Black Rock Shooter © Huke
All Characters © Respective Owners.


Record Three: Between Morality and Necessity

World – 8766 (Tronverse)

Flying through the neon street of Tron City on her Light Cycle, zipping through the swarms of scattering programs, RISC looked back for a brief moment. The monster was still chasing her from the rooftops, no doubt following the florescent blue glow of her Light Suit. RISC cursed under her breath and commanded the Light Cycle to move faster.

She turned right at the end of the road and the road out of Tron City spread out in front of her. If she could make it out into the open Grid, she'd have a better chance of out running him, possibly even losing him for good. But it appeared that monster was thinking the same thing. As she darted down the road, one of the hexagonal towers snapped in half, toppling over into the street below to cut her off. RISC hit the brakes, swerving dangerously, but managed to stop short of the tower crushing her underneath.

RISC cursed again. She'd need to find another way out of the city. The program turned her cycle around, but before she could set off on her next route, a something large dropped from the skyline and smashed her Light Cycle, reducing it to a mess of digital cubes. RISC was thrown off, tumbling awkwardly across the hard light road; the monster towered over her with a critical eye. RISC's helmet melted back into her Light Suit, let her short, neon-blue hair fly free, and took a kneeling position, glaring back at him.

"This chase has gone on long enough," said SAHA impatiently. "Make this easy and forfeit."

"I didn't give in when CLU was running things," said RISC, standing and unclipping her Identity Disc. "And I'm not about to do it for you."

RISC pulled back and threw her Identity Disc as hard as she could. SAHA caught it effortlessly between his fingers; RISC gapped incredulously. The leader of the Apostles tossed the disc aside like discarded trash. In one step, SAHA crossed the distance between himself and RISC, bringing his fist around to slam into the program's abdomen. RISC was thrown through the air and smashed through the data wall of the nearby tower; the programs inside clambered towards the exit.

RISC turned on her side, holding an open data wound on her chest, leering at SAHA as the Apostle stepped through the hole in the wall.

"There's no point in struggling for much longer," said SAHA with a tone of certainty. "Surrender yourself before we cause any more unnecessary damage."

"You've never been to the Grid before, have you?" said RISC, reaching into the digital space of her suit. "The whole system is already broken!"

The defiant program pulled out a silver ball with neon-blue light strips, tossing the weapon at SAHA. The leading Apostle caught the sphere with as much ease as he did her Identity Disc.

"A last desperate attempt at salvation," said SAHA in a bored tone. "I commend you for your willingness to survive, but you must have realized by now that – "

BOOM!

The digital bomb exploded directly in SAHA's face with enough force to derez the entire back side of the tower room, showering the streets in data particles. Normally the leader of the Apostles would have taken the explosion without faltering, but something was different. SAHA could feel the skin of his face rising to temperatures that were painful to him, feeling something warm licking against every cell. It burned him. The weapon burned him.

SAHA howled like a wounded animal, holding the burned portion of his face while dropping to his knees. At the same time, RISC pulled herself up to her feet using a table for assistance, still holding the wound but smirking nonetheless. When SAHA pulled his hands away, RISC got a good look at the damage: the entire left half was raw-red and blisters were popping painfully alongside it.

"That was….that was…" SAHA gasped.

"A bomb made from star energy," said RISC. "I heard people like you aren't very fond of it."

"But that's impossible," said SAHA. "Star energy is unique to only the Apostles and my Master. How could you – a computer program – obtain it?"

"I didn't make it myself to be honest," said RISC. "A group of Users came to me several hours ago and warned me you would be coming. The bomb wasn't meant to kill you, in case you were wondering. It was just to weaken you enough so that we could spring our trap. Which should start about…NOW!"

At the moment she shouted the order, a milky-white portal rippled into existence on the ceiling. SAHA, with his one good eye, tilted his head back to see, and stared with evident surprise as seven Black Stars dropped into the room.

Inka was the first to get a shot in on SAHA; she splattered his face with black paint, effectively blinding him. When the Apostle started to stand and rub his face clean, Stella and Mercy took a shot each at his ankles, crippling him back to his hands and knees. Black Gold Saw and Noctis followed up, stabbing both of SAHA's hands into the ground with their blades to keep him from getting back up. Isra telepathically called the broken data bits together and molded them together into a chain, commanding it to slither towards the Apostle and bind him from head to toe.

SAHA grimaced. He was still blind by the paint, but he could still sense that there were eight Black Stars surrounding him. He could easily break out of these bindings and kill them all; the other Apostles would certainly be impressed by the number he collected in a short time. But before the man could muscle his way out, Nana casually walked up to SAHA and slapped a small silver disc on his back. The disc beeped to life and SAHA cried out as a steady flow of star energy began pumping through his nervous system.

"Gray Child," SAHA grunted painfully. "I should have known it was you that planned this dishonorable ambush. It appears that what SZZU said was true: the Black Stars are trying to seek strength in numbers."

"I could care less about honor when it comes to survival," said Nana. "I imagine the real reason you're ill-tempered at the moment is because you didn't think anyone would know about the Apostle's weakness to star energy. It's not surprising since it hardly exists outside of our own dimension. It's the reason why White Rock Shooter – a person who could manipulate star energy – was able to control the Apostles. It's also the reason Stella was able to defeat you in the past, even if she did so unconsciously; because she is made from White Rock Shooter's DNA. Doctor Gibson knew that when he created her."

"Always so clever," SAHA mumbled. "I can see why the Master took a liking to you in her final days. You have your mother's drive, but you have your father's intelligence."

"I am nothing like White Rock Shooter," said Nana firmly, her tone becoming freezing cold. "I am Wyler Gibson's daughter and no one else."

"So you say," said SAHA with a small chuckle.

"It sounds like she might have some family issues to work out," said RISC.

"It's a lot more complicated that you might think," said Stella awkwardly. "There…well, it'll take a while to explain the whole thing – "

"I don't care about your personal matters," said Black Gold Saw, glaring at them. "We need to kill this monster now before he gets loose, because we know it's bound to happen sooner or later."

"Wait, did you say 'kill'?" said Isra, stunned.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on now," said Inka, raising her tentacles. "I don't know how things work in your worlds, but I'm not okay with killing somebody, even if he is a jerkface."

"Are you all complete idiots?" said Noctis harshly. "This man has killed dozens of us already, and that's not counting the billions of lives that were lost when he destroyed their worlds. If we don't kill him now, we risk billions more dying too."

"We're not going to kill him," said Nana with a tone of finality. "Not because I don't want to – and believe me, I really want to – but the fact remains is that we aren't sure if killing him is possible. As I said before, SAHA already died once in the past and yet here we are. We're going to interrogate him until he has answered our questions."

Nana reached out for the disc on SAHA's back and turned. The disc released a second pulse of star energy through her nervous system, twice as powerful as the one before it. SAHA grimaced, but he refused to give Nana the satisfaction of knowing that he was in pain. Meanwhile, Stella looked at her sister's back with a worried expression. This seemed less like interrogation and more like torture, Stella thought, but she opted to keep her opinion to herself.

"Start talking, SAHA," Nana demanded. "I know you died eight months ago when you submitted yourself to being nebladed by White Rock Shooter. How are you still alive after that? Your essence should have been drained."

"We have SZZU to thank for that," said SAHA. "As you recall, there were originally fifteen surviving under our Master in the Apostles – you yourself oversaw the destruction of eight of them, Gray Child. After realizing our own mortality, SZZU constructed a method to resurrect ourselves even after death. I cannot explain how it works, nor will I reveal its location."

"What is your mission?" asked Nana. "Why are you going around destroying worlds? Just what are these Black Stars?"

"You chased me all the way out here without knowing what the Black Stars are," said SAHA as something akin to a chuckle left his lips. "It seems I overestimated your intelligence, Gray Child. If you haven't learned the true meaning of the Black Stars by the time you found me, you stand little chance when you face the other six."

"There are six of them?" said Mercy, gapping at Nana. "You didn't tell us there were more? We were barely strong enough to stop one!"

"Yes, but SAHA is the strongest of the Apostles; he's their leader," said Nana strongly. "If we can defeat him, we can certainly hold our own against the rest. And with my star energy technology, we now have an edge over them."

"Yes, your star energy technology," said SAHA lowly. "Indeed, your weapons will prove every bit as effective against them as it did me. Or at least...it would have eight months ago."

It happened faster than any of them could have imagined. One second, SAHA was on his hands and knees looking ready to beg for mercy, the next he is towering over the collection of Black Stars with a concentrated look. He easily broke his bindings and pried the blades out of his hands. He reached over his shoulder until his hand touched the star energy disc, crushing the device in his vice grip. Nana was so stunned by the outcome that she made no notion of moving as SAHA's fist started flying towards her face. Luckily, Stella pulled her by the back of her shirt in the nick of time.

"I told you he was bound to break loose!" screamed Black Gold Saw. "Don't just stand around! Hit him with everything you have!"

"But that's impossible," said Nana, eyes wide and mouth agape. "Doctor Gibson's research was flawless."

"Indeed, the Apostles are vulnerable to star energy," said SAHA. "But the difference between the Master and your gadget is that the Master was far stronger. The most your device could do was temporarily stun me."

"Stop gawkin' and start pumpin' 'im full o' lead!" shouted Mercy, taking six shots in SAHA's back; the bounced harmlessly off his skin.

"Are you that foolish," said SAHA, grimacing. "Without star energy, any hope you had of defeating me has vanished."

"Don't listen to him!" Black Gold Saw snarled, stabbing SAHA in the shoulder with her King Saw. "He's still weak – "

"Weak, you say?" SAHA interrupted.

The leader of the Apostles backhanded Black Gold Saw off of him; the King Saw was still embedded in his shoulder. Looking around, he saw the other seven Black Stars making a charge at him. Leering at them all, SAHA raised his fist above his head and brought it down to the floor. When the punch connected, a massive crater took shape underneath his feet, stretching to every end of the room. The Black Stars fell into the newly formed hole, unwillingly sliding towards the Apostle. SAHA slammed his fist down again and spires of data erupted from the ground, striking each Black Star in the back.

The eight dimensional warriors hit the ground one-by-one, each showing different expressions of discomfort. Stella was the first to shift onto her side, wincing at the new pain in her face, and glared at SAHA. The Apostle leader grabbed the King Saw still piercing his shoulder and ripped it off, betraying no emotion as his white blood splattered on the dark digital floor.

"Weak is not a word to describe me, horned one," said SAHA menacingly. "It was simply curiosity that allowed you to strike me. I wished to see what you had to say, what you wished to do. But I heard enough already. Haven't you realized it already? I'm not the same man Stella slayed eight months ago. In the time we have been separated, I have only grown more powerful. Too powerful for you to defeat."

Stella heard her sister scream in a fit of fury that she had not heard in many months as Nana Gray lunged at the Apostle with her longsword. Because of her flaw as a cloned soldier, Stella had always known that Nana struggled on the border between sanity and insanity. Take a guess which one was in charge now.

SAHA stared at the gray clone, looking somewhat surprised by the expression of lunacy present in her bulging gold eyes. This provided Nana with the opportunity to stab the Apostle in the chest, putting her entire weight behind the sword so that it ripped out his back. SAHA stumbled and fell backward onto the floor. Nana, still shrieking like a madwoman, stood up over the Apostle and pulled her longsword out of SAHA's chest, only to stab in a second time. She pulled out again and stabbed him a third time. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. Then a Sixth.

The other Black Stars stared at their unofficial leader, many of them open-mouthed in shock; Black Gold Saw and Noctis stared with blank expressions; Inka covered her eyes with her tentacles. Stella couldn't watch this anymore; she couldn't let her sister's mental state deteriorate any further. Stella dashed over to the fight and grabbed Nana around the waist from behind; the gray clone screamed louder and started thrashing around madly. It took some doing, but Stella quickly managed to spin her sister around and then slapped Nana across the face before she could react. Nana became still.

"Snap out of it, Nana!" yelled Stella. "You did it; you got him! Now just – calm – down!"

Nana blinked as if just now noticing Stella and said: "I snapped again, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," said Noctis, sounding almost approving. "But at least you finally got the son of a bitch."

"Celebrating too early, aren't you?"

Stella groaned inwardly as they turned in unison towards SAHA, already knowing what to expect. Even as white transparent blood poured ceaselessly through the holes in his chest, SAHA sat cross-legged on the floor with his head resting on his chin as if bored.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me!" said Mercy. "How could this get any worse – ARG!"

Stella spun around as Mercy hit the floor and her crimson blood started coloring the dark textures. Isra was already at her side when she noticed something stabbed into her shoulders – they look like green-tipped arrows. The group heard another scream and turned around just in time to see RISC drop with a large data wound crossing the entirety of her back. It didn't take long to figure out the responsible party when a milky-white portal rippled into existence on the wall and two people – a man and a woman – stepped out.

"You two," said SAHA glaring at the couple.

The man – LLWO, Stella remembered – had a dark complexion like SAHA and shocking white hair with a single black bolt running down the right side. Stella noticed on the only part of his abdomen not covered in armor was a jagged 'X'-shaped scar; a result of their last fight perhaps? His mechanized bow was still smoking and retrieved another set of specialized ammunition from the pouches of his pants, taking careful aim on the Black Stars.

And then there was MEFE, the first Apostle Stella had killed in the war. As opposed to the men, her skin was white and creamy for someone who murdered people for a living, her light purple hair glistening in the neon lights of the Grid. She still dressed like a sexy witch – her cleavage was pretty much hanging out for the whole world to see. But the most her eyes fell on Stella, he sweet expression turned into pure rage, slamming her massive axe on the ground in emphasis.

"You bitch!" shouted MEFE. "You bitch! How are you still alive? Ooh, I'm gonna mess you up, you motherf –"

"MEFE, LLWO, I did not ask you to come here," SAHA said in a tone of disapproval.

"Hmph, like we listen to what you have to say," said MEFE with her nose turned up to him. When SAHA glared at her, she pressed herself up to LLWO, tracing shapes on his chest. "Honestly, sweetie, can you believe rude SAHA is being? It's almost like he doesn't want us here."

"I can't imagine why anyone would not wish to be in your company, my love," said LLWO responded affectionately.

"Indulge your nauseating affections elsewhere, children," SAHA commanded, standing up. "I found these Black Stars. They are mine to take."

"Don't be that way, SAHA," said MEFE, finally unlatching herself from her lover. She crossed the room until she stood over RISC, raising her axe above her head. "After all, there are plenty to go around."

The Apostle woman brought down her axe and slice through RISC's shoulder. The program howled as his limb was tossed aside and dissolved into a pile of scattered data cubes. MEFE raised her axe again with a savage grin, relishing the look of panic on the program's face, when her vision was suddenly lost in a splatter of black paint. LLWO watch his lover shriek and rub off the paint that marred her beautiful face and leered at the attacker.

Inka was running around the outside of the edge of the room so as to not fall in the pit again and shot another paint bullet at LLWO. The archery slapped the colored ammunition away with his bow and aimed at the squid kid, already predicting where her next move would be. Just as he was about to take the shot, the familiar volley of Stella's rock cannon railed him from the side, throwing him into his lover and sending them both falling into SAHA's pit. The leader of the Apostles smirked at their humiliation.

"We need to get out of here!" Stella shouted to the rest. "The plan was only to trap one of them and take them out with Nana's star energy devices! Now the devices don't work and we're up against three Apostles! We need to retreat back to home base!"

"And how do you intend to do that?" said Noctis. "They'll kill us before we even have a chance to get through the portal."

"It's true; we can't fight them without killing ourselves," said Nana. "But where everyone sees this as a disadvantage, I see this as an opportunity. Isra, I need you for a moment – " she added to the half-genie.

Down in SAHA's pit, the Apostle leader looked close to chuckling when MEFE manages to wipe the rest of the paint from her face and turns on LLWO, slapping the man across the back of the head.

"Watch where you're going, you idiot!" shouted MEFE. "You could have broken my neck!"

"Even if I had, you still would have – " LLWO started.

"Are you saying it would have been okay if I had just died?" said MEFE shrilly. "You would have just let me – your wife – fall to my death and act like nothing happened?"

"No, that's not what I – " LLWO stammered.

"Could you leave your petty squabbles for later," said SAHA calmly. "In case you have noticed, the Black Stars are getting away."

"No, they won't," said LLWO seriously, standing up and facing their retreating prey. "I'll kill them where they stand."

The archer reloaded the ammunition of his mechanized bow and aimed at the targets through the gap in the limbs. LLWO's finger was already on the trigger when Isra suddenly turned her head back at the Apostles; her eyes glowing a vibrant blue. The cluster of data bits that were once RISC's arm floated off the ground, spinning wildly until they reformed themselves into compressed black ball. The half-genie tilted her head sideways and the sphere zoomed through the air and smacked against LLWO's arm just as he pulled. The shots that were intended for the Black Stars were quickly turned on his comrades; SAHA took another blow to the chest while purple blood splattered from MEFE's neck.

"LLWO, you dumbass!" MEFE howled, holding a hand over the open wound. "I knew it! You were trying to kill me!"

"N-no, I swear!" LLWO sputtered. "I wasn't trying to – "

"I've had enough of your pointless bickering!" yelled SAHA impatiently, backhanding LLWO across the face. "Leave now, or I will return you to SZZU in pieces!"

Don't you touch my husband!" MEFE yelled furiously, jumping onto SAHA's back.

It had seemed that Nana's plan had worked. Playing off of MEFE's temperamental personality that had rising up from meeting Stella again, it wasn't difficult to set the Apostles against each other. While SAHA tried to rip the maniacal witch clinging to his back like a deranged monkey, LLWO tried to rationally calm the pair down; MEFE kicked him in the face for that.

"That escalated quickly," Isra commented.

"As I planned," said Nana as she summoned another milky-white portal to the wall nearest them. "Now hurry, through the portal before they get their wits about them."

"W-wait…," said RISC weakly, looking close to fainting. "We…we can't just leave them…. They'll destroy…the Grid."

"No. They're only interested in the Black Stars," Nana told her as their group fled one after another. "Once we leave, they'll have no reason to stay here any longer. Your world will be safe….I just wish I could say the same for us."

The Nana stepped through the portal, leaving Stella the only one left behind. Before she could follow her team, she looked back at the Apostles as SAHA finally threw off MEFE, only to have LLWO tackle him to the ground. A feeling of dread welled up in Stella's chest. Last time she had fought the Apostles, she was strong enough to defeat them on her own. But something happened in the last eight months; something changed them not only physically, but mentally as well.

These people…they weren't the Apostles…they were something else entirely. And as Stella stepped through the rippled in reality and watched the gateway close behind her, she felt something she had not known for a long time: fear.


World-4263(Gameverse)

The atmosphere was solemn in Nana's lab; rather, it was downright depressing. It hadn't evcen been an hour since the collection of Black Stars had been forced to run away by the combined might of three Apostles. No one dared say anything, least they trigger a violent reaction from their comrades.

Noctis leaned against the wall, glaring at the floor with such intensity as if trying to burn a hole through it. Isra was a short distance away from her, sitting cross legging on one of the workbenches with her head in her hands, looking downcast. Having nothing else to do, Mercy leaned back in a chair with her feet propped on a table, her fedora lowered over her eyes. Black Gold Saw stood separated with her back turned to the group, staring at the deactivated portal with an avid fascination that no one else could understand. And Inka devolved into a black squid on the floor – no one really knew what she was thinking.

But while the others were busy sulking over their defeat, Nana instantly threw herself into more work; it was the only thing that would keep her sane after her breakdown during the fight. She decided it would be best to repair RISC's arm since she would be relatively useless without it. Now Nana was in no way brilliant enough to understand the complicated mechanics behind compiling and repairing data into a physical manifestation, but RISC knew everything about her own coding and guided her through it.

"And…done," said Nana, making the final necessary adjustment to the Identity Disc before replacing it on RISC's back. "Are you sure this will work."

"Yes," answered RISC. "I can feel my data patching itself now. It should be roughly an hour before the full repairs are made."

Noctis looked up from his hood at that moment, glaring at the two. The young assassin gritted her teeth and, in a fit of anger, kicked one of the workbenches and sent several of Nana's devices scattering on the floor; Inka jumped at the noise and landed on Isra's head; the half-genie was not amused.

"Hey, watch it!" shouted Nana irritably. "That equipment is very delicate! What if you break something?"

"What does it matter?" Noctis yelled, pounding her fist into the wall. "Are you all forgetting what just happened? We just got our asses handed to us; we were forced to run away like dogs with our tails between our legs!"

"One failure does not give you the right to destroy my laboratory," said Nana, glaring at her back.

"This 'one failure' just proved that we are no match for them," said Black Gold Saw monotonously. "Not only did Gray's device failed to stop one Apostle, but we have also learned that there are seven of those monster in total – something our 'leader' failed to inform of beforehand. It's time to face facts: we've lost."

"I wouldn't call it a total loss," said Nana blandly. "The star energy device may have failed this time, but that just means I need to improve them in order to properly incapacitate the Apostles. MEFE and LLWO's arrival also confirmed another theory: the Apostles have a way of tracking Black Stars. If I can reconfigure my star energy technology, I could essentially craft devices that can shield us from their detection."

"Hey, I was wondering," said Isra. "If the Apostles can track us anywhere, why haven't they followed us here?"

"That is a good question," said Nana, humming thoughtfully. "Maybe it's because they were killed in this dimension that they fear to return to it."

"Not to interrupt or anything," said Inka, suddenly looking around the room. "But has anyone seen where Stella went?"

"I think she locked herself in her room," said Mercy, poking an eye from under her fedora. "She took that music playing thingamajig with her; I don't think she's going to come out any time soon."

"This battle was an emotional upheaval for Stella," said Nana. "So lost so many loved ones to the Apostles in the past…including a man she was particularly close with. Seeing MEFE and LLWO no doubt confirmed her greatest fear that all of the Apostles have indeed returned, despite trying to deny it."

"Well, she's going to have to get her act together," said Noctis harshly. "Because as it stands, she's the only one with any experience in killing these monsters."

"She'll be ready next time, don't you worry," said Nana firmly. She walked into the center of the laboratory, turning to address each of them. "All right, now listen up. This may not have been the victory that we were hoping for, but the important part is that we survived to fight again another day. We have more knowledge on the situation that we did before and that can only make us stronger. RISC" – she turned to the program – "your unique physiology should allow you to gather data from any computer. There are some old City Eater databank on sublevel two – see I you can find any information on the Apostles as much as you can."

"I can try," said RISC.

"Isra, Mercy, I set up a monitoring station in the east wing," Nana continued. "I want you to track the Apostle's movements through the multiverse. Find out which worlds they visit frequently. More than likely, that's where their base of operations is."

"Hitting them on their home turf," said Mercy, smirking. "I like your thinkin'."

"Inka, there's a UEF weapons storage on the second floor," said Nana. "See if you can modify them to use star energy. They might not be strong enough to kill the Apostles, but they can at least stun them."

"Rodger dodger," said Inka with a salute.

"Gold Saw, Noctis, stay here for a moment," said Nana. "I need your help to deal with an…urgent problem."

The last two called turned towards Nana, exchanging knowing looks with one another. Once everyone had been given their assignments, all of them walked out of the laboratory and divided towards their specified destinations. The gray clone watched the open doorway for a while, waiting until she could no longer hear their distant footsteps, and turned to Noctis and Black Gold Saw. Both of them were staring at her expectantly.

"I wanted to talk to you both in private without the others listening," said Nana softly. "During my…episode earlier today, I had a moment of clarity."

"Was that before or after you turned raving psycho?" said Noctis harshly.

"The point being, I realized something from it," Nana continued unhindered. "When I turned 'raving pshycho', as you so eloquently put it, I threw off all of my inhibitions – I was willing to do anything I could to hurt him – and I was rewarded for it. I had caught SAHA unawares, I had him at my mercy, but then Stella pulled me away before I had a chance to finish him. Then when MEFE and LLWO arrived, everyone was more focused on recovering our injured allies than pressing the attack when the Apostles were distracted."

"What are you getting at?" asked Black Gold Saw.

"I'm saying, we can't afford to be reserved any longer," said Nana coldly. "We are facing genocide, and holding back will only get us killed. From now on, we must be willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the destruction of the Apostles, even if it means making…unethical choices concerning to wellbeing our of comrades."

"Unethical…," Noctis repeated slowly. "Wait…you mean sacrificing our allies, don't you?"

"The Apostles clearly have no fear of killing each at the expense of victory," said Nana. "We must be willing to do the same. The others may not agree to our methods, but at this point, it is necessary to throw off our morals for the sake of the greater good. Even if a few worlds die in the process, as long as we can kill the Apostles, we'll be saving the whole of the multiverse. So…what is your decision?"

Black Gold Saw and Noctis said nothing for a long moment, sharing looking with one another in silent communication. They both knew it was morally wrong, to throw many Black Stars – people who placed their trust in them – to the Apostles for the tiny chance that they could deal a final blow. Many of their comrades would have been disgusted by the idea; Stella would have never forgiven her sister for even suggesting such an idea. But Black Gold Saw and Noctis…

"We're in," said Black Gold Saw coldly. "If we're going to survive this, we'll have to do whatever we have to. And anyone who tries to stop us…won't be around much longer..."


World-0001 (Threshold/Innocent Soulverse)

The Threshold was in utter chaos. All throughout the castle fortress, Black Stars were running in and out of buildings in a panic, carrying with them many scrolls and other odd. The busiest location in the Black Star headquarters was the central tower where the Board of Governors (the six leaders of the Black Star Army) convened to discuss the current condition of the Threshold. Today, the chamber that was once reserved only for six Governors was now cluttered with Black Stars racing back and forth between the forest of podiums that had been newly erected, each one holding a small energy globe that displayed different information to be processed.

Hanging high above the heads of their underlings, the six Governors hovered around a single enormous globe that nearly took up the entire ceiling of the chamber. Within the massive sphere were billions upon billions of marble-sized dots and each one of them was connection by a spider web of thin black threads. But as the Governors continued to watch the globe with avid concentration, they began to notice several of these threads were being cut off and not long after the marble evaporate into a white mist.

"Dimension-1776 has been erased!" A Black Star reported.

"Dimension-8190 has disappeared as well!" another Black Star declared.

"Dimension-3310 is gone, sirs!" a third Black Star added.

"Damn it!" One of the governors shouted furiously. "This is just absurd. How can a handful of aliens cause so much devastation in only a few days? Do they not realize the consequences of attacking the Black Stars in their home worlds?"

"I would imagine they do, Anzba," said another Governor, "or else they would have ceased these hostilities long ago. I find it quite disturbing that these – Apostles, was it? – managed to procure a method of traveling between worlds. I had thought the pathways between had been sealed off centuries ago, after that Saint King woman nearly caused a calamity."

"I'm more concerned with the 'why' in this situation, Ouru," said Anzba. "Lady Ram, surely you must have some inkling as to why this disaster is occurring."

All five stony governors turned simultaneously towards the only semi-human among their council. Lady Ram was as beautiful as she was graceful; platinum blond hair flowing like a waterfall to her ankles, her pale face shielded by a thin vail, and her attire compared to that of royalty. The only oddity were the curled ram horns that topped her head, hence her name.

When being addressed by her fellow governors, Ram slowly opened her eyes, calmly taking in the scene before them. A frown marred her beautiful face as two more worlds were erased from the multiverse.

"I do have some theories as to what they may be planning," said Ram elegantly, "but I shudder to think that any of them would prove accurate. Rather than waste time discussing what their goals may be, I would suggest we take the chance to counter the situation."

He reached out to the globe with a single finger, touching the surface that rippled like water. One of the marbles glided from its position towards the tip of the horned woman's nail.

"I've noticed that the dimension-4263 have already begun to amass an army," said Ram. "They have the right idea, but they lack the means to gather enough forces in time to strike back against these Apostle characters. They don't understand the inner workings of the multiverse like we do."

"Are you suggesting that we build our own army of Black Stars," asked Anzba.

"It makes sense," said Ram. "We can send an envoy to travel through the dimensions, bringing as many Black Stars to the Threshold as possible. They will be safe here – our headquarters already houses over two millions Black Stars that have not matured enough to be bound to their own world. This is the safest place in the entire multiverse for them."

"And I assume you've already taken the liberty of selecting our envoy?" said Ouru.

"You assume correct, Ouru," said Ram, smiling softly. She then turned on her heels, pointing downwards at a random Black Star below. "You there! I have a task for you! I wish for you to send a message to Black Star 01451. Tell her that she is to drop all current assignments and report to central headquarters for immediate debriefing!"

"Yes, Lady Ram!" shouted the Black Star before running out of the chamber.

"If we want to stand a chance at facing these villains, we need to put our best foot forward," said Ram, speaking more to herself than to the governors. "I never thought I would live to see the day when someone would be foolish enough to attempt this. I hope you are up for the challenge…Rock."