SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Near Ulnar Station
A massive fleet of mixed ships from the three Koprulu Sector races and various DDF factions looked out at the megastructure that the Xel'Naga had once called home. Aboard the Spear of Adun's war-council chamber, Artanis and Selendis stood with Raynor, while various DDF big-shots listened in via comm. link.
"We have waited long enough in this accursed realm" the female Executor said. "If the Queen of Blades truly wishes to speak, she would be here now."
"She ain't gonna stand us up, Selendis" Raynor replied. "If she says it's important, you better believe it is."
"Trusting that deceiver is not an act I am accustomed to, Commander."
"You said the same thing about Zeratul," Col. Holland replied over a vid-screen, "and look where that got you."
Before Selendis could respond, the council-chamber doors slid open, as the Primal Queen made her entrance.
"Such little faith for a Templar…" Kerrigan remarked. "Artanis. Jim…"
"So what's going on, Sarah" Raynor asked. "What's so urgent you got us all here for?"
"Amon still lives. His hatred festers in the Void, and he already plans to return. Even now, I hear voices calling me…"
"This may be the Great Enemy's trickery…" Selendis whispered to Artanis.
"The voices are not his. There's something else in there – something tormented and desperate, but it's benevolent. …Amon's strength grows by the moment. He may not return during our lives… but he will return."
"And what is it you suggest we do, Kerrigan?" Artanis asked.
"There is a gateway to the Void within Ulnar. I intend to go through it and destroy the Fallen One once and for all. I need your help."
After several seconds' thought, Raynor spoke up. "Sarah's right. We can't kick this can down the road. This burden is ours, like it or not."
"Zeratul foresaw that this day would come…" Artanis remarked. "You have our blades, Kerrigan."
Soon, the signal was sent, and the enormous diamond-shaped megastructure split apart, pieces shifting and changing, forming into a truly massive ring. A flash of light accompanied the opening of a portal into the Void, and the entire gathered combined fleet flew into and through it.
-Break-
"Things are goin' sideways real fast" Raynor reported. "These… shadows are tearing at our ships. We're not gonna last long out here."
"The voices are coming from up ahead" Kerrigan said. "We must reach them!"
"My forces will investigate…"
-Break-
A pair of Warp Prisms deposited several Protoss foot-soldiers, along with three Stalkers and a pair of Annihilator-class Immortals. Moving north, through the Void Miasma that slowly ate at their shields, the walkers' cannons making short work of a Marine-Shadow squad. Further ahead, a 'machine' of floating black stones held open a rift, from which more Void Shadows were emerging. The Annihilators fired their 'Shadow Strike' cannons, destroying the rift, while Centurions and Sentinels carved through the Zergling-Shadows that had emerged from it. To the east, they spotted a large black & red structure, which the local Void Miasma seemed to be coming from.
"Go forth…" a deep, warm voice echoed. "Purge the corruption…"
"That voice…" Artanis murmured, in awe. "Tassadar!"
Every unit focused fire on the bizarre corrupting device, quickly wearing through its defensive barrier and blowing chunks out of it. Finally, the structure exploded and collapsed, the dark-red miasma clearing from the immediate area. A brilliant golden crystal was revealed, shining with warm light that bathed the area, fully recharging the Protoss warriors' shields and pushing the dark miasma back further. Structures began to warp in, while Artanis himself came down as well. Zerg drop-pods and Dominion dropships came down as well, setting up shop east of the forming Protoss base.
Before the Daelaam Hierarch, two masses of light flew down – one blue, one green. They set down beside each other a few meters in front of him, and formed into two very familiar figures.
"Your timing is impeccable, old friend" Zeratul's spirit greeted, as he stood beside the spirit of Tassadar.
"Tassadar and Zeratul… How can this be?"
"We were both able to maintain our connection to the material Realm after our deaths, rather than passing on to the afterlife, thanks to one being's efforts" Tassadar replied. "Now, he needs your help."
"And who would this 'being' be?" Kerrigan asked.
"His name is Ouros" Zeratul's spirit replied. "He is the last survivor of the benevolent Xel'Naga. He has been Amon's prisoner for quite some time."
"It was he who placed the 'prophecies' Zeratul had been following, doing what little he still could to help life against the Fallen One. Now, to free him, we must destroy the other structures similar to the one you just felled – the keystones of his seal. And… we must also deal with his jailer."
"Jailer?" Raynor asked.
"When a Xel'Naga's vessel in the Material Realm is slain," Zeratul replied, "their spirit and essence return to the Void…"
He swept his hand outward, and everyone's vision was given the image of flying out over the battlefield, overlooking the various Void Rifts and 'seal-stones'. And at the far edge of the battlefield, a huge and hideous creature sat, dull-purple with patches of glowing red, four glowing-red eyes over a 'mouth' of hanging tentacles. And although none of the allied forces had ever seen anything like him, his energy signature was all too familiar.
"Ah, the Queen of Blades… What a pleasant surprise…"
"Narud…" Kerrigan growled.
The bases got to work to get up & running, setting up auto-defenses and putting together rapid-response forces. Within a few minutes, a huge monstrosity floated in from the north – a Void Thrasher. The demonic entity went for Raynor's base, SAM turrets and Siege Tanks starting to chip through its psionic barrier. The vile titan roared and released a wave of purple psionic lightning, killing half of a marine squad and damaging one of the turrets. It was now that the Dimensional Defense Force made its presence known, as a fairly powerful ki blast struck the Void Thrasher, stripping away its barrier and stunning it. Then, a certain tall & buxom red-eyed blonde mage flew in, and a swing of Bardiche Jet Zanbar cleaved one of the Thrasher's arms off. Raynor's SAM turrets focused fire on the wounded monster's head, bringing the titan down, its body rapidly disintegrating into glowing purple particles that drifted away and winked out like cooling embers.
Moving north from Raynor's base, a combined Protoss/Terran strike-force hit a Void Miasma generator. Goliath heavy machinegun fire cut through Zergling-Shadows and Marine-Shadows, while Immortals and Annihilators focused cannon fire on the nearby void-rift, closing it quickly. As a flock of Mutalisk-Shadows was met by missiles from the Goliaths and anti-air shells from Dragoons, the Immortals and Raynor's Marauders focused heavy fire on the miasma generator, chipping away at it. A precision tactical strike from the Spear of Adun took some chunks out of the structure, making the ground forces' job easier, and soon the structure was destroyed, freeing space for Raynor's Dominion forces to move up and start erecting a forward position.
"The Swarm shall fall this day!"
A force of Void-Shadows hit Kerrigan's hive-cluster, being attacked by her Spine Crawlers, Roaches, and Hydralisks. A pair of Zerg Abominations emerged from the Hive and joined the fray, crushing the three Stalker-Shadows. Raynor's people hit the Void-Shadows from the flank, gunning down most of the Zergling-Shadows before they knew what hit them, with Goliath and Diamondback fire quickly mopping up the rest. A Void Thrasher now approached Kerrigan's base, but a pair of golden warriors barred its path: Naruto in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode (Stage 1), and Super Saiyan (1) Goku. The two fired a pair of golden-yellow ki blasts at the Void Thrasher, blasting it back and doing some damage. It fired a wave of psionic lightning at them, but they flew out of the way and countered with more energy blasts from Goku and a giant solid-chakra fist to the face from Naruto. Finally, the two golden warriors combined energies for a blast that blew the monster's head off.
As the duo came back down to ground level a ways north from Kerrigan's base, they were joined by Vegeta, Sasuke, and Gohan. When he had died and been revived after Kid Buu obliterated Earth, Gohan had lost the hypercharge power-up Old Kai had given him. However, since that debacle's end, he had thrown himself into training, aware that Buu would likely not be the last major threat they'd ever face. As a result, he was now (a little) stronger than when he fought and defeated Cell and then Bojack a year after, able to keep up with Goku and Vegeta once more (though he had not unlocked the SS3 form they had).
Suddenly, the quintet felt a palpable 'wave' of malice. "I was hoping you lot wouldn't show up. I didn't want to use these two, since they're a bit… harder to control. But, if there was ever a time to break out my trump cards, now would be it! Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!-!"
In front of the five heroes, two wooden coffin-like boxes sprung up from the earth. They readied themselves, knowing they were in for a fight… but as the front 'faces' of the boxes fell away, revealing who was inside, the quintet felt shock as they saw exactly who they were up against. The first was a man, clad in dull-red armor over a deep-blue bodysuit, with long, shaggy black hair. The other figure was masculine and humanoid in build, but his body was a mixture of black, green with black spots, a pair of hardened black protrusions from his back that looked like insect-wing casings, and white flesh of a neck leading up to a pale-white face with purple markings and a yellow 'frame' along the sides and jaw-line, with a pair of green 'horns' pointing upward. The Z-Trio felt shock and mild horror as they recognized one of the worst foes they had ever faced, while Naruto & Sasuke were tensed and angry as they beheld one of their mightiest enemies:
"Madara…" Naruto scowled.
"Cell…" Gohan whispered.
Soon, the two Reanimates stirred. Upon achieving full consciousness, Cell looked himself over, quite confused; how could he be 'alive' and dead at the same time? He was then distracted by an annoyed sigh from his left.
"Not again…" Madara grumbled.
"Hm?" Cell turned to face the other Edo Tensei reanimate. "You know what this is?"
"It's not the first time I've been brought back in this manner… although this one was wholly unplanned. It's… Oh, I'll just show you instead of telling you; look into my eyes…"
Madara's Mangekyō flashed, and knowledge of Edo Tensei's specifics was 'beamed' into Cell's mind, as well as basic information on who Madara was, and his goals. At the same time, Madara had a look at Cell's memories, learning about him as well. When the connection broke, Cell looked down at his hands, seeing how his arms were slightly dulled in color, with minute cracks here & there.
"Using a deceased person's blood or other genetic material to summon them from the afterlife, bind them to a self-repairing body of animated earth, and fight on the summoner's behalf? …If I weren't experiencing it for myself, I'd likely not believe it."
"Hmph. Well, while you're marveling at that," Madara lifted his arms, preparing to weave hand-seals, "I'll just-"
Suddenly, Madara froze, feeling as the summoner's power actively stopped him from casting the technique that would have freed him from their control. Right away, he could sense that the power was not human.
"I don't think so… You're mine now, Uchiha, you and him both."
The two reanimated dark warriors received new information sent into their heads, on who – and what – their present summoner was, and who he served. Madara sighed.
"First Kaguya, then this 'Amon'…" he murmured exasperatedly.
"Well, look on the bright side, Mr. Uchiha" Cell said. "They wouldn't summon warriors of our caliber unless they had foes truly worth fighting, and that means we get to have a little fun."
The old Uchiha smirked. "True. I'm never one to pass up a good scrap. Now, who are we up against?"
The two then finally turned their attention away from each other and to the five people staring them down, all of them tensed and serious.
"Oh?" Madara raised an eyebrow. "Uzumaki and my wayward great-grandson again? And they've got some friends from your neck of the woods, Cell."
"Indeed…" the hybrid warrior said. "Hello again, Goku, Vegeta. I'll bet you weren't expecting to see me again, now were you? Though I am a bit surprised to see you alive again, Goku; I'm assuming someone pulled a few strings after I blew you up. And… Oh… Why, Gohan, is that you?" He chuckled. "My goodness, you've grown!"
"Well, this is just great" Naruto growled. "Our second-biggest bad and Team Goku's second-biggest bad at the same time."
"So if we win this," Sasuke said, "might Narud pull out the number-one spots?"
Gohan shook his head. "Even Amon knows what a bad idea bringing Majin Buu back would be, and from what you guys told me, Kaguya isn't dead, just stripped of all her power and sealed in the heart of an artificial planet in an alternate dimension that only she could access."
"Really?" Cell asked, listening in. "Well, lads, points to you two for thoroughness."
"So what happens now?" Goku said.
"Isn't it obvious?" Madara said. "My new friend here & I kill you all."
In response to that, the hero quintet's auras flared, with Vegeta and Gohan going Super Saiyan to match with Goku. Madara then clenched his fists and focused his own power, his aura alone obliterating the wooden box he had been summoned in from behind him. Sensing the old Uchiha's power, Cell was pleasantly surprised; he wouldn't have to be 'babysitting', for Madara was easily at least as strong as a Super Saiyan (and possibly even more than what he was currently at, if a few of those scenes from the human's memories were true). As he looked out at the five 'heroes', Cell realized he would have to be careful not to give the blond boy time to transition into his 'Tailed Beast' form; the 9-Tailed Fox was far more powerful than even he. He looked to Madara, who subtly nodded; he was thinking the same thing.
The two dark warriors charged, making the first move; Naruto, barely moved in time to block a punch from Cell, while Vegeta leapt back to dodge a falling heel-drop kick from Madara that shattered the ground where he'd been standing. Gohan went to aid Naruto against Cell while Sasuke moved to help Vegeta engage Madara, with Goku hanging back for a few seconds to see where he'd be needed more. As blows began to be exchanged, he moved to help Naruto & Gohan, blindsiding Cell with a crushing kick to the side, giving the two boys a few seconds' breathing room.
Meanwhile, Artanis' and Raynor's forces managed to destroy another seal-stone, overwhelming its Void-Shadow defenders and shattering the huge construct with focused heavy fire. The two forces then split to tackle two Void Miasma generators at once. As Raynor's people moved northeast, Artanis' Colossi burned away a pack of Zergling-Shadows guarding the generator directly north of their base. The Immortals and Dragoons unloaded on the generator, soon scrapping it, while the foot-soldiers kept Void Shadows off of them, and the whole group returned to base to recharge and reinforce their numbers. Meanwhile, focused Siege Tank fire took down Team Raynor's target, as the Marauders and Marines kept lesser Void Shadows at bay. Lastly, a Dominion expansion base under now-Admiral Horner's command set down where the Protoss had just cleared.
The Dominion forces retreated to their forward operating base, just as long-range scanners detected a Void Thrasher heading their way. Kerrigan's Zerg moved up to assist Raynor's forces, two of her Noxious-strain Ultralisks engaging the Thrasher in close combat while Mutalisks and Wraith fighters bombarded it with fire. The Void Thrasher's psionic lightning fried a quartet of Hydralisks, but Banelings rolled in and slammed against the beast, eating away at its barrier and flesh. A Dominion Thor moved up, its heavy cannons blasting at the Void Thrasher, and finally a barrage of rockets aimed at the monster's face took it down.
Energy blasts and elemental ki/chakra attacks filled the air, as did the seven warriors unleashing them; apparently, Narud had made it so Madara could fly even without being in Six-Paths Sage Mode, enabling him to properly participate. The evil old Uchiha had been quick to use his Sharingan to copy the ability to use ki blasts, and was presently fighting Super-Saiyan Goku on an even footing, which really said something about Madara's power level. And, Cell had noticed, neither he nor Madara were at their maximums yet, due to a combination of willingly holding back and of a slight 'restraint' effect from Narud; even the evil Xel'Naga didn't want to try controlling something that powerful if he could help it.
Sending Gohan flying with a kick, Cell then smirked as he focused on Sasuke, releasing a storm of ki bolts that took position all around the Uchiha boy and then, with a clench of Cell's fists, came rushing in at him all at once. …However, just before they could hit, Cell sensed as Sasuke's power level took an abrupt and noticeable jump, and instantaneously the boy's energy signature vanished, reappearing down on the ground, while the large rock that had been where he now was instantly appeared at his former position, to be obliterated by the energy blasts. Sasuke looked up at his foes, revealing that both of his eyes had transitioned from the red & black of his Eternal Mangekyō to a series of concentric thin black rings on a pale-purple 'background'.
'Was that Goku's Instant Transmission?' Cell thought. '…No, that wasn't homing in on someone else's energy signature and teleporting to that; he twisted space-time to instantaneously change positions with that rock. That's an interesting application of teleportation. And those eyes… His power level jumped the moment they changed to this new form…'
"Oh?" Madara looked down. "So he finally awakened it naturally, instead of the old Sage granting it to him? This might make things a little more fun…"
Armed with his new, 'properly' awakened Rinnegan eyes, Sasuke returned to the air, unleashing a double Gōkakyū at Madara, who activated his own Rinnegan (making his power level increase noticeably as well, Cell sensed) and used Shinra Tensei to nullify the first fireball and then a swing of a Stage-0 Susanō sword to bat the other one away. Cell, meanwhile, brought his own power level up to match Madara's now-higher level, and the five heroes realized they were in for a little more trouble.
As the Protoss strike-force, now reinforced by a squadron of Void Rays, moved on the next seal-stone, a Sangheili Alliance 'Scarab' super-heavy walker was dropped in from a few kilometers overhead to aid them. The massive mech fired its plasma beam cannon, vaporizing a pack of Zerg-Shadows and destroying a Void Rift. Immortals, Annihilators, and Void Rays began firing on the seal-stone, while the foot-soldiers, Dragoons, & Stalkers handled Void-Shadows, with the Scarab using its main gun to take down a Thor-Shadow. The massive black & red crystal began to fragment, and then a sustained shot from the Scarab finished it off, leaving it to explode and leave behind a smaller, golden crystal that shone light which pushed the Void Miasma back and out of the immediate area.
Meanwhile, the Zerg Swarm advanced north from their Hive-cluster, toward another seal-stone, with Kerrigan joining/leading them. As focused, massed fire from Hydralisks cut down Marine-Shadows and Zealot-Shadows, the Zerglings charged in, rolling over Goliath-Shadows and Stalker-Shadows and tearing them apart. Mutalisks and Guardians flew in, starting to blast at the seal-stone, while Ultralisks and Abominations slashed and trampled Void-Shadows in their path to the monolith, lending their own attacks to the cause. A high-yield Kinetic Blast from Kerrigan blew a sizable chunk out of the seal-stone, and focused fire from the flyers on this new weak-point quickly added up. Soon, the huge crystal shattered, and as the golden light pushed away the miasma, Drones moved up to start setting up a forward base.
Madara growled as he was blasted back by Gohan's attack, his Edo Tensei body mending itself as he regained control and landed on his feet. He and his new ally Cell were powerful, that was true, but they were not at their full potential, and 5-on-2 meant that their enemies still had a slight advantage. From what he could remember from the information gleamed from Cell's mind, the bio-droid was not yet fighting at his maximum. In fact, watching Cell's movements and feeling his chakra, it was almost as if he was waiting for something…
Cell came in for a landing beside Madara, his Edo Tensei body regenerating its left hand after Naruto had used a chakra claw to rip it off. Suddenly, Cell's body tensed and seemed to 'pulse' faintly. The bio-droid let out a low chuckle, as the five heroes set down across from them.
"Finally…" he said with gleeful anticipation.
"What are you up to now?" Goku asked, tensed and ready.
"Edo Tensei…" Cell spoke. "Truly, a fascinating technique. To summon the souls of the deceased, and bind them to your will, using only a bit of their blood as a medium… But, I believe our Xel'Naga 'friend' neglected to do all of his homework when he brought us back…"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Narud's voice echoed.
Cell chuckled, as the 'skin' of his Edo Tensei body began to crack. "Blood… contains cells…"
From the looks on their faces, Vegeta and Gohan put two & two together and realized what was coming a split-second before Cell tensed and flexed… making his outer surface shatter, to reveal his body with its normal colors as opposed to the dulled ones of a reanimated form, now free of the tiny cracks as well. Narud felt shock as his Edo Tensei control link was completely severed. When Cell looked up, his eyes had normal white sclera instead of Edo-Tensei black. And then he focused his ki, and his power level soared.
"His… His real body was regenerating inside the Edo Tensei one the whole fight…" Naruto murmured.
"I must thank you, Narud, for giving me this second chance at life, however unwitting it was on your part. And, there's something else you should know: due to my Saiyan cells, I grow stronger upon recovering from any near-fatal injury… and regenerating from a mere handful of red & white blood cells means that the proportionate power increase…"
Getting the gist of it, the three Saiyans went up to Super Saiyan 2, while Naruto brought his Nine-Tails Cloak up to Stage 2 as well… and they sensed the difference: in his 'first' incarnation, Cell had outclassed Super Saiyans but been tossed about easily by SS2 Gohan, in his 'second' he had been not too far behind a healthy Gohan, and slightly stronger than him after his injury taking a hit for Vegeta; and now, Cell's power level was equal to the three Ascended Super Saiyans – as strong as the SS2 form that had once overshadowed him all those years ago.
"Crap…" Gohan whispered.
"And," Cell continued speaking as his golden aura crackled with blue electrical discharges, "let's not leave my new friend out of the fun. Yet another little factoid about me, Xel'Naga: any technique that is used against and makes contact with me… I can copy."
Cell's hands moved, forming a sequence of seals, and then he pressed his palm against Madara's shoulder. The control link to the Uchiha was severed, freeing him from Narud's control, and the blocker on his power was taken away as well; as his ki flared, Madara smirked and chuckled as he was now not far from Cell in strength.
"Now that's more like it…" he said with an evil grin.
"Well then," Cell said, crossing his arms, "now that the warm-up is done, shall we get to the real fun?"
Now reinforced by even more Void Rays, Artanis' forces rolled on the next seal-stone. Again, the Scarab's main gun took a huge chunk out of the enemy numbers, while the Colossi and Immortals focused fire on the Void-Rift generators, destroying them and cutting off further Void-Shadow reinforcements. The Void Rays made short work of a Mutalisk-Shadow squadron, while Zealots, Centurions, and Sentinels carved through Zergling-Shadows and Marine-Shadows with minimal losses. A 'Solar Lance' strike from the Spear of Adun heavily damaged the seal-stone, and focused fire from the Void Rays and Scarab finished the job. As the area was cleared of dark miasma, Dominion forces dropped in to set up another forward base.
The Protoss then joined Raynor's forces in advancing northwest from this new base. A trio of Siege-Tank-Shadows was vaporized by the Scarab, clearing the way for four of the real deal to move in and start shelling enemy infantry. Goliaths and Immortals marched side by side, heavy guns cutting through Hydralisk-Shadows and Stalker-Shadows, while Wraith fighters provided anti-air support for the Void Rays as their blue beams took out Void-Rift generators. Ahead, the next seal-stone was guarded by a sizable flock of Mutalisk-Shadows, but a wave of AAMs from the Dominion Wraiths, SAMs from the Goliaths, and supporting fire from the Void Rays, Stalkers, and Dragoons quickly brought them down with minimal casualties. The Scarab's main plasma beam cannon dealt significant damage to the seal-stone, allowing Siege-Tank shells to finish it off, clearing the way for another Dominion FOB.
Artanis' forces then pushed east, destroying a pair of light-guarded Void-Rifts before then encountering a more heavily-defended area. Thankfully, a Temporal-Shift field from the Spear made their job easier, allowing the Colossi and Dragoons to clear out the now-frozen Goliath-Shadows and Phoenix-Shadows, while the Void Rays brought down a Colossus-Shadow. The Scarab's tail-mounted secondary plasma-bolt cannon did some damage as well, blasting away most of a Zergling-Shadow pack. As the T-S field faded, the Centurions rushed in, using stun-strikes to leave enemy infantry Void-Shadows vulnerable for Zealots and Sentinels to cut down. Ahead, another seal-stone was guarded by a trio of Ultralisk-Shadows, but another Solar Lance strike wiped them out, clearing the way for the Scarab and Void Rays to focus fire, bringing the structure down. As the golden light washed the area clean, Kerrigan's forces moved in to set up another forward base.
Back at the clash of titans, Madara was a little frustrated. While he and Cell were not in any danger of being overwhelmed and overpowered by the five 'heroes', neither were they making any headway in dealing any serious blows; the two sides appeared evenly matched. Cell wasn't saying it, but the Uchiha could tell that he was starting to get a little irritated (or perhaps bored) as well. He needed something that would put him head & shoulders above the 'Saiyans' and Asura & Indra's reincarnates in terms of power; if he had the 10-Tails' power like before, he'd be able to squash them all flat at their current levels, but that was out of his grasp. Looking to his unusual ally, a ghost of a plan formed:
'Perhaps… I could use the Human and Preta Paths' abilities to take his power…'
Cell was sent flying by a simultaneous blow from SS2 Goku and SS2 Gohan, while Madara was blasted back by an Ōdama Rasengan from Naruto. The two landed side by side, Madara on Cell's left, both of their bodies repairing their wounds in their own way. An energy blast from Vegeta came soaring in, but then a huge blue spectral warrior appeared around them both, and Madara's Susanō blocked the blast with little difficulty.
"An impressive defensive technique" Cell remarked. "What I wouldn't give to have something like this; it would have come in handy a few times in my first life."
Madara let out a soft "Hmph", carefully hiding how he was slowly focusing chakra into his Rinnegan eyes and right hand… and failing to notice the tiny smirk on Cell's face, or as Cell's tail, retracted and nestled between his casing-wings, slowly and silently extended down and outward. As Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Naruto, and Sasuke came in for a landing, trying to think of ways to break down the Susanō (or just wait until Madara decided to lower it), they thought they saw slow movement behind Madara, though the flickering blue solidified chakra made it difficult to see right away.
'…Now'
Abruptly, Madara's right hand shot outward… and Cell caught it by the wrist, inches from his chest. Shocked, Madara turned to face the bio-droid, who grinned wickedly… as his tail-tip opened up into a funnel directly over Madara's head. Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan noticed, their faces changing to horrified realization, just as it came down over Madara's head and shoulders.
"Damn it!" Goku shouted. "Everyone, break through now!-! Stop him!-!"
All five started firing high-yield energy blasts, but the blue Susanō held firm despite chunks starting to be blown out of it. Meanwhile, inside it, Cell had an expression of feral triumph as his tail slowly pulled the struggling Madara deeper in. Soon, the Uchiha's feet vanished, and the mass visible traveling its way up the tail slowed its struggles and compressed. Finally, it vanished into Cell's body.
Just as the five heroes almost managed to break through the Susanō, it shattered from within as a pulse of energy raced out. A shell of brightly-glowing energy formed around Cell as he floated up off the ground, a fierce wind blowing out from him in all directions. Arcs of red and green 'lightning' crackled around the shell, and the quintet quaked as they sensed the power growing within. Finally, the 'shell' shattered with explosive force, knocking them off their feet.
Cell chuckled softly as he slowly floated down, setting foot in the middle of the small crater beneath him. The green 'plating' on his arms and legs had turned to a dull red like Madara's armor, the edges of his wing-casing appendages looked slightly jagged, like sawblades, instead of their former rounded smoothness, the two crests growing up from his head were about an inch or two shorter, his formerly-white face and neck had a slight 'tan' to them, and most alarmingly of all, when his eyes opened, they were both Rinnegan. His power level, already as high as an SS2 beforehand, had now increased by nearly 50%.
"Now then," he said, his voice slightly deeper and 'rougher' than before, "who wants to die first?"
For several seconds, nobody moved. Then, Gohan shifted his right foot a fraction of an inch. Instantly, Cell flash-stepped to right in front of the youth, landing a punch that sent the Ascended Super Saiyan careening back with great speed, crashing all the way through a rock formation on his way. Goku, Vegeta, and Sasuke started firing energy blasts at Cell, who simply swatted them away and then lashed out with a focused shockwave of force that knocked the three off their feet. He then turned as Naruto came at him with a Rasengan, forming a deep-blue Stage 0 Susanō ribcage to block the sphere of energy, and then lashed out with a kick that knocked Naruto back a fair distance.
Gohan came back in, firing a Masenko, while Vegeta added a Final Impact shot [AN: the move he used to punch a hole through Fat Buu; called 'Atomic Blast' in the Budokai games]. Cell jumped to dodge Vegeta's shot, and merely crossing his arms in front in a guard was enough to withstand Gohan's attack without any trouble. Next, Cell turned his attention to the side, just as SS2 Goku fired a Kamehameha wave at him. Grinning, the powered-up biodroid extended his left palm out toward the incoming energy, as his newly-acquired Rinnegan flashed. Goku watched in shock as his Kamehameha was caught and absorbed, vanishing into Cell's arm which was now suffused in a blue glow.
"Thanks for the gift, Goku," said, "but I think I already have this one. I'll just give it back to you…"
Pointing his palm at Goku, Cell released the absorbed energy, firing Goku's own Kamehameha back at him. The combination of the attack's speed and Goku's shock meant the Saiyan hero was unable to get out of the way in time, being blasted back by the wave of blue & white ki.
Sensing a sudden flare of ki, Cell flash-stepped to the side, barely dodging a blast of jet-black flames. Turning to face Sasuke, he grinned and then vanished from sight, reappearing behind the Uchiha with arm readied to strike through his neck… only for the youth to again use Amenotejikara to warp to safety, leaving another large stone to be pulverized in his place. Cell quickly formed another Stage-0 ribcage, just in time to block a wave of Rinnegan-enhanced Chidori Senban from behind and to the right. He spun and fired an energy blast in that direction, only to hit a Shadow Clone (Naruto had taught the technique to all of his friends by now; although virtually none of them could ever really spam it like he could, having two or three extra selves on hand could still come in handy).
As Vegeta and Gohan double-teamed him, Cell sensed power growing and converging – eight separate energy signatures and a mass of 'natural energy' converging on Naruto, like Spirit Bomb material but different. He batted the two Ascended Super Saiyans away as quickly as he could, but it was too late. An explosion of golden light enveloped Kurama's container, and when it faded he had changed; his solid-chakra shroud had altered in shape and pattern, looking more like an open golden coat with black symbols on the shoulders worn over a black under-layer, golden boots further down below. The boy's hair, still wreathed in golden ki, floated upward, with two locks looking almost like horns. His eyes had an odd 'plus' shape to them over orange irises, one hand gripping a solid-chakra black rod, while several black spheres of ultra-dense special chakra floated behind him. Lastly, the boy's power level, previously around even with a Super Saiyan 2, was now half-again as strong, as high as Cell's own.
Cell remembered this from the 'peek' at Madara's memories: Naruto's "Six-Paths Sage Mode".
"Even with this new form and power of mine," the bio-droid said with a small grin, "there still exists somebody strong enough to give me a challenge… Excellent…"
"I'll do more than challenge you" Naruto said in a low, dead-serious tone.
The two warriors rushed toward each other through the air, meeting in the middle with a clash that sent out a thunderous sound and a stone-shattering shockwave. They flew into a furious lightning-fast exchange of blows, and then started zipping about and crashing together in 'jousting' strikes, shockwaves ripping through the air. Cell formed a hand-seal and spat out a rather sizable fireball, and in response Naruto used Shukaku's power to conjure a defensive wall of chakra-supercharged sand in midair, blocking the flame blast. Letting the half-glassed mass of sand fall to the ground below, Naruto tapped into Matatabi's chakra to send out his own fireball, tinted blue. When it got in close, it detonated with considerable concussive force, blasting Cell back.
Cell fired a flurry of ki blasts, and Naruto batted them aside with a rod-form Truth-Seeking Ball… and then barely avoided a Special Beam Cannon from a Cell Shadow-Clone above and to the left of him. Naruto formed his own Shadow Clone and sent it at Cell's, while he moved to engage the original. Two Narutos and two Cells fought in the skies above the battlefield, exchanging blasts and blows. Cell's Shadow Clone moved to fire a sneak-shot at the real Naruto's back, only for Naruto's Shadow Clone to intercept, setting off the charging mass of ki between Cell-Clone's hands with a Rasengan, the resulting explosion destroying both duplicates.
Over the next few minutes, the two powerhouses' clash continued, the landscape of the Void being torn up by their battle (though thankfully none of the allied forces were caught in the crossfire, even as they continued their inexorable advance through Narud's Void-Shadows). They were evenly matched in power, speed, agility, and durability, and neither showed any signs of starting to run low on stamina or energy reserves. It seemed that, though Naruto was now strong enough to match Cell, he wasn't strong enough to kill him.
However, Six-Paths Sage Mode Naruto was not the most powerful hero the Dimensional Defense Force had.
With how fine-tuned his sensory abilities were in this form, Naruto sensed what was now building, and did his best to make his own energy signature 'potent' enough to occupy Cell's attention as they fought. However, eventually the growing power level became too much for Cell to not notice. He stopped, turning and looking down, and saw as Goku stood in a golden 'shell' of light, a rising kiai accompanying a skyrocketing power level. Shocked, Cell immediately tried to intervene, but Naruto got in his face, keeping him occupied. Trying to get around the Sage-warrior, Cell threw a ki blast at the transforming Goku, but Sasuke's purple Stage-3 Susanō formed in its path, the construct's shield withstanding the shot (though cracked).
With a mighty blast of wind and light, Goku's transformation completed. Now, Cell stared, shock on his face as he beheld Goku's new form… and sensed how ludicrously high his power level had grown, outshining Cell's by a significant margin.
"Super Saiyan 3" Cell heard Naruto say with a smirk. "One of Goku-san's big trump-cards. He can't maintain it at max for too long…"
"But it'll be more than long enough to handle you, Cell" Goku finished, his voice an octave lower than normal, as he glared up at his revived & empowered foe, seeing the flash of fear in Cell's new eyes.
Trying to overcome his shock, Cell growled and began to pull back his fist, about to start charging an attack. However, in a blink of movement, SS3 Goku closed the distance, appearing right in front of Cell and striking with a punch to the midsection that doubled him over, followed by a downward hammer-fist strike that sent him careening down into the ground.
After several seconds, Cell pulled himself up out of the rubble, his rage building. "No…" he snarled. "Not again… This can't happen again!"
He shot upward into the air, wreathed in a fiery red-tinted golden aura, and when he leveled off with Goku he unleashed a hail of ki blasts. Goku's arms moved in a blur, batting the shots away with contemptuous ease. Cell's hands moved in a rapid sequence of seals, and he breathed out a huge tsunami-wave of chakra-supercharged flame – Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku. Goku held his hand forward, and a golden spherical barrier of ki formed around him. The flames broke against the barrier like a wave against a rock, passing over and around and leaving Goku unharmed within.
Goku went on the attack next, blitzing in before Cell could react and unleashing a punishing barrage of blows, leaving craters in Cell's body. A point-blank energy blast blew Cell back and away and dealt further damage, with the bio-droid barely managing to regain control of his 'flight' a few seconds later. Crying out in rage, Cell's new eyes flashed as he was surrounded by a large blue construct of solidified special ki – Madara's Stage-2 Susanō. The construct released a wave of Yasaka Magatama projectiles, leaving Goku to move about dodging them.
"Hey, Cell! Forgetting someone?-!"
Naruto came soaring in, having merged and transformed his Truth-Seeking Orbs into the mighty Sword of Nunoboko. He thrusted the weapon forward, puncturing the Susanō after a couple seconds' effort, and then swung outward, slicing the chakra construct open. Naruto took the opportunity to close in, delivering a powerful punch that knocked Cell out of the dissolving Susanō and into a kick from SS3 Goku. Before Naruto could move in and deal the next blow, however, Cell stopped his uncontrolled flight and let loose a pulse of energy that knocked the youth back.
Naruto formed a pack of Shadow Clones, sending them against Cell, while he moved to beside Goku. Naruto focused and shaped his energies, forming a Rasenshuriken supercharged with Tailed-Beast and Six-Paths power. He looked over to Goku, holding the forming Rasenshuriken out, and Goku smiled and nodded, extending his own hand and adding his own energies to it, increasing its already-astonishing power by orders of magnitude and turning it a shining golden color. At this point, having beaten the Shadow Clones back, Cell finally noticed the mass of chaotic energy Goku & Naruto had prepared. Feeling a spark of instinctual fear, he made ready to dodge, keeping his eyes on them and prepared to respond the second they started moving.
Unfortunately for him, when Naruto punched him earlier, he'd placed a Hiraishin seal.
Goku & Naruto, and their hypercharged Rasenshuriken, vanished and instantly appeared directly behind Cell. Cell didn't even have time to fully turn around before the duo 'leapt' back while simultaneously throwing the attack at point-blank range. Goku Instant-Transmissioned the both of them a few dozen meters back just as the Rasenshuriken hypercharged by Six-Paths Sage and Super Saiyan 3 power detonated, engulfing Cell in the center of an enormous sphere of chaotic destructive energies. The bio-droid's final scream was soon cut off as he was torn apart on a near-molecular level.
When the energy eventually dissipated and faded, Naruto turned to Sasuke, who used his Rinnegan to inspect the area. "It's clear" the Uchiha said. "No cells floating around. No trace of him left."
Goku and Naruto both sighed in relief, releasing their transformations and floating back down, where the other three heroes waited for them.
"Glad that's over with" Goku remarked.
"Tell me about it" Gohan replied. "I would've been happy never seeing him again… Now it's just Amon and his flunky, right?"
While the fight against Cell & Madara had been going, the Terran, Zerg, and Protoss forces, with DDF support, had advanced to cover almost the entire map, clearing away Void-Shadows and destroying seal-stones. Now, all that remained was Narud and his final line of defending Shadows and a final seal-stone with Void-Rift generators. A Solar Lance strike from the Spear of Adun carved through several Void-Shadows, took out two Void Rifts, and damaged the seal-stone, and a sustained shot from the Scarab's main gun destroyed the seal-stone, while bombardments from Siege Tanks and Zerg Guardians took out the remaining Rifts and helped in culling the enemy's numbers. Narud himself joined the fray, firing beams of red Void energy and slaying many of the Koprulu forces, but then from a distance away and above, a brilliant orange-colored Starlight Breaker crashed into the evil Xel'Naga, who cried out as his ancient true body was badly damaged and weakened.
Soon, the area was cleared. Now, as Kerrigan, Raynor, and Artanis came into the area, a lone man – half-human, half-Zerg – strolled up to Narud, glaring up at his old nemesis.
"Hello, 'Duran'" he said. "Do you remember what you did to me?"
"Stukov…" Narud hissed. "You have come to gloat, haven't you?"
"No… I came to say 'goodnight', you son of a bitch."
A mass of psionic power gathered between Stukov's hands, and he let it fly. It impacted right in Narud's face, and the evil Xel'Naga screamed in fury as the energies tore through his body and brain, and he disintegrated into motes of red and black light that winked out into nothingness.
"Well done, my friends" Tassadar's spirit said as he and Zeratul's spirit appeared. "Now, please follow us."
The two Protoss ghosts led Raynor, Kerrigan, and Artanis to a plateau of stone floating over an abyss. Suddenly, a brilliant blue light appeared, quickly growing in size and taking shape, fading to reveal a massive, vaguely Cthulhu-esque being, with numerous tentacle limbs, more tentacles for a 'mouth', and eight eyes. Despite his fearsome appearance, his aura, his 'Presence', was warm and gentle and comforting.
"WELL DONE, ALL OF YOU" the being telepathically spoke in a deep, smooth tone. "THE LAST OF AMON'S FOLLOWERS HAS FINALLY BEEN VANQUISHED, AND I HAVE BEEN FREED. …TASSADAR, ZERATUL, YOU WERE BOTH RIGHT IN TELLING ME THESE ONES WOULD BE ABLE TO DEFY THE ODDS AND COME THIS FAR, ACCOMPLISH THIS MUCH. I THANK YOU ALL."
"You are Xel'Naga…" Kerrigan said. "The one who called to us…"
The being nodded. "I AM OUROS – LAST SHEPHERD OF THE CYCLE, AND ENEMY OF AMON. HE IS ONE WITH THE VOID. IT IS AN EXTENSION OF HIS WILL, BINDING ME AS PRISONER."
"Why have you summoned us here?"
"The perversion of the Infinite Cycle that Amon has brought must be brought to an end," Zeratul's spirit said, "and the true Cycle set in motion… one last time."
"YOU, THE ONES CALLED KERRIGAN AND ARTANIS, CAN MERGE WITH MY ESSENCE. THE TIME TO FULFILL YOUR DESTINIES HAS ARRIVED. ASCEND, AND BECOME XEL'NAGA. FULFILL THE INFINITE CYCLE, AND VANQUISH THE GREAT DESTROYER."
"Xel'Naga?" Raynor spoke up. "You mean to turn them into what you are? Make them lose everything they've ever been and known?-!"
"NO, RAYNOR. ONCE AMON HAS BEEN VANQUISHED, KERRIGAN AND ARTANIS NEED NOT REMAIN IN THE VOID AS I HAVE. THEY WILL BE ABLE TO RETURN TO THEIR LIVES, ABLE TO CALL UPON MY POWER AS NEEDED. THEN, IN THE DISTANT FUTURE, ONCE THEIR MORTAL LIVES HAVE ENDED, THEY WILL PASS ON TO THE BEYOND JUST AS ALL OTHERS WILL. THOUGH, BILLIONS OF YEARS FROM NOW, THEIR SPIRITS WILL HAVE TO RELINQUISH THE POWER TO THE NEXT ASCENDANTS."
"This power…" Artanis spoke. "To become Xel'Naga… Is it what is needed to vanquish Amon?"
"IF AMON IS SLAIN BY OTHER POWER, HE WILL RETURN. ONLY THE ENERGIES OF XEL'NAGA CAN KILL HIM AND ENSURE HE STAYS DEAD."
"However," Tassadar added, "your allies may aid in weakening Amon, wounding him, so long as the power of Xel'Naga is used to deal the final blow."
Kerrigan and Artanis looked to each other, and then nodded. She looked up to Ouros. "What do we need to do?"
-Break-
Kerrigan and Artanis floated within a pair of semitransparent golden shells of energy that slowly orbited each other, as Ouros' shining golden essence slowly flowed into the both of them. Drawn by the growing energies, a pair of Void Thrashers emerged from rifts nearby. However, Ouros' heralds were ready for them; Tassadar's spirit unleashed a massive, brilliantly bright torrent of psionic lightning, bringing one Void Thrasher down in short order, while the other Thrasher was ensnared and frozen by Spirit-Zeratul's Void Prison, allowing the spectral Nerazim to fly up and stab his blade into the base of its skull, slaying it.
Raynor's Dominion forces moved in, setting up shop around Kerrigan & Artanis' position and to the west. East of them, Zagara and Stukov led the Swarm in establishing a Hive-Cluster with defenses, while Selendis and Vorazun led the Daelaam Protoss in establishing a base and defenses to the south. Soon, the three factions moved to aid each other as well – Terran SAM turrets and manned bunkers with auto-turrets, Zerg Spine & Spore Crawlers, and Protoss Photon-Cannons and Khaydarin Monoliths were all set up to cover every single approach to the plateau, defending each other's bases. Mobile rapid-response strike forces were soon being called in as well, ready to move to and reinforce wherever was being hit. Gabriel Tosh was stationed down with the Protoss, leading a squad of his Spectres, while Alarak and his Tal'darim helped to defend the Zerg base, and Dehaka led several Primal and Swarm Zerg in bolstering Raynor's western defenses, joined in this by Talandar and the Purifiers.
The Dimensional Defense Force was pitching in as well; soldiers and vehicles of the UNSC, Sangheili Alliance, TSAB, and Phoenix League were positioned amongst the Koprulu factions', ready to aid in defense, while many of the DDF's heavy hitters were present as well – including (but not limited to) Gamma, Sigma, and Theta Teams, Team Puella, 'Team Sora', several high-level shinobi (including Itachi and his three students Reisen, Sunset, & Mokō), members of Ala Alba and of the Z-Team… Together with the TSAB's 'Three Great Aces', the five warriors who'd fought Cell & Madara were stationed near Kerrigan & Artanis, their energies refreshed by Senzu Beans (Krillin had thought ahead and brought a big ol' bag chock-full of them). Also guarding the two Ascendants was a pair of Scarabs and the Tychus-piloted Odin. In all, the entire coalition was ready to provide one hell of a siege defense.
"YOU HAVE COME TO SEEK YOUR DEATH…"
To the northwest, a squad of Marine-Shadows and a Thor-Shadow gathered. However, a tactical bombardment strike from the Spear of Adun cleared them all out. After a few minutes of peace (used to further bolster defenses), another Void Shadow attack came from the east, toward the Zerg base. The Khaydarin Monoliths were the first to fire, their heavy beam-cannons blasting at the two Thor-Shadows, heavily damaging them such that when they got closer, blasts from the Tal'darim 'Wrathwalker' Colossi finished them off. The Hydralisk-Shadows were engaged by their 'real' counterparts with Tal'darim-Stalker support, being taken down at the cost of two Hydralisks that were quickly replaced from the Hive, while a shell from one of Raynor's Siege-Tanks wiped out a good chunk of mixed Zergling-Shadows and Marine-Shadows, leaving Stukov and Alarak to finish the rest. Meanwhile, a light attack by Zealot-Shadows from the northwest was easily repulsed by Siege Tanks and bunker-turret fire.
A Zerg-Shadow force attacked from the south. The two Ultralisk-Shadows leading it were struck down by massed brain-frying 'Mindblasts' from Tosh and his Spectres (the spreading of the load across the entire Spectre force ensuring none of them took any serious strain from doing so), while photon-cannon fire cut down many of the Roach-Shadows and Hydralisk-Shadows. A trio of Sangheili Wraiths launched plasma mortars, vaporizing most of the Zergling-Shadows, with a blast of psionic lightning from Selendis finishing off the rest.
The earth rumbled as a Void Thrasher emerged to the northwest, beginning to charge up a high-yield psionic blast. However, although mid-transformation and in a trance-like state, Artanis abruptly raised his arm and pointed it out toward the distant abomination. A brilliant beam of golden energy lanced out at his command, spearing through the Thrasher's chest, and it disintegrated as it fell.
After another reprieve of a few minutes, another fairly large Void Shadow force started approaching Raynor's secondary base from the southwest. Fortunately, the Spear of Adun was still overhead, a Solar Lance strike vaporizing most of the incoming attackers, leaving the few survivors easy pickings for the Terran & Protoss auto-defenses waiting for them. A large pack of Zergling-Shadows charged toward the Zerg base from the east, but a pair of Purifier Colossi and trio of Siege Tanks made short work of them.
To the southwest, another Void Thrasher emerged. However, from her position hovering above Kerrigan & Artanis, Hayate began charging power, her training enabling her to gather the needed energy rather quickly. Soon, a Ragnarok shot was let loose, the brilliant white beam of destructive magical power striking the Thrasher and dealing fatal damage. A pair of Archon-Shadows moved in from where it had been, but the mid-ascendance Kerrigan fired two short bursts of golden power, obliterating both of them.
As the minutes rolled on, the Void Shadow attacks gradually started getting bigger as well as more frequent, putting the coalition's soldiers, war vehicles, and auto-defenses to the test. Two Void Thrashers appeared to the northwest and southeast, and Vegeta & Teana flew out to meet them, blowing them away with a pair of Big Bang Attacks and then returning to base.
At the northwest approach, Team Puella was stationed as part of the defense. Now, as a sizable pack of Zergling-Shadows approached, Madoka readied her Keyblades and then felt as a 'spark' of Kyōko's power flowed into her, triggering one of her newest abilities. The pinkette was enveloped in a burst of white light, and when it faded much of her outfit had turned red, and her Keyblades were suffused in reddish energy. Using her brand-new Valor Form, Madoka rushed in, unleashing a barrage of strikes and shockwaves on the Zergling-Shadows, cutting through them at an amazing rate.
Meanwhile, to the east, Erika was engulfed in a flash of white light as Caro's donated power enhanced her, turning most of her outfit blue, her Keyblade floating an inch away from her palm while her feet floated just off the ground on a 'cushion' of magical power. Boosted by her Wisdom Form, her Thundaga spell struck down several Zealot-Shadows, and a supercharged Firaga barrage took out a squad of Marine-Shadows. A small pack of Zergling-Shadows was hoisted into the air by a powered-up Magnega, letting a psi-blast from Alarak obliterate them all at once.
Before long, two more Void Thrashers appeared to the east and south, only for Kerrigan and Artanis, respectively, to strike them down. A Void-Shadow attack force coming in from the southwest was frozen by a Temporal Shift field from the Spear of Adun, giving the Siege Tanks and Khaydarin Monoliths there free rein to wipe them out.
The battle continued in this manner, the defenders holding off waves of attacking Void Shadows, with heavy hitters (and in one case a tactical MAC strike from a UNSC frigate overhead) occasionally dealing with Void Thrashers as they emerged, all while Ouros' essence continued to transfer into Kerrigan and Artanis. Eventually, the Void Shadows were pouring in near-constantly from all directions, pushing the defenders' lines to their limits, and the DDF's heavy hitters moved out to assist more directly, with Hayate staying near Ouros and the ascending duo as long-range anti-Thrasher artillery.
Finally, just as the largest Void-Shadow wave yet began to crash against the defenses, a mighty pulse of energy was released from Kerrigan and Artanis, racing across the entire battlefield and instantly destroying every Void Shadow it touched, also clearing away the Void Miasma that had been steadily creeping closer.
"IT IS TIME…" Ouros said, his voice faint and fading. "WITH THE LAST OF OUR ESSENCE, A NEW ETERNITY DAWNS. THE INFINITE CYCLES… HAVE COME TO THEIR… END…"
As the last steam of glowing golden energy left Ouros' form, his eyes slowly closed, and his massive form began to fade away into nothingness. The energy flowed into Kerrigan and Artanis, and both of them were enveloped in a flash of warm golden light. When it faded, they were both enveloped in wavering auras of golden light and power that looked like gold fire, their eyes glowing brightly enough to stand out even amongst this. The power they carried was truly astronomical.
There was another flash of gold light, as Naruto re-entered his Six-Paths Sage Mode. Next, a burst of silver light accompanied Sora taking on his friends' power and assuming his 'Final Form', two Keyblades floating beside him while six blades of light took position like wings behind him. Blasts of light and power accompanied Goku and Vegeta going Super Saiyan 3. Other heroes followed suit – Super Saiyan 1s and 2s, Lightning Release Armors, Tailed-Beast chakra cloaks, Sage Mode, Magia Erebea… A small army of vast, incredible power, ready to help bring Amon down.
"Let us end this," Artanis addressed them all, his voice echoing more than normal, "once and for all…"
-Break-
It wasn't long before the force of supercharged heroes led by the two new Xel'Naga reached the land in the Void where Amon dwelled. The Fallen Xel'Naga's true body was plainly visible – looking similar to Ouros, but jet-black, with ten eyes that glowed a baleful red.
"FOOLISH, PRIDEFUL CHILDREN…" His impossibly deep voice echoed through the Void. "YOU BELIEVE THAT TWO OF YOU BECOMING XEL'NAGA WILL BE ENOUGH TO VANQUISH ME? I HAVE SLAIN XEL'NAGA BEFORE."
"You've never faced anything like us, Amon" Kerrigan replied. "Your reign is at an end!"
The Fallen Xel'Naga's massive form floated up and out of the 'pit' of Void energies he had been dwelling in, tendrils crackling with dark-red energy. Several of Amon's limbs curved forward, releasing energy that quickly formed into a large, roiling red & purple sphere of great destructive power. The attack was fired, the Void twisting in its wake, and Kerrigan & Artanis combined their energies to erect a massive shining golden barrier in its path. The blast impacted and detonated against the barrier with as much force as the average Tailed-Beast Ball, but the barrier held firm, protecting those behind it.
Sage Mode enabled Nanoha to gather energy much faster than normal, and so by the time the smoke cleared and the barrier was lowered, she had a Starlight Breaker ready. Using the 'Instant Transmission' Goku had taught her, she teleported to over Amon, firing the massive pink beam of senjutsu-enhanced magical power straight down at him. The let out a pained growl and a palpable wave of anger as the Sage-enhanced beam of destructive Light magic beat down on him, actually managing to cause him harm. The instant the beam cut off, he lashed out at Nanoha with a thick bolt of crimson psionic lightning, but she had already teleported back over to her allies.
Amon released a huge torrent of red and purple psionic lightning at the group of heroes, and Artanis & Kerrigan fired off their own, golden lightning to counter it, the two sides pushing against each other in a 'beam-of-war' match. Final-Form Sora and Raiten Sōsō Negi moved in on Amon from the sides, flying at high speed along the dark Xel'Naga, the former slicing and spin-slashing with his two Keyblades and six Light wing-blades and the latter striking with a Thunder-God Lance. In addition to harming Amon, they also distracted him enough for Artanis & Kerrigan to gain an edge, their attack breaking through his, and Amon roared out in fury and pain as the golden lightning coursed through him.
Now starting to show the effects of the battle, Amon conjured several humongous red & black crystals of solidified Void energy, and fired them all at the heroes at high velocity. Sasuke and Teana moved forward, their Rinnegan eyes glowing faintly, and then twin bursts of purple and orange light accompanied the duo forming their Form-4 'Perfect' Susanō spectral summons; in addition, as Teana was in her Super Saiyan State, her orange Susanō had a golden tinge to it. The massive spectral warriors drew their brightly glowing solid-chakra blades, and moved with speed unexpected for their huge size, striking at the incoming giant Void Crystals and slicing them apart; a few that they missed were blown out of the 'sky' by the two Ascendants and SS2 Gohan. Sasuke then formed and fired a huge chakra arrow, striking the Fallen Xel'Naga and dealing explosive and piercing damage.
Enraged, Amon prepared to ready another attack. However, he was interrupted by the hero group's two Super Saiyan 3s. Goku & Vegeta moved in from above and either side, unleashing a hailstorm of golden ki blasts to bombard the Fallen Xel'Naga. Vegeta then followed this up with a Big Bang Attack, causing a mighty explosion and dealing significant damage… but it couldn't compare with what Naruto had cooking. Naruto had formed eight Shadow Clones, and each of them had a Rasenshuriken supercharged with the powers of the 1-through-8-Tailed Beasts, while the 'prime' Naruto had one infused with Kurama's power. All nine of them were thrown, hitting Amon at the same time, and nine different energies combined in a truly enormous explosive event that completely engulfed the Fallen Xel'Naga.
When the light and smoke finally cleared, Amon was visibly heavily injured, most of his tentacle-like limbs torn away and five of his glowing eyes taken out. Sensing the time was right, Kerrigan and Artanis floated overhead, her right hand and his left holding together and gathering a brilliant shining light. After a few seconds, they fired a thick beam of golden energy down at their ultimate foe. It pierced downward through Amon's skull and body, punching out at the entity's lower rear area. A final psionic death-cry echoed out through the cosmos as golden light tore through Amon's body, shining out through spreading cracks in his form, before finally a titanic explosion of holy light obliterated the dark being from within, his body and essence utterly annihilated.
As the Fallen One's taint disappeared from the Void at long last, the heroes knew it was finally over. Amon, he who had destroyed or corrupted so much over so long, had finally, truly been vanquished.
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: with Amon's final death, the curse-seal he had placed upon a certain set of powerful magical artifacts has finally been lifted…
Okay, and for clarifying power levels, at least for Naruto (and remembering that by this point he's had extra training from the Z-Team and other DDF allies): In his Nine-Tailed Chakra Shroud Stage 1, he's about equal to a Super Saiyan, and can hold that form for an undetermined but pretty long time; in Stage 2, he's on par with an SS2, and can maintain that state for up to a full hour unless he uses a lot of chakra-intensive stuff (like, say, sharing his chakra with an entire army of shinobi); he's also at SS2 level in basic Sage Mode; in Six-Paths Sage Mode, he's about SS2 x1.5, and he can hold that for about 40-50 minutes; in his Nine-Tails Chakra Form (giant golden & black transparent chakra fox), he's only a smidge below Super Saiyan 3, and can stay like that for about 25-30 minutes max; and if he takes the actual form of Kurama himself (seen last chapter and back in the climactic battle of Book 18)? Well, Kurama fought Super-Walpurgis on an even footing, and she was equal to Gotenks-Absorbed Super Buu, so… However, because of the incredible power and Naruto's inexperience with it, he can only use Kurama's full power and form like this for about 15-20 minutes at a time max.
And yes, Madara at 'normal mode' full power w/ Rinnegan active was around SS2 in strength; when he was the 10-Tails' Jinchūriki, he was about equal to Naruto's 6PS Mode. And Kaguya was at Super Saiyan 3 levels of raw power (no wonder Naruto & Sasuke immediately realized they had no chance of beating her straight-up and chose to seal her instead).