The Chronometal Wars
The Eternal Watcher
The Battle for Time Squad
The portal explodes open, blowing countless Time Squad agents away!
"It's time we finally ended this!" Barasia yells, riding with Otto along a futuristic hover board she designed with him during their time away. Barasia jumps off of the board and Otto flips a switch, the board quickly morphing into a motorcycle! He takes the handle and lands on the ground, turning around to meet Barasia as she speaks.
"Okay, I'll search the prisons to see if Micheal is incarcerated, you rush the core!" – "Got it." Otto revs and blasts off down the chrome pathways, causing Time Squad agents to dive out of the way, raw energy left in his wake.
Barasia effortlessly jumps from building to building, avoiding lesser agents expertly. She looks over to the timeless horizon of Time Squad. There is smoke coming from other areas. "Our decoys are working." She says to herself, sliding down the building and running into one of many prisons.
Meanwhile, Otto takes out an energy baton to strike at agents that try to get too close! He isn't the only one on a futuristic vehicle! He is wearing a battle helmet that is suitable for someone riding a motorcycle. He strikes at the wheel of his chaser, causing it to explode and careen off the bridge! The bridge is long and slender, a single false move and he would be falling for hours!
He and the remaining agent grind each other's vehicles, neither giving an inch!
Barasia kicks cell after cell open, but is not finding Micheal. "Damn it, who's to say he's even alive? Let alone in a cell." She says to herself leaving this building to enter another, but not before being cut off! She opens her arms and unleashes hell on the unsuspecting agents. "We're in this 'till the end."
Otto lands a keen strike and knocks the man off of his vehicle, but Otto's own hovercycle is about to grind to a halt. He jumps from his own to the newly free bike and blasts down the bridge at record speed! This thing wasn't apparently made for turning, and as he approaches a wall at mach 1, he has to pop a wheelie and blast into the air instead! He flips another switch and it morphs back into a hover board! He falls onto it and flies deeper into the core of Time Squad!
Barasia shoots and slashes her way through countless prisons before every one in this sector is clear. If Micheal was in prison, he's not here... and she can't afford to waste any more time.
"He's not stupid. If he got away, he may already have a plan." She says to herself, running down the chrome paths and entering a portal going deeper into Time Squad HQ. She exits a portal to come to a giant gate. 'Outer Ark Conservatory' it displays with a large panel in front of it. "Come on Otto..." She mutters to herself, looking around. It's darker here, the core of Time Squad has very little natural light.
However, the door begins to heave and open, dust and rubble falling as it has not seen opening since its creation. She sees Otto standing on the other side upon his hover board. They nod at each other and she hops on as he fires off. His board is faster than her natural flight.
They zip and blast off corners, hitting high speeds and leaving burn marks on walls and floor paneling. However, they can hear heavy noises behind them! They look back to notice giant gates are closing behind them one by one!
*SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM* Over and over, each getting closer to the back of the board than the last! To Otto's dismay, he can hear the noise in front of him too! BOTH SIDES ARE CLOSING IN ON THEM! As if time itself had slowed to a halt, Barasia kneels down and arks the board upward, stalling it and causing it to stop moving forward! She then in the knick of time- jumps off and uses her arms and legs to jam the closest closing gate! Otto falls off of the board and shakes his head.
"G-Go!" Barasia sputters, her strength giving out! Otto quickly rolls off of the bottom of the closing gate and falls to the ground as the gate finally crashes shut, barely snapping Barasia out. They rise to their feet and realize there is only one way to go. The doors in front and behind them are closed and they can hear the foot steps of a Time Squad agent coming! They enter defensive positions in this dark claustrophobic hall, facing a side entrance.
It's... Micheal!
His eyes light up in both surprise and doubt. He's wearing something weird. It looks kind of like a Chronometal, but it's colorless and it's a lot less bulky.
"You two... what are you doing here...?" – "Elly sent us." Otto responds. "Elly... so she's still alive. That's good. I assume you were sent to look for me?" – "In part, yes." – "In part...? Well here I am. What was your other goal?" He asks almost knowingly, looking over his shoulder to the closed bulkheads. The closed bulkheads that lead into the core of Time Squad... to the Ark.
"We're here to... retake the Ark before Ezekiel does. In doing so, we can fix Barasia's world... OUR world and even stop Ezekiel from doing whatever he's intending to do." – "..." Micheal stays silent, drawing confusion from the two. "What is it...?"
"So much has happened in such little time. I am not going to place blame on anyone for what has happened. But you're right. Ezekiel must be stopped. We can all go together, it's safer this way." – "Agreed." Otto says, following Micheal as he leaves through the side room. "Wait." Barasia says out of nowhere, catching both of their ears.
"Yes?" Micheal asks. Barasia follows up with a slightly twisted face. "What are YOU doing here? Aren't you supposed to be hiding? Ezekiel is looking all over for you, yet you waltz down here like it's still your Time Squad." – "Oh, I see. You don't trust me." – "M-Micheal!" Otto blurts, being cut off by Barasia. "You're right. You've given me no reason to. You've trapped me, bound me, attacked me, tortured me and left me to die. But you also saved my life and now here you stand, offering to give me: Barasia... access to the Ark. Forgive me for being skeptical." Micheal scoffs.
"As I've said before, I am not going to place blame on anyone. If it wasn't you, Barasia... it might have been someone else. Ezekiel was lying in wait for some time, waiting for the perfect moment. Any sign of weakness and he would have pounced." – "Gee, that sure sounds convincing!" Barasia says, her fingers twitching. Micheal picks up on it and faces his body to hers. His armor is light weight and has a blue tattered cape blowing in the breeze made by the vents.
Otto darts his eyes to Micheal and Barasia. "GUYS! Is this really the time for this?! Ezekiel could already BE at the Ark!" – "I'm just making sure he doesn't stab us in the back when we get there, you know... two birds with one stone." Barasia hisses. Micheal smirks. He begins to open his mouth to backtalk Barasia as something unexpected happens.
Otto grabs him by the collar of his armor and slams him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. Barasia's eyes go wide and Micheal looks Otto dead in the eye. Otto looks deadly serious.
"I've died for this girl, and she revived me. I've killed for this girl, and she forgave me. I've lost hope, and she gave me a home worth fighting for. I trust this woman with my life. We need to TRUST EACH OTHER!" He yells in Micheal's face. "I will NOT have you two snapping at each other like a bunch of untrained mongrels! IS THAT CLEAR?!" Micheal says nothing. Barasia makes a small peep in the background.
"Otto..." Otto looks back slightly. "If not... we can do it on our own. There's nothing we can't do as a team. Isn't that right, Barasia?" She is at a loss for words, but nods with a smile on her face. Otto lets go of Micheal as he dusts off his collar.
"You two... have been through a lot. I let you live in those wastes because I saw the look in your eyes Otto. Like you finally found something." – "..." – "I'll help you. I give you my word, Chancellor Otto... I will not let you down." Otto smirks and turns around. He extends an armored hand, beckoning it to be shaken. Micheal looks at it for a moment and grasps it.
"We are all in this together. All three of us."
Several moments have passed since the scrap near the gates, now all three of them are charging the tertiary tunnels to reach the core!
The corridors are closed, constrained... and filled with Elite Time Squad agents! However, as they come into contact with a group with Barasia and Otto brandishing their weapons, Micheal makes a hand gesture as if to tell them to stop. He then walks up to them.
"You all served me once. Surely you all realize just how corrupt Ezekiel is?" – "My home is at the bottom of the timeless abyss thanks to you, traitor." – "Lieutenant Garland. I remember you, you were one of my most trusted disciples." – "Trying to butter me up I see. It will get you nowhere. Now come quietly, I'd prefer this without bloodshed." – "You mean how Ezekiel prefers it without bloodshed? If I came quietly, I'd be dead by now. So I'm afraid that's not an option." – "It's a shame..." – "You could let us pass, or better yet, join us."
Garland raises an eyebrow. The men behind him look amongst each other. "Ezekiel took power unofficially, and by force. I'm going to take it back with the same force. What happened to The Ark was beyond my power, I promise. And I have a feeling that Ezekiel knew that, and used it as a false flag to take power with minimal rioting. Yet he spreads misinformation to slander me. I haven't fought back until now because... it would only lead to more fighting and death." – "..."
Garland stays silent, but half of his men yell out:
"LIAR!" – "My house is destroyed because of what happened!" – "Then what DID cause the Ark to lose power?!" Micheal addresses the last soldier. "After the events that led to Chancellor Drax's death... something happened. Actually, come to think of it... something happened before that. Something happened to the Ark before former Chancellor Otto even left Time Squad with Barasia. I didn't know what it was at the time, but a short discussion with it told me all I needed." – "Discussion? With the Ark?" – "I... take it Ezekiel didn't tell you about that either?" – "No, nothing, sir." – "I can explain on the way. Are you with us?"
Garland looks back at his troops. "Well? What do you men say? I will not force you to join him." The squad seems puzzled and split at first. "Micheal... what are you going to do once you reach The Ark?" One of the men asks. "Hopefully return it to working order, but above all else... we have to prevent Ezekiel from reaching it." – "Huh? Why?" – "I... can't tell you quite yet." Micheal lets out, diverting his eyes.
Otto and Barasia whisper to each other. "Does Micheal know that Ezekiel serves Beelzebub?" – "I don't know... it sure seems like it..." – "Maybe Briarus told him?" – "It's possible..."
Garland walks up. "Half of my men will join you. The others are heading back with their families." – "That's more than enough. Thank you very much Lieutenant." Garland nods.
They all continue down the halls to the core, this time with four additional soldiers in toe! That makes seven now! The Battle for Time Squad has shifted into high gear!
It's not long before they reach the final turn and come to the last gate. There a blockade of no less than twenty soldiers is waiting for them. Micheal once again takes the frontal position.
"Stand down, or join us. We are taking back Time Squad! Ezekiel will lead it to ruin!" Micheal yells out. The men at the door say nothing. Instead they brandish their weapons. "Very well. I didn't want to have it come to this." Micheal draws his mechanical hilt that at the press of a button explodes into an energy scythe! He begins to walk forward...
Until he feels something very strange.
The men's clothes and weapons begin to fizzle away into energy! Their skin is made of crystal! "What the hell...?!" Garland yells out, taking a defensive position with his men. "Damn it... more Crystal beings!" Barasia yells, her arm blade bursting out! "I guess this is the real deal then." Otto says, cracking his mechanical knuckles. Micheal backs up a small bit to make sure he's flanked by Otto and Barasia. All three of them have capes, Micheal's is blue, Otto's is brown, and Barasia's is deep black with white stripes.
The crystal beings surge forward at once, leaving slivers in their wake! Garland and his men unleash all they have at once, blowing several of them away! Micheal, Otto and Barasia all attack at once as well, all engaging in melee combat!
Otto locks grips with one of the crystal men! He has no eyes and no facial features, and he is translucent. "What the hell... are you fucking things?!" Otto grunts, snapping his hand clean off and getting a killer shot to the chest!
Barasia slashes, her blade slicing off and breaking off bits and pieces of the men! One sneaks up behind her and she opens up her arm and blasts his head off without even looking! The rest of his body crumbles to powder. "Weak..."
Micheal roars as he cleaves one after another to bits! Some being sliced in half across the core, others being sliced down the middle, all dead within moments. One gets the jump on him and puts him in a choker hold! Micheal struggles to fight the being off before off the side of his eye, he sees Barasia kick its head right off! "Thanks..." – "No problem Mike." – "M-Mike...?" Barasia smirks and stays on the assault!
Roughly half of the crystal men are down, but Garland and his forces are surrounded! The three heroes charge at once, flanking the outer five crystal beings!
Otto smashes two of their heads together; Micheal slices one of their bladed arms off and impales them with it, while Barasia takes well aimed shots at their core with heavy ordinance, exploding them to satisfying chunks of crystal. She blows her fingertip, symbolizing an opponent well shot. Garland and his troops finish off the remaining five with a mixture of short and long range attacks. Before they know it, all that's left is to enter the core.
"No time to waste, Ezekiel obviously knows we are here. We have to go now!" Micheal orders, punching in his Chancellor's code and having the dimly lit chrome door heave and groan. It begins to slowly open. An inch long gap in the door opens, a brilliant white light shining through!
Before long, the door is open enough for people to slip through! "Go go go go go!" Garland orders, his men and the three heroes going in quickly! As they enter the awe inspiring room, they take it all in.
The room is WIDE open, a very stark contrast to the halls they were just in. Blue and white lights dance in the room, being expelled from the artifact within.
The Ark. The Ark is larger than Barasia expected. It is roughly twenty feet tall and looks like a marble pillar, like those found in ancient Greece. It floats in mid air.
"You have all come..." A familiar voice lets out. "Briarus!" Barasia yells! "You have finally made it... but I fear it may be too late..." – "No! We made it here before Ezekiel!"
"Wrong!"
All seven of them are blown back by a surge of dark energy! They collapse on the ground as the blue and white energy of the Ark Chamber begins to distort as he walks in. His large broad shoulders dragging his cloak along the ground, his armor clanking all the way.
"I thank you all for opening up that pesky gate. I never would have made it in were it not for you, Micheal. Hmhmhm... I suppose you were a greater use to me alive, after all." He mutters with a broken elderly voice, being offset by the absolute power he exerts onto Micheal's chest as he stomps on him! "GAH!" Micheal spits up, grabbing onto his iron boot, desperately trying to alleviate the pressure.
"But now here I am. Once I'm done with The Ark, my master can finally be free. Say your prayers!" He draws his cane, having it explode into a crystal blade!
Six of the seven people are blown away!
Micheal is left alone with Ezekiel stomping on his chest. He struggles to keep his eyes open through all of the wincing; Ezekiel looks pleased as his wrinkled face is split with a large smile. His crystal cane-blade twists in his hand, his old fingers playing around with the sword.
"I have to admit, Micheal... I wanted your death to be one worth remembering, but I guess this will have to do." He says, pointing his blade at Micheal, the edge cutting his cheek by simply touching it. Otto and Barasia try to scramble over to help Micheal, but Ezekiel motions his blade to his neck and they both stop.
"Aren't... you going to... kill me... anyway?" Micheal pants, desperately trying to breathe. "I wanted to enjoy your death a bit." He chuckles. Barasia whispers to Otto:
"He's going to kill him anyway... we can't afford to just stand here, we have to strike now before he can get his hands on The Ark...!" – "But... Micheal?" – "He opened the door for us, he doesn't want Ezekiel to get The Ark either! Letting him get The Ark would be worse to him than us letting him die!" – "..."
"Interesting... it seems your friends actually do value your life." Ezekiel says to Micheal with a twisted surprise in his voice. Micheal looks over to them. "Guys... you... don't... need me... any more... stop Ezekiel... at all costs...!" Barasia looks over to Otto expectantly. Otto clenches his fists and they throb... "Quiet! It's time you went away forever!" Ezekiel yells! "NO!" Otto roars out!
A gunshot pierces Ezekiel's shoulder and he recoils back, giving Micheal an opportunity to rise to his feet and limp over to the other two, coughing all the way. Garland rises from the hole he fell in. "You okay Micheal?" – "Th-Thank you... yes, I'm fine..." Ezekiel merely laughs. "Fine, I was going to make your death painless, but it appears you leave me no choice."
Garland steps up from his hole; fearless. "Ezekiel, you are outnumbered and outmatched. You are just an old man, surrender now!" – "Just and old man you say?" – "You have until the count of three to drop to your knees! ONE!" Garland yells, pointing his rifle at Ezekiel, who merely laughs out loud.
"TWO!" Garland puts his finger on the trigger.
"THREE!" Garland fires his rifle, but Ezekiel merely raises his hand and conjures a crystal shield in front of him which the laser bullet bounces off of! The bullet punches through the wall and a discharge of electricity can be heard!
"Idiot Garland." Ezekiel taunts, lowering the shield. "Resorting to firearms in the core? You will kill us all, AND take the Ark down with you!" – "Grr..." Garland Growls. After hearing that, Barasia steps up to Ezekiel and draws her wristblade. "Then let's settle this like men!" She yells out, taking off her cloak and cape! Ezekiel smiles. "Ah, the Barasia." – "THE Barasia? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She spits. "The project Micheal worked on until he threw you back into your own universe. Do you know how many of you he killed before eventually scrapping the entire idea?" – "I don't care. All I care for is The Ark." – "You and how many others?! Do you think he's going to let you have The Ark if I'm out of the way?! You're in way over your head, little girl." – "I'm older than you, pops. I'm over five hundred years old." Ezekiel raises an eyebrow.
"That's odd... the Barasia Micheal plucked from the universe couldn't have been any older than ten..." – "I've lived a lot of my life in the universe I'm trying to save! Now I finally have a chance to, and NO ONE is going to stop me, not you, not Micheal, not ANYONE!" She screams, charging Ezekiel down and locking into a blade struggle with his crystal cane!
At first he grunts, the sheer force being exerted by her is more than his body can handle... that is until she is blown away with dark energy! She yelps as she hits the ground hard enough to make a dent in the chrome plating. Ezekiel's clothes tear off as his muscle mass increases in size! Everyone's eyes go wide as he passes the nine foot mark.
"What the... hell are you?!" Barasia mutters, rising back to her feet and brandishing her blade once more. Dark energy swirls around his bulging muscles, and his white hair morphs from an elderly white to a young black! His wrinkles vanish and his eyes go wide, his teeth all become fangs and soon the only clothing he is wearing is a pair of very torn Time Squad pants.
"MY LORD AND MASTER HAS GIVEN ME THE BLESSING OF IMMORTALITY AND ULTIMATE POWER! NONE OF YOU ARE GOING TO STOP THE COMING AGE OF BEELZEBUB!"
Suddenly, Ezekiel's body changes in a way that makes her heart nearly stop.
Four wings explode out of his shoulders! To her horror, one is red, one is blue, one is green, and one is purple!
"T-T-T-T..." She stutters. "Barasia? What is it?!" – "TITAN!" She yells out in fear! Ezekiel laughs out, his every expulsion blowing them away in dark energy! The brightly lit room of energy quickly loses all light and all that can be seen is Barasia and Ezekiel!
She grabs her arm in traumatic memory, the memory of when the Chrono Titan ripped her arm off and tears grow in her eyes. The wings that exploded from his back are made from bone and the coloration is born of flames that fan off of those bones. Blood and black energy drip from the tips. Ezekiel's hands are the size of dinner plates and his physical mass is intimidating to say the least.
"COME BARASIA, MY MASTER DESIRES YOU- PERSONALLY!" Barasia clenches her teeth through the tears and draws her weapon anyway! Ezekiel crashes towards her, his weight shaking the room! She blocks, but he smacks her so hard that she collides with the solid darkness he has formed around them! The people on the outside, Otto, Micheal, Garland, they can only look in horror, they cannot pierce the wall!
Barasia coughs up artificial blood as she is slammed against the wall and the ground! Ezekiel then picks her up by the chest and she has a horrifying flashback! "N-NOOOOO!" She yells out, desperately trying to get free! "Ah, yes... my master remembers this moment...!" He says, starting to squeeze tighter and tighter! He then grabs onto her arm!
"NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT! SOMEONE! HELP! BUTTERCUUUUUUP!" She yells out in pure terror! Desperately trying to call on help from the person that saved her before!
As if her prayers were answered, something DOES help her! But it's not Buttercup! A blade from nowhere pierces the indestructible darkness and impales Ezekiel's arm! "BLAAAAAHHHH!" He bellows out like a wild animal lost in bloodlust, dropping Barasia to the ground and having her scurry away like a frightened child. She cannot take this any longer!
As she rises back to her feet, she can see what impaled his arm! Ezekiel tries to grab onto it, but it burns his hand! "That's... J-Jack's sword... the one Buttercup used..."
Otto on the outside can see the sword and also recognizes it. "Sensei Jack's blade! What's it doing here?!" – "The sword is an extension of my will given form. It has answered Barasia's call on its own, but it was I that allowed it to come." Briarus says from within the consuming darkness. "R-Really?! Wow..."
The blade cuts its way out of Ezekiel's arm and forces itself into Barasia's hand! She looks at the sword then back at Ezekiel, all four of his wings still burning, if not more so now.
"FUCKING... SWORD...!" He hisses, his eyes alternating red to black. His entire left arm becomes crystallized and he barrels down on Barasia, hoping to end her life with a single strike!
The sword within her hands vibrates, snapping her out of her traumatized paralysis! "HAAAA!" She yells, slashing up with it, blasting Ezekiel's crystal arm clean off and causing a large gush of blood to spray across the field! "BUUUOOOOO!" Ezekiel stumbles back, but then growls. "GRAAHHHH!" He roars, crystals exploding out of his bone marrow and regenerating a new- fully crystallized arm!
"I-I can't kill him if he won't go down! He can just r-regenerate!" She says to herself, the sword vibrating once more in her hand. Suddenly her mind rushes with images of Buttercup... and then, images of Ruby. Images of the Chronometal Wars. She tightens her grip on the blade. "I... I don't know if I can win... but I HAVE TO...!"
She very carefully sizes her opponent up and walks up to him. They both circle each other and stare each other down. Ezekiel's bone wings flap, exerting massive energy and instilling Barasia with a feeling of dread, but she doesn't give in...! His left arm is entirely crystal, his right arm is inhumanly muscled.
His black facial hair twists as he charges her down again, this time with both arms extended out! Barasia haphazardly slashes at him, getting a few cuts off, but doing no real damage! He manages to grab her by the chest again and he begins to crush her! Not wanting a repeat of what happened at the End of the World, she stabs down on his human arm with the blade!
He winces and grunts from the pain, but he continues to squeeze, much to the pain of Barasia, who is coughing up blood! She struggles to muster the strength cut more with the blade, blasting his right hand off! She loosens her grip on the remaining crystal hand by punching it and she once again falls out of his grip! But his human arm instantly grows another crystal hand again! He pairs his hands together and slams down at her! She raises her sword and they clash, blowing large amounts of energy around the room!
She cuts the hands while guarding against them with the sword and lunges at his heart! A quick impaling doesn't do the trick, and she's not surprised as he chuckles. She gulps and rolls between his legs and jumps onto his malformed back! "NO...! NOOOOO!" Ezekiel yells, desperately trying to get her off of his back.
She digs her left hand into his back to anchor herself on as she slashes at the wings with the sword she has in her right hand! Sweat, blood and tears dripping down her face! She blasts one wing after another off before Ezekiel finally slams his own back into the ground, instantly incapacitating Barasia.
He rises to his feet, his crystal formations slowly fading to dust. His arm now bleeding without a crystal to plug up the open wounds.
"Ha... haha... damn girl... I can't believe she is making me do this..." He mutters to himself as the darkness begins to be sucked into him. The wingbones on the ground writhe as well, as if dying. "GAHHHHHHHH!" He roars out, the darkness being expelled in one burst...
But then the darkness is gone.
Ezekiel's eyes go blank and his dead body slumps to the ground. Otto and Micheal scramble to Barasia's side as Garland and his troops quickly circle Ezekiel to confirm he is dead. Light returns to the room at last...
"Barasia? Barasia, wake up..." Otto says, shaking her. Her eyes don't open, and the blade spills from her hand. "No...! You can't die! I won't let you! You've already accomplished so much! We are so close Barasia! YOU CAN'T DIE...!" He keeps shaking her body before Micheal puts his hand on his shoulder. He looks up at Micheal... who simply shakes his head and closes his eyes.
He looks back at Barasia and begins to choke up. But then... her body begins to float. "Wh-What...?" He says to himself. "I will not let her die." Briarus echoes throughout the room. "B-Briarus! You can save her?!" – "Of course... just give me some time..." – "Y-Yes! I will give you time!" – "Good. Perhaps you can hold off the incoming onslaught." – "... ... ... The incoming what?"
Otto ponders the words he has heard before a faint rumbling can be heard. Before long, a single crack appears on the ground. What looks like a crystal seems to be growing out of it. "Oh... no..."
Author's Notes: I don't think anyone reads these. :O
