DC Gothic – Apokalips
The Planet Tarhas – Milk Way Galaxy
It was a world-wide massacre. There was nothing but blood, gore and wreckage scattered all across the battlefields. The sky was filled with the monsters known as Parademons and there seemed to be no end to the flying war machines of Apokalips. The once fertile farmlands had been ground into mud by the tracks of a thousands tanks and march of a million pairs of boots. The great cities, whose glass towers had once touched the clouds, had been demolished by the massive fire-power of orbiting warships. The people, who had days ago numbered in the billions, had been reduced to a fraction of their former population.
Now all that was left was the home of the world's leadership. Being a democracy, the centre of political power on this planet was not a palace. In fact it wasn't even that luxurious. However it was well a well defended fortress that had stood for centuries.
The native sentient race was going to make its last stand here, and it was hoped that they would be able to hold their ground and then drive back the invading monsters, but few thought that possible.
Alpha, the title given to this world's first and last ruler, turned back to his finest engineers and physicists, who hard at work. Should the warrior caste fail to win this war, which looked highly likely, then this project would at least allow the Alpha to ensure that his world would die with him.
The leader of the race approached the engineer who was overseeing the last stages of the project. The member of scientists cast acknowledged his supreme commander and ruler with a shaky salute.
"Report upon your progress" the Alpha ordered.
"Great Leader, the device appears to be functional, but without time to run simulations we can not be certain that it will destroy the planet".
"There's no time" said the Alpha "The armies of Apokalips even now surrounded our last bastion. This device must work".
Then the great leader turned to a high-ranking member of the warrior caste.
"Instruct all warriors to retreat and then raise the defence screens. Any who are not within this fortress by the time the invaders arrive will be left to die as honourably as they can".
A hard command to follow, but it had be. If the plan was going to work then sacrifices had to be made. At least their species would live on. This world's space fleet had been no match for the warships of Darkseid, but they brought time for an evacuation.
"Prepare the device" the ruler then ordered "I want it..."
A loud voice caused the Alpha to break off his sentence. Normally no one would interrupt the leader when he spoke, but important announcements took precedence right now.
"The enemy is falling back!"
This news brought forth cheers and whoops of joy. This race was known as a passionate one, but they'd had little to be happy about recently so the short celebration was an intense one.
"They may intend to destroy us from orbit" a high ranking warrior said once things had quieted down.
"Raise the energy barrier!" ordered the Alpha.
That would buy them all some time. Even an orbital bombardment would have trouble brining down the shield, and while the warships of Darksied could simply destroy the surface of the entire planet, the fact that they hadn't suggested they wanted something. To enslave the survivors, or perhaps the dark god desired the technology of the project.
"The enemy have somehow breached the shield" a lower ranking warrior informed.
The Alpha's four eyes widened in fear, his mind reeling with what he just heard. He was in a state of shock, but he had not been made the leader of his entire race for nothing.
He quickly analysed the readouts on the nearby monitors. It seemed impossible, but somehow the enemy had bypassed the defence shield. Then Alpha noticed that Darkseid's forces had not all retreated. Some of the war machines were even now approaching the great barrier, but oddly they disappeared only to reappear inside the shield.
"Drilling machines!" the Alpha declared "the enemy is creating tunnels beneath the shield!".
It made sense as the barrier was a dome. It could withstand massive amounts of destructive energy. However it didn't extend underground, and the fortress had been built on very solid foundations so the tunnels would not collapse unless they were made to.
"Alpha?" questioned a warrior "what should we do".
"Retreat to headquarters! I repeat, retreat! All warriors must defend the command centre".
Orders were issued and every remaining member of the race began to fall back to centre of the great fortress.
"All hope is lost of pushing them back. The project is our only course of action. If we don't detonate it, then Darkseid will take the planet. I will not allow another to rule this world"
No one argued. They knew they were doomed.
(Line Break)
One of the modified war machines broke through the ground and came to rest inside the alien fortress. The vehicle's side door opened and out of it jumped a human figure who was dressed in black and silver armour. He didn't bother to wear a helmet, so all could see his dark hair and beard, his pale skin and lastly his cold blue eyes.
The nearby soldiers of Apokalips all gathered around the altered troop transport and waited for their general.
"GOTHIC!"
It was a single word shouted by every soldier who had the means to speak. Which wasn't that many as most of the army was made up of parademons, but it was loud enough to be heard over the background noise.
Gothic said nothing which left the soldiers on their knees, their head bowed down. Only one dared to approach him, and that was just because he had to make a report
"My Dark Prince, the enemy has made a full retreat. They hide like cowards within the heart of this fortress. We merely await your command".
And give commands he did.
"Surround the base and I want anti-air cannons set up at once, if anyone attempts to leave this planet, they must be destroyed. Then hold your positions around the base. I will take my forces and end this war"
"Yes Dark Prince"
That was not a title it was just a name. Gothic held the rank of General, and he had spent years of his immortal life earning it, but over that time he'd been called many things.
"I'm going in alone. I want to be the one to show them just how hopeless their chance for survival truly is".
With those words spoken, the immortal known as Gothic calmly walked towards the centre of the fortress.
(Line Break)
The end was nigh and the Alpha had been left alone as he had wished to be. In his four-fingered hand the leader held a remote control that would denote the bomb.
His only hope now that some of his people would be able to make a new home for themselves elsewhere in the galaxy. Yet still he didn't destroy this planet, it was his to rule and until he had to he would not end it.
The Alpha was brought out of his reverie by the sounds of screams and weapon fire. The leader of this world braced himself for death. With his last act he would destroy this world and deny it to the invaders.
He waited for the conqueror to show himself, he felt ready. He pressed the button, but nothing happened. Then the ruler looked down in his hands, before looking up at the hallway to see the conqueror of his world.
"I had that bomb of yours sent through a Boom Tube" explained the man in black and silver armour "no sense destroying this planet, not when you have resources that my lord can use".
It was not Darkseid himself. The tyrant ruler of Apokalips was no doubt still in orbit with his fleet.
"Who are you?" asked the Alpha.
The figure stepped fully in the private chamber.
"I am Gothic, the immortal. A General in the armies of Lord Darkseid. I am the conqueror of this world"
Gothic's his face betrayed not a single emotion to the ruler of a nearly dead race. The immortal slowly strode towards the Alpha, who suddenly became stricken with fear. The alien wasn't able to move, he was unable to even talk. He could only shake in terror as the conqueror of this world made his way over to its defeated former master.
The General of lifted his hands and placed them around the what passed for the Alpha's neck.
"In the face of death, you show true fear. I haven't know that sort of terror in years, but I can savour yours" said the immortal warrior.
After saying that Gothic dragged the Alpha out of the chambers and the former leader was shocked to see how many of the warrior caste had fallen to this lone killer.
"Old One magic is so wonderful" the conqueror said.
The Alpha then saw something that brought his terror level to a new high. At the end of the corridor was an abomination. The abomination had many eyes, and limbs of a sort, but those were the only recognisable features. The Alpha found it hard to focus enough to see much of anything else, but he could tell that his personal guard had slain the monster.
"Impressive" commented the immortal "the larvae form of an Elder God is not an easy thing to slay. Of course they don't die really, but still your soldiers did you credit. Shame that it meant so little".
With that the Alpha, was dragged to a window and was shown the view.
"This is the legacy that you will leave behind. Due to your weakness, this world is nothing more than dust and rubble. All of your space ships were destroyed. Your air force was blown out of the sky. The bodies of your warriors cover this world's surface. The rivers run red with blood. The air is black with smoke. And the land has been burned. Your kingdom has turned to ashes you are now master of nothing, and soon you will die a horrible death at my hands".
Despair filled the heart of the Alpha, he knew that he was doomed to suffer before he died. Likely he would end his days being tortured.
"I wanted you to know that because like my lord I can feed upon the psychic energy that is created when beings like you suffer. Your misery is a meal to me. Of course I prefer lust and the darker aspects of things like obsession and ambition, but you are not my type. So I will give your soul to my patron".
"Ah orr'e uaaah!"
Nearly all mortal creatures have a soul. In many ways having one is a blessing as it ensures that you get an afterlife or that you can be reincarnated. If your soul is intact, and they are very hard to damage, then part of you will live on forever.
Sadly there was a downside. Souls are energy and energy has uses. You can store it and even power things with it. Souls can be 'eaten' as well. Thankfully this is rare as mortal souls enjoy a certain amount of protection. Even a being that has no god to watch over them doesn't have to worry much about losing the immortal part of themselves.
There are exceptions and the spell Gothic had just used was one of them. The soul of the Alpha passed through the immortal's body and went to the Traveller via the connection the two beings shared.
The soul was a strong one. You don't get to be the leader of an entire world if you're a weak willing individual. The Dark Prince had taken stronger, but his patron was pleased, he could sense it.
After the immortal used a knife to hack of the Alpha's head. The alien had still been alive when he started, as you can survive without a soul although few would call it living, but the former leader an entire world did expire soon enough.
Once that was done Gothic opened up a Boom Tube using his Mother Box and then went through the artificially generated wormhole.
(Line Break)
In Orbit Of The Planet Tarhas – Milk Way Galaxy
"You've done well, my son" said Darkseid as Gothic stepped on to the bridge of his 'Father's' flagship.
"Thank you, my lord" the young man replied while giving the dark god a short bow.
The immortal warrior never addressed the Lord of Apokalips as Father, but Darkseid didn't care as long as his adopted son spoke to him with respect.
"Your plan was excellent" the dark god praised "a swift and overwhelming attack and the way you bypassed that energy shield was ingenuous".
Gothic didn't agree, he'd taken one look at energy barrier and had figured out a way around it. It was clear to the immortal that the race he had just decimated were obsessed with the sky. They had tall towers of glass, a large air force and a decent space fleet considering how primitive the aliens had been compared to most planets. However the scans of the planet show the beings had no underground structures like subways or even just bunkers. So he had figured that aliens would never expect an attack from below. It had a been blind spot, and it had cost them.
"Such a shame" the immortal said with a small sigh "They would not surrender. It's a real pity in fact, they could have been slaves, but at least the planet's minerals resources should be intact, and perhaps the survivors can be put to work now that their warrior caste is no more".
Darkseid nodded his approval as he stood up and made his way over to his favourite general.
"Not only do you succeed where others would fail, but you even manage to find ways for me to profit from even the most useless of worlds, and with every conquest you grow more powerful, my son".
Gothic always been the warlord he was now. When he'd first arrived Apokalips he'd been a corpse. Which wasn't an odd thing to find on that planet. But he hadn't said dead in fact he could die at all. Still he'd started off as just another slave, at least until his strange powers had manifested. Then the immortal had evolved and grown. He'd struggled and fought as well. He'd crawled his way up from the dregs to become a formidable warrior despite the fact that he wasn't even that physically powerful.
The Dark Prince, as he was sometimes now known now, had come to Darkseid's attention during a gladiator match. Gothic had died, and then when his foe, another minor warrior in service of their god, had turned his back on the immortal he'd found himself with a knife in the neck. Gothic was cunning and clever in a way the fools around him could never hope to understand or emulate.
However it hadn't been until the second bout that the dark god had truly been impressed. The immortal had shown his true power by using a very ancient and little understood form of magic.
A being called the Traveller, although that was not the creature's real name, had given Gothic spells that couldn't be defeated. The young man could do amazing things just by speaking a few words. And Darkseid had known then that this man was more than a mere fighter.
Still Gothic had needed a lot of training and on Apokalips there many ways to increase one's power. Granny Goodness had worked her wonders and had turned the warlock into a warlord. Gothic had 'died' many times to get were he was now, but all that pain and effort was paying off.
In fact it had paid off very well right from the start. The mind of the Dark Prince was shielded by powerful mental defences, so telepathy was useless when dealing with Gothic. However there were other ways of getting information from a mind, and Darkseid had leaned much from the man from another universe.
The dark god had seen his own death after an attempt to bring the machine intelligence Brainaic under his control. However rather than modify the plan Darkseid had simply refused to ever make a deal with the creature. He'd also seen that New Genius was simply too powerful for him to attack, at least for now so it was better to honour the treaty. Darkseid had decided to slowly build up his strength, and to put someone more competent than his other son in charge of his conquests.
"You have proven yourself as my top commander, and now I am going to give you a planet of your own to rule. How you bring it under your control will be left to you, but I will provide you an army should you chose to crush an entire world under your heel".
"Thank you my lord" said Gothic while giving the dark god another now. "but I don't want to real a dead world. So I will have to be careful in how I handle this conquest".
The dark god did something he rarely did. He smiled. It wasn't a grin of smug satisfaction or a smile brought on by being able to subject an enemy to gruesome torture. It was an expression of pride. His adopted son was proving to be useful in many ways.
"I assume it won't be Earth" said Gothic.
That world was off limits now as Darkseid has also seen that he would fail to conquer that world for a second time. He still wanted the anti-life equation, but he had no idea what would happen if he took it when the human Lex Luthor offered it. He simply wasn't willing to take that risk, not when he other avenues to explore.
"It is a world called Tamaran" Lord of Apokalips informed his adopted son "DeSaad will explain the rest"
The advisor did exactly that.
"It is an advanced world. However it is not well defend. And It is ruled by a queen who goes by the name Blackfire".
"Nice name" commented the immortal.
He'd never heard of Tamaran or anyone called Blackfire, but he had ways of gathering information. DeSaad was just one of them.
"This can wait" Darkseid declared "You will have plenty of time to prepare. For now go and enjoy the fruits of your victory".
The dark god knew when it was best to reward good service, and this was one of those times. As for the ruler of Apokalips he wanted everyone out of the way as he had another advisor that he wished to consult.
(Line Break)
Darkseid's Palace – Apokalips
Apokolips was an ecumenopolis with burning fire pits, or in other words it looked like someone had merged the planet Coursant with Hell. Or at least that was how Gothic viewed it. The truth was far more bizarre and he didn't like to think about it.
In terms of technology Apokolips was second to New Genesis in advancement. Apokoliptian technology was also a major source of misery across the universe as Darkseid was in the habit of arming evil groups with sophisticated weapons just to cause more destruction.
The population of this world was downtrodden lot, including many beings kidnapped from other worlds before being 'broken' and made into the slaves. The majority of the people here were called "Lowlies", they were a fearful lot that had no sense of self respect. Which wasn't surprising as the Lowlies had lives made up of constant abuse and then painful death. The immortal knew this because for a time he had been one of them.
Slightly above those poor bastards were the Parademons, who serve as the keepers of order on the planet and make up most of Darksied's vast armies. Each Parademon started off as a sentient being and then got made into a monster. Gothic wasn't sure if they Parademons were actually better off than the Lowlies, and he didn't care to find out.
Then there were those who fitted the role of nobility. They were blessed with unnatural strength and longevity. Also since their lives weren't totally devoted to being slaves the insane 'nobles' had time to take on garish personalities and to indulge in immense sadism A good example of this was Granny Goodness, who had adopted the mannerisms of a matronly old woman, but in truth was sick, twisted women who deserved the worse torments life here had to offer.
Not that Gothic was fit to judge as he'd wounded, maimed and killed everyone who should between him and his way out of the slums.
At the very top was Darkseid who ruled as theocratic god and a despot, however DeSaad actually did most of the work. Darkseid has no real contenders for the throne of Apokolips aside from his son Kalibak. Which meant he had none really as Kalibak was the kind of person who could be outsmarted by dumb animals even on one of his rare good days.
However as important as that information was, Gothic was actually interested he just always ended going over such information when he stared out of his large bedroom window. Mostly that was because he could see the giant flame pits. Which always left him wondering why he so often felt cold here.
"You'd think I'd be sweating buckets" the immortal muttered to himself.
Then Gothic remembered that he wasn't actually human any more, at least not completely. He'd evolved beyond mere humanity until he had become a member of the race known as The New Gods. Which meant he was a god, but since no one worshipped him he just thought of himself as an immortal man.
Which wasn't to say he wasn't one. New Gods were stronger, faster, and smarter than homo sapiens, despite their resemblance to Gothic's species, and now he was just as strong, as fast and perhaps even smarter than them. Also he had some impressive magic, which made up for the fact that he wasn't that gifted with technology.
The New Gods were immortal, or at least extremely long lived, but they could be killed unlike Gothic who just went into a kind of coma while he healed. He was easier to hurt, but the pain never lasted long and wounds tended to fix themselves rather quickly.
Also he was immune to Radion,which was a bit like Kryptonite however it was extremely rare and was only potent enough to kill in large amounts, so unless Gothic found a moon made of the stuff it didn't really help him.
Moving away from the window the Dark Prince focused his attention upon the nearby computer screen. The warlock was trying to find everything he could about the planet that he was suppose to soon rule over.
Many years ago Tamaran had been invaded by a Gordanians, who were the kind of beings Gothic would like to wipe from existence. He wasn't really into helping people, but this universe had enough evil to deal with and it always a good idea to take out the competition.
Upon arrival the Gordanians had proceeded to lay waste to the planet, as well as to do horrible things to the locals. They'd destroyed the ecosystem and left the world as a wasteland. Prior to the invasion, Tamaran had been a much nicer place.
Gothic didn't know what that races motivation was for doing that but they hadn't stuck around so it may of just been for fun.
Also there was a bit of galactic prejudice towards Tamaraneans because even though they were a powerful race, their peaceful ways tended to leave them very unprepared when invaders arrive. Troq which meant nothing, was a common insult. Knowing how to insult people was useful because calling someone a really hurtful name can make them mad enough to make mistakes. So Gothic made a note of it.
Out of necessity, Tamaraneans are principally a warrior culture. Children were brought up to be tough and self-reliant; weakness was frowned upon. While personal affection was permissible, apparently it wasn't often shown in public. Which was also important for Gothic to know as he was starting to formulate a plan. A plan that was given further thought when the immortal discovered that marriages among Tamaranean royalty and the noble classes were arranged
That got the warlord onto the subject of the planet's current Grand Ruler. According to the spy who had put together this information, Blackfire was cunning, deceitful, immoral, sadistic and totally without remorse. Which in Gothic's view made her quiet suitable to be his wife. Komand'r, as she was also known, apparently had a very sarcastic sense of humour and was vain as well. That last 'virtue' was something he could exploit.
(Line Break)
Royal Palace – Tamaran – 29 Light Years From Earth.
Standing in the middle hall inside Tamaran's royal palace were two figures. One of them was a women with straight long black hair. She wore a pitch black skin-tight outfit and had strips of metal wrapped around her body. Normally she had a helmet which made her look as if she had decided to try and cage her own head, but at the insistence of the man standing next to her she removed it and was wearing her hair lose.
The second figure was the man who made her tremble when she started to question his methods of doing things. He was once more clad in the same outfit he worn only days ago when he'd devastated an entire world. The black armour wasn't made of metal however it was enchanted so well that it might as well be, and the silver parts, which included a skull on his left pauldron, also had magic words engraved upon them.
"This is my decision to make, unless you wish to challenge me, Lashina?"
Lashina shivered in both fear and excitement. She was sadist, like nearly everyone on Apokalips, which meant she obtained sexual gratification from causing others to feel pain and degradation. But she was also masochist, she enjoyed being humiliated and hurt by a dominant sexual partner. In short she liked hurting helpless women to get off, and she liked being hurt by powerful men even more.
Which was why she was attracted to Gothic, he was powerful and cruel, but not to the extent that he only liked to make others suffer with no regard for what they wanted, He knew how to make Lashina feel good by being mean to her, but he also didn't mind it when she tormented women. He also knew how to mix pleasure and pain.
"No my dark prince" the female fury said.
The Dark Prince was not Gothic's actual title, but if things went to plan it might soon become a legitimate one.
"I was just wondering why you don't just take this planet by force?" Lashina dared to ask.
"I'm guessing that when I asked you to read up on this place, that you just saw that the Tamaranians couldn't possibly withstand an invasion and then you just assumed that I would invade".
It wasn't a question but the Female Fury answered it anyway.
"Yes, and you did order the fleet to assemble so I did just assume".
Gothic shook his uncovered head.
"On Earth we have this expression 'there's more than one way to skin a cat' and what that means is that a problem can have more than one solution. We could invade and that would solve the problem of how to get this planet under my control. But Tamaran was ravaged during its last invasion so if I do the same I'll end up as king of a dead lump of rock. And since I don't want to rule a dead lump of rock I need another method".
"And that is?" Lashina inquired
The Fury realised that she was pushing her luck, and she would pay for lack of respect later. Which would be fun.
"I mean: please inform me of your masterful plan oh great warlord".
Gothic resisted the urge to sigh.
"Always study your targets" the immortal warrior said "I did that and I discovered that the Queen of this world is a petty and cruel woman who wants more of what she already has. Which is power and wealth".
To Lashina that sounded perfectly fine, but Gothic seemed to think a weakness that he could exploit.
"She's also incredibly vain and greedy. So for the last few days I've been sending her gifts".
The Female Fury had wondered what Gothic did with his wealth, now she had some idea.
"Also while the people here are mostly peaceful, but they are also passionate, so the chances are that they would like the chance to go out and kick some Gordanian backsides, so I also sent her majesty some nice weapons.".
A royal guard then entered the hall and declared that the Grand Ruler would grant him the honour of an audience.
The room grew quiet as the armoured man walked in with his escort. The infamous Blackfire had a small smile marking her face Unlike most of the Tamaraneans, who had orange skin, and long brightly coloured hair; but Blackfire was different, her skin was more exotic than the others of her species and her hair was ebony. Most of her people had green eyes but hers were violet. And, Gothic had to admit, that he liked what the Grand Ruler wore. It was a battle outfit, but it was also very sexy.
"Greetings, Your Majesty" Gothic said while getting down in one knee.
"Rise" was all the ruler of this world said.
The Dark Prince hid a smile as he stood up.
"I'm glad that you granted me an audience, your Majesty. Negotiation is more preferable to war".
Blackfire's smile easily disappeared,
"You can't seriously think that we will just surrender" stated the Grand Ruler.
Gothic sent Blackfire his most charming smile.
"You were planning to fight back, weren't you? If I'd arrived with an army"
Since Gothic had been sending the people of this world advanced weapons, it seemed unlikely that Darkseid's General would invade, but there was still some concern.
"I am the queen of Tamaran. I shall not give my planet without a fight. Surrender is not an option. But I know how foolish it would be to start a war with Apokalips"
The dark haired conqueror smiled and put on his helmet,
"Your Majesty, I have been ordered to bring this world under my control, but that does not mean that there needs to be a war or that you need to surrender. Instead I ask for your hand in marriage"
That caused everyone in the court to burst into frantic talk.
"So, do you plan on fighting me?" asked Gothic "or shall we negotiate further"
"Do you intend to usurp my throne?" asked Blackfire.
The warlord shook his head.
"I have no interest in actually ruling this world. I would prefer an alliance of sorts. I wish to be your prince-consort. In return for your hand in marriage I can supply your armies with advanced weapons, and help you to defend this world should anyone or anything try to harm your people".
A tempting offer given that this world had been greatly devastated during the last invasion.
"I will also use my own wealth to help you restore this world, and of course I will be a very generous and supportive husband".
Blackfire's eye lit up, quite literally, as she thought about the wealth and power this arrangement could grant her. She would still be Grand Ruler and such a powerful ally would help to keep her on the throne. Plus he was rather handsome, and very rich judging by the gifts he'd sent her.
"Take me as your wife"
Lashina was the most shocked of all.
(Line Break)
Later that night in Blackfire's chambers, came shouts of joy, pleasure and a little bit of pain. The Tamaran's ruler was crying out her husband's name. Lashina failed to restrain her own desires and ended up failing to satisfy herself with her hands as leaned against the wall that separated her room from the one Gothic was now sharing with his wife.
She only hoped that Gothic wasn't the kind of man to take the vows of an arranged marriage too seriously.
Author Note
'ah' in R'lyehian is a word that covers a range of generic actions including eat.
'orr'e' means soul or spirit. Mortal beings have souls were as thing like demons have spirits so he can feed those to the Traveller as well.
'uaaah' means end spell so I put at the end to show that Gothic is casting a spell and not just talking in Old One.
So 'ah orr'e uaaah' - eat soul spell.