Skeletor raised his staff, blocking Genesis' sword. The warlord chuckled lowly in his chest, having one hand behind his back before shoving Genesis away. The swordsmen spun around then angled his sword so the tip was pointing dangerously at Skeletor. The warlord turned his head, looking back as ALPHA and Christie attempted to battle Arch Azul. Genesis shot forward, pulling his blade back. Skeletor snapped his head forward then raised his staff up, summoning a barrier around his body. Genesis stopped himself quickly then flipped backwards as the barrier formed into an explosive blast. The swordsmen hovered above the ground then shot backwards.
"Now, now, keep him busy," Genesis' master ordered from afar. "We don't want mister tough and powerful warlord to take on Azul now would we?"
"No master," Genesis replied. "I'll keep him busy."
"Oh ya will huh?" Genesis' eyes widened as he turned his head around and jumped back just as a blade nearly sliced him in half. The swordsmen landed on the ground then scowled angrily at his opponent: an older man with broad shoulders, a long trench coat like Genesis', wielding a large sword like it was a toothpick, and white hair smirked as he looked up at Genesis.
"Not you," the Deepground commander seethed.
"Oh come on, I figure you would've missed me a bit," the man replied before spinning his sword above his head then resting the blade across his shoulders.
"Master," Genesis whispered.
"Yep, we've got trouble now," the Deepground leader exclaimed.
ALPHA slid back as Arch Azul stood on its hind legs and roared. Before the demon could attack, a massive missile impacted and exploded against its chest. Arch Azul roared in agony then fell on its side. A woman wearing all black leather with long blonde hair and a pair of pistols ran onto the scene, firing over and over into Arch Azul's body. The creature groaned before looking at the woman. The blue eyed devil smirked then threw a powerful kick upward, lightning trailing and crackling around her limb. The impact shook the ground and sent Arch Azul flying through the air.
"You're up kid," the blonde shouted.
A giant blue hand grabbed one of Azul's horns. A young man wearing a blue trench coat with white hair and a strange glowing right arm was pulled towards the demon, landing on its face. The boy screamed as he grabbed the demon by the face then jumped in the air a bit. Arch Azul screamed with rage as it was being dragged to the ground by the boy. The white haired boy roared loudly before throwing the demon face first into the ground. A crater formed under the impact, leaving Arch Azul broken in the center. The boy wasn't done yet as he spun around, pulling his arm behind his body before delivering a powerful blow to the demon's head, breaking its skull and sending it sailing through the plains. Arch Azul hit the ground and rolled a few times, blood oozing from where the white haired boy punched it in the skull. The boy let out a sigh then brushed his hands together before turning to the blonde woman in black, and a new woman with short black hair that wore white.
"How was that," the boy asked.
"Not bad," the lady in black admitted. "Keep it up and you might become good one day." The boy rolled his eyes then looked to Christie and ALPHA. The other two women turned their attention to the former two as well. "So, care to explain your story?"
"Not really," Christie replied. The white haired woman strode forward then launched a bolt of lightning from her fingertips.
Wolf jumped over Knuckles' punches. The mercenary smirked as he placed his hands on Knuckles' shoulders then, as he landed on the ground, he threw the echidna over his head. Knuckles cried out before slamming hard into a stone wall. The echidna got up slowly, shaking his head before looking over at Wolf. The mercenary grinned then waved his hand tauntingly to Knuckles. The echidna huffed then quickly charged. Wolf pulled out his pistol then aimed. Just before he was ready to fire, a bullet struck and knocked the gun out of the mercenary's hand. Wolf looked over, seeing a man with a small afro and a pair of pistols, wearing green, standing on top of a distant roof. Sazh let out a victorious 'ha' before twirling his pistols around. Wolf scowled, only to be punched in the face by Knuckles.
Bowser roared as he brought his fists down on Duncan's shield. The mustached man cried out at the force that was brought down upon him. The koopa king growled, then grabbed Duncan's shield and hurled the captain through the air. Duncan smashed into a stone wall with tremendous force that nearly knocked him unconscious. Bowser grinned then charged forward, ready to finish the captain off. Suddenly, a blinding light appeared between the two combatants, causing Bowser to temporarily stop. The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull appeared from the light, her hand opened towards Bowser. The Sorceress shouted briefly, sending a mighty push forward that sent Bowser flying. The koopa king roared until he smashed deeply into a stone wall. The Sorceress turned to Duncan, who finished prying himself out of the wall and fell to the ground on his hands and knees.
"Are you alright," the Sorceress asked, kneeling next to Duncan.
The burly man nodded, holding the side of his head with pain. A sudden bolder caught the Sorceress by surprise, knocking her to the side. Duncan looked up as she screamed with pain on impact, then looked over to see an enraged Bowser stepping out of the wall. Duncan raised his cannon up then readied himself as Bowser charged.
Shendu ducked as King Mickey slashed at his head. The demon then vanished in a blur as Sonic ran up and attempted to dropkick him. Shendu stopped at the other end of the roof then unleashed a massive wave of fire from his mouth. Mickey turned to the wave of fire, then raised a wall of magic in front of himself and Sonic. The fire hit the wall, but did nothing. Shendu continued to lay on the heat, increasing the intensity of the fire, even though he knew it would do no good. Shendu stopped then sped around the two rodents. Mickey had no time to react as Shendu appeared behind him, but Sonic managed to spring forward, spinning around with blinding speed. Shendu barely caught the blue hedgehog before he struck. The demon sneered then kicked Sonic into the air like a soccer ball. Shendu looked down as Mickey attempted to slash him again. The demon leapt into the air and hovered menacingly. Mickey's eyes hardened on his opponent who stuck his palm outward.
"DIE!" Shendu unleashed a powerful beam of fire from his palm. Mickey dove forward, off the roof, as the beam took out a chunk of Merlin's house. Shendu started laughing as he continued to fire blast after blast at Mickey.
The rodent spun around, batting one of Shendu's blasts back at him. The demon hissed as his arms rose up to defend himself. The blast tore through Shendu's chest, and the demon screamed in agony. Mickey sighed, closing his eyes at the thought of taking another's life. Shendu's shoulders started to shake as he laughed, throwing his head forward to laugh directly at the king's face. Mickey was completely shocked and startled as the hole in Shendu's chest started to close up at an alarming rate. Shendu sneered before exhaling a massive wave of fire from his mouth. Mickey quickly turned and ran as quickly as he could to avoid the wave of fire.
Ganondorf stumbled back as Teela's staff collided with his face. The dark lord then blocked Leon's sword with his forearm, then threw the swordsmen aside. Ganondorf snapped his head towards Teela, then caught her staff before it could hit again. The dark lord chuckled coldly before he screamed and threw Teela over his head at Leon. The Committee leader looked up then caught Teela, sliding back a bit from the speed she was flying at. Ganondorf pulled his arm back, summoning a ball of purple flames in the palm of his hand before he launched it at the two heroes. Leon quickly placed Teela on her feet, spun around then sliced through the fireball. Sparks and ashes flew past Leon who gazed steely into Ganondorf's eyes.
Tifa threw a punch at Dark Samus who casually stepped back, grabbed her by the wrist, kneed Tifa in the gut, then hurled the young fighter over her shoulders and to the ground. Tifa cried out as she hit, but quickly spun around to her feet. Dark Samus aimed her cannon at Tifa then fired four missiles. Tifa's eyes widened before she jumped straight into the air as the first missile exploded just below her feet. The fighter spun around as the second missile flew past her. Tifa grabbed the third one and quickly spun it the other direction towards the fourth missile. Tifa landed on the roof of Merlin's home just as the two missiles collided. The fighter smirked then pulled her fist back, a bright light radiating from within her palm. Tifa cried out then shot her fist forward, unleashing a series of light balls that stretched out towards Dark Samus. The copy dove forward, ducking into a ball as she rolled forward and up the wall of Merlin's home. Tifa watched as her Final Heaven exploded into the ground, but with no sign of Dark Samus. The fighter looked down, just as Dark Samus emerged from her ball form, and kicked Tifa straight in the chin. Tifa was lifted off her feet and landed with a heavy thud on her back just before Dark Samus landed a few feet away. Dark smirked under her helmet then turned to Tifa's still body. She took one step forward before a shuriken stuck to the ground in front of her. Dark looked up, seeing a young woman wearing purple clothing with light purple hair landing between her and Tifa. Dark tilted her head then huffed. Tifa slowly rose to her feet, holding the side of her now throbbing head before turning to Dark, ready for a fight.
Pete threw his giant fist forward, impacting with Goofy's shield. The royal knight cried out as his shield absorbed the impact, but still spun him around a few times. Pete moved to continue his assault on Goofy, before something hot hit his rear. Pete's eyes widened before he turned around, seeing his butt was on fire. The lackey screamed before he ran in circles, trying to smack the fire out. Donald chuckled before twirling his mage's staff around. Pete finally put the fire out then scowled angrily at the sorcerer.
"I'll show you!"
Pete pulled out two handfuls of bombs then hurled them forward. Donald cried out with shock before turning and running away as the bombs exploded all around him. Pete pointed and laughed while Donald ran, unaware that Goofy was still spinning around from blocking his earlier blow. Goofy finally made his way back to Pete, his shield slamming into the lackey's stomach. Wind rushed out of Pete's mouth as he flew back, landed on his back and slid across the pavement. Pete groaned then sat up, placing a hand on his back just as Goofy started to slow down. The captain of the royal knights staggered a bit, letting out a disoriented laugh as Donald walked up, rolling up his sleeves as he glared angrily at Pete.
Wolf threw the back of his fist forward, knocking Knuckles flat on his back. The mercenary huffed, rubbing under his nose before walking forward, baring his claws at the echidna. Suddenly, a giant shuriken flew past Wolf's nose, startling the mercenary a bit. He looked over, only to get a foot to his face that knocked him flat on his back. Yuffie landed against the wall, grabbed her shuriken then sprung out and landed next to Knuckles. Wolf flipped to his feet, glaring angrily at the ninja and echidna that stood against him.
Mickey swung his Keyblade outward, launching a ball of light at Shendu. The demon swooped forward then moved to the side as the ball exploded. The demon fired two blasts, one from each hand then fired heat beams from his eyes. Mickey deflected the first two blasts with his Keyblade then sprung to the side as the heat beams struck through the ground. The two continually threw blasts back at one another, neither coming close to hitting the other. Shendu shot higher into the air, and then launched a powerful, concentrated blast of fire from both hands. Mickey twirled his Keyblade around then fired a penetrating beam of light. The beam punched straight through Shendu's blast. The demon hissed then floated to the side. Shendu seethed with rage while Mickey glared up at him.
Suddenly, a figure shot over and grabbed Shendu by his cloak. The demon's eyes grew with shock, seeing Hayate gazing coldly into his eyes. The shinobi hadn't forgotten Shendu. Hayate spun around, placed his feet against Shendu's chest, and then shot the demon towards the ground with incredible force. The demon came crashing into the ground as Hayate landed in front of Mickey, staring at the crater that Shendu now rested in. Shendu raised his head, glaring at Hayate and Mickey on his hands and knees. The demon shot forward, fire spewing from his mouth.
The Shredder, known as Ch'rell by some, approached an empty warehouse resting by the river. As he walked forward, Shredder could hear a mob of people screaming from within.
The four Elite Foot Ninja stood in front of a group of hundreds of men, some dressed as thugs, others dressed in Japanese tunics, few others wore their Foot Ninja garb, and less than a handful actually had their masks on.
"Listen you incompetent fools," one Elite shouted, silencing the group's shouting. "The master is back! He needs your aid even as we speak!"
"How can we be sure it's the right Shredder," one ninja shouted.
"He's right," a female ninja added, "first it was that demon that destroyed the Foot Tower, and killed nearly two thirds of our ninjas. And then it was that idiot Khan who followed a mere digital copy of our former master!"
"Do you doubt your leaders," a second Elite shouted. "Since Karai has repurposed the Foot to a simple business industry, we, the Foot Elite, have kept the Foot Clan alive! We have led you to where you are now!"
"Please, I make more from my part time job than I do working for you clowns," a large Foot Ninja shouted. The crowd screamed in agreement. "All you four have done is led this group to a point where we can barely survive! Most of our members have gone to the Purple Dragons or have gone legit! I say you four aren't fit to lead us anymore!" The crowd pumped their fists into the air and screamed together. "We need a new leader! Not these four clowns! Whose with me!" The crowd cheered with excitement. "And if anyone has a problem with that, then I say bring it on!"
"I challenge," a booming voice echoed. Everything went deafly silent. Everyone turned around and looked at the entrance, seeing a towering figure standing at the entrance. Shredder stepped forward, and the crowd parted before him. The Foot Ninja who spoke out against the Elite stared with fear written all over his face. Shredder raised his hand, pointing a finger at the ninja, "Elite! Silence this incompetent fool!" One of the ninjas in red nodded then hurled his spear forward. The ninja cried out, eyes widening for a brief moment before he fell do his knees, life fading from his eyes, then smacked hard on the cold floor. Shredder walked through the crowd, pulled the spear out of the man's back then tossed it up to the Elite. Shredder turned around and faced the ninjas before him.
"My faithful servants, after nearly two years, I have returned!" A small group in the far corner of the warehouse shouted. They were soon joined by the rest of the half frightened and half excited mob. Shredder threw his arms up above his head, encouraging his followers to scream louder. "I am ready to rebuild my empire, and rule the Foot Clan from this day forward! And no one, Utrom, or mutant turtle freak, will stop us this time!" The Foot cheered, now fully enticed by their master. "We will begin our first step towards conquest, by marching over to the lair of the Purple Dragons, and we will bash down their doors!" The Foot Ninja shouted, throwing their fists into the air. "And then we will march through their home, slaughtering anyone who dares to oppose us! And then we will knock down that traitor Hun's front door, and we will FINISH HIM!" The Foot all applauded and screamed, drawing their weapons and holding them high above their heads. Shredder threw his arms above his head. "To victory! To the mighty Foot Clan!" Everyone roared in the warehouse with a battle cry that could be heard around the city.
Karai stood outside of the Technodrome, observing the almost finished exterior. The interior had a new makeover as well, and the entire fortress was almost finished exactly to the Shredder's demand. Krang walked down the exit ramp and up towards Karai.
"What did you do to my communications device," Krang asked angrily. "I can't contact anyone from another world!"
"We had to disable it in order to finish the modifications within the portal chamber." Krang narrowed his eyes then looked up at the Technodrome. Karai wrote something down on her clipboard then shifted her eyes to the brain. "Is something wrong Krang?"
"No, not really," the brain admitted. "I actually kind of like what you've done with the place. I never thought of installing a giant destructive laser on my Technodrome."
"Make no mistake: this is your Technodrome, just modified to my master's specifications. With this, he should be able to destroy every last Ninja Turtle in existence."
"And then what'll he do?"
"Then he wishes to go out and conquer new worlds, the worlds you spoke of that are not planets, but rather alternate realities."
"So why does he feel the need to punish me! I'm sure Maleficent will welcome someone like your Shredder with open arms." Karai sighed then turned to Krang.
"My master will not make alliances with just anyone. If anything he'd rather want to conquer everything himself instead of following someone who will just hoard everything to themselves." Krang hummed, rubbing the glass dome that covered him. "Now if you'll excuse me I have-,"
"Karai!" The kunoichi snapped to attention then turned around, seeing her father approaching with the Elite and a small army of Foot Ninja. "Are my robots ready to fight?" Karai looked back to the human ninjas who were gapping with awe beneath their masks at the Technodrome. The kunoichi looked back at her master then bowed her head.
"We have nearly two hundred combat units ready to fight my lord." Shredder's eyes began to glow brightly.
"Excellent…bring them out now, and get me the mutagen. I plan on making a few of those Purple Dragons into Purple Mutants." Karai bowed her head then quickly ran to the Technodrome. Shredder snapped his head at Krang who yelped then followed after Karai. Shredder turned to his followers, "This is my new fortress, our new home: the Technodrome! With this we shall destroy this world, and the Ninja Turtles!" The Foot looked to each other, a confused and cautious look in their eyes. "Do not worry, we shall not be destroyed with this world! We shall leave, and then we shall go out and conquer more! The Foot Clan will expand to new worlds, and we shall take over everything!" The Foot gave a cheer, even though half of them were still worried.
Soon, the sounds of two hundred footsteps in unison caused Shredder to turn around. Red ninja robots with glowing yellow eyes stomped down the ramp, row by row and all stopped in front of the Shredder. The alien ninja looked up, seeing Karai at the top of the boarding ramp, ordering for a group of Rock Soldiers to hurry up. Nearly a dozen of Krang's servants came down the exit ramp then placed the crates of mutagen at Shredder's feet.
"You," Shredder snapped, pointing to a group of robots in front of him. "This entire row will be in charge of carrying these crates. Understood?" Without a response, the robots walked over then lifted the crates up as if they weighed nothing. "Excellent…" Shredder turned to his human followers. "Onward! To Victory!" The ninjas cheered then marched towards the exit with Shredder and his new robot army following behind.
Genesis clashed swords with his counterpart wearing a red trench coat. They sprung away from one another, Genesis floating in the air. "Awe come on, I'm barely working up a sweat." Genesis looked around, then scowled.
"Damn it, he got away…" Genesis snapped his head down at the white haired man. "This isn't over Dante…" The Deepground general shot off into the night sky, leaving Dante behind.
"Yo, Dante," a voice called out. The white haired man turned to the white haired boy who smiled at him. "Did ya get him?"
"Nah, Genesis got away. What about that demon, bull thing?"
"Nero and I took care of it," the blonde replied.
"Excuse me," the other woman snapped. "I had to knock it off balance before you did anything."
"Hey, Lady, Trish, let's not start arguing now," Dante said. "I think we got company anyway." The group turned around, seeing a small army of vehicles approaching their position. Dante strode up confidently as Felicia jumped out of a jeep. "Yo baby!" The brunette's eyes widened briefly before she gave a weary sigh then looked over at the smug white haired man. "How've ya been Elfe?"
"Don't call me that," Felicia sighed out. "What're you doing here Dante?"
"Oh well, my group and I were just having a good old training session when we heard explosions in this direction. We came along and saw Genesis and Azul fighting two chicks and a blue skinned guy."
"Skeletor," a new voice replied. Dante looked over, seeing a man with light brown hair, pulled back into a long pony tail, wearing standard Guardian Corps armor jump out of the back of the same jeep Felicia was in. "Did he wear purple and wield a staff with a ram's skull on it?"
"Uh, yeah actually. I thought he was some type of demon or something."
"I need four squads, one to head in each direction; north, south, east, and west." Four squads volunteered then quickly sat out in their vehicles. "Dante, what can you tell us about the enemies' abilities?"
"Aside from the fact they were weak? Nothing too useful. Hey, is that Lightning?" Felicia glanced over her shoulder, seeing the retired Guardian soldier approaching them. "Hey, Farron!"
"Dante," Lightning replied with a small nod.
"Sheesh, so much for warm friendly welcomes."
"Dante, this is serious," Felicia snapped. "That blue skinned warrior you encountered, Skeletor, is an off worlder." Dante's eyes hardened and the cocky smirk on his face vanished. "We need your help to find him."
"So what, you want me to kill the guy?"
"Preferably yes," Felicia replied. "This is Ryu Hayabusa, and he's here to help us." Dante looked at the brunette ninja then nodded once. Ryu returned the gesture. "We're worried that Deepground may be trying to use the off worlders to destroy the world. So we need to capture or neutralize them before Deepground gets their hands on them."
"Obvious," Dante murmured. "Nero, Lady, Trish, and I will keep an eye out for them. Anything else I can do to help?"
"Aside from the usual, no." Dante nodded then turned away, walking back to his team of three. Felicia turned around then started to walk towards Arch Azul's corpse.
"Who was that," Ryu asked, keeping his eyes focused on the demon corpse.
"His name is Dante," Felicia replied. "He's a PSICOM commander who specializes in killing demons. He and his brother are famously known as the Devil Hunting Duo."
"Is his brother that other boy with white hair," Ryu asked, glancing back over his shoulder.
"No, not exactly. That boy is Nero. Dante found him while on a mission to deal with a crazy cult group who was converting its followers into demons under the misguided belief that they were transcending into angels."
"So who is his brother?"
"His brother was perhaps the greatest PSICOM commander ever born. His name was Vergil, and he use to be in charge of Dante's squad, if you could call it such. At first they were placed in a large squad assigned to track and kill a group of demons. The entire squad was slaughtered, save for Dante and Vergil. After that, the brothers were placed together as a pair rather than a squad or team. They completed every mission assigned to them. They eventually recruited Lady and Trish in their group as well, both of whom are also trained devil hunters. Nero they found during that whole crazy cult incident I mentioned before."
"So what happened?" Felicia stopped. Ryu also came to a halt, turning towards Felicia slightly.
"Dante was being put up for a promotion from sergeant to commander, and he would've been in equal ranking with his brother. They wouldn't be in the same squad anymore. For those who knew Vergil, he seemed to take the news rather well, and was actually proud of his little twin brother. But just before Dante was promoted, Vergil vanished without a trace. Dante was promoted and put in charge of his brother's squad. We still don't know what happened to Vergil, but Dante is still looking for him. They were twins, and even though they had some disagreements, there was a bond between them that could never be broken." Ryu nodded solemnly and remained silent. "Come on, we should inspect this demon at the very least." Ryu nodded again then followed Felicia.
Genesis was flying back to headquarters, and in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder what his master's reaction to his retreat would be. "Tick, tock Genesis, we're running out of time."
"Forgive me master, but the other worlder escaped. And we lost Azul as well."
"Do not fret child. Once Weiss finds that ninja boy, this whole world will die at our feet." Genesis' leader started laughing madly, bringing a calming smile to the swordsmen's face.
The front doors to the Purple Dragons' skyscraper were blown apart by a catastrophic explosion. The thugs all cried out and shielded their eyes before looking at the smoke. A group of ninja charged through the smoke, hurling shuriken forward with swords drawn. The Purple Dragons all cried out as the blades stuck into their bodies. The ninjas quickly took positions around the entrance, ready to defend their master if any others showed up. The Elite entered first, two standing on either side of the entrance. They scanned the room carefully then stood across from one another and bowed as their master walked in. Shredder raised his left hand in the air, eyes beaming brightly.
"Tear this place apart! Steal anything of technological worth and kill all who defy me!" The ninjas nodded then quickly scattered. Shredder marched forward with the Elite two steps behind him. As the smoke and dust settled, the robotic Foot Ninja entered with their marching in unison. "Where is that traitor?"
"His office should be at the top of the tower my lord," one Elite replied. Shredder turned to his robots, then pointed upward. Nearly all of the ninjas quickly jumped into the air, and latched to the walls, scurrying up like spiders.
"We will start building my mutant army with the Purple Dragons! While my human ninjas are ordered to kill anyone who opposes us, the robots will move to the higher levels and inject them with the mutagen. Once they do, they'll go outside and place them in the trucks until where the drivers will take them back to the Technodrome."
"An ingenious plan sir," an Elite replied.
"I will still deal with Hun personally," Shredder boomed. "Come, there isn't a moment to waste." Shredder and his Elite, along with a squad of two dozen Foot robots walked towards the massive elevator before them.
Ganondorf threw both of his fists out at Leon and Teela. The former of the two blocked with the broadside of his sword, while the latter hopped back. Teela swung and hit Ganondorf's midsection, causing the dark lord to keel over in pain. Leon raised his sword to strike, but Ganondorf quickly teleported away in a cloud of purple flame.
"Darn it, what does it take to kill this guy," Leon asked no one in particular. Ganondorf chuckled then clenched his fist tightly.
Dark Samus yanked her head back as Tifa's punch missed, and then dove into a ball as Ayane tried to behead her. The copy rolled forward before jumping out of ball form and firing a missile between the two ladies. Tifa gasped, but Ayane grabbed her and teleported away in a flash of purple. Dark lowered her cannon then looked to her left, seeing Ayane and Tifa reappearing.
"She's good," Tifa stated. Ayane nodded in agreement before taking a fighting stance.
Shendu blasted the ground at Hayate's feet, causing the ninja to spring out of the way. The demon then looked as Mickey attempted to slice his head off. The demon ducked then ran in a blur back by Merlin's door. The demon hissed then fired two separate blasts from his hands. Mickey deflected the first then jumped above the second. Hayate teleported behind Shendu. The demon turned his head, attempting to strike back, but Hayate's hands, full of concentrated chi, thrusted his palms forward. A booming impact shook Shendu as he shot forward and slammed into the opposite side of the street, next to Dark Samus.
Wolf flipped backwards and landed on the other side of Dark. Pete came rolling head over heels before he smacked his head against the back wall next to Shendu. Bowser and Ganondorf leapt backwards, landing next to each other as they glared at their opponents. The villains rose to their feet then stared off against the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. Though they were outnumbered, they weren't going to give up without a fight.
Before anyone could attack, a giant wall of green fire rose between the good and evil doers. The Restoration Committee stepped back with shock and watched the fire with rage filled eyes.
"Maleficent," Leon seethed. Suddenly, a giant black dragon's head emerged from the fire, roaring loudly as he exhaled a wave of fire. "Scatter!"
The Restoration Committee all dove, ran, ducked, and leapt out of the way as the dragon stepped out of the fire. Mickey knew of Maleficent's most powerful form, but he was surprised by the fact it seemed larger than he remembered. Maleficent roared then started spewing fire everywhere she could.
"The town," Yuffie shrieked.
"She's gonna burn it down," Leon exclaimed.
"I think she's distracting us," Hayate corrected, turning his attention to the council of evil.
The dragon lowered its gaze to Mickey, growling lowly as smoke flowed out of its nostrils. Mickey's glare kept for a moment before he turned and ran into the town to help set out the fires. Maleficent huffed then her entire form was swallowed by black and green fire.
The evil group watched as Maleficent's form came walking out of the fire, and through the wall of flame she erupted, like a demon strolling casually through hell. Pete was cowering with fear, while Ganondorf sneered at the witch's dark power. Bowser simply glared at Maleficent, as did Wolf. Dark Samus' expression was unreadable from her body language. Shendu simply gazed directly into Maleficent's cold eyes that bored a hole through him.
"I take it you're in charge of this little expedition Shendu," Maleficent questioned.
"Indeed I am, but I—AGH!"
Maleficent held her hand out, fingers curled slightly. The witch lowered her gaze then cried out as her fingers stood up completely. Shendu held his chest and writhed around in pain, unsure of where the pain was coming from. Shortly afterwards, twelve tiny pebbles flew out from Shendu's body and made it into Maleficent's grasp. Shendu exhaled heavily then fell to his knees, a few strands of his hair hanging in his face now. The demon looked with shock at his hands before looking up at Maleficent. The witch smirked then held out her hand, showing four talismans in the palm of her hand. Shendu's eyes widened as he quickly attempted to take them. The witch closed her hand and pulled her arm back.
"Now, now, now," Maleficent said with a mockingly sing-song voice.
"Why did you—how did you take my talismans!"
"I remember you told me they were the source of your powers when we first met. It wasn't that hard to take them away after a few simple hours of studying the magic from your world. Your chi spells and magic pale in comparison to my power over the darkness."
"But why," Shendu boomed, smoke trailing out of his mouth.
"To teach you a lesson," Maleficent replied with a venomous tone. "You attacked without my orders."
"It was an opportunity," Shendu hissed. "King Mickey was here, and Ganondorf and the others arrived, we had to do it!" Maleficent rolled her eyes then took a step towards Shendu.
"I am in charge," the witch seethed, her voice echoing off nothing but her rage alone. "You do as I say. I am the master in charge. You listen to me!" Shendu narrowed his eyes with rage. Maleficent turned her head back to the town she just set ablaze. "We're leaving." The witch threw her arm out, covering her and her council of evil with darkness.
Lightning sighed as she walked back towards the vehicles. She was woken up just to know her group's hunting patterns? That seriously couldn't have waited until morning? Still, Lightning complied with the legendary Felicia of the Guardian Corps. Light looked in the back of one of the jeeps, seeing Ilias curled up in a ball with a blanket wrapped around him. Once she and Ryu were woken up by Felicia, they had to bring Ilias as well. The boy didn't complain however.
Lightning smiled softly then moved a strand of the boy's hair out of his face. Granted Ilias acted more like Snow than Lightning cared for, but she still cared deeply for him as if he were her little brother. Unfortunately with Snow marrying Serah, Lightning is going to get a brother she never wanted. Ilias stirred a bit than sat up, rubbing his tired eyes.
"I didn't wake you did I," Lightning asked.
"Nope," Ilias replied with a loud and long yawn. "What's the news?"
"There was definitely a battle here. At first it was between Deepground and those other off worlders Ryu told us about, but then Dante and his team showed up and they all ran away." Ilias hummed then yawned again. Light placed a gentle hand on the boy's head. "You should get some sleep."
"Yeah, okay," Ilias said while still yawning. The boy lied back down and curled up once again into a ball. Light smiled then quietly walked away.
Not too far away, a grinning Weiss and his brother Nero watched Lightning carefully as she walked away. The brothers turned their heads back to the slumbering Ilias. Weiss chuckled quietly then jumped down off the hill he and his brother lied on. Nero watched his brother then looked back at Ilias.
Once again, I have news: I found a way to speed up this story just a tad. Yeah, I know I'm crazy. First I need to hurry and finish it, then I need to slow it down a bit, now I found a way to hurry again. I'm a very confusing individual.
But I suppose for your continued patience with my madness I'll give you an insider tip on what the finale will consist of: Skeletor bad-assery. Remember when he took on Hordak, He-Man, and King Hiss all at once? Yeah, like that type of bad-assery. So anywho, now that I'm done with this chapter, on to the next one while I still have juices flowing!