Freedom Dies With Me: A Freedom Planet Alternative Timeline Story

by MasterMartin

With the world destroyed due to the rampages of an insane Sash Lilac, Multiverse Vigilante Master must return to the past and, alongside his Blade of Hysteria, help the original Lilac and her friends fight the forces of Lord Brevon while also saving her sanity. Little does he know of the dangers his involvement may bring to the timeline, as the red eyes of insanity hang over him...

4. Team Lilac

The Royal Chambers, Shang Tu

"Majister! The Kingdom Stone has been taken!"

The Majister, great ruler of Shang Tu, did not want to hear this news today. It had been months since someone had last attempted to steal the Kingdom Stone from its legendary resting place, and even then it was a pack of roving thieves who really thought they were clever. Little did they know that such a magical artefact would be fiercely protected. Or at least, that's what he had thought. For as even though those previous thieves were still locked away in his jail cells deep within the palace walls, the thought that someone had finally managed to make off with the Kingdom Stone was...troubling, to say the least.

The Majister looked around, beyond his Royal Chambers to see who was scurrying along towards him. Surprise, it was General Gong clattering his way across the blue-tinged marble floor towards him. The speed of his running caused to the blue banners to tussle in the breeze as the sunset's light shone through the blue-tinged windows. The Majister himself had been firmly sat in his blue throne until the news had reached him, and he gracefully stood up and approached General Gong.

General Gong almost skidded to a stop before The Majister, trying not to leave marks from his sandals on the floor, before saluting, "Your Excellency!"

"Stolen?" The Majister asked, "By who?!"

"Mayor Zao!" General Gong barked, a hint of bitterness in his voice, "His pilgrimage to the Temple was a cover-up! Rushed us with a massive truck and took it by force!"

The Majister remained silent. One of his best strengths was the ability to hide his emotions, after all. It had made him a trusted leader over the years, seen by many as a good man with a will stronger than obsidian and the intelligence to match. Any physical challenge was better handled by Gong and newcomer Neera, but he still ruled well over his little kingdom. Well, better than Prince Dail or Mayor Zao, at any rate. At least he didn't stick statues of himself everywhere.

The Majister looked at General Gong, his face hidden by the massive helmet of his that covered everything but his piercing purple eyes in shadow, before looking out of the huge window over the horizon, "This is troubling...Zao may be a buffoon, but I never believed he was capable of this."

"A trio of youngsters warned us about the attack," Gong explained, looking a bit embarrassed, "I...refused to listen."

Gong had fallen to his knees and The Majister knew that he was about to apologise about this and that he had failed him and so on. The Majister knew that Gong was rather humble, which made him a great ally. That, and his pretty good fighting skills. Still, he turned to look at Gong, stopping him before he spoke.

"Don't be hard on yourself for it, general. I would have been just as sceptical. Tell me...who was it that issued you this warning?"

"Sash Lilac, Dragon, age 16. Carol Tea, Wildcat, age 15," came Neera-Li's voice. She too had entered the Majister's chambers, at a remarkably slower pace than Gong. The Majister took less of a shining to her, her need to get things done in one specific way getting in the way in every case she was put on. Still, she was a very good fighter, even surpassing General Gong in some areas, and her Staff of Ice made it easier to detain any criminal element that roamed Shang Mu. She spoke again, "And one unidentified creature."

"...Unidentified?" The Majister asked.

"Yeah," Gong said, standing up and joining Neera-Li by the throne, "A tag-along, from the looks of it. He looked kinda like a hedgehog under all that ridiculous winter get-up. Seriously, who wears a scarf THAT long in Spring? Anyway, he calls himself 'Master' or something like that."

"...Seriously?" The Majister asked, his eyes half-open in scepticism.

"He's real, I swear!" Gong shouted, "We saw him with all four eyes."

"It is clear that this...urgh, 'Master' has a high opinion of himself," Neera-Li said, "Claiming he was a multiverse vigilante, trying to start a fight with me, said he was here to save the world...hated the guy the second he opened his mouth."

"As did he with you, from what I saw," Gong said, "At best, I'd say he's...uh...Master, Hedgehog...around 17."

"He sounds like a comic book villain," The Majister huffed in dismissal, "Nevertheless, I shall get my best men to...research him. A hedgehog is a rare sight in this world. Perhaps he may be of some use to us."

"I hope not..." Neera grumbled under her breath.

It was soon after that that The Majister dismissed them both for the night. The two complied, saluted, and began to walk down the halls to the doors. As The Majister saw them leave, he could catch faint snippets of one of their conversation;

"Told you he'd react like that when we told him his name."

"Shut it Gong. Thank the Great Dragon we didn't reel out his full name..."

As the two made it down the various hallways, Neera couldn't shake the feeling that something was...off about Lilac and Carol. Not that Master guy, he was clearly some random doofus out for attention, but Lilac and Carol she knew all too well. Thieves. Ex-members of the Red Scarves, robbing trucks and temples, shops and boutiques, anywhere they could find crystals. They had abandoned the group over their ideology, at least that's what THEY said, but Neera was still as sceptical as ever. Two ex-thieves, showing up at the Temple moments before an ambush which resulted in the theft of the Kingdom Stone...there was no way in her mind that this was a coincidence.

"Something doesn't smell right..." Neera said, walking down the halls.

"Well sorrrry!" General Gong said after her, sounding a bizarre kind of offended.

"YOU never smell right," Neera-Li said bluntly, stopping and turning to Gong, "I'm referring to those kids. They know something about this. We have to find them."

"They're just kids, Neera," Gong sighed.

"Kids who are reported thieves," Neera retorted, "We can't just trust them. They were at that blasted Temple, mere SECONDS before Zao struck. There's more to this."

"I'm more concerned with that egomaniac hedgehog...thing," Gong stuttered, "What's his deal?"

"Ahh, yes, the average hedgehog. Quite rare on Avalice, and hated wherever they're seen. So much for the Planet of Freedom."

Neera-Li stopped, "Was that you?"

"No..." Gong shrugged. He turned to the two guards in the hallway; one was a dog, the other was a duck of some kind. He turned to the duck, "Was that you?"

The duck quacked his response.

"Oh..." Gong said, looking annoyed, "Thanks for the info."

They and the two guards paused as a small beacon approached them, flying across the hallways to zoom in on their position. It was a small, round device, almost like some sort of camera, that hovered in place before the four and began to emit a bright blue light of some kind. It eventually refocused into some sort of hologram, and within that was a man. He was seemingly young, about Lilac's height, shrouded in a dark cloak that hid his body and face. The only things that could be seen were two hedgehog ears poking out of the top of the hood and two red, pinprick dot eyes that stood out from the shadow that should have been a face.

Neera-Li, despite her initial shock, remained physically undeterred, "Not another one...who are you?"

"My name...is not important," came the voice again. It was indeed the one from before, hindered by static and low quality audio. It was clear the cloaked man was using a voice modulator, "I was just...flying my drone to the local store and I couldn't help but listen you'd found a hedgehog."

"What's it to you?" Gong asked, "He your brother?"

"He's related to me, yes..." came the voice once more, "I have been tracking him down for some time. And if he's shackled up with that Lilac girl...well, I'll be happy to get them to you as fast as possible."

"You want to help us?" Neera-Li asked, "We don't just trust random strangers."

"Trust me, Miss Li." the figure put a hand, hidden within the long sleeves of his cloak, on his chest, "I am a man of my word. You want to get rid of Lilac. I want to get rid of this...Master fellow. We are at an impasse. We HAVE to work together."

"...Fine," Neera-Li grumbled soon after, "We'll trust you. You get me to Lilac, I'll give you that pathetic creature. But if you try to betray us..."

The figure was not intimidated by Neera-Li at all and laughed, the faint glow of a row of razor sharp teeth visible in the cloak, "Trust me."

Dragon Valley, Lilac's Treehouse

"Wow..." Milla cried out, "It's so beautiful!"

Lilac smiled. The group had finally made it back to her treehouse and it was slowly getting dark. Even now, the sun was setting in the distance and casting a dark blueish hue across the landscape. Milla was bouncing around the entrance to the treehouse, barking happily and wagging her tail, while Carol was nearby with a tired expression on her face. Behind her was Master, as silent as he had been throughout the entire walk home. Lilac ignored the three and walked off. Near the base of the tree was a giant green tent, made out of a sturdy fabric that rippled in the slight wind. She couldn't see in the tent, but a strong yellowish light was flooding through the partially open flaps that made up the 'door'. as it were. Torque stumbled out of the tent, readjusting his shell as he went.

"Hey, Lilac!" Torque called out.

"Hey Torque," Lilac said, smiling, "I see you found your stuff."

"Most of it," Torque sighed, "Hey, how did your visit to the Temple go? Did you stop the Kingdom Stone from being stolen?"

"Oh no..." Lilac's joy stopped cold, "I forgot about that! Mayor Zao took off with the Kingdom Stone."

"Oh..." Torque sighed again, before stepping forward and petting the moping Lilac's shoulder, "It's fine, it's okay, we can work with that. As long as it's in the hands of JUST Mayor Zao."

"Trust us," Carol said, pointing to her and Lilac in a proud manner, "The most he'll do with it is turn it into a disco ball or something."

"So, are you going to join us in our treehouse for the night?" Lilac asked, "Get some rest, be ready to get it back as soon as possible?"

"Sadly, no," Torque said, "I've got most of my stuff, but almost all of it's offline. It'll take me a while to get it all working again."

"Sounds like complicated stuff," Carol said, "Think any one of us could help?"

"Thanks for asking," Torque said, looking back into his tent, "But it IS incredibly complicated stuff. I kinda want to get it running myself. And while I'm at it, I better have Master's gun, if he doesn't mind."

"You can have it," Master said, taking the totally empty gun from its holster and giving it to Torque, "I don't really want to have that thing around Milla."

"Seems like some sort of antique," Torque mused, looking over the weapon with amusement, "Well, at least in my culture it is."

"A .50 Action Express Desert Eagle? Antique?" Blade asked, slightly dumbfounded, "Damn, son, this universe is very schizophrenic, technology-wise. Standard TVs, spears and swords in the army, motorbikes, and yet lasers, robots and spaceships too."

"Hmm..." Lilac mused, "We'll make sense of this tomorrow. I still need to patch you two up, after all. Things should be pretty wild tonight, especially with that new girl."

"Yeah!" Carol shouted, punching the air, "This is gonna be a fun night!"

5 Minutes Later

'Fun', Lilac thought. Maybe she was exaggerating a bit. Or rather, a lot. It had only been about 5 minutes since leaving Torque to fiddle with his machinery. The group, exhausted from the fighting at the temple, had collapsed around the various parts of the Treehouse's living room. It was a spacious, wooden interior, with bamboo shoots lining the walls and giving off an intense cultural atmosphere. Well, Carol said it did, anyway. Beyond the sheet doors was a dresser of sorts, hiding in front on a blue-tinged window with a phone sitting on top of it. Next to that was a bookcase with sparse contents, with only an apple, a model of a star and some coloured cases to call its own. At the corner of the room were a sofa and a chair, both wood-framed and lined with comfy red velvet cushions. Completing the look was a lamp and a television set, which was situated near the chairs. Lilac was sprawled out on the sofas, stomach-down, and twirling legs in the air. Milla was crouched down by the chair, looking wondrously at the TV, while Carol was on the floor beside her, a shapeless and bandage-covered green lump in the dim light of the cheap lamp. Master was sat in the chair, having fallen asleep, his snoring otherwise permeating the mere ticking sound of the nearby clock. But apart from that was mere silence.

"I'm booooooored..." Carol whined.

Lilac didn't want to admit it, but she was too. She had refrained from turning the TV on, since her dish had been disabled sometime before, and she was resting off the damages she had sustained during the Kingdom Stone lair collapsing. Still, her TV still functioned, and she finally relented; "How about a movie?"

"Sure!" Milla barked happily, getting up.

"Mhm, why not?" Carol asked, still lying on the floor.

"What kind of movies do you like, Milla?" Lilac asked, sitting up on the sofa now.

"I like being surprised!" Milla chirped.

"Alright..." Lilac said, pausing, "...Hey, what about that Master guy? Shouldn't he get a say?"

"What kind of parent names their kid 'Master'?" Carol grumbled, "Milla, could you..."

Milla nodded happily and suddenly jumped up onto Master's lap. He awoke with a start, gibbering and thrashing at the heavy object that had jumped onto his lap. Milla quickly jumped off again.

"Wh-wha?" Master asked, "What's going on?"

"Sorry to wake you," Lilac said, "But we were going to watch a movie. Just wondered if you wanted to pick for us. They're in that bookcase over there."

"...Sure," Master shrugged, getting up out of the chair and walking towards the bookcase, squatting down at the shelf of coloured cases. He looked around for a while, before turning to Lilac again, "Uh...where're your DVD's?"

"DV...D's?" Lilac asked, "Never heard of 'em."

"...You've never heard of DVD's?" Master asked, to which Lilac responded to by shaking her head, "...CD's?" Another shake, "Well what DO you use, then?" He grabbed the nearest case, and flipped it open. A black, plastic brick met his gaze, which quickly mutated into a look of pure dumbfoundedness.

"...VHS tapes?" Blade asked incredulously, "...Laser guns, spaceships, robots...VHS TAPES?!"

"Most common media form on Planet Avalice, thanks very much," Carol sighed, "Convenient and easy to store. Well, apart from them being bulky. Got a problem with that?"

"Honey, VHS tapes are VHS paperweights in our time!" Blade said, "People nowadays only use them for nostalgia. Well that, and sticking pretty stupid B-Movies onto them."

Master ignored him and studied the range of VHS tapes before him. Alongside the one he had picked out, there were about seven titles in all; the other six were 'Year of the Dragon', 'Taken Away to the Fairytale Castle', 'Taken Away to the Fairytale Castle 2', 'Mad Speedz', 'Land of the Lizard People' and 'The Red Scarves'.

"'The Red Scarves?'" Master asked.

"A doccumentry on them," Lilac sighed, "Kinda how we got into the whole thing in the first place."

"Ain't showing that one to Milla, then..." Master said, "I just can't see any we'd all like. What's the one in my ha...oh."

Master had flipped the case in his hand over and stopped. There, staring at him from the cover, was an animatronic bear he knew all too well, its top hat doing nothing to hide the smug grin on its face. At the top, in bold letters, was 'Five Nights at Freddy's: The Movie'.

"...Okay..." Blade said quietly, "I'm pretty sure these guys are just fucking with us now."

An hour later

"Damn..." Blade sighed, "Even for video game movies, this is bad."

"Shut up, Blade," Master grumbled, "It's actually pretty good."

The four had been sitting around the living room, watching the movie with oft-blank stares. Every now and again, there would be a scary moment that would cause three of the four to shriek and jump in response. Each tried to react differently; Carol remained the strongest, acting like it had no effect on her, while Lilac was lying on her stomach hugging a pillow. Milla, on the other hand, had jumped straight into Master's lap, who in turn had begun to stroke her wild orange hair to soothe her.

"I...get the feeling this was a poor choice of viewing material..." Master sighed.

"Well, it's actually pretty good..." Lilac said.

"It's just...scary!" Milla whimpered.

"Yeah, good idea to show this to a ten year old," Blade snarked, "Even Torque would probably stay silent towards this crap!"

"Speaking of..." Carol said, munching on a handful of popcorn, "Why d'ya think Torque doesn't want to hang out with us?"

"He said he had some work to do," Lilac said, lying on her back now with her head on the floor.

"Maybe he's just afraid he'll get cooties!" Carol teased, causing the three girls to break out in raucous laughter.

"Cooties..." Milla giggled.

"Shouldn't someone go check on him?" Lilac asked, "See if he needs anything? Water, some food, perhaps a break?"

"I'll do it," Master said, getting up and placing Milla on the floor, "It'll shut Blade up for a bit."

Master walked out of the room shortly after, stumbling past the TV and out the door within seconds. There was a sudden yelp and a crunching sound, which Lilac quickly went to investigate.

"Ah..." Master groaned as he lay on the dirt below, "I forgot there was a ladder here..."

"Jeez, are you okay?!" Lilac called down, crying out in shock.

"I'm fine..." Master grumbled his response, "Only thing broken is my dignity...no, wait, wait. Nope, I've shattered my left kneecap, too. But other than that, I'm fine!"

Lilac sighed and walked back into the living room, sitting down on the couch again, "You know what, Carol? I see your point now. He's such a handful. Like everything has to be about him."

"Exactly," Carol said, pausing the movie, "Why do we even have him around?"

"I'm guessing the same reason Torque set up shop here, too," Lilac shrugged, "There's something bigger going on with the Kingdom Stone than just Mayor Zao wanting more power. Torque seems to know why, and Master seems to know how. And he could be of massive help to us."

"That good or bad?" Carol asked. Lilac had no answer to that, so she looked down at herself.

"I dunno..." Milla asked, jumping onto the couch, "He looks nice enough..."

"Master..." Carol grumbled bitterly, "Why does he call himself that? Why not Overlord? Or SuperGuy? Or just Perfect Chaos or some overblown name like that? Jeez, and I thought Mayor Zao had an ego!"

"Urgh...this is confusing," Lilac sighed, pressing a hand to her aching temple, "All we were going to do today was rob Mayor Zao's truck. I didn't want to at first, but I probably would have had I known he was going to steal the Kingdom Stone. Then Torque comes crashing in, gets in a fight with that snake guy, then the other guy comes in and next thing we know we're in a temple dodging pickaxes and attacking robots!"

"Sounds exciting!" Milla barked happily.

"...Yeah..." Lilac smiled, looking up, "I guess it was. Kinda...kinda fun, even."

"So, are we going to get involved?" Carol asked.

"I don't know..." Lilac said next, getting up and turning the TV off, "It depends on how severe the whole thing is. I say we sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings. And get rid of this movie, too."

"It's strange, I'll give it that," Carol mused, "Lots of interesting plot threads and characters, but a lot of it seems to go nowhere. Funny thing is, I don't even remember buying that tape."

"...Neither do I..." Lilac said, staring at the tape case, "That bear creeps me out, though. Urgh, I'm going to bed."

"Me too..." Carol yawned, "Milla, you better come to bed, too."

"Where do I sleep?" Milla asked.

"I've got a extra bed in the bedroom," Lilac smiled, playing with Milla's hair, "I use it if my other bed is...unavailable..." she quickly cast a glare at Carol, who simply smiled nervously, "You can use it. It's really comfortable."

"Oh, thank you, Lilac!" Milla said, giving Lilac a big hug.

"You're welcome, kiddo."

Later that night

"Not like a couple of traitors like yourselves would care..."

Oh great, this again. Lilac always hated these kind of dreams. One where your own mind takes parts of the day previous and tries to make something of it. Your own brain guilt tripping you. Lilac gingerly got to her feet, each step responding with a resounding clanging noise. All around her was a black, empty void that stretched on for distances immeasurable, only the sound of otherworldly wails and muffled breathing meeting her ears. There were odd feelings on her body, like she was in bed tossing and turning.

"The heck?" Lilac asked, her voice echoing alongside the wails, "Am I dreaming?"

"I dunno..." came the voice again. Lilac turned around to see Spade again, his left leg up and resting on the stolen Kingdom Stone, "Though I guess that's why I'm even here."

"Spade?" Lilac asked, "What ARE you doing here, anyway?"

"Just here..." Spade said, crossing his arms, "I suppose I'm just looking after this here trinket for Mayor Zao."

"...Wait, the Kingdom Stone!" Lilac called out, pointing to the item in question, "Give it back!"

"Why should I?" Spade asked, "What use would this magic disco ball be to you over me? I need it to find my father's killer. For all I know, you're probably travelling around with him."

"Not now," Lilac grumbled, "I still need time to figure out who he even IS! But trust me, Mayor Zao won't know who your father's killer. He barely understands the concept of modesty!"

"I know," Spade sighed, "But he's the closest I have to a lead. Why do you even care? What do YOU want with the Kingdom Stone?"

"I need it!" Lilac called out, "Torque said it might fall into the wrong hands! Danger might befall us!"

"And?" Spade asked, "Did he say WHO those wrong hands belonged to? And WHY would it be dangerous? Do you even know?"

Lilac stayed silent.

"Exactly. Why do you just TRUST this Torque fellow? How do you not know he's leading you towards that guy's dangerous hands. If they're even dangerous. And even if YOU had the Kingdom Stone, you'd probably sell it..." he smiled deviously, "Carol's bike looks like it needs new treads, after all."

"I'm not part of your little group anymore!" Lilac seethed, "I won't kill for some stupid crystals!"

"...Yet..." Spade laughed silently.

There was a sudden crack as Spade's face suddenly went numb and he fell to the floor. His still-breathing but limp body was kicked aside and some...creature took his place. He was of a medium length, about Lilac's own height, and was some sort of male demon-like creature. He wore no clothes and his body was a pure black, a shadow from head to toe with three deep scars across his chest. His hands had no fingers, instead ending in dark blue claws that also sprouted from his bare feet. His skin, only seen around his muzzle, was a deep purple that clashed rather oddly with his red eyes containing sunken black pupils. Completing the look was a small snout of a nose, wild hair, a thin spike of a tail and some kind of striped blue/black horn that sprouted from his forehead. His face was currently twisted into a sneer, holding his hand as if it was aching.

"Jackass..." The creature growled, his voice gravely and eccentric, "And this is the guy who'll eventually become a Battletoad? Lame."

"Wha,..wha..." Lilac asked, grabbing her head in confusion, "Who the heck are you?"

"They call me...evil black Zeti creature!" The creature grinned, showing off his sharp teeth, "But most call me Frank Freakly. Franky, for short."

"Why're you here?" Lilac asked, " I don't know you! I...oh wait. Does Master happen to know you?"

"I'm a friend of his..." Franky said, "Well, I WAS. Haven't really been talking to him since he dropped the crust of a dying Earth on my homeland and killed all my brethren."

"...Wait, what?!"

"Trust me, he'll mention it sooner or later..." Franky shrugged, quickly dashing around Lilac until he reached her right side, "For now, I saw you were a bit...restless, so I thought I'd just quickly pop into your own head. Got a few warnings to give out."

"And how would you know?" Lilac asked, leaning against nothing, "I'm dreaming. You logically know all I know, nothing else."

"Well, I'm a bit beyond your dream..." Franky shrugged, "I mean, I AM a figment of your imagination, but I'm...Third-Party. I tend to appear everywhere Master does. I'm his...subconscious, if you will."

"Explains his grouchy streak, I guess..." Lilac sighed, "So...you're here 'cause he's here? You're his influence. And because of that, you also know everything HE does."

"Almost..." Franky shuffled across the floor, "I know almost everything. I just can't say it straight. All I can say is that Master isn't the only guy you can't trust."

"What, is Torque secretly evil too?" Lilac snarked, "Did HE do something to your people?"

"No, not at all," Franky said, "I think he's an upstanding man, But if you think he has a passing interest in this..." he knelt down towards the Kingdom Stone, "Sparkly Master Emerald wannabe, think again. He doesn't NEED it. But he IS trying to make sure someone else who wants it doesn't.. And we can say this guy knows Master...personally."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Lilac asked. Franky opened his mouth and started to speak, but he stopped. There was an infernal ringing sign blaring out throughout the void. Lilac felt some off shift in her body and the voice above her was starting to murmur and yell. And if that wasn't enough, the sound of crackling electricity was slowly filling the air as well.

"Darn it!" Franky called out amongst the inferno, "I've been cut short!"

"What's going on up there?!" Lilac called out, the crackling being louder with every passing second, "Am I waking up?"

"Yeah!" Franky called out too, "Looks like you're getting an early start! So sorry about this, Lilac old girl!"

Lilac started to talk about, but stopped shortly after in a gasp. The crackling was loud now, and had a point of origin; four giant electrical cables were slowly ravelling out from the darkness, light blue lights skipping across their prongs. Lilac, weak at the knees, started peddling backwards before breaking out into a full sprint, but the cables snagged her leg and wrapped tightly around it, before wrapping around her torso and other limbs. The crackling was even louder and the feeling of the electricity was making Lilac's fur stand on end.

"You don't have to do this!" Lilac called out, "Getting electrocuted is one of my worst fears!"

"Sorry, Lilac..." Franky sighed, "This has to be done. Your mind won't let me do it any other way. The average walnut is a funny old thing. I'm sure you'll realise that. In time."

"Well, at least I'm waking up soon..." Lilac winced, "I just hope things'll go more smoothly in the real world!"

"Abandon that hope!" Franky said, now sporting a devious grin, "A new evil is coming to Planet Avalice and his red eyes spell doom for your kind! Only one of your many companions will lead you to the safety of this wretched planet, so pick a side and be on your guard!"

Franky's grin vanished, as did the rest of him, and after a good five seconds he was gone. Lilac tried to call out for a final time, but the cables had become impatient. The electricity was now surging through her with hideous speed, and nothing but pure and puerile agony shot through every crack of her being. There was nothing left for Lilac to do but scream and pray, to pray that the night would soon be over. Time slowed to a crawl, second by petrifying second, until finally it all went black.

"Lilac! Wake up!"

Carol was taken aback as Lilac screeched like a banshee and leapt out of the top bunk, tumbling to the floor in a crumpled heap. Carol quickly looked towards Milla in the corner, all snuggled up in the green-quilt bed. Or at least she was, until Lilac's screaming woke her from her slumber. Lilac, eyes red with tears of shock, jumped to her feet and grabbed Carol by the shoulders.

"...What?"

"Torque turned into an alien or something! You gotta believe me!" Carol cried out, quickly jumping around.

Lilac sighed, forcing the dream of getting electrocuted into the back of her mind, "Look...you probably had a bad dream, or something..."

"I'M SERIOUS!" Carol squealed, "Trust me!"

"Nrrrgh, fine!" Lilac sighed, patting the side of her head, "Let me just get my shoes on!"

"What's going on, Lilac?" Milla whimpered, half-buried in her sheets.

"Nothing, Kiddo..." Lilac grumbled, "Get some sleep, I'll be back soon."

Carol quickly left the room and waited for Lilac to get properly changed. Odd old Lilac, always sleeping in her normal clothes, JUST in case they had to book it for one reason or another. Just another of her little...quirks, she guessed. Still, Carol had other, seemingly more distressing stuff to focus on at the moment. The funny thing was how she even came across it. She was just getting back from the bathroom when she heard some clattering and nattering from Torque's tent. She decided to take a quick peek and slowly fumbled down the wooden ladder to see. Inside was Master and Torque, merrily chatting the night away with tales of their own technology. Both seemed to be above their level at a quick glance; Master talked of cars that ran on this force called Chaos Energy as well as standard fuel, as well as large mechanical machines of war, far bigger than anything even the tech geeks Mayor Zao employed could've ever dreamed up. He also talked about these items called 'firearms'; weapons that, as opposed to firing lasers from an energy source, used an explosive force that propelled a small chunk of metal towards targets with questionable accuracy. Primitive even for Planet Avalice's standards, but the main thing that caught her ear was the fact that soldiers worldwide used them as opposed to just robots. Odd. Torque's own words painted a similar picture, but much more advanced; spaceships, black-hole engines and blaster pistols available to the common man aplenty. Carol was stunned. All this stuff sounded...interstellar. Was Torque an alien or something. Well...yes, obviously.

It seemed to happen so quickly, too. One of Torque's machines had seemed to have malfunctioned, and as such was sending random bits of scrap metal around the room. The metal in question had hit Torque hard enough to knock the wind out him...and knock HIM out of his shell. He had skidded across the ground, losing his beak in the process, and stopped short of a box of crystal shards. With the shell gone, Torque looked a lot different. He looked slim, more normal, but more...alien. He WAS an alien! As soon as Torque got to his feet, he looked at Master, who's concealed face showed an odd type of shock. Both yelped in shock, pulling pistols on each other, and that was when Carol rushed out of the tent and scrambled up the ladder to get Lilac.

As almost on cue, Lilac appeared in full clothing, gloves and all. The two sprinted through the house and down the ladder, barely pausing for anything, and dashed into the green tent. Carol was kind of surprised; having been unable to take in the scenery before, she never noticed it was so...large. The ceiling was a good foot above the tips of her ears and was mere metal poles arranged into a tent shape and covered with some hard, flexible green fabric. The grass was still under her boots as opposed to a carpet, and all around lay boxes and bits of machinery. In the middle of the tent, suspended over the floor, was a ringed device of some sort, holding many yellow orbs and a few more of many colours surrounding it. Torque and Master were still under that device, guns pointed at each other; Torque was obscured by Lilac's view but he had a blaster pistol gripped firmly in both hands, while Master had his "deagle" or whatever in his left, supported by a bent right arm that held the Blade of Hysteria in a backwards grip.

"This is dumb..." Blade grumbled.

"He's right," Torque said, "We've talked this over. Why're we still pointing guns at each other!?"

"It's my fault..." Master sighed, "A side effect of a MasterSelf returning from insanity. Sometimes you get micro-relapses, I'm kinda not in control at the moment. Give me a second..." he grunted with effort, and both arms quickly fell to his sides, the Blade and gun tumbling out of his hands and landing with a soft thump on the grass, "There. Sorry about that, I just...sorry."

"Torque?!" Lilac called out in shock.

With Master moving to the side, Torque was in clearer view. He no longer looked like a shellduck, but more like some sort of alien. He lacked a nose, bar two slits set into the area above his mouth, and still wore his goggles. His hair was wild and unkempt, and he was wearing some kind of black and orange jumpsuit with bulky boots and gloves. He was quickly stretching his arms towards Carol and Lilac, panicked and shocked, "Wait! I-It's not what it looks like."

Carol approached, angry and baring her claws, "What are you?! Give me answers, buddy!"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you!" Torque blurted out, backing up slightly, "But you have to promise to keep it to yourselves!"

"We...we promise," Lilac said, recovering from her shock and strutting up to Carol, "Right, Carol?"

"Right..." Carol said, calming down, "Pinky swear."

"Got it, cap'n!" Blade called out, to which Master rolled his eyes.

"Right, thank you..." Torque sighed in relief, before pointing to a couple of nearby toolboxes, "Please, take a seat."

Lilac and Carol both sat on the red toolboxes, Lilac's legs crossing for comfort, while Master just sat on a nearby table, hunched over and legs crossed in such as a way as to look like a ball to the average person. Still, he looked up at Torque as well, who was grabbing some small round device from a nearby table and walking back towards the three.

Torque started, his voice stable and with a tone of reason, "I'm from another world. Actually, I'm part of an alliance between many different worlds. We're called Chasers. I suppose...one of you have probably heard of it."

Blade spoke up, almost on cue, "Well, not really. The closest we come to answering to any Space Police is the No-Zone's Zone Cops. A bunch of stuck-up jackasses and nothing else. But Chasers? Nope, sorry."

"That's probably for the better, then," Torque said, taking in the information.

"So, you're an alien?" Lilac asked.

"I...guess," Torque shrugged. Carol suddenly started snickering and turned to Lilac quickly;

"Space Cooties!"

The two girls began giggling to themselves, but soon stopped when Lilac caught a glimpse of Torque's annoyed face, giving Carol a quick nudge to stop her.

"...You don't believe me, do you?" Torque asked.

"Actually, I do," Lilac said.

"...Really?"

Lilac's own tone shifted, seeing that it was her turn to inform, "They say that a long time ago, dragons came to Avalice and mixed with our ancestors."

"Yeah, and not just ones like Lilac!" Carol said, spreading her arms, "HUGE dragons too, like in the movies."

"Well, I guess that explains that rather...stunted physique," Master said, chuckling to himself. An annoyed Carol grabbed a nearby wrench and threw it in response, colliding with Master and knocking him off the table with a pained yelp.

"So I guess it's not much of a stress for other things to be out there too..." Lilac said, shrugging, "Besides, old Perfect Chaos over there is from another timeline, so that kinda helps too."

"You're welcome..." came Master's dazed reply, still sprawled out on the floor in a heap.

"Answer me this, though," Carol asked, "What do aliens want with OUR planet?"

"The man who wants your Kingdom Stone isn't really from around here either," Torque sighed, some weariness in his voice, "He calls himself Lord Brevon. And let me tell you, he didn't get that name selling cookies. He's dangerous with a capital D."

Torque threw the device in his hand to the ground, which erupted into a flurry of light. It slowly formed a hologram, showing some cloaked monstrous creature within it. It looked almost like some sort of insect creature, his skin green and disgustingly filth-laden with two antennae growing out of his head that looked like a moustache. Completing the look was two red ears, piercing ones at that, that stared the group straight in the eye. Lilac shivered slightly; the dream Franky had told her that a pair of red eyes would bring doom to her world. Was this those red eyes?

"Heh, he kinda looks like an upside down Eggman!" Blade called out.

Torque ignored the weapon and continued, "Brevon is the most powerful enemy we've ever faced. Hundreds of worlds destroyed, thousands of heroes killed or corrupted, enormous amounts of energy stolen! And that's just the tip of the iceberg..."

The hologram shifted again to the inside of some facility. Inside it were thousands of robots of every shape and size; some flying black blobs with guns, others with humanoid bodies composed of steel with a single tanked eye and laser rifles.

"According to our scans," Torque continued again, "The Kingdom Stone has enough energy to double the size of his army. If he gets it, he'll be...unstoppable."

The hologram ceased, leaving the three watching to process the information. Lilac and Carol looked intrigued, while Master had clambered back onto the table and was staring emptily at the floor, wrestling with his thoughts; such a man was powerful, dangerous, lethal, yes. But compared to what Master had seen, he was small fry. He had seen men who could burn an entire universe to a crisp, kill entire worlds to revive his dead sister...and still leave time for some guts on his weapon and a bloodied smile at the end of it all. This was nothing to him.

"I'll try to convince your leaders of his existence," Torque said once more, "But if I can't get them to help me, if Brevon gets his hands on the Kingdom Stone...then I'm have no choice. I'll have to destroy it."

This sent both Lilac and Carol into shock, Lilac blurting out a, "DESTROY IT?! Are you serious?!"

"I'll only destroy it it if I have no other choice!" Torque quickly went on the offensive, "I swore to my Captain on his dying breath that I would not let Brevon get that Stone!"

"I'm sorry about your Captain, but you can't destroy the Stone!" Lilac called out angrily, then stopped. A sudden thought came to her mind; the valley, the mechanical snake, the temple and the caves. Going around and destroying all those evil robots wasn't half-bad an experience. Kinda...kinda fun, even. Such an life, fighting evil, it was...wonderful. She spoke again, "In fact, you won't even have to think about it, because I'm going to help you get it back!"

"...Are you sure about that?" Master asked.

"I don't care how dangerous it is!" Lilac called out, posing heroically, "It's gonna take a lot more than robots and aliens to slow a Dragon down!"

"If she's gonna go for it, than I am too!" Carol said next, standing up and looking confident, "If we can defeat the Great Dragon knows how many robots together, who knows what else we can do?"

There was a sudden breaking sound and the group looked behind them in shock, Master and Torque both keeping gun hands towards their holsters. Thankfully, it was just Milla, having accidently broken some boxes on the way in, looking quite sheepish, "Um...I wanna come too!"

"And you, Master?" Lilac asked.

"Count me in, Dragon Girl!" Master said, getting off the table, "I'm here on a mission just as much as you are, and nothing ever gets in my way!"

"At least not in a single piece," Blade chuckled.

"Great!" Lilac said, looking a bit sneaky, "We could use the two...uh, three of you, maybe to save Carol's life a few more times."

"Hey!" came Carol's quick response.

"Say no more!" Master called out proudly, "We've got your back!"

"And we've got the rest of you!" Blade said proudly too. Everyone simply turned to it with looks of confusion, "...What? I'm a weapon of war, not a comedian. Give me some space!"

"I'd be lying if I said I was comfortable with this..." Torque sighed, looking weary, "But I honestly could use your help. Fact of the matter is, you all know this world better than I."

"So it's all official, right?" Master asked.

"Pretty much," Torque said, looking slightly happier, "Welcome aboard, comrades! One more thing though, just something really important...don't talk about our mission unless I say so, got it?"

"Got it," Master said, "Last thing the world needs to think is that we're all loonies. Especially me."

There was a brief pause, before Carol yawned and stretched, "I dunno about you guys, but I'm exhausted..."

"Yeah, we better get some shut-eye..." Lilac yawned too, "We've got a big day ahead of us. OH, Master! I never got you a bed, did I?"

"I'd like to lend you one," Torque shrugged, "But I don't have the room for it."

"Don't worry, we'll find a place," Master sighed, "After a life jumping across the multiverse, you get...creative with where you snooze. Can't remember the last place I called home..."

The four said no more, instead just walking out the door of the tent to get back to the treehouse. Master was first out, then Milla, then Carol and finally Lilac. A quick shout from Torque kept Lilac halfway though the door, though.

"One more thing Lilac..." Torque said, his voice quiet and soft, "...Thank you."

Lilac simply nodded her approval and with that, she was gone. Torque sighed and began working on his machines again. The sooner he got this stuff on-line, the sooner he'd be able to clear a space to lay down for the night. Bit of a shame half of his pillows and sheets had burned up in the crash, but whatever.

"Oi, Torque!" came Master's voice. He was now half in the doorway himself, "Just wanted to ask a question about this Brevon bloke."

"Go ahead."

"Good, uh..." Master started, "This Brevon bloke. Does he wield a particular blade? Like, one that's large and curved and eternally bleeding with a strange alien liquid?"

"Yes, why ask?" Torque said innocently.

Master looked saddened or shocked, or perhaps resigned, "No reason...just wanted to know, that's all."

He quickly left. As he was making his way up the ladder, Torque could hear some conversation between him and his weapon. Master was the first to speak;

"Well, shit."

"Conclusive evidence alright..." Blade sighed, "War Lilac had Brevon's blade that day. So I guess he IS involved in some matter."

"But how?" Master asked, his frustrated voice slowly carrying off into the distance before becoming totally quiet, "If we knew WHEN he played his part, I could kill him before it and that might stop Lilac's descent into insanity. If only..."

The voice stopped.

Meanwhile, at Shuigang Palace

"GOOD EVENING, SIR."

Syntax's mechanical voice was always one that Lord Arktivus Brevon enjoyed. Not because it was a good voice, but more because it often meant the AI had found someone else to kill. Brevon turned to his main AI, the being known as Syntax. She, or rather it was a large orb of a robot, its main body a black metal with a mechanical eye attached directly to the centre of the orb. Above it was a bright green glass dome, contents shrouded by inside fogs and liquids, while below the orb sat two green whip-like arms ending in pincers. The robot shifted its position again, "IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW THAT THE LOCATION OF THE ARTEFACT HAS SHIFTED."

Brevon put down the glass of mysterious liquid he had been sipping from and glared at Syntax, his voice deep, dark and like a blender of gravel, "Where?"

Syntax floated backwards somewhat upon this growl of an order and released a hologram from its eye. It showed a map of the region, three main locations marked. These were the three cities of the county, and the middle one was highlighted. Syntax's artificial voice spoke again, "IT IS MOVING TOWARD A DENSELY POPULATED REGION TO THE EAST."

Brevon smirked with a devilish grin. For years he had heard of this magical Kingdom Stone and now, when he was searching for it the hardest, he had found it. Sort of. Still, the Stone was just out of reach, but he had a solution. He crossed his arms and barked out, "This could work to our advantage...get me the King's son."

"RIGHT AWAY, SIR BREVON-" Syntax beeped a final time and flew off to fetch the Prince. Brevon waited, his smirk ever widening. Ever since being shot down and stuck on this poxy little wasteland of a planet, Prince Dail of Shuigang had been his best ally. He remembered his...acquisition of him like it was yesterday. His smirk stopped briefly. Oh wait, it WAS only yesterday. Still, it was not hard to forget. It had only been a few hours after crash landing, after all. Brevon hated that. A lord of the universe, killing everything in sight. And yet it was those infernal, ghastly, goody-goody Chasers that had managed to puncture his Dreadnought's energy supplies. One emergency landing later and the batteries had run dry. Brevon knew had he to regroup, re-arm and re-energise as soon as possible. And the Shuigang Palace was right across the river.

Gathering what troops he had left, Brevon had burst straight into the Palace to take control and establish a base. Even in this weakened state, Brevon's army was a unified machine of war; nothing could stand before them, lasers firing out in a macabre chorus of death and destruction, cleaving through every last minuscule line of defence imaginable. The king was exasperated, crying out that their walls were impenetrable. Brevon's own answer was to simply tell him, well, the floor wasn't. Even now, Brevon chuckled to himself at that little joke. Soon after that little...pleasantry, Brevon had drawn his blade and cut deep into the King's neck. The weapon, forever stained with the blood of a thousand innocents, cleaved through the old codger's neck like warm butter. Bloodied feathers flew out of the neck stump as the body and its missing head fell to the ground in a heap. Brevon would forever savour that moment; to him, killing was an art form, a method that needed precise timing and execution (pun intended). Granted, you could just SHOOT someone, but where was the fun in that? No, to Brevon that idea of fun was torture. Painful, cold-blooded, brutal, anything that made a man scream for mercy, to beg for the hideous shadows of death itself. And that's what he had done to the king's precious Prince, for a good week without pause. It did not take long for the young panda to submit and view Brevon as nothing above or below. A god amongst all people, himself included.

The grey panda Prince in question was now hobbling towards Lord Brevon, his bloodied green robes swaying proudly behind him. His eyes, once a brilliant blue, were now a dulled fiery red due to the brainwashing, and he had his hair tied up into a stupid little knot. Brevon grumbled, hoping to eventually find more...suitable clothing for a Prince of war. Perhaps a cloaked set of armour like himself? Still, the Prince had stopped and he was now standing stock still in front of Brevon.

The Prince spoke up, his voice a quiet and timid murmur, "...Master Brevon."

"Where do your duties lie, Prince?" Lord Brevon asked, his face a cold sneer.

"It is my duty to protect my father's kingdom."

Brevon, satisfied, walked past the Prince. His boots made an unearthly clanging sound as he strode past the panda and stopped again, "You would sacrifice your very life for the good of this...kingdom, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

Brevon took a few more steps to the left, his voice now taking a commanding tone, "And you would crush all those who threaten its safety!"

"We must protect it at all costs."

"Excellent..." Brevon muttered with glee. The young boy's mental programming had long taken effect. He knew, deep inside the boy that the old mind was still in there, weeping and trying to escape this torturous hell. But hell indeed, that just made it that much more...fun, "The one you call Zao has taken something very precious. Something that could put your kingdom at risk. You're not going to let him keep it...are you?"

"ERROR! ERROR! EXTERNAL HACKING PROGRAM IN PROCESS!" came a screech from Syntax. The two looked at the machine, the creature flailing around in some sort of virtual agony. Finally, it stopped and it went limp. The green colours in its body changed to a deep red and a hologram was released from it eyes. Only now, instead of a man, there was a cloaked being with piercing red eyes. Lord Brevon saw a slight twitch in the Prince's eye; perhaps he had seen this fellow before? Nevertheless, the brainwashing made it so he'd never get the answer now.

"Greetings, Lord of Genocide," the being said, his voice warped beyond proper identification, "So nice to finally make your...acquaintance."

Lord Brevon drew his blade, "Who are you, cretin? State your name and purpose!"

"My name is of no concern to you," the figure spoke again, "And I'm here to tell you that your little braindead busyboy won't be enough to get the Kingdom Stone. You'll need much more than him if you wish to pry it from Zao's cold, dead hands."

"...What are you implying?" Came Brevon's sceptical response, "Are you proposing an alliance? Let it be known I do not team up with random strangers I do not know."

"Shame, because I know you," the figure said, rattling off a list of facts, "Born on the planet Fearax, dead mother with father in the military. Forced to kill in self-defence at the age of 15 and never stopped afterwards. Travelled the universe, making as much of it your female dog as possible. Crash landed on Planet Avalice, now wants to escape to nuke it from afar and enslave its best warriors. And to do that, you need the Kingdom Stone."

"...How do you know all that?"

"I know things," the figure said, "We are at an impasse, Lord Brevon. You want to get your hands on the Kingdom Stone, AND the meddling Chaser who managed to shoot you down. I want...an old accomplice of mine, a guy who is travelling with the latter to get at the former. And I want him DEAD."

"So you're saying that you will help me find this...battery..." Brevon said, "And in return, I must find you a certain cretin and bring him to you. Sounds like a fair trade."

"Are you sure, Master Brevon?" The Prince spoke up, his voice angry and laced with defiance, "How can we trust this stranger? He could double cross us at any time."

"No, that's your own master's work..." the creature growled, his mangled voice putting on a barely noticeable tone of bitterness, "The man who probably has a tape of your torture sessions with a box of tissues nearby. And besides, if you're a good boy and do your part...I may just find you your father's killer..."

The Prince went silent, "...We accept this offer."

"Just DON'T think of turning on us at the last second," Brevon threatened, "Many have fallen to an agonising death from such foolishness."

"Trust me, Arktivus Brevon. I am a man of my own word. But are you one of yours? We shall speak again soon. Just know that you will have a new enemy soon enough. Her name is Lilac. Sash Lilac the Water Dragon. And she shall be the end of you unless you do something."

And with that, the hologram was gone, Syntax's body flopping to the floor to begin a lengthy reboot sequence. Lord Brevon pondered. This...creature, whatever and whoever he was, was clearly someone way in over his head with this deal. Still, Brevon was perhaps one of the strongest men in the galaxy. If he could fight off waves of idealistic do-gooders who wanted to play hero, he could handle some random cloaked creature. And if this person kept their promise...well, a dagger to the spine helped cut away at loose ends.

"Prince Dail, mobilize the Sky Batallion!" Brevon barked towards the Prince, "We carry on as planned. Advance towards Zao's domain and take back the Kingdom Stone by any possible means!"

"Yes, Master Brevon!" Prince Dail barked in response, turning and running off towards the castle's throne room. Brevon looked out over the lands before him. Oh how soon it would until those disgustingly pleasant blue waters were chocked a raw green with sewage and corpses. How such a wonderful castle would be rubble. And how Brevon would be overjoyed to see the lights in the eyes of this Lilac girl fade by his hands. He chuckled to himself, and slowly plodded his way out of the room. He had a lot to do.

Syntax's body, still sparking, suddenly lit up again. This flash of red was more brief that before, carrying the remnants of the cloaked figures thoughts.

"So now the three forces are at it. Good vs Evil vs Lilac and Master. Good...very, very good. I guess now it's time for me to play the Trump Card..."

(Hmm, this is going to be interesting. Again, hope you enjoyed, and next chapter is tomorrow, as always.)