The Chronometal Wars
-THE FIRST WAR-
Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

With no time to waste on idle thought, Dexter picks up some of the scattered crystal shards and runs out of the exploding factory. Dodging, bobbing and weaving through intense explosions, making sure not to be caught in their high temperature blasts; he faintly makes out the exit among the smoke.

The explosions shake the ground above and the factory ceiling caves in, showing light above, albeit from over fifty feet up. The entrance caves in and Dexter looks up one of the gashes in the top of the factory. With no time to waste, he jumps up one of the holes; however he is intercepted by a rogue flame pillar!

'Dexter! Use the fire!' The voice from before yells at Dexter once more. As he is jumping up he yells out as if from instinct- "Magma Shield!" His entire being is engulfed in a controlled firestorm and he jumps out of the burning factory through the fire wave as the entire surrounding area begins to cave into the underworld below, explosions so loud and powerful they are breaking the glass of buildings over a mile away.

The shaking envelopes the entire greater Megaville area, the people at the Powerpuff Residence now able to easily feel it, as if a bomb has gone off! Blossom looks to the east, but is unable to abandon these people in an attempt to help Dexter. She merely stands there... hoping for the best.

Dexter carefully yet quickly jumps and runs across the collapsing landscape, making sure not to fall into the conflagration of molten steel below. "Crap, this is bad...!" He says to himself as the entire area around him crumbles, leaving him with no-where to run. He stands on a lonely island of 'stable' material pondering his next move as even this area begins to crumble.

"DEXTER! HOLD ON!" A tomboy voice is heard from afar! Dexter looks behind himself, seeing none other than Buttercup in hot pursuit of Dexter's position! The ground beneath him gives way, so in his last attempt to survive- he jumps as high as he possibly can. He looks below himself, his augmented vision giving him a perfect view of the hell below him. "Crap Crap CRAP CRAP!" He yells to himself as he begins to fall!

"GOTCHA!" Buttercup yells as she snags Dexter at the last second, both of them feeling the heat below. She strains to hold up the incredibly dense Dexter, but she makes it to safety without a wince. She drops him on the pavement and lands next to him, both of them panting. Dexter falls to a sitting position, catching his breath.

"Th-Thanks... Buttercup..." He wheezes. He holds his hand to his chest, barely believing he is still alive.

"How... How did you even find me? Aren't you supposed to be guarding the School?" – "It got filled up and locked down so I headed to the house... Lucky, huh?" – "Y-Yeah... lucky... right..." He says, still shaking. "Buck up!" Buttercup says, smacking his back into position. "We still have work to do. This is only the beginning." She says looking into the smoldering ruin below the roads of Megaville.

"Right... right... let's go."

Night has fully dropped over the city of Megaville. Dexter has been fighting for hours. The people around the Powerpuff residence have tents, mats and cots set up around the building and a lot are resting inside the house as well. The girls spend more of their restless night keeping watch. Nothing more than a couple stray robots have invaded. Off to the side is the giant Megas, whose pilot is inside the house.

"Man, I must have taken out like twenty of those worms, man." Coop says, but this time without a mouth full of food. "I take it they didn't put up much trouble?" Utonium responds. "Nah, man... I'm sure your girls and Big Man had trouble taking em' out, but Megas is built to destroy giant robots!" – "Hah! Glad to hear that."

Utonium rises from his chair and heads down the stairs. "Where ya goin' man?" – "I still have some research to do on this crystal Dexter brought back." – "Ah, sciency stuff. Well, see ya later..." They nod to each other and go their separate ways. Coop, now left alone hears his stomach growl, but decides against getting food.

'These people are helpless and scared... the food is scarce, I can't take it from them. It's not right.' He nobly thinks to himself as he lies down on a mat in the house.

Dexter and Buttercup make it to the house and their arrival stirs the attention of Bubbles and Blossom.

"Oh you're back! Did you find her?" Blossom asks Dexter. "Her...? OH! The girl... uh... y-yes?" – "Y-Yes? Did you find her or not?" – "I... don't really know yet. I'll find out later, but for now I need to show Utonium something. Please excuse me." He says, bypassing Blossom and the tents.

Now in a lonely sisterly group of three, they all talk amongst each other.

"Well, this night has been crazy, but I think we finally have everything under control." The leader, Blossom says looking over the house and the people sleeping under their protection. "The food is almost gone again... we will need to get more tomorrow." She sighs.

"Well... hopefully the government can help us out with that..." Bubbles lets out. "I hope so." Blossom responds. They both look over to Buttercup, who is looking over the city, several parts in smoldering ruin. "Buttercup...?" Bubbles asks.

"Oh- uh, yeah?" She says, finally being snapped out of it. "Are you alright?" – "Yeah! Yeah... I'm, uh... going to check up on the school." She says before flying off. "I guess it's back to patrol duty for us, huh?" – "Yeah... yeah..." They fly back into the air and establish another recon. It's going to be a long... LONG night. Not only that, this night seems especially dark, like some of the stars aren't peaking through the sky tonight.

Utonium enters the crystals into the scanner like before as Dexter views- in awe, the crystal from before. "How did it get this big? This is... crazy! What matter is it drawing from to increase in mass?" – "I don't know. Everything around here is in perfect condition; it hasn't been absorbing the air either. It just seems to be growing from... nothing..."

"You and I both know that's impossible." Dexter says as the new crystals are being scanned. "Impossible is just a word we use until we find out 'what and why.' You know that, Dexter." He says as he observes the crystals in a slightly different way from before. Dexter looks on, curious. The Professor is using a high power scope to view the crystal from a microscopic level.

A dark haze seems to surround it, coalescing into crystal formations. "Where is that smoke coming from?" – "I don't know. It seems to come from inside the crystal itself." Dexter picks up the larger crystal hunk and heads up the stairs. "Keep me posted."

Blossom lowers from the sky to talk to Dexter, who's holding that odd rock again. "Back with the... whatever?" – "Yeah, Utonium and I can't seem to figure out why it's growing."

A little girl, who can't sleep listens on, curious...

"Well, do you have any ideas?" Blossom asks. "Only a few, but they were all disproved. I thought it ate the air or the matter around it to grow in size, but it seems to just be growing on its own." – "Do you have any idea what it does?" – "Well, those... 'Bio-whatchamacallits' were definitely using this for evil."

"Evil...?!" The little girl in the tent thinks to herself.

"Yeah, they were using this as a power source... and unless I was mistaken it was also used to create that freak storm at the wind farm. This thing is dangerous."

The little girl is hyperventilating, seemingly terrified at the prospect of an evil crystal as close to her as ever. This giant event unfolding before her innocent eyes begin to break her composure.

"What the...?" Dexter says to himself as the crystal grows black and begins to emit smoke.

"It's... growing?!"

In the black of night, even more black than usual now that they think about it... the Crystal in Dexter's hand begins to swirl in a dark aura as vapor coalesces to form larger layers on its crust.

"What's going on, why's it growing, Dexter?!" – "I have no idea...!" Dexter runs quickly back into the house and down the stairs into the lab.

"Utonium! Quick, analyze this, now!" Without so much as a question, he slaps it in the machine and begins to analyze it as fast as he can. "Dexter, look at this!" Utonium says, pointing to the monitor. The small black haze around the crystal has grown to a full blown cloud around the entirety of the crystal!

"It's growing at an exponential rate! Do you know why?" – "No, Blossom and I were just talking outside and it just... exploded into this!" Utonium looks back to the monitor, noticing his Microscope is blocked off. "What the?" He asks himself as he opens the scanning machine. "Holy...! Dexter, look at this!" He says, beckoning Dexter over to look inside the device.

What he sees startles him, to say the least.

It is at least five times the size it was just a few moments ago! He tries to take it out of the machine, but the hole to put the samples in is only half the size of the crystal itself now.

"Well... that's not going anywhere..." – "What made it do this, Dexter? What EXACTLY were you doing before this happened?" – "Like I said, Blossom and I were talking about the crystal outside... and it just started doing this all of a sudden. I'm not sure why it exploded in size 'THIS' much, though." Utonium sits back down and scratches his chin.

Dexter can hear a ruckus outside and walks up the stairs. "Keep me posted."

Bubbles and Lynn are outside the house in a secluded area.

"I don't know, Bubbles... if they are just going to die anyway, I don't see the point..." – "But you could feel that emotion when you helped those people... It isn't hopeless! We have to try!" Lynn looks down, not sure what to think.

"I'll help these people... but it's out of sheer pity... not because I think it will do any good..." She says as she walks away, leaving Bubbles behind.

As she heads back to the front yard, what she sees surprises her. Everyone is awake and yelling! Lynn runs over to the group to make sure everyone's okay. "What's going on?" She asks a random person. "The Powerpuff Girls are holding some kind of evil machine inside that house! We want it gone! We want it far away!" Lynn looks over to the porch, with Dexter and Blossom on it.

"People, please!" Blossom yells out. "We don't know WHAT it is yet- and it's only an item! It's not evil!" The people aren't buying it and continue to rabble... Dexter doesn't contribute to the conversation. Something else catches his eye... or rather, nothing catches his eye.

"Hey, Blossom... does it seem a little dark to you?" Taking a break from her speech, she looks around. There are no stars in the sky... and there seems to be a thick fog enveloping the roads. Dexter sees something else that catches his eye. A girl far away is beckoning him... again...

"Blossom... I got to go find that girl again." He takes off without awaiting a response, leaving Blossom to the growing riot.

"Deedee... is that you? Please tell me..." He says under his breath as he runs down the blind city. He follows the girl down the dark twists and turns, completely unable to see on his own... it's as if the entire city is within an abyss of pure darkness. The only light being from who he is chasing...

When he makes the next turn, he can no longer see who he thinks is Deedee. He looks around, before feeling the slightest shred of fear.

"Deedee? Where are you?" He says, looking around, but every direction is the same abysmal darkness. He can't even make out his own hands. "Wait..." He says to himself.

"F-Fire shield!" He yells as his being is engulfed and it lights up the entire area. What he sees shocks him! A blonde girl in a pink dress standing right in front of him.

"Dee-" He tries to say before she walks through the inferno and hugs him... he tries to return the action, but his arms go through her.

"Dexter... it is me... but... we have to cut this reunion short." After she says this and looks at Dexter, she is surprised that she isn't looking down at him. "You've grown, brother... both in height... and as a person."

Before Dexter even has a chance to ask her any questions, she points to a dimly lit forest. "You must go there. Another Biosymbiote waits there for you." – "Wait! Why are you here?" She turns back halfway, eyeing the ground with sorrowful eyes.

"I'm here to stop Mandark..." She says enigmatically as she fades from vision once more. Dexter hysterically looks around himself and tries to talk to her- "Mandark?! Mandark is back too?! Where, when... wh-why?! WHY?!" He gets no response...

Still somewhat recovering from shock, Dexter looks over to the forest just outside Megaville. It is darker than usual as well... but his fire shield makes it easy to see.

He walks into the brush, being careful not to light anything on fire... this is public property after all. As he goes through the woods, he notices his fire is casting less and less light... as if he's approaching some pseudo-reality where only darkness can cast shadows.

He comes to a kind of clearing... and what he sees would surprise him if he wasn't already expecting it.

A giant crystal... glowing a faint gray amidst all the pure black. It is also swirling with the dark energy as the other crystal at the house was. He walks up to the crystal and puts his hand on it, keeping his guard up at all times. Wherever this Biosymbiote is... he must have the pure darkness to his advantage.

"So you've come... Dexter...!" A young feminine voice draws out. I guess it was a little girl after all, not a man. But, something scratches the back of Dexter's mind. As if... the voice was familiar.

"Show yourself and I won't cleave your crystal in half." – "Don't tell me you think YOU'RE in a position to bargain with ME!" It's official. That voice is definitely familiar... but he can't put his finger on it.

"Fine, I warned you." He says as he turns around, bluffing. He draws his sword and wonders why she hasn't stopped him yet. "HYA!" He yells bearing down on the crystal... but his blade cannonballs off of it. "What the...?" – "It's too big to just be... broken, Dexter..."

"Who are you?!" A small amount of the darkness fades and it leaves one area illuminated by starlight. The being steps into it. Her slender physique contoured to the purple armor. Her face is completely covered by a helmet. She isn't short... but she certainly isn't tall either.

She reaches for her helmet and takes it off.

"WHAT...?! Y-You..!" Dexter stutters. Her face is one from his past. Silky black hair held in two pig tails. The only thing throwing him off is the huge scar going down the right side of her face.

"OLGA?!"

Her face shows one of many puzzling emotions. The scar shows a life of experience... one Dexter cannot even fathom. She holds her helmet in one hand while keeping her eyes fixated on Dexter.

"It's been a while, huh?" – "What are you doing here?! Are you with these people?" – "Not even a how-do-you-do, Dexter? I thought we were friends." Dexter's face scrunches up and he darts his eyes around. This 'has' to be a trap. Olga wouldn't be here as a Biosymbiote if she wasn't an enemy. Everything around him is pure darkness; there is no escape... only Olga and whatever Model M is.

"So... I heard that Mandark's back..." Dexter says in a strange attempt to break the ice. Olga looks surprised, but puts the helmet back on... apparently not amused. The dark purple helmet with matching visor clicks into place and Olga almost instantly seems like a different person.

"Not yet. Almost, but not yet. He will be back soon; and what you are doing is in offense to that." – "Yeah, well forgive me for not wanting him back that much. How do you even bring the dead back anyway?"

Olga lets off a small chuckle and merely drops her head down a little bit. "We already brought someone else back to life... don't you realize it yet? Have you met her?" Dexter thinks for a moment and remembers just a few moments ago... but... was she really alive?

"If you are talking about Deedee, I wouldn't really call that 'alive'..." – "Isn't it though? Are we not all just consciousnesses within shells? How is your Chronometal any different from a mortal body?" Olga riddles. "There's more to life than simply 'being'..." – "Oh, but she isn't simply 'being,' Dexter. She's talked to you, helped you and even brought you all the way here. To be honest, I didn't think you would survive Elly's attack, let alone Drax's... only to end up here."

She steps back a few inches and completely disappears into the darkness. Dexter feels really bad all of a sudden, like she's not going to be all 'buddy buddy' with him anymore.

"You are merely a stepping stone, Dexter! Your life has no meaning to me anymore!" She yells as the darkness fluctuates and Dexter finds himself within some kind of Bizarro dimension.

The ground gives way and seems to spill into nothingness. A blade from the darkness flies to Dexter who barely has enough time to react and dodge! The quick dodge has him stumble down a pit, but his training with his armor allows him to jump off the chasm's walls and out of the abyss!

However, as soon as he lands Olga rushes out of the darkness, brandishing two purple blades! Dexter dodges them before jumping back and drawing his own weapon, but by that time she's already gone again. Noises are heard from all directions and Dexter instinctively roars "FLAME SHIELD!" A firestorm rages around him and the small throwing blades are blasted upon contact!

The fire from the shield casts a faint light within this darkest of realms, allowing him to gain some real footing. He sees a shadow originating from behind him and he cleaves in a circle, only to have Olga duck and kick him in the stomach! As he recoils she draws her weapons and attempts to skewer Dexter! But he has had too much training before this moment to simply let that happen!

"Shock Trap!" he yells as she in engulfed in a static storm! He must have dropped something at his feet before she attacked. Dexter is better at this than he thought. But the Olga in the static trap seems to be rather solid. When he takes a better look at her, the armor explodes blasting him backwards! It was a fake...!

As he is on the ground, she falls from the sky and attempts to impale him with a sword in each hand! He draws his saber and blocks both stabs with them, having her land on top of him, both trying to overpower the other! The blades spark and electrify as the power gradually shifts to Dexter's end! He regains his footing and begins to push Olga back!

"Hah... fine, I guess if I can't... hah... overpower you... I can out-skill you!" Olga says, panting from the tug of war. Dexter tries to slash her to have her dodge and cut at his arm! It does no real damage other than causing Dexter pain! He pulls out his D-Pistol and fires to have her almost 'dance' around it and slash the gun away!

She jumps into the darkness only to instantly appear behind Dexter! As he tries to engage her in hand to hand combat she nimbly dodges it and retaliates! She takes out her swords and uses them as if they were batons, almost dancing around him!

Dexter tries his best to avoid the attacks and even counter attack, but everything is met with greater skill on her part! She cartwheels into a giant slash against Dexter, blasting his armor off and sending him flying backwards! "Th-This is crazy...!" He says under his breath, being beaten senseless by a dancer.

"What's wrong? Getting tired?" Olga purrs as she almost seductively walks toward him in his defenseless state. She juggles the weapons in her hands, as blades seem to fly at Dexter from all directions! However, as Dexter is dodging them, more nimbly that he intended mind you, he begins to realize... everything he is doing right now is off instinct.

Olga views his odd movements completely silently, as if behind the helmet she were mouth agape!

Dexter is dancing! Not just like anyone, like Deedee!

'Dexter, you can't let her win! You have to beat her at her own game! Just do what feels natural! I trust you...'

Without even calling attention to it, Dexter pulls out his sword and begins to engage Olga in a dance of death! One false move could mean the end for Dexter, but he has to keep a level head! They move in rhythm with each other's attacks and they dodge each other perfectly, as if it were a brilliant theatrical performance.

The darkness around them seems to ebb as Olga focuses on the combat more than ever! Before long, they are in the star lit forest, the darkness almost completely faded! They seem evenly matched for what seems like hours, always an inch from each other's lives, before something knocks one of them off guard.

'Olga, stop! Please!' Deedee yells through his armor, causing her to falter and Dexter to smack her to the dirt, knocking her helmet off and her weapons out of her hands! Dexter rushes for her and pins her to the ground with his own two hands, meeting her face to face. She looks up with rage in her eyes.

"That was a dirty trick!" She yells. "I didn't do it, Deedee did! Stop this, Olga!" He pleads, completely overpowering her. "Stop what? You don't even know what we're doing!" – "YOU'RE DESTROYING THE CITY AND BRINGING YOUR PSYCHOPATH BROTHER BACK TO LIFE!" He yells at her face! She musters the strength to kick him off her and she rolls back to her feet and equips her helmet.

Finally back in some semblance of control, Olga sighs and backs away, the crystal near them beginning to vanish.

"You are stronger than I thought; Dexter... who would have thought Deedee could teach you to 'fight' like that? Just remember what I said, though... your life has no meaning... to us, to this world... you are MERELY a stepping stone, nothing more." She says as she vanishes into thin air, along with the crystal.

Dexter falls to his knees, the pain of the battle finally catching up. He is sore all over and his entire body is cut up bad.

"Why is the happening, Deedee? Please, tell me..."

'They want to bring him back... but that is merely one stage of their plan; a means to an end! They want to control the entire world; Dexter. You have to stop them!'

Author's Note: A lot of my writing of The Chronometal Wars was done with past knowledge of actions that already occurred. Readers that started from the beginning would know that Olga was a member of the Knights far before this part showed so, just that they wouldn't know exactly WHEN she would show up, or how. When I first started writing the Chronometal Wars, I initially thought about starting with the First War outright instead of doing a StarWars-like prequel-sequel thing. When I initially thought the Chronometal Wars out, I knew I wanted Olga to be special and in your face, but I didn't want her to be overpowering. I wanted the readers, and Dexter, to feel like she was merely a cog in a bigger plan. Yes, Olga was very story intensive even before the Chronometal Wars, and yes she has a lot of actions in the story itself, but I wanted it to feel like she joined a team of equals and she isn't the most important or impactful one there.