Battle of the Multiverse

[Demon Lord Gira]

Mara watched as Nyx dove into the cold submerged tunnels. "I'm going after her," She turned to look to the others. "In case she needs help. I'm no stranger to cold waters like this."

"Be careful." Risel told her. "Not fan of cold waters myself. I get sluggish when cold..."

"That would make sense. You are partially dragon after all, from the looks of it." Lae commented, as Mara dove down after Nyx.

The lower opening beneath the cold water lead into a hallway filled with broken plexiglass and wires that had long ran out of energy lifelessly dangling from the walls and ceilings. Mechanical assembly arms stood in silent salute past a door that had at one point likely been locked by a code, but was instead only shattered glass and metal. The hallway expanded out, filled with emptied repair stations for some sort of machinery that had been housed down here in times past.

The most unusual thing, though, was the lack of any bodies present. No skeletons, no remnants of clothes, no life at all... nothing. All that accompanied Nyx and Mara were the low hums that somehow seemed to still emit from this forsaken place.

There was something else as well, a soft glow that radiated from behind a repair station. Through the brackish waters, it seemed to come from a room that was still closed, the glass windows somehow not shattered but instead obscured with blinders on the other side...

__________________

Both the radiant pillar of light and the fused bolt of divine electricity surged and collided with one another. The very ground tore and cracked as everything even remotely near the impact site was vaporized from the collision. Two Goddesses of Love, one natural, one an unholy amalgamation of countless deities enslaved by the mind and power of the God of Suffering, unleashed every last bit of their power to try and overwhelm the other, and it was a stalemate.

Aram's eyes widened as she saw her attack be intercepted by its equal. Impossible! How did Aphrodite have so much power still within her?! It made no sense! She had been beaten to a bloodied pulp before, helpless and her slave, yet now...

Aram felt her blood boil as she forced herself to maintain the beam. She was the pinnacle of the gods, the greatest of all of them wrapped into the body of the Goddess of Light! She was the Supreme Goddess, the one who was to be the sole blazing star in the new world! The Ninjas were inadequate and imperfect compared to her, the gods of old inferior! Countless millenia scheming to take what was rightfully hers, scheming against Astrelus and the other gods, scheming against Persephone, against everyone who stood in her way... and to be stopped by the bastard child of a foreign god, when so close to her dre-

In all of her concentrated effort to overwhelm Aphrodite, she failed to notice Owlzarus appear over her head and create the sigils until it was too late. Her concentration faltered as she felt their magic sap away at her. It was only a moment that she faltered, but it was only a moment that Aphrodite needed.

In that moment, the beam weakened, and Aphrodite's divine bolts tore through and struck Aram. The Supreme Goddess screamed as she felt her skin boil and burn, her flesh incinerated and her blood vaporize. DAMN THEM! DAMN THAT OWL! DAMN THESE HEROES, DAMN THEM ALL! She cursed their names, she cursed their very existence, yet in this moment, clarity broke through the rage of the God of Suffering. She was going to die, deprived of getting the final laugh upon Crigan and upon Aphrodite and especially upon the damned Korraz for making a fool of her so many times. If only she had gotten the chance to stab her nails into the bears neck and fry her from the inside out for all the humiliation Korraz had heaped upon her... Yet even that she would not be able to see.

No! NO! She refused to let herself perish like this! To hell with what Chang'e wanted, to hell with her schemes! This wasn't worth it, not in the slightest! She and her dragons were on their own! She would not let herself perish before she got her revenge!

And so, Aram's body dissipated into light before she was fully vaporized, and what remained of her being fled away from the ruins of this earth, off into the distant cosmic multiverse at large... Yet a warning hissed into the minds of Aphrodite and Owlzarus, a final warning from the Supreme Goddess:

"You may have won the battle, but I am not finished, not by a long shot. There will be a day where the only star in the heavens is me, The Supreme Goddess..."

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The shards of the pillar struck across the body of the End of All. While most of the shards shattered against the hide of Tannin, some were able to stab into the opened wounds and cause more unholy blackened blood to gush out upon the ground. Tannin let out a heinous bellow as the eyes that had been torn out quickly regenerated back. Yet The End of All's hatred for Ristaang only boiled further.

How long had it been, since any creature he faced had given him such a fight? The angels had been nothing to him, the Celestials and their machines and the gods that had come to their salvation were nothing to him. What made this creature, this walking mountain of muscle, different from all the others that had been powerless before him in the past? Why didn't this one bent over and DIE?!

He swung his neck out into Ristaang's side like a wrecking ball, and the speed and force of the strike forced her staggering back, the newly regenerating horns carving into the side of the beast mother. Blackened flames churning from his mouth, his eyes began to glow, and everything around Ristaang began to feel far heavier than she had expected. The area around her intensified in its gravitational force, and she was forced onto her hands and knees to keep from completely collapsing against the floor. Tannin's jaws twisted into a mockery of a smile, or the closest thing to one that he could manage.

Now that was more like it. To force all other life to bow to him, it was truly perfect.

Unbenownst to him, the flesh and blood around the gaping hole in his chest had receded, and attached to his heart was the unconscious limp body of Persephone, pitch black veins siphoning life force from her into him, enhancing his powers and his might. The End of All arched his head back, jaws opening as wide as they could, before they snapped shut, an electromagnetic blast formed by the resulting vacuum imploding tearing toward Ristaang to shred through her...

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The Wyvern King was no fool. Though the eyes of her middle head were focused upon the hydra angel, both of the heads that once belonged to Project Titan sensed the approaching heat signatures that belonged to the Tenchi created hydra angelclones and to Immanuel. And so, at the last moment the Wyvern King beat her wings before her, cutting off the beam struggle and luching herself off toward the side...

Or, so had been the plan, had it not been for several spires of earth that jutted up from behind the Wyvern King and knocked her forward. The golden light and the hydra angel's fire struck into her at once, both from the original and the clones. The howls of the Wyvern King could be heard for miles.

The cause of the stone pillars made her presence heard at once. "The Queen of Heaven is here to save the day! All of you better step back, because I'm about to turn left, and I don't want to smack you cake sniffers with my dick!" Tenkarus exclaimed as she landed upon the battlefield. She went to work at once, creating more stone pillars that caged in Estrella and limited where the Wyvern King could move.

"Good thinking, Celestial." Cercil said. She extended out her hands, and chains erupted out of the earth and wrapped around the Wyvern King and bound her tight.

From a distance, Crigan watched. It didn't seem like he would be needed here, if Chang'e was somehow indisposed and... He stared at the creature that was being bombarded by divine fire and light. Why... Why did he... feel like he knew this thing? The central head looked very familiar, yet everything else... And the soul he felt...

Cercil noticed Crigan's stillness. She turned to look back at him. "Why are you hesitating? If we kill Chang'es prized pet here, that's one less thing-"

Energy suddenly began to surge from the Wyvern King. The eyes of the middle head flashed, and all three heads begna to let out a low, distorting warble, before energy surged out from across her! The chains that Cercil had created and the stone pillars made by Tenkarus were shattered in an instant, and the blasts of divine fire from three sources were blasted backwards toward the hydra angel and its clones, blasting them back from the force of the hit.

"H-HEY! You're not supposed to do that!" Tenkarus whined as she braced herself to not be sent flying from the blast. "That's cheating! Just roll over and die, you stupid lizard!"

The Wyvern King arched her heads, her hide barely scratched from the attacks thrown at her, before aiming all three heads upward and unleashing three separate firestorms that rained down upon the area, threatening to incinerate and burn everything around herself...

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Within the pocket dimension she had been trapped within, Chang'e's left eye twitched. Oh, so they were playing that game, now were they? How annoying... If they thought this would contain her for long, they were sorely mistaken.

Yet, even within here, she could see the battle against the Wyvern King unfold, and here she noticed Crigan had entered the fray. Her annoyed scowl turned into a smile. Estrella had some new playtoys, including an old, old friend. If they thought The Wyvern King was going to be a simple matter to take down, they had no idea of the truth of what lay before them. Well, one of them likely knew, but what good was a fake half carcass of a god against the real deal? Father seemed to be holding his own for now, though with Persephone being revealed as part of his core...

She took a deep breath. First thing was first, she needed to get out of here, and that was what she was going to do, when the time was right...

[HayesAJones]

"I promise I'll take you somewhere warmer than Noraage next," Alex told Risel sympathetically. Part of him wanted to pat the draconic woman's back as a sort of handshake on his vow, but he was unsure how physical she was comfortable getting after her abuse and, besides, that was just the varul the last four years had cultivated in him, so he restrained himself.

His ocean-colored eyes drifted towards her, then quickly away. "Some... uh... fuller clothes m- might help too. There's probably a tailor somewhere on... um, wherever it was we just were."

The multiversal castaway was quiet for a moment, then said, "You know, we probably should have sent them down with a tether or something in case they need help and can't use this."

Alex idly thumbed at the communication device Nyx had entrusted him with, hoping it would not be necessary...

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As the dragonfire rained down, threatening to immolate not only the Wyvern King's assailants, but anyone nearby, a streak of crackling red began zipping around the battlefield.

Fray, who had been recovering her strength under Korraz's care, rejoined the clash, rapidly teleporting to different balls of falling fire, using her rifts to send them elsewhere. She focused her efforts on those civilians who hadn't been able to escape the carnage yet, trusting the fighters to be able to defend themselves.

It would make Daeva sad to see anyone who couldn't defend themself hurt in all this chaos, so she would save as many as she could...!

[Godzilla165]

It was done. The Supreme Goddess known as Aram was no more… The battle had finally been won. And yet, as Aphrodite watched her opponent’s body fade away in a great ball of light, why then did she feel so empty… So heavy? Her body soon revealed to her the answer, as exhaustion and utter defeat took over. Great bouts of electricity surged from Aphrodite’s being, snaking down her legs and finding its way out from her feet, dissipating into sprites of used up energy within the ravaged ground. Her hair fell flat, spilling messily down her shoulders and face and lower back, matted with blood and dirt. Her hands shook fiercely, her body shook even more so. Her legs were jello, barely able to support her weight. Everything hurt, as the adrenaline finally wore off, by the gods, did everything hurt.

Collapsing to her knees with a thud, Aphrodite craned her neck up to find Owlzarus floating above. Through her worn eyes did she see him nod towards her, and she did the same, smiling. A trickle of blood fell from one side of her mouth, but that didn’t matter. It was surreal, honestly, never did the love goddess think she would be here, fighting for the very future of reality itself. Life was funny that way. Though she felt like passing on right where she sat, Aphrodite knew that such wasn’t an option; she had responsibilities to return to. She had a classroom of children to continue teaching, she had siblings to engage in many wonderful activities with, friends to enjoy the company of… And a partner to continue loving.

A memory came to her then. It was of a moment 2 normal years ago, a moment that was so unbelievably small in the grand scheme of things now… But one that Aphrodite cherished more than anyone knew, nor would ever know, even he. They had been through so, so much together, so many trials and tribulations that tested every single fiber of their beings. Their relationship, the promise they made to one another so many eons ago… All of it. And despite all of that, this was the core memory she thought of in this very moment, on the war torn battlefield as divine fury raged all around her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Emerald Reverie

It was a truly wondrous, summer night in the Realm of the Ninja. The sky, uninterrupted by any intrusive light, was filled with billions of twinkling stars, and glimmering galaxies. Comets raced across the scene, leaving their sparkling dust trails behind. Orion, the moon of this realm, hovered above, its milky white light cascading across the land. The air was lukewarm, and crisp as always. The winds were slumbering, in their place being nothing but the peaceful silence of night. Within the kingdom itself, every soul was fast asleep, allowing for their dreams to sweep them away to whatever reality they pleased. The ninjas themselves had been pulled in by the gentle touch of slumber, all except one. Within the kingdom's ballroom palace: a hall the size of a football field, was Dante. He sat at the very end of the room in front of a large piano. The beautiful musical instrument was made entirely out of ceramic, creating a lovely mirror finish. The keys were solid gold with fine comet particles sprinkled intricately on the faces.



The hall itself was covered from head to toe in polished marble and diamonds. The ceiling hung fifty feet in the air, and was etched with various images of the Yakuza and the ninjas. Parrallel to Dante's right side, were twelve enormous windows at least thirty feet hight, and all lined with specially made ceramic and titanium composites. On a night like this, the moonlight pierced through said windows, and caused for the marble structure of the hall to seemingly glow. It was a gorgeous sight to behold. But there Dante was, sitting at the main piano, playing a lovely and serene melody that he learned long ago. He couldn't sleep at all tonight, as much as he tried; his mind wouldn't slow down to rest. Something deep down had been worrying Dante for over four months now, be he could never pinpoint what it was. The only thing he knew was that it scared him. He hadn't even told any of his siblings, nor Aphrodite about it, out of fear of them worrying. Usually, whenever Dante couldn't sleep, he would come in here and spend a few hours just playing. It was a great way to destress and let whatever tension that was built up be flushed away. There was just something so simple, yet so elegant about a piano that oozed personality and grace.

Dante's fingers swept past every single key, striking them with unmatched precision. The strokes were calm and collected, careful and timed. With every successful note, the piano hummed soundly, becoming an extension of Dante's own being. He closed his eyes and merely allowed his body to take control, the music transporting his mind to a place of calmness and serenity. It was place where no war existed, no evil, no death, and no chaos. Dante thought about his future with Aphrodite, and how they would one day embrace one another in holy matrimony. He saw he and his siblings, his people, living in happiness, his mother returning home. In short, Dante saw peace... peace of the eternal kind. As he played, a svelte figure watched from behind, a gentle smile laid on her face. The sweet music caressed her ear drums and covered her skin in goosebumps. Eventually, Dante struck the last note and rested his hands in his lap. Soon after, he heard soft clapping coming from behind.

"That was amazing, hun." The figure praised.

Dante didn't even have to turn around to see who it was. With a smile, he opened his eyes, rose from the piano, and turned to see Aphrodite approaching him. She was dressed in a white, silk night gown, and her silver hair gleamed proudly in the pale moonlight. The two beings wrapped their arms tightly around one another, and remained that way for what felt like an eternity. Finally, they broke away and Dante reached up and carassed Aphrodite's smooth chin.

"Thank you. I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn’t wake you, did I?" Dante asked.

Aphrodite shook her head, "No, when I was reaching out for you in bed, you weren't there. I figured I'd find you in here, though." She said, smiling.

Dante returned the expression, but his eyes revealed how exhausted and stressed he really was. Aphrodite's smile slowly faded as she quickly took note of this.

"But, I know that you also come in here whenever you can't sleep. Is everything okay?" She asked with concern.

Dante didn't answer right away. He didn't want to lie to Aphrodite, especially when seeing how worried she had now become. With hesitation, Dante slowy shook his head and embraced Aphrodite, nestling his head in her bossom. Something inside of him had finally made Dante become vulnerable, and he broke down. It was akin to that of a child crying out for help. Aphrodite rubbed her fingers through Dante's hair, while massaging his back. She knew what it was like to feel powerless and scared, and for the love of her life to be feeling this way, one of the most powerful beings in existence... It melted her heart.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see nothing but death and tragedy. I feel this darkness brewing, and I try so hard to push it away... But I can't...I just can't." Dante looked at Aphrodite through tearful eyes. "How can I be a good leader to our people, a good brother to my siblings, and a good man to you... If I can't even control my own mind?"

Aphrodite took Dante's face in her hands and stared into his eyes, wiping the tears away. "I know what it’s like to feel hopeless and scared, Dante, like you are powerless to do anything to stop what is coming. But, I also know how strong, compassionate and dedicated you are, my love." Aphrodite calmly reassured while squeezing Dante’s cheeks. "You inspire me to be a better person every single day, and all of those around you. As far as I'm concerned? You are the kindest, most selfless, and humble person that I know, and the best man that girl could ever ask for."

Dante took Aphrodite's hands in his and squeezed them tightly. "I don't know what I would ever do without you in my life. You inspire me to be a better person everyday." Dante said warmly. He smiled softly, "I love you so much, Aphrodite."

The goddess smiled sweetly, "I love you too, Dante... Always and forever." She mused.

Dante pulled her closer to him. "Forever and always." He affirmed, shared a tender kiss with her. Aphrodite clenched his chest and pulled him closer to her body. Their lips danced in perfect unison and harmony, and their forms seemingly became one in the cool glow from the moonlight. It was in this moment when they began to dance, to waltz. Only with her did he know how to move his feet, to flow from one movement to the next, wound in her warm embrace. Aphrodite rested her head neatly against his chest, and closed her eyes.

How she could stay there forever.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“How she could stay there forever.”

Aphrodite’s heart skipped a beat as she was pulled back to the present, and once more did she find Owlzarus’s eyes… And smiled. “We did it, Zarus… By the gods, we did it.” She said feebly, her eyelids heavy. “Thank you… Thank…”

Like a tree, she collapsed onto her side with a pained thud… Or she would have, had it not been for the hands that caught her.

“You did well, my dear.” Tiamat murmured, smiling softly as she delicately cradled Aphrodite’s form in her arms. The deity looked towards Owlzarus and gifted him a radiant smile also. How surreal it was for her to see him again. “You both did.” She said to him.

In one graceful motion, Tiamat stood to her feet with the sleeping goddess tucked neatly in her arms, and motioned Owlzarus and such Evoex towards the direction where the Celestial Angel was engaged in a psychic tug-of-war battle with Chang’e. “Help her keep Chang’e locked down as best as you can, I will tend to Aphrodite.” Tiamat requested. Before she left, she shot the antiquarian one final smile, “We will talk soon; we have some catching up to do, old friend.”

And with that, the Core’s right hand was gone, off to keep Aphrodite safe. While she may have been unable to assist directly in “mortal affairs”, that didn’t mean she couldn’t care for her future daughter-in-law. It was one atonement out of millions that she would commit to for her children, and her people.

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The enormous conflagration slammed into the Hydra Angel and its twin quarry, knocking them back several hundreds of meters. In a great bout of Core energy, the mighty dragon exploded with an otherworldly shriek, revealing Tenchi Orion within. The Ninja Prime soundlessly floated in place, and turned their head in the direction of where Aphrodite was. Their eyes softened as they watched as their mother collected her limp form and escorted the goddess to safety. This elicited a nod from the warrior deity, for now they could focus solely on why they were summoned in the first place: to smite every last conglomerate of evil that directly threatened the multiverse. It started with Raspaganje, and next on their list was the winged fiend stood before them and their allies now. As the Hydra Angel clones recovered and were about to retaliate, Tenchi held a hand out to them, requesting them to stand down. The clones nodded and soon dissipated into nothingness, and Tenchi proceeded to extended that same hand up over their heads. In seconds, every one of their allies found themselves surrounded with an iridescent force field, ones that protected them fully from the roiling triple firestorms.

In that same hand did the Ninja deity summon forth True Hellsbane, clutching it tight in their grasp. The flawless blade began to glow a bright green, then orange as it called upon the essences of two fallen Olympian gods, Demeter and Apollo. Tenchi, with a sharp glow from their eyes, thrust the blade at the Wyvern King and unleashed dozens of flaming vines erupting from the soul towards her. In a flash, the enhanced vines of Demeter wound tightly around the draconic being's legs, arms, wings, and neck, and slammed her face first onto the ground. Three more sprouted forth and aimed at her savage maw, forcing it open as best they could!

Tenchi lowered their blade and studied the Wyvern King intently, an idea formulating. The guardian reached into the minds of Cercil and Crigan, calling out to them with a series of visions they would hopefully understand. Their attacks on the Wyvern King were proving fruitless in penetrating her mighty hide, and they couldn't afford to keep hitting her unsuccessfully with Chang'e still very much active. Thus, the Ninja Prime proposed an alternative idea: Attack their opponent from the inside. Her organs surely wouldn't be able to take the full brunt from one of them, let alone all of them attacking together. Then, she could be weakened enough for Tenchi to exorcise her soul from her physical form, allowing for Crigan to collect and trap her spirit, rendering her void and unable to do harm ever again. A similar maneuver worked on Raspaganje, which allowed for Mulek to make the ultimate sacrifice in sealing him away. The Wyvern King had a soul like anyone else; hers could thus be extracted.

With that, Tenchi Orion rested their blade along their shoulder and awaited for their allies' decision.

[Beast Blood]

The sight of the Beastmother prostrate at the feet of the wyvern, a truly blasphemous image, would not be savored long, for it was then replaced with a much less flavorful picture for the demon: dozens of sharp points crackling with strange red energy, the Beast’s twisted antlers, stabbing through his flesh and skull, pinning his mocking jaws firmly shut.

By the strength of her indomitable will and the might of her body, the great Beast pushed back against the heaviness around her. She cast it aside completely, as she would shrug off mere dust on her pelt. The Beastmother stood, no more the kneeling whelp the wyvern wished her to be, but the mighty mountainous Beast she was.

With the tilting of her head, whose antlers nudged Tannin’s head out of the way, the Beast beheld an odd sight. A tiny being, unnoticed thus far and rather unexpected. Were Persephone’s eyes open, the Beastmother would have completely filled her vision, nothing but fur and muscle and fang, and those eyes, like great crimson torches, alight with terrible anger and recognition. Whoever or whatever this one was, she was undoubtedly responsible for the presence of this Dragon.

And so she must be punished.

The blood-red flames that perpetually accompanied Ristaang condensed more strongly around her fist, wreathing her forearm in crimson auroras until the limb took on a ghostly, ethereal image of itself. The Great Beast pulled this arm back and, in a blur of speed and power, ran her foe through. The red fist became visible to the outside world again as it brutally emerged from the wyvern’s back, undenied from its path, smashing clear through scale and bone and muscle. And in its grasp was its prize; that foolish little creature, torn free from the dragon’s body.

Howling a ferocious war cry, one enemy slung over her shoulder by antler and fist and the other caught in her fiery clutches, Ristaang, the Red, stood poised to destroy her foes utterly through might and divine flame!

[Corzak The Mighty]

Nyx maintained her steely resolve as she swam through the abyssal depths that lurked far below them, squeezing into the lifeless submerged hallway that had once been barred from access. Just what the hell was this place? And why was it so... barren? For a place that had been submerged suddenly, she would have expected there to be more remains down here. Yet this place was... eerily clean and still. It didn't sit well with Nyx - not one bit. The pilot reached for her sidearm reflexively, hoping she wouldn't need it.

Then she saw it" through the dark waters, Nyx could make out the light source. Was this what they were looking for? Moving cautiously towards it, Nyx perused the perimeter of the room, looking to see if she could find a way inside...
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Owlzarus watched silently as Tiamat sequestered away Aphrodite, watching as the two goddesses, two women of supreme power, withdrew from the battlefield to recuperate. Tiamat's majesty never ceased to amaze Owlzarus - even after all these years her splendor had not been tarnished. No, in fact it had only grown in its luster in the years since she had disappeared. But now, her appearance was ephemeral - temporary. The power of the Core worked in mysterious ways, after all. Though his queen had departed, there was still much work to be done. The antiquarian's eyes shifted down towards Evoex, as he opened up a rift in front of him and his friend.

"The Celestial Angel needs us... let us assist how we can!"

Stepping once more through the rift, the caretaker vanished from Evoex's line of sight, before he suddenly reappeared next to the Celestial Angel in a flash of orange light! Owlzarus' eyes burned a deep orange hue as his mind expanded outwards, filled with the thoughts and knowledge of untold eons. Runes danced across Owlzarus' form, filling the void around him and the Celestial Angel, as the runes bound themselves to both he and the shimmering astral entity. Thin rays of Owlzarus' shimmering ochre-hued energy infused themselves with the Celestial Angel, as the antiquarian closed his eyes, allowing his mind to merge as one with them.

Billions upon billions of thoughts swam through the two - eons of knowledge, wisdom, and secrets flowed as freely as water between the two entities, as their minds became intertwined as one, bolstering one another against the might of Chang'e. The weight of the cosmos and all its accumulated wisdom was brought to bear upon the false Heart of the Multiverse, threatening even her power!
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As Immanuel's radiant form lurched in preparation to unleash another beam of divine destruction upon the Wyvern King, the God of Light shifted his gaze to Tenchi Orion as the fiery vines entangled the horror's form! Empathically , Immanuel understood Tenchi's plans - a way to defeat this horror where brute force had failed. If Raspaganje could fall to such a ritual on a grand scale, a creature such as this could be destroyed on a much smaller scale!

Beams of golden light lanced out from Immanuel and pierced into the Wyvern King's hide like a series of burning spears, slicing through the creature's infernal scales and keeping it pinned down. Waves of divine power emanated forth from Immanuel and engulfed Tenchi Orion's body bolstering True Hellsbane with the power of ten thousand suns. Immanuel reached out his six great wings and pressed them against Tenchi Orion's back, channeling some of his divinity into the Ninja Prime, emblazoning their form with celestial fire.

"I'm with you," Immanuel boomed. "I will assist as much as I can!"

[Demon Lord Gira]

Nyx would find her way inside easier than she expected. One section of the glass on the wall of the room was not really there, as she found out when she brushed up against it, and phased through it. It was an illusion, one made to hide a transparent barrier that separated the ruined hallway from what was within. Nyx fell onto dry ground, the water behind her kept at bay by the barrier that quickly returned back to resembling the shuttered windows. At Nyx's feet was the tattered remains of a set of clothes and long dried bones, the remnants of a poor soul who had found their way into this room before everything had gone to hell and met an untimely death. The bones of the skeleton were thicker and more robust than normal, hinting that perhaps this had been a hefty, rather overweight man. Around the clothes and the bones was stains of crimson red, rusted dried blood from whenever his death had occurred.

Within the room were a pair of tanks, each on opposite ends. One was much smaller than the other, just large enough to house a human sized entity curled up in a ball inside, and was intact, though empty. The other was much larger and closed, and within it was a mixture of black and purple darkness that swirled, obscuring whatever else was inside. Brief surges of electricity shot down through wires and tubes into the tank. Between the two tanks, though closer to the much larger tank, was a computer terminal, inactive but functional as could be seen from the blue light on the side. The rest of the room seemed empty, with only a half dome on the ceiling, likely a sort of camera, as the only other notable feature....

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"They should be fine... I hope." RIsel told Alex. "I should be able to hear if anything happens, and I can dive in after them."

She looked over to Alex. "Some better clothes would be appreciated. I would... like that." She said.

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Chang'e hadn't expected for the mental assault from Owlzarus to come bombard her. "Oh, is it my turn to pla-" She wasn't even given the chance to finish her statement before the surge of power that aided the Celestial Angel bore down onto her. She felt her body wrack with pain as every fiber of her being was under assault from power that surprised her.

How was this.. How was this possible? She had the power of the Heart of the Multiverse, she had the power and knowledge of over seventy different timelines of herself all as one! She was the pinnalce of power, the evening star of reality, the immaculate apex of all that ever was and all that ever would be! And yet, she was being overwhelmed, buried and crushed, incinerated and pulled apart, by knowledge and power that came from countless dredges of existence beyond what she knew. Was all of this only from Owlzarus? Another unknown, another variable that had never plagued her in any of the timelines she had won in, yet one that was far more dangerous to her now than Adolphus could ever have hoped to be! Her head was splitting as she found herself focusing her energies to try and stave off what the combined forces of the Celestial Angel and Owlzarus, but as she focused her energies, she felt herself cough up blackened blood, and for wounds to begin opening across her body.

"No! NO! NOOOOO!" She began to scream. "I am Chang'e, the people's Chang'e, the multiverse's Chang'e! This is not how the story will end! The show must go on!"

Her voice reeked of desperation and denial, but hidden behind the agony and the pain, the slightest of smirks had begun to form on Chang'es mouth, for her long term plan was finally about to bear fruit.

"It shall go on."

---------------------

Within the center of the multiverse, a few cracks had formed from where Tannin had earlier tore open a hole leading into it. Though Orion Tenchi had closed the hole shut, it had remained open just long enough for a bit of Chang'es essence to sneak in. And now, finally, that essence had made its way toward the Core of the Multiverse, that which she had sought at long last. The endless branches of the Core of the Multiverse that crested across the sky among the hundreds of moons and countless stars began to darken as Chang'es influence took hold.

It was startlingly fast, how quickly Chang'e was able to begin absorbing the energy of the Core itself. The Heart she had become part of long ago had given her but a taste of what was to come, and now was the full course, with the energy sent back to her full self. She felt herself rapidly becoming stronger, her knowledge spiraling beyond what she had known before, her capabilities expanding beyond anything she had thought possible. It became easier for her to resist the assault from the Celestial Angel and from Owlzarus, until she was barely even feeling their attacks.

Yes, YES! This was what she had been seeking! The power she had obtained so long ago, it was insignificant compared to this! Everything was! And now, it was time for the REAL fun to begin for her and for Father!

---------------------------

It was a blow that caused time to stop for the End of All. His chest, had been punched through clean. His heart, infused around his daughter Persephone, torn from his body. The bands of flesh that kept his mouth bounded were torn apart as his maw was rent open in a agony induced bellow that echoed across the entire ruined planet.

Those bellows were cut short by Ristaang hurling him over her shoulder and down into the ground, crushing through rock and stone and leaving Tannin's battered and broken body still. The light in his eyes began to fade, yet he refused to accept defeat.

"Impossible... The gods of my world, I have burned. Their creator, I have dashed their corpse across the lands. I am the End of All, and I have never known defeat... now will I ever know defeat! Ristaang, Hell awaits you!"

The form of the tyrannical wyvern rose to his feet, but it was clear he was running out of energy, and despite his refusal to believe it, deep down, he knew this as well. Was this what his other half warned him of that always happened to him time and time again? Was it to happen this time as well? For her to come so close to victory, only for him to perish yet again?

------------------------

The horde of great bloated demons were many, but against Demmy and Nichelle they were outclassed. Demmy's eye bolts cut clean through any that tried to get close to Molly, while Nichelle was simply too fast and too precise with her blows, weaving and ducking around and below the sluggish swipes from the Solamiths and evading their fire to knock each of them out and away. With her blades ruined, she was unable to use them for a killing blow, but just her normal punches and kicks in her current form were enough to prove fatal to these demons. One tried to jump at her, but she kicked up at it, and the kick lodged into the Solamith's glowing orbed stomach and ignited the orb flames within, causing it to explode on the spot. Nichelle shielded herself from the flames, but they washed over her with little effect. She was fine with this, so long as they were focused on her and Demmy and not on Molly.

Another Solamith that had been preparing to sneak up on her was blasted by an eye bolt from Demmy. "There's no end to these bastards, freaking hell. Where are all these stupid demons coming from? Is that big dumb dragon making them?" Demmy groaned. "Molly, keep between us until we clear out these creeps."

"Yes." Molly said as she kept as close to between the two of them as possible. Any way for her to get up to where Chang'e was, and by extension Doris's soul, was simply impossible with all of these demons around. There wasn't much she could do in a fight against any of these creatures even with the Lifemother's power, given how non-offensive either of them were, and with the battle state as it was...

Molly felt a wetness on her legs, and before she could process what that was she found herself dragged across the ground and screamed. Both Nichelle and Demmy turned to see a silvery black mound of flesh holding Molly captive with one large muscular arm and its spare arm twisted into a sharpened blade held against her neck.

"MOLLY!" both of them shouted, but were cut off by a Solamith, one bigger than the rest and with a pair of horns shaped oddly like hair buns, wading in behind the amorphous shapeshifter.

"Let me kill both of you..." The Solamith growled, its voice deep and gutteral, yet there was a tone in there all three recognize as it continued to speak, "especially you, Demmy." It pointed a finger toward the black haired one eyes girl, and grabbed a stomachful of hellish fire in its other hand.

While Molly was too shocked and scared to say anything, Nichelle was the first to speak. "So this is what you've become, Heather. You betray us to become a demon like the others."

"To become A KING!" The Solamith, Heather, bellowed. "And finally, I can get my revenge on all who have wronged me. First you lot, then on Chang'e for making me like this! If she thought my memories and personality would be fully consumed by the transformation, she has another thing coming, but first, you two are on the chopping block!"

------------------------------

Though she was not keyed in on the attack plan that the others had, that didn't stop Tenkarus from continuing her own assault on the Wyvern King. Dozens of stone bands and tendrils rose up from the ground one after the other and wrapped around the three headed wyvern, but for each one she tried to ensnare the Wyvern King with, the hydra continued to overpower and break through. Worse, the sheer heat radiating off of her was starting to melt through the rocks to where even getting close to her was causing them to ignite and turn to liquid magma, to Tenkarus's increasing frustration.

"STOP BURNING MY ROCKS!" She screamed. "I CAN CONTROL ROCKS, AND I CAN CONTROL METAL, BUT NOT THIS LIQUID SHIT! I CAN'T DO THAT CRAP!"

"Then let an actual goddess show you how it's done!"

With the tap of the end of a staff, the growing pools of molten lava around the Wyvern King surged upward and binded around the Wyvern King before rapidly cooling into sharpened obsidian that dug into her flesh and scales. The Wyvern King bellowed as she felt these new bands constrict tighter and tighter, along with the beams of energy from Immanuel that burned away at her. Tenkarus looked over and saw Lavidana standing beside her, a smug smirk on the Goddess of the Earth's face.

"Hey, who the hell are you? I'm the Queen of Heaven, the greatest of the Celestials, and I'm not about to be outdone by some pipsqueak!" Tenkarus whined, only to be slapped across the face by the staff in Lavidana's head.

"I'm you, but better in every way... that is relevant." The Earth Goddess huffed. "Now, let's focus on the task at hand, shall we? Help me keep this thing binded down so we can actually kill it." Though as she said this, Lavidana felt there was something oddly familiar about this creature. Why did it seem so familiar to her?

Though Cercil was quick to charge in to begin Orion's plan, she saw that Crigan was hesitant. It was only for a moment, though, before he shook his head and charged in with her. She wouldn't ask him why he was so hesitant, not until after this was done. The battle was drawing to a close, she could sense it. Tannin, the great evil that had taken so much from her, was dying at Ristaang's feet, and Chang'e was being handled by Owlzarus and the angel. That only left this beast as the final true hurdle.

She flew in toward the bound Wyvern King and held her hands forward. She send divine energy racing down the opened mouths to strike at its core, at its very soul and tear away at it, but as she did this, something was wrong. She felt her strikes have no effect on its soul either. Instead, it was as it it was... feeding off of them!

"Crigan, fall back! This thing is immune to my attacks!"

Too late was Crigan in heeding Cercil's advice, and he got too close. In that moment, the Wyvern King burst free of its shackles once more and latched all three heads around the ghostly form of Crigan. Energy began to race down the god's form and into the three headed dragon, and it was with little resistance, as if all the strength had immediately been sucked clean from Crigan. A series of chains wrapped around the heads and caused them to let go, allowing for Cercil to catch the falling God of Death and get to a safe distance.

"But... But why? Why can't we..." Cercil began to ask, before something dawned upon her. "Crigan... You... know why, don't you?"

"Of course he knows why. Because he's not the actual God of Death. She is!"



The voice had come from where Owlzarus and the Celestial Angel were trying to overwhelm Chang'e, but in that moment, everything changed for the worst. The pocket dimension cracked, then shattered into a thousand pieces, and both Owlzarus and the Celestial Angel were bombarded with dozens of bolts of unholy demonic power that ravaged their bodies and burned away at them as they were struck down into the ground. Where they had once been, now was a pitch black tree with crimson veins that flowed up through it. Its branches spread far and wide across the ruined sky, and in the center of the great unholy tree was Chang'e, fused with it, a part of the Core of the Multiverse. Her smile stretched from eartip to eartip as she erupted into full on maniacal laughter.

"Did you really think that desecrated carcass you've been with this whole time was the God of Death? That's just the discarded shell some losers found and slapped the name Crigan onto!" Chang'e proclaimed, her voice echoing across the landscape for all to hear. "No, the true God of Death, the original, is under my control. She's gone under a few different titles over the years, like the Wyvern King and Estrella, but deep down she's the original corrupted bona fide God of Death that sealed away Salavance the Golden. All you have there is the leftover conscious that had to be split away. But now, you face the three greatest powers in all of reality: The unfiltered God of Death, The Tyrant of Wrath, and the Core of the Multiverse herself! Let all of creation begin to be remade in our image!"

The corrupted Core swirled with energy, before a cascade of bolts rained down from above and showered the land in death, seeking to annihilate the heroes. At the same time, the Wyvern King sent forth powerful gusts of wind laced with deathly miasma, to suffocate and kill any who would escape the crimson rain.

Around where Owlzarus and the Celestial Angel had crashed, monstrosities began to rise from the ground. These were on spindly legs and had wings twitching from their backs, but their mouths and heads were upside down, and they cackled and chattered in demonic foreign tongues as they moved in for the kill...

----------------------

Tendrils of energy from the fused Core wove into Tannin, empowering the End of All. Light returned to his eyes as his wounds began to close. He was becoming stronger again, stronger than before! As he began to rise up, Ristaang refused to give him the chance to retaliate, and moved to rip his head off.

He would not give her that chance.

Their eyes locked, and Tannin's eyes flashed. Ristaang felt something within her change, and then saw that bits of her were beginning to crystalize. She was being turned to crystal before her own eyes, changing from the inside out, and this was no earthly crystal, but pitch black netheral energy, something beyond her control. She was turned into a statue before her hand could even reach Tannin's head.

The Fell Wyvern rose to his feet and let out a triumphant bellow. He would be back to finish the job once everything else was taken care of. But now... to remake all within his image!

_________________________________________

All across the multiverse, the skies began to twist and crackle. From Sheol to Noraage to Niflheim to the Ninja Realm, the skies turned a crimson blood red. Blackened rain began to fall, and from it emerged horrors and abominations, wyverns and draconic fiends who marched across the frozen snowscapes, the drenched forests, the stone cliffs and the ruined cities, and the landscape itself began to bend and warp into an infernal, molten hellscape.

All of existence was being overwritten and remade in Tannin's image, all thanks to the Core of the Multiverse!
---------------------

[Godzilla165]

A flowing plain of tall flowers, waterfalls, and rich green grass dominated the landscape. A massive star cast a brilliant soft glow down upon it all. Gentle winds blew with perpetuity and filled the air with the fresh aroma of sweet honey and cinnamon. Hundreds of miles away, stood an enormous castle, built entirely from raw diamond and polished marble, erected by she many eons ago for one sole purpose: recovery. Tiamat stood silently in the fields, a mile or so away from the grandiose high rise gleaming in the sun. In her arms was the slumbering and battered form of Aphrodite; her breathes were feeble and rattled, but she was still alive, nonetheless. Tiamat found herself reminiscing then, sifting through memories of a time long since passed. She had created this pocket realm for the times when Dante had an... Episode. Times when the battle with his inner demon had become so intense, that the young ninja's very life was in danger... Tiamat brought him here to rest and reset. It was her little recovery realm, and it had served her and many others she helped throughout the eons. Now, the Yakuza all mother would use it to bring Aphrodite back to her complete self, to rest for as long as she needed so when the time came, she could be reunited with those she loved most.

"Come child," Tiamat murmured, gazing down at her silver haired daughter with a warm smile, "let's get you inside."

************************
Tiamat slowly strode into one of the castle's largest rooms, spanning at least five miles across, and located a single bed resting in the center of the room. It was at least twenty feet in length and carved out of marble and comet dust, which gave it a beautiful white and amber aura. Its two mattresses, sheets, and pillows were made from the rarest and riches materials in the multiverse. As she just about glided across the surface, Tiamat laid Aphrodite carefully down into the massive bed, and it began to glow softly, absorbing her figure into its pillowy sheets. Tenderly did the deity remove the goddess's bloodied and worn clothes, folded them neatly, and rested them at the foot of the bed. Standing back, Tiamat looked at her lying there so peacefully now; she even heard a gentle sigh escape her. Tiamat could do no more than smile as though she were a parent looking at their sleeping child. How amazing was it for a being with so much power, so much wisdom, and so much grandeur... Look like a small babe now as she rested. The goddess of love would be safe here, free from the devastation of the war waged across existence. Tiamat even surrounded this place with a protection stave for additional assurance. With the exception of the Core itself, there was no power great enough to get through to this haven. And, in that, Tiamat was now as crucial a component to the Core as any physical being could be, barring the Guardians themselves. Speaking of which...

Tiamat sat down beside Aphrodite and laid a hand upon hers. "You'll be safe here, sweetie, get as much rest as you need." She whispered. Although the girl said nothing, Tiamat could feel her spirit; she was thankful.

Without another word, Tiamat rose and turned to leave from the giant room. When she got to the door, she twisted the knob, pushed it open, and was now within the Core's domain, stood in the presence of the creator itself. The door leading to Aphrodite's room faded away and left only a wall of ethereal white behind. What the Core's ambassador found on the other side did not surprise her, she had been anticipating this moment, as did the Core itself. Chang'e's influence was swiftly beginning to take over, simultaneously destroying and reshaping all of existence into her father's image. Tiamat stared at the endless web of branches surrounding the Creator, vessels of old life, new life, and budding life. The deadly influence had taken hold of many of them, darkening their once pure white color into something more monochromatic, more somber, more hopeless. Tiamat could feel it, in her very soul did she both feel and see the iniquity of Chang'e taking over stretches of the multiverse. Monsters of nightmare rose from the cosmic soil and engaged in a campaign of destruction and genocide. Cities were on the brink of ruin. Untold lives were being taken. And for what? For what purpose did all of this death and destruction serve? There would be no grand utopia, nor peaceful Nirvana in the reality presented by the remaining three entities who sook to control and take anything and everything they saw fit to.

To that, did Tiamat fold her hands neatly in front of herself, and offer her mentor one burning question: "What would you have me do?"

The time for her to sit idly by had passed. She could not and would not do nothing while so much agony was happening before them. Tenchi... Her children... They had something up their sleeves, a plan of action to counter this... But they needed her by their side. Her people needed her. Reality needed her.

Her inquiry was answered with but a mere twinkle from the Creator... A call to action at last.

Do what you feel is right.

Tiamat nodded. That was all she needed to hear. With that, she turned and disappeared in a flash of light. Hopefully, Chang'e savored these fleeting moments; she was about to meet the one being she never wished to.

_____________________________


The skies over the Realm of the Ninja devolved into a sea of red, shrouding the heavenly land in a vermilion glow. All in attendance froze, stopping what they were doing to gaze towards the scarlet overcast. A large crowd gathered near the edge of the towering gates as more Yakuza and fae alike spilled into the courtyard. The Night Owls and Lafayette stood at the front of the troupe, and soon did the doppelganger of Tenchi Orion join them. All who were in attendance knew that something was coming, it was only a matter of when. The rain came then. Taking on a more tar-like consistency and appearance, it fell to the earth with loud and ringing patters, drilling into the soil like tiny daggers. Citizens cried out with confusion as their skin and clothes were stained black, the rain sticking to them like sludge. The Nights Owls each visibly tensed, their hands rested on their respective weapons.

"What is this?" Alexei asked, a burning edge to his voice.

As if in answer to the Yakuza's inquiry, did the ground begin to move, the puddles of dark proceed to roil and bubble. What proceeded to sprout forth filled many Yakuza with nervousness, more with fear, yet a handful with brimming disdain. Eldritch abominations, winged fiends, and serpentine wretches rose from the tended soil, glowering at their intended prey with venomous upside-down smiles. Within moments, there were hundreds of these beasts, and they soon began to writhe towards the present Yakuza and fae.

Tenchi Orion stood unmoved, a beacon in the red and black storm, their skin and armor undirtied by the tar rain. Their eyes faced down the growing army with an emotionless stare, for though there were hundreds of these creatures, and growing by the second, that would not be enough. A storm of their own was coming.

"Your majesties... What do we do?" Vale desperately asked, hoping for some kind of answer from the Ninja Prime, anything in response.

And so, Tenchi gave her one. They turned from the fiend army and looked westward. The Night Owls, Lafayette, and many of the Yakuza and pixies followed their gaze to find, off in the distance... Light. Light not from the sun, the moon, nor the universes displaced in the broken sky; this source was different. Even the upturned faces of Tannin's progeny turned to look at the growing luster, their visages twisting into something resembling frowns.

Just then, shapes... Winged shapes and silhouettes could be seen within the light source, each moving with soundless and effortless speed. Tannin's spawn shuddered; there was fear amongst their ranks. The reason for their rising turmoil came like a hurricane, a storm of great wings and heavenly war cries. Dragons... Ethereal dragons by the tens of thousands rushed forward, their radiant bodies of pure energy erasing the blood red shroud piece by piece. And, they were massive in size, with each measuring 20 feet tall and 40 feet in length. These great dragons wasted no time in unleashing flames of untold power from their maws upon the writhing miasma of creatures, utterly glassing them upon contact and leaving behind new life in their wake. They swooped low, bombarding their opponents with continuous fire, or using their mighty talons and teeth to tear the undead apart. With every kill the dragons made, with each pass they committed, new growth sprouted forth from the earth, healing the landscape with amazing efficiency.

"What in the gods..." Vale stated wide-eyed.

Hayden stood between her and Alexei, and had been uncharacteristically quiet, until now. "Your majesties," He said and looked at Tenchi, "is this your work?"

Tenchi shook their head, gifting the boy a twinkling eye that he didn't understand, yet did all the same. Lafayette smiled at the sight laid before her, shaking her head at the events unfolding.

"You always know how to make an entrance, don't you?" She subconsciously asked. Turning to the Night Owls, she asked them, "Are you three prepared to fight? To help defend your home?"

They all nodded almost instantly, if a bit taken aback by Lafay's directness. "Y-Yes ma'am!" They each said.

She nodded and turned her attention to the overall crowd. "Hear me, fellow Yakuza! Tiamat, their majesties, and the heroes here who have sacrificed so much are with us. We have the numbers, the power, and the will to drive this evil out of our home, never to return! Those of us who can fight, who will fight... Will you join us in defending our home? Will you join us in protecting our kinfolk, old and new? Will you let these wretched beasts know that they chose the WRONG place to try and interfere with?!"

A collective cry, a fiery howl bolstered by the desire to serve, to protect, to fight... Erupted from the crowd as many of them bore arms and raised them high into the sky. This was their home, a place meant to nurture, a place of peace and prosperity, a place of beauty... And the Yakuza were damn sure going to defend it, rather than avenge it. Satisfied, Lafay turned to Tenchi and nodded.

"On your word, your majesties." She spoke.

In response, the divine guardian snapped their fingers and gifted each of their fellow Yakuza with their own personal forcefield to protect them from the dragons' flames. And with that, Tenchi summoned True Hellsbane into their possession, and thrust it forward. The Yakuza rushed towards the spawn of Tannin like battle-hungry Spartans, not an inkling of fear in their hearts, no unsureness in their spirits. There was nothing but fire, fury, and love for their people and home. Surprise and a little bit of fear could describe the reactions the invading beasts had to their prey going on the attack. Combined with the thousands of dragons reigning total devastation upon them, Tannin's army could not respond fast enough when dozens of Yakuza collided into them with the force of a giant truck. Three burly men tackled a black, two-headed gorgon to the ground and proceeded to curb stomp it, pummeling the thing's double heads and chest without mercy. An older couple could be seen tearing the mandibles off a giant worm and pulling out its many eyes.

The Night Owls attacked as one, with Hayden stomping the ground hard enough to bring forth massive boulders that Vale went on to freeze into solid ice, and Alexei lit on fire. The makeshift comets careened down upon several monsters and blew them into pieces. The trio then rushed in amongst the crowd, helping their kin to pummel and eviscerate the enemy with ruthless proficiency. Meanwhile, Tenchi's clone effortlessly eradicated hundreds of the terrible fiends and reduced them to nothing, no molecules, no atoms... Nothing. They worked with Tiamat's dragons to both eliminate the threat and rejuvenate the landscape. It was a perfect marriage, a harmonious dance that was as beautiful as it was deadly.

The Realm of the Ninja was not a realm to be trifled with, and as Tiamat would soon show... Neither was this reality.

*****************************

Throughout every corner of existence did dragons of Tiamat's creation work to destroy the plague that had the multiverse in a chokehold. From Sheol to Niflheim, the dragons were there. There were millions of them, billions, trillions of celestial firedrakes whose sole mission was to loosen Chang'e's hold and rescue as many lives as possible. Even Aphrodite, in her realm of slumber, had great draconian beings defending her. This was a dark hour for all, but with the efforts of the Guardians, Tiamat, and the many heroes who fought for every last innocent life and future... There would be light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Soon did the supportive cries of trillions of peoples sound across the multiverse, wishing, willing for the heroes to succeed. There was hope in their spirits, hope for a better future. Tannin's image would not be permanent!

"HEROES OF THE MULTIVERSE. SAVE US!"

"HEROES OF THE MULTIVERSE. SAVE US!"

"SAVE US!"

"SAVE US!"

"SAVE US!"

"WIN!!!!"

*****************************

The Celestial Angel was quick to recover and claw back to her feet, just in time to witness monstrous abominations erupt from the ground and march towards her and the knowledge caretaker. She flared her wings outward and released a wave of uncorrupted, divine energy at the beasts. The energy torched their flesh the instant it made contact; their bodies weren't used to unmolested power. Several of them toppled over like dominos and wildly thrashed on the ground as their skin boiled like heated water, and the rest were forced back, bouts of smoke billowing off their horrible forms. That was merely a warning; the angel would not hesitate to go further if she needed to. She backed up towards Owlzarus, her golden eyes never leaving the fiends, and wound up stood over his downed form. She would not allow anything to happen to him, his life a necessity in her recently born eyes.

Tenchi watched as the Wyvern King, the proclaimed "true" God of Death, absorbed the immense energy having been dealt into it like a living sponge. So much for that plan, and with reality around them having swiftly devolved into chaos, things certainly had gotten more complicated. Chang'e now had access to the Core, and so did her power balloon to levels never thought possible. If she wasn't stopped, if she and her father were not completely and utterly eradicated... There would be no multiverse left. The Star of Calamity had once spoken about hubris, and how his own eventually became his undoing. Hubris would be the death knell of those two, and Tench Orion would be the final stake that plunged into their hearts. They simply needed a plan; one they could rely on to prove beneficial. The Ninja Prime enveloped themselves in a large, iridescent forcefield that shielded them from the raining bolts, and steadied their form as Estrella's suffocating winds rushed past.

In the midst of the bedlam, Tenchi paused, almost in hesitance. It was for but a moment, yet it was notable all the same. They stared blankly at Chang'e, at the mixture of corrupt and raw energy from the Core that she was outputting... And their eyes shut in response. Deep down, within their conglomerate soul, Tenchi was thinking, planning, deciding.

"If we go through with this, we may never come back from it." One disembodied voice stated.

"We don't have much choice. The multiverse needs us now more than ever." Another voice countered.

"Even if we don't come back, we'll leave knowing that reality is safe." Said another.

"We'll be doing what we were always called to do: protect the multiverse and her people. This is a risk we have to take." The final voice spoke.

"Right." The other three agreed.


Tenchi reopened their eyes. What felt like minutes had only amounted to a few seconds in real time, but they now had a clear decision made, a plan of action that could turn the tide a final time. But it was one that, after all was said and done... Could end in the ultimate sacrifice, a final gift imparted by the Guardians onto the multiverse. That was a future of the unknown, and one that Tenchi was not concerned over; there would be no hesitation. And so, the mighty warrior silently ascended into the sky, their form a blaze of light thanks to Immanuel's gift to them; his power would not go unused. Tenchi let go of True Hellsbane and allowed it to hover beside them for now and brought both their hands together in a neat clasp against their breast. Golden eyes were covered by soft eyelids, and Tenchi took in a great, deep, and smooth breath. In moments, every latent piece of energy that was strewn about the battlefield drew into them, as well as energies from the fractured cosmos. Purified energy, corrupted power, deadly miasma... Everything was absorbed into Tenchi Orion at once. It was so much that, to an onlooker, they just about turned into a miniature star, their form shrouded in immeasurable amounts of vivacity. Something had to give way to allow for all of this to flourish unopposed, and Tenchi knew exactly what.

"Are you absolutely certain about this?" A familiar voice calmly, albeit worryingly asked.

The warrior nodded, not bothering to open their eyes, for they needed all the focus they could get to assure this was executed flawlessly.

To that, Tiamat nodded herself, floating alongside the Ninja Prime. She trusted them, but her motherly instincts betrayed her resolve. She just hoped, prayed that they would come back once this was over. She couldn't lose them, not again.

The time had come. For Tenchi to fully do battle with Chang'e, the Heart of the Multiverse, the false Core... They needed to go beyond their physical form, to become the embodiment of everything good in the multiverse, everything beautiful. This was their duty; this was their choice... This was their promise. Tenchi's eyes gleamed open with the might of a thousand suns, and found themselves emblazoned, entirely ethereal, living physical energy.

Their arm outstretched to wrap their fingers around the enhanced form of True Hellsbane, curtesy of Immanuel, and then they set their sights on the awaiting Tiamat. She merely offered them a sweet smile, and through their eyes, did Tiamat see Tenchi smile back. They knew what she was thinking: were her children no longer in there? Were their bodies and their souls assimilated into this form for the greater good? That last question left a pit in her stomach, one she wished she knew the answer to. And yet, even she could not locate it, to know for certain. Tiamat would just have to have faith, faith in her children and their ability to always find a way.

Her resolve steeled once more and she nodded at them. “I’m with you.” She said as her eyes glowed a bright blue.

With that action did the present heroes on the battlefield feel their own powers be bolstered by the limitless force of Queen Tiamat. Immanuel’s flames strengthened tenfold, as were Cercil’s own energies, and Crigan’s. Tenkarus and Lavidana, the mountainous beast mother, Ristaang, the Celestial Angel… All blessed with prosperous rejuvenation. Even Owlzarus felt his own body ignite with the immensely powerful and comforting warmth of the Core’s right hand, and Evoex’s text boxes became divine spears of passionate text.

Everyone had value, an important role to play in winning this conflict. Tiamat set her sights on Chang’e, a coldness in her glower seeping into the latter’s soul.

“At long last, I have the pleasure of finally meeting the great Chang’e in the flesh.” Tiamat scorned as both she and Tenchi descended from the sky to her level. “I must say… I was hoping to have been more impressed than by what stands before me now.”

Just then, enormous glowing orange wings were conjured behind Tiamat, six in total, and each taking on the appearance of the Core’s life branches. Her pupils turned into dragon-like slits, a fire burning in each, and glowing blue scales sprinkled her cheeks like freckles. Her gaze never left Chang’e as the former folded her hands neatly on top of one another. “Your mockery of a reign is over; there will be no mercy for you, nor your father today.”

Tenchi stared down Chang’e also, their ethereal form intensely coruscating on the battlefield. The heroes of the multiverse had given so much, sacrificed countless moments in the name of peace. Such would not be in vain. The multiverse was their home, and the Guardians would stand with them to see this conflict won.

The final showdown was now upon them.

[EdGojira]

Hero? Hercules guessed he was. It'd been so long that he'd been a scoundrel, cursing the names of the lineage who made him and then had the audacity to take his children away... or cursing them for the plight that Juno put him through. She was so surprised that when she made a murderer, that murderer came to her wrapped in a divine blanket and with a partner... permanently fused together.

Was he carrying on the legacy of a hero by putting an end to her? He didn't know. He didn't care. By now, his minds had melded so much it wasn't as if he were two aspects at all. Only symbolically, if even that.

He had a small ship. Well, small by the standards of his massive fleet. He would be in the reach of the battle in less than a second. It would've been stupid to just dive in there with things outside of his caliber. Most he probably would've been able to do was kill Aram, if nobody else had anything to say about it including the multiverse-powered psycho.

Now it seemed stupid that he'd tried to stay on the sidelines. When you steal and kill, you're still only doing that at a small scale. Most killers and thieves had their benefit and, or maybe or their loved ones in mind. This kind of scale of murder and selfishness wasn't anything he wanted to do with. Maybe that was the side of him choosing to go by Hercules that thought that. He liked to think it was all of him who did.

Tiamat's power flowed into him. He felt the burn marks from Godzilla close away. He hadn't felt this alright in... ever. He felt like he was at his full strength even without needing to take his clothes off. He wasn't about to just let his good jacket get ruined. So, as his ship flew over the massive orb of sand at the edge of the battlefield, he hung his coat on a rack.

He turned to face the presence of the Sandman.

"Some nerve you come around here. Planning to play dead again?" The Sandman said. He was also clearly getting empowered although he seemed to like it a whole lot less. Figures that he'd be a sour bastard.

"Aye, mate," Hercules said. He just wanted to piss off the god. He knew he'd be way too mission oriented to come up with any kind of real retaliation. And, frankly, if they fought then it might actually be a little interesting. "If the situation can be handled without me, I'll be on me merry way. However, it do be appearing that I'm... required. Along with my big friend."

"You mean your attempt to steal the Behemoth's power for yourself? How powerful do you think that thing is out there now? How can you hope to control it?"

"Yep, me attempt to have some coverage for Godzilla. Kinda like you with your big friend down here too?"

The Sandman twitched. Hercules smiled. It was too bad that he was so difficult to absorb, because Hercules couldn't help but wonder if the boost from Tiamat would carry over even after the battle was done.

He could feel something in his body the power radiating from beneath. It was like this very center of creation. And it was like that before it started to integrate the gift of light too. It seemed to be coming from the same fellow with the magnificent antlers.

Hercules had no idea that one of his sources for King Ghidorah would hold that kind of strength. He wasn't going to lie to himself... it scared him. But not more than the immediate threat that was this particular three headed dragon or any of its associates.

"It's not like that," the Sandman said. "I'm not going to discount the possibility."

"Alright," Hercules said. A large sword appeared in his hand. It radiated his own glow, the golden sheen and the lightning crackles from the many Olympians he'd imbibed. Funny situation being on the side of some gods again. How it was seemed a lot better than universes full of matter corrupting monsters, was all that he had to think about it.

Hercules felt his ship move. The enormous shadow of a reptilian about pressed up against the window that onlooked the battlefield. Steam nearly completely filled it, but he could see that same strange white glow coming from the top of his creation's head. It must've been curling down her spines. Tiamat and that fusion of the Ninjas must've been super generous to give a mutant monster that power. The typhoon lizard may just be more than that. Not bad for something that's only been alive for the equivalent of a year.

"It's an abomination," The Sandman scoffed.

"Deal with it."

The Sandman looked like he was about to try to kill him right then and there. Instead, he sighed. "My coping skills have gotten the tiniest bit better, I suppose..."

The power from the ball of sand was swelling even more now. Taifage, the "Zilla", turned her head more and more toward it. She, like one of her progenitors, seemed to have a sixth sense to detect something huge. She didn't have much time to react with that.

"If you have a giant monster, may I suggest the Wyvern King?" La'tomer said. He was stirring his staff through the air.

"While you twiddle your thumbs?"

"Idiot. If we're going to deal with the reality corruption, we'll need at least one of us here to attempt to claim this as our godly domain. Temporarily, of course."

Hercules raised his sword. His shades glinted. "An apocalyptic day at the beach. If we're going to die, may as well."
__________
The Wyvern King had little warning for what was coming. In this realm near the Core, somehow a thunderstorm swelled overhead. And it wasn't just like any. The growing clouds of rolling anger shot out like a giant mass of tendrils, from within the glowing gift of Tiamat outlined their grey underbelly as it eclipsed even the size of the beyond a gas giant in scale sphere of sand that slowly was coming unraveled.

"Slowly" being a relative term.

The wisps of sand shot out from the sphere and carved into the Wyvern King's flesh like a series of daggers. The creature's huge wings split open at the muscle from the blasts as whatever thin membranes that became exposed to it were punctured. Below, the ground morphed into a sea of dunes.

The rain from the thunderclouds pooled around the dunes into a tumultuous sea wracked with water spouts and electric currents. The beast was grounded by the might of the combined powers of Hercules and the Sandman, who stood perched on a platform within the clouds.

Something was resisting their claim the whole way through. Hercules was worrying at first that it was Tiamat and the Ninjas, but no they were helping. It was just that crazy lady Chang'e. She was tough...

Good thing they were going to deal with that.

Even as the storm and the sand bombarded the Wyvern King, something new brewed for her. The dunes of sand shifted with movement. Lines of glass formed in the wake of rows of cragged stony outcroppings. The water had been a way to conceal her. Now she was ready to attack.

Taifage burst out of the ground beneath the Wyvern King. Her huge scaly feet thrust out to dig into its necks and push her up into the air. Her white-hot spines pulsed with the energy all the way until some spilled from her sockets then erupted like a huge napalm geyser right into the creature's back. Flesh was stripped clean off.

She slammed into the dunes in a mighty plume which swallowed her up into a spiral. Hercules could feel what she felt behind those nuclear eyes. She could feel the perversion that this thing was. She was angry at it.

She slammed down onto all fours as the Wyvern King still burned with her attack. It wasn't down yet. She shook her neck and her huge squared jaw flew open.

"SCREEEEEEWWWWOOONK!"

She sounded a little bit too much like her gene donor just then. Hercules was almost happy that he'd be fighting the literal Core of the Multiverse instead of being down there. At least he had backup.
__________
The sand swirled around them. The tree, like Yggdrasil tainted and mutilated, was their final destination. Their influence was struggling to keep the corruption at bay. They would need help and more... direct measures.

The Sandman's rounded blade struck first. It was an attempt to cut the Core out of her in a metaphysical sense, but it wasn't going to be that easy. Likely to revert the damage done, they'd need to weaken Chang'e herself.

The blade still sliced through her and through her blackened trunk with more ease than La'tomer expected. Then, with a thunder clap, Hercules was across from him. He'd chosen a back attack. Honestly, not the worst tactic at the moment. The powerful sword made its way through Chang'e's flank. The pure energy along with the powers of Hercules and his absorbed victims racked up through her body and sent the thing's little power trip into an abrupt end.

Chang'e would find difficulty fighting back from the immense power as La'tomer used his own power infused with Tiamat's and Tenchi's gift to cloud her mind. With such immense power, it was going to take work rendering her fully unconscious.

Hercules vanished into La'tomer's sand.

"Did you get any?" La'tomer asked.

"Uncorrupted Core energy? No. No I fucking didn't. Wish I could've ended it here."

The Sandman's sand swirled around in tremendous rings and deceptively penetrative wisps. It was just about time for reveal with Jake. His duty wouldn't be here or with Taifage...
____________

The pain had gone away. The energy that entered Jake and aided him along was... familiar. He knew who it was the instant that he couldn't hear the Legendary Beast anymore. The way he felt more in control than ever before. It was that same calm that he'd seen the Ninjas show when they'd come together as one. Now they were in there with him. "I know you can hear me... thank you. I'll live up to this gift."

The dark of the condensed sand was peeling away. A shoulder lined with thick bronze and white scales in the shape of armor came into the view of everyone who could witness. So too, the wide antlers that coiled forward. As the sand moved forward more, his thick plated neck. All these things were much, much larger than they were before. This ball of sand being used now to attack the Wyvern King was about to reveal a new giant.

The chains on his wrist and neck were eroded. So much of his blue energy formed a thin layer over his skin and his now armored robe that the chains couldn't work any more as intended. He could break them and go further if he needed to. He didn't think he would. This form was dangerous as was. It seemed like even the gift from the others was only enough to speed up his transformation and give him more control.

That extra control was going to be vital.

His newfound white mane which stretched down his long neck billowed with the flowing of the moving sand. His robe wrapped around his now elongated body with the force of the wind to show all the spikes on his thick hide had formed into even more armor.

In the middle of his crown of perfectly sculpted antlers, a sphere sat pulsating. It eerily resembled the Core of the Multiverse. His gods' attempt to recreate it. To artificially keep this multiverse going come a doomsday. He supposed in some way, that was what was going to happen. Except this wasn't an artificial prolonging.

His near-serpentine body coiled around to perch onto the edge of the fading sand celestial body. His immense hands raked through them, cold blue eyes of an artificial organism penetrating through Tannin. That was the one who this was all for. This carnage on an untold scale. Funny how it looked a lot like a dragon too.

Rings flowed off of the sphere over Jake's head. These flowed out to the others on the battlefield below. A little gift of his own power. In his third form, he couldn't share his full abilities... but he could heal. He could empower. He could send these pulses through the armies of monsters and vaporize them by the thousands. "This is for you, Young Man. Daeva. Ubel. Evron. You kids are too damn inspiring."

These rings also pulsed and rotated around his body. They served as a shield. They bent reality to what he wished and covered his body. He was going to need all of this for him to do what he was about to do.

The rings circled his hand and conjured from nowhere a huge, curved sword. It burned hot with his power. Then he shot up. His body danced elegantly through the air, propelled by his controlled energy. Without even needing to direct it with his hands, some of the energy looped to the front of the comet-like structure. It rocketed up and slammed into Tannin, peeling away part of his hide. Threads infused with power emerged from nowhere to bind the End of All down. It closed him in for a volley of Jake's unfathomably powerful energy bullets which bloomed out of his body and then coiled down to bombard him like the surface of a world set to ruin by a meteor shower.

This was the start of a fight like none other. Here he was, thinking that he'd met everything that he could have in the multiverse. Even his power wasn't going to make this a walk in the park.
_________
Under the red sky in the Ninja Realm, the pirates blasted and slashed away at the hordes of monsters. They'd been working hard to get all the Dragon Balls. That much Jackie knew about. He wasn't sure what they were planning. Seeing them here sent a surge of anger through his body. But he didn't stand a chance. Even one of these monsters were enough to nearly kill him, but Xarm, Beetle and the little metal one made them look like jokes. They had a god bound and gagged.

One false move was all it was going to take for him to die. So, he stood frozen. Staring at all six gathered on top of a pile of wreckage. Placing down little shields to be activated when they saw him and slow down his demise.

"It be about time," Xarm said, "to make our wish."

"What's the point?" Beetle said. "Armageddon be going on!"

The little metal one was like a blender blade through Tannin's monsters. He shredded them in an arch before coming to a stop next to the other pirates. He stared at the Dragon Balls. His little visor met Jackie.

Jackie felt the color drain out of his face.

But Nonce didn't bother him. He dragged The Other by the chains up to the spheres. "Get over here."

He buried the old Yakuza's face into the spheres. "Where be the dragon?"

"Pray tell, why I'd tell you this?" The Other said. He glanced up. Jackie was still frozen from that near-miss. The god saw him. He saw the god.

Xarm put a sword up to his neck. "I'm not about to give up on there being a future. You be telling, or you'll be finding that your niece and nephews will be finding pieces of your skull in their beds."

The Other breathed a gust of hot air out of his nose. "That doesn't give me much incentive. Of all the countless lives in the multiverse, why should yours be prolonged? You hold no allegiance but to the next bottle that you."

Nonce kicked him in the head. He grabbed The Other around the neck and began to strangle him. Jackie winced. To see one of the relatives of the people who fought so hard for this whole whirlwind of calamity treated this way... it made him sick to his stomach. It was wrong. And the worst thing was how resigned the god was to this treatment.

Jackie knew what it was. To be pushed around when part of a "community." Maybe that Sandman pretended to have respect for him the same way that Hercules had with Jackie? He couldn't imagine Godzilla or Death did.

The Other was a vagrant. So powerful, but still far from home. And when he was home... still unable to enjoy it.

Maybe he was just assuming things about The Other. Maybe he was just missing Dana. He didn't know what, but if The Other was picking this time to die then so was Jackie. He breathed in deep and released a chi kunai tied to a chain. He targeted one of the large amber spheres.

Nonce caught it. Within less than a second, Jackie's insides erupted in complete and utter agony. It felt like magma had been poured into his guts before he had even registered what had happened. The little robot had thrown him right onto Xarm's sword.

Xarm looked at him apologetically, turning his light head to gaze into his eyes. "It is a shame that you didn't come around in the end. I can only pray that the captain will understand."

He released the sword and Jackie's body hit the ground. His vision hadn't completely faded yet. His mind still had some faculties. It would've been gone if it weren't for the sword staying in. A cruel pirate mercy to give him some last moments. A few final prayers. But these moments were spent on the other one here.

He could only watch as The Other was inspired to attack and was struck down almost the same.

Nonce sliced off one of the god's arms. His ichor painted the ground and drenched pieces of rubble.

"This is going too far," Beetle protested. "We're here for supplies, not to prove anybody that we deserved Godzilla on our backs."

"Deserved? You know we didn't deserve it! The beast merely has a vendetta for Hercules disrupting his nap!"

"And did we do anything to make us seem innocent? Are our hands clean?"

"You shut up," Nonce said. He rolled one of the balls underneath his foot. "Namekian. That be the secret here."

Jackie's numbed mind calmly observed the pooling blood. He rubbed his fingers together after raising his hand out of it. Huh. Sticky.

The sky got even darker. An overcast joined Tannin's black rain. The balls all glowed the brightest yellow as a green shape was birthed from within them. It coiled into the sky, its golden underbelly and amber eyes filling the vision of all who stood at its base.

Nonce smiled wide. "Eien, good to see you. I've been wanting this the whole time."

Jackie realized he could understand the speech. His mind couldn't put it together. It was too busy fading.

"Now, let's cut to the chase..." Nonce said. He gave the other pirates and their victims a smug look. "Give me my old body back. With upgrades."

Eien's eyes flashed. The storm rolled and boomed. Lightning hit the small robot and swallowed him up. It carried his body into the sky.
_________


Beetle and Xarm staggered and gawked. Their faces expressed pure confusion as they watched the small being transform. Even with the process taking seconds, they could see every detail. He still was metal but was getting much bigger.

His arms morphed from being squared and robotic to organically shaped with linings of padding like from old pirate coats. The little workings of his hands were exposed, looking like metal tendons and stripped knuckles. His body got the same treatment. His face became more like some distorted, metal version of a man's face.

"Original body?" Beetle said.

"There were two wishes," Xarm said with an uncertain shrug.

"But how are we going to restore all the damage now? It's going to be either us or the multiverse?"

Nonce hit the ground, in his now tall and powerful looking form. He stood and wiggled his fingers. He sighed, steam rolling out of his segmented metal lips. "It was always going to be the multiverse, don't you understand?"

Xarm raised his gun. Beetle lowered it. "He has a point."

"Then he should've gotten our resources and repaired the damage!" Xarm argued. "Not done... whatever this is."

Nonce marched toward him. His voice had changed. It was smoother, much less course and exaggerated. "Pirate brethren. Your wills as warriors are to be commended. Your wish to live free? Admirable. But there's only one way to live free from this point onward..."

He pointed to the sky and the black rain. "... and that's for me to make up for my due to the multiverse. If we'd done this wish earlier... I could've stopped Raspaganje with one touch of a finger."

He tapped The Other's severed arm. In an instant, it turned into metal. "You see. I'm the one who can make you free. I am the one who will quell that arrogant monster who thinks itself above the natural order and the arrogant monster who has made so many attempts on your lives."

"You're not a lost soul are you?" Xarm said. He didn't seem to know if he should use his gun or not just yet. "You're from somewhere else."

"Somewhere, somewhen. I've beyond anything restrained to this one multiverse. I am eternal. I am NAMELESS."

"Well, Nameless," Xarm said. His gun was charging. "I'm hearing a lot of talk. But if you be all you be chalking yourself up as, then how is it you be deciding only now to reveal all of this?"

"My thoughts exactly," Beetle said. Her thorax shuddered, making a hissing sound. "Let's put him down."

Xarm pulled the trigger.

The Nameless stood with his hands behind his back as he was struck by a projectile strong enough to kill one of the Guardians of the Multiverse. The explosion ripped crevices that swallowed up Tannin's forces. But the metal man stood there.

Smoke rolled off of his unharmed body. "I suppose that I'll need to teach you two a lesson."

[Beast Blood]

Before all eyes - the sixteen of the dragon and the many of the others present - the impossible happened: the Beastmother was defeated.

The Great Beast was forced into silence, subdued into utter muteness and immobility, fierceness calmed and monstrous might tamed. Like a great statue, her crystalline body lay still, defiantly on its feet as it was. A monument to her own downfall. The last echoes of her furious roars became lost to the winds.

Tense silence fell over the battlefield.

But its looming impression did not last.

For these drifting calls from the Beastmother were soon overtaken by louder ones, from the original source. The Red Aurora herself, dispersing clouds and stillness with a mighty bellow, shattering both completely. From beyond this realm’s boundaries, wrathful eyes as blood-tinted suns, she bore down her foe. What stood now petrified before the dragon had been but an avatar, a physical manifestation.

For Ristaang was so much more than a creature of flesh and blood. She was a primal force. Strength. Resilience. Life, with all its stubbornness.

And for those who endangered her kin, as had Tannin, she was also death.

—

The invading forces of Chang’e and Tannin met as much resistance trespassing upon Bjornskar as they did facing Ristaang. Where the dragon’s will would warp reality to suit itself, the jagged peaks and sprawling tundras refused to give the slightest way. Where his underlings sought to conquer, burn and dominate, they instead found themselves broken and battered, sent bleeding and senseless to their deaths. The snow buried them alongside their ambitions, as it had many foes before.

In the villages of the Borskall and Olgsfolk, the dragons were taken from the skies by enormous blades cleaving them in twain, spear-like arrows piercing clear through their scaly hides, boulders thrown by burly arms crushing their frames in flight. And of course, Bjornskar’s own Dragons were not terribly amused with these pretenders. Bjornskar was theirs and theirs alone. They met these wyverns' flames with their own, and theirs proved superior.

The Far North made short work of those foolish enough to venture within its confines. Taken from flight by winds strong and relentless, the dragons saw their flames extinguished before they would even leave their maws to bring any semblance of heat to this unfathomable cold, their scales torn from their bodies by the winds and snow; flesh rendered asunder by gleaming blades of ice. Their eyes, had they somehow resisted being blinded by these swirling blades of frost, beheld utter nothingness on all sides. No matter the direction they looked, it was naught but endless cold and dark, a freezing and impenetrable night. The only sources of light came from eerie blue glows amidst the storm; the glowing eyes of Undead. Monstrosities of bone and ragged flesh, content to simply watch these creatures fall before even meeting a proper foe. The heat left their bodies entirely, leaving them stiff and frozen. Their cries were lost to the howling gales.

Above these roiling storms, a deep creaking echoed, groaning above peaks and clouds. Huge, gnarled branches, like wooden tendrils, curled protectively around Bjornskar - a great barrier of bark from the Varldstrad itself, bending to protect the Realm of Ice. And joining these were enormous wings, casting the frozen realm in deep shadow. Such wings were normally portents of death. But in that moment, they were the sheltering wings of a protector.

Streaks of blue auroras drifted over the realm, slowly at first, then quickly picking up in speed. A calm voice, deep and reverberating, spoke above the roaring of endless blizzards, deafening over the clashing of steel and cries of battle.

“This... is our world.”

The skies ignited with blinding blue light. The frozen flames of death washed over the icy realm, destroying Tannin’s forces with devastating ease. All over Bjornskar, above jagged peaks and treetops, the Dragonfire streamed, bathing foes in ravaging conflagration.

For Ristaang and her bloodborne Beasts were not the sole defenders of the Great Tree. For equally tasked with this charge was Bromdaahl the Dragonfather.

Yet only through sheer control and discipline was the Dragonfather able to avoid annihilating those he did not mean to. For Bromdaahl, much like these beings, embodied death and domination - yet unlike them, he was wise, and chose his battles carefully.

When the flames finally ended, the skies were clear and the realm peaceful. The auroras above slowed, resuming their easy ebb and flow. With the dissipating of the clouds and clearing of the Varldstrad’s wooden barrier, the visage of the Dragonfather could be seen peering down the world. The remains of Tannin’s forces fell before him as cold ash, a grisly snowfall.

“You shall not have it.”

—

The Borskall raised their heads to the dragons that had suddenly appeared to wreak havoc, followed by their allies’ own dragons to battle them. At once, they lent the Yakuza what remained of their strength, for though it had certainly waned throughout their recent ordeals, their protective spirits had not. Korraz clutched her smaller friends tighter against her to keep them safe.

Glaxion’s hammer crushed an airborne dragon’s skull with a brutal burst of blood, bone and icy mist, hurled by the warrior herself as she noticed the beast swooping past. Retrieving her weapon from its gory sheath, she bared her fangs, peering to her next foe with a cold glare.

Korraz, with her towering height, was easily able to catch a nearby dragon by its tail as it flew by. Its momentum stopped cold, so abruptly it nearly tore its own tail from the rest of its body. Its wings flapped to counter its impending fall, but it was quite for naught as the giant slammed him against the ground with a sharp tug of her brawny arm. The dragon let out a strangled wheeze, air leaving its lungs alongside some of its blood as it struck the unforgiving earth hard. Several of its ribs had been shattered, but its ordeal was not quite over. For Korraz pulled him from the earthen impression it had made of its body and lifted him directly upwards. Her arm flew to her side, followed by the flying reptile unable to argue the point, turned a mere plaything by her formidable strength. Shifting her weight from that foot to the other, swinging her arm with all her might, she forcefully sent the dragon on its way. A perfectly-executed throw, well-practiced through the hundreds of years that simple but effective use of her strength had served her. The creature became a senseless blur as it hurtled helplessly through the air, directly in the flight path of a few of its comrades. The beasts barked out in pained unison as they tumbled downwards in a tangle of limbs and flapping membranes. Unfortunately, their combined fall had happened to land them directly before Glaxion. Their demise followed swiftly and brutally.

Gaiyan, whose red eyes were closed in calm concentration, aided the wounded as best she could, while also extending her mind’s abilities to raise lashing vines from the earth, tendrils of incandescent green forming a barrier around the injured. Others reached and caught Tannin’s creatures to keep them grounded for other fighters to do with as they pleased. Though Gaiyan would not hurt them directly, for her calling was that of a healer and not that of a warrior, she also would not help them.

Hod, wings crackling with bolts of blue electricity, struck the dragons with powerful blasts of lightning, slaying several and paralyzing even more. A few of those that failed to remain airborne, whether by death or paralysis, fell impaled onto the healer’s thorned wall. Yet Gaiyan herself remained impassive.

“Never a dull moment,” she noted casually as a veritable rain of foes fell around her, patiently taking from her shoulder the disembodied head and neck of a wyvern that had flown her way and setting it aside.

[MinorBone Good]

Cthelee simply took in the little peace there was. For a brief moment, there was peace. A world that needed healing, but was slowly recovering. Like a wound, there was a sort of beauty to it. The wounds of a battle may leave a scar. But... scars could tell of a story. Not of pain, but one of one's continued survival. Just being held by the large creature, he could tell this one had been through battles of plenty. Despite never interacting much with the lovely beast, he knew her heart and spirit were as strong as she was physically. Cthelee smiled, nodding his head towards the creature and brushing his face against her fingers.

When the gigantic bird spoke, Cthelee responded back, with his own chirps and caws, though a bit hard to hear due to his size compared to his newfound friends. Cthelee knew Korraz would be okay, as well as anyone around the Ninjas. the aura they gave off was one of pure safety. He thought of Aphrodite and how she calmed him down after the attack. He was experiencing a feeling similar feeling now. Instead of just peace, this was more of acceptance. An acceptance of life of all of it's troubles, and to still be standing even after all that has occurred, is more than a miracle, but a thing of beauty.

As Cthelee breathed a sigh of relief, and as if on cue, dragons befall the land. Though Cthelee was briefly worried for a moment, he had one thing returned, rather, repaired on this journey. A sense of faith, and comfort. As Korraz began to fight once again, Cthelee smiled, no longer fearing for every evil-looking figure coming his way. His neck peeled back, several of his tube-like tongues gripping onto Korraz's fur to steady himself as she fought. He would give her hope too, by whistling a strange, alien tune, hoping to inspire her.
___________________________________________

Evoex watched on in horror as the God of Death evolved. It was like something out of a nightmare. A horrible, ugly nightmare. And yet, Evoex felt divinity as well coming from Tenchi, and soon around himself and others. Protected by Owlzarus' shield, the creatures coming from the ground couldn't touch Evoex, but it won't last for long. Evoex studied the sigils around himself, trying to remember them just in case he could use them in the future.... That's right, he was fighting for the future! A future were everyone could be protected, and be happy. That was worth fighting for the future. A future with a cure!

Along with Owlzarus, Evoex felt the gift bestow upon him. He felt lighter in a way. Like he could breathe. He focused his eyes on Chang'e and the Wyvern King. If he could handle being torn apart across the galaxies and dimensions, surely he could survive this! The shield around Evoex changed to a bright yellow, glowing a bit like a lightbulb in the dark. His own thoughts began to be imprinted on the shield, the names of all of his friends and allies he's met along the way. His mouth wobbled, conjuring another text box, this time having a golden hue around the border of the text box.

[Border]"I'M NOT GIVING UP!! NOT EVER! IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU GOT FUCKED UP, LOSERS!!"[/Border]

As the last exclamation point was written, several more rectangular boxes formed around Evoex, cloning the message. Eight of them turned to Sixteen, then doubled again, then doubled again, until there were around a hundred of them. They all gained a pointed tip at the end of them, much like a sword. They all began to spin around and around until the became a blur. And with a loud CRRRACK, the shield burst. With that, Evoex sent the messages, and they soon found their targets. Flying like heat-seeking missiles, they impaled some of the lesser creatures on the ground, flying around erratically before suddenly exploding in the air. Four of them swirled around, striking into the Wyvern King's side, a holy light temporarily beaming into it before quickly fading away!

Evoex floated a bit higher into the air, one of his arms twisting and bending at impossible angles. A soft yellow glow now emanating off of his body.

[Border]"LET'S FINISH THIS, ALL TOGETHER."[/Border]

[Corzak The Mighty]

Nyx collapsed onto dry ground invisible confusion, feeling the water on her clothes beginning to pool at her feet. The woman took a deep breath of air, before reflexively sliding back as her eyes fell upon the skeletal remains of the poor soul who had died down here. Her eyes glanced back towards thei llusion she had fallen through, watching it seal itself back shut. The fuck happened here? And who had set up that illusion? The woman clicked her tongue; now was not the time to worry about that. She had business to take care of.

Nyx scanned the room, noting the tanks lining it. Her eyes locked anxiously upon the tank swirling with dark magic, a wave of anxiety coming over her. Whatever was in there, she was hoping the tank would be enough to keep it contained for now...

Reaching for her communicator, Nyx spoke, causing her voice to spring out from the one Alex held. Okay, I found an air pocket down here. Looks like it used to be some sort of old control room along with... whoever used to be here. Gonna take a look at this computer terminal here. Wish me luck.

Nyx then moved over to the terminal and activated it, keeping her hand on her holstered pistol. Hopefully this could help get her some more info on where the hell she was...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Owlzarus recovered from the eruption of power, the birth of Change'e's newest form- the birth of a false core, a corrupted core, the so-called "true" God of Death. Something even he had not foreseen or predicted to occur stood before his ravaged frame - something that could threaten the whole of reality as they all knew it. And Owlzarus could feel it... darkness engulfed the entirety of the multiverse, threaten to swallow the last bit of hope that remained within him. Owlzarus pushed himself to his feet and steeled himself as the monstrous horrors emerged from the earth, though deep down, he felt it futile...

That was, until he saw it... the light of the Core itself. He gazed upon the beauty of Tiamat, bathing in its light, and overwhelmed by its splendor. Her mere presence invigorated the once exhausted and beaten antiquarian, revitalizing what felt like a losing battle and purging the darkness that had swallowed so much of what he had held dear. Owlzarus fell into a respectful bow before her, completely in awe at her might. The tide had changed. Victory would be near at hand.

But he knew the battle was not won yet. His eyes drifted to his allies; he watched as Jake unleashed his fullest power upon Tannin, fighting alongside Ristaang to stop the End of All's growing might. He watched as Evoex challenged the Wyvern King, while La'tomer and the Guardians of the Multiverse challenged Chang'e herself. Owlzarus' eyes locked onto the monstrous form of the Wyvern King. He knew he could not stand up to the newest form of Chang'e, not to Tannin, but he could face this horror and the rabble the "God of Death" mustered to her aid.

Channeling his inner might, Owlzarus unleashed a sickening wave of distorting time, manifesting as a sea of gray static, that washed over the demonic hordes approaching him. In an instant, what was once an army of horrors found themselves frozen in time, before their bodies began to rapidly disintegrate into dust, subjected to the ails of ravaging time. In but a few seconds, the horde was reduced to nothingness, a forgotten thought.

Owlzarus knew more would come, however, and that he needed to assist where he could. Flying into the air, the antiquarian moved alongside Evoex, before he conjured millions of runes around himself and his allies, creating a scintillating sphere of time distortion. Hundreds of events played out around them at once, causing them to appear and disappear all at once as untold numbers of alternate actions occurred before the Wyvern King in an instant.

"This will only buy us a few moments," Owlzarus warned to his allies. "Strike them with everything you have!"
-----
Emboldened by the power of Tiamat's light and rallied against the growing tides of despair by the bravery of his allies, both great and small, Immanuel's form flared with golden light, burning bright as the sun itself! Scintillating golden shields appeared around all who dared challenge Chang'e and Tannin, emboldening them with his protective light, before Immanuel ascended high above the battle, his golden light mingling in full with the orange radiance of Tiamat!

The great wheel locked his attention upon their ultimate foe: Chang'e. Or, as she fancied herself, the God of Death. She was no god; she was a monster, no better than It'Lok'Ran'To. A horror with no purpose other than the kill and destroy. Such a horror had to be destroyed her and now!

Immanuel began to focus his greatest might into his core, as he began to shine brighter and brighter. The heat of his body began to burn away at the ever growing legions even from where he floated high above. The six glowing wings of the Great Wheel became drawn together, before a great golden lance of light began to form within the core of Immanuel's form! The lance grew and grew with power, before it eventually shaped itself in full into a great golden spear of light. The spear locked itself right at the center of the monstrous mockery of a tree Chang'e had formed herself into, ready to deal a vicious blow.

The God of Light's voice, normally calm and collected, burned with a repressed anger rarely seen. "This is for my brother."

The golden lance of light erupted forth with such brilliance as the engulf the entirety of the pocket dimension, its searing light burning towards its quarry with full intent to kill!...
-----
Elsewhere, the tides of chaos had not gone unnoticed. The hordes of destructive beasts ravaged lands all across reality, threatening it in a way not even the Star of Calamity could have envisioned. And it had caught the attention of those who preferred to avoid conflict.

An emerald field, once teeming with life, had been stripped to nothing and left a barren waste as Tannin's spawn shredded across it, wyverns and many-limbed horrors rampaging unabated against those without the power to defend themselves. But there was one who resisted. Stepping forth from a secluded cavern - a place of meditation and peace for the figure - , an armored entity emerged. Its form of simplistic and rugged, appearing akin to that of a great knightly warlord, great plumage emerging from their helmeted head, and a long flowing purple-hued cape danced behind them. Clutched in their hand was a great glaive, adorned with runes and glimmering with purple flame. The figure's helmeted head became ablaze with violet light, before the figure dashed out to face the legions.

The creatures dove down upon their foe with great ferocity, but they were no match for its might; a single twirl of its glaive cleaved aside dozens of the horrors at once, while waves of deep purple-hued flame erupted in destructive waves, incinerating all that stood in their path. Though the figure did not fly, they moved with such speed and grace as to dash between their targets, appearing as a brilliant streak of violet fire that cleaved its way through their forces.

In but a few moments, what had once been an encroaching army, a threat that nearly overwhelmed this world, had been bested. All that lay in the once pristine field was corpses and blackened blood that stretched as far as the eye could see. But the figure knew that this battle had only just begun, and it would spell the end of them all if it was not won. The beauty of other worlds was threatened, and though this one could not be saved, other's futures need not be so grim. The figure conjured a mote of violet flame in their hand, before they spoke into it.

"Umbra, it is time," The figure stated calmly. "We have hidden ourselves for far too long. Our brothers... they need us."

[HayesAJones]

Celestial anomalies seem to be becoming unnervingly common on Noraage, Alex thought as he watched the skies twist and change, bleeding red like a flayed creature. Or worse... maybe common everywhere.

"Um, Risel?" the dimensional castaway said, tracking the falling objects that pummeled the small, flat world that had been his home for four years now. A pit form in his stomach as some spread ragged wings and took flight; a rain of wyverns. "I think it's time to follow Nyx and Mara. I, uh... hope you're confident at holding your breath. Let's- uh oh."

With eyes wide and face pale, Alex saw one wyvern- this one especially huge and purple-hued- catch sight of them and lean into its fall, tearing towards them like a shard of night knocked loose from the heavens.

Even as he hooked his arm around Risel's and began dragging her towards the water, Alex was sure they were going to be caught. Their assailant had noticed them too early and was moving too fast with the assistance of gravity. There were only so many ways a mouse could escape a hawk, even a mouse as formidable as Risel.

But Noraage had its own breed of hawks.

As the wyvern reached the treeline, parting the canopy the Red Sea with the force of its dive, the forest struck back. Like a mirror, the trees spawned their own winged predator; one that Alex, or any other Noraagean, would recognize at a glance. Axe-shaped head; small, bark-like scales; fine, moss-like filaments: a piece of the forest come to life to hunt small game.

Or battle rivals.

"I never thought I'd be happy to see a valjornn!" Alex laughed as the native wyvern, the only truly flighted dragon on Noraage, clashed with the invader, sending both into a wild spin, talons locked. "Let's go, Risel!"

[Demon Lord Gira]

The computer screen flared on. It flashed three times, then static filled the screen. The static faded into black, before a video feed began to play, only for it to turn to black. This repeated several times, where a video would open up, but nothing would play.

"Great... broken footage. Guess nothing of value was preserved he-"

Mara was cut off as one more video opened, but this one began to play. What was shown on the screen before Nyx and Mara was what looked to be the lab they had just swam through but in working order and very much not underwater. Up front in the screen was a woman who very much resembled Alabaster with the same hair, emerald eyes and stature and with a white lab coat on over a black cardigan and white shirt and a polka-dotted miniskirt. Behind her was a body and a pool of blood forming around the body, much to Mara's shock and horror.

"Okay, this is recording now. Ahem, Chang'e speaking here! Well, Marlore was fun while it lasted, but I fear it is time for me and Estrella to depart." The woman in the video stated, scratching her left chin with blood stained nails. "Qu'thelia is drawing nearer and nearer to the city, and all of Tenmus's favored defenses simply aren't working. Seems that fatass ocean goddess and that nimble carnivorous dog thing did too much of a number, and the satellite has yet to fully recharge. By the time it's operational, there won't be a Marlore left, how sad. It was such a fun experiment I had going on here, having both Lavidana and Tenmus wrapped around my fingers and casually authorizing sterilization and genocide, but I can't even enjoy the full fruits of my labor."

The laboratory in the video recording shook, and dust and debris began to fall around Chang'e. "As such, I have to abandon this fun I've been having, but I don't want to lose what I've kept in storage here. Finding another place to hide these without risking unwanted attention is a chore, and I doubt Qu'thelia will be finding these either. I'll come back here later once I remember, but just to make sure I remind myself of what I came here for in the future..."

The camera shifted over to the giant nearby tank. "This was supposed to be a gift for Estrella, part of what was once the original God of Death Rangis. His ability to impart death upon anything and everything, fitting for a God of Death, but stripped from him when he slew Salavance and was corrupted.I of course took the liberty of sneaking off with that discarded bit for... personal use later. I wanted to install this into Estrella, but with no way of knowing if she'll be able to control such a power or not try and turn it around on me, I'll just keep it here until the time is right."

More rocks fell around her, and a pained "OUUUUCH" could be heard as a pink-red headed woman that looked like a satyr of sorts ran past the back of the camera, and Chang'e turned around with an infuriated expression. "CAN YOU NOT INTERRUPT ME WHEN I AM RECORDING?! STOP BEING A PUSSY AND GET THE BARRIER ERECTED YOU USELESS SHIT!"

"Yes, mother! Okay, mother! I'm getting it up!"

"SHUT UP AND GET IT UP!" She pointed a finger off screen, and a bolt of purple blackish energy surged from it, eliciting a anguished scream of agony.

With an exasperated grunt, Chang'e turned back to the camera and refocused it onto herself. "This room will be masked by Hutistrend's magic, a rare usefulness for her outside of relieving my anger issues, and kept in as pristine a condition as possible. As much as I would love to take some people with me, maybe brainwash them and keep them as slaves, it's better for me to travel light and take only the essentials. Farewell Tenmus, Lavidana, Crigan, Yzazil, Kyra, Alex, T.J, and so many others in this city-"

"Are you talking to Collin?" A new voice came from offscreen. "Where is he at? I wish to see him."

"No Estrella, Collin is not here." Chang'e sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "We're not going to him. We're going far, far away, but maybe we'll find another version of him there. The chosen time is drawing near, and I think I'll make my final timeline jump to have some quality mother and daughter time with my preferred daughter. "

"I hope so."

Her attention back on the camera, Chang'e cleared her throat, more rocks falling and crushing some of the machinery in the labs behind her, and one onto the head of Hutistrend, crushing her underneath. "And without further adieu, this has been your Chang'e, the people's Chang'e, the lovely and perfect idol of Marlore, leaving everyone to die at the hands of a space monster. Au revoir!"

With this, the screen went black...

--------------------------

Risel gave Alex a nod and took to the cold dark waters within the ruins as the wyvern battled the winged plant like rival. Her draconic features allowed her to swim through the depths with surprising ease, her wings aiding in swimming forward down the ruined elevator shaft. Both Lae and Aseya were quick to follow suit as well, neither wanting to be around when either predator won the confrontation or if anything else were to come forth. Both fairies held tightly onto Risel's tail while she kept Alex in her arms.

The cold water was not something RIsel enjoyed, not at all. The cold sapped at her strength, and her movements began to slow down, but she was fast enough to quickly make it down the elevator shaft and into the underwater laboratory beneath. Lae's face paled as he saw the state of the laboratory, the moss and algae that covered so much, yet the presence of no bodies down here told him something was very wrong in this place. Isolated environments like this usually preserved remains remarkably well, so if there was nothing left down here...

Risel moved to where she could sense Nyx was, and swam into the illusion barrier that held the water back. She landed on the ground with a thud, but helped to lower Alex down. Behind them, Minos landed safely, her silent gaze observing the room, but eyes transfixed quickly upon the shrouded large tank.

"Breathable air down here, behind an illusion wall. Certainly not suspicious at all." Lae sighed as he took notice of Mara and Nyx...

_________________________________________

This was her magnum opus, the pinnacle of her schemes and plans! Ever since she had taken the Heart of the Multiverse upon herself, Chang'e had realized this would be her endgame. Oh, she had lots of fun messing around with Crigan and Persephone across numerous timelines, watching civilizations rise and fall, but in the back of her mind, this was always what she had aspired toward, the moment where she and her other half would bring forth the finale upon the multiverse and strip all of existence bare of boundaries between timelines and dimensions, so that all would be ruled by Tannin and Tannin alone. All life would be rewritten from the ground up into the very hellscape that the netheral core of The Abyss was always meant to be, and those heroes who dared stand up against her would spend eternity wasting away in anguish as the mortal races would become little more than play things for her to enjoy. Marlore had been but an experiment to see what it would be like having all life caged in and helpless as they were exterminated and tortured one by one, but that had been cut short by external forces beyond her desire to deal with.

Not this time. She no longer needed Hutistrend to keep her emotions in check, not when she had the entire Core of the Multiverse and all of reality to funnel her wrath and ire toward! Where once she had been but a lowly rat scrambling beneath the feet of gods and scheming to gain power, now she was the zenith of all that ever existed, that did exist and would ever exist! She was the pinnacle of existence! There was no force in all of the multiverse that could ever hope to compare to her and Tannin now!

And the Fusion Warrior and their mother were no exception.

She opened her mouth, no doubt to give some grand speech on how irritating it was that Tiamat had somehow returned from the dead and on how poorly the Ninja's prior fight against her had gone when she had been a mere fraction of her current power, whenshe felt severe pains run through her stomach and through her back. She had no time to process this before her mind began to be clouded. It was like the pain of an infected tooth having not been attended to in months running through her skull, and it was pissing her off! Yet as she winced from this, the light of Immanuel's lance caught her notice. Her eyes glowed, and the most powerful of strikes designed to kill her never even touched her. The lance vanished into a rift that opened right between it and her, and came out behind Tiamat. The golden lance of light carved into Tiamat's back and sent the former Core of the Multiverse plummeting down to the ground, a sickening smirk having formed upon Chang'es face The wounds the Sandman and Hercules had afflicted upon her healed within a second, easily undone by the vast powers of the Core itself Though her mind felt clouded, it was easy enough for her to mentally power through it, as the vast energy reserves of the Core and of the 70 timelines worth of experience and power Chang'e herself had gathered were more than enough to dilute the Sandman's best efforts.

"You are all in my world now. No gods you might pray to will answer your calls for help, because I AM THEM!" The grin on her face widened ever further, and her eyes glistened once more. Rifts formed before her and torrents of hellfire and dark matter surged out of the rifts as concentrated beams of energy that struck into both Immanuel and Orion from all angles. The pair were blasted down toward the ground, which rose up to meet them, twisting and melding into jagged toothy spires to run them through. At the same time, several dozen rifts opened around Hercules and the Sandman, before the energies of Persephone's black blade surged out from all of the rift openings, threatening to vaporize the two where they stood.

"Now perish for your blasphemies against me!"

------------------------

The Wyvern King was being assailed on all sides. The reptilian beast that tore and clawed away at her with fangs and talons, the illusions conjured by Owlzarus, it was all infuriating and driving the three headed dragon into a rage! As Taifage smashed into her and forced the Wyvern King to back up, more chains and pillars of earth battered into her. The wounds healed fast, but it didn't mean she liked any of it.

An unholy bellow signaled to many of the spawning wyverns and abominations to come to her aid, and so they did, dozens of fiends and atrocities barreled down upon Crigan and Cercil and Tenkarus and Lavidana, forcing them to re-divert their attention toward the oncoming hordes, and away from dealing damage to the Wyvern King.

Her two molten heads unleashed plumes of boiling magma into the reptilian fiend that was attacking her, scorching its hide and forcing it back. Her normal middle head then lurched forward and clamped around the exposed throat of the creature, then flew up and kicked both of her feet into Taifage's underside while letting go at that moment. The reptile was sent sprawling back as more beams clashed into it, yet the middle head did not join in this assault, instead zeroing in on Owlzarus, the wings of the Wyvern King extended out and bolts of energy surged toward Owlzarus to try and capture him!

------------------

"What's with all these stupid wyverns?!" Tenkarus pouted as she was forced to raise up an earthen shield around herself. The barrier held against the flames of the monstrosities, but any security she felt was shattered as they began to claw through. "At least send these fuckers after Drillgore!" She backhopped away from a hungry mouth that tried to chomp at her, and skewered its head with an earthen lance.

Beside her, Lavidana was having an easier time. The Goddess of the Earth, despite having her head bleeding out from the mind control probe Persephone had planted into her, was focused and raised massive walls of earth that wrapped around and crushed over a dozen wyverns with ease. "Is this bitch ever going to run out?"

"No." Cercil stated as she conjured chains up that ensnared multiple wyverns and sliced them apart. "So long as Chang'e is part of the Core of the Multiverse, she and Tannin can warp reality as they see fit for all of existence. She can simply keep sending waves of enemies at us until we are exhausted, and the only reason she isn't simply killing us now is because the Ninjas and their allies are keeping her and Tannin distracted, but we need to sever her connection to the Core if we want any chance of success."

All Crigan could do was nod, yet he knew he was in no position to do so. Severing Miyoshi from Cercil had been one thing, but without his full powers as the God of Death, severing Chang'e from the Core and the Heart was simply impossible. He was in no position to fight, let alone impose death upon something that was not only immortal but infinitely more powerful than he currently was.

But, perhaps... Perhaps there was a way he could do that, if...

He flew up into the air and took off toward the Wyvern King without warning. "Lavi, Cercil, can you cover for me? I'm getting my power back."

Lavidana was confused at this, but Cercil knew what he was referring to, and conjured a storm of Arbanium chains that flew out ahead of Crigan, lashing through any of Tannin's spawn that tried to get in his way. Lavidana chased off after him.

"Brother, you're going to get yourself killed like this! I'm not going to lose you again after the hell I went through!"

--------------------
The Tyrant of Wrath's victory over Ristaang was short lived, as another challenger arose to take her place. This was the draconic Jake, and while Tannin did not know his name nor cared to know, the tendrils of energy that binded him down and blasted rotting chunks of flesh off of him alerted him this was not a foe he could ignore to lay waste to the Ninjas and to Tiamat.

The Undying Tiamat would have to wait for later. For now, this was pest control.

As the energy bullets surged forward to strike at him, Tannin reared up, snapping the chains that binded him down, and brought his wings before him. The energy bullets struck into the unholy membranes and burned at them, but Tannin spread his wings out and repelled the energy bullets off to the sides. All sixteen of his crimson eyes glowed, before unholy crimson lightning danced and surged through the air and crashed into Jake's own barriers, scorching and scarring the rings that protected him. The venomous maw of the Father of Wyverns parted into a frenzied feral roar as he charged forward, and with a beat of his wings took to the skies for the first time in eons. The very ground cracked and shattered beneath the force of his taking off.

The great black dragon flew toward Jake like an oncoming hurricane, the very power of the Core of the Multiverse itself fueling his reserves and empowering him to heights never known to the Tyrant of Wrath. He prepared to crash head first into the opposing dragon, to claw and rend away at his protections and strip him bare of all defenses!

--------------------

All across the multiverse, Tannin's hordes were met with stiff resistance across numerous worlds. dragons spawned by the Ninjas, the Borskall and their world, the many demons that once vied for power within the city of Dudael in Sheol, in all these places and more were the attempts by Tannin to rewrite creation in his image stifled and barricaded.

Yet, the hordes never stopped. As the landscape of countless worlds struggled to morph back and forth between their established forms and a ruined hellscape, more and more aberrations and wyverns continued to plummet from the heavens. The very form of Tannin itself seemed to stretch across the horizon, an ever growing shadow of darkness that threatened to swallow everything.

For the reawoken Nameless, his first challenger was among those unholy spawns. Dark shadows formed around him and took on mockeries of life. A blazing knight that burned like a phoenix and a charcoal black dragon wreathed in emerald fire manifested from the sides, and before him were the Twins, reformed and rejuvenated from the Core's energy, the source of the blast he had tanked before.

"More unforseen variables. We'll eliminate you to spare Mother the headache."

"More annoying nuisances. We'll eliminate you to spare Father the trouble."

The blazing knight and the black dragon sent forth unholy fire toward Nameless, while the Twins tried to bind him down with psychic energy and crush him from within...

[Godzilla165]

Before Chang’e knew it, her assault on the heroes was cut short, far shorter than what she would have wanted. Moreover, she couldn’t move. Her muscles, her tendons, the veins that ran through every inch of her body, were frozen solid. It was if someone or something had hit the pause button on Chang’e’s production… And Tiamat did just that as she rose from the ground. The wound that would have been there on account of the massive javelin was wholly nonexistent, and aside from dust covering her robes, Tiamat was no worse for wear. She peered in the direction of Tenchi Orion, patiently waiting for them to finish their current task.

Unfortunately, the energy beams that slammed into the emblazoned fusion warrior did little to affect them, their body now nothing more than living energy from the multiverse itself. And such, as they and Immanuel were on a violent course towards rocky spires that threatened to spear them both like fish, Tenchi, with a quick snap of their fingers, reduced the spires to nothing more than clouds of dust. They turned and nodded to Immanuel, before setting their full gaze upon Chang'e below.

"Tenchi, you may proceed as you wish. Do make it painful, won't you?" Tiamat spoke in their minds.

Tenchi nodded promptly and clutched the handle of their blade tight. Narrowing their golden eyes, the Ninja Prime bent their knees forward, cratering the atmosphere behind them, and raced towards Chang'e at hyper speed. The forces that embellished her person were indescribable. Tenchi hit her with such power, that it blackened the surrounding battlefield, like someone had turned the lights off. The fusion warrior struck her with the very fabric of reality, going beyond her physical person, and reached the essence that imbued Chang'e with life. Her soul was temporarily sent tumbling out of her body and kept that momentum going for several thousands of feet beyond where she originally stood. When she finally skidded to a stop, a whole mile or so away from herself, Chang'e quickly recovered and picked herself up, discovering that she could yet again move under her own free will. It was then where she noticed something was different, very different, very... WRONG. The landscape was the same, but it was now without color, or better yet, the colors were so very dull, as though someone had applied a sepia filter onto this reality. And more strangely, where there was once both her beautiful heroes and the blasphemous creatures who threatened her plans alike, here... They were all nowhere to be found.

Chang'e groaned to the point that it physically hurt her neck muscles. Had that idiot ninja really punched her into a different reality? They had, hadn't they? How annoying, how so very, offensively, overwhelmingly, incredulously, unspeakably annoy-

Something interrupted her incredibly frustrated thoughts just then, a sound, no... A series of them, and they were emanating off to the right. Why did they sound so... Familiar? Chang'e turned her entire body in the direction of them and was all but slapped in the face with a memory, an event from her past, a positive memory. But it wasn't here, whatever this ninja hellscape was. Here, yet again, it was wrong, HORRIFICALLY WRONG.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Expect the weather tomorrow and the days after to be wet and humid. We're expecting temperatures of 120 at highest, and lowest in the low 80's." A girl said in front of a green screened weather map. She was dressed in a black cardigan with stains covering it, over a dingy, wrinkled white dress shirt, unbuttoned at the top, with a loose black and white tie around her furry neck. Her mangy brown fur was bunched up into two sloppily done ponytails, each larger than her own narrow head, and with blood red on the tips, likely from her last meal. Her miniskirt was tattered and decrepit, with her giant clawed feet jutting out from beneath. The animal gestured over, and the weather map was replaced with something that nearly made Alondra spit her drink out: Tenmus before a podium.

"And in other news, today has been quite the hectic nightmare for the proud ruler of Marlore. After the rat attack that left much of the outer ring in shambles, a prison break occurred in the heart of the city. Tenmus has this to say:" The monstrosity snapped her fingers, and the camera view of Tenmus filled up the screen.

"I must say... I was caught completely off-guard by this accident." Tenmus signed, ignoring the microphone infront of her. It was clear this wasn't outdoors, but somewhere inside. "I blame myself for allowing this to occur. I take great pride in knowing that my efforts help preserve this city from complete ruination and chaos..." She looked away, biting her lower lip. She looked flustered, which only made the scars and scratches on her face brighten red. "Two prison guards died because of my failure to contain this outbreak. While almost all of the prisoners have been rounded up and stopped, there still remain a few. I hold all responsibility for this tragedy."

She gestured to the side, and slides of the escaped prisoners were shown: Side and front photos of Katsumi, then Alondra, then a few other nameless faces, then Kyra and Sekhmet. "Please, if any of you are to see these faces anywhere, please inform the Marlore police at once. Who knows what trouble they can cause in the public sector if left unchecked."

With that, the TV changed back to the horrid creature, she snarled, chortled, and chittered. "Awwww... Poor Tenmus is suffering the blues. If you want to make her feel better, then please do as she asked, and help bring these escaped convicts to justice. As a reminder, their names are Kyra, Alondra, Katsumi, Sekhmet, Fleride, and Vacisel. This is your Change Junko report, and I wish all of Marlore a great rest of the day. Oh, and a final reminder! Tenmus day is only 2 days away, so begin planning, and let's see if those nasty escapers get hauled in for a good treatment! Velu'fraz! Next, we'll see how the latest fashion has swept across Marlore!"

With that, the commercials kicked on, and a few of the men in the Honest Burglar gagged and looked away in abhorrent disgust. "Dat damned vermin... I don't know why they keep puttin' it on the air!" One young man shuddered before downing a glass. "Such an ugly, nasty thing. Damn shame Tenmus is buddy buddy with that thing."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

As Chang'e looked on in horror, her left eye twitching itself nearly shut, she heard a voice sound from behind, one that was like nails on a chalkboard for her.

"You are mistaken, child..." Tiamat spoke, standing alongside the blazing form of Tenchi Orion, both eyeing the show woman with a calm ire. "We are not in your world."

"You're in ours." Another voice, one much more familiar to Chang'e, spoke from the left of her. The latter turned her pulsating neck to find with her bloodshot eyes, Dante, Dante...

"Dante." She hissed with so much venom, it could have killed an entire planet.

Standing to either side of the Ninja Prime were the other three guardians, Evron, Ubel, and Daeva. All four were dressed in their respective ceremonial robes and stared at Chang'e with a dismissive disdain. Their faces, their stupid, excruciatingly bothersome visages... Why were they looking at her like that, why-

"Eww, Em, is that seriously what she really looks like?!" Daeva questioned, absolutely bewildered.

Dante nodded, "Yeah... That's her alright."

Evron scrunched up his face even more. "Damn, even I would never have guessed she'd look THAT ungodly, holy shit."

"I just can't believe you had... That thing inside you, Dante." Ubel shuddered, shielding his eyes from Chang'e with his hand.

Just then, more people began to gather around the ninjas, dozens of them, people from Chang'e's past. Old gods, friends, enemies, pageant opponents... They were all there, and they looked at her the same way the ninjas had.

"Mommy, what is that thing?" A little blonde-haired girl with giant pigtails that were bigger than own her head, pointed and asked. She wore a black cardigan overtop a neatly ironed dress shirt, with a crimson and polka dot skirt that went down to her knees, and platform heels and red laces for shoes.

The towering mother just shook her head. "It is just a rat, my dear." She answered gently, before eyeing Chang'e with venomous eyes. "A big, ugly, and putrid rat."

Evron snorted, "I know one thing: Even a snake that was starving would NEVER want to eat that fucking thing. Her ugliness would probably give it indigestion, or just kill it outright!" He cackled, incessantly... Oh so INCESSANTLY.

While the rest of Evron's siblings simply continued to look on in disgust, the rest of the crowd joined in the laughter, their wails of guffaws flooding the landscape. The men in the Honest Burglar also joined in, pointing and sniggering, and Tenmus... Oh did Tenmus absolutely howl, barely able to stand, tears in her eyes and running down her cheeks. All around Chang'e, surrounding her on every corner, did giant mirrors sprout from the ground to show off who she was, what she really was. That same little blonde girl smiled devilishly at Chang'e, fiendishly giggling at her horrid form.

Behind her, still did Tenchi and Tiamat stand there, observing quietly. That is, until the latter broke the silence, speaking into Chang'e's subconscious.

"Your aspirations of total domination and infinite power are nothing more than blind folly." She admonished. "Continue to fight for as long as you so wish, it will not change who and what you really are."

"Vermin." Dante said coldly.

"Vermin." Ubel parroted.

"Gross." Daeva jeered.

"Rat." Evron stated harshly.

[Beast Blood]

Korraz smirked as Cthelee nuzzled her fingers. She petted him back softly, massive hand gently gliding over his feathers. She was surprised by the sudden appearance of his tongues as much as she was by his chipper attitude. She had rather expected him to be afraid of these dragons. Instead, he appeared confident and cheerful, inspiring his friends with an adorable little song. She nodded to him. They would get through this.

A sound to her left tore through her thoughts, wrenching her ear as well as her heart. She pivoted to its source to witness the sight of a Yakuza pairing desperately struggling to fend off wyverns from harassing their offspring, wailing horribly from its wounded mother’s arms.

A cold chill crept down her spine, as though her flesh had turned to ice. It may as well, for it had certainly replaced the warmth the blacksmith usually exuded. Her eyes, which normally held the glint of tired wisdom and calm curiosity in their golden hue, now saw that look replaced with a blazing, piercing glare. In all of a split second, she had become distant, as though her spirit had disassociated from her body entirely. As if mirroring her emotions, the weather shifted as well, obscuring the skies in dark, gloomy clouds. The pitter-patter of rain began gently at first, then increased in intensity. Protective shielding formed around the flesh of the Yakuza and their allies to guard them against this rain, but it was all the attention Korraz gave to them, for as she was fixed on the scene in front of her, she no longer heeded anything else that happened within her surroundings; not the sounds of battle, nor Cthelee’s chirpy tune, nor Hod’s advice for him to close his eyes as he took him to safety. There was only the savage sight of these dragons attacking something that posed no threat to them.

In that moment, her heart had been broken, and it was anger that filled it.

Where once she felt cold, now her heart burned and her blood boiled. Her pulse quickened, coursing fury through her veins, her muscles tensed, taut as steel coils, and her fur stood on end, bristling into furious tufts. From the depths of her mangled throat came a long, drawn-out breath, which once would have been a threatening growl.

With no more preamble, the giant moved forward in an unflinching march.



Lost in the frenzied thrill of their attack, a few nearby wyverns completely failed to hear the Borskall’s thundering approach, let alone move out of its way, and as such found themselves trampled beneath her paws. A few more were caught off-guard by the sudden movement from the lumbering giant, yet deemed it a pleasant surprise for surely they could add their own momentum to hers to drive their claws deep within her flesh. But such thoughts were crushed alongside their skulls as the dragons achieved naught but shattering themselves upon a solid wall of muscle, cast aside as broken toys.

Before the gnashing jaws of a massive wyvern could tear the young Yakuza’s head from its shoulders, Korraz’s huge hand wrapped around its throat from behind, gripping with such might as to nearly snap its spine then and there. Instead, she lifted it upwards, high above her head, where her conjured storm thundered fiercely above her. One hand held its neck, the other clamped its tail; then those two hands pulled apart, and that way rent the reptile in two separate halves. A gruesome cascade of red fell onto Korraz from its sundered midsection, drenching her head and shoulders in a deluge of dragon blood. The downpour she had summoned washed it from her coat and fur as it dribbled down her belly and stained the grass at her feet.

Below, the Yakuza ran from the reptiles as much as they fled the Borskall herself, frightened by her sudden display of brutality. They had known her to be a mighty and powerful giant, but to see this barbaric side of her rather startled them. The torn halves of the bloodied wyvern hurtled past them, toppling two of its kin from the air. A few stray droplets from the twin throws spattered the couple. Momentarily blinded by the splashing blood, they nearly ran into Glaxion as she joined her friend. She must have seen the dragons harass the innocent little Yakuza as well, for she had deemed it personal enough to cast her hammer aside and beat these foes to a pulp with her bare hands. Gaiyan ushered the Yakuza to safety, towards the thorn barrier she had built. Above, Hod kept Cthelee protected from the bloodbath, as much physically than visually, his dark pinions curled protectively around the smaller Quatheral.

One wyvern dared to scratch its talons along Korraz’s neck, claiming a scruffy patch of her fur. Slowly, the blacksmith turned, noting the presence of her torn fur ensnared within the wyvern’s talons, then glancing up to meet the gaze of the creature. If it regretted its choice to turn the giant’s attention to it, it did not live long enough to do so, for the blacksmith seized it by its skull and wrestled its body between her hands; joining both paws together to crumple the creature with no more difficulty than she would a piece of paper or a frail autumn leaf. Its mangled innards spilled from between her clawed fingers like crushed grapefruit, bone and flesh twisted together into a single, compressed mass. Its remains, unrecognizable from the being it once was, fell lifeless from her paws.

At her side, Glaxion froze an assailing dragon she had snatched from the air, so thoroughly its body smashed into innumerable shards upon being dropped.

Perhaps finally gaining a certain sense of clarity, the beasts stopped approaching the Borskall’s immediate vicinity. But though they sought to avoid their range and assail them from afar with their dragonbreath, Korraz corrected them on the point: they were nowhere near as safe as they thought themselves to be.

However hard their wings beat to keep them aloft, more and more of the invading reptiles were pulled against their will, magnetically funneled towards the Bjornskaren giants. One after another, in great swarms, the beasts were drawn to her and her compatriot - and summarily executed. Necks snapped by swift swipes of their paws, bodies crushed beneath their weight, entire flights vaporized by summoned lightning and crashing ice; they did all they could to finally rid this realm of these harmful invaders. At Glaxion’s behest, the rain turned to a vicious storm of ice shards, shredding the membranes of their wings to force the rest from the refuge they foolishly thought the sky to be.

The mangled forms of defeated wyverns rained left and right, drenching the ground below with generous helpings of their spilled blood and broken bodies. For all their enormous heights, the Borskall stood among a pile of corpses rapidly swelling up to their knees. This was no longer combat. It was slaughter. Their foes’ blood would water the earth and their bodies would feed it, for the giants saw beyond violence and death: if these creatures would not respect other life while they drew breath, then they would serve to nurture it in death.

[Demon Lord Gira]

A haunting chorus of howls and bellows shook the Ninja realm. Something else had been conjured from the darkness by Tannin's evil, something worse than simply a wyvern. As the winged beasts descended in droves and many were felled by Korraz and her kin, the ground before them cracked and twisted apart. Jagged spear like limbs rose up from the crevices and planted themselves into the soil, and with them was carried up a great mismashed body. Three snake-like heads snarled and snapped wildly, joined together by a central grotesque pulsating core of flesh and muscle, and perched atop that was a demonic horned upper body, hands twisted into serrated claws and horns jutting upwards. It rose up from the formed fissures that sealed back beneath it, each of its serpentine heads staring at the Borskall and the young ninjas with three slinted eyes each. The fiend was enormous, easily a hundred feet tall, towering above their opposition, and the snake heads of the demon dripped with acidic venom as the humanoid upper body let out a war cry in a twisted unholy language.

Cavrasnak, an ancient demon lord from Sheol's past, now resurrected and empowered by the corrupted Core of the Multiverse, had come to lay waste to the Realm of the Ninjas.

Plumes of acid billowed from the left head, dissolving vegetation and rock alike as it threatened to engulf a group of fairies that were fleeing for their lives. The middle head snapped forward, its jaws engulfing several fleeing yakuza and devouring them whole. The right head's eyes glistened, and several other yakuza that flew to fight the fiend burst into flame, their flesh incinerating off of their bodies. All the while, the upper humanoid frame laughed and chuckled, its eyes fixating upon those who would protect this world...

[Godzilla165]

Just as Tenchi Orion's clone finished atomizing a swath of wyverns who were terrorizing 5 scampering pixies, did their ears pick up a truly horrible sound echoing behind them. The Ninja Prime turned around, and laid witness firsthand to a new challenger rising from the carefully tended Yakuza soil. A three head fiend, towering in height, bore down on several brave Yakuza with a voracious ire, as well as innocent fairies who were merely trying to escape. The right, snake-like head, unleashed unholy power from but a twinkle in its eyes and bathed those same Yakuza fighters in flames, flames that brought forth animalistic cries of raw agony. Tenchi watched as they desperately tried to beat the flames off their raw muscle, flailing wildly and crying out to the lord king for help. Off to their left, Orion caught sight of more wyverns from Tannin's make go after a group of fleeing Yakuza teenagers, snapping their saliva-filled jaws at the terrified younglings, only for dozens of Tiamat's own dragons to swoop in and tear into the fiends with merciless efficiency. Still, did those horrible cries fill Tenchi's ears, the pleas for help, the agonized screams to be put out of their misery. Tenchi Orion turned their blank gaze to this newly arrived, "Cavrasnak", and their burning people laid at the demon's feet... And something deep within them changed.

Although they were a clone, still were Tenchi themself watching and very much present, and for this interloper, these unholy winged demons, for Tannin himself to dare come into their home and ravage their people, to bring about cries of sheer anguish from them... No more. A deep and heavy breath escaped from the fusion warrior, not one of weariness, and not one of sadness. Soundlessly, Tenchi relinquished their grip on their holy blade, set their sights firmly upon Cavrasnak, and started to walk forward.



With a slow blink, the burning Yakuza warriors suddenly found themselves fully healed and cast off into the main hall of the estate, along with the terrified fairies. With them safe, Tenchi continued forward in an unbroken stride, each footstep sounding like thunder as they made contact with the earth. Korraz wouldn't be alone in her campaign of righteous slaughter, yet for Orion, this was even more personal, a revile that would not be forgiven. If one had been looking, for a fraction of a second, their golden eyes flashed an electric ruby red, before returning to normal. Like the parting of the sea, Tenchi waved anyone and anything, including the charging Night Owls, gently out of their path; this multi-headed fiend was theirs. Sensing the limitless amounts of energy encroaching upon them, hundreds of Tannin's wyverns darted their eyes at the glowing ninja and rushed in to feed upon their divine form. Utterly foolish. It was as though they were in the presence of a star, for each and every wyvern that grew near to Tenchi were instantly vaporized, reduced down to nothing more than fiery embers suspended in the air. Dozens upon dozens of them were atomized, living fireworks in Tenchi's wake. The latter lifted their right hand and opened it, promptly collecting the souls of those whom they eradicated; there would be no escape for these dragons, no eternity in hell. They, as dozens more found themselves in the warrior's armored palm, before they clenched it tight, crushing the souls into nothing... Would simply cease to exist.

The few remaining wyverns smartly attempted to run away, but Tenchi knew no mercy for any who would prey on the innocent. They would make an example out of these three. With a snap from their fingers, two of the dragons promptly exploded into balls of blood and gore that rained upon the battlefield, their bones falling like large flurries of ice and snow. For the remaining wyvern, Tenchi extended their hand out towards it and froze it in place. Then, twisting that same hand upward, the Ninja Prime made a, "come here", motion, and their unfortunate victim did just that. The wyvern's eyes held nothing but fear in them as Tenchi offered nothing more than a relaxed stare, their blankness burrowing deep into the former's soul. Speaking of which, that is what the fusion warrior wanted. They forced the firedrake's maw open as wide as it could go, straightened their hand flat, and plunged it deep into the basilisk's throat and gullet.

The wyvern's eyes rolled back into their sockets as black liquid poured from their nostrils. Tenchi clamped their freed hand around its throat for additional leverage, and pulled, tugged, ripped. Seconds later, the Ninja Prime tore the dragon's very soul out from its throat and mouth and found that its body was now nothing but a deflated meat sack. They tossed the flesh trash bag away without a care, and ripped the thing's soul apart as if it was a sheet of paper.

This wasn't a battle, nor was it even a conflict. No, this was divine genocide... And Tenchi Orion was not done. Staring up at the looming Cavrasnak, the Ninja resummoned True Hellsbane into their grasp, and erupted from their position like a screaming banshee. The demon lord had no chance nor say in the matter in this realm, as Tenchi homed in on its left acidic head and spear like-appendage, before severing both with a proficient cleave, spilling bile and organic matter onto the ground as the stumps became a sputtering geyser of mess. Tenchi hovered soundlessly behind Cavrasnak's now further mutilated body and narrowed their eyes. The being had some of their people trapped within its sickening gut.

Not for long.

[EdGojira]

As the attack came down around them, the pair of Hercules and Sandman dissolved away into grains of sand. It would seem that they were, in fact, vaporized. But not for long.

Inside the mindscape, they had a brief exchanging of words.

"Fancy that, our beating did absolutely fucking nothing!" Hercules growled.

"It's going to take more than that to separate her from the Core's power. Now let's get moving. We don't have time to debate!"

Moments later, out of range of Chang'e's attack and directly behind her, they materialized from the ground. Hercules leveled his gun firmly on her and blasted her upper half clean off. The Sandman didn't join this time, instead focusing as much as he could on attacking her psychically.

Then he blinked. He took a look at Orion, then a good distance back away from them. "Interesting."

He sprung up near Chang'e's soul. A swell of sand belched up around it, leaving a large hollow put that sucked away at her, trapping her soul away from fully rejoining her body. He slammed his staff down, sending a rotating disk of psychic attacks filled with her worst fears. The things that made somebody not want to see tomorrow, but specialized for Chang'e herself. "I'll make sure you never want to crawl out of bed."

Meanwhile, Hercules continued to attack and attack the physical form of Chang'e. Razor-like whips of water swirled out of the ground infused with Tiamat's powers. Hercules threw lightning upon lightning into it, condensing what would be planet-massed attacks into simple bolts. They churned her body, trying to stall her by keeping pace with the regeneration. Sweat rolled down his brow.

"Ey, Immanuel? Tenchi Orion? A guy can use a little backup!"
_________
Jake stared down the End of All as it came roaring up toward him. His protections were frayed. With their damage, he could feel ever the slightest sting. His eyes narrowed, even as his brain tickled from the feeling of overwhelming might. This thing was bringing about very familiar feelings.

But he beat Black Velvet.

He would also play a part in defeating Tannin.

More of the threads swirled out from his body and coiled around Tannin's tail, slowing his advance even as he still advanced. Spheres of energy appeared on four sides around Jake---left, right, up and down, and served as turrets to fire massive beams of energy down to rip away at the End of All's flesh and slow its advance.
________
Taifage screamed and flailed as the Wyvern King bit into her and unleashed its scalding lava across her flesh. Her claws kicked up powerful gusts strong enough to rip small holes through the thing's body. Her tail threw up an unworldly amount of sand, cloaking her in her panic as she retaliated on impulse with another white torrent of flame.

She squirmed onto her feet, spraying unfocusedly in the direction of the Wyvern King and incinerating pieces of skin and muscle. Her long flattened tail whipped it across its limbs This only gave the thing some opening to attack her again. She dove out of the way and charged. Something she didn't know was driving her ferocity despite the pain of slowly closing wounds.

Her mouth clamped onto one of the Wyvern King's throats. She smacked one head down into the Sandman's terrain trap so she could wrap her feet around the second neck.

She inhaled deeply. Her eyes overflowed with the energy that swelled inside her body within her chest and the base of her tail. The rock-like spines across her body whipped quickly to life. From her throat, at point-blank range thanks to the Wyvern King's writhing neck in her jaws, she unleashed another wave of white flames...
_________
Beetle and Xarm backed away, watching the new things threaten the Nameless. He just... stood there. This variable they were talking about. Was this guy really what he was bigging himself up to be? If so, that only meant that they had something else they could do...

Xarm touched Beetle's shoulder. "How's your Namekian? Mike's a touch rusty..."
________
"Oh," the Nameless said. He held out a hand, letting the black flames roll off of him. "I suppose that I'm looking at Persephone's siblings? The overconfident beast, likely responsible in some way for what is happening now."

Then, he felt the Twins' psychic attack. His red eyes flickered for less than a moment. He could feel a squeezing inside him. It was like a twist of an arm or a good blow to the face. An attack on the spirit within the vessel. How insidious. Had they found him out already?

He growled. His fists clenched and large curved weapons deployed into his hands from his wrists. He was old enough to know not to let the Twins know that he was being affected. That meant he had to target the others before going for them.

He lashed out with blades, chopping the knight and dragon's heads off. Then, in a burst of speed, he leapt off their bodies---ripping them apart in the process---so that he could land a single touch on one of the Twins' heads.

He stopped and turned around. The attack had weakened a bit. The Twin he touched was now a metal statue. If they could rematerialize the way they had, he had a feeling that this was going to be a constant. He had to get to the Dragon Balls.

But the great wish granting dragon was already retreating into the orbs. "No."
_________
Tannin's reach had breached even into the world where Raspaganje's influence couldn't be seen. Godzilla, Saint Kabuto, and Biollante got not very far into the treaty when waves upon waves of dragons and monsters birthed themselves from the waves and the skies and the soil. They attacked the only life within this pocket dimension: the monsters themselves.

Godzilla felt not a thing as thousands of beasts covered him in flames. Well, not a thing except for sheer irritation. He whipped his head toward the sky and unleashed a road that vaporized the creatures, but they only came back and continued their onslaught. Some flew around his body, hoping that close range would aid in their attacks. Others used his scales as grapples to climb up his limbs. There were so many, that even as the sheer force of his movement dismembered them, they still advanced up his sides and made their attempts to penetrate his hide. As they tried, it seemed like the dimension aided them in their attempts to adapt.

A pair of particularly large dogfighting wyverns bathed his back in flames and swept underneath his arms, avoiding the gales of winds off his claws which blasted apart several of the glowing towers which now were covered in black maggots. The wyverns hit him in the face with flames which bounced off and flowed behind his head, giving it the appearance of smoke coming out of his ears. He shook his head annoyedly and snorted.

He turned his lumbering body around, dashing hundreds of monsters on his weight and crushing some underfoot. The ones not underfoot were of course caught by surprise as the entire planet morphed out thorns to impale and shred them courtesy of Biollante. She was careful to be sure not to impede Godzilla's steps.

Her jaws emerged from the surface, body covered in black flames, to shower the immediate area in drops of powerful acid that sent Tannin's mockeries of life screaming as they melted. Godzilla himself sent out a massive nuclear shockwave to protect himself and Saint Kabuto from the acid. Those annoying wyverns managed to escape even the range of this. They swept around, absorbing some of their compatriots to become bigger and do the same bobbing and weaving attack on Godzilla. The one on his right managed to duck between his and Kabuto's swipes, surviving where even heroes of the Multiverse would have trouble from the sheer force, and blasted up Godzilla's neck. The flames joined with their double's to cover Godzilla's body but never burn.

The wyverns went to retreat, but this time didn't account for Godzilla's reading of their patterns. Creatures splattered across Godzilla's hands, arms and face as he lunged out and grabbed hold of the giant wyverns. One shrieked as he carefully caught its tail in his teeth, crushing bone and flesh but leaving it intact enough to watch Godzilla pull the other giant dragon toward it. He squeezed at the other one's wings and body, sneering as it writhed under the pain of being crushed.

The wyvern in his teeth ripped its tail off to flee. A quick snort blasted it apart into chunks, which fell to the acidic Biollante ground along with the corpse of its double.

And despite all this, all the mass murder, the blackened things kept coming.

Saint Kabuto plowed through rock towers where the things clung and hid. Godzilla ignited massive parts of the pocket dimension with his corruption of the divine into nuclear power. Towers became ash under a wave of his breath. The world regenerated and so did Tannin's army.

Out of the ground, reforming into a hideous squirming mass of serpents and wyvern body parts, the twin monsters that had annoyed Godzilla so much rose. This time bigger and able to make even more flame. It lunged and clung to his body, biting and whipping as if it was supposed to hurt. He shook his body and it barely came loose.

Saint Kabuto flung a bunch of Tannin's creatures off of him, turning them into a black mass of gore in the process. He was being swarmed the same way as Godzilla, of course. "Being crawled on by bugs. This is ironic."

Some crawled into his wounds and barfed flames. "You scurvy little cunts!"

Godzilla atomized them off of him with an atomic breath.

"Thanks."

And the attacks still came. Giant monsters stomping, slapping, tackling, leaving glowing stony ruins, but never seeming to fully stop them. It took Godzilla back to his younger days. Nothing but anger and mild annoyance as the fighter jets and tanks kept bombarding him and he leveled the humans' civilization.

If this dimension was going to be one of the areas where his empire of Giants hailed from, then it was looking like a pretty obnoxious spot. But the leveling the civilization did give him an idea...

The monster whipping him and hitting him with disorienting black flames squealed as he ripped it off his chest. Godzilla twisted the bones in its wings as he spread them wide in front of his mouth. He curled his entire upper body down until the thing was between his mouth and the ground. Then he fired. The double-wyvern didn't even get touched by the atomic torrent before it was turned into nothing by the violet death, which hit the surface of the planet and spread across the land instantaneously. All the weaker monsters met the same fate as their irritating brother.

Biollante groaned, but gave Godzilla an understanding nod.

He reared up to roar victory into the sky. Then a fireball harmlessly diffused across his eye. His growl rumbled apart several of the already respawning creatures.

Something about this felt familiar... like he was looking at a reflection of something. The countless creatures spawned by the Golden Sword's daughter Echidna and Typhon? Similar. The life that rapidly evolved in the wake of his destruction? Even more familiar. Or, perhaps like the children of Ristaang...

"These keep coming," Kabuto complained. He swept up hundreds in a jab of one of his claws. "It's like a bloody nightmare!"

The only bloody nightmare would be to whatever was causing this.

Godzilla slapped some creatures, letting their guts and blood spill across his palm. He brought it in for a sniff. It was kind of like that thing that he sensed at Persephone's castle when he initially rescued some pirates. No, it was exactly the same. He'd always assumed that he would be able to crush her instantly... now it appeared that she had gotten ahold of the very core of reality. Or, at least, the presence tied to her.

He swept his hands into the sky, ripping holes in reality and hordes of monsters. Before he could lunge through on the spawner's trail, the gashes healed. And he knew this world would only adapt to more swipes. It seemed like he and Biollante's idea was going to need a field test.
____________

The enormous sea that had been spawned by Hercules rumbled and crackled as if bedrock deep below had been dug into. Then it crackled again. A wave of power swept across the lands, staggering everyone on the final battlefield to some extent. The cracks became a quake.

Then, a mass appeared. First, slowly. The immense spikes touched the tips of the water. Then, they swelled out of it. Three rows. No, more rows. A huge mass, an abominable merging of plant and flesh in the shape of a vast spiny bud. It hurtled toward the Sandman-made shore and caused a vast rumble through the bones of the fighters.

Then the bud bloomed.

Godzilla's head emerged from the center, covered in goo and mounted with a crown of thorns upon his head. As he shrugged, the petals of the abomination plant folded back and joined his spines as part of a collosal, thorny cape. His eyes moved from the fights near the surface. They focused first on a false Yggdrasil. Then, they moved to a light show in the sky. Then back down to the surface, where he saw the crystalized body of Ristaang.

His feet threw up sand and debris as he hurried over to the seeming corpse. He leaned his head down to sniff up and down her shoulders. It was unmistakably her. It was unmistakably the thing that spawned the creatures who did it. Still, he could sense that she was still around. She wasn't truly dead.

A low rumble escaped from his throat, turning into a growl, and finally into a roar toward the skies. Toward Tannin. He would end the End of All, colossal allies by his side.

[Beast Blood]

The severed spear limb of Cavrasnak shot through the air, piercing earth a short ways before Korraz’s feet. Not far hence landed the disembodied head of the demon, glaring up at her in a dead grimace, spiteful in death.

Casting a knowing glance and a subtle nod up to Tenchi, the blacksmith grabbed onto the spear and examined her foe carefully.

While the right head tried to snap at Tenchi, the central head was busy dealing with Glaxion, jabbing a pointed limb towards the horned warrior. But her hammer struck first and hard, shattering the bony pillar before it would reach her. Pained and enraged, the demon turned its full attention squarely onto her, its other head swiveling its gaze her way as well, in his fury disregarding even Tenchi and especially Korraz.

Deeming it the right moment to strike, the last Borskall of Fredelig stomped forward and hurled the disembodied spear as an ivory javelin. The power behind the throw was such that it warped the air around it in a funnel, swirling rain and hail around it as it tore through the skies - then it struck the distracted demon, lodging itself deep within its eye socket. The beast howled its pain and anger, crimson tears streaming from his ravaged eye socket. But Korraz would not relent. She grabbed the demon’s head behind her by one of its horns and whirled round herself, mustering the correct muscle and movement to build up the most powerful momentum she could possibly manage in her exhaustion. The disembodied head of the demon left her grasp as a spinning blur of scales and blood, hurtling directly its former owner’s way.

For a single moment, the beast’s vision in its rightmost head, what little was left of it, filled with the sight of its own counterpart flying its way, recognition and outrage flashing in its remaining eye for but a moment ere pain completely eclipsed them both. Blood exploded from its mouth and nostrils and dribbled down its ears, spilling from uncountable cracks of its scales and skull as it whipped back. Its good eye flew off its skull alongside many of its broken fangs, the other stuck in its bloodied orbit still. The whiplash severed the demon’s spine internally, and the great serpent neck folded backwards - then it rolled off the rest of its body entirely, the mere threads it hung on snapping as bloodied rubberbands under such strain.

Lashing out in his agony, Cavrasnak raised his arm and aimed to pierce the giant's shoulder as she approached him, but Korraz, by the superiority of her strength, caught it easily and dealt it a vicious bite, rending its wrist with sharp teeth and tusks. Not much slowed by the ordeal, she continued on, clapping her paws on either side of his great body. It was rare for her to be dwarfed in height. Scarcer still was for her to be outmatched in physical strength. And this one was found to be lacking, for she easily wrangled him into submission and heaved him off his feet, brusquely wrestling him onto the ground. Her allies then helped restrain him. Thorny tendrils coiled around his limbs, while Glaxion hammered huge icicles into its body, literally nailing him to the earth.

Like a hunter carving her kill, Korraz loomed over her fallen foe and struck her claws across his belly, drawing long gushing wounds. Coldly and clinically, she began to disembowel him, burrowing to find its stomach in which it had swallowed several Yakuza. This too was eviscerated, allowing the trapped citizens to see light again, to feel the fresh air of their realm once more; to live again. She carefully scooped the wounded up, hurrying along those who could walk, and let Gaiyan carry them all to safety.

Glaxion’s mighty hammer came down upon foe after foe, splattering them across the earth, staining it with their blood. A number of them swarmed behind her and made to claw her neck, but the electric shielding Korraz had bestowed her friend warded them off. Paralyzed and smoking, they fell as limp as their comrades, charred effigies toppling from the sky. The warrior stepped a foot onto her hammer and grasped its handle, mustering her weight and strength to tilt it as a lever. As the wyvern approached, she let go, catapulting the sharp handle of the weapon towards the beast. The hilt struck its skull hard before bouncing back towards her, violently compressing its spine. The creature crumpled in a heap before the horned giant.

Nearby, Gaiyan had returned, this time for Cthelee. Before taking off from the tree on mighty pinions, Hod let the avian Quatheral know this was an ally.

"Here, little friend. I will take you to safety."

But for a fleeting moment, Cthelee saw not the warm flames of the healer's eyes and her tender smile as he glanced down, but the glaring red and wicked grin of Drillgore. A blink of his eyes dispersed the horrific image to reveal what it truly was: the healer reaching up to him with open arms, inviting him to come to her while Hod helped Korraz.

Like a vulture waiting for the death of a prey, the Stormcrow flew in a circle over the fallen Cavrasnack, each powerful flap of his crackling wings lancing lightning onto the demon. The raven croaked an eerie call that echoed in the night alongside crashing thunder.

Below him, Korraz looked around wearily, half-heartedly bringing a hand to her face to take some blood off her eyes. She was tired. So very tired. Yet still she must fight. For the good of the multiverse. For the safety of her family.

---

The ashes of defeated spawn slowly scattered among the snow, the endless flow of their numbers finally halted. Beyond all reason, they had kept on coming long after Bjornskar had made clear its point, and the guardians of the Realm of Ice had grown all the more emboldened for it, for it meant that whatever force had sent these beings was growing desperate, a beast recklessly lashing out in its death throes, seeking any way at all to weaken the denizens of the world; to try and find chinks in their armor. But there were none to be found, and the attackers for a while had simply been funneled to their doom, dying in complete vain. Their remains were to be forgotten among Bjornskar’s past foes, whose demise went equally unsung. Forgotten by all and mourned by none, only the ice embraced them, their cold coffin.

Sirmaq, blacksmith of Kollagskar, leaned wearily on his greatsword’s pommel, looking up towards the visage of the Dragonfather as it slowly withdrew. To see the face of the being whose own spawn long fought against his kind instilled within him uncertain feelings. He quietly nodded his respect all the same. Were it not for the bickerings between Dragonkind and Beastkind, of the struggle against the Undead, Bjornskar may not have the strength to defend itself with such ferocity. Cold weather alone may not hone the Bjornskaren into such potent weapons. It was adversity from all sides that made the realm so implacable, a blade so sharp.

Bromdaahl himself was not malicious. Sirmaq could see his pain. To be forced to contend with his conflicting emotions in perpetuity, to have to watch as his children slayed those of the being he loved and to see his own be slain in turn, must weigh heavily upon the Dragonfather. Yet still he defended Bjornskar with all he had.

A light touch on the polar giant’s leg stirred him from his thoughts. Glancing downwards, the rugged male was surprised to see his daughter reaching up to him.

“Frieda... you have walked all the way here?” he spoke softly, leaning to lift the cub into his arms. Tiny traces in the snow, interspersed with larger ones denoting the occasional fall on the way from his home, confirmed his suspicion.

Although she had disobeyed his order to stay inside while he took care of these invading dragons alongside the rest of the Borskall of Kollagskar, he could not bring himself to be stern with her, so filled with pride he was for his cub. She had managed to toddle a fair distance, much further than he knew her to be able to muster. Prior to this, he had only witnessed her trundling a few steps at a time. Of course, this meant he would have to keep a closer eye on her.

“When your mother returns, she will be very proud of you,” Sirmaq praised, lending his daughter’s forehead a tender nuzzle.

Frieda smiled, but did not answer him verbally, for she was too young to do so, and even so, neither of his cubs were particularly verbal, in part because their mother was not. Her older brother, Kovrald, occasionally mumbled a few words, but was more inclined to mimic his mother’s hand signs. Frieda seemed to think of them as some sort of game and tried to catch Korraz’s paws whenever she tried to sign to her. She only paid attention when Sirmaq said the words aloud alongside his mate’s signing, that the little ones would learn to associate them.

He could not blame Frieda for wanting to check on him when he had spent much more time than intended contemplating the end of the battle. The bodies of defeated wyverns, whose corpses lay in all manners of chopped pieces around the gruff blacksmith, littered the snow all around.

He turned to his son as he noticed him approaching as well, undoubtedly to check on both his sister and father. Kovrald was very protective of his younger sister and followed her wherever she went. Sirmaq gently patted him on the head to reassure him they were both fine.

“There are naught more of these creatures to bother us for now. Let us go home now, and I shall tell you over some stew how the rest of the village and I crushed them. One day, it will be up to you to defend your home and loved ones as well.”

He withdrew his bloodied blade from the snow and signaled his son to follow as they returned home.

Upon entering, Sirmaq’s eyes instinctively sought out the spot his mate usually sat at - a chair by the window next to the table, a nearby perch on its sill for her raven companion to perch on. It was her favorite place to relax. She could spend entire evenings simply looking through the window there or watching the fire, with her customary cup of tea. Sirmaq often pondered what she could possibly be thinking about as she watched the flames dance or the fishermen go about their business. She was quite the daydreamer, a trait he personally found to be rather endearing.

But as much as he wished for her to be there to greet him upon his return, today his home remained bereft of her presence still, silent and solemn in her absence. It was not that his home was particularly less quiet with her around, but it was certainly less lonely. It reminded him of how lonesome he had felt before she had wandered into his village those few years prior. He had been so happy to learn she was a blacksmith as well, that he may finally have someone to talk to about his trade. He never would have imagined he would be friends with her, let alone mates.

Even with the cubs to care for and to keep him company, there was a terrible longing in his heart for his closest friend and dearest love to be there with him. He could not wait to tell her of Frieda's latest feat.

He looked up to see Kovrald eagerly watching him gather up some snacks for he and his sibling. For a moment, it felt as though Korraz herself was looking at him, so striking was the resemblance between the cub and his mother. The likeness was such that not one soul would have believed her if she had told them he was naught but a lost cub she had decided to take on the care of, so blatantly obvious was the truth. His fur was darker though, which Sirmaq surmised must have come from his sire - for he, in truth, was the cub’s adoptive father. Each time the polar Borskall thought of him, an intense anger rose within him.

Sirmaq recalled having felt, somewhat selfishly, a pang of disappointment when he had first beheld Korraz stepping into his village with this cub in her arms, for it had appeared to him then that she already had a mate. Then he had realized, in fact, she did not. Before she had even confirmed it herself, he had figured this out on his own. It had occurred to him he had never seen anyone beyond her friends at her side. She had never alluded to any mate of hers, former or otherwise, and Sirmaq suspected grief was not the cause for such proverbial silence if death was involved. And when she did tell him who Kovrald’s father was, she spoke not of a mate, but of a monster. This Sirmaq had gathered already, for the brutal scars across her neck and shoulders had told him as much. He felt horrified and disgusted at the thought still.

He smiled to the curious cub. He was happy Kovrald liked him. Before he and Korraz had settled together, the cub would often wander up to him if she took her eye off him a moment. Perhaps it was their friendship that had made him assume they were both his parents before they actually were, the time they spent smithing together. Or perchance the little one had simply decided for himself he wished for Sirmaq to be his father, adopting him as much as he himself was adopted.

He wondered however they would one day tell the cub of his true origins, that he was born not out of love but of cold pragmatism, that he had actually died a short time after his birth and given a second chance at life by the mercy of a dying Olgfolk who had traded life and grave with him. And how would Kovrald himself possibly react to such a thing? Would he be consumed with guilt and self-loathing for what he was, or would he accept that his circumstances were beyond his control, that he was ultimately master of his own fate and could decide for himself who he was? Sirmaq certainly hoped for the latter, and he wished to encourage his son to see it in that light.

Kovrald was not of the Undead as the Borskall knew it. He breathed. He felt. He grew. He was, for all intents and purposes, of the living.

He was glad Korraz had felt more love than uncertainty for the cub and had not rejected him upon his return - not that he particularly would have expected any less from her. Kovrald was no abomination in her eyes, but an innocent child. He was her son, and she treated him as such. For Sirmaq, this had simply reaffirmed his desire to be at her side. She was kind and devoted to Kovrald and Frieda both.

He glanced to Frieda, who was evidently hungry enough to chew her blanket. For her sake, Sirmaq endeavored to hurry up with his preparation of the stew. As he did, he mentally rehearsed the tales he would tell them. He could plainly see they were as excited to eat as they were to hear of how the battle today went.

What stories would Korraz have to share when she returned? She typically came back with tales of great triumphs. She told them of impossible creatures and sights she had seen, of friends she had met and what odd behaviors they sometimes displayed. And she would tell them that she loved them, that everything she did was for their safety and well–being - that she missed them and longed to go home to them the whole time she was away. The cubs would listen in awe, and Sirmaq shared their enthusiasm, yet he also felt certain apprehension. His mate would often come back to them wounded, a terrible tragedy witnessed for every triumph, drops of her blood spilled for every victory. Sirmaq knew she could handle herself, yet he felt frustrated all the same, that he could not deal retribution to whatever or whomever would dare lay a hand on his beloved.

Such was the life of a warrior, Sirmaq sighed to himself. He could only hope she would come back safe.

When at least the food was ready, the Kollagskaren blacksmith stood and sat with his cubs, ready to regale them with stew and story.

“Here, pups. Now I will tell you of how the Dragonfather helped us in the Beastmother’s absence.”

[MinorBone Good]

As the battle raged onwards, Cthelee was still whistling the tune to the best of his ability. Though still, the utter brutality was slowly creeping up on him. Around a minute in, he had to close his eyes just to keep his composure. Though, that really only brought him back to... Drillgore's first attack. The sounds of flesh tearing and bones napping, organs popping became mixed with the sound of a drill spinning and a Drillgore's voice calling to him. Cthelee whimpered a bit, still trying to block everything out with his song. The striped bird then tried to cover his ears with his wings, and this did helped a bit. His breathing began to slow back down, thinking back to Aphrodite and Korraz. He can handle this. He had not only allies, but newfound friends as well. And they would protect him with their lives, and he would do the same for them.

Cthelee felt strong vibrations nearby, but they didn't seem like the wyverns. Her slowly opened his eyes, seeing a creature walking towards them. He blinked, and for a moment, his heart stopped. Drillgore's smile was plastered on the creature's face. He blinked again. It was gone. Cthelee looked down at the creature for a moment, unsure whether to jump forward or not. Was the image in his head just an illusion? It had to be, right? With a worried gurgle, Cthelee took a deep breathe, his mouth flaps reverberating a bit. His wings spread out, and jumped from Korraz's body, and flapped his wings to slow the fall. He soon landed on the healer's hands, and nodded at them in appreciation.

Mitsif meanwhile, while still on Korraz's back the entire time she was fighting. For the first time in her life, she wasn't laughing. in fact, she hadn't even let out a giggle for the past 5 minutes, which was a new record for her. She even laughed in her sleep. However this time around, things were a lot more.. serious than what she usually liked. She soon heard a voice, and began to crawl up Korraz's body, grabbing lightly on the hairs as to not frustrate her further. She soon saw the creature, with their hands held out. Mitsif took their chance, and also jumped down from Korraz, giggling a bit as she fell down into the beast's hands. She always did like the feeling of falling.
_______________________________

Evoex nodded at Owlzarus' words. Yellow-blue lightning surged around around Evoex, getting ready to fire off some of the excess distortions that his body had contained. His center warped, swirling and twisting around into impossible shapes. His belly continued to swirl, soon becoming a spire-like shape coming out of his center. It soon bloomed open like a flower, turning into a needle thin point, and fired out a swirling beam of uncontained energy towards the Wyvern King, burning into their chest. Evoex's body turned to a darker shade, trying to increase the voltage on his power. The beam soon gained an additional shape, becoming more of a circular shape than the main one cracking around like lightning. This new beam was completly white, and looked like a living worm, It looped around the Wyvern King's body, and attempted to crush it.

However, soon other allies began to attack the beast, causing the beam Evoex was firing to lose connection. Both of Evoex's beams quickly retracted back into his body, and his form was flickering like a broken TV. Evoex saw a creature he didn't recognized get blasted by a Wyvern king, and suddenly another beam heading right towards Owlzarus. Instinctually, Evoex shouted out "OWLARUS!" But the words did not come out like they usually did within a textbox. This time, Owlzarus was surrounded by a white border, and Owlzarus' vision began to darken. His body flashed white, and all of his limbs began to stiffen. Owlzarus began to feel like his whole body was fuzzy, similar to that of cutting off circulation to a limb for a moment. Evoex was stunned. Did he actually put something into a textbox that wasn't text!?

There wasn't time to dwell on that though, as soon the white beam of the Wyvern King struck Owlzarus' form, a direct hit. Despite feeling a slight burning sensation and several cracks in his vision, Owlzarus managed to be relatively unharmed! Evoex decided to speak once more.

[BORDER]"ARE YOU OKAY, FRIEND?"[/BORDER]

As soon as the new text box appeared, Owlzarus flashed white again, and the textbox around him quickly faded away, though the fuzziness in his body was still slightly lingering. As well as a part of his left wing becoming pixel-y for a moment.