lives away in meaningless manual labour or chase after decadent pleasures. Your kind lost the will and dedication to pursue not only the mystic arts, but the art to utilize one's own life energy. I’m impressed that a small handful of your kind still keep that ancient practice alive.”

Ovan would see a bright flash appear from the sky. When the light began to fade floating above him and the ship he was standing on was a very strange looking angel.

“I am Uriel, Gatekeeper to the Garden of Paradise, and commander of the heavenly army. I wish to test your abilities mortal.” Uriel declared.

Several azure balls of plasma would appear around the archangel. “Let’s test the power of modern man.” the orbs would fly towards Ovan at incredible speeds, leaving behind a trail of sparks and embers in their wake.
_______________________________________________________________________________

As Higu saw the wall break down he would hear thunder booming much more loudly as lightning flash from the heavens.

“Your power is most unusual, human.”

A light would appear and an angel far more unusual then the others. The angel would point his weapon at Higu.

“Not too long ago you were merely just a normal man who gained fame and fortune by selling your service to the highest bidder. Now you wish to make yourself appear as an actual hero to your people? If there was a comedic act as great as your “hero story” I can not recall it now.” the angel mocked.

“But such efforts means nothing as the power you possess you have not yet made your own. You can barely comprehend it, let alone control it.”

The wind began to grow in power. Lightning flash more frequently as the tremendous force of the thunder was so great that Higu would also feel the part of the wall he was standing on shaking just a little.

“My name is Raphael, human. I will grant you the honor of knowing the name of the one who shall send you to the Otherworld. Pray that King Yamma will have mercy on your soul.” from the tip of the weapon a bolt of lightning would come out and fly down to strike Higu.

Elsewhere on the castle another hole was made on the wall. This one cut open by something using a heated weapon.

[The Republic of Atria]

As he smashed another angel into the hull of the ship, the energy fading into nothingness, the rest seemed to back off as he heard speaking from a slightly tougher looking angel. It definitely felt a bit stronger than the rest of the ones he'd been dealing with, but not enough to really be a threat to him. Even though the angel could tell that Ovan had "honed his life" energy or whatever, it still had the audacity to call him a gnat. Which furthered his annoyance, even as he introduced himself as Uriel and unleashed a barrage of scorching blasts at him.

He dashed straight up, letting the blasts strike of the hull of the ship and floated down, arms crossed. "You can call me... Disappointed." He replied. "You're a little stronger than these things... And I honestly shouldn't be saying that I was hoping you'd be stronger because you're attacking my people and world, but if you're what passes for a "Gatekeeper" He said with air quotes. "Then I hate to see what passes for your boss." He finished and dashed at the angel and slammed his foot into the angel's abdomen, or what passed for it, and flung his foot straight up, launching the angel straight into the air.

Uriel reorinated himself just in time for him to see Ovan kick him in the head. He lashed out, striking with all of his strength and speed at Ovan. Though it was like trying to strike the wind as Ovan dodged his strikes with the same determined yet apathetic expression on his face. Ovan grabbed the larger of the angel's arms with his right and slammed his left fist into the angel's side. Uriel lashed out once more with all of his might, striking Ovan with his own left hand, causing him to stagger back ever so slightly, while Uriel put some distance between them. Ovan lifted his head up, brushing his wrist along the small cut. "All of that for a drop of blood, but that's my mistake for screwing around instead of taking this seriously."

With even greater speed, Ovan shot forward and unleashed a typhoon of powerful blows. Uriel attempted to block his strikes, but for every one he managed to block, he was struck by two more blows from Ovan, only getting a second to recover when Ovan brought both of his hands down into him, slamming into the ship with enough force that it tilted. He looked down, and the angel seemed to be beaten. Rather than waste more time admiring his handiwork, he shot to where he sensed another one of the same angels and more importantly: Higu. He'd heard the guy shouting and saw the angel that looked vaguely like the one he just trouced. His first instinct was to go down and pummel it himself, but he was also striving to be a teacher.

And as a teacher, he had to give the students room to learn and grow on their own. "Give that bastard hell Higu!" Ovan shouted. "I'll stay out of it if you'd prefer, but you can definitely beat this guy! Look at him! His face is on his chest and one of his arms is just floating there! Kick his ass and make me proud!"

[Naval Monte]

Collab with Saint, Naval, and Brit

Unknown Location

Alex crumbled to the ground, the chains that kept her suspended suddenly snapping all around her. In turn Raguel stepped back and silently watched the Grand Mistress’ shaking and chain bruised form. His hand still held out as if he was still forcing his way through her feeble mind. “I can see why Artemis trusted you,” He mumbled, starting to pace around Alex. The witch who struggled to push herself up only to immediately lose her bearings and fall back to the floor.

“A Leader in charge of the most secret organisation on Midgard, the wife of a King within Maikai,” When he stood behind her he stretched out his foot and rested firmly onto the witch’s back. Keeping her firmly in place, unable to struggle against his movement. “And the mother of his heir. Truly someone like you should be able to protect her secrets, but I suppose she never anticipated that my own conviction would be so strong. Nor did she anticipate that her little girl would unwittingly set things in motion.”

Unable to do much but listen, breathing hard as Raguel pressed against her spine, her magic foreign and detached as if some greater force was keeping her from accessing it, it was a miracle Alex was even able to respond to his words at all. “What are you… blabbering on about…”

Raguel chuckled, “My apologies, I simply got caught up in my own machinations.”

He removed his foot and made a gesture with his hand. Alex would immediately begin to feel weightless, her entire body lifting off the ground and hovered in the air. Rageul twirled his fingers and in tandem Alex, against her will, would shift to face him. “I tend to be a fair bit self-indulgent, you must excuse me.”

“You got what you wanted….” Alex said through gritted teeth. Her silvery hair falling down, disheveled, in front of her beautiful face. Somewhat hiding her dark and venomous gaze.

“I suppose I did, didn’t I?” He raised his hand. “Still…”Alex felt an intense heat build in her abdomen which began to glow an ominous white. “There’s just one last thing I need to do,” His hand jerks forward piercing through Alex’s abdomen. The resulting action caused the Grand Mistress to lurch forward, eyes wide, but not very far as she was still maintained in place by Rageul’s magic.

Squeezing his hand into a fist, as though reaching for something, Rageul pulled his hand back and the light immediately faded, showing no wounds or blood or any signs that the angel had reached his hand through the enchantress. “What the hell did you…” Alex vision blurred and her body felt weak, immediately her unblemished skin turned sickly and the magic that had circulated through her blood and the blood of her ancestors, eviscerated. “What did you…”

In Raguel’s hand he held a ball of light that slowly gave shape, transforming into a magical crest that hovered above the palm of his hand.

“That’s my…”

Raguel interrupted Alex’s words by squeezing his hand around the object, shattering it almost immediately.

Alex's eyes widened considerably “No!”

“That was your magical crest.” Rageul hummed, watching as Alex’s form began to convulse, pain seemingly wrecking her body as an aftermath of his action. “There are consequences to insubordination, irregardless.” He moved close enough to tap his finger against Alex’s forehead, immediately knocking the Grand mistress out and giving her reprieve from the pain. “You will prove useful for what comes next it seems.”

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Earth, Sora Industrial Laboratories, Sub-Lab Charlie

Daichi carefully screwed in the small bolt. This was the last component to install on the prototype, and if it worked, it would revolutionize not only mankind's outlook in the universe, but also Tarasque's arsenal. Tightening it down, he smiled, stepping back to admire his work. The prototype was larger than later models would be, but Daichi didn't quite mind, it would serve it's purpose for the moment, and he could find ways to shrink it down if need be.

The door to the sublab opened, revealing a young woman carrying a pot of coffee and a mug. Daichi turned and said "Ah, Alexia, you're right on time. I could use some coffee right now."

The woman laughed and said "Mr. Sora, I've told you before, call me Lex. Just because Danu is gone doesn't mean we have to pretend not to know each other."

"Yes, well, I much prefer your real name to your nickname."

Lex looked over the man as he poured himself a coffee. The past two years had not been kind to him. Where as the Sora Daichi who she had known had been a proud and almost eternally youthful looking businessman and engineer, now he looked to be a few inches shorter than he once had been, his once jet black hair had white streaks running through it and his face seemed to wrinkle more every day. Stress was killing him. "Mr. Sora, please tell me you slept last night."

Daichi had moved on from his coffee and was plugging things into ports all over the prototype. "Hmmm?"

"Sleep, Daichi. Did you get any"

"I suppose a bit, but no, not really. This was far more pressing." He handed Lex a pair of saftey goggles, before donning a pair himself. Holding up a button, he grinned and said "Let's hope this works" before pressing it. The prototype whirred to life, retracting into itself the various parts Daichi had extended so that he could work on it. The device's purpose was now obvious. It was, albeit large, unsightly, and bulky, a suit of powered armor. Daichi gave a holler for joy.

"What... what is that Mr. Sora?"

"If it works like it's supposed to, Hope, Alexia. It's Hope."

---

PTO- Maykayan Border, North-West Quadrant Collab between Anarcho and Brit

The aide read over the report again, making sure that all of its details were corroborated and confirmed. It seemed impossible even as he read over it. For something so monolithic within the galaxy to be reduced to Chaos so easily… well, he shouldn’t judge. The same happened to the PTO after all. Still, it was concerning to say the least.

After he made sure everything was in order, the aide stepped into the throne room of Glacia’s capital ship. He made the three reverences that he had been taught to do when he approached royalty, and kneeled before the Empress of the PTO. “Your majesty” he began in his typical snide tone “We have received a most… interesting report from our scouts. If you would allow me to present…”

Glacia looked to the aide and gestured with her dainty hand.

“Make it so,” the empress directed. To Glacia’s side, Ghiaccio looked over some reports of his own detailing the border fire with the Mayakyans. Generals Arashi and Blizza were in the midst of a counter-strike following Glacia's own destruction of the initial border raiders.

The aide tapped on his PA and a transmission of a large, white planet appeared on a hologram in the center of the throne. Letters on the bottom of the projection identified it as Torha. “As you know your majesty, Planet Torha lies but a few systems from our current location. As you are well aware, despite the regular tithe payments and loyalty pledge from the planet’s apparent leader, the Diamond” an image of the Torhan appeared next to the planet. “Torha is more or less a hermit world, sealed off from the rest of us. Still, due to the rather large concentration of higher power levels on the world, we were keeping tabs on it while we were in the area.”

The image of Torha shifted, showing a PTO Attack Pod descending towards the planet. “Approximately six days ago, we detected a ship approaching Torha from thought to be empty systems near the rim. Upon scanning it, we realized that it was in fact a PTO Pod. Further investigation reveals that the pod’s owner codes are far out of date and belong to the now deceased King Scall and his family. Given the trajectory and lack of life signs within the pod, this was initially designated as space junk, refuse from Sadala or some Saiyan royal ship destroyed in the exodus following the Saiyan genocide.”

The image shifted again, now showing the pod leaving Torha, only now it gave off a powerful magical signature on the scanners.

“That was until the event you now see. Two days after the pod made contact with Torha, it took off again, this time heading towards the other edge of the galaxy. It carried with it a powerful magical signature, which led us to update our intelligence believing this to be a hit put out on one of the more powerful Torhans, almost assuredly carried out by a Hator given the lack of life signs in the pod.”

The image shifted once again, showing the white world, now covered with explosions and with bursts of green and red energies flowing out of it, the excess flow of Maikai and Yggdrasil.

“That brings us to today, one week after the events with the pod. What initially appeared to be small skirmishes led to larger battles, led to continent sized conflagrations, led to what you now see. It appears that the Torhans have fallen into what can only be described as total civil war. Our intelligence has yet to determine how many sides to the conflict there are, but given the size of the war and the effect it seems to be having on the planet’s latent magical energies, we can draw one conclusion about the earlier attack pod visits. The Diamond is dead. Assassinated on their own homeworld by a Hator.”

The Empress looked at the aide for a few moments without saying a word, or with nary a single movement of her reptilian form. Slowly, she templed her hands together and leaned forward on her throne. Chairman of the PTO Executive Council Ghiaccio adjusted his monocle.

“Assassinated?” he asked in disbelief. “The Diamond is the strongest living Torhan. He’s more than a leader, he’s an institution.”

The aide solemnly nodded “Yes. There was initial skepticism within our intelligence at first, but only the Diamond's death could lead to a conflict such as the one now consuming the planet. On top of that, all of our back channels to the Diamond directly have naught but radio silence, and our other contacts on the planet have either refused contact or outright rejected the PTO. Until the planetside situation has been pacified, there is no way we can know for sure, but it is strongly recommended to act from here on out as if the Diamond has been removed.”

The aide tapped his PA again. Several portraits of robotic forms as varied as stars appeared over the hologram of the burning world. “PTO Intelligence has developed a list of likely perpetrators. Of them, the Hator that calls itself Alphia is the most likely candidate, but some within our community have floated the idea that the Hator Wraith Squadron encountered on New Namek could be responsible. While that unit allegedly had more than enough firepower to complete such a task as we are discussing, it would run contrary to General Teikoku and General Arashi’s testimony attesting to that unit’s demise.

Regardless of the assassin’s identity, immediate action should be taken to try and stabilize the planetary situation. If allowed to run amok, this could result in the creation of a new Maykyan Star.”

Glacia slowly removed her scouter and placed it to her side. “This is a matter of the highest priority,” Glacia finally said as she slowly turned to her cousin.

“Ghiaccio, it would be unbecoming for a monarch to leave the front at this critical juncture: I am sending you in my stead to ascertain the situation on Torha, and I shall send word to General Teikokou recalling her from her mission and send her with you to Torha to get to the bottom of this situation. With General Spicer on Terra and Blizza dealing with the Maykyans, you are the only person I trust with this.” The Arcosian bowed dutifully.

“As you will, Your Majesty,” he returned. “I shall leave post-haste.”

The Aide bowed as Ghiaccio passed, before bowing once again to Lady Glacia. “I shall leave the full report with you, your majesty. You must excuse my sudden departure in the wake of such news, but as you know better than most, war waits for no one, especially not those who watch it.”

[Naval Monte]

Six Point Island

As Ovan cheered Higu on his fight the archangel he left behind would have his eyes shine brightly. The spear attached to his mouth would begin to rumble. The archangel would open his mouth to allow the spear to float away. He would use his powers to see where Ovan was and once he would find Ovan's location move the spear so it's point was facing Ovan's direction. As the glow of his eyes dim sparks would begin to appear on the weapon.

Without a single word the archangel would fire the spear like a bullet towards Ovan, producing a shockwave as it shatter the sound barrier, giving Ovan a vital clue of the incoming attack.

[Britanania]

Collab with Saint, Naval, and Brit
Vanir: Vanaheimr: Asgard

The city before the trio was a glamour sight to behold. Floating above a lake of cerulean water that sparkled as the lights of the white sunshine upon it. Above it was a massive disk of earth and metal with an elaborate array of runic engravings upon them. But from the disk four waterfalls coming from the four cardinal directions of the disk. The trio saw massive golden walls and tall spires from above the building with a golden citadel at what was at the centre of the city.

Nymphaea was moving her mouth to say something but no words came out from her. She saw vast mountains behind the city and from the lake dense woodlands surrounding it. The massive lake would have numerous creeks and rivers that spawn off it.

Nymphaea would finally say something. “We finally reached it. We’re seeing Asgard with our own eyes.” the witch would scream with delight that the city she has heard in stories was now presented to her with her own eyes and it not only matched the stories, but it also surpassed them.

“I’m gonna find us some flowers. Maybe I can make Serena into a wood elemental.” Before the two can stop her the witch sprinted off into the woods to find her ingredients. No doubt she also left to collect items for her own use besides magecraft. Serena sighed as she turned to Spicer.

“She can't get into that much trouble,” the queen told the general. Spicer merely raised an eyebrow, prompting Serena to raise her hands.

“Okay, okay, but it should be fine for a little while,” she said before looking intently at Spicer and biting her lip.

“That said, you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb…” Serena crossed her arms and rested her chin on her right fist as she thought about it. After a few moments, the queen excitedly snapped her fingers.

“I got it! Now stand still…” Serena moved her hands in front of the Saiyan, and a shimmer of red light glistened over his form. Spicer looked at his hands, looking essentially the same.

“What did you change?” he asked a smiling Serena.

“Take a look,” she told him and featured towards a piece of glass. Spicer took a few hesitant steps to see what Serena’s magic did to mask his dark features and was surprised at the result.

She turned his hair into a golden blonde, and his eyes a greenish-blue.

“Pretty convincing, huh?” she asked with a grin, but before Spicer could make any comment, she grabbed the Saiyan’s arms and lacked it with her own.

“Now, no use waiting around. Let’s find that light source--and Nymph.” Spicer didn’t protest as Serena almost literally dragged him forward as they walked through the streets of Asgard, although the Saiyan general felt his heartbeat increase. The city was impressive, but that was hardly the first thing of Spicer’s mind as he and Serena walked arm-in-arm through Woden’s capital city.

This...is nice Spicer thought as he calmed down and took in everything with the young queen. Serena pointed to various things and explained their significance, stories about the Nine Realms her mother and more recently Alex told her.

“...and that’s where the Rune King himself lives,” Serena told him. “Some say he’s the most powerful of the Cosmic Entities, but Belenus is said to be even more potent. He’s the ruler of Paradiso, the Seraph.”

Paradiso? Spicer thought. Isn’t that where the angels are from?

From one of the stalls selling many exotic plants Nymphaea, in the form of an electrical elemental, was examining the plants being sold by an Earth elemental and she was reminded of a potbellied gnome. “So which one do you want missy?” the elemental asked her as she looked at the selection before her.

She saw one plant with two long leaves and a single eye. “Cordyceps!” the plant shouted as it bounced on its plant. “Too noisy.” she would look at one with teeth. “Feed me, Seymour. Feed me.” the plant told her. “I’m Nymphaea, not this Seymour,” she told the planet. “That’s me.” the gnome told her. “And I already fed you an hour ago you glutinous vegetable. I’m not gonna break your diet now,” he told the plant. “Feed Me.” the plant complained, which made the gnome sighed heavily as he sagged on his seat.

A tiny tree would turn to Nymphaea. “I am Groot.” the little tree told her. Nymphaea would turn to the baby tree, giving it a smile. “I’m Nymphaea.” she cheerfully replied back.

“I am Groot.” the plant told her. Nymphaea blinked her eyes in confusion. “I am Nymphaea,” she repeated.

“I am Groot.” the tree repeated.

“I am Nymphaea.” the Saiyaness repeated back.

“I am Groot.” the tree repeated.

“I am Nymphaea.” the witch repeated.

The witch and tree would continue to repeat each other over and over, causing a few elementals to look at the two while the plant with teeth continued to plead to be fed and the eye plant screamed out Cordyceps. The gnome wished he was back napping. A couple of flowers began to sing a song which made the tree and witch stop with their argument.

The little tree began to dance to the music while Nymphaea began to clap for it, cheering the tree as it danced. A plant that looks more like a bundle of tentacles would stretch out one of its vines and covertly snatch money from an element that walked by.

One plant was reciting a poem about the futility of life and the meaningless of existence, another was shouting racial slurs at anyone who walked by, another plant was predicting the future. One plant would have it’s a head morph to anyone it saw, with the miniature head speaking back to whoever it changed to with the voice of the person it was imitating. Another plant, that looked like cotton candy, was producing pink fluffy clouds that when consumed would pretty much taste like cotton candy.

One plant, another with teeth and with white dots on its redhead, was motionless. One would think it was dead until a sylph flew too close and the plant lunged out and consumed the fairy looking elemental. The winged humanoid of air struggled to break free but the plant began to chew down at the being, causing her to release her final screams of anguish before she became silent.

When the plant was done chewing it would swallow the sylph’s remains. It would open its mouth after consuming it’s the latest meal, waiting for the next one.

Nymphaea saw what the plant did to the sylph and as she watched the plant intently she would turn to the gnome. “How much is that one? My sister would love it,” she told him. The gnome looked it over and shrugged. “Take it. I want that thing far away from me after it nearly bit off my finger.”

Nymphaea was excited to hear that she could get that one for free. She looked at the other plants to see which else she would buy. She figured on getting one for her mother once she finally reached her location., saved her, and brought her back home.

“Nymph,” Serena called, immediately picking up on the Saiyaness’ magical signature, untangled her arm from Spicer. and ran after the Saiyaness, her hand latching onto the young witch’s arm to drag her away from the gnomish vendor.

“Sorry to bring you away from your negotiations, but we have more pressing concerns right now.” Serena paused taking in the Saiyaness’ appearance. “Nice get up.” As she turned to address Spicer, something caught Serena’s attention from the corner of her eye. A tiny light blipped into existence hovered long enough for Serena to recognise it before zipping down a nearby corridor, and releasing Nymph’s arm Serena began to run after it.

“Follow me!” She yelled over her shoulder as she ran, pursuing the light and ignoring the curious or annoyed glances of resident elementals. The two Saiyans followed after the Earthling queen as the blue light led her down an alley and through a gap in the wall into a garden of unspeakable, Edenic, beauty. There, in the garden, they saw the Palace of Woden himself, a gigantic golden mead-hall set on a hill.

“That’s Valhalla,” Serena remarked, but she pointed towards a rainbow light in front of Woden’s palace: the Vanir bifrost. The trio ran towards the light, but before they could reach it a towering, godlike figure stepped out from the rainbows.

“So, you must be the three who slipped past Hel,” he said with a large grin that quickly faded. “I cannot allow you to go any further, however.” He pointed his sword at Serena.

“The Nine Realms are in chaos because of you, and it is my solemn duty to prevent the twilight of Yggdrasil.”

“It would be nice if someone explained what that means,” Spicer mumbled as he entered a battle stance. The battle against Hel was still fresh in his mind, and Spicer suspected this fellow was even stronger than the ice dragon if he was guarding Woden himself.

Maybe if I can cause a distraction, Nymph and Serena can slip through, the general thought. Spicer moved quickly, flying around the back of the Asgardian’s head and kicked him. Heimdall remained unfazed, turned and backhanded Spicer with his iron gauntlet. The blow sent Spicer hurtling through the air and slamming into the wall. Spicer felt his shattered bones as he rose unsteadily from the rubble.

After Heimdall battered Spicer away like he was nothing, Serena’s eyes turned scarlet and red magic enveloped her body like an aura. The ground beneath them shook as Serena levitated upwards, large chunks of ground floating in sync with the Queen of Earth. She hurled the chunks of earth against the guardian at supersonic speeds. Heimdall put his arms up to defend himself, but the speed and ferocity of Serena’s attacks caused the elemental to stumble backwards. Serena then conjured a circle of red spheres all around her that she also fired against their opponent. Each orb exploded on contact and filled the area with red dust.

If we weren’t all busy fighting, what Serena did with me against Suh would be nice, Spicer lamented as he watched the two mages fighting the towering elemental.

“And we thought Gebel was strong…” Spicer’s attention shifted as Serena wailed against Heimdall. Her display of power never ceased to amaze him, but her outburst reminded the Saiyan of her other, similar outbursts he had seen in the past. Spicer noticed that the gem embedded in her chest was glowing, but he wondered if she might lose control.

No, I don’t think she would, but still…

Serena, her breathing laboured, floated back down as her eyes returned to their normal hue as the dust settled. Rather than being obliterated, Heimdall stepped through the dust cloud, casually brushing debris off of his armour. Spicer gritted his teeth. “This guy’s just a whole new level, how strong can these cosmic beings get?”

In an instant, the Jotnar appeared in front of the Queen and swung his blade. Serena acted quickly and put up a shield, but the blow was strong enough to shatter the barrier and sent the queen flying backwards.

“Serena!” Spicer called out. The Saiyan flew at full speed, fighting past the pain of his broken bones as he caught the queen midair and helped her down.

“I...I’m fine, Spicer,” she told the Saiyan with a smile. “Thank you, but you should really focus on yourself,” she said, noting the Saiyan’s injuries.

“I’ll be all right,” he lied as effortlessly as he breathed.

Nymphaea saw the Cosmic Entity fight against the Saiyan general and Queen of Earth. But she could not come into their aid as she was busy focusing on her spell. She conjured a massive magic circle below her as she floated in the air. The witch began to chant as she raised her hands above her head.

The sky began to darken as thunder could be heard. Once Serena fell the guardian would see lightning come down onto Nymphaea, striking her, yet she did not fall. Her eyes glowed blue as sparks begin to dance around her body. She would conjure an energy construct in the form of a hammer.

“You had your fun with a warrior and a queen. Now let’s see how well you will last against a mage.” She jumped out from the circle, her hammer raised above her head as she flew towards the guardian.

When she brought it down on Heimdall the blow would unleash not only a powerful shockwave but a burst of electrical energy.

Nymphaea formed two fists and pulled back her first before thrusting them forward, creating a pair of electrical fists. The witch would fly forward and stab Heimdall with the blades, unleashing a powerful current of energy into his body. She would begin to stab the Asgardian repeatedly in a quick motion as her arms became nothing more but a blur as she screamed in fury.

The Asgardian seemed hardly fazed, treating it as though he was stabbed by a splinter as he reached down and grabbed Nymphaea from the neck and pushed her off him. He saw the Saiyan flying about as she tried to break free as he took out his sword. The lights from her sparks would cause the blade to gleam, the runic engraving glowly faintly.

“Thunor would not take it well that you were poorly imitating him,” he said before he stabbed the witch through her stomach. The witch gasped before throwing up blood, the sparks fading as well as the glow from her eyes. He would pull out his sword, blood gushing out from the wound, as he tossed Nymphaea close to where Serena rested. The queen called out to the injured Saiyaness and began to use magic to heal her wounds.

He pointed the bloodstained sword at them. “Surrender now and we can show you mercy.”

Spicer picked himself off of the ground and Serena shot him a glance to imply he shouldn’t try anything brave--or stupid. Heimdall took a few steps forward towards the downed heroes and pointed his sword at them.

“You did your best, but I expected more from the one who once shaped the cosmos.”

Shape the cosmos? Serena wondered.

“Surely you’re mistaken,” the queen muttered as her eyes glowed red. Serena took a step backwards and made a slight gesture with her hand. Spicer caught sight of it and realised what she intended.

Retreat is our only option, Spicer thought, and he looked back at where they came in and tried to calculate how much time he could give Serena and Nymph if they made a break for it. At that moment, however, the skies turned dark as a murder of crows flew overhead

Nymphaea looked at the crows and fear gripped her. Whether it was due to fear of blood loss, the colour on her body began to fade as she can feel an overwhelming force coming towards them. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” the witch swore as she tried to get up but screamed in pain as she fell back to the ground, she held her bleeding stomach.

From the hole in the wall, a legion of soldiers poured through the hole and another Jotnar, even larger than Heimdall, walked through. He carried in his hands a large hammer that he twirled about.

When she saw Thunor before them the witch almost wanted to cry. On any other occasion, she would have been excited to see the thunder elemental in person, not on the ground bleeding because she was trying to sneak into Woden’s palace. “Well shit, I guess this is the end.” she would lie down on the ground. “Life was fun while it lasted.”

“Ah, Thunor, glad you finally showed up,” Heimdall called out. “We were just about to take these three to King Woden.”

“Yes, I’ve been on their trail since they escaped Hel,” the gruff Asgardian replied. “They gave us a good chase, but she’ll make a fine offering to father, either way.”

As the two elementals chatted, Serena looked at Spicer.

“Get in close,” she whispered. The general nodded as he crawled over as the Jotnar discussed what to do with the Saiyans.

“...only she’s needed, after all,” Thunor reminded Heimdall. “We should finish off the other two now.”

Serena grabbed ahold of Spicer's wrist as she touched Nymph’s injured stomach and focused her gaze on the rainbow light just behind Heimdall.

You can do this, Serena, she told herself. Serena took a deep breath as the two Jotnar looked over at her.

“Wait…”

“Stop her!” Thunor barked at his soldiers, but it was too late.

In a flash, Serena and the two Saiyans were gone

[Naval Monte]

Collab between Brit, Naval, and Saint.

Cosmic Hub

The trio found themselves in a vast white room where they saw in front of them eight doors of different shapes and sizes. Behind them, the door leading to Vanir shut closed, giving them a slight respite.

The witch looked around the room and began to chuckle at first, but soon she began to laugh hysterically. “We’re safe! We’re safe!” she screamed over and over as she began to shed tears of joy. “It takes an hour to open the portal again after a group gets in.”

As they caught their breath and addressed their wounds, Serena paced around in thought.

“What did he mean that I was the cause of all this? Oberon mentioned something similar…”

Nymphaea would be silent as she thought over Serena’s question. “Maybe they all want a piece of you like Puck?” she said out loud before she shook her head. “No, I’m pretty sure some of those guys are married.” the witch hmm’d to herself.

“Maybe you are secretly the illegitimate daughter of one of the Kais and they want to use you as a hostage for blackmail?” she questioned out loud.

“Or maybe your mom cheated at a poker game or slept with a cosmic entity another wants? A few demons came after me because my mom did that.”

“I don’t mean to be a bother, but look,” the Saiyan said crossly as he pointed towards one of the doorways. The small blue light reappeared, and floated above what resembled a large mirror.

“Looks like it wants us to follow, but where does that lead to?” he asked, looking over at Nymph, who seemed to have the most experience with the Nine Realms. Nymphaea looked up. “That’s the Mirror Realm. The giant mirror should be the big giveaway.”

“Then that’s where we need to go,” Serena said with a nod as she walked towards the mirror with Spicer following behind.

A magic circle would appear in front of the mirror. “Yeah no.” Nymphaea would rise up in the air, hovering for a few seconds before landing on her feet. “You guys don’t get it. We are at the hub of the Nimbus. The interchange of the Nine Realms. The very heart of it all. We can go anywhere we want in here.” she told them.

She walked to a golden arch gateway with ivory steps leading up behind the golden bars. “We are so close to being in Paradiso. We can’t waste anymore time getting lost in the realms. I don’t know what those angels are doing to my mother but I will not let them kill her while I’m so close to saving her. I say we go into it now before we lose this chance!” she demanded.

Serena sighed and looked at the Saiyaness.

“I want to find your mother as much as anyone, Nymph, but the light hasn’t led us astray, and it’s telling us to go to the Mirror Realm.” Spicer nodded in agreement.

“Plus we don’t know if Alexandra was ever in Paradiso. The angels attacked, yes, but we don’t know if they are behind this. They could be working for another faction.”

Nymphaea would form magical threads that would move around with their own will. “How are you two so sure that the angels are just pawns in someone else's game!? We have no proof that some other power is behind this? My mother has to be in Paradiso because where else would they take her to? Maikai?”

“Then why is the light directing us towards the Mirror Realm?” Serena asked. “If Alex is in Paradiso, it would tell us.”

Nymphaea shook her head. “It led us to a dragon’s cave. Sure it led us to Asgard but what if that was the plan? What if that light was a trap to lead us to our deaths or lead us away from ever finding Paradiso?” the witch countered.

“I have faith in the light,” Serena declared as she placed a hand on her chest, right where the crystal was. “You can search for Alex in Paradiso, but I am going to the Mirror Realm.” Serena looked over at Spicer, ascertaining his thoughts..

“Lottus might be right and it’s a trap,” he admitted. “I have my doubts about the light, but…” Spicer looked down.

But I would follow you anywhere, Serena, even to the ends of the cosmos.

Nymphaea would look down, grinding her teeth in frustration. The witch would raise her hands and throw them down, threads breaking into particles of lights. “Damn you Serena!” she shouted. She would look up at her, furious. “Fine. I'll humor you this one time. But if that light leads us to yet another random goose chase I’m gonna snuff it out.” she would dispel the magic circle and walk away from the golden gate.

Serena mouthed a thank you to the mage and looked at Nymph with compassion. She thought about her own mother, and hoped she desperately wished she could have saved her, and Serena approached the mage and placed her hands on Nymph’s shoulders.

“We’ll find her Nymph, I promise,” Serena said as she turned back to the gate, and with the light proceeding and Serena leading, the group walked through the glass and entered the Mirror Realm.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Danuja, About a year after arriving at the Rim, Planet Hydro

The dropship hovered in the planet's upper stratosphere. The drop bay opened, revealing a large fortress like city below them. In the sky above, both the Pride of Jinza and the Ozaru fired barrages both at the planet below and at the variety of fighter craft that had flown to challenge them. At various other points across the atmosphere Danuja watched the streaks of light that followed other squads of Raiders as they fell towards the planet below. Danu pressed a button, closing the visor on her face mask. Nodding to the rest of her squad, the group jumped out of the back of the dropship, and shot down towards the planet.

Danu's squad was a crack team. Well, they would be if she had chosen them. Suh, Anchovy, and Zucchi were assigned to her regardless and Mentine... was her teacher? or something like that. The Jinza word didn't translate well into Basic, but that was the general vibe for it. He was less of a teacher and more of an Overseer than anything else. Still as far as Saiyans went, he wasn't awful and had been rather nice to Danu while they worked together, giving her plenty of tips when it came to the act of raiding and pillaging. Jinza strategy wasn't in depth, but it had it's contrivances. Raid teams like Danu's made planetfall and caused as much damage as possible, while smaller and more specialized stealth teams stole everything of value to the raiders. Bytterite silos, large amounts of gold, etc.

Two years ago, if you had told Danu that she was going to be a queen, a pirate, and one of the strongest people in the galaxy, she would have laughed in your face. Now though, she was all three, and every day that past made her feel like she lost a little more of Danu and became a little more Chay or Jinza. Back at the world tournament the idea of what she was doing would have horrified her. Now she had even started to enjoy it. What was that quote about absolute power?

Danu landed hard onto the metallic surface of the city. The planet's military was evidently well prepared for them. Danu felt several explosive blasts hit her as soon as she hit the ground. Shrugging them off, she ignited her aura, and found their source. A tank stood further down the street, firing at her. Rather peculiarly however, the tank was only the size of a small car. Danu blasted down the street and punted the object, sending it flying into the air. Danu nonchalantly fired a comet strike to finish it, resulting in a shower of sparks raining down on her. Turning to Mentine, Danu asked pointedly "So who are these guys anyways?"

Mentine was finishing another tank in a similar manner. "Tuffles, I think their name is." he answered in the Jinza language "As far as we know their ancient ancestors were refugees fleeing the Andromedans, crashed on a world out here, and multiplied like ants. They're not really fighters, like to hide behind their tech instead of giving a fair fight."

As if to punctuate this, several mech suits came charging down the street. The mechs themselves were the size of the Saiyans, even if their dimunitive operators were not. The mechs levelled chain guns at the Saiyans, and proceeded to open fire. Danu sighed as the bullets bounced off of her, before blasting forward, easily dispatching one of the mechs with a punch through the cockpit. One of the other mechs pulled out what appeared to be a stun club. Danu decided to humor herself for a bit, and let the mech charge her. She easily blocked the swings of the club, toying with the mech. Finally, after about a minute, she grabbed the club and used it to send the mech through a nearby building. The rest of the squad took care of the other mechs alongside her.

The job wasn't anywhere near finished though. The ground began to shake as a far larger mech turned the corner on to the street. Danu grinned upon seeing it. Turning to the rest of her Squad, Danu said calmly "Go help out where you can and see if you can find anything useful. I'll handle this myself." Not waiting for a response, Danu charged at the mech, first attacking it's left heel. The mech responded by firing an energy blast that hit Danu in the back. Though she wasn't burned, the hit still hurt like a bitch, enough to piss Danu off. Her purple aura ignited and her eyerises turned purple as she yelled in rage. Jumping into the air, Danu placed several key blasts at the joints. The mech responded by firing back, which Danu blocked and deflected back at the suit.

When she felt the mech was sufficiently weakened, Danu brought her arm forwards. Scarlet ki gathered in her hand that contrasted against the purple of her aura. Pointing it at the center of the mech, Danu yelled COMET STRIKE BLAST as a massive wave of red energy ripped out of her hand. It consumed the mech, then ate it's way through several of the buildings of the megacity, until it punched out the other side of the settlement, revealing the green fields of the planet that the Tuffles had built over. Danu took a deep breath as debris began to rain from the sky, before flying off to find more things to destroy.

[Saint Morning]

Collab with Saint, Naval, and Brit
Mirror Realm

Nymphaea would cover her eyes as the sun shone down on their faces. When she moved her arm down she would be greeted… Beryl’s castle?

“No. This isn’t the castle.” she said as she looked around. The castle grounds were identical to the one she was in days ago but she also knew that this castle was not the one. The magic in here was more pervasive then the real one. When she looked down at her shadow she would see that it was facing the opposite direction from which the sun was facing them.

“The Mirror Realm copies the world that the mage comes from. However it distorts them. Sometimes it reveals hidden truths about the world that you live in and its people, other times it obscures certain things. Truth and deception goes hand and hand in this realm. So don’t trust everything you see to be real in here.” she warned them.

As Nymphaea took her first step the world suddenly changed into the interior of the castle, the trio within one of the many halls and corridors of the building. “Right. Forgot that this realm also screws with your mind as well. I don’t know how my sister always manages to find the queen of this realm?” Nymphaea shook her head.

The three took a few hesitant steps within the labyrinth, unsure of where to go. The light had disappeared, and Spicer looked around concerned.

“How are we supposed to navigate this place?” As if to answer, a voice called out from the maze. It was subtle, hard to hear and not unlike the whispering of the wind, but after a few minutes they heard distinctly it was a woman’s voice, calling out for Serena.

“Mother?” the queen said, tears wallowing in her eyes.Without hesitation, the young woman took off in the direction of the voice.

“Serena, wait!” Spicer called after her, but to no avail. The Saiyan followed after, with Nymph behind, as they tried to catch up to Serena through the twists and turns of the maze until they reached a clearing with a single mirror, the voicing louder than ever. The Saiyans watched as Serena jumped inside of the mirror, and Spicer turned to Nymph.

“We have to go after her,” he said with worry.

“I warned her that this place likes messing with people. Looks like we have to save her.” Nymphaea would rush towards the mirror and jump towards it. Spicer followed, but before they entered the mirror, a mysterious force pushed the Saiyans out of the way and they landed a few metres away.

“I suggest you turn back now,” they heard someone say, and as they turned, the figure revealed itself to be none other than Raguel. “I can only guarantee death otherwise.”

Nymphaea looked at the man. “An angel in here? How on Holy Terra did you manage to get past Queen Nehelenia’s defenses?” she would summon her electric blades from her fists. She looked at him and the angel. He stopped them from entering the mirror which was an obvious clue as to what his intention was.

He wants to get Serena.

“I don’t want seven years of bad luck but there is no choice.” she would face the mirror. She would change the blade into an electric ball and fire it at the mirror. The ball would go through the mirror, burning a hole through it as molten slag fell through the mirror. Cracks began to form on the mirror until it finally shattered into pieces.

“Sorry, but your queen is in another mirror.”

The angel’s eyes flashed with anger as the mirror shards fell to the ground.

“Stubborn fools.”

Nymphaea charged another ball of lightning in her hand. “Maybe we are. But anything is better than allowing you to destroy everything.” she would fire the orb at Raguel. The moment she did so she would conjure a portal and fly into it.

Behind him she would fly towards the angel and launch another orb from behind. Raguel caught the orb and dissipated the magic easily.

The witch would jump back into another portal and one would appear above him as another orb flew down him as Nymphaea came down with her electric blades to stab him. Raguel batted Nymph and the orb away, the electrical attack seemingly having no effect on the angel and the orb proving as effective as the last.

You’re certainly more powerful than the average mage,” he told the witch. Sparks dancing in his hands as he sent a bolt of lightning at her.

Unknown Location

Stepping through the mirror brought Serena into a familiar hallway, one that she had not occupied in the years since her parent’s untimely death. The halls of the summer manor were picturesque in presentation, modern in design and splendour, but with hints of regal origins from the elaborate portraits to the various artefacts that decorated spaces.

Serena drifted through the halls, carried by a melodious tone that seemed to elude her at every corner. Her heart thumped rapidly against her ribcage with each graceful step and as the melodious tone grew in volume until the source was found. She stood in front of an arched wooden door.

Hesitantly Serena reached out and pressed her open palms against the wooden frame. Her heart skipped a beat when the melodious voice suddenly stopped its song. Pushing the door open and stepping into the room she took in the sight of the grand musical room, devoid of anything but a piano where a beautiful woman sat.

She was dainty but massive in height even whilst sitting down, her silvery locks cascading down from two tight bun-like ponytails. Translucent wings, four in spectrum, were attached to her back. She was ethereal, positively angelic in nature, and oh so familiar to the queen. At her feet sat two young teen boys bearing a strong resemblance to one another with the exception of the hue of their hair, one a blonde and the other a brunette, the peered up at her not once looking back not even when the mysterious woman gave a glance up to Serena.

The reigning Queen of Earth’s breath hitched at the striking resemblance between the woman and her mother, despite clear differences between them, but it was the voice. That melodious voice, one that comforted and assured, one that promised the world and more, that despite all the odds made it clear who this woman was.

“Serena,” The boys turned immediately, both bright-eyed as they sprang to their feet and sprinted over to the queen. They gripped her tightly in an embrace that almost toppled her over.

“Serena!” They both yelled in unison, clutching her as if holding on for dear life. Serena remained frozen amongst it all. Her face pale and hands shaking as she combed her hand through their hairs, fingers twirling their locks cautiously, as if frightened that if she prodded too much this illusion would break and she would be forced back into reality.

She was reminded then of Nymph’s words. This was a place of illusions, ones that could take something you desire and morph it to ensnare you. Still, she couldn’t help but want that, couldn’t help but to be overwhelmed by the sight and the feel of younger brothers in her arms. Then the woman who shared some many similarities with her mother, whose voice was so identical it was jarring, came closer with arms stretched out and tentatively taking hold of Serena’s cheek in a way only her mother once did when Serena was young and needed comfort. “My have you grown…”

This was all an illusion. It had to be, there was no way her brothers or her mother could be here, no way… “How…” Her voice cracked and she gripped her younger brothers tighter in her arms.

A small, but sad smile appeared on the woman’s face. “How can this be?” She would finish for Serena who was too shaken to confirm. “Magic Serena. The Artemis that died in that car accident had been a magical construct. Your father and I had known for a while that Paradiso was lurking on Earth, on the prowl waiting for the chance to get to me. We had thought a little diversion tactic would have sufficed… but unfortunately the outcome was…” She couldn’t seem to finish the sentence, but Serena knew what she was referencing, the accident that shook her entire world and left her an orphan.

“You never came back.” Serena mumbled, feeling the tears build in her eyes, “You abandoned us…the boys,” At their mention Castor and Pollux glanced up to their sister. “You should be… you are… dead.” Both teens blinked in response and pulled back, giving a glance at each other.

Castor poked Pollux. “He seems alive to me.” Serena began to chuckle at that, at first soft and gentle, before it grew and grew until she began to sob clutching her head and looking around in disbelief. This was not happening. This was some sick joke. Her three non-deceased relatives stood nearby looking at her with a sense of worry.

“You’re all dead…. You’re all supposed to be dead."

Artemis looked on apologetically. “I did abandon you…” She conceded. “But it was for your own protection, for all of your protections.”

Serena began to sob harder, her whole form shaking. “We weren’t protected, you left us to the wolves. The boys DIED.”

“We’re not dead!” The twins chimed in again a bit more belligerently. Their own faces red, tears welling in their own eyes. “I think I would know if I was…” Pollux mumbled just as Artemis, standing at her full 7 feet, gripped all of her children into a tight bear hug.

“I know this is… difficult to take in… and I know that you’ve been hurt. But you must trust that this was the only way. If I had returned I would’ve put you at further risk of falling into the hands of your uncle.”

“Uncle…mom what are you…” It was Pollux again who spoke, but even while pressed within the former princess’ of Earth, Serena could tell there was contention at the question. Finally, after a moment of tense silence, Artemis sighed then spoke.

“Your Uncle Raguel is a vicious man. I could not let any of you fall to his grasp. Especially not you, Serena.”

[Britanania]

Collab with the Usual Suspects

Mirror Realm

The battle wasn’t going well for the Saiyans. The angel battered the pair like they were nothing, and despite giving him everything that they had, Raguel was even stronger than Heimdall. Both Spicer and Nymph lay on the ground of the maze, their bodies broken and bloody, with dozens of shattered mirrors around them as Raguel cracked his knuckles, looking like he had barely broken a sweat.

“I suggest we put this squabbling to rest,” he told the pair. “Neither one of you can contend with me.”

Nymphaea began to slowly get up. “You’re right. As we are now we can’t defeat you.” she brought her arms to form an x-formation as she had three of her fingers sticking out while having two form an o.

“But you forgot one thing about us mages. We always have an ace up our sleeves.” She chanted something in a language that sounded ancient and strange. The few times Nymphaea saw her mother use the mandala she always said those words and she found the words so strange that she still remembered them.

She never thought that memorizing them would be so useful later.

Nymph slid her arms slowly apart from one another and the eye at the centre slowly opened as the ring around it began to spin. The golden eyelid gradually revealed an emerald within, emitting strange magic that was contained within it.

From her right hand and forearm, several small tablets with strange sigils began to appear around the appendage as a green magic circle, small enough to fit on the palm of her hand, appeared on her hand.

She looked at the constructs with awe. “I never thought I would see those on me. Neat.” she turned to Spicer. “Let’s hope I don’t screw up too badly. This is my first time using this thing,” she confessed as she turned to face Raguel.

The angel looked like he was having none of this as he looked over at Nymph.

“I have to insist that you stand down.” With the snap of his fingers, Alex, bound and chained, appeared behind him. “You wouldn’t want to lose your mother now would you?”

Nymphaea ignored what the angel said as she gazed upon the bound form of her mother. Her mother was covered in cuts and bruises, chains wrap themselves around her like serpents constricting their prey. With how bloodied and bruised she was it was almost a sick joke that her clothing somehow was largely intact.

“That Mandala,” he noted, tilting his head and pointing at it with his index finger. To think that a human could possess such a thing. These mortals were truly fascinating. “Fix the mirror with it and you can have her back.”

Spicer grit his teeth as he slowly rose from the ground.

“Don’t...listen, Lottus,” he said. “You can’t trust him.”

The witch was still too stunned to speak. But hearing Spicer speak finally made her snap out of her shock-induced trance. “You bastard! What did you do to her!” she snapped as her aura exploded out. A streak of green appeared from the bottom before moving up to the top, repeating the pattern.

“Well?” Raguel said, his eyes burning. “I’m waiting” The chains around Alex’s neck grew tighter.

“Lottus, don’t,” Spicer said again. “He wants Serena,” he reminded the Saiyaness. “And use her to rule the Nine Realms.”

When she saw the chain tighten around Alex’s neck she heard her gasp in pain as breathing became difficult for her. The witch’s right arm was shaking as she saw what was happening to her mother and was reminded that this man was after Serena.

“I.. I can’t…” she said as she was shaking her head. She was torn on what to do. Her mother was right there, she can save her. But can she also give up Serena for a chance to save her mother? She has been a good friend to her, it would be terrible to betray her now. But can she truly sacrifice the life of the woman who found and raised her as her own daughter? The one who cared for her and taught her everything she knew? Who made her into who she is now?

As she thought logically on why she shouldn’t fix the mirror she would be bombarded with memories of her past. The times Alex would read her favourite bedtime stories when she was a kid. The festivals they attended with Elizabeth. All of the birthdays they had together. The times her own mother was there when she was scared or needed a shoulder to cry on.

Nymphaea was beginning to cry as her constructs around her right arm began to flicker. The chains continued to tighten around Alex’s neck, slowly squeezing the life out of the Grand Mistress’ body, and her face started to turn blue.

When she saw her mother desperately gasping for air as her face turned blue she felt any doubt on what she must do to fade away.

“STOP IT!” she cried out. “YOU WANT YOUR STUPID MIRROR FIXED THEN I’LL DO IT! JUST DON’T KILL HER PLEASE!” she begged.

Nymphaea glanced at Spicer. “I’m so sorry Spicer. But I can’t sacrifice my mother, not even for the world’s sake.” The witch conjured a mandala above Spicer and multiple threads came down and bound themselves to him, keeping him trapped.

“You idiot,” he growled at her as he struggled against the magical binds. “You stupid idiot!”

Nymphaea flinched at the insult slightly. “I’m sorry Spicer. But I’m not so single minding devoted to my duty to throw everything else away.” she gave him a quick glance. “I still have a family left to protect.” she turned away from him as she walked towards the mirror shards.

When she was in front of the mirror she would raise her hand in front of her. “Please work,” she whispered as she turned her hand counterclockwise. Before her, she saw the mirror shard flying back in place. The cracks healed and the burning hole at the centre that caused the mirror to shatter would fade away. When the mirror was whole she would cancel her spell.

The constructs around her arm faded but the eyes remained open. “There. I fixed your mirror.” she turned to face Raguel. “Now let my mother go,” she demanded

Raguel smiled and the chains around Alex loosened, as she fell to the ground. Nymphaea would run towards her mother, her arms outstretched to catch her before she hit the ground.

Nymphaea fell to her knees while she held on to her mother tightly. She moved a few strands of ivory hair away from her face. “I’m sorry I was late mom. But I kept my promise to save you. Once we come back you can take charge of the Order and we can rebuild after we’ve dealt with these angels.”

The witch tried to reassure not just the unconscious witch but herself. She wanted to believe so desperately that things can get better even with her allowing Raguel to find Serena. She so wants to believe badly that things can return back to how they were.

She began to hold her tightly. As though if she let go her mother would dissolve away like ash being blown across a field by the wind. Raguel snapped his fingers again, and in a puff of smoke, Alex disappeared.

When the smoke appeared the witch was confused until she suddenly found herself hugging only herself, her mother no longer around. Feeling nothing but pure shock she couldn’t comprehend what to do at the exact moment.

While her mind was still reeling over what just occurred her body decided how to react. Nymphaea’s aura exploded once more. A sheen of green mixed with the azure burst of energy, mixed with specks of purple and white. Nymphaea let out a cry of pure anguish and rage. Without thinking she flew toward Raguel as clawed gauntlets appeared around her arms, her left arm poised to cut his head off.

Raguel sighed, sidestepped past Nymph and struck her in the back of her neck. The Saiyaness would let out spit once the blow struck her. The constructs around her began to break apart as she fell to the ground motionless.

The angel didn’t bother finishing Nymph off as he approached the mirror. Meanwhile, Spicer could only ponder what he could do.

“If he steps through that door, he’ll get Serena,” he mumbled. “I can’t let him do that.” The binds and the mandala that they came from would also fade away as their creator was now unconscious.

Spicer’s mind raced as to his options. There was only one thing he could think of as their antagonist nearly reached the doorway. Spicer conjured the last of his energy into a small, white orb and threw it between Raguel and the door. A blinding flash of light that temporarily halted the angel and Spicer stood there taking in the white light. As he did, the Saiyan felt a similar reaction as the radiation entered his body and began to transform his body. Spicer's muscle mass increased at an incredible rate, his height began to grow just as quickly, and thick fur covered his form.

However, halfway through the Saiyan’s transformation, something unexpected happened. Spicer felt that his body was no longer growing, but was, in fact, shrinking in size.

What is going on? he thought as he looked down at his hands. Spicer returned to his normal size, but a rush of energy pulsed through his being. He still looked like an Oozaru, but he was normal-sized, but with far greater power, and seemingly healed.

Raguel’s blindness wore off, and he looked at the Saiyan with a mix of confusion and wonder.

“Well, that’s different,” he said. “The magic in this realm seems to have...mutated it.” Whatever the case, Spicer glared at Raguel.

“I won’t let you go through that door,” Spicer growled before he charged the angel. The speed of the Saiyan’s attack caught Raguel off guard, and the force of the punch sent shockwaves throughout the chamber that shattered mirrors all around them. Raguel staggered backwards, and Spicer sent another blow, this time at the angel’s stomach that caused him to double over. Spicer pulled his fist back for another punch, but Raguel recovered quicker than the Saiyan anticipated. The angel grabbed Spicer’s fist, and with his free hand, judo chopped at the elbow joint.

Spicer screamed out in agony at his shattered arm. Raguel followed up by punching Spicer in the jaw and once in the abdomen.

“You are a meddlesome group,” he commented as Spicer recovered, wiped some blood from his mouth, and got back into a battle stance.

“So we’re told.”