Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

Step one. Get rid of the damn collar.
"There are seven explosive charges connected to the collar via biomechanical neurological implants. If you try and remove it without the thirty-two hour scrambled authorization codes from seven of the primary members of the Crime Syndicate, everyone in a ten mile radius goes up in flames. On my wrist, there is a bracelet. It is connected to a dedicated GPS satellite- Since we're on another world, it doesn't matter until the Syndicate gains control of the GPS system, but I want to get it off before that happens. If you try and remove it without the seventy-four hour scrambled authorization code from three members of the Crime Syndicate, the entire Crime Syndicate is alerted to my last known location. On my ankles, there is what appears to be a medical brace. I don't need it, it's designed to impair my movement and limit my mobility options. If you try and remove it without yada-yada, it injects a neurological disease known as a prion into my bloodstream that will impair me and ultimately kill me without the intervention of the Crime Syndicate."

Rogue Agent recited all of this nonchalantly, before looking directly at the group in front of him. "Get these damn things off me without setting any of them off, or you die."
Before him was a crack team of SHIELD and CADMUS' most skilled technicians and surgeons that remained on planet.

[The Republic of Atria]

Otis was having a great time. He and Gorgon took turns trying to out do the other with their best death metal voice. It went on for almost an hour before they stopped. Only because their voices were giving out. Otis coughed a bit after he finished another song and found it almost painful to speak since he had be doing a voice that he was not originally intended to make. "And I was gonna do my grand finale too..." He spoke much raspier than normal. "I think my vocal cords are gonna commit suicide. But you better know that as soon as I get my voice back, we're coming right back here so I can verbally kick your ass!"

Gorgon's voice wasn't fairing any better than Otis'. "You are going down! Uhg. Perhaps after I drink some water..." He said grabbing a cup and then downing several glasses one after another. "Maybe I should let my voice rest for a day or so. Though it was good singing on your! No one has ever lasted that long against me!"

I can't believe that you actually sang that many Lamb of God songs and aren't coughing up what remains of your vocal cords. Its..." He paused as he prep the pun to end all puns. Gorgon gave him a looked knowing what was about to happen. "...Inhuman. Ha! Ouch! Okay. Losenges and water for me. My throat is drier than the Sahara. I couldn't resist with that pun. Come on. It was a good one! You gotta admit that."

Ysmault

Maria landed on the sand rock that the ring dragged her to. "Where did you take me you piece of shit? There's no one here. Take me home so I can throttle that worthless bastard that crawled out of my womb." She hissed at the ring fueled by her hatred of what Otis did to her. But it had other plans. Like taking her to the portal just over the nearest ridge. "You want me to walk through that? Fine. But you're taking me home after." Maria hissed as she walked through and was surprised by what she found. Some sort of nightclub? What was a nightclub doing in the middle of wherever she was? "Hey! Who runs this joint?! I want answers NOW!"

[Illica Falki]

*snip*

Seeing the "Heroes" show up fills Eva with a sense of Relief, even if they look a lot like this universe's Villains. She notices that most of the villains are shifting focus, which she decides to use to rig the fight more in the Heroes favor before leaving and patching her wound. She quickly sheaths her sword and loads her wrist-mounted crossbow with another tranq-dart, keeping her shield up to make sure Snipers not taking the chance to fire, luckily she mounted both of them to her left arm leaving her right open to load the crossbow. When ready, she quickly aims and fires the dart towards sniper, hoping to take out as much the villains lethal range capability as possible.
After firing the shot, Eva quickly rushes for the stairs, hoping to just get into the stairwell to get out of the way of what is already a fight too big for her to handle.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

Shadows and darkness haze his vision.
How long?
He does not know.
Where is he?
The shadows clear, revealing a world of metal and death, of life unborn and circuits for blood. The wall of time of and space beyond, where birth and death are together as one.
He is... Confused.
He does not know why he sees this?
No, he does not.
It is time he learned.

One hundred years flash by- Backwards? Five hundred. One thousand. Ten thousand. Too fast to count. How was he counting at all?
He must pay attention. He is. Good.

He witnesses the birth of life and death and life again, and through it all, the world of metal and endings remained by the wall of time and space. Then it ceased- Or rather, he witnessed its beginning. A brief instant near the beginning of time, before the Oans became the Guardians, and before the Watchers were known by all, a single moment existed in history were existence was meaningless and moments lasted an eternity. The world of metal once had a name- The Throne of the Universe. Before that, it was Gran-Soh, which translated roughly into World of Sand and Skeletons. The Watchers were the first to find it, so hidden away from the rest of existence, nearly touching the edge and revolving around a star with far too much heat for its size. The Ancient Ones descended upon this still rocky world, for they saw signs of life in the satellites above, and heard ancient transmissions of entertainment and war. What they found, however, was what gave Gran-Soh its name.

Descending into a broad desert in what should have been the tropics of the world, they came across an enormous mountain- Made not by man nor Earth. Instead, this was a mountain of the dead. Skeletons and weapons of war piled beyond the limits of sight and sound- And at the top, a single blade was struck into the skull of the proudest of the dead. Curiosity overcame the Watchers- For this was early in their days, and though they had learnt their lesson well, it was not enough for a few. Thus, a single of the ancients drew what would one day be known as the Manifest Blade in its purest, raw form.

The natives were no threat to the universe, even with the power of the omniverse in their palm- For they were unimaginative, and lacked in curiosity. The Watcher, on the other hand, had observed countlessness and quantified it. He had watched the unimaginable and qualified it. He was the perfect wielder of the perfect blade- Alas, the blade was no longer perfect. Decades of war at the hands of the natives of Gran-Soh had given the Blade a taste for conquest, a taste for vengeance, and most importantly, a taste for blood. The Watcher who drew it from the mountain of the dead was corrupted by its dark influence immediately- He began to mock the sacred vow of the Watchers, and took upon himself the name of the Watched, for he knew that no matter what he did, his ancient compatriots would not interfere. He utilized the Blade to its fullest potential- With but a glance, he could destroy an entire system, and with the wave of his hand, he could manipulate the very fabric of the Universe.

Of course, the Watched was not all powerful, nor was he Omnipresent. He constructed the Throne of the Universe- The construction from which he would rule his domain, built around the gutted remains of Gran-Soh, where it all began. He began to exert his influence quickly- Entire galaxies took mere weeks to fall into his kingdom. He had little mind for negotiation, and little need for anything beyond a mere fraction of his power. He hungered for a challenge- And when hunger incarnate found its way into his part of the Universe, he found one. The Watched faced Galactus- And the Watched killed a Herald, and then two more before finally falling to the Power Cosmic. In this fall, however, the Manifest Blade was fractured- A mere portion of its power remained.

The Throne of the Universe holds the key to unlocking it.

Does He understand?
He does.
Good. You will be expected, Charles Crawler. Your destiny awaits.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

The Hadrian army was quite a thing to behold. Even in the face of annihilation, they were stalwart and valiant, not giving up the fight for a second, guarding every inch of their ground with the ferocity of a thousand roaring beasts. Millions of warriors from thousands of different clans and tribes were combining all of their might in fearsome attacks that were able to hold even the armies of the Builders at bay, even if only temporarily, brought together by the dire times they were facing and by the fair rule and guiding hand of their leader, the Eternal Queen, whose voice was their command. Of course, even the most powerful Hadrian warrior could not compare to the strongest of the death machines sent to siege the planet in the name of the Builders, the gray Alephs, and even though the armies of the fiery planet were quite numerous, as a large portion of the denizens of Hadrimmelis were dedicated to the arts of combat and warfare, the Builders were beating them back, slowly but steadily. They were superior in numbers and in strength, and by all means, the Hadrian horde should have fallen to their assault long ago, even with the efforts that the world itself was making to support them. However, there was one more thing acting in their favor.

Strictly speaking, Hadrimmelis did not possess a planetary army. Though it could be considered that the entire planet was under a monarchy, as they all swore their loyalty to the avatar called Adrianne (even if there were those who did not honor those vows, such as the devious Wynn), most tribes and clans were allowed to act with relative autonomy, even warring with each other from time to time, something that was never stopped unless it was deemed too destabilizing to be allowed to pass, as it kept their blood flowing through their bodies, and their minds and senses sharp. There was the palace guard that watched over the throne of the world, all of them clad in golden armor, though their roles were purely ornamental, as no threat that could even be stopped would be able to reach the palace while the world's consciousnes watched. There was also an official army, though it was composed of volunteers who were sent to battle only when there was a conflict that needed to be resolved through external forces; these soldiers, unlike the palace guards, did not wear gold, and in fact bore no particular armor, instead wearing what they deemed fit, according to their individual culture and talents. However, the horde fighting in the valley wore neither the golden armor of the palace guard, nor the heterogeneous garb of the army. The Hadrian hordes fighting in the valley were an overflowing sea of glistening darkness.

They were given that equipment strictly for the occasion at hand, namely, the invasion of Hadrimmelis. The armies brought together to face the tidal wave of the mechanical heralds of the Builders were outfitted with pure black armor and given weapons of the same color that seemed to paradoxically glow with the light of the stars. They had been told that they were weapons and armor crafted from the mystical stones that lie at the core of the world. Strictly speaking, that was not a lie, it was merely a half truth. The whole truth was that the gear that they now bore was made of Worldscales, and the weapons they wielded, crafted with Worldfangs. Both were materials that held within them the dormant power of the World-Dragons, and both were materials that only the Eternal Queen could possibly produce, procuring them for the brave warriors who were willing to stand with her in order to fight off the invaders, even if they could only temporarily stem the approaching tides. With that godly equipment, the Hadrian army could easily have been considered among the strongest in the universe in terms of ground troops; strong enough to at least hold their own momentarily against the neverending waves of gray destruction that were the Builder fleets.

Alas, everything that was spoken in the pyramidal throne room of the Eternal Queen was the undeniable truth. Every warrior in the Hadrian hordes knew it. They were being pushed back, slowly but steadily. They were being put with their backs against the walls formed by the enormous mountains surrounding the bleak valley. They were brave, and their courage did not crack at the sight of the ever-approaching tide, but for their enemy, things such as fear were not merely distant, but rather a complete impossibility. Only the mechanical heralds of the Builders composed the armies that the Hadrians were facing, as the organic creatures that once tended to the worlds were stopped before reaching the planet, as they were far more dangerous, a threat to all life. And it was well known, even among the relatively austere and naturalistic Hadrians, that machines were, as a general rule, unable to feel emotion. Thus they knew that their enemies were complete strangers to fear, to anxiety, to worry. They knew not the meaning of the words nor what they represented, while the Hadrians did.

They knew, despite their supreme efforts, that they were losing. And it was then that salvation came down from afar. The All-Mother and her Valkyries arrived, and despite being infinitely less numerous than the Hadrian army, and less well-equipped, their smaller numbers and their agile tactics, combined with the immense power of the All-Mother, proved crucial in gaining more time, distracting the Builder armies. This was the moment of respite, the second wind that the Hadrian hordes needed, and they were about to shout for victory, when something happened.

Just like that, their wills were overridden by the world itself, and they began retreating without a word or a second glance, as if they had suddenly become automatons with the sole directive of vacating the battlefield and evacuating the planet, just as the civilian population of the planet had been asked to do earlier. With the civilians already out of the planet and the Valkyries holding off the Builders on her behalf, Adrianne saw no need to keep her soldiers on the battle, and furthermore, she needed them away from it in order to call forth her full power and annihilate the Builders; however, the Hadrians were a hot-blooded species, unlikely to leave the battle by their own free will, and so, that will had to be overwritten in order to save them from their own courageous resolve. Swift like the wind they moved in perfect formations towards the nearest portals, leaving the world as they moved through, only to arrive on the other side believing that they had begrudgingly obeyed one of their ruler's commands.

---

The black dragon flying beside the Infinite Venture, a manifestation of the will of Hadrimmelis, momentarily stopped breathing cosmic flames upon the Builder fleets. She had incinerated a great many of their ships to a crisp already, which incidentally allowed her to free up some of the power that was keeping the psionic shields around the planet up and running in order to stop the fleet's attacks, something that she was quite thankful for. Still, she could notice that she was not causing as much damage as she would have hoped for, even if she was obliterating swathes of the enemy's army, and so, she switched tactics. Fire was a preferred element of hers, but it was not that with which she was most adept, and so, instead of assaulting the Builders with fire, she adopted a different tactic. Opening her gaping maw once again, where rows upon rows of sharp teeth could be seen glistening like black crystals, she called upon the might of the Dragon Force once again, and this time, a burst of light like a solar explosion seemed to appear in the dragon's mouth, and then, out went the light, obliterating everything in its path as if the beam was fueled by the power of the heart of a raging star. Though her previous attacks had been quite powerful, this one was even stronger, and after a short pause, the black dragon went at it again, targetting a different part of the Builder formation. It was not her task to tear the fleet apart, but doing so helped her buy herself some more time and allowed her some respite from the relentless battering of the ships surrounding the planet.

However, suddenly, she heard the Infinite Venture, the ship that fought beside her, informing everyone inside and around to clear a path so that their strongest weapon could fire. Though she did not believe herself to be in any danger, the dragon knew that humans were quite the crafty species, and in any case, it would not do to accidentally block the attack from reaching the Builders, and so, the black dragon cleared a path for the Weapon just like every other creature on that battlefield did. Naturally, this did not stop her from wreaking havoc on the frontlines, as the field of battle was vast and welcomed destruction. They were on space, after all, away from the planet and its inhabitants who were fighting the same war on a different battlefield. Thus the black dragon continued her stationary rampage, merely floating in place as she reared up and released apocalyptic blasts of light time and time again, making sure to never target enemies that were inbetween herself and the sun of Hadrimmelis, well aware that in this form, her power, though still severely limited, was great enough to level stars.

She stopped, stunned by the presence she felt when a lone human flew out of the miracle flagship, raising his arms and subsequently summoning enough weapons to blot out a significant part of the Builder fleet. Many of the warriors out on the battlefield that day stared at the display of power in awe, amazed by their compatriot's might, but the black dragon on the other hand was surprised by something else entirely, and not altogether too pleased to see that kind of power in the universe once again. She remembered something like this, a long time ago, long before even the time when the Time Demons arrived in the universe, a time when gods were unborn, and dragons were young, and the stars were drooling newborns. It was a rare instance of power that was evil by itself; once pure, but becoming tainted by its misuse. She remembered the havoc that such power brought forth, and the force that the devourer of worlds had needed to use in order to seal it away.

"I wonder where that glutton is right now." The dragon wondered idly, allowing herself momentary amusement by remembering the fact that her kind had several times been tasked with feeding the devourer. But her mind soon returned to the subjects that truly mattered, and she watched as the one called Manifest obliterated a large portion of the Builder fleet, before being rendered unconscious after overexerting his power. Had she been in her human form at the moment, she would have shaken her head, but for now, she simply stared on with some annoyance. It had been foolish for someone with so much power and so little endurance to use said power so recklessly, but now, there was nothing to be done, as the mistake had already taken place, and so, the black dragon darted out, using blasts of light to obliterate the ships that were approaching the unconscious Manifest and using her powerful telekinesis to bring him closer to her, until he was safely on her back, sheltered between two scales the size of entire buildings, hidden away from the battle raging all around them.

Next to his unconscious form, another figure appeared, the human-like, splendorous form of a human avatar of Hadrimmelis, appearing out of the blue, crouching beside him with a knee on the 'ground' that was the black dragon's scale, her crimson gaze set on him. She called out to him several times, attempted to physically awaken him, all of it to no avail. Now, strictly speaking, it was not imperative to awaken him and have him return to the fight, as he had done a fair bit already and he was not in any danger as long as he was being protected by the black dragon itself, but even then, she was quite curious about him and his status as the wielder of an ancient, terrible power, and so, she took a decision: she would delve into his mind.

---

The form of Adrianne appeared within Manifest's mindscape, and that tiny fraction of Hadrimmelis' consciousness looked around, familiarizing herself with the world that was the human warrior's head. All around herself, there was sand, sand, sand, an endless, all-encompassing desert that was too great for a mortal mind to comprehend- not that hers was a mortal mind, of course. Above, a merciless star cast its heat towards the planet with fury, as if said sun had a bone to pick with it, but the heat was a completely psychical phenomenon, and in any case, it was nothing to her. She did, however, frown as she gazed upon the mountain of ancient corpses that stood in front of her, blocking out the empty landscape from her sight, reaching high into the sky like some grotesque parody of the Tower of Babel crafted by obscene, insane architects as an affront not just to their God, but to the universe itself, and all that is just and good. She gazed upon it, naught but disdain and contempt for the towering skeletal structure, but as she inspected it more closely, she saw a lone figure sitting on top of it, a creature, the only living being that existed in that bleak landscape.

Thus, the Eternal Queen began her ascent, jumping up with and reaching great heights with very little effort, crushing several skulls as she landed. Over and over again, she did the same in order to reach the summit of that white deathly ziggurat, managing to reach the top in no time, not even breaking a sweat, her blonde hair still perfectly composed and shining gently under the sun. Once again she set her scarlet eyes on the figure before her, the same one that was unconscious outside, being kept safe by her and tended to also by her. Standing at a reasonable distance from him, she called out to him.

"Charles Crawler." She said to him, suspecting that his name might elicit a quicker response and finding it buried in his consciousness after a minute effort. "Wake up."

---

Outside of Manifest's consciousness, and on the surface of Hadrimmelis, the evacuation had gone off without a hitch, thanks to Adrianne's own efforts and also thanks to the All-Mother's support. Now, all of the indigenous Hadrians had vacated the planet, having been sent off to distant lands through the portal, places where they would be able to survive while the planet was uninhabitable, and so, it was almost time for the true power of the Eternal Queen to be shown. However, before that happened, something more had to be done.

Within the head of every allied hero and every foreign soldier still on the surface of Hadarimmelis, a message would be heard.

"The planet is empty. Evacuate at once."

It was almost time. Almost.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

The black dragon flying beside the Infinite Venture, a manifestation of the will of Hadrimmelis, momentarily stopped breathing cosmic flames upon the Builder fleets. She had incinerated a great many of their ships to a crisp already, which incidentally allowed her to free up some of the power that was keeping the psionic shields around the planet up and running in order to stop the fleet's attacks, something that she was quite thankful for. Still, she could notice that she was not causing as much damage as she would have hoped for, even if she was obliterating swathes of the enemy's army, and so, she switched tactics. Fire was a preferred element of hers, but it was not that with which she was most adept, and so, instead of assaulting the Builders with fire, she adopted a different tactic. Opening her gaping maw once again, where rows upon rows of sharp teeth could be seen glistening like black crystals, she called upon the might of the Dragon Force once again, and this time, a burst of light like a solar explosion seemed to appear in the dragon's mouth, and then, out went the light, obliterating everything in its path as if the beam was fueled by the power of the heart of a raging star. Though her previous attacks had been quite powerful, this one was even stronger, and after a short pause, the black dragon went at it again, targetting a different part of the Builder formation. It was not her task to tear the fleet apart, but doing so helped her buy herself some more time and allowed her some respite from the relentless battering of the ships surrounding the planet.

However, suddenly, she heard the Infinite Venture, the ship that fought beside her, informing everyone inside and around to clear a path so that their strongest weapon could fire. Though she did not believe herself to be in any danger, the dragon knew that humans were quite the crafty species, and in any case, it would not do to accidentally block the attack from reaching the Builders, and so, the black dragon cleared a path for the Weapon just like every other creature on that battlefield did. Naturally, this did not stop her from wreaking havoc on the frontlines, as the field of battle was vast and welcomed destruction. They were on space, after all, away from the planet and its inhabitants who were fighting the same war on a different battlefield. Thus the black dragon continued her stationary rampage, merely floating in place as she reared up and released apocalyptic blasts of light time and time again, making sure to never target enemies that were inbetween herself and the sun of Hadrimmelis, well aware that in this form, her power, though still severely limited, was great enough to level stars.

She stopped, stunned by the presence she felt when a lone human flew out of the miracle flagship, raising his arms and subsequently summoning enough weapons to blot out a significant part of the Builder fleet. Many of the warriors out on the battlefield that day stared at the display of power in awe, amazed by their compatriot's might, but the black dragon on the other hand was surprised by something else entirely, and not altogether too pleased to see that kind of power in the universe once again. She remembered something like this, a long time ago, long before even the time when the Time Demons arrived in the universe, a time when gods were unborn, and dragons were young, and the stars were drooling newborns. It was a rare instance of power that was evil by itself; once pure, but becoming tainted by its misuse. She remembered the havoc that such power brought forth, and the force that the devourer of worlds had needed to use in order to seal it away.

"I wonder where that glutton is right now." The dragon wondered idly, allowing herself momentary amusement by remembering the fact that her kind had several times been tasked with feeding the devourer. But her mind soon returned to the subjects that truly mattered, and she watched as the one called Manifest obliterated a large portion of the Builder fleet, before being rendered unconscious after overexerting his power. Had she been in her human form at the moment, she would have shaken her head, but for now, she simply stared on with some annoyance. It had been foolish for someone with so much power and so little endurance to use said power so recklessly, but now, there was nothing to be done, as the mistake had already taken place, and so, the black dragon darted out, using blasts of light to obliterate the ships that were approaching the unconscious Manifest and using her powerful telekinesis to bring him closer to her, until he was safely on her back, sheltered between two scales the size of entire buildings, hidden away from the battle raging all around them.

Next to his unconscious form, another figure appeared, the human-like, splendorous form of a human avatar of Hadrimmelis, appearing out of the blue, crouching beside him with a knee on the 'ground' that was the black dragon's scale, her crimson gaze set on him. She called out to him several times, attempted to physically awaken him, all of it to no avail. Now, strictly speaking, it was not imperative to awaken him and have him return to the fight, as he had done a fair bit already and he was not in any danger as long as he was being protected by the black dragon itself, but even then, she was quite curious about him and his status as the wielder of an ancient, terrible power, and so, she took a decision: she would delve into his mind.

---

The form of Adrianne appeared within Manifest's mindscape, and that tiny fraction of Hadrimmelis' consciousness looked around, familiarizing herself with the world that was the human warrior's head. All around herself, there was sand, sand, sand, an endless, all-encompassing desert that was too great for a mortal mind to comprehend- not that hers was a mortal mind, of course. Above, a merciless star cast its heat towards the planet with fury, as if said sun had a bone to pick with it, but the heat was a completely psychical phenomenon, and in any case, it was nothing to her. She did, however, frown as she gazed upon the mountain of ancient corpses that stood in front of her, blocking out the empty landscape from her sight, reaching high into the sky like some grotesque parody of the Tower of Babel crafted by obscene, insane architects as an affront not just to their God, but to the universe itself, and all that is just and good. She gazed upon it, naught but disdain and contempt for the towering skeletal structure, but as she inspected it more closely, she saw a lone figure sitting on top of it, a creature, the only living being that existed in that bleak landscape.

Thus, the Eternal Queen began her ascent, jumping up with and reaching great heights with very little effort, crushing several skulls as she landed. Over and over again, she did the same in order to reach the summit of that white deathly ziggurat, managing to reach the top in no time, not even breaking a sweat, her blonde hair still perfectly composed and shining gently under the sun. Once again she set her scarlet eyes on the figure before her, the same one that was unconscious outside, being kept safe by her and tended to also by her. Standing at a reasonable distance from him, she called out to him.

"Charles Crawler." She said to him, suspecting that his name might elicit a quicker response and finding it buried in his consciousness after a minute effort. "Wake up."

---

Outside of Manifest's consciousness, and on the surface of Hadrimmelis, the evacuation had gone off without a hitch, thanks to Adrianne's own efforts and also thanks to the All-Mother's support. Now, all of the indigenous Hadrians had vacated the planet, having been sent off to distant lands through the portal, places where they would be able to survive while the planet was uninhabitable, and so, it was almost time for the true power of the Eternal Queen to be shown. However, before that happened, something more had to be done.

Within the head of every allied hero and every foreign soldier still on the surface of Hadarimmelis, a message would be heard.

"The planet is empty. Evacuate at once."

It was almost time. Almost.

Charles Crawler. Wake up.
Within his mindscape, Manifest's eyes show open, his arm rising to summon a vastly weak pistol- Obviously designed to kill humans, as opposed to vast alien armadas. "Who- Where-" He faltered, lowering his gun and staring into the distance. "Gran-Soh." He uttered weakly, as if he had not meant to. He shook his head, rising slowly and dispelling his gun. "You asked me to awaken. I'm still unconscious, then?" He turned back towards Hadrimmelis' avatar, his wary stance betraying his SHIELD military background. "How are you here? I don't recognize you, which means you cannot be an avatar of my own mind. Yet you can't be human, or any other mortal species. None of them that I don't have a dossier on could get past the mental blocks I had installed in my mind. What are you, then? Asgardian? Olympian, perhaps?" He did not seem to notice the sun of his own mindscape, nor did he seem to mind standing on a literal mountain of the dead. Far below them and nearly beyond the horizon, the edges of the desert began to fracture and disappear as his consciousness slowly returned.

---

Outside of his mind, Manifest's armour slowly began to repair itself from the damage done during his attack. His breathing and heart rate became normal, and the Manifest Blade itself appeared in a scabbard inside the armour. While Hadrimmelis would not be able to see it, its physical manifestation, as it were, would be simple enough to sense.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

---

Etla shrugged lightly. "If you say so sis." She replied to Ihra, before continuing to stride towards the giant meteor. She was completely oblivious to the fact that another pair of siblings was approaching their position while trying not to be spotted; ordinarily, she might've been perceptive enough to at least suspect something after hearing a distant echo of Darian's shout. She was currently far too engrossed in the mystery at hand to pay attention to odd noises that almost sounded like human voices, after all, and so, she advanced towards the meteorite, unknowing of what could be hiding inside.

---

The lone figure yet slumbered within the hollow stone, still asleep even after centuries of being sealed, not just within the meteorite, but also within a more intrincate enclosure, one born from a very potent spell woven by a being as powerful as the sleeping monarch. It had been many, many years since he had last been awake, and even longer since he had last seen the light of his home, and what remained of his family, a sadistic little sister and a half-mad cousin. He had not seen any of that ever since he was banished from the mystic world of Shamra by one who wielded fire and stoically proclaimed himself the defender of all things just, the judge and the jury. The memory, hazy as it was, filled him with anger. He had been tried by the silliest of things! He was tried for doing what he pleased with that which was his! Ridiculous, truly. He had dismissed the veredict, and fought, but in the end, he was bested, and exiled, and unable to do anything about it. He was the White King, and he had been cast out from his own realm. The memories of his battle were blurry at best, and came in short intervals of disjointed scenes, but they served their purpose, and filled him with anger at the thought of having been denied his right to rule.

The White King was bound in thousands of silvery chains which were at the same time bound to enormous mechanical monoliths that were scattered all throughout the barren desertic landscape, blocking his sight and blotting out the sun. These chains were quite potent, and their purpose was twofold: they were meant to both keep him restrained, and to limit his power for as long as possible. In that regard, his adversary, the Red King, had been very careful. These bonds were meant to last a long time, but finally, they were growing weaker. Several chains appeared rusty, and soon, one of them disintegrated, beginning a chain reaction. Several more began falling apart, and the bound monarch could feel his power returning to him, as the sky and the sand turned to black, the mindscape itself losing its cohesion as the spell was burned out.

With all of his might, the prisoner accelerated the process, using his magical prowess to systematically assist in the destruction of the mindscape where he was being held. The rusting of the chains was hastened exponentially, and soon, nearly all of them had rotted away and fallen to the fading sands. The monoliths around him rusted as well, before finally disappearing, along with the rest of the landscape. It was gone. He was free.

Suddenly, the White King woke up, finding himself in a hollow stone. He laughed, for he was free.

---

Etla watched as, right before her, the meteorite turned into ice and subsequently exploded into a million pieces. Shards of ice began raining down from the sky, and a cloud of dust was kicked up, combining with the falling snow to create a white curtain before her.

---

The prisoner moved out of the destroyed stone, breathing in fresh air for the first time in centuries. He was free once again, autonomous. An autarch anew. In time, he would return to his home to reclaim what was his, but for now, he was once more the owner of his freedom, at least, and he could explore these new lands that belonged to him. Everything belonged to him, after all, as far as he was concerned, and he would soon exert this right of his upon this world. He was so caught up in his delusions of grandeur, that he did not notice that he was not alone until after a moment.

And after said moment, he spoke, unable to see his guests but still able to spot them beyond the white curtain. His bellow was loud, but his voice seemed softer, and quite regal.

"Who stands before the White King?"

---

---

The Eternal Queen watched as Manifest opened his eyes and summoned a pistol, resisting the urge to snort at the futile gesture and simply raising an eyebrow instead, completely aware that such a thing couldn't possibly harm her but not blaming the human for not knowing that. There were, it seemed, plenty of things that he did not know, and she was not certain if it was good or bad that the name of the place where they stood was not one of them. She then watched him stand, listening to all of his questions. She understood why he was confused about his own status, and she also understood why he did not know about her, though even then the arrogance of some of his statements was quite amusing to behold. Either way, his questioning was a sign that analytic thought was still possible for him, which meant that his mind was intact. Indeed, she could feel as his consciousness slowly rose from the darkness. But for now, she figured she could continue talking to him.

Sitting down on an iron throne she willed into existence, the figure of Adrianne finally replied, now more comfortable. "Do I strike you as the type that would hail from Olympus or Asgard, human?" She asked with some amusement. "Because if the answer is yes, then you are mistaken. You need to think of something older. Oh, and bigger." She stated, a light smile being drawn across her feature, before quickly fading back into a stern expression. "As for your other question, however, yes, you are still unconscious. Your attack did quite a number on the Builder armada, and I thank you for that, but it is not enough to deter them, and, frankly, it was reckless of you to knock yourself out like that." She admonished.

---

Both the dragon and the crimson queen on its back paused for just a fraction of a second when they felt the Manifest Blade appear extremely close to them; right on top of her, in fact, if one adopted one perspective, and right beside her, if one went with the other. Her human form frowned, looking at the part of Manifest's uniform where the blade had appeared, but did nothing about it, simply continuing to wait until the human woke up, as the black dragon continued obliterating Builder ships. She knew that the Manifest Blade held an ancient, enormous, terrible power within itself, but she also knew that it was greatly diminished, most of it sealed away, so, for the time being, she foresaw no danger arising from its existence.

[Empire of the Siberian Flaming Eskimos]

-Snip-

Salis smirked as he heard CeeCee's scream of rage, turning towards the side of the building as she leapt forward with her energy constructs outstretch. The sight was truly terrifying, and his smirk faded quickly as he questioned the validity of his plan. Make it work, he thought to himself as she approached almost too fast to see. He quickly concentrated, focusing on two things. First, he encased himself in a portal, the dimensional doorway keeping the deranged woman from hurting him and redirecting her attacks to an area safely outside. Satisfied with this barrier, he started to taunt her once more. "Ah, it's fun to see you struggle," he said, his voice echoing through the portal barrier, "What, you didn't think I would just walk away and let you kill me now did you? No, I've made sure that you can't hurt me for now, and that this place with be your tomb." Inside the barrier, Salis pulled out a standard military detonation switch. "Have fun in hell." With a flick of his thumb a series of explosions sounded from below the building, giving way to series of shrieks and groans as metal grated on metal. The whole building had been rigged to blow, and now it was crumbling on top of them as Salis sat safely behind a portal. He smiled contently as he heard the sounds of the building crumbling. If this didn't kill her, he didn't know what would.

[Siliarba]

Salis smirked as he heard CeeCee's scream of rage, turning towards the side of the building as she leapt forward with her energy constructs outstretch. The sight was truly terrifying, and his smirk faded quickly as he questioned the validity of his plan. Make it work, he thought to himself as she approached almost too fast to see. He quickly concentrated, focusing on two things. First, he encased himself in a portal, the dimensional doorway keeping the deranged woman from hurting him and redirecting her attacks to an area safely outside. Satisfied with this barrier, he started to taunt her once more. "Ah, it's fun to see you struggle," he said, his voice echoing through the portal barrier, "What, you didn't think I would just walk away and let you kill me now did you? No, I've made sure that you can't hurt me for now, and that this place with be your tomb." Inside the barrier, Salis pulled out a standard military detonation switch. "Have fun in hell." With a flick of his thumb a series of explosions sounded from below the building, giving way to series of shrieks and groans as metal grated on metal. The whole building had been rigged to blow, and now it was crumbling on top of them as Salis sat safely behind a portal. He smiled contently as he heard the sounds of the building crumbling. If this didn't kill her, he didn't know what would.

CeeCee

Just before the attack connected the darn coward shielded himself with threats of traps and my end. This guy has no idea what he's facing it seems, not soon after these thoughts the building started blowing up. And now I was sure he was completely underestimating me, my construct arms protected me from the debris and the red aura did the rest by himself. Soon after the construct arms vanished and my rage was actually going down. A child, it felt like I was fighting a damn child, hiding under the blanket to protect itself from the truths in the world. Afraid of change and inside his bubble nothing ever changes so in there he will never see change.

Sighing wile standing in front of the bubble he had created I waited "Come out bubble boy, you're outmatched, give up and you'll keep all your limbs after all." sure the collapsing building had dirtied my uniform, and caused a scratch or two, but nothing more damage than a twig stuck in the wind striking you.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

---

The Eternal Queen watched as Manifest opened his eyes and summoned a pistol, resisting the urge to snort at the futile gesture and simply raising an eyebrow instead, completely aware that such a thing couldn't possibly harm her but not blaming the human for not knowing that. There were, it seemed, plenty of things that he did not know, and she was not certain if it was good or bad that the name of the place where they stood was not one of them. She then watched him stand, listening to all of his questions. She understood why he was confused about his own status, and she also understood why he did not know about her, though even then the arrogance of some of his statements was quite amusing to behold. Either way, his questioning was a sign that analytic thought was still possible for him, which meant that his mind was intact. Indeed, she could feel as his consciousness slowly rose from the darkness. But for now, she figured she could continue talking to him.

Sitting down on an iron throne she willed into existence, the figure of Adrianne finally replied, now more comfortable. "Do I strike you as the type that would hail from Olympus or Asgard, human?" She asked with some amusement. "Because if the answer is yes, then you are mistaken. You need to think of something older. Oh, and bigger." She stated, a light smile being drawn across her feature, before quickly fading back into a stern expression. "As for your other question, however, yes, you are still unconscious. Your attack did quite a number on the Builder armada, and I thank you for that, but it is not enough to deter them, and, frankly, it was reckless of you to knock yourself out like that." She admonished.

---

Both the dragon and the crimson queen on its back paused for just a fraction of a second when they felt the Manifest Blade appear extremely close to them; right on top of her, in fact, if one adopted one perspective, and right beside her, if one went with the other. Her human form frowned, looking at the part of Manifest's uniform where the blade had appeared, but did nothing about it, simply continuing to wait until the human woke up, as the black dragon continued obliterating Builder ships. She knew that the Manifest Blade held an ancient, enormous, terrible power within itself, but she also knew that it was greatly diminished, most of it sealed away, so, for the time being, she foresaw no danger arising from its existence.

As she willed an iron throne into existence, Manifest's eyes grew wide. "You can manipulate my mindscape? How-" He paused, listening to her. He finally realized just how powerful a being he was dealing with. "I- I apologize. I am not well versed in the Universe beyond that which happens to centre around Earth." He was obviously aware of just how little that was, compared to the vastness of space. He paused, watching her carefully, almost analytically. "What are you, then? As for my recklessness- I have never even thought to use such power before. Up until now, I have never even been able to come near the upper limits of my strength. The most I had ever exerted myself had simply made me slightly short of breath. Taking me out? Completely new." His tone, after realizing how powerful she must be, was far more respectful and careful than before, if yet blunt. "What is your name, by the way?" He asked suddenly. "You are already aware of mine, and you find me at the disadvantage there."

The fragmenting of his mindscape's edges began to progress more rapidly... Yet, something else did too. Even as his mindscape disappeared, just ahead of this fragmentation, plates of metal and circuitry began to form over the desert sands of Gran-Soh, transforming it into the world of metal that once haunted the nightmares of Gods. Manifest did not notice.

---

Outside his mind, his body finished repairing his armour. It slowly raised its hand, its arm pointing into the vastness of space. Far beyond the edge of the Builder's war, far beyond the watchful eyes of the Oans or the Watchers, the Throne of the Universe began to flow with power once more. It had been activated, somehow, and called Manifest towards it.

[Jorliefstreiken]

Antibios
Stark Tower

Antibios picked up the withered body of Animal, and before it could regenerate, Threw it out the penthouse window. He walked towards Baron Hydra, killing any who stood in his way. He threw an explosive arrow fired at him straight back at Sniper and threw Nick Fury into a nearby wall when he started doing his weird fighting style around him. Grabbing Baron's shield he ripped it off the severely out matched humans arm. "You know Ultron was right... these things do make really good Frisbees" said Antibios before throwing it off with thor level strength. Watching it fly off into the distance, Antibios decided on the best way to kill Baron. Assuming that he was like captain America, his powers were mostly biological and pointless to AB, unlike the adamantine on Animals skeleton. decisions, decisions.

[Siliarba]

Ysmault

Maria landed on the sand rock that the ring dragged her to. "Where did you take me you piece of shit? There's no one here. Take me home so I can throttle that worthless bastard that crawled out of my womb." She hissed at the ring fueled by her hatred of what Otis did to her. But it had other plans. Like taking her to the portal just over the nearest ridge. "You want me to walk through that? Fine. But you're taking me home after." Maria hissed as she walked through and was surprised by what she found. Some sort of nightclub? What was a nightclub doing in the middle of wherever she was? "Hey! Who runs this joint?! I want answers NOW!"

DeeDee

With Sam running after one of her sisters it seems, it was best to cancel the astral projection and return to the club. With CeeCee away I should keep an eye on things after all.And as soon as the astral projection ended it seems like I was right, there was already a raging person trying to find the owner "Chill crazy person, no violence in my bar!" It was at this point that I noticed the red aura, ring, the entire red deal really "Huh, guess you're here for CeeCee, you're the first to get chosen by her ring collection I guess. Still, you could handle it with being a bit less angry. CeeCee's always angry but she manages to show reasoning and joy wile being angry. She controls her rage, not the other way around. I guess she'll has to teach you that."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

The blonde woman clad in crimson simply chuckled at Manifest's surprise, a bit amused at how quickly he had turned from aloof and inquisitive, to respectful and polite. It was something to be expected, she supposed, but she still welcomed the change in his tone. "I am not quite manipulating your mindscape, Charles. It is far simpler than that. I may be a guest in your mind at the moment, but even here I have the capacity to retain my power. I am not manipulating your mind, but rather exerting my own powers. You could consider this iron throne along with myself as alien objects instead of something that belongs here. To further clarify, I could not, for example, will this mountain of corpses away, though I could destroy it if I set my mind to it. Of course, I have no intention to harm you or this place. We are fighting on the same side, after all." She explained affably, not particularly eager to worry or startle the man who stood in front of her.

"Regardless, your apologies are not necessary, though they are welcome. I understand that humans have to prioritize their concerns, as most creatures do, and I don't blame you for it." She said, nodding as if to reinforce the idea that she did not hold him responsible for any sort of fault. "I am a World-Dragon, one of twelve. We are, in short and using terms you can understand quickly, cosmic architects. We create galaxies and fill them with life when awake, and then, we slumber, though we are still able to interact with the world even while we remain asleep." She informed him. "As you can probably guess by our name, this is not my true form, but that is not too important right now. What's important is that you realize that the power you wield should be handled with extreme care. You have proven to be a level-headed wielder of that power thus far, but bear in mind that it can be very dangerous. Do not let it get to your head." She warned sternly.

Then, she stood up, dismissing the throne and looking around at the circuitry sprouting around the planet, frowning at the sight before looking back up at Manifest. "It seems like we will not be here for much longer, but don't be concerned. We will have plenty of chance to continue talking outside, and I have made sure that your body is perfectly safe." She said. "As for my name... I have plenty of those. My subjects know this form that you see as Adrianne, but that is only a title. My true name..." She smiled. "is Hadrimmelis." She stated. The name of the planet the Venture was sent to protect. Adrianne's smile grew wider. "A pleasure to meet you, Charles Crawler."

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

"You call yourself Oblivion, pretender?!"

Far above the toils of man and those who would call themselves gods, entities of untold power clashed. It is impossible for a mere human to picture a battlefield of infinite dimension and size residing in a single Universe, so it shall be explained as though it were in a mere three dimensions.
A war was being raged, in this space beyond space- A war of Oblivion. You see, no matter which side won- For in the end, one inevitably would- all of existence was doomed. It was the hope of the combatants that he who led them would preserve their forms beyond the life of the present world.

Nothing, Part 3 - Empty Sky

The first to die was Trigon, Father of Sin, falling to the spear of True Oblivion. Opting to allow Trigon to remain in existence as a message, the Children of Trigon and the Sins they embodied humbly approached True Oblivion and ask for alliance. True Oblivion, though he needed no allies, was bemused by the offer, and accepted.

The next to be challenged was the Prince of Darkness- Lucifer of Hell. True Oblivion paid the Prince no heed, and erased him from existence. None remembered the name of the once mighty King of Hell.

With the fall of Trigon and Lucifer, the balance of Light and Darkness in the Universe was torn asunder. To investigate, Master Order and Lord Chaos sent their mightiest agents, including the In-Betweener and Balance. When they suddenly remembered that they had no such agents, they knew that something was wrong, for this was simply impossible. Opting to temporarily ally themselves so as to balance the scales, they were struck down at the hand of True Oblivion.

Lord Chaos and Master Order were dead, and with them, the balance of the Universe was no longer set in stone. Far below, in the realm of the mortals, no longer was the destiny of balance ensured. Their bodies and histories were left intact by True Oblivion as a message.

With the fall of Chaos and Order alike, the pages of the Book of Destiny faded to blank. With this, the Endless, with exception to their sister Death, opted to investigate. When they found True Oblivion waiting for them, the corpses of the Lord of Chaos and the Master of Order, along with Trigon, in front of him, he gave them two choices- Join his crusade against existence, and perhaps be spared, or face him and have never existed at all. Desire and Despair quickly opted to take his side, turning over their sister Delerium as an offering to prove their newfound loyalty. True Oblivion considered them for a moment, then waved his hand above them- Only Desire remained, and the Endless numbered five.

Dream and Destruction attempted to escape, to warn the rest of the cosmic entities of the Universe (and, indeed, the Omniverse) of the rise of this new force. True Oblivion pointed towards their fleeing forms, and the Endless numbered three.

True Oblivion, along with his servants in the form of the Seven Sins and Desire, of the Endless, turned towards Destiny. The pages of his book wiped clean, the path of his future uncertain, Destiny considered for a moment before conjuring a pen. He asked of True Oblivion a single boon in return for his loyalty- The opportunity to record the histories of True Oblivion, no matter the effect of True Oblivion's power.

True Oblivion was no fool- He crushed Destiny 'neath his palm, and the Endless numbered two.

It did not take long for the Sin of Lust and the Endless named Desire to find each other, and so True Oblivion destroyed them both in annoyance. One could not be loyal to the End of all things if it was distracted by such petty things. And so the Sins numbered six, and the Endless numbered one- Death.

It was then that True Oblivion once more turned his eyes downwards. In his momentary struggles with beings of incomprehensible power, each of whom fell to him, he had unwittingly struck down innumerable mortals and mortal paths. It was thus that the might of the mortal Universe had assembled to destroy him.

He waved his palm, and the vast majority never existed. Such simple power, however, was not enough to dispell the host of the Phoenix, the Equations of Existence, or the Celestials of Olde. In the distance as well, Imperiex and Galactus slowly approached him, flanked by the Entities of the Lantern Corps. He sighed, leaned downward, the mere sight of his true form striking not fear- Not hope, nor any other emotion, but rather undeniable emptiness into the hearts of those celestial warriors who opposed him. He destroyed the Celestials, and abolished the Equations, turning towards the host of the Phoenix, but unable to stop the being from fleeing his grasp in time. With the warnings of the Phoenix, his war would soon begin in earnest. He quickly turned, obliterating the Entities with the swipe of his hand, and grasping each of the Eaters in his hands, erasing them from history.

It was then he saw two immortal beings observing him- The last of the Watchers. Blinking, he destroyed one. The other, however, he kept as a novelty- Keeping him close at all times, simply to see what his power did to such creatures over long exposure.

Now, he saw the Cosmic Compass and the Aspects of God approaching him, to destroy him in retribution. The Spectre, the Radiant, Eclipso, Eternity, Infinity, Death, and Oblivion. He smiled broadly, welcoming them into his domain of endings.

The Radiant was the first to fall, killed by his spear from afar. Her brothers, the Spectre and Eclipso, boiled in anger- For though they may disagree, they still considered themselves family and servants of God. Thus, True Oblivion allowed them to each die by the same attack- A spear of emptiness through their very beings. God's Hand had ceased, and only the Living Tribunal remained of His influence.

The Cosmic Compass, including the last of the Endless, Death, approached him with vengeance in their hearts. This was a battle that True Oblivion had known was long coming, and was one he wished to savour- The opportunity to finally depose of the one that called itself Oblivion while not truly embodying the feature.

Naturally, his counterpart was the first to approach him. "You call yourself Oblivion, pretender?!" He raged, attacking True Oblivion. You see, True Oblivion was well aware that he had left what would soon become his greatest foes for last- Death and this false Oblivion were empowered, if against their wills, by his actions. They would become nearly his equals- It would be a challenge to destroy them. Thus, in the first strike of False against True, the shockwave shattered every galaxy that yet remained in the Universe. The Six Sins each were killed in the blast, though the Watcher continued to observe in biblical awe. Those galaxies closest were torn asunder, and the two agreed not to fight directly for now. False Oblivion turned, motioning for the Compass to follow him to gain allies, but watched in astonishment as the last of the Endless, Death, instead turned to join him.

Death smiled at her former brothers. "I go with the wind, and the wind points towards the End." Death, in her vast power, struck out against Infinity and Eternity (who, in truth, were greatly weakened from True Oblivion's exploits), destroying them instantly. "There are only the three of us now, are there not?" She pondered for a moment.

"No. I yet live." The Phoenix's host arrived between the Oblivions. She opted to side with her counterpart in Death, and joined True Oblivion.
"As do we." The Two Strangers arrived, along with Kismet (Lover of Eternity) and the Chaos King. The Phantom Stranger joined with True Oblivion, and the Aspect of the Tribunal joined with the False. Kismet, furious over her lover's death, sided with False Oblivion, and the Chaos King joined with the True.

True Oblivion smiled. "It appears we each have our armies, then."
"Let them fight." False Oblivion smirked, only to gape in horror as the Phantom Stranger was skewered by Death and Kismet was eaten by the Chaos King. In his rage, he destroyed the Chaos King, only to finally be grasped by the cosmic equivalent of his neck by True Oblivion.

"Do you see now- Do you see how you would always fail?" True Oblivion erased his counterpart, finally turning his attention downward. He breathed in, and out, and raised his arms. In this last moment, he summoned forth a vast wave of emptiness, destroying the Universe- And making it so that it never existed at all.

---

Three hours before the End.
"Have the skies always been that dark?" Pinnacle glared upwards at the night sky, obviously perturbed.
"I- I don't know. We have to leave. Now." Equation scowled. "Hurry."
"Of course."
The two re-activated the portal that Trophy had used before, and passed through it, leaving the corpse of the that Universe's Mr. Freeze behind them.
Two hours before the End.
The forces of Atlantis Incarnate finally overtook the last of the surface world's defences, discovering the Universe portal and realizing what it meant. It began the process of determining how many of its nearly innumerable minds would pass through the portal.
One hour before the End.
The Phoenix and Uatu, who had become the Herald of Naught, passed through the portal after Carnage, realizing that their master did not care for them in his vast wave of destruction. The Stranger and Death did not share their foresight.


The End

The world ended as every world inevitably does, for one reason or another- With Earth. All of time and existence had passed, nigh infinite journeys and stories that had been told and had yet to be told, all for naught.

And thus, Naught consumed the world.

At last, there were No More Heroes.

[The Templar High Council]

Kylie: I'm still not wearing pants.

Del smiled slightly at Kylie's response to just being told that people wanted her dead. Then again, HYDRA wanted a lot of people dead and the JQ's were probably on many people's lists. "Don't worry, that's just HYDRA's opinion. I don't follow their orders, at least not anymore." Her voice trailed off at the end, her expression becoming more glum as her lips tugged down into a frown and her eye's softened with regret. She quickly wiped away the subtle tears that were forming though and quickly shook Kylie's hand, trying to hide the moisture with a faked smile. "I'm Del, short for my ID number. I'd rather not go into details on that." As her hand retracted, she finally noticed Kylie's lack of lower garments. "Um, you're not wearing pants. That's not normal, right?" A frown formed on her face as she accessed the internet and confirmed that not having pants on was against social etiquette. "Yup, definitely not normal."

"Good to know." Kylie replied to Del's statement that she didn't think like Hydra. On her lack of clothing, Kylie just snickered at Del's observation. "It's not normal in public maybe. But when I'm alone, what's normal in public just gets so boring. Wear pants, brush your teeth, don't eat most of the pizza before your friends finish their second slice. Eh, I do what I want when I'm alone. Kylie's free-form speech ended with her flopping back on the couch, with her uncovered legs sticking over the top of the couch in Del and Val's direction.

"So what brings you here, Del?" Kylie questioned, not yet turning her attention back to the TV. "Val didn't just up and recruit you, did she?"

[Turmenista]

Ordo: King Kai's Planet

So my son is the only being available to defeat our little problem? As much as I'd want to defeat Oniyo myself, I am no longer in a position to challenge him. But I can play off the boy to destroy him. Regardless, problems for another time.

Of course the Kai's had been discussing a string of problems relating to the revolt in Hell. As surprising as Pikkon's defeat was, it was bound to happen. The warrior had neglected his training so he could be the police man of hell, and his current residence showed how that turned out.

So now they were here planning to solve the problem by bringing in more warriors? Especially one with a connection to a higher up in their group. Despite Hiroshi's current power, which was growing at a worrying rate, Oniyo was his superior, and Dabura was a well crafted speed bump, not much change there.

"Thank you King Kai." He spoke finally, clearing his throat. " But I prefer my informal name, Ordo. It's a phrase I've found to fit me better. In regards to your plan, if I may, I don't believe it the best idea to call in the Otherworld warriors. The Saiyan Hybrid known as Hiroshi's has attained a incredible power, and with some help, could annihilate our little problem now."

The worried expressions he received in turn did nothing to chill his annoyance. These Kai's knew next to nothing about dealing with problems, especially Supreme Kai, who for some reason wanted to dirty his hands with mortal battles.

" I'm not sure." Supreme Kai remarked. " Calling in a living mortal to deal with Otherworld business? Despite how strong he may be, it's unheard of."

Ordo could feel the blood pounding in his ears. This fool was ever mined wasn't he? How did he not see that sending in Otherworld warriors would only end in the same fashion as Pikkon's intervention had. As well, none of the remaining warriors were as strong as Pikkon.

" I assure you Supreme Kai." The lie rolled of his tongue easily, a charming smile filling his features. " Hiroshi Mako will solve our little issue."

" He will need training of course, to gain the boost necessary to easily overcome these beasts." He added. " But I suppose you could take the burden Supreme Kai, you're training will be invaluable to him."

Supreme Kai nodded slowly, sighing deeply as he got bending Ordo's idea. Once here, Hiroshi could attain whatever form he yearned after, and defeat the rebellious cowards rampaging across Heaven.

" I'll contact him." The portly blue deity to his left volunteered, making a grin spread across Ordo's features.

Hiroshi:

Floating silently, Hiroshi grinned slightly when the two woman before him began speaking. If nothing else, it took the focus off of him for a moment. This whole week had been more stressful then he'd admit. His hallucinations and nightly visits by that apparition were becoming worse, and plagued him even more when he trained, his mind taunting his body for nit breaking the barrier.

Oniyo said this form isn't just an emotional barrier, and it can't just be achieved by training. It's more than that, it's a way of... Shit, it's on the tip of my tongue. What am I supposed to see in Ascended Saiyan? Look at my reflection? Feel my power and the barrier for what it truly is.

His finger found his way to his chin, drumming against it rapidly as he floated in thought, his golden hair standing tall in the rough wind cutting through his thin dogi, chilling him to the bone.

" Hello? Hiroshi Mako? The Supreme Kai requests your presence on my planet as soon as possible. We have a task we need you to achieve.

Blinking rapidly, Hiroshi froze in the air.

Um... Can I at least train on this trip? I've hit a wall in my training and need some help.

The deity on the other end coughed slightly , confusing the Saiyan. He was deity? Could deities get sick?

" Sure. That was how we aimed to get you up here. Just don't run out of gas getting here, you have a tough day of training... Haha don't run out of gas."

Rolling his eyes, Hiroshi flared his aura, tendrils of golden energy snapping wildly around him.

" Soooo." He began, c,earring his throat. " Who's up for a training trip?"

"Me! Me! Me!"

So Long as it wasn't anything boring, Myosai was in. She hadn't Really been doing anything productive or fun for the past few days, but, a training trip would fix that likely. She quickly sheathed her sword and floated over to the Saiyan, impatiently waiting as she waited for Glacia's response.

"Can we go, like, now?" She asked. "I need something to do!"

[The Republic of Atria]

"I'm not CRAZY! I'm pissed off!" She replied by shouting at the top of her lungs. How the woman retained her voice was a mystery in and of itself. "This stupid ring told me that I was angry. No shit. I'm angry at my son for throwing me into prison." It was really rehab, but she couldn't make herself look sympathetic. "And I'm going to beat the hell out of him as soon as I figure out how this stupid ring works."

Otis

After downing a few glasses of water in an attempted to soothe his throat, and several quick trips to the restroom later. He was just sitting alone at a table listening as other people went to attempt to sing. He wasn't a profession singer, if he was, he probably wouldn't be where he was. Not that it bothered him. This was free entertainment and it was fun. Unfortunately the fact that he still hadn't made many friends was setting in. It shouldn't be that hard. In theory. So he asked two guys who looked rather normal. One of them had rocks on various parts of his body. The other seemed normal minsu the fact that his skin was blackened like he had been burned. "Mind if sit here?"

"Sure." Inferno replied with Otis sitting on his left side in a backwards chair.

"Thanks. I can tell this is going to be the start of a wonderful friendship."

"What makes you say that?"

"Wait for it..."

Xander and Naja

Both of them had taken just a few days off to recuperate from the Builder War. It could have gone worse to be certain. Not everything that could've gone wrong, did. just most of it. However Xander received a message on his phone. He thought it was just his service provider remind him how much data he had left, but when he checked it, it revealed something much stranger. "Xander. Your immediate assistance is required. Meet on the terraformed section of your planet's moon."-Ronan.

"How did Ronan get my number? Since when do the Kree have cellphones?"

"Ronan? How do I know you're not seeing other girls?" Naja asked, with Xander giving her a look which meant that he clearly missed the joke. "I'm kidding."

"I was gonna say. Yes Naja. I'm cheating on you with Ronan. Come on. Let's go see what he wants." He said warping both of them to the moon where they found Ronan who looked severely battered, but still finding the strength to stand up straight. "You look well."

"Your sarcasm is not why I called you human. We attempted to replicate the serum you used to grant your lover her abilities. We were successful. However, we were too successful. And-"

"Your test subject is either mad with power or insane."

"Allow me to finish. We intended to make it superior to yours. This had the side effect of... Yes. Severely impacting his mental state."

Xander replied with an annoyed sigh. "Y'know. I would have showed you guys how to make it. Under some stipulations of course, but I would have gladly done it. Did it ever occur to you to ask?"

"We thought that you would refuse."

"You thought? Yeah. Don't do that."

[Siliarba]

"I'm not CRAZY! I'm pissed off!" She replied by shouting at the top of her lungs. How the woman retained her voice was a mystery in and of itself. "This stupid ring told me that I was angry. No shit. I'm angry at my son for throwing me into prison." It was really rehab, but she couldn't make herself look sympathetic. "And I'm going to beat the hell out of him as soon as I figure out how this stupid ring works."

DeeDee

"Family issues huh? Whatever, I'm not an expert on those rings, but they can think on their own, if you talk to it, it should talk back, or something like that. So if you want to find out what the ring can do, ask it. Now I suggest you leave this place to go do whatever it is you want to do, there's a portal hub in the basement that can take you to most places most people want to go." Hopefully that was enough to get rid of this weirdo, this place was a powder keg as it was, no point in keeping someone that acted like they were fire hanging around the explosives. The club's hard enough to run when CeeCee's around, mainly because she actually takes care of everything wile I get to drink and have fun. But with her gone for god knows how long it's hard to keep the club together when all you want is to goof off and steal girls shirts.

[Tomia]

Roy
Roy smiled a bit at Hannah. She was really nice and he was glad that she still wanted to hang out with him. He didn't really ever have any friends his own age. His adopted father had told him that friends made you weak. He didn't care what he thought anymore though, so Roy was free to do what he wanted. He looked over the map when Hannah asked what ride could top that one. He saw one that seemed like she'd really enjoy. "Well, there's something called the tower of terror, do you want to try that?" He asked, just then a girl who looked a but like Hannah, but older came rushing over to them. "Hannah! I'm sorry I left you longer than I expected. I didn't mean to ditch you sis." The girl said with a apologetic tone. She then saw that Hannah was with Roy and then looked over him curiously which made Roy feel a little uncomfortable. The girl was quite beautiful, but was older and a but intimidating for Roy. She then turned back to Hannah, "Who's this Hannah?" She asked with what seemed like a curious tone.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Rain of the Dark Queen, Part 3: The First Son of the Rain
Co-Written with Charmera

Ihra frowned, hearing an unfamiliar voice. At first she thought it might be Father Sky, come to answer her questions, but she didn't recognise that voice as the voice of her father. She paused, and then turned around. Part of her also expected another threat, or an executioner minion sent by the Black Queen. But the tone of the voice didn't seem to indicate that. She frowned, blinking as she looked at the figure before her, now in full view.

"Who... are you?" She asked. "And how do you know my name?"

"I have my ways." The voice replied simply, before a crunching noise was heard.

When Ihra turned around, she would notice a boy standing there, with a cookie in his mouth. He looked younger than her, much like the Black Queen, but unlike her, he was not hostile in the least, instead looking at the redhead with a mixture of concern and childish curiosity. He had blond hair that might remind Ihra of her younger sister, Etla, and though he was clad in clothes that looked fairly Earth-like (if a wee bit old-fashioned), his eyes, green like emerald orbs and unnaturally bright, betrayed his true nature, revealing that he, like Etla and Ihra and the rest of the scions of Father Sky, was a Rainborn, a child of the Skyworld.

"And I'm sorta your big brother." He said, taking the cookie out of his mouth.

Another rainborn? Here? How? Suddenly Ihra was reminded of the Bone Core. Father Sky had spoken to her of how the Core came to be, and had mentioned his firstborn. She wasn't sure why. She groaned as she got up, sitting now in her jail. "Okay..." she replied. 'I... don't recognise you though. I know most of my brothers and sisters... But you're definitely..." She remarked. Then it hit her. "Youre... Ocra!" She remembered the words her father had spoke to her. Of the one who had met with the Star Whales and the reason she had the Bone Core. "You're Ocra. You met with the Star Whales didn't you?" She guessed, part intuition. Then she paused. "Wait. Why are you here then? I don't understand..."

The other Rainborn, who had been patiently eating as he watched Ihra's various reactions to his arrival, smiled widely when the redhead finally caught on. "Yep, Ocra's my name, befriending Star Whales is my game!" He said with a grin, though it faded quickly, replaced by a sheepish look to the side as he scratched a little under his eye. "Or at least, it used to be, before they went extinct a few million years ago." He said thoughtfully, before chuckling a bit. "Anyway!" He continued, sitting down next to Ihra and smiling at her. "I'm your older brother, like I said, even if I don't look like it. You're pretty cute, but I didn't expect you to look like five years older than me, speaking in human terms. Father Sky really doesn't plan these things ahead. So! Since you're my little sister, I figured you could use a bit of help. You look like you're in a bit of trouble right now, after all. I didn't see what happened, but I'd say it's pretty obvious that you're not doing well, unless you can somehow convince me that your current housing situation is a desired product of your own actions." Ocra said, gesturing at the dark jail they were both sitting in. "So, yeah, help. You look like you need it, I could possibly give you some. What do you say? Want to trust your lost older brother?" He asked. "Just tell me what happened here, and I'll see what I can do."

Ihra smiled when he noted their connection and mentioned Father Sky. She didn't really doubt his story even when he first spoke, but it comforted her that he used such words. It made her trust more in him. Her smile faded, however, when she was asked about how she got in this dark jail cell. She paused then sighed. She recounted the tale from the begining, speaking of how she came here with Etla and how she had met the people of the village and cured them. She mentioned the Black Queen's arrival, and then how she had challenged her. Then how she had been beaten and how the village may very well be doomed by her failure.

"I failed them." She added morosely. "I probably deserve to be here..." But for a moment she broke out of self pity and her determination to help flared up. "But... Someone needs to help these people. So if you're able to help, I think I can trust you." She spoke. The question was whether she could trust herself.

"Of course you can trust me. I'm your big brother!" Ocra stated, standing up and placing his hands on his waist, striking a pose triumphantly. He was, amusingly, shorter than Ihra, but at the moment that didn't seem to matter, and the point was that he was more than willing to help Ihra. After everything she had said, and the way she talked and acted while telling him the story, he sincerely would not have blamed her for crying, but the girl's mental fortitude did not seem to crack that much, something he found admirable, along with the way she had fought so hard, and against seemingly impossible odds, for the sake of a people she had never seen before. That was a type of courage that not many had, a type of courage that the universe needed more of. And he would not let it die in a black cell.

"...But I have to think of how, exactly." He said, promptly sitting down again, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees as he rested his head on his fists. He stayed like that for a moment, closing his eyes, until an idea came to him. "Oh! I think I know what I can do to help you. There is an artifact that once belonged to me, a powerful item. You won't be able to use it as a Core, but it should help you nonetheless; you and all the other kids in the Skyworld already know how to use one of those, anyways. Me, though, I prefer scythes. I've always preferred scythes" He said as he casually stood up and pointed a finger at the bars on the hanging cell. With a sudden movement, he moved his finger to the opposite end of the cell's wall. A tiny line seemed to appear in the air where his finger had traced it, only to disappear after a moment. He did this another time, and only then it became obvious what he had done: he had severed the bars, somehow, and as they fell off, he turned back to Ihra. "Unfortunately, I sealed it somewhere safe so that nobody would go ahead and take it without my permission, so there's a bunch of stuff that you'll have to get past in order to find the artifact." He said.

Then, he promptly jumped down from the cell. Below, none of the villagers seemed to notice him at all, instead looking in confusion at the cell where the Black Queen had put Ihra, wondering why the bars had suddenly fallen off, and whether or not it was Ihra that had done it. Ocra, however, didn't seem fazed by this at all, and instead simply turned around after dusting himself off and waved up at Ihra, gesturing for her to come down as well.

"So! What do you say?" He shouted up at her, though nobody else seemed to hear him. "Are you up for it?"

Ihra paused, then jumped down, hitting the ground with a thud. Even if she didn't want to save the village, she was now more than a little intrigued. She wanted to find out more about this relic of which he spoke. Besides that, she had a duty to the village. And she needed to do this. It simply was something that had to be done, and she couldn't think of a single reason it shouldn't. Perhaps she wasn't worthy, but it seemed like no one else was going to step up (There was Ocra, but he seemed unable somehow. Ihra began to doubt his tangibility).

"But first, I need to find someone." She remarked to what must have seemed like thin air had any of the villagers been there. She ran towards the makeshift hospital and, opening the door, she saw Aura, still awake and by the door.

"I-I was watching you through the window." She paused. "Are... Are you going to defeat the Queen?"

Ihra smiled. "I'm going to try. I'm going to try and save your sister too." She remarked. "I have a friend who says that there might be a way. "

Aura frowned skeptically, but then nodded. "I want to come with you."

Ihra paused. 'But it's not sa-"

"It's my sister." She spoke, then folded her arms. "Either I'm going with you, or by myself."

Ihra sighed. "You're even more stubborn than Etla." She remarked. "Fine. You can come. But don't get hurt."

"Yay!" Shouted Aura. Both of them walked out of the village. Much to to confusion of everyone.

Ihra turned to Ocra while they traveled. "Right then, Where do we go?" She asked.

"Well I should probably have pointed out that it is not a place we can physically reach while stuck on this planet before you started inviting people, but it slipped my mind. Whoops." Ocra said with a playful grin on his face, making it clear that he had every intention to poke at Ihra with his sarcasm, though he was just being childish and did so without malice. "The place is in another planet, far away from this... from whatever this place is called. It's a temple on the moon of a planet called Ravaa. I figured that even if anyone tried to claim the artifact, if I put it on the moon, whatever stupid was trying would simply waste time looking around on the planet." He said, giving Ihra a thumbs up, before looking over at Aura, who was very confused at the redhead as she saw her talking with herself.

"Anyway, you think it was a good idea to bring her along?" The blond Rainborn said, pointing at Aura, who was completely and entirely oblivious to his presence, though she was beginning to suspect that there was something else there with her and Ihra, what with the way the younger of the two Rainborn acted. "I mean, I was hoping I wouldn't have to be seen by anyone other than you. It takes a bit of energy to manifest so far away from where I am, and I don't have a lot of that, plus I can't really move." He explained. "I won't object if you really want to bring her, but at least prepare her. A handsome boy appearing so close by might scare her off." He grinned once again.

“How forgetful of you.” Ihra deadpanned in a way which would make people unsure if she too was being sarcastic or if she was being serious. “Well she said she’s either going to come with me to help or she’s going to try and rescue her sister herself. So honestly I don’t have much of a choice.” She remarked, sighing. “Plus she’s a telepath, so that could be useful, since my own telepathic abilities are being blocked.” She explained, then paused. “Wait… different planet… how are we getting there?"

“Ihra? Who are you talking to?” Aura paused. “Is it your sister?” She asked. “You know you don’t need to speak out loud when saying things telepathically. It’s really annoying.”

Ihra paused. “Don’t be alarmed, but I’m talking to someone you can’t see or touch. Someone else like me.” She paused, then spoke. “Alright, manfesting for Aura might be a good idea. I don’t want her giving me strange looks the whole time.”

Ocra simply shrugged. "Alright." He said. "But don't blame me if she gets distracted." Then, he snapped his fingers, and just like that, he was visible to Aura as well, waving at the girl with a smile on his face. "Hello, Aura. I'm Ihra's big brother." He explained, well aware of the fact that, to any member of a race that aged normally, it would likely look the other way around. "It's always a pleasure to meet cute girls such as yourself." He winked at her, before turning back to Ihra. "Anyways! You asked me how we're going to reach another planet, so, I take it you can't fly or teleport?" The boy asked his sister. "Although, flying would still be far too slow to head over there and back in time to stop the Black Queen, depending on how fast it is, since you said it'll be three days before she returns to get the crystals."

"Oh." Remarked Aura. She opened her mouth as if to speak, and then closed it. "Wow." She decided to say. "You did not lie one bit Ihra Rainborn..." She remarked, blushing slightly. She then paused. "Wait... If he's your big brother-"

"Long story." Ihra said simply. Aura frowned, disapointed with the non answer. Ihra turned to Ocra.

"Well, I could fly with my Density Core, but... not nearly fast enough." She remarked, then ruffled her hair nervously. "In fact, if Etla was here she probably could have done that. And dealt with the Black Queen in a millisecond." She paused. "But... I'm guessing you have a way to get to this place anyway? Right?"

Ocra nodded. "Alright, first of all, stop saying 'Etla this, Etla that', it's annoying and a little bit pathetic. There's a whole host of things you can do that she can't do and vice-versa, sure, but beating yourself up over having the wrong aptitudes isn't going to help anyone." He chided his sister, his voice completely neutral devoid of any malice and of any intention to belittle Ihra, as if he were simply stating a fact. "Next, yes, I do have a way to get us there. I was hoping I would not have to use it, because it takes some energy, but I can do it if there is no other way. Just brace yourselves, because it's going to be a short but rocky ride." He said, and paused, before looking at Aura. "You can hold onto me if you want." He suggested casually.

“Sorry…” Ihra replied. Ocra was right. But… it was hard for Ihra to trust in herself. Despite that, she also knew when to take responsibility for what needed to be done. No one else was about to step up and do this… Still didn’t mean she was in any way the person for the job. But then again she was the only person period. Ocra was about as tangible as Casper the friendly ghost and Aura had her whole pacifism thing.

Then, he started tracing strange figures all around himself and the two girls with his index finger, a silver line trailing all of his finger's movements, leaving the traces suspended in the air. By the time he was finished, which only took several seconds, he, Aura and Ihra stood in the middle of a bizarre silver totem.

After a moment, reality seemed to break down in front of everyone's noses, falling apart as if they were strips of paper that were cut down in the places where Ocra's finger had traced lines, the fragments of their previous location falling into the void, soon disappearing. The two Rainborn and the girl from Utan III were likewise falling in the middle of an ineffable abyss that was revolting to be inside; or at least, revolting for the two girls. The first Rainborn, it seemed, had been there plenty of times already, and did not have any trouble with the environment. He waited for several seconds before finally tracing another line in front of him, which suddenly burst open, blinding him and the girls with light. They were all sucked in through the luminous fissure, which closed itself behind them.

When they opened their eyes once again, they found that they were standing perfectly still in the middle of an unfamiliar landscape. Whereas Utan III was an icy world with the occasional forest, the place they were in now was far different, and most curious. The sky above seemed quite distinct, giving the impression that they had arrived during the night, but after a moment's reflection one could see that there was, in fact, no sky, only the vast starlit void of space. The ground was rocky and colorful, and gravity seemed to be a tad lower than on Aura's world, but still close enough to allow her and the two Rainborn to navigate that empty moon comfortably. They were at the foot of a mountain, with what appeared to be a structure on top of it. Ordinarily, the climb required would be daunting, if one ignored that both Ihra and Aura were able to fly, but either way, such a thing was irrelevant, as the gravity made it fairly simple for one to jump from one ledge to the other with ease.

During the whole bizzare abyss of a transportation method. Aura was absolutely terrified, being a little kid after all. She moved to Ihra, wrapping her arms around the other girl, hiding her face. Ihra hugged her, shielding her from the frightening sights. Then there was the blinding light, one which made Ihra blink, her eyes overloaded temporarily before she focused in on her current environment, She blinked. The change of scenery was almost as surreal as how they got there. Ihra let Aura go, who nodded at her in thanks. She was about to leap up the entire hill with one bound using her Density Core when she was interrupted.

"Here we are. Now we just get to the top and we can start. Oh, and before I forget, you can't use any Cores inside the temple. You'll have to get through the trials without them." He stated. "So, let's go!" He then jumped and pulled himself up effortlessly over a nearby ledge, before looking back at Ihra and Aura. "By the way, Aura, what's your people called? I'm curious. I know other species with scales and all that stuff, but not yours." He said, before turning to the mountain and scanning around for another ledge to grab.

Ihra frowned at the fact that Cores couldn’t be used. “That’s strange. Is that part of the defence mechanism? Seems oddly specific.” She remarked while swapping out her Cores. She slowed down for the sake of her company, hopping several ledges at a time with her ultra light body.

Aura also reponded. “Sis told me we used to be called the Ural Raiders before we settled down and devoted our lived to peace. Now we’re just the Ural’s.” She explained. “And sometimes Elder Joria calls us a long word, an Atonymos Coolecttive? Something like that…"

"Autonomous Collective, maybe?" The first Rainborn offered as they continued climbing up the mountain, pausing to wonder. "Urals... now there's a name I haven't heard, and I've heard lots of names in my life." He commented idly, before leaping over to the next ledge, reaching it with ease, before glancing over at Ihra, to make sure she was still within earshot.

Aura nodded, then frowned as she simply floated upwards. “I don’t even know what those words mean…” She muttered shaking her head. “I’m not really surprised you don’t know us.” She stated, to which Ocra responded with a nod and a shrug. Meanwhile, Ihra was hopping after Ocra.

"Anyway, part of the defence mechanism, yes, something like that at any rate. The temple is designed to be accessed only when a Rainborn opens its gates, but in the process, it suppresses any abilities granted by objects used as Power Cores. So, even if you walked in with one of your Cores, you wouldn't be able to harness its power. You'll still have your natural abilities, so you should be able to succeed either way." He explained as he continued to leap from one ledge to the other with quite remarkable agility, oblivious to the fact that Ihra had never been able to use the Will of the Rainborn and unaware of the shame that this had brought her. "Of course, I am exempt from such a mechanism, as I'm the one who created it and not entirely corporeal to begin with, and as long as you open the gates of the temple and keep them open for a moment, little Aura here should have no problem entering as well." He stated.

"So," He continued the conversation as he jumped past half the mountain's height, now rather close to the summit where the temple's entrance was. "This Black Queen, is this the first time you meet someone like her? Do you know anything we could use against her, beyond what you told me already about the landscape bubble thing and the dark army?" The first Rainborn asked, wondering if the artifact they were here to fetch would be appropiate for the task.

Ihra paused. “About that…” She started, but then shook her head. “Never mind.” She didn’t want to tell her big brother that she had never been able to use her will. It seemed… shameful to admit it. And contributed to her overall patheticness that she seemed to have. Still, perhaps she wouldn’t need it at all… Then she shook her head at his question.

“Will I be able to use my natural powers?” Asked Aura as they all reached the top. While Aura asked Ocra, Ihra walked up to the entrance, putting a hand on the gate and pushing forward.

"Sure thing, Aura. You'll be able to use your powers just fine, but it would be unadvisable to interfere directly with the trial Ihra's going to have to face to get the artifact I hid in here. They're trials for one person and some of the stuff I put in there might react badly if you try to barge in and help her." Ocra explained to the young Ural, before smiling at her. "You can still cheer her on, but she's going to have to overcome this trial alone." He said to her, before walking next to Ihra as the gates of the temple opened. The structure seemed somewhat faded, the erosion causing it to blend in quite well with the mountain that surrounded it, though it was clear that the temple was still perfectly capabe of protecting whatever was inside of it. Descending into the darkness, which was warded off only by the occasional light coming from holes in the walls, which were filled with frozen embers, were large stairs of stone. Ocra began heading down said stairs with little concern, followed by Aura, but Ihra stopped for a moment, feeling how the powers of her Core were suppressed by the power of the temple. It was an unsettling feeling, to say the least, as it made one feel like a part of them was cut off, but she steeled herself and pushed on nonetheless, following her brother.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the trio arrived at a large chamber, though large was a gross understatement. The place was quite simply enormous, far larger than any other chamber Ihra or Aura had ever seen. Stretching out before them were sixty-four enormous, square segments of the ground, each one large as a football field, all of them made of either black or white marble and laid out in such pattern that no single square of any color was directly adjacent to another of the same color. In each of said marble floors, at the very middle, there was a tiny slot.
In addition to the marble squares, there were also several golems of different shapes. There were two large groups, each set up at opposite sides of the large field, one black and the other white. All of the golems belonged to one of five types. The first type was the most numerous, as there were 8 in each group, and the smallest. They dominated the front row of both groups. The next three types came in pairs of twos, with the first pair being in the corners, and the next two being in the spaces adjacent to the corners, with the last two being adjacent to them at the same time. These all looked stronger than the previous ones. The last two were the most peculiar of the lot: one was tall and regal, while the other was only slightly smaller, but leaner and deadlier-looking. They were in the very center of the back row of both groups.

"Have you ever played chess, Ihra?" Ocra asked, smiling as he walked up to the back row. "If you haven't, then there's basic instructions in one of the walls behind you. But I'll explain the more complicated stuff anyway, just to make sure you understand." He stated, before clearing his throat.

"Alright, so, first of all, though all the regular rules of chess apply, there are a few special ones. First of all, though the enemy pieces will move by themselves, you will have to order yours around. How to do this is pretty simple." He said as he walked, stopping next to the central slot of one of the white marble squares. "You have to insert your sword into this thing here for a moment and then take it back. That'll tell the game that you intend to move this piece. Next, you have to head over to the square where you want to move the piece, but, and this is important, you have to use the exact same path that you intend to have your piece use. Don't cheat about that. Seriously. It won't be pretty." He stated, before looking around, as if he'd gotten distracted from where he was going with the explanation, before reacquiring his trail and continuing. "Anyway, whenever you intend to have one of your pieces eat an enemy piece, you'll have to fight said piece first. Here's where your fighting skills come in, and here's where the restriction applies, since you have to defeat each piece without the assistance of your Cores, with just your sword, your armor and your wits. Also, if an enemy piece tries to eat one of your own, you can fight to protect it as well, by striking the slot of the threatened piece. Or, you can let the piece be destroyed if you think it's better for you to sacrifice it." He continued. "If you lose while attacking, then nothing happens and you'll lose your turn- that's assuming you can still stand up after losing the fight. If you win while defending, on the other hand, then the enemy loses the turn."

After he was done explaining, he stopped pacing and walked back next to Ihra. "The rest is pretty much the same; the goal is to put the king into a checkmate." He said, before placing his ethereal hand on her shoulder. She wouldn't feel it, of course, but it was a gesture he felt that he should do nonetheless. "Now then, whenever you're ready, head into the field." The first Rainborn said. "You can do it, little sister. I know you can."

Ihra paused, and then nodded. During the free time she had, she had once learned the rules to the game and had met someone who gave her some advice and helped her learn how to play. She never got to finish her training before he mysteriously disappeared. In fact it reminded her of one of those movies she once saw. Something about a little green man training someone to beat his father? Where his training went incomplete. She now understood that could be quite the burden. Her 'Tutor' was saying she had much to learn. She wondered whether or not she was good at the game.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Rain of the Dark Queen, Part 4: Knight of the Rainbow
Co-Written with Charmera

Ihra looked over to Ocra. "I..." She paused. He believed in her. He genuinely did. She steeled herself. Grabbing her blade from the Cloud, she moved forward. She summoned her armour, nodding. "Alright. Let's do this." She spoke. She walked towards the board, first towards a group of her pawns. Unlike the other pieces, they were in groups of eight themselves within the squares, aparantly supposed to represent a single pawn. Each of them stood at roughly her height, and they all seemed humanoid. They were quite lanky, and seemed to be in a somewhat disorganized and ragtag formation. Their faces were half covered by helmets; they were made of some sort of white marble, made to look like real faces but with more hardness to them, while their suits were a little more grey. Each of them held a spear about twice the size of their body. When they saw Ihra they stopped their reclinging, looking at her with a sudden curiosity. But they didn't immediately stiffen up out of respect, doubting her ability as a commander. They seemed strangely individual, almost human, so Ihra decided to speak. One of them seemed to have a banner on his spear, though it was drooping.

"Hello." She spoke. "My name is Ihra."

They did not respond in speech, but all of them seemed to acknowledge her words.

---

"Do you really think she can do it Ocra?" Asked Aura, doubt and... something else in her voice. Hope perhaps.

"Also... what's up with the pieces... they seem... almost alive..."

---

Ihra walked to the center of her pawns' square, stabbing her sword into the slot and then taking it out. Her blade suddenly glowed blue with power and the pawns made some attempt to stand, stiffening ever so slightly as they saw the weapon glow. The banner which had drooped in the lack of wind in the chamber suddenly flapped as if there was a breeze supporting. A Horn blew across the army, and a light began to illuminate the square on which the piece was. She moved forward at a brisk marching pace. At first the pieces didn't follow her, but then they reluctantly walked towards her, marching forward. As they went across new squares, they illuminated too. Until finally she had moved two squares forward, a valid starting move for a pawn, which left her the ability to move her queen and her bishop out soon.

Now she got a good look at her opponents pawns. They two were similar, but opal black. Their armour seemed to shimmer, the glowing of her sword and the light in the chamber reflecting of their chrome smooth surface. Unlike her pawns, they also seemed more organised, their backs straight and in perfect formation. The air of a disciplined, unified and undefeated army. As her pawn moved forward, suddenly her opponents moved theirs. The black two by four ranks moving forward as one force. Unified, unlike the irregular spearmen of her force. The pawns moved in such a way as to threaten her own pawns, making her frown.

Ihra moved another group of equally reluctant spearmen forward one space to support her threatened pawns. She got the feeling that once, both armies were equally proud, but after so many defeats, the white army had lost it's will. Ihra was determined to return their will to them. Though before she could think much about that, the square on which her first moved pawn turned red. And her eyes widened.

"Huh..." She muttered. She had positioned the pawns to make it so that by taking the original group one would be open to being taken as well, but it seemed the black army wished to test her resolve.

---

"That would be because they're alive, Aura." Ocra explained to the young Ural girl as he watched the match. "They're ancient spirits of war. I gave them bodies and a way to continue their millenary game, and in turn, they guard this temple and the artifact I put here." He explained. "I spent quite a bit of time setting all of this up, to be honest. Sometimes I wondered what the hell I was doing, but I always told myself that, if nothing else, it'd be interesting to look at someone play this thing." He smiled.

---

Ihra frowned, and then walked up to the threatened piece, placing her sword in the slot and her hand tightened on her blade. She saw the organised pawns move to surround her once she reached their plate, but she noted for all their discipline and organisation, they looked rather fragile, almost as if made out of porcelain. The first one attacked her, and she managed to block the attack and kick forward, surprised when such a move simply broke the pawn. She was nearly skewered by another, but she managed to shatter its hands with a kick to his spear, cutting it in twain with a follow up. She cried out as a spear strike grazed her and she had to dodge another. She saw they were weak, yet dangerous when they ganged up on her. She tore one of the spears from their hands and used it to break the pawn she took it from, then smashed another with a spear stab to the head. Next she threw it at the third last remaining pawn. The last two thought it would be smart to gang up on her, but found they too had their heads cut off.

She sighed, now proceeding with her next turn. She walked over to the knight on her right flank.

As she came towards him, she saw an armoured, helmeted figure with his back turned to her. His build was unrealistically stocky and tall, enough that enough Thor or Superman would be jealous. Though his strength was likely not equal with those heroes, he still seemed to radiate an amount of power. He also had quite a handsome and dashing face which almost seemed to come out of some sort of Hollywood movie. He was standing next to a white steed, stroking it's mane which somehow manaed to part and wave with his motions. The work put into him and the horse was imaculate, every detail of his armour a piece of art within itself.

"Hello." Spoke Ihra once again.

---

"As for Ihra, of course she can do it, Aura. She's my sister. She's a Rainborn. She can do anything, if her wish is strong enough."

---

The knight turned, and nodded after a short pause where he examined her, getting up onto his horse with some wearyiness. The Horse moved it's mouth, but made no sound. His lifelike trotting was almost sureal in it's beauty. The Knight got up, and then turned his head expectantly at the Rainborn. Ihra was too busy oogling the knight with her eyes.

"Oh! Right!" She spoke, stabbing the slot and moving the knight forward and then taking a sharp turn.

Ihra sighed. "I wish there was a quicker way around this battlefield." Walking was starting to get tedious.

The knight seemed to pause for a moment, and then whistled. Suddenly a horse piece came from some unknown place and trotted up to the girl. It came up next to her and waited. She smiled and got up on it. She looked over to the knight and smiled. And the knight smiled back, nodding.

A few moves later revealed the black player was now taking this more seriously, careful not to let Ihra take any more pawns, though she managed to kill a few off anyway. But he ended up threatening one of hers with a knight. The black piece dismounted, and then the square with her pawns turned red. Once again she stood up to defend her pawns, and once again she moved into the black knight's square. Like the pawns he was a mirror image of the white knight, but seemed to have a perpetual frown of cocky disdain. Once Ihra was in position, he drew his blade. A greatsword, the massive blade held in his hands, he did not wait for Ihra's first strike, putting pressure immediately he swung his blade downwards. Ihra grunted as she parried, his strength great as he assaulted. But with all Ihra's strength she headbut forward, forcing the knight back. Ihra rubbed her head, it had hurt her too, but she needed to space. Not spending too long on the recovery, the knight resumed his assault with renewed fervor, swinging his blade down again. Ihra dodged it, but was unabled to dodge a grappling move when the knight slammed her forward, hitting her against the edge of the square. She seemed to be unable to be pushed out of it, an invisible force-field keeping her from doing so. The knight used this to his advantage, slamming her face against the wall again and again. Ihra groaned after a few hits, sliding down the unseeable wall. The Knight seemed to soundlessly laugh with derision as he prepared to deliver the final blow.

Ihra gripped her sword tightly and then suddenly rolled to the side of the knights swing. She slashed forward suddenly, the knight was stunned as he found his top half seperated from his bottom. And then he crumbled into dust. Ihra sighed, and then looked behind her. Then in front of her. She looked at all the spears, sword and other weapons arrayed against her. She looked back to see her own army. A small smile crossed her features as she saw her pawns silently cheering and clapping. They were enthused, filled with hope. She saw another silent nod from the white knight.

---

Aura paused and then frowned slightly in the confused, yet cute way some kids can. "So, they're... dead?" She asked. "That sounds like the kinds of stories my parents told me..." She remarked. Then another pause. "But... if she can do anything, why didn't she win against the Black Queen and save our village?" She asked, seemingly not understanding what the spirit boy had said. "Also, are you dead too? Is that why you float around like some sort of spooky ghost." She asked.

---

Ihra had been busy. She was starting to go back on the offensive, putting pressure on her opponent. It had been a tense few moves of maneuvers, counter-maneuvers and threatening pieces with other pieces, but there was a lull in actual battles. The black player was trying to buy time, patiently waiting for her to make a mistake which he could exploit. So far he had not done much with his bishops or his queen, but his rooks were making Ihra's life much harder. They seemed to make too many moves unsafe. Suddenly the Rainborn smiled as she saw an opportunity. She rode towards her own rook on her white steed, seeing the black player had made a fatal error.

The white rook was huge, taking up a lot of the space on the large square. He was a colossus, quite squat but very, very tall as Ihra barely measured up to his shins on his thick, thick legs. Ihra had to bend upwards to see a tiny head at the top of the behemoth. The huge being looked towards Ihra, his movements slow, yet full of power. He had a massive hammer resting on his shoulder, held in one hand. The golem reached down, bending onto one knee so he could see Ihra better. She could tell his eyesight wasn't great.

The Rainborn wasn't too indimidated, simply smiling and saying "Hello." as she had with the other pieces. It seemed like no one else who tried to play this game bothered to give these guys the time of day. She felt it made them happy to recognise them.

Ihra stabbed the slot and led the rook forward, his thumping causing the black rook to turn to face Ihra and her rook. The black hulking golem looked pretty much the same as the golem on her side, except it seemed to be more jadged and dangerous. Instead of a hammer he had a massive executioner's axe. Ihra stayed on her horse this time, trotting in front of the square with the golem. Then she dismounted, her feet on the square turning it red, and causing the Rook to ready his blade. Ihra turned to see her white steed back off to allow her to fight.

Ihra felt her life flash before her eyes as suddenly a black blade slammed down next to her, her reflexes saving her from death as she saw her red haired reflection in the darkness of the crystalline axe. Ihra showed fear for the first time since the game had began, seeing the massive rook. How was she going to hurt it at all? It was so big...

She reached out to touch the invisible barrier. No way out. She had to fight, so she steeled herself. Seeing her foe was still trying to take his axe out of the ground she hopped onto it and ran up towards the massive rook along the weapon and onto the rook's arms. She ended her charge with a sharp slice downwards onto his head. He groaned as it cracked ever so slightly. Then he shook her off.

Ihra was falling, but she managed to stab her blade into the thing's body. It didn't seem to notice her not so gently flop to the floor after pulling the sword out. It seemed headshots were the way to go.

Ihra ran around to the other side of the being, suddenly sheathing her blade and climbing up the beast, ledge to ledge like some sort of cliff. She was about to reach the top when she was almost shaken down. But she kept going climbing until she got to the top, having to carefully balance since the rook was shaking like a bull. She reached the head and realised as soon as she started stabbing he would notice her and squash her. So she needed to do this in one shot. For that she needed force.

She leaped into the air, her body coming down just in front of the being as she suddenly slammed her blade downwards in a stabbing motion onto a crack she had made on the top of his head. The tiny head shattered.

And then the arms, and then the body, and then the legs, and then the feet. Even the weapon cracked and shattered.

---

"They're not dead, since they were never alive to begin with; not in the sense you understand, at least." The short Rainborn replied to the young Ural. "They had always been spirits, belonging to the world whose moon we are on right now. Since they were spirits, though, they had to use the living beings below to wage war at each other in symbolic battles that caused plenty of death, but never the destruction of either faction, which meant that the cycle never came to an end; I should point out here that it is not reasonable to blame them for any of that, as those spirits were simply doing what was coded in their nature. The universe works in strange ways most of the time."

---

The rook was destroyed, and so she fell down to the black sqaure, grunting as she hit the ground. She laughed. She had done it. She continued laughing and cheered. Then coughed. "Eck. Better get back to the rest of the battle." She said to herself.

She looked at the field around her. She was the closest she had ever been to the enemy lines. And she could see the king. A black figure which had no armour or weapons, upon a throne which seemed to be on wheels. The man himself seemed to be rather young and thin, his throne at a table on which there was a glass. He had a look of royal neutrality to him. They locked eyes for a moment, the black king frowning ever so slightly. With a dismissive and imperious point he moved his bishop to threaten her king, the first check of the game.

Ihra retreated with her horse. She would not confront him now, and did not wish to break the rules. So she needed to move out of check. She came back to see her king, on a similar contraption. But... instead of a fully grown man she saw a boy, barely a teenager. He smiled at her, rather than the other way around for once, and said. "Hello."

Ihra paused, taken aback. She walked up to his throne. 'You guys can speak?"

The king smiled softly. "Just me, the bishops and the queen. Though the bishops aren't really... all there anymore. All they do is gibber nonsense." He sighed. "Anyway, you've been doing a pretty darn good job. You're managing to annoy Friederitz, which is always good."

"I guess... I mean I was just doing what made sense..." She replied humbly.

"Most people don't get this far you know. I think I remember.... three? Or was it four? Maybe twelve? Anyway, you're doing great."

Ihra smiled. "Thanks. Umm..." She paused. "I need to move you."

"Right! Well then don't let my rambling stop you. I may look like a mere boy, but I'm pretty old." He explained.

"That... makes sense." She paused. Stabbing the sword. 'What's it like being a chess piece?"

The king shrugged. "Well we mostly just move around. It's the black pieces that get all the action." he commeted, following Ihra. "It's pretty disheartening, losing so many times..."

"Well. I'm here to try and change that."

The king smiled. 'Well, good luck with that. I can't really give you any advice or anything..."

Ihra smiled. 'Um... Thanks anyway." She spoke. The King smiled in response and she got back to fighting. Namely, that bishop was starting to get on her nerves...

---

"When I came, I offered them a way to continue their game, like I said earlier, without causing more havoc down below, and they accepted. It was a favor for a favor, you could say." He stated as he observed Ihra speak with the white king.

---

The fight with the bishop was not nearly as exciting as the others. The black coloured statue was rather tall yet thin, and tended to stab her with his legs and cast black fire. And the king was right, he seemed to spout nothing but utter rubbish. "The fire to cleanse the soul." and whatnot. It irritated Ihra, but soon she cut him down to size, whacking his legs with her sword until he was about her height, and then sliced his head right off.

Ihra, after the fight, groaned as she once again noticed that something else was threatening her king. She sighed as she noticed that the white knight was in prime position to protect her king. So she walked over to him. He smiled at her. She knew it was the same knight. The other was different. This one she quite liked.

She placed the knight in front of the king, smiling. The black king would never take him, since she'd be taken by the king afterwards.

There was a pause. As if the black king was thinking. Then much to Ihra's horror, all of a sudden the black queen screeched forward. She had not realised that it would be her. The black piece was slender, tall and seemed to radiate power and command. She had a cruel smile on her face as she had rushed forward, She was on a black chariot pulled by two dark steeds. Ihra was reminded too much of the Black Queen she had set out to fight.

She frowned, prepared to fight against her, when a thought suddenly flared up. If she let the white knight die... She could win in a few moves. The queen had been one of her biggest obstacles to actual checkmate. And now, here she was on a silver platter.

She looked to the white knight, who understood. He frowned, then nodded.

"But... You'll die!" She said.

The knight paused. He seemed to soundlessly sigh. He opened his mouth. Soundlessly speaking again.

Then he managed to croak out.

"It... will be fine."

Ihra was shocked. But she had no time to think on that as the knight dismounted. Then he walked towards his foe, striding towards her. He stood in front of the black queen. A cruel smile came onto her face as she pointed her hand at him, a black whip of pure darkness came out and she cracked it at the knight. Who was cut in half.

Ihra watched the scene, shocked, but then her features turned to a cold, consuming rage. She looked to the king, marching towards him as she placed her sword in the slot and walked forward, The white king asked what was wrong, but Ihra did not answer.

When she came to the queen's square she did not even wait for her to dismount, instead she jumped onto the chariot itself, before being hurled off. She looked up, seeing the dead, crumbled pieces of the knight, being hurled at her via some sort of telekinesis.

"Friederitz knew you'd be mad if I killed your precious white knight. And that would provoke you to rash action." She spoke. "You'll lose against me, and your king will have nowhere to go, and you will fall." She spoke, the laughed. "It'd be sad if it weren't hillarious." She taunted.

---

"As for your other question," The blond Rainborn continued, his attention firmly set on his younger sister as she did battle against the black queen. "no, I am not dead, and if you haven't noticed, I don't float around like a spooky ghost. I'm still bound to certain laws of physics, but right now I'm only a manifestation of my own will, as my body is asleep elsewhere, in the heart of a cold place. I came here to help Ihra." He said.

---

The Rainborn got up, that voice sounded familiar. It was that of the Black Queen. Taunting her. Goading her. One could swear that, if only for a second, her eyes flashed green before returning to normal. Ihra dodged the pieces when they were hurled at her. Running towards the chariot, she slapped the horse and caused it to panic. The two horses suddenly bolted towards the invisible forcefield, and the queen did not bail in time. Instead she was sent careening towards the screen, where she slammed into it. She groaned, getting up amid the wreck and feeling her once magnificent face now cracked and ruined like a over chisled stone. She got up, seemingly in shock of this.

The queen shrieked and summoned her black whip, but Ihra grabbed one of the wheels and used it as a shield. The black weapon was repelled by the black wheel, allowing Ihra to get up close and personal. First she punched the queen in the gut. Though she had no organs, this still hurt and she nearly collapsed. Then Ihra dealt the final bow, cutting her in twain like she had the knight.

She frowned. She had lost herself in the anger, but she felt an empty void after smashing the queen. It didn't make her feel better. She reasoned that the knight would reform with time, but it still angered her. Perhaps she was upset with herself, sacrificing a pie-... a friend to get what she wanted. She promised she would never do that again.

Still. She won. A few moves later and the king had nowhere to go, having relied too much on the queen's gambit.

---

"Lastly... well, I can't really answer that." Ocra admitted, finding himself very surprised, his attention leaving Ihra's pursuit of the black king and instead focusing firmly on Aura. "I have no idea, to be honest. By all means, she should have at least gained enough power to fight the dark elemental to a stalemate, instead of being beaten and jailed like she was. I don't know why it didn't happen, but I assume that something must've prevented it. Her failure is the reason I came here to help, after all, it's the reason I brought you and her to this place in order to reclaim an old artifact." He stated.

---

The black king Friederitz realised he was defeated, then nodded. He walked down to Ihra, a stoic look on his face. Then, he offered his hand.

"Shake?" Ihra asked incredulous.

"It's sportsmanlike." He said simply.

She paused. "You killed my knight."

The king shrugged. "You killed my wife." He sighed. "They'll be back next time."

She frowned. But decided to do the honourable thing and shook the black king's hand.

Ocra's attention was soon reclaimed by the game, as he watched Ihra corner the black king and finish the game. "Way to go, Ihra! You did great! He said as he ran up to her, jumping and landing next to her in order to show that he was pretty damn excited about the game. Far behind him, and also in front of him, all the pieces that had been destroyed during the chess match swiftly reformed, regaining the forms they had before they were destroyed and walking up to the siblings, along with all the still living pieces, all of which seemed to regard Ocra with some sort of reverence.

"Architect, you're here." The black king said with as much surprise as his monotonous voice could manage, which was hardly a lot. "Do you know the challenger?"

"Yup, she's my sister." Ocra said proudly. The black king merely tilted his head in response, his stoic expression not changing. The black queen frowned and then muttered something about Nnpotism under her breath, still sore from being beaten.

"Anyway, what are you waiting for, people? She won! Someone give her the key!" He said. Immediately, a squad of pawns ran off to retrieve a large chest, setting it down before Ocra, Aura and Ihra, and opening it, revealing what it held within: a key black as Father Sky's face, but with stains of all colors on it.

The black king remained stoic, suitable for one of his standing, as Ihra moved towards the Key, holding it in her hands. She turned it over in her hands, inspecting it carefully. It seemed to have an importance beyond Ihra's quest. Like it was relevant for more than the freedom of the Urals and the defeat of the Black Queen. It seemed to contain significance within itself, even though it was a mere key to unlock what she sought. She paused, and the turned to Ocra. "So.... what now?"

"What now? What kind of question is that, Ihra?" Ocra replied with a playful expression of false confusion. "When you have a key, what do you do with it?" He continued as he began walking towards the far back of the enormous chamber, beyond even the large black and white marble fields that composed the chess board, advancing slowly but steadily, followed by the armies of both kings and by the monarchs themselves. As they moved on, Ihra noticed how, on the wall of the chamber opposite to the stairs at the entrance, there was a pair of double doors, tall like pillars and black as the night, with a large white star of countless peak on each of the doors. In the middle of them, there was a keyhole that matched the shape of the key that Ihra held in her hand. The door seemed to radiate some sort of power held within, though its nature was not clear; not to anyone who was not the first Rainborn, that is.

Finally, when the two Rainborn, the Ural and their entire entourage was before the door, Ocra motioned for Ihra to step forward. "You use it to open something. So, go ahead, open it." The blond boy said as he stepped aside, smiling encouragingly at his younger sister. Ihra nodded and walked forth as she was told, looking at the tall door. The stars reminded her of the father that had raised her and all of her siblings, and the power beyond the gates made it evident that the mystical artifact that her elder brother wanted her to claim was right there. She momentarily paused, holding her breath, and then slid the key into the lock.

There was no need to turn it. The moment the key was used, a bright light emerged from the thin seam between the doors, and as they slid open, the bright light grew in abundance until it nearly blinded everyone present, until finally fading away after a moment had passed.

"Those were just special effects, but I felt like it should be a flashy occasion." He shrugged, his smile never leaving his face, as he walked towards the center of the newly opened chamber. There was a stone pedestal, and on it was a sword, but it was no ordinary sword. Its hilt was made of shimmering black metal, and the blade was something that glowed brightly, radiating heat and light and shining with every color in existence, the different shades dancing with blissful oblivion around the blade, constantly shifting and swirling in a radiant tornado. The power within the room was now unfettered and rushed out, washing over the entire temple like a wave, the ground shaking lightly. Ocra stood beside the pedestal and motioned for Ihra to come closer.

"The Rainbow Sword." Ocra stated. "Forged in the fires of a thousand suns. Struck with the hammers of galactic gravity. Doused with the rain of a million worlds. Its power is enormous, enough to cleave through any magic, enough to always beget the truth. I made it when I first arrived in this place called universe. It helped me destroy countless enemies, it helped me fight against the fearsome non-things that threatened the world." He spoke with solemnity, though his ever-present smile had not yet created a contradiction by disappearing from his face.

"And now, Ihra, it's yours."

Ihra gaped at the brilliant yet dark blade. It's colours dazed her for a moment as she looked at the rainbow. As she approached it she felt as if she were moving towards no mere blade, but a monarch of weaponary. Unlike the Black Queen, this ruler actually inspired awe in Ihra. She was scared to approach, for the blade might just be too much for her. That he might kill her and everyone she loves just for using his power. Stlll, Ihra found the will to proceed, taking step after tentative step towards the sword. She walked up the steps to the pedastal, now within reach of the blade.

She reached out, pausing. Could she really wield such a burden? Could she truly hold the blade that the first of her kind wielded? Was she worthy? She placed a hand on the blade, then wrapped her fingers around the sword. She felt her courage grow with the blade as it filled her with a warm feeling. She wasn't sure what it was, but it emboldened her. She was going to take this blade and end the tyranny of the Black Queen. She was going to free the village. But most importantly, she would do it with this sword. As she inspected the blade, she felt this feeling of determination grow. She turned around, sword in hand, one again to see how the light bent around it, how the weight felt and how the colours seemed to calm and terrify at the same time. She wasn't even sure what the sword was made from... She looked at Aura, who was now frowning as she looked at Ihra.

"Put the blade down." Commanded the Ural.

Ihra paused, shocked. "Pardon?" She asked.

"Put. The blade. Down." Aura spoke once more. She was snarling.

Ihra frowned. "I don't-"

"You can't fight the Black Queen. Especially not with that." She spoke. "You just can't!"

"Calm down," Spoke Ihra softly.

"Calm!" Aura shouted. "What? Do you think that because you beat a few statues you can fight her?" She asked accusingly. "You haven't even worked out that I've been jamming your telepathy!"

Ihra's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, she frowned. She paused. "Why?"

Aura paused as she shifted guiltily. A tear appeared at the corner of her eye. "At first I didn't even realize I was doing it. But somehow Elder Joria knew about it." She paused, her eyes now filled with tears. "He told me that if I didn't keep doing it the Black Lady might kill my sister if she thought she was going to lose. And then he told me that I had to stop you from fighting her, otherwise the Black Lady might just kill my sister, or the whole village!"

There was a silence. A pin could drop as Ihra looked at Aura with a cold expression. Aura's expression turned to one of fear. She knew the look on Ihra's face was one which had a calmness to it, merely because it was holding back rage. She had thought Ihra too passive and docile to get upset at anything, but she had seen how she had dealt with the Black Queen when she was mad. Aura suddenly began to fear for her life.

She took steps down the stairs towards Aura. The little Ural yelped as the tall Rainborn approached. She saw the colorful blade glinting in her hands and nearly screamed. She took a step back, but it was too late.

Ihra had already wrapped her arms around the little Ural and squeezed her in a tight yet... warm hug. The blade was dropped at Ihra's side. The little girl paused, and then cried in Ihra's shoulder. She realised what she had done, and wept in the red haired girl's arms.

"I'm so sorry!" She wailed. "I'm sorry... I was so scared. I... don't want my sister to die. I don't want my sister to die! I don't want her to die..." She spoke, her words swiftly degenerating into sobs.

"It's okay Aura... You don't need to apologise. You were trying to save your sister." She spoke. "I'm sorry too. I failed once I know." She spoke. "I... may very well have done the same thing in your position. I love my sister too. More than she could ever guess. "

"But... I can do this Aura. I will not fail. As long as I exist I will fight to free you sister with every fiber of my being. I swear to Father Sky and on my own life that I will bring her back to you." She let go of Aura, who now rubbed her sniffling nose. "Remember what Ocra said? We Rainborn can do anything as long as we want to do it."

Aura nodded. Then smiled. "Th-Thank you... I think I needed to hear that." She paused, then nodded. "I'll give you one last chance. But if you screw up I'll..." She paused, unsure how to finish that threat.

"You can talk to your sister now if you wish. Though she's kinda busy at the moment I think..."

Ihra smiled, then picked up the sword once more. She sighed and turned to Ocra. "So. Back to the village?" She asked. "I think I need to pay someone a visit before I fight the Black Queen."

Ocra nodded, smiling up at his younger sister. "Sure thing." He said, and took a moment to turn and wave at all of the chess pieces that were gathered around them, some of whom were still struck with awe at the revelation of the Rainbow Sword and the sheer power it carried. They all, however, snapped out of their stupor in order to salute the one whom they called the "Architect", with the exception of the kings and queens, who each regarded him in a different manner. After that was done, though, the first of the Rainborn turned back to Ihra, placing a hand on her shoulder, struggling slightly to accomplish that gesture as she was quite a bit taller than the short blond boy. The redhead was unable to feel the hand, but could appreciate the gesture nonetheless.

"I'm proud of you, and everything you've just said, Ihra. I can see that you are a noble person, and I know that you will be able to kick the butt of that petty princess when we get back." He stated, still smiling, before turning his back to her. "Now then..." He said, tracing a line in the air. Suddenly, reality itself was torn open once again, forming a gateway that led to that dark, strange place they had used to reach the temple. It was their only way out, after all.

"Ladies first."

[The Republic of Atria]

Maria

She didn't even bother responding to DeeDee. Rather just storming out the way she came, fuming the entire 20 feet back to Ysmault. "Alright you stupid ring. Since they're not helping me. You have do it. So work." She commanded.

"I am fueled by your rage towards your son. You can create things with your mind." The ring explained to her trying to keep it simple as she clearly wasn't capable of comprehending more advanced abilities. "For you. It would be simple if you tried to imagine something to maim or kill him." Maria seemed to understand as the first thing she did was create a construct of what her sonlooked like before his transformation, and then dropping a truck on him. "There." She wasn't terrible at the idea of the ring. But if all she had to do was kill one teenager, then it shouldn't be too difficult.

Xander and Naja

"I do not understand."

"I'm not even going to bother. Lead the way and start from the beginning." Xander said and Ronan lead them into his new ship.

"The Kree saw what your serum had done to your lover." He motioned to Naja. "This is not the first time we have attempted this, but yours seemed to be the most effective as she does not appear to be suffer very many side effects."

"I'm pretty okay. I don't think anything went wrong. And I have a name. Naja. Please don't be afraid to use it."

"Of course. Now. You could have been much more effective in the Builder War had you not had the moral constraints you human love to abide by." Naja took this as an insult, but Xander had told her more than once that casualties would have been lower had she actually used lethal force against the Builders. It still hurt, but she decided to just deal with it later. "You know it to be true. With the major empires of our galaxy crippled, the threat of Thanos and Darkseid looms over now more than ever. We do not have the resources to rebuild or defend ourselves. So we attempted to replicate your abilities to aid in both endeavors."

"It's funny. I actually thought about starting my own empire. I even have a nice chunk of land back on Earth. I'll help you with your immediate crazy problem, but if you want my super juice, it's going to be on my terms. Don't worry. It's nothing absurd. I do like your technology. Very user friendly. As for what going to happen. Since your technology is better than what we have on Earth. Or will have for a decades anyways. I want everyone who worked on this project. And by I want them, that is to say I will teach them how to make it. But they will no longer be apart of the Kree empire."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Then we're done here." He said and opened a portal back to Earth. "Let's go Naja. They can wipe their own noses."

"You would let millions die over this?!"

"I told you. My way or the highway. You want my stuff? I want something in return. We have a saying on Earth. Quid pro Quo. Something for something. I'm not asking you to hand the crown to the Kree Empire. I'm asking for the help of... I don't know. How many people worked on this project?"

"Ten scientists."

"Wow. Ten? More than I thought. Anyways. They come with me. I show them my secrets. We come back and I show you what's changed. They work with me from this point. Not you. Is that fair? I think it is." He said and offered Ronan a handshake. "Classic Earth custom. A handshake to express that the deal is solidified."

"Very well." He said and shook the human's hand. Ronan didn't want to do it, but their experiment was still loose and they didn't have the time or resources to devote to stopping it. If nothing else, humans knew how to negotiate very well and very shrewdly. Xander knew full and well they needed him more than he needed them, and was more than willing to press things for his benefit. Admirable, if not a bit cruel.

[Illica Falki]

The Nightraven sighed, fiddling with her PDA, of course she's stuck with this small time mercenary job that doesn't pay nearly as much as it should. This is why she hated working for Cobblepot, he'd drop the small jobs for her that his own goons should be able to handle if it wasn't for their incompetence. Guarding a shipment of weapons leaving Bludhaven for Gotham should be something for small nameless goons, not a mercenary with the skills of an assassin. Maybe it's her young age, but barely any of the big names hire her, and whenever they do it's for the small time jobs.
Putting the PDA away, she checks on the progress of the shipment, sooner it's done the sooner she's paid and she can leave. She's rather disappointed to see that the loading isn't going anywhere quickly enough for her liking. Seeing her checking on their progress a goon shouts out at her "This would go Faster if you weren't on your Phone all the time" Hearing their friend several of the other goons turn to see her response. Nightraven looks towards him and retorts "I'm being paid to make sure these weapons get into Gotham, It's your jobs to load it." "Why are you even Needed?!" the Goon shouts back at her "Nightwing's Gone, The Police is paid off, Bludhaven is defen-" The henchman is swiftly silenced by a staff hitting him on the head, followed by a masked figure landing on him and punching him out. The figure is clearly a fan of Nightwing, he's definitely got the look, the only real difference between him and the Actual is that his uniform colours are inverted. "Clearly He didn't get the news" Nightraven retorts as the figure stands up while the rest of the goons start grabbing weapons to take him out.
Not willing to let her only contract for a while slip away by some wannabe 'Nightwing', Nightraven pulls out her sword and quickly starts ordering the goons "Ignore him, I'll take him, get the shipment and leave". Although they grumble as they do so, they start moving the shipment onto a boat and prepare to leave. When the masked figure tries to stop them, Nightraven swiftly moves to bloke his route, to get the weapons he'll need to get though her. "Give up, it's Over" The figure commands, Nightravens only response is to throw two of her knives at him. Though the knives are blocked, he doesn't manage to block her swift slash at his side, working around his staff. Exploiting his vulnerability after getting sliced, Nightraven grabs his staff, and headbutts him, knocking him down against an empty crate. Pulling out her pistol to execute the hero-wannabe, he reacts with throwing a homemade batarang at her mask, stunning her for long enough for him to disarm her of one of her handguns. Without hesitation, Nightraven pulls out another of her knives, and slashes him before he can get his staff back. as he falls back yet again, Nightraven pulls out her other gun. "Not this time" she says before shooting his throwing hand, causing him to scream in pain. With nothing stopping her, she picks up her other gun, and fires three shots into his chest, two into his stomach, the third into his heart.
This is when the goons burst in carrying some of the weapons from the shipment, Seeing her standing over the dead body of the Nightwing copy cat, one of the goons can't help but point out "You know, Penguin probably would have wanted that one for his collection." Picking up her weapons that were left around, and looting his staff and some of his batarangs, she doesn't bother looking at the gang-men to respond "He wasn't paying me to add to his collection, he wants the heroes corpse, feel free to take it to him.
It takes until after most of the fight is cleared up before she decides to check who it was she killed. She runs a search on her PDA, only to learn that the 'wannabe hero' apparently had a successful career as a hero, or he really pissed the wrong person off, as he had a $250 000 bounty on him. Upon checking who put the hit out, it's none other then one Oswald Cobblepot, The Penguin that hired her to guard the weapons. Feeling content that not only is she getting paid $5 000 for the initial contract, she's getting a pretty big bonus.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

Antibios
Stark Tower

Antibios picked up the withered body of Animal, and before it could regenerate, Threw it out the penthouse window. He walked towards Baron Hydra, killing any who stood in his way. He threw an explosive arrow fired at him straight back at Sniper and threw Nick Fury into a nearby wall when he started doing his weird fighting style around him. Grabbing Baron's shield he ripped it off the severely out matched humans arm. "You know Ultron was right... these things do make really good Frisbees" said Antibios before throwing it off with thor level strength. Watching it fly off into the distance, Antibios decided on the best way to kill Baron. Assuming that he was like captain America, his powers were mostly biological and pointless to AB, unlike the adamantine on Animals skeleton. decisions, decisions.

Screaming in agony, the Baron fell to the ground. "Rogers!" Fury barked out, slowly recovering from being thrown. "Damn it!"
At the same time, Sniper leapt to the side, narrowly dodging his own explosive bolt, only to be tackled by two SHIELD agents. "A little help here!"
Sentry and Ultron watched the battle from the side, each grimacing at their allies' failures. Sentry, ever impatient, was the first to act- flying towards Abomination and throwing him into Antibios before attacking Alt Loki. "You have been a pain in the Syndicate's side long enough!"
Scarlet Witch, meanwhile, was engaged in a mystic battle with the Wonderful One (Alt Doom). Doctor Chaos, distracted momentarily by several SHIELD agents, finally noticed his ally having trouble and reinforced her, driving the Wonderful One back. "Chaos will prevail!" He laughed. "Surely you understand this after so long, Victor!"
Quicksilver was eating a stolen doughnut and watching the fight.

[Jorliefstreiken]

Antibios
Stark Tower

Antibios picked up the withered body of Animal, and before it could regenerate, Threw it out the penthouse window. He walked towards Baron Hydra, killing any who stood in his way. He threw an explosive arrow fired at him straight back at Sniper and threw Nick Fury into a nearby wall when he started doing his weird fighting style around him. Grabbing Baron's shield he ripped it off the severely out matched humans arm. "You know Ultron was right... these things do make really good Frisbees" said Antibios before throwing it off with thor level strength. Watching it fly off into the distance, Antibios decided on the best way to kill Baron. Assuming that he was like captain America, his powers were mostly biological and pointless to AB, unlike the adamantine on Animals skeleton. decisions, decisions.

Screaming in agony, the Baron fell to the ground. "Rogers!" Fury barked out, slowly recovering from being thrown. "Damn it!"
At the same time, Sniper leapt to the side, narrowly dodging his own explosive bolt, only to be tackled by two SHIELD agents. "A little help here!"
Sentry and Ultron watched the battle from the side, each grimacing at their allies' failures. Sentry, ever impatient, was the first to act- flying towards Abomination and throwing him into Antibios before attacking Alt Loki. "You have been a pain in the Syndicate's side long enough!"
Scarlet Witch, meanwhile, was engaged in a mystic battle with the Wonderful One (Alt Doom). Doctor Chaos, distracted momentarily by several SHIELD agents, finally noticed his ally having trouble and reinforced her, driving the Wonderful One back. "Chaos will prevail!" He laughed. "Surely you understand this after so long, Victor!"
Quicksilver was eating a stolen doughnut and watching the fight.

AntiBios grabbed Abomination mid air and used the momentum on it to throw him onto Baron Hydra. "The things some people do... I really don't understand it." Looking at the man who had engaged him AntiBios decided to test his new strength against Evil Thor to take the pressure off of alt Loki. Jumping forward at him AntBios grabbed Thor's staff mid swing as alt Thor swung at alt Loki. Turning to Loki, AntiBios said "You owe me one life" before Thor tackled him out the window. Stabilizing mid air Antibios threw Thor off of him and flew forward attempting to gravity punch him in the gut. Instead Thor just threw a lightening bolt at him so AntiBios absorbed its energy. Activating the small booster jets on his gauntlet AntiBios threw an uppercut at Thor punching him towards orbit. Flying up AntiBios slammed him back towards the ground before deactivating his jets and attempting to stomp on Thor chest.