Chapter 12. Army of Ash
Logan, also known as the mutant Wolverine, sat on the couch inside the X-Mansion, working on his eighth beer of the afternoon and flipping through the channels on the TV.
"What's a guy gotta do for a little excitement around here?" He set his half full bottle of Rainier on the table next to the sofa and put his feet on the coffee table. Absolutely nothing had happened since he helped out that strange Ash character up in Canada. Since he made it back, he spend several hours in the Danger Room and substitute teaching some of the younger students at the school. Logan sighed and grabbed the newspaper. He opened it and began to read. After a few moments, he reached for his beer.
"What the Hell is that?" The remaining liquid in the bottle had begun to glow bright green.
"Are we there yet? This is the most boring expedition ever." Daxter was dragging his feet behind Jak. The two were wandering in the forest on the outskirts of Haven City.
"C'mon Dax, Samos needs more green eco to finish repairing the warp gate."
"Why can't ol' loghead get his own green crap. Besides, it's kareokee night downtown. You know how much I love to sing." Jak rolled his eyes.
"Just a few more and we'll head back, okay."
"Ah, this bites." Daxter kicked a small piece of green eco and it rolled over and hit a tree. It started to glow very bright. "Oh, no you don't." He said to himself. "Every time something starts glowing, I almost get eaten." He tried to cover it up with some leaves before Jak caught him.
"What are you doing?" Daxter stood in front of the pile, trying to hide it with his body.
"Uh, nothing of importance. I'm definitely not hiding anything that may or may not be ominously shining." Jak moved away the leaves.
"The television is not functioning properly." Starfire was sitting cross-legged on the floor, impatiently pushing the buttons on the remote. Raven was hovering on the other side of the room, meditating.
"The batteries are probably dead." She said, with irritation in her voice. "Just get up and use the buttons on the TV." Starfire got up and touched the power button. She turned to Raven.
"What do you wish to view?"
"I'm busy." Starfire turned back to the screen.
"Raven. You might want to look at this." The screen had flickered to life and was bathing the room in a bright green light.
Jack Sparrow woke up to the pounding of his head.
"I'm never drinking rum again." He sat up and saw that he was sharing a bed with two attractive barmaids from the night before. "Ah, now I remember." He pulled the cork out of the top of a bottle and took a swig of rum. "I love breakfast." He quietly got out of bed and put on his clothes. After a little searching, he found his effects. "That's not mine." He said as he removed a stocking that hat landed on his hat. He did a quick check to ensure all of his belongings were in order. As he began to leave, something caught his eye. A large, black gem hanging from a necklace on one of the girls. He skillfully removed it.
"Thanks love." He exited the room and made his way outside. The bright sunlight hurting his eyes. When they finally adjusted, he took another gulp of rum and accidently dropped his stolen gem. He looked down.
"Now that's interesting." The once dark colored gem was now shining bright green.
Jack Skellington sat at his desk with his head in his hands, crumpled up pieces of paper all over the floor at his feet.
"I just can't keep my mind on Halloween. It's almost here and I have no new ideas." He looked out the window at the clock in the town square.
"There's only 324 days left. I have to find something that will scare everyone out of their wits." Jack felt it hard to concentrate. His adventure with Ash had filled him with the thirst for adventure. His position as Pumpkin King was boring compared to a savior of the universe. He sat back down.
"I was a hero once. I guess that's more than most can say." He sighed and glanced over to a large jar that contained his Soul Robber. His eyes widened when he saw his symbiotic weapon glowing brightly, a green light emanating from within.
The pitch black darkness was broken by a faint green light. The shadows inside of Sir Daniel Fortesque's coffin were gradually being driven away by the shimmering green. Fortesque did not stir from his slumber. The light continued to grow in intensity. Sir Dan started to move slightly, as if being annoyed while trying to sleep. He right eye finally reemerged in his empty socket. It widened in shock when he saw all of the light invading his sarcophagus
"We've been flying around in space for days without even the smallest idea to were Maleficent has gone."
"I know Donald, but we've got to try to stop her." Goofy entered the cockpit of the gummi ship, stretching his arms.
"Any one want me to take over. That little rest did wonders."
"No thanks." Sora replied, yawning a little. "I'm alright."
"Well I'm not." Donald got up, obviously aggravated at the lack of results their search has yielded. "I'm going to bed." King Mickey didn't reply. He had his nose buried in the computer screen, studying the readings that the ship was taking from nearby planets, searching for clues.
"Hey guys." Goofy said as he pointed out the window. "What do you suppose that is." Everyone looked out the front of the ship and saw a beacon of green light shining up at them from a small, uninhabited planet.
"Ash," Mickey said to himself. "Sora. Take us down there."
"Pass me some more of that lizard." Legolas stabbed a tiny lizard that was cooking on the fire with a sai. Raphael grabbed it from him. "I gotta hand it to ya. You elves sure know your way around a campfire."
"With the right touch, most anything can be made edible."
"Even turtle?" Regina said from across the fire.
"Watch it toots. You don't wanna eat me. Turtle meat is a little too tough."
"Oh lighten up Raph. I was just kidding." She took another bite of her charred reptile. "How long do you guys think we'll be stuck in the Savage Land?"
"Ash said that he was the one with the power to return everything to normal." Legolas replied as he threw another lizard on the fire.
"I think that bozo was just blowin' hot air." Raphael was picking his teeth with a sai.
"He seemed genuine enough." Regina added. "I think he'll get us out of here."
"Yeah, keep dreamin' there, Reg. We are permanent denizens of this place. We should start selling real estate. I bet dinosaurs would be a hot attraction." Regina laughed slightly and looked at her weapons. She had managed to save most of her ammunition, just in case. They had been pretty successful hunting with Lagolas's arrows. The three of them had finished eating and were about ready to settle in for the night. They had all grown accustomed to the sound of the surrounding jungle. Regina awoke, as she always did, after only half an hour of sleep. Raph and snoring loudly, as he always did. She rolled over and looked at the glowing embers of the near extinguished fire. She stood up suddenly.
"Hey guys." The glow of the embers turned from red to bright green.
"There it is." Van Helsing spotted a small vampire hiding behind a bell tower high above the church.
"Allow us." Venom jumped up and clung to the outer wall of the building and began to climb.
"I bet you a drink you can't beat him there."
"You're on." Batman shot out his grappling hook and swung his way up to the top of the tower. He was the first to reach the summit, with Venom only seconds behind.
"We hate when you do that." The two cornered the cowering vampire. Several of the little vermin managed to escape Van Helsing's light bomb back in Dracula's castle. The three of them had been spending their nights hunting them. Venom looked at Batman.
"Let us, please. We're hungry."
"Be my guest." Venom grabbed the small creature and placed it in his mouth. A couple chomps and a big swallow spelled the end of the little beast. The two made their way to the ground.
"Look's like I owe you a beer." The three of them headed for the local pub.
"Great idea. Our mouth always does get dry after a meal." As they neared the pub, their attention was captured when the various lanterns that surrounded the street began to glow bright green.
"We've been scanning all day. There's no more." Juggernaut was growing very impatient. Staring at computers was driving him insane.
"We have to ensure that no more aliens remain on Cybertron. That can only be done by keeping close tabs on the motion sensors." Prime said toward the pacing behemoth.
"Yeah that was fun, smashing and crashing, for the first few days. We got 'em all. That's why it's so boring around here."
"Oh shut up." Earthworm Jim said. "You haven't stopped complaining since we all got here."
"Don't you tell me what to do. You have no idea how easy it would be to crush you."
"Bring it on."
"That's enough, you two." Selene said. "Kurt do you see anything?"
"Nope, nothing. I'm beginning to agree with Juggernaut on this one."
"Finally. Someone is listening to me."
"You may be correct." Prime agreed. "But we have to be positive that all of the beasts Starscream brought to the planet have been exterminated and I am not yet satisfied." Juggy sat in the corner and crossed his arms. He and Prime had butted heads on several more occasions and Juggernaut chose to keep quite this time. He sat silently for a moment, the only sounds in the room was being made by the computers.
"That's it. I'm going outside." He stormed out the door.
"Should we stop him?" Hectic asked Prime.
"No. Let him blow off some steam."
"I'll go keep an eye on him." Jim exited the door.
"Something better happen soon." Selene said before taking a drink of the dark red liquid that sat in a glass next to her. "Blood is so much better directly from the vein." Juggernaut, Jim and Hectic had each been taking turns in donating blood to the vampire. Outside, Jim had caught up with Juggernaut.
"I can't hardly stand all this downtime. I have to smash something before I go crazy."
"It's hard for all of us. Ash will come through."
"Yeah, yeah. That's what everyone keeps saying. I think he was full of crap." Juggernaut picked up a small piece of energon that he found by his feet. As he looked at it, the shinny blue energy cube had changed to a bright green. "Hey, worm. What do you suppose this is?"
"I don't know. We'd better show it to Optimus."
"I miss him more and more every day." Mankind's symbiote flowed off of his face as he was laying some dead flowers on the grave of his sock puppet. "Mr. Socko could always make me laugh." Beast stood away from the still mourning Mankind, knowing full well that crying over a sock puppet was unhealthy. He watched as the sun began to sink behind the body of the demon in the mountain. Mankind stood up and walked toward him, his symbiote covering his face again.
"I wonder were Ash is now." Beast said to no one in particular.
"Who knows." Mankind caught something moving. He took off after it. Beast followed. They approached what appeared to be a ghost.
"We haven't seen and apparition since Ash left." The two were shocked when they realized that they recognized it.
"Kane!?" They each said at the same time. The ghost looked at them and just stared.
"You're alive." Mankind said. "Sort of." The ghost looked down at his hands, seemingly not believing he was a specter. The ghost then made his way over to a headstone that bore his name.
"We buried what little we found." Beast said.
"The service was lovely." Mankind added as Kane looked at his own grave. A bright green light then pierced ground were Kane had been buried and stuck the apparition in the chest. Kane fell to his knees. Mankind and Beast watched in disbelief as Kane began to take on a physical form again. The fire wielding man rose back up to his feet, whole again.
"Hooray!" Mankind yelled. "Kane's back." Beast approached the grave.
"What kind of magic was that." Kane once again fell to his knees and began to dig. After a few handfuls of dirt, the three were bathed in a bright green light.
Ash watched as the green light on the summon stone slowly faded. He shook it a few times and even put the stone up to his ear.
"Awesome. Mickey gave me a toy with bad batteries." Ash was about to throw it over the edge of the tall building that he was standing on, when a flash of green light shone behind him and his hair was blown forward. Ash turned around and couldn't believe his eyes. Everyone he had aligned himself with in his travels was now standing in front of him.
"How ya doin, kid?" Logan said when he saw Ash, who was still showing a puzzled expression upon his face. King Mickey stepped forward and looked around.
"Looks like you've been doing quite a bit of traveling."
"Everyone I've met is here. This turns the odds a little more in my favor. Kane. You're alive." Ash walked up to Blackheart's brother who was standing next to Fortesque. "And you." He patted the skeleton on the shoulder, producing a cloud of dust as he did so. "You're still dead, but you look good." Fortesque crossed his arms and looked away.
"Ash! I've missed you." Mankind couldn't control his emotions anymore and ran forward. He gave Ash a big hug.
"I told you he'd get us out of that place." Regina stated as she nudged Raphael with her elbow.
"Yeah, you sure told me." He replied half sarcastically as Ash tried to remove Mankind from him.
"Down boy. Get back before people get the wrong idea."
"It appears that we have a bit of a mountain to climb." Prime said in reference to the army of Sentinels that were ransacking the city.
"Finally, some stuff to smash." Juggy added excitedly.
"That's right. Now listen up. The odds are against us at least 50 to 1. Not only do we have a scary beyond all reason battle ahead of us against an army of giant robots, or, "Sentinels"," Ash threw up some "air quotes". "But we are also facing a cheap copy of myself, a C3PO wannabe and some magic wielding hussy who has huffed to much paint in her day."
"What is he talking about?" Daxter whispered into Jak's ear from his perch on his shoulder.
"I don't have a clue." Ash continued his speech.
"Now I'm not one for long, drawn out speeches. So I'll make this short. Gentlemen," He turned to Selene and winked. "And ladies. We'll give 'em a fight they won't forget. Win or lose, let's run through 'em like shit through a goose."
"We're with you." Sora yelled, raising his keyblde in the air. Goofy and Donald raised their weapons as well.
"How do you suggest we approach said army?" Jack Skellington inquired.
"You got me there. I usually just wing it. Beast. How's your arm?"
"More than adequate." Beast walked up to Ash.
"Make it a fastball." Ash started his chainsaw and checked to make sure his gun and sword were secure.
"Not without me you're not." Logan walked up to Ash.
"The more the merrier. Hectic, you and Legolas stay here and do what you can."
"With pleasure." Hectic strapped his chaingun to his face and took a knee.
"I'll bend my bow to your will." The elf pulled out an arrow and readied it on his bow.
"May I stay here too?" Sparrow asked.
"No. Fire at will." Beast grabbed Logan and Ash by their belts and tossed them into the onslaught of Sentinels. Hectic zoomed in with his sniper rifle and blasted the right eye out of a hulking bot while Legolas hit it in the other eye with an arrow. The first casualty fell to the ground in a heap. Logan and Ash soared over the toppled Sentinel. Ash forced his saw forward and thrust it into the side of another Sentinel's head. Logan landed on another one's chest and tore it open, ripping out it's power cell. Maleficent witnessed three of her soldiers crash to the ground and stared in disbelief at everyone that had joined Ash in the fight.
"Get them. Make them all suffer." The rest of Ash's army joined the clash of epic proportions. Venom used his weblines to swing while Mankind used his symbiote as ropes. The two landed on a Sentinel and began tearing away.
"Let's see if your "other" can keep up with us."
"Me and my friend will rupture and break and lacerate twice as fast as you." The two human beings with symbiotic aliens were clearly enjoying themselves. Optimus Prime leapt into the air, blasting downward as he descended. Skellington snapped his Soul Robber and hitched a ride on Prime's leg.
"Thanks for the lift." He released his hold and wrapped his green weapon around a Sentinels throat. It's grip tightened until the battle droid's head was pinched off. When Optimus landed he transformed and his truck form tripped up several of the machines. He reverted back to robot form and used the momentum to slide on his back. As sparks flew, Prime blasted upwards at one as he skidded past it. The Sentinel split down the middle and fell apart.
"We have to win this. The fate of the universe depends on it." King Mickey was ricocheting from robot to robot, slashing like mad with his key blade.
"Hold on to your panties." Juggernaut grabbed Earthworm Jim and a reluctant Jack Sparrow.
"Are you a worm?" Sparrow inquired.
"Big whoop, wanna fight about it?"
"No. I just hope there aren't any fish around." The three headed toward the middle of the action, Jim blasting the whole way down. When they landed, Jim continued firing up at the towering machines while Juggy began to rip legs out from under them and pummel them when they hit the ground.
"Perhaps I can be of use elsewhere." Jack did his best not to get squashed as he made his way between the hulking metal legs. Daxter caught a ride on Starfire's shoulder as she and Raven flew into action.
"Hope you girls are gonna watch, 'cause, this is the dumbest thing I've ever done." Dax leapt off and scurried inside of one of the machines as Raven was using her powers to pick up cars, chunks of concrete and even parts of Sentinels to as weapons.
"These things aren't so tough."
"I sure hope these don't fall on anyone." Starfire was working in tandem with Batman, Daniel Fortesque and Raphael, flying at high speeds and using her strength and Starbolts to topple the machines so the three could spring in and finish them off. Beast carried Sora, Donald and Goofy as he sprinted, weaving between the robots.
"Now!" He grabbed Sora a threw him up at one. Sora held his blade out in front and crashed through a metal skull.
"I guess it's my turn." Goofy swallowed nervously. Beast then threw him and, with his shield in front, plowed through another's chest.
"Let's see how they handle electricity." Donald remained on Beast's shoulder, casting a spell and striking the androids with bolts of lightning. Beast then left the ground and took one's head off with a powerful swing of his claws. Regina stood next to Van Helsing on the roof, bullets and silver stakes finding their mark.
"You're a good shot." Helsing said as he let loose one of his razor discs that tore through a power cell.
"You're not so bad yourself." Regina rendered another one blind that Kane jumped up and grabbed on below the neck before melting a hole through it's robotic brain. "You're gonna have to show me how to use one of those things.
"Time for some Dark Eco." Dark Jak grabbed Selene and gave her a toss, her high-heeled boot finding it's way through a steel forehead. Dark Jak than started to tear into whatever metal monsters he could find. Selene then stuck her hands into the hole she had made and tore it's head in half.
"That's why I love ya' babe." Ash had just finished decapitating another Sentinel before he watched what Selene had done. She leapt off the falling robot and landed in front of him. Without a word, she kissed him in the middle of the battle.
"Hey," Raph yelled. "There ain't no time for that, lover boy." The turtle then thrust the tips of his sais into a metal leg and began to climb.
"Go get her Ash." Selene said when she broke the kiss. She then pulled out her pistols and began firing. Raphael had made his way to the back of a Sentinel's neck were he began to cut every exposed wire he could find.
"She could suck more than my blood." Batman tackled Ash to the ground and a Sentinels energy blast just missed him.
"Are you gonna kiss me too?"
"No." The Dark Night shot up his grappling hook and tossed his end to Donald. Who had left his post on Beast shoulder to continue his assault. He sent lightning up the cable, frying the machines wires. A different Sentinel fell, Raphael riding it down the whole way. Back on the roof, A Sentinel made his way to were Hectic, Legolas, Regina and Helsing were picking them off with their projectiles. It smashed it's fist onto the roof which prompted the elf to jump aboard and run up to it's head. As he ran, he shot two arrows, one hit each eye. Another Sentinel opened it's palm and was preparing to blast the blonde haired elf as he made his way toward the other's head. Hectic removed his sniper rifle and placed it back in his hand, producing his chain gun. He fired a barrage of ammo into the robot's face until it exploded. Legolas jumped off the face of his combat droid and back flipped back toward the roof. As he did, he threw his knife deep into the skull of their attacker. The Sentinel began to fall.
"That was one of the coolest things I have ever seen." Kurt said when Legolas landed back on the roof. Only a few feet away, Regina and Van Helsing found a healthy course of action. Van was throwing his razor discs that he had loaded with gun powder, burying the blades in the bodies of the robots. Regina would then, fire a bullet at the disc, thus exploding it, causing vast amounts of damage.
"It looks like Ash is putting up more of a fight than you expected." Bad Ash said to Maleficent.
"I do have other weapons in my arsenal." She glanced at Doom.
"I have been waiting for this." Doom walked to the edge of the rooftop and began blasting at the heroes. Beast was struck by the energy and fell to the ground. Mankind was hit next, pieces of metal still in his hands as he too fell. Starfire witness Doom's actions.
"That's not fair." She flew as fast as she could at the villain, plowing through every robot in her way. Doom saw her coming and fired a blast at her. Sir Daniel Fortesque waved her down as the heroine dodged the blast. She flew down and picked him up. Dan held his golden shield out in front, deflecting the rest of Doom's blast's. When they neared, Dan was released and he trust his blade through the stomach of Bad Ash when he landed. He looked down at the weapon protruding from his gullet.
"Right in the belly button." Fortesque's eye widened before he was punched in the skull. He staggered backwards, pulling out the blade. Starfire was clashing with Doom on the other side of the roof. Each combatant had their fists encased in energy and they were trading blows.
"It's not nice to take cheap shots."
"No one ever accused me of playing fair." Doom was then hit in the face by a Starbolt that sent him sliding backwards. When he stopped, he fired back, striking Starfire with his own attack.
"No bag of bones is gonna make a fool of me." Bad Ash was slashing at Fortesque's shield with elongated arms that were now adorned with huge claws.
"Pathetic heroes." Maleficent pointed her staff at Fortesque and Starfire.
"Uh, uh lady." Juggernaut and Dark Jak land right behind her. "That ain't nice." The two punched down at the witch, both of them connecting with her face. She barely moved.
"How is that possible?" Jak asked. Ash looked up as a huge amount of magic was expelled. He then watched as Starfire, Fortesque, Juggernaut and Jak, back in normal form, were thrown from the roof and crashed into the pavement. A Sentinel, swinging it's arms erratically, made it's way to the three villains on the roof.
"Look out below." Daxter had rewired the machine and was controlling it from the top it's head. He made the robot fire it's blasters at them, but he missed. Ash could here Dax scream as he held on for dear life when Doom blasted the machines head clean from it's body. He then surveyed all around him.
"We've hardly made a dent in their numbers." He saw Kane melt yet another Sentinels head, only to be rendered unconscious by a different one's blast. Raphael was then blasted as well. Only surviving because of his shell, but still rendered immobile. Raven was using her powers to tear the robots to pieces and use them as weapons until she was snuck up on and shot from behind. She fell lifelessly to the ground. He swivelled his head to see Goofy dive in front of Sora, shielding him form a beam. He also fell. Sora threw his keyblade through a power cell before he himself was rendered unconscious by another blast. Rage overtook Donald as he watched Sora fall. He willed all of his remaining power into his staff and pointed it up in the air. Within seconds, basketball size meteors began to rain down from the heavens, dismantling at least a dozen Sentinels before he too, was subdued.
"Destroy the four on the roof." Maleficent ordered as she and Doom fired at the other occupied building. It collapsed with Hectic, Legolas, Regina and Helsing still on top.
"It's hopeless." Ash's shoulders slumped. Earthworm Jim was blasting in all directions before he was subdued as well. Selene ran in to try to rescue Jim from his fate. She made it to him but was surrounded. Two Sentinels opened their palms and aimed at her.
"Don't worry. We're here." Venom swung hard with his shoulder into the forearm of a Sentinel ready to fire. It's arm was moved toward a fellow robot and the blaster went off, knocking two of them to the ground. Venom landed next to Selene, who was holding Jim. The earthworm fired a round of his Plasma Gun into another robot before passing out. Selene and Venom were then completely surrounded. Ash met her eyes with his.
"Keep fighting." She said. "Keep fighting." The three were then hit by several consecutive beams.
"Ash," Logan said as he clawed his way toward the hero. "Don't just stand there. Help us out." He and Batman dodged a fist as it slammed to the ground.
"It's useless." Ash replied. Batman made his way to him before he punched him in the face.
"It's only over when you let it." Logan then made it to Ash. He punched him in the other side of the face.
"You wanna be a puss? Go ahead, but we're gonna keep going."
"Okay, I get it. Stop hitting me. But what'll we do."
"We will keep fighting until we fall, or she does." Mickey said as he Skellington and Prime battled their way toward them. Optimus blew another Sentinel away as he spoke.
"You are not alone, Ash. We are with you til the end." Skellington extended his Soul Robber through another one's chest.
"Til the end."
"Thanks guys. I needed that. I don't know what I was thinking. You're right. As long as there is a single dollop of frosting on the oh so delicious chocolate cake of righteousness, it is worth picking up a fork and taking a bite."
"I think he lost it." Logan said to Mickey. "It don't matter. I'm talking to a freakin' mouse." Maleficent looked down at the six remaining heroes.
"Sentinels." She yelled at her army. "Stand down. We will handle the rest of these worthless curs." The remaining robots stood upright and ceased all movement. The witch used her magic to fly herself, Doom and Bad Ash down in front of the last of Ash's army. Maleficent spoke to Ash.
"Do you think yourself foolish enough that six of you are going to stop me."
"Probably not." Ash said as he pulled out his shot gun. "But for some reason, today, I feel just stupid enough to try." He fired a shot that hit Doom in the chest. Logan jumped in and slashed at Bad Ash, cutting three deep cuts in his alien flesh. Logan was then clutched around the throat by one of his hands. Mickey leapt in and swung his keyblade, releasing the hold. The Soul Robber wrapped itself around Doom's wrist and Prime shot the steel clad villain in the face with his blaster. Doom staggered back and, with his face plate smoking, fired a bolt of energy at the AutoBot, causing him to slide backwards, cutting deep trenches in the asphalt with his feet. Bad Ash extended his spine covered arm and hit Skellington in the face. Batman dodged blasts from Doom and swung as he ran past Bad Ash. The blades on his gauntlet slicing the alien before he kicked Doom in the chest with both his feet. At that same instant, Logan stabbed Doom through his armor and into his side. Batman was grabbed by the leg and swung him into the mutant. Prime roared back in his truck form and crashed into Doom, pinning him against a concrete wall. Skellington and Mickey were engaging Bad Ash only to be hit by Prime as he was tossed backward by Doom. The two villains were seemingly getting the upper hand on Ash's allies.
"I admire your reserve." Maleficent said to Ash as she pointed her staff at him. "But, the time has come, to die."
"Pardon me love." Jack Sparrow had snuck up behind Maleficent and quickly picked her magic staff from her grasp. He threw it to Ash just before he was hit in the chest by a bolt of magic. Sparrow flew backwards into a brick wall and was rendered unconscious. Maleficent turned to Ash as he pointed her own staff at her.
"I don't know how to use this." Ash somehow willed the weapon to work and blasted Maleficent. When she was struck, a black shadow entombed her and she disappeared. Ash hit Bad Ash as well. He vanished into thin air. Ash, Batman, Logan, Mickey, Jack Skellington and Optimus Prime gathered around Doom.
"Give it up, rivet face. We've won."
"Perhaps for now." Doom willed yellow energy to his fists and struck the ground. The release threw everyone back and Ash dropped the staff. Doom picked it up and slashed it upward, creating a black opening.
"We will meet again, Ash. This, I promise." Doom broke the plane of the portal and was gone. The six heroes rose back to their feet.
"Is it over?" Skellington asked cautiously.
"It appears so." Prime replied. Wolverine walked up and slapped Ash on the back.
"Ya did good kid."
"Not bad." Batman added.
"I wouldn't be so sure fellas." Mickey said. They all turned and were shocked by what they saw. Maleficent was standing in the middle of the battle field, unscathed.
"Did you truly believe that I would be that easy to vanquish? I am the power of the Necronomicon. I am invincible." She held her arms high in the air and a black and purple smoke began to swirl around her.
"This can't be good." Ash said. Lightning began to flash out of the spinning vortex, striking the remaining Sentinels, disabling them. To everyone's amazement, Maleficent began to change shape as well as grow bigger. In a matter of seconds, she had transformed into a thirty foot tall dragon with black skin and piercing yellow eyes. She opened her mouth and a blistering barrage of green flame produced a wall of fire that tossed everyone back like rag dolls. All but Ash. He pulled out his sword.
"Go ahead and fry me, you over grown horny toad. I'm starting to hear the fat lady singing." Maleficent erupted an even bigger flame from her open mouth. Ash held out the Deadly Nightblade in front of him, the Kingdom Chain was diverting her magical fire like water around a stone. Ash was beginning to be forced backwards by the force of the blaze. He used all his strength to force the blade forward, sending to fire back. The dragon's head snapped back when she was struck.
"Special delivery." Ash threw his blade as hard as he could. The dragon's eyes widened as the blade pierced her tough hide and struck her in the heart. Ash watched as she began to wither and die in front of him. The hero walked up to find his sword sticking through Maleficent's cloak and into the ground. Ash pulled it out of the ground and stuck it back in his belt. He then spit on the torn, black cloak.
"Black's not my color." He looked around to see that everyone of his allies were slowly getting back up to their feet. Aside from some bumps and bruises, everyone was alive. They all crowded around.
"Troops," Ash said as he walked toward a liquor store that had miraculously survived the onslaught. "This calls for a celebration." He punched through the large glass window with his robot hand and grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan from the display. "Drink up." He tossed the bottle of rum to Sparrow.
"Now, this was worth the trip." The pirate tipped it back and swallowed a big gulp. Ash then began grabbing bottles of all shapes and sizes, dispersing them among the crowd. Logan happily began to pound an entire bottle of Vodka before making his way to the back of the store. He reemerged with two cases of Rainier bottles.
"Lighten up, Mr. Serious." Ash said as he threw a bottle at Batman, who caught it without effort.
"I suppose you're right." The Dark Night took a big drink of Jack Daniels. When he finished, he even pulled his mask back.
"That's the spirit. Once we all make it home, no one will be able to point out that mug anyway." The victory party lasted through the night and into the next morning, everyone exchanging stories of heroism and valor. All kinds of tales were told. From the war on Cybertron to rescuing Santa Clause to saving the entire world from an alien known as Gunter Glunt. Jim even revealed how he became a worm capable of toting a gun. Fortesque tried to tell one of his adventures, but quickly gave up when no one was able to understand him. Everyone was grateful that the threat of Maleficent had been halted. No one even seemed to care that nobody had any idea as to how everyone would get back home. Ash had simply stated, with a somewhat slurred voice,
"Everything will work itself out." Just as the sun was starting to rise, Selene grabbed Ash by the front of his shirt and pulled him away from the crowd.
"Hey look, a furniture store." He said as she lead him inside. "Need help picking out a new mattress?" Selene pushed him onto one of the display beds.
"Let's try this one."
Ash opened his eyes. He was in a very soft bed and covered in what he thought were heavy blankets. When he raised his head, he realized that he had several women lying on him while they slept. A huge grin slowly manifested itself on his face. Ash made his way through the tangle of young bodies and got out of bed. He put on his pants and boots before he looked out the window. He was in a mansion. Out in the huge front yard stood a huge statue of himself, saw on his arm, shotgun over his shoulder and sword in his belt. His weapons were in glass cases in the huge hallway, as was the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. A man in a suit with long coattails walked up to him and handed him a cup of coffee.
"Good morning, Master Ash."
"Why thank you old bean." Ash continued to walk around his new home before sitting in a gigantic chair in front of a theater sized television. One of the girls from his room entered and snuggled up next to him in his chair. He took a sip of the best coffee he'd ever had and flicked on the T.V.
"It's good to be king." A strange image then came into view. It was one of a blonde haired woman, the left side of her face had decayed away to the skull.
"What is this, PBS? I don't remember Mr. Rogers being a girl, or half of his face melted off. "
"Ash," She said to him. "The universe is still in upheaval. You must set it right." Ash turned off the T. V.
"Public television just isn't what he used to be." The girl that was sitting next to him tilted her head up. She looked just like the image on the screen. Ash jumped up and the girl floated into the air.
"The balance of the universe must be restored." Ash thought for a moment.
"Can I get another hour with the foxes in my bed." She just stared at him. "30 minutes." Again no answer. "Five?" After a short pause, Ash slumped his shoulders and sighed. "Let me get dressed."
To Be Continued