Voyager Saga

Change of Soul

Chapter 8: Revenge of the Mocked

Xanatos was right about the stormclouds. It did reach New York just as the sun was setting. It was only a thunderstorm, but it was a particularly loud and flashy storm.

"Bloody lightning!" yelled Matt at the storm clouds after the fifth roll of thunder started a headache. Sadly the storm seemed to take some offence at this and he was struck by lightning. Matt was a bit disorientated so he made a rather stupid boast, "Ha, everyone knows that lightning never strikes the same place twice." He was promptly hit by four other lightning bolts.

Morph noticed Matt's inadvertent shaking and said, "I wanna dance funny too." He touched Matt and immediately got shocked.

"I...h-a-t-t-t-e st-o-r-m-s-s-s" stuttered Matt before falling over.

"Well, that was an interesting light show," said NegaMorph in a bored tone, "But we still haven't gotten anything back online except for Chip and his shooting friend, as well as those two cybergoyles."

"Medic," whimpered Matt from where he'd collapsed.

Chloe however had spotted a more sinister version of the storm. "Dammit, there's no way to get anyone here now. Lifts are down and now no choppers or pelicans," she said before looking at her brother. "STOP ROASTING MARSHMALLOWS ON MY BROTHER, NEGAMORPH!"

"Well, I would do it with PlasMorph," said NegaMorph, "But I don't think his smoke would add anything positive to the flavor."

Chloe glared. "Would you like to pull double duty as lookout on the main tower?" she said, pointing to where the tower was...and how it was acting as a lightning rod itself.

"Fine, fine," said NegaMorph.

"Do it again! Do it again!" piped Morph, who had just woke up from his zapping.

Chloe glared at him before looking at NegaMorph. "Fine, just clean him up when you're done."

Apparently, the sun just set, because there was a crackling in the air that wasn't coming from Matt's hair. With a cacophony of roars, the gargoyles shed their stone shells and stretched their limbs.

Draco flew down first. "Wow, what's with the weird weather...oh...thunderstorm?" he said as he saw where Matt was gently crackling with static in the corner.

"It's been like this for the last hour," said Chloe, "Also, Mantichrome sent a virus that caused everything electronic to go offline. We've only managed to get Chip, Chase, Coldstone, and Coldsteel working."

"Which probably means Manty and his mates plan to throw us a lovely surprise visit with extra explosions," said Matt.

"Well that's just great," said Brooklyn, "What do we have on our side?"

"Us," said Matt simply.

Goliath rubbed his forehead and moaned, "This does not look good for us. Who is this Mantichrome and his allies?"

"HEY!" yelled Matt angrily as Chloe sniggered.

"Well, luckily we have experience with Manichrome's usual friends, but they don't usually make weather," said NegaMorph.

"But the Unseelie can," said Broadway, "You don't think..."

"Half of our guys are stranded on the other side of the world because of a blizzard," said Chloe flatly, "Yes, I do think so."

"What are we so worried about? Every time we met these pointy-eared nutters we've creamed them," said Matt confidently.

"Those were just changelings," said Angela, "Human/faerie hybrids. I think we're dealing with actual fae here."

Matt's face fell. "So...able to go through us like the experiments go through coffee?" he said, simply getting nods. "Ah smeg."

Suddenly, the lightning started flashing more rapidly and had changed to a bright purple in color. Then a big flash of lightning appeared in the courtyard which caused everyone to shield their eyes. When the light faded, three dragons were standing in the courtyard. Of course, the term 'dragon' is being used in the broadest sense of the word, seeing as how one was a robot, one was an undead alien, and the other was a mixture of alien parts.

Matt gulped. It was easy to guess who. "Ghoulwyrm, so nice to see you again. How are the plasma burns?" he said, igniting an orb behind his back.

"Oh, I eventually heal from wounds," said Ghoulwyrm, "but the memory of what caused them lingers longer."

"So...would you mind doing a last request?" said Matt.

"Surrendering already?" said Ghoulwyrm, "A rather wise choice, but not one that will spare you. But I may be willing to honor last requests, as long as it's not the usual begging and groveling."

"Good...would you explode in a shower of shadow energy?" said Matt, smirking evilly.

Ghoulwyrm looked confused for a second until a blast of darkness hit him in the back. He was buffeted, but far from weakened. One of his eyes slid back to glare at NegaMorph behind him. "You underestimate me," growled Ghoulwyrm, "A deadly mistake." Then he raised both arms up and roared, "ATTACK!"

Omnirus lunged at Matt straight away, clawing at Matt's inhibitor. "GIVE IT TO ME, YOU LITTLE PAIN IN THE TAILBONE!" she yelled.

Matt grinned evilly and said loudly, "You haven't changed a bit since you were last here, Omnirus, except for your sex of course." Omnirus screamed angrily and punched Matt, sending him sailing across the courtyard and into a wall. "...ow," Matt said.

Before Matt could move, Omnirus used XLRWolf speed to run over and grab him by the neck. "So what?" said Matt weakly, "You gonna rip out my tongue or something?"

"Muting you would be a pleasure," said Omnirus, "But I think castration is in order here." To emphasize this, she shifted her Diamondblast arm into a flaming spike.

Matt transformed himself to dragon form and sent a blast of flame into Omnirus's face. Omnirus flinched and Matt was able to use leverage to get himself away from the wall. Omnirus roared and was about to go after Matt when someone grabbed her tail. She looked behind to see Chloe in her dragon form. "You're starting to make me look bad," she said.

--

Meanwhile, Ghoulwyrm was tussling with Goliath. Goliath was on the defensive mostly because of Ghoulwyrm's lightning blasts. "This is the great leader of the Manhattan Clan?" scoffed Ghoulwyrm, "I've seen bats fight back better than you."

An energy blast shot into Ghoulwyrm suddenly. The dracolich spun round snarling only for a second blast to hit him in the chest. Brooklyn walked forward, his pulse rifle braced against his shoulder before firing again. "Leadership isn't about how you fight in battle," said Brooklyn, "It's about how you lead others in battle."

Ghoulwyrm snarled. "So? I brought the Atlantean empire to its knees using its own forces."

"Your Atlantis, maybe," said Brooklyn, "But things are different here."

"You think you can take me?" said Ghoulwyrm, "Then bring it on."

"Not by myself," admitted Brooklyn, "But with a little help from the family..."

Ghoulwyrm looked confused. "Say what?" he said and suddenly his legs were pulled from under him, landing him on his snout with a painful crunch. Ariana and Greame had sneaked up on him and pulled his legs from under him. "I hate kids," mumbled Ghoulwyrm.

"Thank you Brooklyn," said Goliath, "I did need some help back there."

"Always glad to provide it," said Brooklyn.

"You'll need more help with that when I'm through with-" started Ghoulwyrm before he was cut off by both Goliath and Brooklyn punching him in the jaw.

--

Mantichrome was not having it as good. He had three opponents. Draco, Chip and Contrinus were all against him. "Not so easy when we're not so small, is it?" asked Draco as he threw another punch.

"True," said Mantichrome, "But at least you don't have your old powers as gargoyles. But experiment or gargoyle, I will terminate you." This was followed by a slashing blow from Mantichrome's claws. Draco roared in pain as the slash left a row of slashes on his chest. Mantichrome smirked. "One down, several more to go."

"You think some scratches will end this?" said Draco.

"No," said Mantichrome, "but lacing them with poison gas might." Then he opened his mouth and breathed out noxious fumes.

Draco gasped as the poison seeped into the wound and he fell from the sky, unconscious. Contrinus shrieked and lunged at Mantichrome, eyes glowing red. "Ooh, is the firebird mad I hurt her precious mate?" asked Mantichrome mockingly as he stabbed at Contrinus with his stinger. Contrinus rolled around the stab and tackled Mantichrome, slashing and stabbing at the machine in a mindless fury. "While I would enjoy the idea of smashing your eggs," said Mantichrome, "I'm on a tighter agenda today." Then he reached around sank his fangs into Contrinus' shoulder. Contrinus shrieked in pain, but was so marinated in adrenaline, she just shoved her fist into his face, leaving a sizable dent. "So it's true," said Mantichrome, "The female does fight most fiercely if it's for her family. Good thing I'm incapable of such attachments. But let's see how fat this fury can take you?" Then a small port opened on Mantichrome side and some oil shot out and hit Contrinus in the face. Contrinus spluttered as the oil got in her eyes and mouth, letting go for a minute and leaving her open. Mantichrome could have finished her then, but he'd forgotten the third attacker.

Chip grabbed Mantichrome in his fist and said, "How does it feel to be trapped in my grip?"

Mantichrome managed to say in a croaking voice, "Painful."

"You know, I don't appreciate you siccing your diseased Sharkticons on me," said Chip.

"I'm glad I get to finish the job myself," said Mantichrome, "If there's anything worse than an organic, it's a machine who has bonded with an organic." Mantichrome didn't manage to finish his rant as Chip hammered him up to the neck servos in the castle courtyard cobblestones. "...ouch...again," said Mantichrome in a distorted voice

"If this your idea of an attack, it's a pretty bad joke," said Chip as he landed.

"The joke's on you," said Mantichrome, "This is only the first wave. VR LAUNCH!" Suddenly, two disk-shaped devices which the Sharkticons had dropped earlier and remained undetected activated. Two poles extended from them and an aurora formed between them.

"VR Generators," said Chip.

"You got right, tin can," said Mantichrome before he burrowed all the way down into the lower floor of the castle.

Before Chip could go after him, the Monstercons and Sharkticons emerged from the aurora field. "Oh slag," he groaned.

--

Matt and Omnirus managed to look over from where they were trying to kill each other in time to see several Sharkticons heading for them. It seemed Mantichrome had forgot to add Omnirus to the friend list.

"The second wave's starting?" asked Omnirus, "I thought our guys were coming first."

"What? You trusted tin can over there...LOOK OUT!" he said pushing her out the way of a lunging Sharkticon and blasting it as it tried to turn around.

"I don't need your help," said Omnirus, "I can deal with these can-opening sardines myself." Her Stinkgrade wings stretched out and attached to two Sharkticons, causing them to focus on Matt.

Matt blasted the first one and tore the CPU out of another. "You know, you'd make a good merc," he said, meaning it seriously.

"If by that, you mean 'gun for hire', I suppose I do," said Omnirus, "But if you mean a merc like you, I'm afraid I have to inform you that I don't play by the rules." To prove that, she kicked Matt between the legs, which sent him flying towards a Sharkticon's waiting jaws.

Luckily the storm seemed to want to torture Matt a bit more, shocking the Sharkticon first. "Oh, maybe storms are useful after...ARGH!" said Matt as another lightning bolt hit him. "Never mind," he said.

"Matt, we've got a problem," said Chip, "Draco's been poisoned, Contrinus is temporarily sightless, Mantichrome just got into the castle and..." Suddenly four robotic monsters surrounded Matt. "And you can guess the last part."

"Just shoot them while I recover from being the human lightning rod," said Matt.

Omnirus saw the Monstercons about to tear into Matt and thought, 'Well, he did prevent that one Sharkticon from getting me. Oh, who am I kidding? This is to get back at Mantichrome for forgetting to put the safety on his tuna canneries.' She swallowed a severed Sharkticon leg and spat out as an explosive slime ball towards the Monstercons.

Matt just stared at Omnirus. He could see Chip busy fighting more of the Sharkticons trying to get into the vents like last time. He looked over at her and pulled out a data crystal before tossing it over. "There, inhibitor research, it'll be a start," he said before adding, "Now get lost. Mantichrome'll stab you in the spine when you aren't looking."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Omnirus after storing the crystal away, "I said I was going to reduce this castle to rubble and that's what I'm going to do. Especially now that reliable backup is here."

Matt just sighed. "Just remember what I said..." he said before a dark energy blast knocked him down. Chang, Bananas B, and Leroy, Chang's staff still smoking, stepped out a portal.

"Ah, Mr. Lynch," said Chang, "I was hoping I'd find you here." Leroy laughed nastily, his drool mixing with the rain on the ground.

"First off, get some new pets," said Matt, "Second, are you going to try to skin me now? Because you've tried that and it didn't work."

Chang smirked evilly. "No. I promised to let our ally try you out. Meet Loki."

"Loki? Like the Norse trickster Loki?" asked Matt. Suddenly, he found himself dangling from one angle in midair.

"That's 'Norse god of mischief' to you," said Loki as he appeared beside Chang, "But yeah, that's me."

"Evening. I loved you in The Mask," said Matt, unable to resist the usual annoying opening to new villains. He felt it was fair to warn them about what kind of person they were kidnapping before he started singing.

"Yes, I thought it was a rather accurate depiction," said Loki, "Of course, that's only a mortal with all my powers and no inhibitions, but I think it reflects me. But I bet you know what it's like to be uninhibited."

"I blew up a station on my first week on the job...a really big one," said Matt. Chang looked confused. The torturer and the torturee were not supposed to get friendly.

"Heh, not bad for a start," said Loki, "Of course, that's just sci-fi. How do you do in fantasy?" To start off, Loki caused a pitcher full of ice to appear and start pouring ice cubes down, or rather up, Matt's pants leg.

Matt glared and blasted Loki's head with his plasma breath. "Do I pass, Mr. Crispy?" said Matt, grinning evilly.

"Pish-posh," said Loki, wiping the soot away, "Now if you really want to be chaotic..."

Suddenly, a pair of winged sandals appeared on Matt's feet. "Feathered footwear? Is that the best you got?" asked Matt. Suddenly, the sandals started flying all around, dragging Matt behind them. "Hey! Whoat! Cut that out! How do you stop these crazy things?!" shouted Matt.

The sandals had other ideas, bouncing Matt off, in the following order: a wall, another wall, a door, and finally around both ends of a flagpole.

Loki strolled over to where Matt was whimpering and pulled off the strange device on his wrist. "Nice, space age Rolex," he said.

"Uh, that's not a really smart thing to do..." started Chip before he was tackled by Roughshell.

Chang however actually agreed. "The annoying machine is right, Loki. Mr. Lynch has an...anti-social side."

"Oh? Well, I've been called anti-social myself," said Loki. Then he paused and said, "Actually, I believe Odin describes it as 'Get out of my sight, you pest'."

Matt had stood up behind him, his eyes glowing ruby red, complete with reptilian slits. "You know, sometimes the help knows what they're talking about, numbskull," he said in Draconus;s voice.

"Ooh, split personality," said Loki, "Never seen that before. But then again..." Suddenly a second Loki appeared behind Draconus and said, "Yes I have."

Draconus sneered. "I have the perfect solution for that. Unlike the gargoyles, collateral damage is just a collecton of letters to me, elf," he said and blasted both of the Loki's.

"Ooh, got a real tough guy, huh?" said the first Loki. Then his clothes switched to that of Clint Eastwood and said, "Show me what you got, punk."

"Fine," said Draconus and pulled out Matt's ion staff. "Know what this does to...anything?" he said with a smirk.

"Knowing you sci-fi geeks," said Loki, "That's probably a light saber. But let's see if you know how to swing it." Loki then pulled out his revolvers and started shooting at Matt. Of course, being Loki, the bullets were actually made of magical light that exploded upon contact.

Draconus dodged or blocked each one. "On other days, I'd appreciate this let out by killing everything in the city, but you're worse than Matt."

"But I can be far worse than that," said Loki and he suddenly pulled a humongous bazooka out of thin air.

Draconus managed to say, "I bet this never happened to Taleth," before a blast knocked him through the far wall.

--

Meanwhile, Chloe had just slain her seventh Sharkticon. "Mantichrome's got to do better than send mindless machines," she said.

"Then it's a good thing I am gifted with a great intellect," said a voice. Suddenly, a coil wrapped around her before electrocuting her.

Chloe yelled in pain before draining the electricity. She pulled the coil off and turned to see a metallic gargoyle. "Great, another robot," she said rudely

"I am no mere automaton, dear lady," said the cybergoyle, "I am Coldsteel, the rightful leader of the Manhattan Clan."

"Oh, the tin-plated loser," she said with a smirk. The other gargoyles had told the gang all about Coldsteel.

Coldsteel glared at her and said, "I must warn you, I am far mightier than you might have been lead to believe."

Chloe rolled her eyes and said, "Oh please, you're just a cowardly sneak who'd backstab anyone to get what you want."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," said Coldsteel as he brandished his coils.

The coils reached out to ensnare her, but she chopped them up to small bits. "I think you've got too big an opinion about yourself," said Chloe.

Coldsteel smirked as his coils regenerated. "And you, like all humans, are overconfident."

"No, you're the one that's-" started Chloe and stopped before saying, "Oh, this is getting us nowhere. Let's just try to smash each other and save on the conversation."

Coldsteel smirked again. "Finally, I was getting bored," and sent a cluster of his coils at Chloe. Chloe decided to do something different. She grabbed the coils and started swinging Coldsteel around. Coldsteel quickly got out of this method by firing his boosters in reverse, cancelling out the swing. Before Chloe could react he batted her down and readied a coil to stab her. "Stupid pitiful human," he said and winced as a blast of flame hit him in the back.

Coldsteel turned and his optics beheld Coldstone and Coldfire hovering nearby. "I knew you'd return to attack this castle again, brother," said Coldstone, "But I wouldn't imagine that you'd stoop to working with these... monsters."

"At least it's better than being the humans' guard dogs!" yelled Coldsteel

"You never could accept the gargoyle's way to protect," said Coldfire, "The only thing you'd ever seek to protect is your own worthless hide, whether it's made of flesh or metal."

"I simply possess the one thing none of you have; a care for myself." With that, Coldsteel lashed out with his whips to strike his brother and his mate.

Chloe, however, shared her brother's hate for being ignored and she plunged her ion blade into Coldsteel's back. Coldsteel cried out in pain, but turned to face Chloe. "A valiant effort, damsel," said Coldsteel, "But unlike my compatriot's clockwork leviathans, I am powered by a more resolute source."

"I'm sorry? Did I just hear that?" Chloe said, angrily. A second later, a hole the size of a dustbin lid had been blasted. "I AM NOT A DAMSEL!!!"

"She fights will great ferocity," commented Coldstone.

"Of course," said Coldfire, "She's a woman."

Coldstone was about to question but then shrugged it off saying, "10th century or 20th century, human or gargoyle, flesh or metal, females can never be comprehended."

Coldsteel was now trying to get Chloe off his back where she was trying to unscrew his head. "WHO'S IN DISTRESS NOW, EH?" she yelled, displaying the trademark Lynch insanity streak.

Coldstone looked at Coldfire who just shrugged. "I think that is simple battle craze," she said.

"Some sort of craze to be certain," muttered Coldstone.

--

Mantichrome however had managed to slip his pursuers for now and was looking for the real reason he'd come to the castle.

"I hope those reports I've read are accurate," Mantichrome muttered to himself. He reached the Xanatos' study where a portrait of David Xanatos was hanging over the fireplace. Mantichrome looked at it for a second. "Reminds me of Star Trek for some reason," he said before tossing the picture aside.

Underneath was what he was looking for; Xanatos's private safe. Of course, being Xanatos, he equipped it with one of the most complicated locking mechanisms available. "Heh, they may as well have a 'keep out' for all the good it would do," said Mantichrome as he inserted one finger into an input receiver. The screen on the keypad flashed many numbers before the lock opened.

Inside were a couple of interesting items, including a rolled-up scroll and a Mayan-looking sun talisman. But what he was truly seeking was a hand-sized glass container that held a purple liquid inside. He took the vial and said, "This is going to take care of a lot of problems for me."

Meanwhile, Ghoulwyrm was still fighting Brooklyn and his family. He was sending out poison spells and various blasts in every direction to little luck. "JUST STAY STILL AND DIE!" he screamed

"Sorry, we don't take orders from you," said Greame.

"Obedience can be taught," said Ghoulwyrm as a bandage wrapped around Brooklyn and tossed him aside, "It just requires discipline to make the lesson sink in."

Ariana and Greame backed up a bit. "You would hit a kid...would you?" said Ariana.

Ghoulwyrm paused for a second. "Erm...come to think of it...YES!" he said and hit them both with his bandages.

Sata snarled as her eyes flashed red. "You will pay for hurting my children," she said.

"I think you should consider your own pain," said Ghoulwyrm and he sent a lightning bolt that hit Sata's sword. The charge went through the metal and electrocuted her. Bronx and Nudnik ran at Ghoulwyrm from behind. The dracolich didn't even turn, just sending out more bandages to flick them aside. "Anyone else?" he said smugly

Suddenly, different barking was heard and Weirdwolf flew out of nowhere. He zoomed straight at Ghoulwyrm and bit down onto his ear. Ghoulwyrm roared and pained and managed to pull Weirdwolf off. "Useless mongrel," he hissed, "You should have known better than to show your traitorous muzzle in front of me again." He raised his arm high and slammed Weirdwolf into the ground with all his strength.

He was about to finish off the yelping mutant dog when a blast of darkness hit him in the back. "ARGH! WHO DARES?" he yelled, forgetting Weirdwolf for the moment. His eyes spun around his neck grooves to see Lady NegaMorph, her hand still smoke from the attack. "I might have known," said Ghoulwyrm as he turned to face her, "The little alien wench whose feeble sorcery's been proving a constant thorn in my army-building plans."

"Leave Weirdwolf alone," said Megan, "If you had double-checked your source materials, you would have known he could have defected eventually. If you want to deal with him, you have to deal with me first."

"If you insist," said Ghoulwyrm as he brandished his claws.

Ghoulwyrm started slashing his claws at Megan. However, she proved too lithe for him to catch, especially since she had 'inherited' her uncle's ability to become semi-solid. "I've had enough of this!" shouted Ghoulwyrm and he split his muzzle down the middle. He immediately let out the full force of his sonic howl ability, causing Megan to scream, clutching her head. Once she was disorientated, Ghoulwyrm electrified his fist and punched her straight in the gut. The blow knocked her off her feet and sent her into a wall. She groaned as she fell to the ground, her body reverting to her human form as it did.

He picked her up by the throat. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said, readying his claws to tear her throat open. Suddenly, a much stronger version of Megan's shadow attack hit him in the side, sending him through a wall as well as making him drop Megan

As he got up, he saw NegaMorph glaring at him. "Don't you dare touch my niece!" he shouted before lunging at Ghoulwyrm. However, Ghoulwyrm responded by blasting him point-blank with a torrent of plasma-fire. NegaMorph staggered back under the fire before it finally stopped. "Is that all you've...oh crap." said NegaMorph as Ghouwyrm smashed a piece of masonry on him.

Ghoulwyrm was about to finish with NegaMorph when a shrill wailing caught his ears. "What's this?" he said. He turned intangible and drifted through the wall. He found himself in a nursery where a toddler was crying in his crib. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" said Ghoulwyrm as he floated over the child, "I haven't had babe's flesh in centuries."

Ghoulwyrm licked his lips and reached for the toddler when he heard someone behind him clearing his throat. He turned to see a blond man in a business suit behind him. "How did you...get lost Jeeves or you're dessert," he said.

"I shall give you only one warning," said Owen, "Step away from Master Alex or there shall be consequences to face."

"Yeah right. Get lost, suity man," said Ghoulwyrm, turning back to his 'dinner'.

"Very well then," said Owen as he put his glasses in his shirt pocket, "You were warned." Suddenly, he suddenly started spinning around at a fantastic speed. When he stopped, he was wearing gaily-colored medieval clothing, his air was long and white, and his ears were pointed. "Iiiiit's showtime!" he called in a much cheerier voice.

Goulwyrm actually stopped for a second. This was probably the fatal mistake he made. Draconus would have agreed if he'd currently been conscious. "Who the heck are you supposed to be?" asked Ghoulwyrm, "Peter Pan?"

"I am the Puck," said the faerie, "and you were about to eat my young pupil. How about something more chewy instead?" Suddenly, Ghoulwyrm found his mouth filled entirely with bubble gum.

Gholwyrm opened his secondary mouth. "YOU LITTLE PAIN IN THE...ooh, strawberry flavor."

"You know, you could really use a facelift," said Puck, "You look all skin and bones." Suddenly, a powder puff, a lipstick, and several paintbrushes appeared out of nowhere and laid siege to Ghoulwyrm's face.

Ghoulwyrm blasted the attacking beauty gear to see his face had been made out like a circus clown's. "I'm...going to kill you slow," he said, turning on Puck to find he'd vanished

"It's been tried, but never done," said Puck's voice, "If you try to find that, I think you'll find yourself in over a barrel." Suddenly, wooden planks appeared around Ghoulwyrm and nailed themselves together to form a giant barrel.

Ghoulwyrm smirked and punched the barrel...only to hurt himself. "HEY! NO FAIR!" he yelled, trying to fire blast it, only for it to rebound on him.

"What? Don't you like to monkey around?" asked Puck. Suddenly, Ghoulwyrm found himself beset by hundreds of toy monkeys. Ghoulwyrm luckily began yelling a few magical curses, one of which turned into something which took one look at Puck and scuttled off squealing.

"You know, I hear Abu Dhabi is nice to time of year," said Puck. He conjured a postage stamp into his hand. He licked the stamp and placed it on the barrel. "Send me a postcard!" called Puck as the barrel suddenly took off like a space shuttle.

--

Matt opened his eyes to a small world of pain around his face area. He could hear Draconus complaining. 'Dammit...you can have the next fae...I'm having a rest.'

"Dear lord, what did he hit me with? A bullet train?" moaned Matt as he got up. Unfortunately, his blood flow didn't quite keep up with the shift of gravitational center so Matt was feeling really dizzy.

Matt staggered around till he was grabbed by someone. "Thanks, Chloe...hey...when did you get your EXP form back?" he said, feeling the fur on the person holding him. He looked at his helper's face and said, "Maggie, what are you doing here? And since when were you a quadruplet?"

'Maggie' brought a fist down on Matt's head, which sadly didn't help his eyesight. "Ow...wait a second..." he said, shaking his head to clear his eyesight. "Uh oh," he said as he focused more on 'Maggie'. "You're...not with us...are you," he said

"Battle-dazed? I've seen that a lot," said the Egyptian Unseelie, "Behold the glory of Sekhmet, she who was once The Eye of Ra, the supreme huntress of the land of Egypt."

Matt looked at her in a dazed way as she introduced herself then grinned evilly. "You have no idea what I can do, do you?" he said.

"I've seen countless warriors in battle, many with unique abilities," said Sehkmet, "I doubt that you could do anything to surprise me."

"Ok, fair enough, can you fly?" Matt said, grinning even wider. The only thing better then a proud enemy was one that didn't know what you were about to do to them

Sekhmet glared with annoyance and said, "Of course I can fly. I am of the Third Race. You are a simple imitation of a legend. And not a rather admirable legend at that."

"Can you fly with multiple third degree burns?" said Matt, treasuring Sekhmet's confused and then horrified face as he blasted her at point blank range into a wall. "Well that was...fun?" said Matt, the satisfaction in his voice trailing off when he saw that Sekhmet was only slightly singed.

"A remarkable form of combat," she said, "But now behold the power of an Egyptian goddess!" Then a ball of solar energy like a small sun appeared in her hand.

"Oh bugger," Matt said before the ball of energy hit him in the face. Sekhmet smirked. "Useless mortal," she said before a ball of fire hit her in the back.

She turned around and glared at Kala, who was preparing another ball of fire in her hand. "I don't like you hitting Matt like that," she said, "Particularly when he's been battered so much. How about you pick on someone with plenty of fight left in her?"

Semkhet snarled. "With pleasure," she said and threw another energy ball at Kala who flipped to avoid it. Matt had managed to sit up after the blast and was staring in shock and a little pride, part of that was his training in action.

Sekhmet and Kala continued to throw fireballs at each other. Only a few of them hit home on either side, but neither were hardly tired. "How about we make this more interesting?" said Kala, "You're the Egyptian goddess of war, right? Surely you know how to fight hand-to-hand without magic."

"An intriguing proposition," said Sekhmet, "Very well then." She extinguished the fireball she had in her hand and adopted a different fighting stance.

Matt and Loki by now seemed to have set their differences aside temporarily and in classic merc style, Matt had already had a bet on how long Kala would need to twist Sekhmet up like a pretzel.

The two female fighters were a sight to behold. Sekhmet had literally centuries of practice under her belt, but Kala's superhuman agility and strength, not to mention the unique nature of her combat style, kept her toe-to-toe with the lioness.

Finally, Sekhmet seemed to get a grip on Kala, only for her to fall backwards squashing the fae against the cobbles. Kala heard Matt say, "HAH, told you she'd do that trick! Pay up, Loki," before rolling off Sekhmet who was already getting up, a little unsteadily but severely pissed off.

"Would you like a breather?" said Kala annoyingly

Sekhmet glared at her and panted, "I will...never submit...to a dragon's concubine..."

"Ooh, that'd burn," commented Loki, "Is it true that you and she have been doing the bedsheet worm?"

"How does everyone know this? Is there some kind of supernatural paparazzi following us?" he said before seeing how Kala's eyes were glowing white. Loki turned to talk to Matt again to see him missing. A voice from ground level said, "I'd duck unless you're extremely fireproof."

When Loki felt a large amount of heat in the air, he quickly threw himself to the ground in a sheltered spot. The blast of flame was so hot it was pure white and when it went into a wall there wasn't even molten rock...just vapor. Matt and Loki slowly looked at it. Loki said, "That brings being 'hot' to a whole new level."

Sekhmet was in the middle of a crater, unconscious and looking as if a meteor hit her. Kala was standing over her, angrily huffing, steam coming off her body, and her hair disheveled. "Ooh, you are in luck tonight brother," said Loki, "If either of you live, you're gonna get angry sex like you won't believe." Loki actually backed up from the double glare. "Er...I'll be over there," he said before teleporting over to where Brooklyn was fighting a bunch of redcaps. "Damn, can't let them have all the fun."

"Ugh, is this going to be a long night," moaned Matt. He heard a mechanical whirring to his left and turned to see a small red optic and four green mechanical legs. "Not now, Leafstripper, I need to take five," said Matt. Suddenly, Matt found the world was upside down...and a very large mechanical face looking at him. Monstructor wasn't much of an improvement from the wrong way up. "Oh hell, can't I get a break?" he said

"Useless fleshling," intoned Monstructor, "Your termination commencing now." Matt looked to see Monstructor's other arm coming towards him, the 'fingers' crackling with energy.

Matt raised a hand. "One last request...what's that screaming noise?" he said. The 'screaming' turned out to be Ghoulwyrm's barrel, now with a giant post-it note with the words 'Stop littering our city, Puck.' The shock from impact threw Monstructor's balance off.

This was all Matt needed to slip out of Monstructor's grip and backflip away from him. Three feet to the left of where he landed, Puck appeared with a puff of magic. "Hmm, perhaps I should have used more postage," he said to himself.

Matt jumped. "Who the hell are you?" he said before grabbing Puck. "Are you with those idiots?" he said.

"Now, Master Lynch," said Puck, a pair of glasses and a somber look appearing on his face, "I would think someone like you would remember not to harm one of the household."

Matt stared. "I always thought there was something weird about you, Owen. You looked too harmless," he said.

Suddenly, the barrel exploded a blast of purple hellfire. There was too much smoke to see, but something in there was giving off an angry roar. "Ah, I was wondering who was in there," said Matt. It was, indeed, Ghoulwyrm and from the sound of things, he was one very small distance from going nuts

Chip landed near Matt. Though his chassis was marred, dented, and cracks in several places, he was still in good shape. "Matt, we've got trouble," said Chip, "Remember how I mentioned that Ghoulwyrm might have retained a super mode?"

"Not really, maybe you mentioned it before I got my mind wiped?" said Matt a bit coldly.

Chip sighed, "Stop holding a grudge. It was only once. Anyways, I believe Ghoulwyrm has indeed kept his super mode and it seems it's been activated by his extreme anger."

"Erm...how angry does he need to be?" said Matt, the usual culprit for such anger before shrugging. "Ah, we've beaten worse. How hard could it be...oh shit."

At that point, Ghoulwyrm emerged from the smoke. If it weren't for the purple coloration and the lightning rods on his back, Matt would have never recognized him. Now he resembled a large demonic werepyre covered in purple flames. Tatters of clothing hung around his black fur and his roaring sounded something unholy and completely savage.

Matt stared at the new Ghoulwyrm in horror. "Guys...please warn me the next time I piss him off," he said in a faint voice.

The redcaps took one look at the dracopyre and started fleeing. Even the remaining Sharkticons looked nervous. "Ah, the new Dragon of Darkness is more powerful than I thought," said Chang.

"He's scarier than I thought, that's for certain," said Bananas.

Ghoulwyrm's new form seemed to have not got the list of allies as he started attacking everyone within range, regardless of who's team they were part of. Matt quickly dived out of the way to avoid being hit by a blast of hellfire. "Ok, you said you've dealt with him like this before," said Matt, "How did you stop him then?"

"Well," said Chip, "We were able to whip together a voodoo salve that doused his anger, but I don't think we have enough time to get any ingredients."

"So...basically we're stuffed then," said Matt.

Then Megan came tottering over. "Oh," she groaned, "I don't feel so good."

Then Chip seemed to get an idea. "Megan," he said, "How much have you learned about alchemy, regarding transmutation of basic metals?"

"This is not the time to make lead into gold, you money mad nutcases!" yelled Matt.

"I'm not talking about turning lead into gold," said Chip, "I'm talking about making iron into silver."

Matt quickly caught on to what Chip's plan was. "Do it. We'll keep him busy," he said.

As Matt ran off to distract the rampaging Ghoulwyrm, Megan said, "How would turning an iron rod to a silver rod help us? His flames would melt it before it even gets close to his flesh."

"We're not going to be transmuting a rod," said Chip, "We'll be transmuting that." He pointed at an iron bell that Xanatos had installed for Unseelie attacks. Megan still looked confused. Then Chip explained, "If the sound of iron hurts a faerie as much as its touch..."

"Then a silver bell will work against undead as good as a silver knife?" asked Megan.

"Hopefully," said Chip, "That's all we got right now."

Matt swooped past in dragon form for a second. "GET ON WITH IT!" he screamed before flying back to the attack again.

Ghoulwyrm in his demon mode proved to be an extremely strong fighter. However, he seemed to have traded his intelligence for his strength. Matt's normal jibes didn't produce any angrier roars than anything. Chloe, Kala (in dragon form), and some of the gargoyles were also aiding by now. "All this is getting us keeping him from going Godzilla on the city. We can't keep this up all night," said Chloe, dodging another fireball.

"I knew Ghoulwyrm thought himself as the ultimate horror monster," said Kala, "But I'd never thought he'd take it this far."

"Well, he certainly wins in the fantasy-based department," said Matt.

Then Ghoulwyrm howled loudly and the flames around his body flared up. Suddenly, ghost-like beings came out of the fire and started swarming the defenders. "Whoa, I did not know he could do that," said Chip.

The ghosts lunged at the males of the group while Ghoulwyrm's bandages shot out to entangle Sata, Angela, Chloe and Kala. Ghoulwyrm sniffed first Kala and Sata, his muzzle grimacing each time. Then he sniffed Angela and his face lit up. He opened his mouth wide to take a large chunk out of her neck.

He was about to tear the gargoyle's throat out when a ringing noise was heard. While it just gave the others a headache, Ghoulwyrm acted like the inside of his head was on fire. The dracopyre roared and dropped his captives. As Matt struggled against the ghosts, he noticed that the ringing sounded just like a big bell, only it had a lighter, more tinkling quality. The ghosts seemed to be wilting along with their master. Matt shoved his claws through his opponent and turned to see the others taking their ghost apart too. Ghoulwyrm staggered around as the sound of the silver bell thundered against his mind. Then he fell down onto the cobblestones, his flames going out and his body reverting to his normal undead form.

Matt, Chloe, and Kala landed, turning back to human form and pulling out their ion blades. "Let's slice him into teeny bits," suggested Matt.

Then Chang stood in front of Ghoulwyrm and said, "Stop! You shall not harm him!"

"Oh yeah?" said Matt, "And who's gonna stop us?"

Chang looked around to see she was practically alone. The Unseelie fled when Ghoulwyrm transformed, confident a beast like that could wipe out the gargoyles. Coldsteel had flown off when the odds were getting too much against him. The Sharkticons had all been destroyed and Monstructor was too damaged to move. The only ones left besides herself were Bananas, who was useless in a fight, Leroy, who had been hogtied and couldn't move, and Omnirus, who was more concerned about licking her wounds than fighting.

Movement at the doorway got everyone's attention. It was Mantichrome. "Hah! I've got all you stupid organics beat and there's nothing you can do," he said, coming out.

Matt gave him an odd look and said, "Uh, did your processor get scrambled in the fight? I think we have your team beat."

"True, but I have this," said Mantichrome as he brandished a vial full of purple liquid.

Matt and the others looked confused but Goliath looked horrified. "How did you get that?"

"What? What's going on?" asked Chloe.

"That's Demona's last attempt to destroy humanity," said Brooklyn, "That vial contains a fast-spreading plague that will wipe out all intelligent life on Earth. She was going to protect gargoyles with the power of the Praying Gargoyle, but we stopped her."

"And you've been keeping it around all this time?" snapped Matt, his face white with fear.

"Well, how would have you disposed of it without unleashing it?" inquired Hudson.

"Shot it into the sun? Burned it to ashes?" suggested Matt, gibbering slightly.

Chloe however said. "Ok...what do you want, Mantichrome?"

Chang smiled and said, "A brilliant strategy, Mantichrome. They won't dare take your bluff."

"Bluff?" said Mantichrome chuckling, "Who says I'm bluffing? I intend to smash this container upon these very stones."

Now everyone, not just the heroes, were looking worried and reaching for various weapons of choice. "Are you crazy? We're on the same team!" said Omnirus before remembering Matt's warning earlier.

"And the mere thought of that is enough to make me want to reboot," said Mantichrome, "Though you would have been useful in helping me achieve my revenge, you were all organics that were to be terminated eventually."

Ghoulwyrm managed a weak, "You traitor...Chang...vaporize...him...after my nap," he said before passing out again.

Mantichrome looked at Ghoulwyrm. "Hmm...he's already dead, so it shouldn't work, an interesting experiment."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" said Chip, "I'm all machine now and so is Coldfire. I'm not sure if Coldstone will be ok, but we'd slag you the minute you'd drop that vial."

"So? You're so damaged I'll blast you to scrap, so you'll be not far behind them for the great recycle bin in the sky," Mantichrome said sneering.

Matt couldn't think of anything else to dissuade Mantichrome so he went for the clichéd, "You'll never get away with this."

"Oh, of course I will. It's easy...watch," Mantichrome said and threw the vial as hard as he could.

None of them could have made to the vial in time to prevent it from smashing. However, Mantichrome didn't count on someone else interfering. From the hole in the wall that Ghoulwyrm smashed in, a black shadow moved swiftly across the ground. As the vial was about to make contact, the shadow opened a fang-filled mouth and swallowed it. NegaMorph emerged from the shadow. Pale cracks were spreading across his body and his eyes weren't as deep red as before. "Dammit," he managed.

"Argh! You stupid blob!" roared Mantichrome, "You ruined my plan! Destroying you would just be a mercifully swift death, so I guess I'll have to settle for the ones you care about most!" With those words, Mantichrome activated the blasters of three of his arms and, before anyone could move, fired at Chloe, Kala, and Megan. Chloe and Kala had draconic reflexes and managed to dodge the blasts but Megan wasn't expecting the blast and it looked like it was all over...till NegaMorph materialized in the path of the blast.

The others could only stare wide-eyed as NegaMorph spread his arms wide and used his body to shield Megan from Mantichrome's attack. His already-weakened regeneration power seemed to have given out and his clothes, as well as a large amount of his skin, were disintegrated. Groaning in pain, NegaMorph fell backwards.

Mantichrome didn't have long to enjoy his minor victory as everyone even Chang's group, opened fire at point blank range into him. For the villains, it was retribution for attempted betrayal...for Matt n co, it was vengeance for NegaMorph. Mantichrome's metal skin crumpled against the assault he took. He barely had any power to stay online, but he was still standing. He seemed to be conscious through sheer anger. If the revenge droid were capable, he'd be frothing at the mouth. "No," he roared, "That stupid blob interfered again! This was supposed to be my victory! My victory! MY VICTORY!"

"Oh shut up," said Matt and sent a plasma orb through Mantichrome's neck, causing the machine to go into stasis lock.

Megan ran over to NegaMorph's side. His skin looked like it was made of dried mud and was a pale grey in color. His eyes were a very pale pink. "Are you...okay...Megan?" wheezed NegaMorph.

"Yes, thanks to you," said Megan, tears in her eyes, "I can't believe you would do that for me, for all of us."

Matt and the others just stayed silent. Matt and Chloe glaring in warning to Chang's group to keep their mouths shut or join Mantichrome.

"Kind of...ironic," said NegaMorph before letting out a bout of wretched coughing, "I spent my previous life spreading around a mutagenic virus. Now I just spent this life saving the world from a deadly virus."

Matt finally spoke up, "You did good...real good."

"An un-sarcastic compliment from you?" said NegaMorph, "I really must be losing it."

"Uncle, please, don't die..." cried Megan, the tears rolling down her face.

NegaMorph managed to put one hand on her arm and said, "At least...I found...something...to live for...this time..." With a final sigh, NegaMorph's body crumbled into dust.

"Whoa, I'd never have seen him as the self-sacrificing type-" started Omnrius.

"Just get out of here, the lot of you," interrupted Matt, "You've overstayed your welcome."

Chang snarled and raised her staff to blast the group when surprisingly Ghouwyrm gripped her staff and pulled it down. "No, we're done here. Leave them to tend to their lost."

"But sir, they are our enemy," said Chang.

"We do not have enough to strength to fight any longer," said Ghoulwyrm, "and, whether it was intentional or by extension, one of them saved all our lives. Besides, we have a traitor that needs to be punished." A metal creaking behind made them turned to see that the Monstercons have separated into their individual robot forms. Ghouwyrm glared at them. "Bring Mantichrome with us. We need to explain his...mistake to him," he said in a voice that promised pain if disobeyed. The four robots, without Mantichrome's leadership, cowed under Ghoulwyrm's glare. They gingerly gathered Mantichrome up and carried him over. Ghoulwyrm turned his glare towards the castle's defender. "We will allow you a reprieve," he said, "But the next time we clash, don't expect another one."

"We'd have it no other way, zombie features," said Matt.

Chang lifted her staff high and a large magical portal opened up from underneath Ghoulwyrm's group. The company of villains disappeared in a flash.

The group walked up to Megan. "I'm...I'm sorry, Megan," said Matt. He knew how it felt to lose a friend, remembering the people he'd lost over the years...Medic Anderson on Sy-Yong...Endra...Sonya...his squadron at...well...

"He was like a father to me," said Megan, "Better than my own father. He may have disciplined me, but he was willing to risk everything for me."

Chloe put her arm around Megan. "It's ok. He's in a better place. I'm sure of it."

"Aye, twas a true hero's death," said Hudson.

"He shall be remembered here with great honor," said Goliath.

"With a proper warrior's funeral too," said Brooklyn.

Just then, the door opened and Xanatos and Fox walked out, Fox carrying Alex. "I'm sorry we couldn't help," said Xanatos, "Without our weapons, we're useless against Unseelie and..." He noticed the somber looks on all their faces. "Someone died in the fight, didn't they?" he said.

Matt nodded sadly. "NegaMorph. Somehow Mantichrome got his hands on some kind of...virus...NegaMorph absorbed it," he said.

Xanatos looked guilty, "Yes, that plague, I should have destroyed it a long time ago. Why didn't I throw into a volcano or something? I'm so sorry."

Matt just sighed. "Too late now," he said.

"Pardon the briefness of my grief," said Chip, "But I think we should do something about Draco before Mantichrome's poison does too much damage."

Matt nodded. "Ok, do you know what the cure is? I've technically only met him twice," he said.

"Yes," said Chip, "The antidote's are all plant-based and should be easy to obtain, except for the pollen of rafflesia."

"What be all this gloom and doom?" said Puck as he twirled though the air, "The battle is won. The enemies have all been turned away. And the rain's stopped too."

Chloe turned and gave Puck one of her famous death ray grade glares. "NegaMorph's dead, you blond nutcase," she said.

"Ah, yes," said Puck, "The valiant black knight has fallen. But with a little faith from friends, the Puck will make amends. Alex, it's time for another magic lesson."

Xanatos looked over at Puck before back at the group. "I don't think this is the time, Puck."

"Trust me," said Puck, "Now Alex, how about I show you a special way to pull something out of a hat?" From behind his back, Puck pulled out a black fedora. He grabbed a handful of NegaMorph's dust and dropped it into the hat. "Now watch carefully," instructed Puck, "Give this hat restoration!" Then he reached into the hat and started pulling out something long and black.

He kept pulling until he had NegaMorph hanging by his antenna.

"Ta-da!" said NegaMorph.

Everyone stared until Matt walked up to NegaMorph and said, "How do we know he's the real..." he never finished as at that point he poked NegaMorph on the nose. NegaMorph promptly hit Matt with a triple left hook that sent Matt flying into a wall. "It's him alright," groaned Matt.

Megan ran over to her adopted uncle and hugged him tightly. "You're ok," she said happily.

"You don't think I'd croak that easily, did you?" said NegaMorph as he hugged her back.

Chloe however was confused. "We all saw you turn into dust. This is a bit much, even for your regenerative abilities," she said.

"You thought you saw me turn to dust," said NegaMorph, "I've been in that hat all along. When Puck found out that Mantichrome stole that vial, he knew he was going to release it. Fortunately, I managed to sneak away from Ghoulwyrm for a bit. So we hatched this little scheme to contain the virus."

"By putting his essence in the hat," said Puck, "I was able to use a spell to bring back his body."

Matt glared at NegaMorph. "So...this was all a trick then. Would it have hurt to maybe let us in on this little trick?" he said.

"Well, we only came up with this a few minutes ago," said NegaMorph, "I didn't really have enough time to explain it before I had to swallow that plague."

Matt looked ready to return the punch NegaMorph gave him. "You really upset Megan. You know that. But I understand why you couldn't say anything. You did good."

"Yeah, I think I did," said NegaMorph as he reformed his coat and hat, "But don't think I'm going to be a total saint from now on. My personality hasn't altered that much."

Matt smiled, said, "We wouldn't have it any other way," and patted NegaMorph on the back, prompting NegaMorph to grab the offending hand, and throw Matt over his shoulder.

"Sorry, that habit's not going to go away that easily," said NegaMorph.

"That's fine..." croaked Matt.

--

Cleaning up after the battle was pretty easy. Money problems were virtually nonexistent, seeing as how Xanatos was this world's Bill Gates. Repairmen were able to take care of the damages caused during the battle. The repairmen had become so used to fixing up the castle that they don't bother questioning as to how it got damaged in the first place. Not to mention the very healthy paychecks they get made them less inclined to complain.

As for injuries, the clan and crew were relatively lucky. NegaMorph's injuries had been the worse and those were easily attended to. The gargoyles had been hurt during the fight, but it was nothing a day's sleep couldn't cure. Chip, Coldstone, and Coldfire had to go through repairs, but they were hardly crippled from their fights. As for Matt, Chloe, Kala, and Megan, they required a little bedrest to recover. Of course, Matt and Kala may have taken that a little too literally.

Matt and Kala were both still a little steamed from the battle, particularly at Mantichrome's attempt of wiping out sentient organic life on the planet. So they decided to let out their inner aggression in the least violent way they knew.

Matt rolled back to his side of the bed and let out a sigh of relief. "Boy, was that a thrill ride!"

Kala gave a moan of content and said, "NegaMorph and Loki were right. Angry sex is amazing."

"I guess so," said Matt, "By the way, we never let them hear about this."

"Well, we're not really planning on telling anyone about this anyways," said Kala, "You heard what Chloe says."

"Right," said Matt, "Office romance has a limit point. Not to mention we've got way too many enemies right now to feel comfortable."

"Speaking of limit points," said Kala, "You did remember to take precautions, right?"

"Definitely," said Matt, "As if I wanted the NSC to come down on me for 'sexual misconduct'. Besides, I don't think either of us are ready to be a parent yet."

"I have to agree with you there," said Kala.

Suddenly, Matt's communicator started ringing. Matt looked around for it until Kala said, "It's on the bedstand, dear."

"Right, thanks," said Matt. He picked up the wrist-comp and clicked it on. Morph's voice came out of it, "Guys, I've got good news."

"Did you find your guys yet?" asked Matt. Morph had been trying to contact his Red Kryptonite suppliers and was using a communications lab to try and reach them, hence his absence during the battle.

"Sure did, they'll be at the Bladestorm in three days. They'll have the resequencer ready to change everyone back."

Matt was having mixed feelings at the moment. One part of him was glad that he'd have his friends back to normal. And yet another part wouldn't mind if Kala stayed the way she was. But like they both said, now wasn't the time. "That's good to hear," said Matt, "Just a few minor things to wrap up here and we'll meet up with you and your…people."

Morph signed off and Matt sighed to himself. "So I'll be an experiment again soon?" asked Kala, a small amount of dread in her voice.

"Yes," said Matt, "But it's probably for the best. And maybe we'll be able to work something out someday so we could be together again."

"I hope so," said Kala.

Then Matt's comm rang again. "Oh, what now?" he muttered.

He answered it and an annoyingly obnoxious voice came out. "Lynch, I've got a new assignment for you."

Matt groaned and said, "What is it this time, Neilsson?"

"Our Empire buddies have a base on a particular planet that you know plenty about," said Neilsson.

Matt looked confused and said, "Uh, I'm not certain which planet you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do," said Neilsson, "Read it and weep."

Then coordinates appeared on the screen of Matt's wristcomp. Matt read them and groaned, "Oh no, not there!"

--

Meanwhile, on Omnirus's ship, someone else was suffering more than Matt. Mantichrome had been only slightly repaired. His limbs, neck, tail, and torso were covered with dents, cracks, and scorch marks. He had only been repaired enough so that he'd be able to stay conscious through his 'admonishment'. His limbs were chained to keep him from going anywhere in the middle of an empty room. His weapon systems had all been disabled. His 'colleagues' were standing at the edges of the room and were taking potshots at him.

"Look, I've already told you- OW!" said Mantichrome as Leroy shot him with his plasma blaster, "It was nothing personal- OW!" He winced as Chang hit him with a fireball. "It's just my programming-OW!" Bananas B had just thrown a large rock at his head.

"That's funny," said Omnirus, "I'm pretty sure your programming has a 'no exceptions' rule in it."

"Well…I possibly may have grieved you passing a little bit…" said Mantichrome, only for him to get cut off when Omnirus used every projectile power she had on him. He screamed in pain as his body was blasted with fiery crystals, green lightning, laser beams, sonic howls, and exploding lugies.

"Enough, Omnirus," said Ghoulwyrm, "We need him conscious so he will be able to fully comprehend his punishment."

Ghoulwyrm leered down at Mantichrome's extremely battered body. The wounded vengeance droid looked at Ghoulwyrm and squeaked, "Please…mercy…"

"You who are without mercy now plead for it?" asked Ghoulwyrm, sounding amused, "I thought you were made of sterner stuff." Then he lifted his hand and said something in an ancient language. Purple energy came out of his hand and hit Mantichrome, who roared with pain. "You shall be killed today, but I'm not letting you off free. From now on, if anything you do or your minions do that causes the death of either myself or my teammates, directly or indirectly, you shall all die on the spot." Mantichrome slumped over, barely conscious at all.

Then Ghoulwyrm turned his attention to the rest of them. "It has come apparent to me that we require more forces on our side. If we had more loyal allies on our side, we would have won that battle. Therefore, I'm giving us all an assignment. Seek out those who would follow us and recruit them for our cause. With enough firepower on our side, Matthew Lynch and those who ally with him shall be destroyed." Then he motioned with one hand towards Mantichrome, "Take that traitorous piece of garbage to the repair room. He has a lot of work to do."


There's the last chapter. It certainly was an action-filled battle. It's a shame we weren't able to focus on the individual fights more. However, I think the plot twists more than composated. We now know just how much NegaMorph has turned around and exactly how low Mantichrome's willing to sink. This will be the last Gargoyles fic for a while, but there's plenty of stories coming. The direct sequel to this by my co-author, largefish8. It's called CPS Chronicles: Forgotten Blood. The next Voyagers Saga story won't be until that one's finished, I think. Anyways, I'm planning on doing a parody story based on Kioko the Pirate's Tejina Chronicles and ngrey651's Altered Fates. Of course, that story may take a while for it to upload, but hopefully the first chapter will be ready soon. In the meantime, go read largefish 8's Forgotten Blood and review there. Review here too please.