Chapter 6: Remnants of the Void

After the briefest of detours to put out the fires Solaris started on the mountain, the two Elemental Overlords and Kairi started heading northbound in order to pursue Solaris.

Along the way Riku was caught up to date on everything his brother had dealt with in Sancturia. Mew was the primary narrator of events because Kairi was too deep in worry regarding the safety of her mother and people.

"And that's about all there is to know Riku!" Mew said with a snappy click of the tongue.

"I see..." Riku lowered his head slightly and began to recap the details, "So Sancturia is the last city from the original Elemental Overlord's time. His former wife lives there, and has been alive for two-thousand years?"

Those appeared to be the most important details that he gleamed from the sermon until he turned to look at Mew and said, "And that Gravitus person...The way you described him reminds me of someone I fought along my travels."

"Really?" Mew perked up slightly, "When was that?"

"A few months ago," Riku humbly hung his head in shame and muttered, "He beat me though. Said I was a 'warm-up' for his new body."

"Well I'm glad he didn't decide to kill you Riku!" Mew said, breathing a quick sigh of relief.

"Why are you taking so long?!" Kairi blurted out roughly fifty feet ahead of them. It was true though. Mew and Riku were definitely capable of flying a lot faster than this. By this point they had just barely passed the west side of the Rocky Mountain range.

"We'll make it in time Kairi," Mew bucked up with a smile as he floated over next to her, "I doubt Solaris even knows where Sancturia is! And even if he finds it, Gabriel will be there to hold him off!"

Kairi visibly tensed up, and before Mew could try again at reassuring her Riku intervened, "Brother, you're making a lot of assumptions there."

Mew turned slightly to see Riku crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he explained his logic, "We don't know just how strong this Sun God is, nor do we know just how much he knows about Sancturia's location."

He narrowly opened his eyes and added the 'piece de resistance' to his reasoning, "Or worse, how much of the Earth he'll raze to the ground trying to find it."

Mew didn't have to recollect the damage done so far by Alex alone. The burning remains of Seattle were within eye distance to the left. So many people lost their homes, their way of living, even their lives, to the flames of destruction.

And that's the fate that would befall more cities, perhaps even entire continents, should they fail to find and beat back Solaris. Mew went from contemplating to smiling again as he rubbed the top of Kairi's head. He briefly replaced her worry with confusion so she'd be in a more aware state of mind.

"Lets double, no, triple our efforts then!" He proclaimed with triumphant vigor before swinging around to the North and thrusting a pointer finger straight out, "Onward we go!"

He then made good on his word by flying three times faster than before, with Riku and Kairi managing to keep pace. Mew looked back over his shoulder at Kairi. She was glancing at him with a somewhat distant look in her eyes. So he thought to himself, "Its not like I didn't want to get there quickly Kairi...But you're not as fast as me and Riku. Sorry."

He wasn't trying to perceive her as anchor holding him back. That would be unfair to her when she's already looking so angry and panicked. But what else could he do really? Tell her that everything is going to be alright? A firm hand on the shoulder worked fine during the whole Gravitus thing because that's what she needed. But everything she heard back there? Alex enabling Gravitus' rotten behavior throughout the years? The vicious Sun God wanting to 'visit' her mother? And the threat of this mysterious 'Justek'?

"She's not going to be her usual self until all this is resolved, and even then..." There was a lot to parse through and Mew knew he wasn't the man for the job. Though speaking of info...

"Hey, Riku, come here for a moment," He slowed down just a tiiiiny bit to fly at level with his brother, then resumed his normal pace so they'd be out of Kairi's earshot, "There's something I want to ask you about real quick."

Riku's face scrunched up slightly from discomfort as he hit the nail on the head right away, "I think I already know what it is. What I was holding the Phoenix of Destruction accountable for..."

"Yeah, that." Mew even felt his stomach turning just thinking about what he heard again. The existence of other worlds based on 'fictional' properties wasn't that shocking after the whole Mushroom Kingdom fiasco. But such a grand and powerful universe such as Marvel falling, to Alex no less?

"We're strong, but not THAT strong..." And that one doubt gave birth to a question for Riku, "Just...just who exactly did you hear about that from? Was it a recent event or...?"

"Thanos." Riku said. No pause. No stuttering. Just a casual name drop of one of the most frightening villains in the Marvel universe, no big deal!

"And no, this didn't happen recently. The destruction of the Marvel Universe occurred a million years ago. Thanos was the sole survivor." Riku thus further elaborated on.

"...Boy does that answer everything and nothing at the same time..." Mew rubbed the back of his head before leaning his head at Riku and whispering, "Are you sure what you heard is true though? I mean come on, its friggin' Thanos!"

"And boy, did I never think I'd ever say THAT!"

That did get Riku to stop and think for a moment, but that was all it wound up being. A moment.

"Brother, has the Phoenix of Destruction not already proven his capacity for destruction? Or how unhinged his mind is?"

Mew looked away and saw Alex's contorted, cackling face when he closed his eyes. One more time, and he saw those flames of destruction once again. But even with both horrifying images, Mew's verdict of Alex was as such:

"I-I don't know...I can't bring myself to believe that Alex would do any of this. At least...Not the Alex I knew," Mew let out a heavy sigh, "If only I could find out what changed you."

"Hmm?" Mew saw a glimmer of red coming from the corner of his eyes and looked up. A wide trail of fire had already burned it way through a couple miles of land on its way to a city. This city wasn't as large as Seattle but still had a worrying number of tall buildings that were currently on fire.

"The Phoenix of Destruction is here?" Riku hastily assumed as the three of them stopped right then and there.

"No way. I can't sense this fire." Mew mentioned.

"How can you not sense it?" Kairi asked.

"I don't know!" Mew blurted out whilst turning towards her, "I couldn't sense the stuff outside my house either!"

"Worry about that later you two. You know what this means, right?" Riku's voice of reason snapped the two's attention back towards the city.

Mew wiggled his shoulders spryly and proclaimed, "Yeah yeah! We need to hurry! The people need our help!"

Mew was the first to make a beeline for the city, and he sensed the other two coming a few seconds later. He looked down at the highways and saw that there were a lot of signs of evacuated cars and crowds of people gathered up on the far outskirts of the city.

"So a lot of them were already on their way out. No doubt because of Seattle..." It was a brief moment of relief for Mew to see the tens of thousands of people all safe and sound, but that was no excuse to shirk his duties. There were probably still people having trouble getting out.

As he made his way towards the center of the city to get a good bird's eye view of the situation he took some time to look at the flames. The path they carved through the land was irregular, like it wasn't created on purpose. Fortunately for as strong as the flames looked, they disappeared in a matter of seconds.

The flames didn't appear to extend past the city either, which means if Mew's hunch was on the money, Solaris was still somewhere close by.

"He wasn't kidding when he called himself the strongest of the Sun Gods. He's burning up his surroundings wherever he goes!" A wildfire uncontained. An inferno in the flesh. Those were the best two ways to describe this new enemy.

Mew was looking to pin down Solaris' location and drag him out of the city kicking and screaming if he had to. He had already seen one city be lost to the flames today, and for him that was one too many.

"AAAHH!" A faint, youthful scream of panic came from below. Mew's pertinent hearing told him that the sound came from straight below. He dove down without a second thought and landed in the middle of a near empty intersection.

"Hey! Anyone out there?!" Mew cupped his hands and hollered, "If you can see me, tell me where to look!"

Through the fire and the flames a faint cry of "B-Behind you!" could be heard. Mew swung around and both swerved and bobbed his head as fast as he could see but saw nothing but more things on fire. He then hollered out again, "Where am I supposed to be looking?!"

While he waited for an answer he took it upon himself to look around some more. When he turned around again he saw a group of people crowded up next to a pile of ruined cars with no way to escape. He then propped his fists on his hips and remarked, "You got your directions all mixed up! I know its scary right now but-"

"N-N-No!" The young source of the voice proclaimed with utmost fright beside his father's hip, "Behind you mister!"

"Huh?" Mew curiously poked his head over his shoulder and saw something moving in the thick rising heat. Undisturbed by the presence of fire they prowled closer, a conglomerate of ethereal shades.

Mew puckered his lips and swung his fists up by his chest, drawing a firm line between this mysterious force and the citizens in danger. The creatures pushed through the heat and their appearance drew near, making it possible to see what they were.

They were a herd of quadruped beasts tall enough to reach Mew's chest. They wore something resembling black flames across their body, with a couple streaks of yellow along their back and bushy tails. The yellow glowed like a bolt of lightning. Their eyes jaded wisps of silver. Judging by what little solidness Mew could make out from their sharp feet, these creatures were predators. They reminded him a lot of wolves, but they were clearly from another world.

"Oh great, what now?" It was just another threat to add to the pile. And just like Solaris and Lunis, Mew could not sense their power. What he did feel, however, was sick to his stomach just by looking at them.

"What the hell? This is just like with..."

"Mew!" Kairi was the first to come down by his side, with Riku landing to his left right after. Kairi drew her staff, Riku his strange blade, but Mew just kept his fists up and was happy to see them both.

"Took you long enough!" He joked.

"Now's not the time brother. Have you seen Solaris?" Riku firmly asked while gazing around.

"No but there's some civilians behind us..." Mew nudged his head forward and said nonchalantly, "Oh and some legions from Hell in front of us!"

Riku and Kairi looked in Mew's direction but only Kairi commented on them, "What...what are those things?"

"Beats me, but if I had to take a guess they're connected to everything else going on." Mew replied.

"Ssssss...!" A hypnotic sounding hiss came from Kairi's direction. Her and Mew looked that way and saw another group of creatures advancing upon them. They shared the same flame-like composition to the wolves but had long, lithe bodies. Each one was about eight to ten feet long with bits of green embers sticking out in the form of leaves and thorns. Their eyes were pointed and a dark shade of magenta.

"A two-pronged attack?!" Mew exclaimed. The ground then started to shake, coming from Riku's direction.

"Make that three brother..." Riku squinted his eyes towards a group of a dozen giants. Like the two groups beforehand they had dark flames comprising most of their body. But these ones did not share any resemblance to the creature of Earth. They were lumbering bipedal giants whose thick upper bodies and tiny legs forced them to use their round, wrecking ball sized fists to move around. Their fists were coated with a bunch of needle-like flames and their bodies were covered by a thin layer of grain-y embers. And most tellingly, they didn't have any eyes.

Three groups of enemies. No idea how any of them worked, or how strong any of them were.

Kairi and Riku slowly edged back into Mew's back. He could feel Kairi trembling, while Riku's focus was stone-cold. And then there were the civilians, who were shaking with fear and had no way of defending themselves.

"What's the plan brother?" Riku wondered. Duh. Wasn't it obvious?

"We'll each take on a group. Keep our perimeter strong, don't let any of them make a break for the civilians!" Mew locked eyes with the herd of hungry wolves and cocked a cocky smirk, "But don't hit 'em too hard, not until we can find an opening to get those citizens out of here safe and sound."

Their hearts were beating fast as one. The groups of enemies were stationary thirty feet away from each of them. Mew closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and listened in for the anxious scratching of the wolves' claws upon the concrete.

The moment the leader of the herd lunged forward, Mew exclaimed "BREAK!" and darted at them. Kairi and Riku did the same.

Mew swung his fist back and thought "Ok, lets see what you got!" as he threw his punch. He didn't put too much power into it. Just enough to pose a threat to the wolf alone. His knuckles struck the beast's head and made it yield in place.

"Heh, alright, you got a little going for ya boy." Mew dug his fist in a little more and felt like he was rubbing up against some kind of metal surface. That went into the back of his head as he then punted the gnarling lupine right in the chest to knock it back through the air.

"But spunk ain't enough against me!" Mew then snapped his fingers and summoned a decent-sized bolt of lightning to strike down the wolf.

But upon the bolt touching down the electricity seemed to just...stop. It didn't go around it, it didn't go through it, it didn't even look like it was being absorbed. Lightning comes and goes fast, but if Mew didn't know any better he'd say his attack never existed at all.

"What in the world?" Mew clenched his sparking fingers into a fist and watched the wolf land before its heard. It then swung its head up and let out a howl that crackled like electricity.

The other wolves hunched down and rushed past the leader to swarm Mew with numbers. Snapping his fingers twice, Mew then slid his best foot forward. The dirt along the road wobbled forward like a subtle wave of water until reaching the feet of the horde. The ground then shot up as a couple walls of spikes to either impede or impale them outright.

Though that's what Mew wanted. Reality was less favorable to his cause. The rock spikes were broken upon the wolves' touch. But they didn't become pebbles. They just disappeared entirely.

The shock of this allowed the wolves to close the gap on Mew in a couple of seconds and start clawing at his legs. Mew slid back as blood was drawn behind his pants but the horde was thick in their numbers and he had already been surrounded.

The wolves filled with ears with snarls as they tried to pile on top of him from all sides. Mew shot off the ground and used the sky to gain the advantage. But he started to feel woozy, his head bobbing around while a cold sweat dribbled down the sides of his face.

"Ok. I'm not going crazy here. This is just like..." The leader of the pack leaped at him and used all its leg strength to latch onto Mew and drag him back to the ground.

"Oh come on!" Mew exclaimed as the beast scratched his arms. He tried to fend it off with flames, but his efforts were reduced to embers with relative ease. With his elements failing for god knows whatever reason, Mew had no choice but to resort to brute strength.

"Alright boy...OFF YOU GO!" Mew clasped his hands around what he assumed was the beast's neck then spun around, throwing them straight into the ground. The hard impact with solid concrete broke the beast's head. Sparks flew forth from a wound for a moment, and then the rest of the creature collapsed upon its own darkness.

"Christ...!" Mew blurted in frustration while swiping the blood off his arms using his chin. He then took a brief glance at how Riku and Kairi were faring.

Riku didn't attack with the elements like Mew did. Instead he seemed to dilute them down to their basic energy form and throw them out as projectiles. His helix blade made for a good conductor.

The golems were too lumbering to keep up with Riku's speed. He effortlessly glided around them and slashed at their legs, cutting through the crowd in seconds. Once on the other side Riku turned around and quickly cut the air in an "X" pattern, sending a rainbow colored blast of energy towards the golem's back.

But Riku dealt with the same problem Mew did. His elements dissolved upon contact with their dark flames. Riku started to ignite his blade and try again when one of the golems shot out many of its needles towards him. These needles were as quick as lightning, which was enough to catch Riku off-guard.

The needles knit through his skin and muscles at numerous points and stiffened him in place. Then the flaming threads woven between the two retracted, dragging Riku in to the golem's center.

Riku let go of his blade and mentally commanded it to slice through the strings. He then dropped to the ground and raised his hand high without a care towards the pain in his body. Then he dropped his hand down and his blade impaled down through the top of the golem's head, pinning it to the highway.

He tugged his arm back and the blade ripped out of the beast's head with a few sparks on it. He then put it back before his palm and narrowed his gaze towards the other golems. He had gotten their attention.

Meanwhile Kairi was having an easier time as far as hurting the beasts go. Her blunt staff broke the limber serpents in two whenever she managed to get a hit on them. Emphasis on "whenever". They were slippery little devils and moved together almost like a single unit. They couldn't fly though so Kairi had an easier time fending them off in the air.

But what they lacked in wings they more than made up for with a strong spring in their step. They spun around and around like a carousel below her feet then jumped at her one at a time, alerting her to their presence with a rattle and hiss.

Kairi's swings were indicative of her panicked state of mind. She attacked with all her strength but none of the focus. The serpents were agile in their ability to slip around her weapon and throw her off of the presence of their partners.

Like was noted beforehand though, its not like she was failing to land a hit. Its just that with how effective her weapon was at dealing with them whereas Mew and Riku's elements were not, she should've cleared the herd by now.

Still, watching the two battles unfold did give Mew an idea. He raised his hand behind his head and summoned his sword. Another wolf leaped head-first into it and Mew cut him down on the turn of a dime.

He then dropped straight to the ground and exclaimed, "Really not a fan of getting physical like this!"

Riku, having cut down a few of the golems on his way back to the other side, responded in a somewhat puzzled manner, "Neither am I brother, but it seems none of our elements are effective on these creatures!"

He let out a light grunt as he slashed a golem through the chest. Kairi looked over her shoulder and wondered aloud, "What? How is that possible?!"

That momentary distraction allowed a snake to coil around her right wrist and then latch its tail around her neck. Pushing and strangling at the same time, the serpent force her staff out of her hand and drained her of the air she breathed.

Mew widened his eyes and stabbed his blade down into one of the wolves that came at him. He then kicked the blade at its side to turn it around, planted his heel on the edge, then shoved the blade through the highway, cutting down a few more wolves along the way.

The remainder of the horde stayed their claws for a moment, giving Mew the chance to recall the blade back into his hand and slash it straight back over his shoulders. All he needed to do was condense raw power down into a sharp form and he easily cut the snake holding down Kairi in two.

Kairi let out a heavy gasp and other snakes lunged in to finish the job. She furiously thrust her eyes open, summoned her staff, and smashed through the snakes in one complete swing. She kept spinning and dropped down, throwing the remainder of the snakes far away.

While she panted for air she lifted her head up and said to Mew, "Thanks..."

Mew cracked a smile and then two wolves ripped through the ground to target the as-of-then silent crowd. The people huddled up and screamed. Mew drew his sword back and gathered power, narrowly focusing in on the wolves.

They darted in so fast that if Mew fired off an attack now, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't get hurt.

Riku suddenly leaped over the wolves and the two beasts were strung through the gut by some of the golem's needles. Brainlessly dragging its allies back in, the golem would share their fate as Riku launched his sword like an arrow through the three of them while Mew cleaved a horizontal wave of power through their bodies.

"Nice back-up Riku!" Mew gave the thumbs up then was disrupted by the growling wolves behind him. He turned and cut the tip of his blade along the right side of his body, standing before the small army of monsters that remained. The snakes crawled up the sides of the highway, adding to their numbers.

"Riku!" Mew swung his head back over his shoulder and saw his brother drawing his blade, "Kairi and I can handle these numbers! We'll leave the evacuation efforts to you!"

Riku stood up with a blank expression and wondered, "You sure?"

Kairi landed beside Mew and swung her staff at the beasts. Mew glanced at Kairi with a smile, focused back on the wolves and exclaimed, "Positive! Once you're done we'll meet up on the north side of town!"

Riku nodded then turned to the crowd with his sword dispelled. He raised his hands and calmly spoke to them, "Huddle up and hold still. This might get rough."

He waited a couple seconds before using his powers to carve up a large square out of the highway and lift the civilians off into the air. He left Mew and Kairi to handle the enemies.

It didn't take long to get outside the city where the other people had gotten to and drop the platform gently. He then landed on the platform and took a head count. No one had fallen off, and everyone seemed to have a familiar other or two.

"That's a relief." Riku closed his eyes and decided to take a second to catch his breath. Little did he know though was that one of the serpents had snuck onto the platform, and it was gunning right for him.

"Watch out!" Someone yelled. Riku sharply opened his eyes and turned around with sword drawn. The snake was a couple feet from biting its fangs into his face...

"CLNNGG!" A metal rod was suddenly thrown into the snake's mouth, stalling it for just that one single second needed for Riku to cut it in half.

Riku's heart rate increased a few beats faster, but calmed down once he put his sword away. He then turned around and saw a person at the front of the crowd hung over and covered in sweat. They were his age with a plaid shirt, a few pimples on his cheeks, and a nearly bald head.

"Thanks." Riku said with a genuine sense of appreciation.

"D-Don't thank me..." The person put his hands on his knees and caught his breath, "I was trying to kill that monster..."

"Martin!" A girl also about his age, with clearly silver-dyed hair and an overall punk appearance, ran up and grabbed the boy by his shoulders to start shaking him.

"What were you thinking?! You could've been killed!"

The two squabbled for a bit while Riku just stood by and observed. He especially picked up on how deeply the boy named Martin looked the girl in the eyes.

"Martin is it?" Riku took a couple steps closer and the two stopped arguing long enough for him to talk to the boy.

"You think you didn't make a difference, but that's not true."

Martin pulled his head back and grumbled aloud, "Anyone can throw a steel rod...You can fly and swordfight and do a lot of cool tricks..."

"Those are my strengths. And you have yours," Riku subtly pointed a finger up from his crossed arms towards the girl next to him, "And you have her to thank for that."

"Huh?" Martin and the girl both looked at him with drooping, confused faces.

Riku cracked a mild smile and glanced back at the city. He could sense a battle unfolding on the northern outskirts and scrunched up his face in discomfort.

"...I think you'll get it someday. Until then, try not to put yourselves in any danger." Riku flies off, an enigma to the people grateful to have been saved by him.

Back in the city Mew and Kairi have finished off the remaining beasts, leaving nothing behind. The two of them were panting lightly, with Mew even mentioning "That took a little more effort than I was expecting..." while he dispelled his sword and her her staff.

"At least Riku got those people out safely." He said looking to the South.

"This is just going to get worse and worse isn't it?" Kairi said in a dreary tone of voice.

Mew turned and put a hand on her shoulder but she brushed it off while uttering in a somewhat bitter tone, "Don't worry about me! I'm fine!"

"Ok," Mew backed off slowly and flicked his hands up by his face, "Ok."

She stood there pouting for a bit. Her eyes were cross and her chest was beating rapidly. There was a very big concern on Mew's end that if she didn't get any answers soon, she was going to have a complete and utter mental breakdown.

Mew's eyebrows perked up as he heard an explosive sound in the distance. He peered over Kairi and past all the heat and flames he saw a large explosion fading. And from it, there was a familiar power attached.

"Alex?" He carelessly whispered into Kairi's perky ears. She bucked up, turned around, and quickly took flight to the North.

"Kai-!" Mew bit his lower lip and better spent his time chasing after her. They quickly left the thickest part of the city and out into more open space. The damage Solaris caused was still visible for a couple miles, but then came to a sudden end halfway to the two's destination.

Mew hastily looked down at the end point of the burning trail and saw the Sun God positioned on the ground doing absolutely nothing.

"Take a rain check on Alex," Mew said while pointing down for Kairi's benefit, "There's the guy we came for."

Kairi dove down into danger without a second thought. Mew couldn't even muster up a sigh as he followed. Right before they landed on the burned ground they drew their weapons and pointed them at Solaris. Kairi went a couple steps further and exclaimed "YOU!" with an unbridled fury that Mew had only seen expressed against Gravitus before.

"Wh-What?!" Solaris flinched and turned around, his expression quickly turning from surprise to disbelief. He drooped his beefy arms and groaned, "Oh for the love of...What the HELL are you two doing here?!"

"You weren't exactly subtle." Mew snarked while nudging his head at the trail of black charred ground.

Solaris stood up and crunched his arms against his chest, his body becoming engulfed with flames, "I thought I told you morons not to follow me?"

Mew narrowed his gaze and mumbled to himself, "I am very offended right now to be get an idiot by this guy."

"I'm not going to let you get anywhere near my mother you bastard!" Kairi exclaimed while tightening her grip around her staff.

"Mother?!" Solaris threw his arms back in recoil then propped himself with a huge shit-eating grin as he proclaimed, "Oh shit you're HER kid?! A crying shame that traitor gave birth to such a wimpy-wimp!"

"GRRR...! I'll show you who's a wimp!" Solaris had hit Kairi's buttons and she was about to make a grave mistake...Were Mew not there to help.

"Don't do it Kairi!" He exclaimed, his concern being what made her come to a swift and utter halt. She bitterly grit her teeth at him but then focused that anger back onto the one who deserved it.

"Ha! Its funny watching you ants try n' act tough!" Solaris leaned his head to the left and muttered, "Though I guess you did get past father's creations...So maaaaaybe you can be upgraded to maggots."

"Gee, thanks..." Mew muttered sarcastically, but then had a quip of his own to dish back at him, "So why are you here? Got lost?"

"N-No! I'm not lost! I-I know exactly where Sancturia is!" Solaris' stuttering didn't inspire confidence, thankfully. He then erupted into a tower of flames and exclaimed, "Oh screw you both I don't give a shit what you say!"

"Then why are you wasting time with us?" Mew said with a smile.

"Because there's no one good to fight on this backwater planet! I sent a bunch of father's creations into that city for a test run and wouldja believe it? None of them could defeat a single one! Unbelievable!"

"What is wrong with you people?! You and Alex..." Kairi's rage was so great that she started trembling, "Can't treat humans like this!"

"Life's all about survival of the fittest! Either you're an ant or a god! And me? I'm 100% bonafide God!"

"I'm surprised you know what that word means." Mew says again.

"Will you shut up?!" Solaris barked back, his voice sounding feral for a moment, before then lashing one of his fingers out towards Mew in particular, "If I wasn't saving my strength for the best fight of my life I'd burn you to ash on the spot!"

"That's not what you said-"

"Mew will you stop provoking him?!" Kairi finally snapped at him.

"What, its not like he's going to do anything! He's all bark, no bite..." Mew threw out a sharp stare towards Solaris and didn't flinch.

"Y-You little...!" Solaris crunched his hands into fists and started to reach into his robe, "You know what? I'm wasting my time waiting for the Phoenix of Destruction to finish off that eight-legged monstrosity."

"Eight-legged monstrosity?" Mew tried to take a peek over the Sun God but he drew out a mechanical sphere that spewed out an obscene amount of black and purple energy.

"And I'm DEFINITELY wasting my time sticking here with you! So here! Have some fun with whatever comes outta this thing!"

Kairi showed mild discomfort as she looked to her right and growled, "Mew...?!"

"Not yet! That's what he wants."

Solaris crushed the device in his hand and a massive rift opened up behind him. He turned around and said, "Come on! Give me something big and brutal!"

A violent roar blew out of the rift and ruffled Solaris' hair. The Sun God clapped his hands and started laughing in amusement as he backed up and allowed the creature entry into their world.

Mew tightened the grip on his blade and his heart began racing. "That doesn't sound good..." He remarked.

"Do we attack now?!" Kairi exclaimed with increasing anger in her voice.

"Not yet!" He restated for emphasis. The rift stretched wide as sharp, metallic claws rusted with blood gripped into the sides and the creature they were attached to forced its way through.

Mew was stunned by just what the creature was, because he could recognize it. It had a black draconic appearance with a long fleshy neck and two bent, deviled horns on its head. The bulk of its muscle were composed of golden fibers while its chest cavity was filled with pink-red flames, much like a cauldron. The monster landed on all four but appeared to have the capacity to stand on its hind legs. Its blood-tipped tail sliced through the rift and leaned its lifeless, carnivorous red eyes towards Solaris.

"Oh...THAT'S not good." Mew murmured.

"What? What is that thing?" Kairi asked, not as frightened as one might expect when facing this creature straight out of Hell.

Mew awkwardly cracked a smile at her and let out a sigh, "Long story short. That thing's not from around here."

"I mean obviously but-"

"No no no you don't get it..." Mew propped the tip of his sword up at the beast, "That right there's called a Corrosive Hannibal...And its from a video game franchise."

"H-Hold on...! You can't mean that-"

"Kairi are you really surprised after you saw Shroobs and the Covenant at Neptune's Casino?" Mew poised in a tactful manner.

"...Yeah you're right," Kairi was loathe to admit, "But why would he call this thing for back-up? It doesn't feel that strong..."

Mew closed his eyes and concentrated on the creature's innards. He couldn't sense anything, or rather, anyone inside. He opened his eyes slowly and had a solemn hum to himself.

"I don't know Kairi." Was all he could say right now.

The Corrosive Hannibal blew steam at Solaris, who was getting out a few more laughs before declaring, "Hahaha! Now this is what I'm talking about! You remind me of the dragons I used to slay back home!"

The towering beast swung its right claw up and drove it at the Sun God's head. Solaris casually held his hand up and grabbed it by the wrist, then acted all condescending towards it, "Whoa there easy boy! You ain't very strong are ya?"

He then took his other free hand back into his vest and pulled out a small vial filled with a dark, ghastly red liquid that seemed to writhe around all on its own. Mew's heart thumped loudly. Looking at that vial was like peering into the abyss of the universe.

"So lets change that huh?" Solaris nonchalantly smashed that vial of liquid into the Hannibal's chest cavity and it shattered, spreading its content throughout its body like a epidemic.

Solaris pulled back and the beast's head lurched up. It let out a harrowing screech of pain as dark red energy pulsed throughout its body. The energy meshed in with its flesh and muscles and set the mighty carnivore ablaze with a vibrant steam of raw, chaotic power.

It dropped on its fours, using the bracer on its right arm to stay up. Mew's heart started racing as the creature got on its hind legs and tore its throat apart letting out a blood-curling roar of dominance over the new land it found itself the master of.

"I knew it! Its the same sensation I felt with Auris! This is the Anti-Genesis Theorem!" Mew swung his sword back and Kairi drew her staff for battle.

Solaris turned around, crossed his arms and declared, "Have fun fighting this thing insects! I'm off to burn a traitor or two to ash!"

He flew off, leaving the Corrosive Hannibal with only Mew and Kairi in its predatory sights. The steam from the beast's thin nostrils were signs of aggression, as it could sense that the two before it were threats to its domain.

"Mew!" Kairi exclaimed one last time in fright.

"Now we fight! Get ready Kairi!"

The Corrosive Hannibal stood on its hind legs and slashed its claws down. Two flaming blades popped out of the wrists and cut the ground beside it. Then without a moment's hesitation it sprinted at them, ready to make them its first meal in this world...

The King of Slaughter: Anti-Genesis Corrosive Hannibal

Next Time: The World Devourer