"Are we there yet?"
"Nope."
"Are we there yet?"
"Nope."
"Are we there yet?"
"Nope."
"Are we there-"
"William, the more you ask, the longer it will take," Twilight finally scolded as they waited for arrival at their destination on board Michael's ship.
"I'm sorry," TD said. "I'm just so bored."
Michael glanced over from the chair where he was controlling the ship, before pressing a few buttons and turning around in it as the ships controls started operating on their own.
"Just be glad you're on the bridge TD," the Pyrunian said. "I don't often let people in here while I'm flying."
"And yet you allowed the hedgehog when you first managed to get this thing flying again," TD noted.
"William, don't be rude," Twilight chided.
"The hedgehog understands Pyrunian tech," Michael muttered, before calling out. "Frost! Time until destination?"
"Destination arrival is in T-minus two minutes," a female AI's voice spoke up.
"Thank you Frost," Michael said, before tapping his computer. "Red! What sort of possible defenses will this base have? I don't want to get The Vengeance torn up if I can avoid it."
"Well, that's the thing," Red's voice spoke up as the hedgehog's face appeared, showing his own command deck from his own ship. "It seems that the defenses are in a kind of lock-down mode. It shouldn't fire at us if we approach, but it won't let us leave either."
"Keeping us in, instead of keeping us out," TD mused. "That's deviously clever to use on raiders."
"Hmm..." Michael said thoughtfully. "Frost, if I get you a foothold into the system, can you manage to get the defenses changed enough so that we'll be able to leave when we need to?"
"I can certainly try, sir," Frost answered.
"And me! Two AI's are better than one," a second female voice called, this time from over Red's coms. It sounded cheerful in nature.
"Let's just not die during this," Michael said, smirking slightly. "Frost? Charge up the handheld weapons we have in storage, okay?"
"Yes sir," Frost answered. TD chuckled, then he spoke into a coms unit he had acquired from Red.
"So, I take it we all know the drill?" he inquired.
"Yeah, we know it." Tempus's voice came back. "Sundav and I are ready as backup for any big fights. We'll need to save our power in case there's anything really big we need to fight."
"That's where I come in," Jules said over the coms. "Just stick to the plan you two."
"Don't worry, we will." Sundav's voice said.
"Hey, just a heads up, I got us a few extra hands," Red called up, and then two more figures stepped into view of the computer screen: a Mobian red fox with a sword and a human with a pair of mechanical gauntlets, one red-grey, the other golden yellow.
"Yet another death-trap of a mission with you guys," Diego remarked with a wry smile. "Try not to get me killed. Yang wants me back in one piece."
"And Flurry won't let me hear the end of it either," Bill added.
"Flurry?" TD and Twilight both looked to him in surprise, then the alicorn asked, "Since when?"
"Since Fiona passed away and the ban was lifted," Bill replied bluntly. Michael rolled his eyes.
"All we'd need is Steel and we'd have all the rogue personalities of both Guardians of Existence on this ship that wield Chaos magic." The Pyrunian said, chuckling. "Good to see you two."
"And you as well, old friend," Bill answered back.
"You're lucky I'm even able to be present at all," Diego remarked. "Things in Remnant have taken... a rather interesting turn, for lack of a better way to say it."
"Aka, possible destruction," Red commented, making the rogue give him a small glare.
"Destination arrival in ten seconds," Frost announced.
"Everyone get ready," Michael said as he pulled his pistol out, checking the charge on it before grunting in satisfaction. TD took a few breaths while Twilight closed her eyes in what seemed to be a kind of meditation; she was eventually floating a foot above the floor in a meditating pose. Diego did a few push ups, Bill checked the sharpness of his blade, which he seemed quite satisfied with, and Red... just pulled out a book that said "How To Survive the Vacuum of Space For Dummies" on the cover. Michael stood up as he started pacing, holstering his pistol as he idly unhooked his axe from his belt and started swinging it by his side in a circular motion. Eventually, they exited hyperspace and looked ahead to see a facility of sorts in the distance, definitely of the Nameless One's design. But it was the sheer size of it that caused them to be in awe; it looked almost big enough to be only a little bigger than a dwarf planet.
"Whoa... how did we miss this?" TD asked no one in particular.
"I'm wondering that too," Michael muttered, then the Pyrunian said "Frost? Are you picking up anything on thermal sensors from inside?"
"Actually… yes," Frost admitted. "Many of them are rather large, but there's a few smaller ones. Some of them… don't seem to have much of a heat signature also. Whatever is in there, it's almost as much a prison as it is a research facility."
"Well, Nameless did like to make sure he had spared no expense," TD muttered.
Michael grunted once, before saying, "Do you see any sort of landing platform or docking station, Frost?"
"On your right," Frost instructed, while a short distance away, Red's own ship was docking on what could only be accurately called a docking clamp, given that large braces had locked onto his ship, but seemingly with the intention of docking him safely to the facility. Michael nodded, before he sat down in his chair and took control of the ship back, guiding them close to the docking clamps before pressing a button and allowing Frost to take over to do the rest. The AI obliged and soon they had safely docked and the doors to enter the place had opened.
"Alright, let's get this over with," TD said as Twilight got out of her meditation state. On their screen, TD's rogue personalities were making their way out as well.
"Suzie, switch the ship to autopilot and meet us out there," Red instructed. "Everyone else, if I'm correct about the layout of the place, we should see each other within a few seconds upon entry on foot. See you there!"
"Will do," TD replied on the coms, as he was already halfway down to the doors. Michael rolled his eyes and followed TD, as the rest of their group soon joined them from wherever they had been during the trip. Before they left the ship, Michael grabbed two duffel bags from a locker in the wall and slung the straps over his shoulder.
"Extra weaponry," He said with a smirk. "Never know when we'll need it."
"Amen, brother," TD agreed, having reached the deck with the rest of those present on the journey. For obvious reasons, they decided it would be safer if they left the ship as a group and tried not to get separated from each other.
"Are you ready?" he asked them all, giving a glance at all of them, although his gaze stayed on Jules for a second longer.
"I'm ready," Tempus said, nodding while Sundav nodded as well.
"You didn't need to ask," Michael said, chuckling as he un-holstered his pistol.
"I'm ready to get this war over," Jules said levelly, before grinning. "So, yeah, I'm ready."
"Okay…" TD nodded, then as the doors opened with a click, he lead the way through the facility, Twilight trotting beside him. They had done a buddy system, and whether because she rigged it or simply because she was lucky, Twilight had gotten TD as her companion. To be fair though, she would have stuck with him anyways, regardless of what anyone said; she was stubborn that way. The insides were lit up a bit, but it also had plenty of low lighting to suggest that the place had not been operating properly for some time. To their left, Red, Bill, and Diego met up with them in a short while, and thus all of them were soon in the first hallway from the docking bays.
"Well, this doesn't look safe at all," Diego noted.
"The day we do something that is safe, will be the day the Multiverse isn't in that big of a threat from danger anymore." Tempus said flatly. "So basically, we're going to be doing this for a long time."
"On that note, there's something close by," Bill warned. "Red and I heard it in the vents earlier."
"In the vents?" TD started, but right when he had finished speaking, a coal black creature of sorts landed in front of them, which anyone who's watched Alien or its various spin-offs and/or sequels would recognize.
"Oh geez!" TD exclaimed at the sight of the Xenomorph, who gave a hiss at them before rushing in for the kill. Michael immediately drew his axe and threw it, the blade whirling through the air before it smashed into the Xenomorph, the runes on the axe blade flashing once before with a crack lightning surged outwards from the blade. The Xenomorph gave a loud hiss and then fell back onto the floor, dead. Acid blood leaked from its wound, and the axe blade started to steam, although it thankfully didn't seem to be receiving any actual damage. TD gave a huff as he calmed himself down.
"I freaking hate those things," he grumbled.
"What was that?" Twilight asked him.
"Xenomorph, or as Weyland-Yutani would put it, 'the Perfect Predator'," TD answered. "And where there's one, there's usually plenty more where he came from."
"Great," Tempus grumbled. "More dangerous things that can kill us." The alicorn blinked, before scowling. "And I've said that once before and it's still true. What else do you think we'll run into here?"
"If this is what I think it is, then the sky's the limit," Red noted, then pulled out a small cube of sorts which seemed to be a kind of case for something, only with a button. "Okay Suzie, let's get you up and on your feet."
"About time," Suzie's voice spoke up from the cube, while Red simply pressed the button. In a short moment, the cube morphed into a hot-pink robotic battle suit, designed to look like a hippogriff from Equus; apparently, she had a different taste than Cindy had in suit choices.
"I'm glad to have all the chatting going on, but maybe we should continue?" Tempus asked impatiently, while Michael was eyeing his axe as if considering whether it was worth it to get it or leave it for the moment.
"Let's move," Diego suggested, then walked over to Michael's axe and pulled it out of the Xenomorph, unfazed by the acid, and handed it over to the Pyrunian. Meanwhile, Bill drew his sword and said, "Stay together, and keep your eyes and ears open. This place is most likely the last place we want to be in once all hell breaks loose."
"As if that isn't the understatement of the century," Sundav muttered.
"Forward march," TD joked, going forward.
"Let's just try not to run into another one of those things," Twilight pleaded, following behind him. Michael nodded thanks to Diego before continuing onwards, his hand gripping his axe handle tightly. TD mentally cursed himself as they walked along.
I need to stop being so jumpy, he thought to himself.
"Hold up," Red warned them. "Movement up ahead, heading away from us. I think that it's a scout, trying to alert the queen and the rest of their hive… assuming they have either."
"Well, that's bad," TD remarked.
"How is it? We have our powers, don't we?" Bill pointed out. "These guys are pussycats compared to what we've fought before."
"Careful Bill, you may have jinxed us somewhere along the line," Diego warned.
"Oh, please," the fox said. "From my experience, there's no such thing as luck."
"Plus, Time has strange ways of making our lives difficult in order to have fun with us," Tempus muttered under his breath. "I agree with the fox. There's no such thing as luck, only preparing for the best outcome possible."
"We need to get moving along faster. Red, do you happen to know any place where we can get surveillance of the place?" TD asked him.
"Right over there," Red answered, pointing to a door nearby. "Susie, check it out."
The AI obliged, her metal suit clanging over to the door and opening it to reveal a kind of office with security cameras. She walked over, pulled out a computer chip of sorts and stuck it into the system grid. After a few seconds, she had full access to the place.
"Disabling a few security measures first so we can leave this place, as well as move about easier," she explained. "Some I may have to keep up however, if only to prevent unnecessary containment breaches. As for our weapon… one of the cameras for the tenth floor is out, but it says that it's supposed to be a camera to the 'special assignments' lab. Take the elevator or teleport up there. Your call."
"And… where's the elevator?" Twilight asked. Right when she did, a section of the wall outside the office suddenly opened to reveal a secret elevator.
"Right there," Red chuckled. Michael frowned as his eyes narrowed slightly.
"It seems too easy…" He murmured to himself.
"Like giving it to us on a silver platter," Diego muttered.
"Aye. Never trust a silver platter," TD remarked, and then he started for the elevator.
"One sec William," Michael said as he put a hand on TD's shoulder and pulled him back, before tapping something on a metal bracelet he wore. He aimed it towards the elevator, a shower of light blue LED dots appearing all over its surface. "Frost, you picking up any sort of traps or the like?"
"Nothing. The elevator is safe," Frost answered him.
"Thank you Frost," Michael replied, before turning off the scanner. "Keep an eye on us with the thermal scanners, and make sure to alert us if anything comes our direction."
"Elevator capacity is around... five people, not counting myself and Bill given our side," Red remarked.
"For once, being small is convenient," the fox joked.
"Then I suggest myself, Michael, William, Twilight, and Tempus, along with Red and Bill, go first," Jules spoke up. "The rest watch each others back and stay on guard until the elevator returns."
"Actually, if you don't mind, I'll stay behind," Bill stated, standing beside Diego and Sundav. "Give them some company."
"Suit yourself," TD shrugged, then stepped into the elevator with Twilight and the others going up. Red, just to prove how crazy he could be, ended up somehow sitting on the ceiling with no apparent explanation as to how.
"Going up," he said as the elevator doors closed. Michael seemed to draw into his own area of focus as he did something on the metal bracelet that was apparently hooked up to his ship somehow, while Jules looked towards TD and tapped her temple, before making a talking motion with her hand and finished by pointing between the two of them, conveying an obvious message. TD nodded slightly, and then she heard his voice.
"I know what this is about, so let's get it out of the way."
"I'm glad I don't have to explain," Jules replied. "You know what I think about Command Spells, William."
"It's been almost eight thousand years since I was in y'all's good graces, Jules," TD answered. "I've had plenty of time to learn all manners of spells that you originally banned... and plenty of time to use them for good, believe it or not."
"I know... but still, please try not to use them so often," Jules said.
"I only use them if necessary," TD replied, then added, "Though sometimes, it happens by accident."
"Define 'accident'," Jules said dryly, although the ghost of a smile crossed her face.
"You know I can hear everything y'all say, right?" Red's voice suddenly cut in. "It's quite entertaining."
"Shut up Red, and mind your own business," Jules snapped. "I could fry your mind in five seconds if I wanted to."
"You could TRY to fry my mind," Red corrected. "After all, I'm technically an extension of your boyfriend here. Besides..." He gave a huff in reality. "I can't exactly control what I do and don't hear."
"Just don't pay attention," Jules said dryly.
"Would you all just shut up!" Tempus' voice suddenly snapped. "You have no idea how annoying it is trying to pay attention mentally to be aware of any threats and only be able to hear your jabbering back and forth!"
"You said it," Twilight's voice pitched in.
"Oh would you look at that? We're here," TD said aloud as the doors of the elevator opened just then, opening up into a long hall with a light shining at the end.
"Huh. Perfect timing," Red said cheerfully, jumping out of the elevator... only to get electrocuted as soon as he stepped onto the floor. "YEOW!" he screeched, only seeming to be hurt for a moment, which wasn't surprising considering the damage he was able to withstand before it overwhelmed him. "Okay, guys. Do not step onto the floors yet."
"You don't say," Twilight remarked sarcastically.
"Move out of the way," Michael said as he pushed to the front of the elevator, crouching as he got the front and tapped on his metal armband, allowing the hidden screen on it to glow icy blue. "Frost, think you could hack into and disable this defense for us?"
"I'm afraid it's not a defense, sir. More like a malfunctioning maintenance problem," Frost answered. "I can redirect the power elsewhere, however."
"How about that possible nesting sight for those... Exenomorphs?" Susie suggested.
"Seems like a good idea," Tempus nodded.
"On you now Frost," Michael spoke up.
There was a short pause, then Red announced, "It's safe now."
"Thank good-" TD started, but then paused. Twilight also paused and looked to him.
"Do you feel...?" she started, but then TD interrupted her with a Command Spell.
"GET DOWN."
Tempus immediately dropped to the ground, along with Jules after a few seconds, but not after she growled. "William!"
"Sorry!" TD said as he and the others all dropped... save for Red, who had only recently recovered fully from the electricity.
"Uh oh... Think fast and move faster hedgehog," he muttered to himself. A blast of energy shot towards the elevator, for the moment their attacker unknown.
"Frost, get me a schematic of this level so we know where we're headed once we get out of here!" Michael hissed into his armband.
"The light ahead of you seems to be where the weapon is located. Unfortunately, that's where our enemy is too," Frost answered. "Otherwise, there are two more rooms that are dead ends."
"Yipe!" Red shouted, barely moving his head to the side to avoid getting hit. Then he did a sideways flip as three others came his way. TD stood up as the other three came by and knocked them out of the air with his glowing hands. When he did, however, he looked slightly scared.
"That's Eternity!" he shouted.
"How though!?" Tempus yelled. "I thought he couldn't enter the building!"
"He must have left the blasted staff behind at their base!" Michael replied as he unslung his energy pistol from his belt and powered it up for whenever he got an opening to retaliate.
"He's not the only one," Twilight muttered, then fired a blast just as a triangular figure appeared and effortlessly countered it.
"Hello!" Cipher called. "Welcome to the party! You're about to die."
TD growled, just as the lights flickered a bit to show Eternity coming closer, just as their coms went off.
"Mephiles is here, as well as some pissed-off Dalek!" Bill called. "We can hold them, but you'd better be doing your part!"
Red then looked between them all as well, before calling, "Keep Eternity busy!"
He then started rushing at full speed down the halls intent on running past Eternity. TD, while shocked for a second, eventually recovered.
"You heard him! Open fire!" he ordered, firing multiple spells in Eternity's direction as the lights came on again. Michael also opened fire, rapidly firing round after round at Eternity, while Tempus' eyes started to glow silver and he blasted a beam of magic at the villain, while Jules also sent several attacks flying at the Anti-Tempus, and as it was Eternity had to put all his focus into blocking their attacks. Red paid all of this no mind, despite how close his own friends came to hitting him as they tried to prevent harm from coming to the hedgehog. As Eternity was busy with his blocking, Red did a slide underneath Eternity and to the other side, getting up and breaking into a run again down the hall. He could have and would have done something to further hinder Eternity, if the pressure of time wasn't on his shoulders. They only had so long before reinforcements would break through their friends downstairs or through the same way Eternity had come, and then what chance would they have at getting the sword?
Eternity eventually snapped his fingers and neutralized most of the magic attacks coming at him, but then let out a hiss as a beam of energy caught him in the arm, and the Anti-Tempus glared at Michael, who was standing up fully now and aiming his pistol at him.
"TD, how do you wanna break this down?" The Pyrunian asked as he fired another shot.
TD looked about, then he said, "Michael, I need you downstairs with the others to help with the Dalek and Mephiles. Jules, you and I keep Eternity busy. Twi, think you can-" He stopped when he saw that Twilight had the situation with Cipher under control, as indicated by how well she either avoided or countered the demon's attacks. "-On second thought, you're doing just fine."
"On it," Michael said as black lightning started arcing around him, before he took off at super speed and phased through the floor of the elevator, while meanwhile Tempus gave TD a glare.
"And I'll just assist Twilight since I was casually forgotten," the male alicorn said as he went over to join Twilight in fighting Cipher in case she needed assistance at any point. Jules, meanwhile, cracked her neck as she glared towards Eternity, drawing her glowing white sword in her right hand as she charged up her left with her fiery purple magic that came from the powers Sunset had duplicated to her from being The Traveler.
"Ready to take out some trash, William?" The Guardian of Order asked with a wry grin.
"I'm always ready," TD answered, then sheets of lightning fired from his hands as he gave a cackle. Jules grinned, before firing blasts of white light from her hand towards Eternity, who snarled before holding a hand palm-out at them and their attacks suddenly stopped several feet away from him, while he clenched his other hand as magic charged up around it.
"You're going to have ta' do better than that!" The Anti-Tempus cackled as he snapped his fingers and TD and Jules' attacks disintegrated, before he blasted each one with a beam of magic.
"Think fast!" TD called to Jules, and then two portals opened underneath them and they fell through, reappearing on the left and right of Eternity. Jules did think fast, and as soon as she landed she swung out at Eternity with her sword, which the Anti-Tempus barely deflected off a sword he had suddenly summoned, while an identical one appeared in his other hand.
Tempus, meanwhile, had been providing support where he could to help Twilight in her fight against Cipher, but soon he seemed to sense something as he stepped away from their fight and powered up his horn, glancing around as he drew his sword and held it at the ready. He was right to do so, for suddenly a blast of ghostly purple fire had barreled towards him from out of nowhere, forcing him and Twilight to be separated from each other. Tempus growled as he brought his sword up, the blade glowing silver as his Guardian magic charged up inside up if, while his horn also glowed with his Alicorn and Chaos magic.
"I'm not afraid of whatever you are," the Guardian of Time said calmly. "Face me, and I shall destroy you."
The purple fire circled back around and then landed on the floor, clearing to reveal the face of an enemy they recently believed to be dead.
"Infinite!?" Jules screeched from where she was fighting Eternity, while meanwhile Tempus took several steps back as a look of uncertainty flickered across his face, although it quickly passed as he lowered himself into a battle stance.
"Even in death, I serve my master still," Infinite taunted. "And soon, your soul will be next to follow!"
Without waiting for a response, the wraith of Infinite launched a powerful beam attack at Tempus, followed by a teleporting bucking attack. Tempus managed to deflect the beam attack, but was unable to defend against the bucking attack, causing him to stumble backwards several steps before firing a beam from his horn. Infinite didn't relent however, and lunged towards him with a shield attack, attempting to break through his beam and drive her horn through him. Tempus in retaliation ended his beam attack and reformed his magic into a shield, reinforcing it with his Chaos magic as he attempted to come up with some sort of plan on how to win this fight. He didn't get a chance, as Infinite managed to push through his shield and then knocked him to the ground, pinning him in place. A hollow expression was on her face, but if she could he felt she would have looked triumphant, if not a bit smug.
"Your soul is mine!" she called, raising her horn for a finishing blow. However, she never got a chance, as suddenly Jules' voice rang clearly and firmly through the air in the unmistakable air of a Command Spell.
"STOP!"
Infinite abruptly stopped her attack, frozen as if stopped by an unseen force. However, it also caused TD to stop out of surprise of her using such a thing. It proved to have been a good thing he had, for a split second later something shot past him inches from his head. Tempus took the advantage and in a flash of magic teleported away from Infinite in a flash of magic, catching his breath and eyeing her warily, while meanwhile Jules turned and in a blur of movement sliced Eternity's blades apart at the guard, before punching him in the face and sending him flying into a wall. While this was happening, TD turned to see that it had been Red who had shot by him, and in his eyes was a look he had hardly expected to see in the hedgehog's eyes: fear.
"RUN FOR THE HILLS!" he shouted, and then from where he had come from there was the sound of hundreds of thousands of moving feet. TD looked back, and his face went from confusion to a deadpan.
"And just when I thought this couldn't get worse..."
"William, what's going on!?" Tempus yelled as black lightning began to arc around him, and Jules crouched while red, yellow, and blue lightning began to circle her.
"Well long story short... the entire station's contained creatures have been released. So... run!" TD answered, and just as he said so, a roar of some kind was heard as the halls he was facing was suddenly filled with countless numbers of Xenomorphs identical to the one they had encountered before, along with several new creatures: giant bats, zombies, a mutated giant-like creature (Fallout, anyone?), and the most surprising…
"No way... they actually have dinosaurs on this thing!" TD exclaimed, momentarily having his excitement overwhelm his concern of the danger.
"Just GO!" Jules yelled as she took off running as her lightning crackling around her, while Tempus did likewise, the former grabbing Twilight as she shot past her.
Eternity, meanwhile, yelled at Cipher. "Let's go! Now!" Before the Anti-Tempus teleported away in a flash of light.
"I'm out!" Cipher yelled, disappearing as TD regained his composure and followed after them. Since the elevator was obviously not an option, they had started down an opposite hallway with Red in the lead. He was looking at what seemed to be a map of their area.
"Susie, we need an exit! This is a dead end!" he called.
"I'm a bit busy, sir!" was the reply, and over the coms they could hear a couple explosions and then an alarm.
"Warning," an AI's voice spoke. "Emergency protocol 103 activated. All personal please evacuate the facility immediately. This is not a drill."
"Do I even want to know what that is!?" Tempus yelled as he skidded to a stop to catch his breath.
"I doubt it!" A familiar voice said, before in another burst of black lightning Michael shot past them, and before they could say anything he said, "I'm doing the Time Remnant thing, so don't freak out about our friends downstairs." The Pyrunian then tapped on his bracelet and yelled, "Frost! Get us a route out now!"
"Uh... I have one, but you're not gonna like it," Frost answered.
"Does it look like we care!?" TD yelled.
"But... the vacuum of-" Susie started.
"JUST DO IT!" TD interrupted, using a Command Spell for the duration of the sentence. Michael glanced at TD with a raised eyebrow, before speaking into his bracelet.
"Frost, permissions override sequence, Delta-Alpha-Omega-1-5-9-3. Extract us now."
Silence, then…
"Yes sir."
The noises behind them were getting louder and closer. One hundred yards behind them. Fifty. Ten.
Suddenly, the dead end up ahead burst apart and in front of them was open space, and they were sucked out of it. TD was quick to think at this point, and thanked himself inwardly for not panicking. With a few snaps, those who required protection from the vacuum of space found a glowing red aura around their body, and they were no longer unable to breathe. They also stopped spinning and moving through space with no direction.
"Thanks..." Twilight managed to say as their unfortunate pursuers (save for the Xenomorphs, who could survive such a thing) were sucked out into the great void at a fast velocity, silent since no one under normal means could hear one scream in space.
"Alright, now please get us aboard The Vengeance, Frost," Michael said dryly.
"On it!" Frost called, and then The Vengeance removed itself from the docking clamps it had stationed at and flew around to where they were at until they were lined up with a hanger bay of sorts, allowing them to fly through the shields that were in place and land safely, but a bit roughly in the hanger.
"Let's NEVER do that again!" Tempus said, frowning.
"Oh, shove off! We're alive, ain't we?" Michael shot back.
"Everybody, SHUT UP!" Jules yelled, thankfully not using a Command Spell, before directing her attention to Red. "Do we have it?"
The hedgehog stood to his feet, then from seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out the weapon in question. It looked like one of the swords Nameless had used, which was to say it was built mainly upon straight lines and designed to allow whatever upgrades to be added as needed. However, the blade itself was different from the originals in the material it was made out of: a kind of stone that glowed with a strange light.
"Why... I do believe that's made out of a space meteor!" TD exclaimed.
"Mhm!" Red confirmed. "And not just any; if my calculations are correct, as well as the brief look at the info screen outside the display case, it's made from a comet that comes into orbit with Nameless's homeplanet every thousand years."
"Alright, maybe we can talk about it more after we get away from here?" Tempus asked. "Because I officially don't like that place or any of the space in its vicinity."
"Right. Of course," Red agreed.
"Wait! What about the others?" Twilight asked. Just when she asked, the station suddenly had several large visible explosions that basically tore the station apart... and approaching them from out of the debris and smoke was Red's own ship.
"I got them, sir!" Suzie's voice assured them. "Now let's step on it before some of those Xeno-freaks latch onto our ships! Space won't kill them, and if the explosion doesn't, then they still have a chance to kill us in our sleep or something!"
"Right!" Michael yelled as he took off towards the bridge. "Frost! Power up the engines, get us out of here, and use the laser grids to clear the hull of any Xenomorphs if necessary!"
"On it!"
The ship was heard powering up, and then in just a few seconds, they had entered hyperspace and were making a beeline back to the Guardian's base.
*"Phew! Let's hope that's the biggest crisis of our presidency," TD said aloud, and then a different voice said out of nowhere, "It wasn't" followed by dramatic music.
Back at the Guardians' HQ, everyone was chatting among themselves over their current states or worlds, getting to know each other a little more personally for the moment. All except Screwball (Joy's Screwball), who was looking a bit troubled about something. None there knew what it was, though at first they had suspected it to be that they now had an "evil" version of her taking one of the spare rooms of the HQ for the time being. However, that didn't seem to be the case since she had taken that news surprisingly well. No, something else was bothering the Chaotic mare, and the thundering cloud above her head (not yet raining) was unnecessary to prove that. Zecora noticed this after a moment, and managed to pull Joy aside and speak to him.
"Something disturbs the Chaotic dove. Perhaps you should speak with your love," she suggested. Joy smiled at Zecora and gave her a nod at this.
"Thanks Zecora," he said, and then he went towards Screwball to see her. Though he felt slightly ashamed as well for not being able to pay much attention to her since they came back, which he probably should have. When Screwball noticed him approach, she gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
"Hey... how are you holding up, Lover Boy?" she asked. Joy smiled back at her in a manner which he hoped to be a little apologetic, as well as reassuring.
"I'll be fine, my love," he told her before adding, "...though I'd like know what's upsetting my dear Princess of Chaos..."
Screwball's smile faded and she gave a sigh, then she hugged him.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner," she said apologetically, then more seriously, "But something... pulled me off course."
Joy hugged her back at this, and with a flash of golden light, they both teleported into their room, sitting at their bed.
"I know... you would never leave me alone on purpose..." Joy softly said to her in an almost cooing tone, but also with some concern. "Tell me... what pulled you off course...?"
Screwball gave a small frown. "I don't even know what it was, but it was tough. Some kind of new alien creature. I think... it's best if I show you what it looked like..."
She turned her head a little ways away from her and then her eyes briefly gave a glow, causing a life-like slightly-transparent model of the creature she had encountered staring at them. If not for the transparency of the model and the fact that it was unable to actually move in any manner, Joy would have thought it was the real thing.
"And that's not all," she said. "I heard it say something before it attacked me."
Another glow, and then briefly the model moved about and made a war cry, along with the message it had given before striking: "Dod Raksief!" and then froze again.
"Dod Raksief?" Joy said thoughtfully, and maybe a little confused. "...my best guess is that it's some kind of foreign creature... and surely not from any place like Equus or Earth..."
"Do you think we should tell William when he returns?" Screwball asked him. "Maybe he knows about it?"
Joy nodded and then took her into a hug once again, this time even more affectionately, and started to stroke her mane.
"...and what happened of that thing... did you kill it?"
"No..." Screwball told him. "I just banished him to some dimension Dad showed me once. It might kill him if he's not careful, but otherwise..." She gave a sigh. "Well, it doesn't matter now."
Joy nodded in response at this as he stroked her mane a little more affectionately, and softly hummed. "I'm sorry my beloved... If it was up to me, I'd never have let you fight that thing on your own..."
"I know you wouldn't," Screwball answered with a smile, sighing in content as she felt his hand run through her mane.
"I know you wouldn't," Screwball answered with a smile, sighing in content as she felt his hand run through her mane. "You're too loyal and noble for that. And that's something I love about you."
Joy smiled in content at this as well, hugging her even more closely upon hearing this, his eyes shining brightly for the moment as a pair of pure white wings sprouted from his back and soon joined in the hug.
"I hope we never have to go through such situations ever again..." Joy softly whispered, as his hand glowed with the same pure white aura and he passed his fingers through her mane. "...and we always be there for each other..."
"So do I..." Screwball agreed, closing her eyes and giving a sigh of content. But just then, there was a knock at the door and a voice identical to hers asked, "Huh? Uncle Joy, are you decent?"
"Hmm?" Joy recognized the voice of Screwball from TD's world, further implicated by the fact that she called him uncle. He gently released Screwball from the hug and called out, "Yes. We're decent. You can come in, Screwy."
The door opened, and in strode the vampire Screwball, giving a warm and friendly smile to them when she entered.
"Guess I interrupted something," she giggled. "I'll make this quick then."
"Make what quick?" Screwball asked Screwy. Gosh, me as the author is going to get confused soon...
Joy looked at the screen with seemingly a bit amused expression before looking at Screwy and spoke, though his expressions seemed a bit confused or maybe even a little upset, clearly not at her but at some thought which had crossed his mind at the moment. "So... you wanna talk about something?"
"Yeah," Screwy agreed, and then her smile faded for a moment and she sighed. "I know that you aren't exactly happy to see me as a vampire, especially since you know that Tracker wouldn't do this to me willingly. So, I wanted to make a few things clear as to how I got this way."
Joy sighed and admitted this with a nod, as his smile faded as well. "Yeah... it's been bothering me for sometime... so it'd be really nice of you."
"Then stay seated, because this is not gonna be a pretty story," Screwy said, sitting down herself before dropping the bomb. "...I'm like this... so I won't die from the sickness I've contracted."
Screwball was shocked to hear this and made a gasp.
"Sick?"
"A sickness?" Joy asked, very concerned to hear about this. "What... What kind of sickness is it?"
"One that we don't have a cure for yet," Screwy answered. "I... got it sometime during the ban. It started off small, and at first I thought it was just allergies. Until the night I literally passed out at the dinner table for seemingly no reason. Tracker tried everything, and even had Zecora and Uncle William try to help me. But William... he said that he couldn't save me. He said it's a sickness that he based one of his spells off of. The spell that almost killed Aunt Twilight. As far as he knows, there is no cure for it yet."
"Oh..." Joy was saddened and upset to hear this, but still composing himself, he said, "So... Tracker... he made you a vampire so you won't die of this sickness..."
Screwy nodded, and they noticed blood forming in her eyes like tears, since vampires could only cry blood.
"Oh, you poor thing," Screwball said sympathetically, getting down from the bed and then hugging the vampire version of herself, not caring at all if her coat would get stained.
"I'm so sorry to hear this, Screwy," Joy came down from the bed as well, and placed his hand on Screwy's shoulder as a friendly and sympathetic gesture. Screwy sniffled a little.
"Thanks..." she said. "You guys are the best."
"We try..." Screwball answered softly.
"Screwy..." Joy said as he shone with a pure white aura once again. "...just never give up hope... I believe that a cure will be found sooner or later... I can't tell when, but somehow I know that..."
"You..." Screwy sniffled a bit. "...really think so?"
"Yes," Joy gave her a nod at this.
"Well... thanks..." she said, but then they heard noise from downstairs.
"Sounds like they're back," Screwball noted, lifting her head (and turning her ears a bit) at the sound.
"Oh," Joy looked up as well. "I hope they got what they were looking for."
"Then let's go check it out," Screwy suggested, and together they all left the room and climbed down the stairs to the meeting room. There, they saw the others who had returned, but most noticeably the smiling form of TD, looking triumphant as he laid a painfully familiar-looking sword in the center of their Guardian table.
Joy gave an odd look at the sword, as some flashbacks rushed across his mind and he backed off slightly, shaking his head. After composing himself, he spoke.
"This sword... is the same one..." Then his voice became more like muttering, which was mostly to himself. "...that bastard..."
Screwball floated up to his shoulder and laid a hoof there reassuringly, as TD spoke aloud to the others, the only indication of him noticing Joy's remark being a subtle glance upwards with his eyes.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, and there was a hint of a dangerous tone in his voice, "...starting tomorrow, the reign of the self-proclaimed god of the Multiverse comes to an end..."
"You had ONE job!"Atlantia roared, glaring at Eternity, who had reclaimed his staff upon his return and was staring at Atlantia defiantly. "You were to secure the weapons and bring it back here so that the Guardians would not be able to use it! SO WHERE IS IT!?"
Eternity stared at Atlantia, before saying coldly, "Well maybe if we had been allowed to bring some of the bigger guns, or even some of the Pyrunian tech made from those stolen blueprints, we might have gotten it."
"Are you blaming this on me?!" Atlantia growled, his eyes glowing dangerously bright as smoke came from his nostrils.
"Yes, I am," Eternity said. "For such a powerful being, you sure can be an idiot at times."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Facilier spoke up, holding his hands up. "We can worry about who's fault it is later. We won't get anything accomplished if we fight ourselves now..."
Eternity glanced towards Facilier, before taking a deep breath.
"Fine," the Anti-Tempus grumbled. "What's our next play? Cause we need a good one if we want to beat the Guardians."
Atlantia stayed silent, but snorted in agreement with Eternity's statement.
"Well, it's obvious that they now have an advantage over us with the sword... or at least over you," Facilier said, giving Atlantia a somewhat apologetic expression for the last part. "However, we have an advantage we can exploit with them."
"How?! That Chaos freak alone could keep even Mr. Better-Tempus on his toes!" Bill Cipher exclaimed. "And we can't kill the other Guardians without making him stronger!"
"But what if we killed him? Before we killed the others?" Facilier suggested, giving a smirk. At this, the demon went silent.
"Facilier may have just pulled a loose thread, my lord," Mephiles said to Atlantia, and while his expressions obviously could show nothing much beyond a frown, his tone of voice sounded intrigued. "I think we should follow it to its end."
"Agreed," Atlantia said, a wicked grin crossing his face. "Now, where is my servant? I wish to know just what went down in her fights."
"Uh... about that..." Cipher started, but then a ball of purple fire landed beside them and Infinite's wraith was kneeling before Atlantia.
"A thousand apologies, my lord," she said. "I have failed you..."
Atlantia went completely still, except for one of his eyes, which twitched once.
"How?" The massive dragon growled deeply, glaring at Infinite's wraith.
"I underestimated the willpower of our foe," Infinite answered, her hollow voice devoid of any emotion, including fear. "And was... commanded to hesitate when I had a chance to strike. By the Guardian of Order."
"That's impossible..." Atlantia growled, narrowing his eyes. "The only way that could have happened is if-" He paused mid-sentence as it hit him, and Eternity nodded.
"The Guardian of Order used a Command Spell," the Anti-Tempus said. "In the middle of fighting me, I might add. It appears she is also a large threat to us."
"I thought she couldn't do that," Cipher mentioned.
"Wouldn't is more accurate," Apophis remarked, the giant Serpent of Chaos using the vessel of a Weeping Angel statue that was presumably inactive to speak with them; given the snake's disruptive force and the space needed for producing weapons, he had decided to remain deep in the Duat to prevent taking up too much space.
"And with the passing of time, what may have been one's desire and purpose then can change," Mephiles added.
"If she can cast Command Spells, who knows how much more she can do," Atlantia growled, beginning to pace. "She could very well pose as large a threat to us as the Guardian of Chaos."
"Which is why I thought you tried to end her along with The Traveler, my lord," Eternity said, drawing out the last word, and causing Atlantia to glare at him. "And yet she still lives, doesn't she? How then do you plan to take out the two most powerful Guardians if your efforts against one's life failed?"
"It only failed because of that cursed Guardian of Time, you blasted-!" Atlantia started, before freezing as he let out a hiss, a slightly wicked gleam coming into his eyes.
"I see you just had an idea come to mind. Care to share it with us?" Facilier inquired.
"The Guardian of Time is, aside from his Guardianship, the Prince of Time, Life, and Death," Atlantia said slowly. "The Guardians best hope of keeping their odds even against us whenever we manage to take down one of their best players; my attempt against the Guardian of Order's life is a prime example of this. We take out him, the Guardians lose their one of their most influential players."
"Now you're talking," Eternity said, the Anti-Tempus' eyes gleaming wickedly as his fingers tightened around his staff.
"But we should kill Chaos first if we want to stand a chance with even that... unless you're too scared of him?" Apophis asked Atlantia, clearly being smug in the last part. Snakes weren't the most sympathetic creatures around, and he only proved it to be so.
"Forgive me for agreeing with him, my lord, but it has started to become apparent that you harbor some fear inside of you that is felt towards the Guardian of Chaos, the former Terror of Dimensions," Facilier added, giving him a curious look.
"I fear nothing and nobody," Atlantia growled, clenching one talon as his magic surrounded it.
"Then explain why you haven't tried yet to fight him yourself," Eternity asked with a smirk, and Atlantia paused before replying.
"The opportunity simply hasn't appeared yet," the dragon replied, and Eternity snorted.
"If that ain't an excuse, then I'm not sure what would be one in your position," he said with a chuckle.
"Alright... but how can we guarantee his death? Hasn't he eluded death before?" Facilier asked.
"He hasn't eluded it; merely survived," Mephiles stated. "The idea that he can cheat it is merely a fantasy of his enemies."
"But that's the thing... he has yet to be killed so far. And he doesn't fear dying," Cipher pointed out.
"Well, if someone would volunteer to kill him next time we fight them, it'd make things a lot easier," Eternity scoffed. "Heck, why not even mak the wraith do it?"
"Are you kidding? He'd just banish her or dominate her like he did to the one that serves him now," Cipher remarked. "Which, I should add, was already Sauron's puppet at the time he did it, and was, and still is wearing one of the Nine Rings of Power." He took a bite out of a wine glass he held by making his eye temporarily become a set of teeth. "No, that's a suicide mission."
"Then pray tell who is gonna take him on?" Eternity said with a thin-lipped smile, which faded as soon as Atlantia spoke.
"You could, since you brought it up and seem so eager for his demise." The dragon stated, and Eternity shook his head.
"And get my ass handed to me?" He laughed. "No thank you!"
"Oh, so you do admit he's stronger than you," Apophis taunted.
"If you were here, I'd blast you serpent," Eternity grumbled. "He's stronger than me in raw physical power. Most of my power comes from the Eternity Stones, which he could most definitely neutralize most of their abilities. I ain't gonna fight a suicide battle."
"Then who will?" Facilier asked. But before anyone could answer him, a portal suddenly appeared behind them and then out of it stepped a familiar villain for those who have seen the Avengers, his golden gauntlet gleaming along with the six stones connected to it. Eternity immediately gripped his staff tightly as the stones in its head started to give off a soft glow.
"Stand down Eternity," Atlantia snarled, and the Anti-Tempus begrudgingly did so, although the Eternity Stones did not cease to stop their glowing, and then Atlantia turned his gaze on the newcomer.
"Welcome to my palace, Thanos," the dragon said smoothly. "What brings you here?"
Thanos gave a small glance at Eternity and then at his Infinity Stones, which were glowing themselves, before giving his answer.
"The need to bring balance," he said simply. "My own universe from within this one has been balanced, but my work is not over yet."
"So you wish to ally with me?" Atlantia asked, baring his teeth in a grin. "For if so, I do hope you understand what it is you are getting yourself into."
"I am aware," Thanos said. "Which is why I am helping you. One of them at least slanders gods like myself, and so I am inclined to teach him a lesson."
"Then it is a pleasure to make your alliance," Atlantia said with a wicked grin. "Now, which world should we attack next? For I wish to strike hard at the Guardians, and on one of their home turfs."
"Before we do, where's that crazy magician?" Cipher wondered.
"Meditating," Apophis answered. "And I think I know exactly where to strike."
"Where?" Facilier asked.
"The home of the Guardian of Time himself," the serpent answered.
"I have dibs on taking out his family," Eternity cackled.
"We begin planning now. I want all our troops supplied with Pyrunian weaponry," Atlantia said. "We shall eradicate them in one last massive battle, and then we shall be rid of the Guardians for good!"
The villains all cheered, save for Thanos who simply gave his signature small smile, silent as he looked out to what they had to conjure up.
"I am inevitable. And, it would seem, so are they..."
TD: *I got this line from the ending of Oversimplified's The Cold War, Part One on YouTube.
I honestly need to give more author's notes. XD