Opening File: Crom Cruach
In ancient times Ireland was said to be ruled by the Old Gods, one of which was the fertility god known as Crom Cruach. It offered good yields of milk and grain to its worshipers in exchange of first-born sacrifices, and is said to have been worshiped since the time of Érimón. An early example of Crom Cruach's cruelty was the death of the early High King, Tigernmas, along with three quarters of his army, died while worshiping the god on Samhain eve, leaving the Ireland without a High King for nearly seven years after the incident. Even so, the worship continued regardless across the ages.
According to Rolf Vorlik who is a descendent of a family of Shepherds, Crom Cruch terrorized most of Europe with an army of demons named Bodach that would destroy villages when the people refused to worship him while stealing their children. The firstborns would be sacrificed to Crom to ensure a plentiful harvest while the rest would be enslaved, forced to worship him and build statues in his likeness. In addition to his Bodach Crom chose four Harvesters through four enchanted weapons to enforce his will on the mortals.
Fortunately, Crom Cruach's evil reign met it end at the hands of Cu Chullain who challenged and defeated him in battle and a Shepard wielding a magic cane who broke his hold over the mortals who once feared him. In his final confrontation with the Shepard Patrick Crom Cruach emerged in his true demonic form but was defeated, entombed under a statue of silver and gold resembling its true form and twelve smaller statues made to guard it for all eternity, ending the practice of human sacrifice on the island. After he was defeated Patrick left behind a warning to his descendants that if Crom Cruach ever returned the staff of the Shepherds would be needed again to stop him.
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Opening File: The Four Harvesters of Crom
During his reign of terror Crom Cruach had an army of demons named Bodach under his command, ordering them to attack and destroy villages that refused to worship him. However, seeing the burden of command as something beneath him Crom enchanted four harvesting tools and gave them to four special mortals, transforming them into four general who would lead his armies while each representing an aspect of Crom. They became known as the four Harvesters of Crom:
The Harvester of Blood represents Crom's nature of sacrifice, often being the one who kills and sacrifices mortals in Crom's name. They wield a pair of sickles.
The Harvester of Growth, representing Crom's aspect of Growth is able to control all wood and plant life. They can decide whether the crops of Crom's land grows or dies, leaving the mortals to starve if they refuse to worship Crom. They wield a giant pick axe.
The Harvester of Night, representing Crom's aspect as a sun god, is able to control the sun to a degree bringing light and warmth to the land or darkness and cold if the mortals refuse to bow to Crom. They wield a scythe.
And lastly the Harvester of Riches, representing Crom's power to give and take wealth at his discretion. Whoever worships Crom will be given a horde of treasure such as gold, diamonds and rubies. The Harvester can even cause gold to fall from the sky like rain, making those who worship Crom beyond their wildest dreams.
Together the four Harvesters of Crom are the most powerful and dangerous warriors in Crom's army. They are believed to be powerful enough to rival the most powerful heroes and warriors on the entire planet.
Either flee or approach with extreme caution.
Close File
Xxx
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"S…ar?"
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"St…"
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"Star?"
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"Star, can you hear me?"
The blackness that consumed her vision slowly faded away, revealing the concerned look of a very familiar voice.
"Star!" Marco Diaz smiled to see his friend awake.
"Ma-Marco?" Star grunted, suddenly feeling cold and sore.
"Hey there! You gave us a scare. Good thing we found you!" Another person floated into view with a relieved smile.
"Glossaryck?" Star grunted as she slowly sat up. "How'd you find me?"
"Oh I was instructed to keep an…eye on you at all times by your mother." Glossaryck said, pointing to his eye.
"How'd you both find me?" Star asked, looking around and saw she was in some kind of cave.
"Uh…" Marco trailed off.
Xxx
Flashback
"Hop in my eye."
Marco stared at Glossaryck, watching in stunned shock as the tiny little magical being opened his right eye, expanding out and swallowed Marco before he could say or do anything. Next thing Marco knew he was spat onto the ground while Glossarych's body appeared around his eyeball. Marco shuddered as he got up and looked forward, seeing three girls on the ground surrounding a fire and one of them was-
"Star!"
Xxx
"It doesn't matter." Marco quickly answered. "Are you okay?"
"I'm good…Just really, really, really cold." Star shivered. "I got kidnapped by some evil god wanting to sacrifice me for something."
"Crom."
Both kids yelped, awakening Raven and Danielle who let out small groans from all the noise. The person who spoke was Tom, sitting nearby.
"His name is Crom Cruach." Tom answered. "Really bad guy. Wants to take over the world."
"Like all evil gods." Glossaryck rolled his eyes. "Judging by the power I am sensing here I can tell this place is a magic sanctuary."
"Aye. Welcome to Avalon." Tom nodded. "I have the honor of being among the few heroes who saved you from being sacrificed by Crom in his Eternal Night plan. Unfortunately for now there's only two of us and I am sure Crom will find us soon enough."
Raven sat up, calling on her powers to help heal herself as she looked around and spotted Danielle. "You…"
Danielle looked back at her. "Me?"
"Back at the lab, I saw you." Raven explained.
"Lab?" Danielle was confused. "What are you talking about?"
Raven stopped, seeing the confusion in Danielle's eyes was genuine. "…Never mind. I thought you were someone else."
Obviously the girl had amnesia of some kind but Raven didn't have the time to help her remember. Right now they needed to get away from the island and away from Crom before he found them.
"I'd love to help you get off this island but we are here because the only way off was blocked off. Arthur is right now making sure none of Crom's demons find us." Tom stood up, looking in direction of the cave's entrance. "And our friends…They've had to rest much sooner than expected."
Danielle looked around, seeing Gargoyle statues in the cave and instantly made the connection. "Your friends are Gargoyles?"
Tom and Raven looked at Danielle with Tom being the first to ask. "How'd you know?"
"I've met these Gargoyles before during that whole Golden Castle craziness. There's also some living in Japan." Danielle answered as she stood up. "They turn to stone during the day."
"Gargoyles?" Raven looked at statue and could sense they were alive but currently dormant. "They exist here too?"
As an expert of mythology and the arcane lore Raven was already familiar with the legends of Gargoyles, even though she had never actually met one. The old legends surrounding the Gargoyles is that billions of years ago they were originally were not just stone monsters in an old age but because of a curse they all turned to stone after being shunned by the people they were meant to protect. Clearly the legends were real in this universe.
"So are these guys are monsters?" Star walked up and tapped the statue of Lexington on the head until Tom grabbed her hand.
"Not monsters, protectors." Tom replied, looking sadly at the statues. "Gargoyles are driven by a natural instinct to protect their homes and anyone who lives with them. They are a noble race, one that has been unfairly treated by humanity."
"Treated badly?" Star withdrew her hand. "How?"
"Because of how they look Gargoyles were believed to be monsters, just as dangerous as the Grimm." Danielle explained, having been told the tale herself back in Ishimura. "Because they turned to stone during the day it was easy to smash them and once that happened they stayed stone…broken stone."
Star's eyes widened a bit at that information. Sure, she fought monsters in the swamps of Mewni but she never outright killed them. And killing them while they slept for defending their homes? She'd never invade a monster's house to kill them!
"I don't plan on leaving them here like this but you three should go. Find a way off the island and look for help." Tom replied, looking to Glossaryck. "I guess the blue imp can help you."
"Imp?" Glossaryck narrowed his eyes. "Did I just get called the 'I' word?"
"Or dwarf. Your beard makes it hard to tell." Tom shrugged, bringing his faceplate down. "I do not have time for this. I'll lead you out of the cave but if the Bodach come, run as fast as you can."
He gestured for the kids to follow which they slowly did.
"He calls me Imp and then Dwarf not even two seconds apart." Glossaryck muttered indignantly. "At least I didn't get the 'G' word."
As they made it to the entrance they saw King Arthur near the waterfall, acting as lookout. The sun was red, bathing the island in a red intimidating light with an equally red mist giving it a more sinister feel.
"This place has a king? Marco, you told me Earth doesn't have kings anymore." Star threw a look at her friend.
"That is King Arthur." Tom answered, going down the steps. "World may not need kings anymore but he's always going to be here protecting it."
Raven looked at the sword in his hands, sensing a powerful form of magic emanating from it. 'Yeah, definitely not broken down into bullets.'
King Arthur turned around, seeing Tom and the others walking up to him. "Good. You are all awake, except for our winged friends."
"It's been quiet?" Tom asked.
"Too quiet since I heard the roar of a demon…" Arthur suddenly narrowed his eyes. "My mistake."
The group watched as Crom Cruach in all his dark glory slowly appeared them with three of his Harvesters following him through the red mist, stopping in front of the waterfall meant to hide the cave. The Harvester of Night dragged the ice cube that encased Kim Possible with her and dropped her on the ground nearby while the Harvester of Riches carried the golden statue of Erika Ahlberg that was placed next to Kim. Danielle quickly changed into her ghost form, Raven gathered dark energy into her hands, Arthur and Tom raised their weapons but when Star held up her wand she noticed something wrong.
"I'm out of power!" She whispered in alarm.
Marco adopted a karate pose, his Aura flaring. "We can take him."
"No, we can't." Raven replied stoically. "He's in a completely different league compared to all of us. We won't be able to put a dent in his shiny armor."
Crom looked at them, his orange eyes flaring. "Hmph…To think Crom had to walk all the way from his castle for this. How…annoying. Banshee!"
The ghostly form of Banshee came out of the ground behind Crom, bowing quickly. "Yes, Lord Crom?"
"Crom has grown tired of the games these mortals play." Crom looked over his shoulder to her and the Harvesters. "Round the maidens up. Kill the rest."
"With pleasure."
"Get ready to flee." Arthur whispered as the Harvesters and Banshee walked past their master, approaching them.
"I need a second to charge my wand." Star said, quickly slipping back, grabbing the charger that was at the base of the wand and quickly applied it to begin charging.
"Don't think we got one!" Tom called out as the Banshee flew at them.
Banshee hovered up into the air above them and opened her mouth, letting out a loud shriek that was so loud their ears started to bleed. The would be sacrifices along with their protectors fell to their knees, except for Glossaryck who pulled out a pudding cup and stuffed the pudding into his ears. He casually flew forward, stopping in front of Crom who stared back at him.
"So you are the trouble maker that kidnapped the princess." Glossaryck stated casually, pulling the pudding out of his ears.
"What is this?" Crom asked, holding up a pitchfork to Glossaryck's beard. "Some sort of Dwarf or Jinn of some kind?"
"The 'D' word and the 'J' word all in one sentence." Glossaryck scoffed. "I am beginning to hate this dimension."
"So some sort of magical Imp from another world." Crom mused, smiling at the annoyed look on Glossaryck's face and held up his lamp. "Perhaps you would be a worthy addition to Crom's collection."
"So that's how you do it. Absorbing the power and essence of magical beings into that to boost your own power. You must have quite the appetite." Glossaryck commented. "Of course, beings like you are always hungry and you have to keep eating and eating because your bellies are just never full."
"And Crom believes you would be a nice appetizer." Crom said condescendingly. "A midnight snack before the end of the world."
"Put that fork away before you embarrass yourself." Glossaryck said, floating back.
Crom narrowed his eyes. "And what will you do if Crom refuses, little man? You dare think you can harm a god?"
"You are about several millennia too young and hot tempered to harm me, boy. You might have size and weight on your side but I could kick your scaly behind any day of the weak. Absorbing the powers of this universe's magical beings makes you tough for a few others I know of." Glossaryck said lazily, thinking of a certain idiot crystal head with snakes for arms, a half man half goat and a certain candle head. "But you are a little out of your league with me. Besides, I don't have to fight you. Someone else is fine with doing that for me."
"And who is that?"
Glossaryck lifted a sleeve, revealing a watch. "Don't worry. They should be here in three…two….one."
Just as he finished a streak of golden light shot through the air, impaling Crom on the shoulder. The evil god spun around, watching as the golden spear returned to its owner.
"Cu Chullain."
Rory had held up the spear of Gae Bolga and in a flash of light he was the great Cu Chullain again. Standing with him were the Trollhunter, Claire, Merlin and…
Crom's eyes widened when he saw Rolf holding a familiar cane. "That cane!"
"Surprised?" Cu Chullain asked with a small smile. "The very same cane that imprisoned you."
Crom snarled, his orange eyes blazing with absolute hate. "Your arrogance astounds Crom, Cu Chullan. Now Crom will have his revenge for a thousand years of imprisonment!"
Crom summoned a giant ball of fire that he then threw at newly arrived group but Merlin, Cu Chullain and Rolf all pointed their staffs at the incoming attack and just as it came close to hitting them it suddenly dissipated.
Crom's eyes widened, sensing the powerful magic the three wielded. "Impossible."
"Look at the time. You look busy so I'll sit back and watch everyone save the world." Glossaryck said calmly as he floated back over to Star's group.
Rolf pointed the Shepherd's Cane at Rolf. "At an end your reign is worm of evil Crom," He said, bringing up Shepherd's Cane preparing for battle. "Short enough Rolf say's it was NOT!"
(Get Thru This by Art of Dying Starts to Play)
With that said, five charged at Crom as he quickly summoned a pitchfork in both hands, engaging in a deadly dance of blades that was almost too fast for anyone observing to keep track of.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven shouted, firing a blast of dark light at the Harvester of Night who cut through the attack with her scythe.
She swung her scythe like a fan, sending a blast of wind, ice and snow at her enemies but Raven summoned a shield of black light to block the attack.
"Not this time." Raven said, lowering the shield.
The Harvester of Blood lunged at Tom and Arthur, clashing her sickles with their swords.
"Great Scott! Demona!" Tom exclaimed, instantly recognizing the evil Gargoyle. "You actually joined that monster?!"
"I guess we shouldn't be surprised." Arthur said as he and Tom grabbled with the Harvester of Blood who snarled back.
In the meantime the Harvester of Riches faced down Dani, Star and Marco while brandishing his giant golden axe.
"Rainbow Blast!" Star shouted once her wand had enough power.
In the meantime Dani followed up with a charged ghost ray. Both attacks collided with the Harvester of Riches, pushing him back but seemingly only scorching his armor. Looking back up the Harvester readied his axe as it glowed a golden yellow color and swung it, releasing an arc of golden light. Dani quickly grabbed both Star and Marco, turning intangible and phased into the ground, allowing the attack to miss them.
Narrowing his eyes the Harvester of Riches looked around, attempting to find his prey.
"Rainbow Fist!"
Only for them to come out from underneath him, starting with a giant rainbow colored glowing fist that delivered a devastating uppercut, courtesy of Star Butterfly. While he was stunned Marco pulled a pair of hilts that sprouted blades, forming a pair of twin rapiers. Marco then proceeded to slash and cut at the Harvester's golden armor, forming shallow cuts all over the body. Growling, the Harvester of Riches tried to bat him away like an annoying insect but Dani shot in, grabbing Marco and turning him intangible as the golden fist passed through their torsos.
"Dagger Crystal Heart Attack!" Star shouted, firing a barrage of heart shaped daggers at the Harvester of Riches while Dani and Marco were still intangible.
The crystal hit him head on, denting his armor badly as he staggered back. Dani dropped the intangibility and Marco rushed forward, channeling his Aura into his sword as he spun and swung them down, releasing a concentrated arc shaped wave formed from his own Aura that collided with the Harvester of Riches, leaving a deep cut in his armor. The Harvester of Riches led out a roar as he raised his axe, conjuring a golden cloud that he then fired at the three.
Dani quickly grabbed Marco and then shot at Star, turning all three of them intangible. "I've been through the whole golden dust turning people to gold thing."
The golden dust enveloped them but thanks to Dani's intangibility they remained unharmed.
"Not a fan." Dani added, throwing a dark glare at the Harvester of Riches.
"We're not doing a whole of damage." Marco noted as the Harvester approached. "We got to take him out in one hit."
Dani hummed as she looked at the armor and then at Star's wand. "You have a spell for lightning?"
"Of course." Star answered with a confused face.
"His entire armor is made of metal. Gold plated magical metal." Dani quickly explained. "I got a feeling it'll take magic to stop a magical monster."
Marco's eyes widened as he understood Dani's idea. "Of course! Star, if you hit him with a lightning blast all that golden armor will act as a conductor!"
"So we blast him with lightning." Star nodded. "Got it. We just need to get out of this cloud."
"Leave that to me." Glossaryck floated next to them, completely unaffected by the cloud. "The faster we do this the faster we can go and I want thirty cups of pudding for my help here."
Normally Glossaryck wouldn't intervene but this whole Crom mess was becoming tedious and he was already tired of it. So with a flash of his eyes the golden dust was blown away, allowing the three to become tangible and Star pointed her wand at the surprised Harvester of Riches.
"Rolling Thunder Lightning Blast!" Star shouted, firing a blast of lightning and thunder that slammed into the Harvester before he could react, illuminating his stunned reaction before he let out a pained scream.
The magical lightning blast traveled through his armor, electrocuting the human on the inside. Fortunately the magic allowed him to survive but it was still very painful and when the attack ended he fell to his knees, the armor scorched and smoke as he leaned on his axe.
"Nice and toasty." Glossaryck commented. "Take out the axe and you'll break his powers."
"Got it." Star summoned a rainbow fist that grabbed the axe, leaving the Harvester to fall to the ground. "Break it!"
Another rainbow fist was conjured and both fists gripped the axe, bending it until finally…
SNAP!
It broke in two, breaking the magic that created the Harvester of Riches. The golden armor faded away, leaving behind Van Rook who let out a gasp as he collapsed onto the ground.
Strangely he was smiling as he lost consciousness. 'Which is worse? Being rich and brainwashed or being poor and but still keeping your brain?'
Meanwhile the golden statue that was Erika Ahlberg cracked and shattered, freeing the young woman who fell to the ground in a gasp of shock from the sudden revival.
Xxx
Back on the beach the battle between the Infraggable Krunk and the Harvester of Growth raged on. Gathering wood around his armored body, the Harvester of Growth formed a giant wooden monster resembling a giant serpent. Instantly the monster began its rampage, slamming into Krunk and driving him down the beach. Krunk grunted, planting his feet in the ground as he skidded back but kept his grip on the giant monster's mouth to keep it from eating him. It didn't help that roots had sprouted up from the ground, grabbing him from behind and tried to pull him down.
But Krunk managed to remain standing.
With his aura flaring Krunk let out a roar as he broke through the vines attempting to hold him down and delivered a punch to the wooden serpent's face. The sheer strength of the punch sent the serpent flying back.
"Wood snake try to eat Krunk? Krunk no meal!"
Krunk then grabbed the wood serpent by the tail, picked it up and slammed it down on the ground multiple times with enough strength the island itself shook. With one final slam Krunk then threw the giant wooden serpent into the air. Looking up Krunk watched as the monster's body broke apart, leaving behind only the Harvester himself. The Harvester of Growth looked down, watching as Krunk shot up from the ground and flew straight up at him.
Driven either by rage or even panic the Harvester of Growth raised his pick axe and swung it at the incoming purple glowing fist…
CRACK!
The Harvester's eyes widened as the pick axe shattered, completely overwhelmed by the sheer power of the World's Mightiest Mortal. With the destruction of the pick axe the magic that created the Harvester of Growth was gone, leaving behind only Pinocchio who let out a sheer cry as the fist crashed through the wooden armor and shattered the wooden body underneath, leaving behind only the head. What was left of Pinocchio and the pick axe fell to the ocean along with Krunk.
Pinocchio's eyes went dull as the power keeping him alive broke along with his Harvester powers. 'I just wanted…to be…real.'
The wooden head fell into the water while Krunk landed not too far away, in shallow water near the beach. Upon seeing his enemy was no more Krunk's aura dissipated, leaving the gentle giant to let out a long sigh.
"…Krunk sleepy."
Accessing Turbo Mode always left him tired after using it. This was why he never relied on it aside from the fact he was already super strong without and to risk using it in populated areas could lead to a great deal of damage and a lot of people getting hurt because of it.
"Yo Krunk."
Looking up, Krunk made a tired smile when he saw his friends.
They always found him when he was tired.
Xxx
In the meantime Raven was busy contending with the Harvester of Night and unlike before she was facing her all alone.
That was fine because this time it was personal.
She admitted to Scotty that even if she was at full power she wouldn't risk taking on the Harvester of Night alone and she meant it. It was pretty clear this Harvester, along with the other three were immensely powerful and dangerous. They were perhaps even as powerful as Slade had been when he was Trigon's enforcer who had become so powerful he was able to utterly decimate the Titans and even break through her own powers that could even stop time. However when she was taken against her will and meant to be sacrificed, well…
It's not as if anybody expected Raven to not take it personally.
Fortunately this time Raven had a secret weapon. Upon her awakening Raven immediately knew something was different about this place, this island called Avalon and she figured out what it was. Avalon was a natural conduit for magical energy. A conduit for magical energy often allowed for magical energies to flow through dimensions and when harnessed properly they could be used as a source of great power. Raven had been to such places with Azarath, the very place where had been born being number one.
This meant she also knew how to channel magical energies that flowed through the conduit and make herself stronger. The Harvester of Night spun and swung her scythe while Raven channeled her power into her hands, blocking the strikes at first before catching the weapon between her hands. She then channeled her power through the scythe, grabbing the Harvester before slamming her into the ground. Raven lifted the scythe up, seeing the Harvester was still holding onto it and slammed her down again but she still held.
Raven was about to try again, however the Harvester managed to break free of her powers and she swung at Raven's feet. Raven immediately jumped, avoiding the slash but left the Harvester of Night immediately kicked upwards with both of her feet, slamming them into Raven's stomach and sending the young heroine flying backwards. Raven grunted, managing to land on the ground and watched as the Harvester of Night jumped back onto her feet. As much as Avalon made her stronger Raven also knew her opponent was definitely more skilled in combat than she was.
Raven's powers and magic made her perhaps the strongest Titan but her skills in physical combat paled to that of Robin and the Harvester of Night's actually seemed to rival Robin and perhaps even Slade or at least close to his level. Raven's combat skills focused more on using her powers to block attacks and then followed up with using her feet to kick the enemy down. The problem was this person's scythe was enchanted with the power of a god and combined with her combat skills it made things very difficult, even for her. She needed to get that scythe away from the Harvester and destroy it. She just tried to pull it out of her hands but that woman managed to keep a grip no matter how hard Raven tried.
Raising her hand she fired a series of dark energy talons at the Harvester of Night who swung her scythe down, propelling herself into the air with a blast of wind and then somersaulted over the talons towards Raven. The Harvester landed in front of the Titan and swung her scythe, forcing Raven to duck. Raven immediately lashed out with a side kick but the Harvester brought up a hand that emitted a green fire, burning Raven's foot as it came in contact.
"Gah!" Raven grunted, staggering back while trying not to fall down.
The burn on her leg made it difficult for her to stand up and she had to grit her teeth to keep herself from crying out in pain.
"Tha thu air a bhith na thorn air taobh mo mhaighstir nighean bheag gu leòr. Ùine gus do àite a ghabhail mar ìobairt am Morair Crom agus deireadh an t-saoghail a thoirt gu buil.(Translate: You have been a thorn in my master's side long enough little girl. Time to take your place as Lord Crom's sacrifice and bring about the end of the world.)" The Harvester of Night said, raising her scythe to deliver a final blow.
Just before she could bring it down there was a flash of light from behind, followed by a barrage of shells that slammed into the Harvester before she could react, exploding on contact and sending her flying back. Raven looked behind, seeing a familiar portal and from it stepped out Team SEKR.
Extor was immediately at Raven's side, providing a healing kit with some special white Dust. "Here. Apply this to the burns and they'll heal quickly."
"Thanks." Raven muttered, taking the Dust and applied to her burns.
To her surprise she felt the energy from the Dust wash over the wound and felt the pain fading away to a cool sensation as the burn started to heal fast. While she was healing Scotty and Keanu charged forward at the surprised Harvester of Night, falling upon her before she could recover. Scotty swung his sword down, pushing back the Harvester as she weakly blocked. Keanu was fast, dashing in while the Harvester was distracted with Scotty and delivering a few quick slashes across the Harvester's body.
Enraged now, the Harvester of Night let out a roar, channeling her green flames into her scythe that changed to dark blue.
Seeing what she was about to do, Raven raised one hand while placed the other on the ground. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"
There was burst of energy from the ground, empowering Raven and from her came a blast of black and white light that collided with the Harvester of Night as she swung her scythe in an attempt to release a blast of cold fire that would have turned the entire land to ice. The Harvester of Night cried out from the brightness of the attack that took her by surprise but Raven didn't let up. She continued to draw magical energies from Avalon to empower herself and channeled it all into a single attack. Despite being weakened Raven felt her powers returning fully thanks to Avalon and at full strength she had been powerful enough to banish her father, Trigon the Terrible.
As powerful as she was, the Harvester of Night still paled in comparison to Trigon and eventually Raven's attack overpowered her own. The attack hit her head on, blasting her back.
"Destroy her scythe!" Raven called out. "It's the source of her power."
"Rino!" Scotty called out, swinging his sword and creating a portal.
"I'm on it." Rino said, firing a grappling hook from his suitcase and into the portal.
From the other side it grabbed onto the stunned Harvester of Night's scythe and pulled it through portal, even though the Harvester tried to hold on. As it was pulled back through the other side Scotty raised his sword and just as the scythe came out he swung it down with all of his strength. As soon as it made contact the sword broke the scythe in half. As the Harvester fell out of the portal, her armor broke away, leaving the stunned Shego to fall to the ground, losing consciousness a second later.
As soon as the Harvester of Night's magic broke the red sun suddenly faded, leaving only a night sky over the island.
"Not so tough now." Scotty said, looking at the unconscious woman and the broken scythe.
Raven managed to stand back up with Extor's help. "You guys came for me."
"Of course we did." Extor stated. "We don't leave team members behind."
"Besides," Rino smirked. "We brought a little help."
Meanwhile the ice that entrapped Kim Possible shattered, freeing the teenage heroine from her icy prison.
Xxx
The Harvester of Blood was too preoccupied with fighting Tom and King Arthur to know or care about the fact that she was now the last of the Harvesters. Right now, all she cared about was butchering the two humans before her. Something about the man wearing the faceplate resembling Goliath made her extremely angry to the point that she wanted to make him suffer. Fortunately for Tom, Arthur was no only skilled but had Excalibur with him to block against the Harvester's enchanted sickles.
The Harvester would swing her sickles while the two would block with their swords or dodge when forced to. Lashing out with her tale the Harvester of Blood knocked Tom away and focused completely on Arthur, giving a series of strikes which Arthur managed to successfully dodge and countered the Harvester's last attack by redirecting her sickles and slamming the hilt of Excalibur into the Harvester's shin and face before kicking her back. The Harvester picked herself up a second later and charged again, swinging her sickles as she let out a demonic screech. Arthur was forced to jump out of the way, leaving the Harvester of Blood to fly face first into a tree.
The force of the collision actually knocked the tree down but the Harvester was back up a second later. She spun around; trying to hit Arthur but the former king was too fast and easily dodged all of her strikes. However the Harvester of Blood eventually got a lucky hit, before grabbing him and tossing him into the water. As Arthur picked himself back up the Harvester lunged at him to finish him off…
ZAP!
Just before she came within striking distance a lightning blast hit her directly in the armored face, knocking her back down.
Arthur turned and looked back at the cave he had spent centuries sleeping in and saw Griff holding a lightning gun. "Griff!"
"At your service, Your Majesty!" Griff saluted.
Griff was not alone.
All the Gargoyles of the Manhatten Clan were awake and free from their stone slumber, ready to fight. The Harvester of Blood snarled as she glared up at the Gargoyles.
"Is that Demona?" Brooklyn narrowed his eye as he pulled out a sword. "Should have figured she'd show up."
"She's one of the Harvesters. I believe the one for blood." Arthur said as he got out of the water.
"That figures too." Brooklyn muttered.
"We have to pin her down and remove those weapons from her." Goliath pointed at the sickles in the Harvester's hands. "Destroy them and she'll lose her power."
"If we can get close." Hudson said, his old eye looking at what was once Demona and he did not like their chances.
It was clear that Demona was even more dangerous than ever before. Those enchanted weapons and that blood red armor along with Demona's own already considerable skills…
As much as Hudson believed they could defeat her it would not be easy.
"Perhaps I can help." A voice spoke from behind the Harvester and a flash of light appeared, forming into a portal from it stepped out another familiar face.
"Is that-" Broadway trailed off.
"Macbeth?" Lexington finished.
It was indeed Macbeth but he looked very different from before.
Demona spun around, seeing the man she was bonded with now wearing royal clothing of white and gold and holding a Scottish claymore. "…You."
"It's been a while, old friend." Macbeth stated calmly to the Gargoyle who he had hunted for centuries. "I see Crom found a new Harvester of Blood in you. Fitting, I'd say."
The part of the Harvester of Blood that was still Demona snarled and lunged at him, swinging both sickles at his head. Macbeth calmly raised his sword, a serene look on his face as he easily blocked the Harvester's first strike. The Gargoyles and Arthur watched as Macbeth calmly deflected or parried each and every strike aimed at him by the rage driven Harvester of Blood. The former king of Scotland was so calm as he fell back, seemingly retreating but everyone watching it was anything but a retreat.
It was almost like he was merely waiting as he focused purely on defense. The Harvester of Blood continued attacking, her strikes becoming more and more chaotic and rage driven, losing coordination and tactics while Macbeth remained as composed as ever.
"What happened to Macbeth?" Griff asked, landing next to Arthur.
"I am no sure…But I feel he has been touched by a great power." Arthur answered, seeing Macbeth and sensing the power emanating from him.
Perhaps Macbeth was now like him.
Both were ageless kings but Macbeth always saw it more as a curse than duty.
Now he seemed to be…at peace with himself.
"I said we'd have our final dance one day." Macbeth said, easily blocking the Harvester of Blood's strikes. "But not this day."
His eyes flared with a bright white light that was channeled in his sword as he raised it and swung it to meet the Harvester's next strike…
There was a flash of blinding light for a mere second and then it was over.
(Get Thru This by Art of Dying Ends)
Macbeth stood over the defeated form of Demona whose sickles were now broken, followed immediately by her armor.
He stared down at her for a second before looking to his friends and allies. "We have no time to lose. We still have to defeat Crom himself."
Xxx
As the battle raged on the airship of the Saturday family came down above the castle and shortly after, Solomon and Zak Saturday grappled down onto the roof of the castle.
Doc held up a wrist device and detected his wife's vital signs inside. "She's here. Come on. Let's find her and get out of here."
Zak nodded and moved to follow but caught sight of the battle and decided to go…Just so he could see the bad guys who kidnapped his mom lose.
Xxx
The battle between Rolf, Merlin, Jim, Claire, Cu Chullain and Crom had turned bloody very quickly. Crom was spinning a pitchfork in each hand, using his strength and speed to fend off his attackers. Once in a while an attack slipped through and injured him but these wounds were superficial and healed almost immediately afterwards. Merlin jumped back, gathering magic in his staff before swinging into Crom's chest, sending the evil god flying up into the air.
Cu Chullain aimed his spear of light up and threw straight at Crom as he descended back to the ground. Opening his eyes Crom batted the spear away with a pitchfork, landing perfectly on the ground and standing back up.
"This is growing tiresome. You cannot kill Crom." Crom stated, running a hand through his red dreadlocks. "Even with Spear of Light and the Shepherd's Cane Crom is infinitely more powerful than the last time these weapons were used."
"Scared?" Jim asked, holding the Eclipse Sword in both hands.
"Hardly." Crom smirked. "Crom wants you to give your all so Crom can crush your hope of ever winning. Then and only then when your last hopes are shattered…Then you will have Crom's permission to die."
"Still arrogant to a fault, aren't we?" Cu Chullain asked, summoning his spear back into his hands. "You seem to have forgotten that with all that power, it comes with a price."
"And what is that?"
Ch Chullain grinned. "The unity of everyone against you."
"Wha-"
POW!
Crom was suddenly taken by surprise by a red, white and blue blur that appeared so suddenly and slugged him in the face.
"You dare to strike a go-"
POW!
That was not the end of it as another punch, courtesy of Goliath slammed into the back of his head.
"You dare to strike a-"
POW!
This time it was a hammer, the hammer known as Mjolnir that slammed into Crom's face so hard that his head bent at an unnatural angle.
Just after he readjusted his head, he glared as the hammer returned back to its owner, who was standing next to Valhallen and Rossweisse in Asgardian armor. "You DARE to strike-"
POW!
"THAT'S IT!" Crom shouted, summoning the power of the sun into his hand and aimed it right at the last hero to punch him.
Birdman.
Crom conjured a giant sun and slammed it right into Birdman, seemingly burning him to ashes in a matter of seconds…
Only when the fiery blast was over Birdman was projected a red shield in front of him and didn't have a single scratch on him which shocked Crom. "Wha-"
Crom's eyes widened as he sensed a familiar kind of power inside Birdman. It was the touch of another god, a sun god inside this mortal.
Birdman gathered energy in his hand and shot forward, slugging Crom in the face with a burning fist.
POW!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The entire left side of Crom's face was badly burned by Birdman's burning punch that was enhanced by the power of Ra that allowed Birdman to gain power from the sun itself. Jim was next to Claire teleported in front Crom while holding Jim's hand. Jim immediately followed with three slashes from the Eclipse Blade, cutting through Crom's skin and causing him even more pain. Arthur and Macbeth were next, slashing at Crom with their own swords, leaving cuts all over his body.
"ENOUGH!" Crom roared so loudly the entire island shook while everyone was blasted back by shockwaves made by Crom's loud roar. "FINE! IF THE SUN WON'T BURN YOU AWAY CROM WILL JUST EAT YOU ALL!"
With that said Crom's human features darkened, human skin gave way to dark scales. His hair slowly warped and turned a crimson hue which more resembled long tendrils while twin protrusions sprouted from the middle of his brow. His eyes bulged and turned a smoldering orange like a fire.
Then the transformation reached his skeleton, which audibly fractured and mended itself as his face began to take on a less human and more…serpent shape. Crom opened his mouth to reveal rows of new teeth which dripped with saliva. The various protrusions from his face lengthened out into miniature tendrils which became tipped with pale blue lights.
A long tongue unrolled from Crom's mouth, unfurling to hang down halfway to the ground. By now his skull finished lengthening out to resemble a snake's with a main of blood red tendrils. His body grew in size, becoming a massive snake with various rows of spikes and red and yellow markings covering its body. By the time the transformation was done the giant serpent was about the size of a small mountain but many thought it was still growing.
"Crom is hungry…" The serpent hissed. "Crom shall…FEAST!"
Angela was trembling a bit now. "…And I thought Banshee was ugly."
"There's a little pee coming out of me." Johnny admitted, shaking slightly now.
Zak along Fisk, Komodo and Zahn had emerged to see the transformation end and paled at what he saw. "…Maybe I should have stayed with Dad."
(Falling Down by Breaking Point Starts to Play)
The serpent roared, lunging down to grab/eat the nearest annoying mortal in sight. That happened to be Birdman who quickly took to the skies, avoiding the fate of being eaten alive. The heroes and hunters scattered as Serpent Crom slammed his tail into the ground, creating a shockwave that scattered the surrounding heroes.
"Bullet, E-Male, help anyone on the ground!" Major Glory called out before shooting at the serpent.
The serpent form of Crom breathed fire out of its mouth as the two fastest heroes helped anyone who was too slow to get away in time, such as the still shivering Kim Possible or the unconscious former Harvesters. The Gargoyles took off into the air, Griff grabbing Arthur while Broadway grabbed Macbeth. Merlin conjured an energy shield that protected himself along with Jim, Claire, Rolf and Cu Chullain. SAM-R-I shot forward upon seeing Dani with Star and Marco as they ran for their lives, making sure they were far enough from the battle.
"He's a giant dragon now!" Claire flinched from the intense heat. "How do we stop him?"
Jim was not sure.
The sheer power of Crom's true form…
It easily eclipsed Morgana.
"We cannot over power him." Cu Chullain turned to Rolf. "This is your moment."
"Me? You talking to Rolf?" Rolf gestured to himself.
"Yes. Your staff." Cu Chullain pointed to the Shepherd's Cane. "Do you wonder how your ancestor used it to defeat Crom the first time?"
Rolf looked to the staff. "How?"
"Look at the monster's neck." Cu Chullain pointed at Serpent Crom as it continued fighting.
Rolf followed Cu Chullain's gaze and saw the lantern still hanging around the beast's neck, suddenly realizing Cu Chullain's plan. "Rolf understands now!"
Major Glory shot around Serpent Crom, firing his Star-Spangled Vision that scored the skin…But only seemed to annoy the monster. Krunk ran at Serpent Crom but the demon dragon swatted him away with its tail. Capital G grew in size and slugged Serpent Crom while he was distracted. Serpent Crom knocked him aside, sending the giant hero skidding across the island.
Krunk jumped up and charged again, this time calling on the power of his Turbo form. Along with him, Big Ben jumped up and both heroes slammed their fist into Crom's face while he was distracted. The punch was enough to make Serpent Crom stagger but the demon shook it off and roared in absolute fury.
"This insane." Erika muttered, watching battle from a distance with Kim shivering on the ground next to her. The Viking Huntress was kind enough to lend Kim her jacket to help warm up. "Is there no end to this?"
A massive shadow fell over her and she looked up, her eyes widening to sight of a…giant robot as it landed on top of the serpent, pile driving it into the ground.
"Yo!" Coop called out from the cockpit of Megas. "Miss me?"
Crom roared, shooting fire at the robot but Megas raised its harms, projecting light shields that blocked the fire. Megas then launched a punch at the serpent, slamming right into its face. Rearing back the serpent lashed out with its tail but Megas grabbed it and picked it up before proceeding to slam the monster down into the ground dozens of times.
"Yikes." Jim commented from the brutality of the fight. "Is that how it always is in New Jersey?"
Crom lashed out with its claws, leaving several slash marks down the robot's body. Coop responded by pressing a button labelled 'He did not just scratch the new paint job.' Megas lashed out with dozens of missiles that hit the serpent head on but also blasted most of the island.
"Man…This is something you don't see every day." Rino said as he pulled a bag of heated popcorn out of his suitcase.
"So that's the robot known for causing mass destruction known as Megas." Extor adjusted his goggles. "I see the rumors are true."
Crom leapt out of the smoke, wrapping around Megas and tried to squeezing it to the point the robot would break from the inside. In the meantime Crom glared at the cockpit, seeing Coop along with Jamie and Kiva inside.
"Huh…Coop, you have something for this?" Jamie asked, getting a little nervous from the dark look the serpent was giving them.
"Got it!" Coop slammed a button labeled 'Stop with the creepy staring!'
The headlights turned on, emitting a powerful heat beam that scorched Serpent Crom's left eye, causing it to scream out in pain. Taking the chance, Megas broke free and punched the serpent away, slamming it back into the ground.
"Man, it's dominating that thing while we barely made a scratch." Capital G muttered in annoyance.
Eyes glowing with rage now Crom opened its mouth and released a giant blast of fire that hit Megas head on before Coop could react, this time knocking the robot to the ground. Crom lunged forward, slamming the robot down and aimed to eat the car that functioned as the giant machine's head. Luckily a spear of light slammed into Crom's face, distracting him as Rolf and Cu Chullain landed on the torso of Megas.
"Go for the lamp!" Cu Chullain shouted, holding his hands.
Rolf nodded and jumped up, his feet landing on Cu Chullain's hands and was then propelled right up at the lamp that was still tied around the monster's neck. The cane collided with the lamp and there was a bright flash of light. Crom staggered back, disorientated for a second but when he regained his bearings he saw Rolf…holding the lamp!
Eyes widening Crom let out a roar and charged forward.
Rolf held the lamp up, hanging it from the end of the Shepherd's Cane and watching as the magical energies from inside the lamp filled the cane. The energy shot out, spreading around Crom in a circle and creating twelve symbols that resembled the twelve Zodiac symbols.
"What's happening?" Claire asked as everyone watched in awe.
The symbols shot out, each making contact various surprised onlookers.
Raven
Dani
Star
Marco
Johnny
Jim Lake Jr
Claire
Tom
Erika
Zak Saturday
Kim Possible
And Eliza
The magic flowed into them and each fell into a trance as they were lifted off the ground and landed in a glowing circle surrounding Serpent Crom who recognized what was happening.
"No! No! NOT AGAIN!" Crom tried to break free of the circle but the spell was being powered by his own lamp that contained the Children of Oberon and the goddess Yeshmiyek and channeled their power. "CROM REFUSES TO BE SEALED AGAIN! CROM WOULD RATHER DIE!"
Seeing no way out and refusing to be imprisoned again Crom held up his own tail…
And began eating it.
The surrounding heroes and hunters watched in stunned horror as Crom began devouring itself rather than accept being sealed away. It happened so fast there was nothing anyone could do and a moment later it was over.
Crom Cruach had devoured himself and whatever was left faded away into dust along with the leftover magic he had hoarded to become the most powerful being in the world.
(Falling Down by Breaking Point Ends)