Worm-in-Waiting

by The Watchers Network

Monster, Devil, Human. Words, which we give power to. We formed them, shaped them, altered them to our needs, watching them grow like children. And in time, shape us, changing our very nature and identities with their mere existence, until they are the ones with the power to control us. Cause and effect, effect and cause, cycles within cycles. A Worm... in Waiting. -Executor Ballas

31. 3,10 Firewalker

A/N: Heads up long chapter ahead, but this one has some meat on its Bones.

---

"Dragon, what was it that promoted this investigation? Why were you ordered to find everything you could that involved the Clans?"

"… It was Alexandria, she asked me to, after the Scouring."

"The Scouring? You were there for that, weren't you? What happened there? How does that connect to the Clans?

"To tell the truth, I don't really know…"

"All I know is after that, Alexandria was… different."

---

June 7th 2006

"Are you on schedule?"

"More or less. Icarus is checking the engines of ACS seven and eight, some of the Tinker-Tech onboard is tripping breakers, she needed to set a few more conduits to take the load."

"Will it be a problem?"

"Shouldn't be, seven and eight were the last to do their prechecks, all that's left is-"

As if summoned, the voice of Legend echoed in the room and over the earpieces that the hero wore.

"… never mind," said Argonaut, a smile in his voice, hidden behind his helmet. "Right on time, no less."

"Well he's nothing if not punctual," stated Gramme from the monitor in front of Argonaut.

The pair were getting in a bit of talk in before Argonaut finished putting on his armor and headed out.

Aside from the single computer, the room was bare, if strange; a set of cabinets were next to the desk where Argonaut sat talking to Alan, a literal string of lights hanging over the bed/locker beating back the glow of the smooth green-tinted walls, and a single metal door which lead to a hallway outside.

Argonaut and Alan Gramme, aka Sphere, were old friends, with Argonaut's power catching the attention of Sphere early on. Over the years they had developed a rapport and a strong friendship, though the two couldn't be more different.

Sphere was an engineer, a man that planned things out and worked long and hard to see his tasks succeed. Argonaut was far more laid back, almost known for being lazy in his actions. Despite this, Argonaut had a strong sense of values and ideals which showed in his work.

Even if threat of force was required to make him clean up after himself.

Wearing his only helmet and bits of his armor, Argonaut laughed and said, "Yep, can be a bag of hot air though."

Alan joined his friend in laughing. "He means well, and it isn't like you all need the morale boost."

"Given that everyone here knows what we're doing," came a new voice, walking into the room. "It does seem unnecessary at this point. Though we should let him speak for that same reason."

Walking over with her helmet held under her arm, Alexandria was quick to stand beside Argonaut. She smiled at Alan, nodding once at the Tinker.

It was the sound of the door opening which heralded the arrival of someone else, who took note of who Argonaut was speaking to.

"Gramme, I've read the reports on the base's construction, you should be in bed by now."

Alan huffed. "As if I could sleep tonight, Alexandria. I may not be able to help out, but that doesn't mean I can't offer advice."

Argonaut nudged Alexandria. "Come on Becky, let the man worry, I know I am."

"I hope that you're keeping that to yourself."

"Meh," Argonaut shrugged. "It's not like everyone else is worrying as well."

"Even we up here are worried," Alan stated. "If this plan of yours works Rebecca… everything will change."

"As such," Alexandria turned to Argonaut. "We should end this here and get ready, prep-work getting finalized."

"Right then," Argonaut nodded at the monitor. "Alan, good talking to you, I'll make sure to keep an uplink open for you guys up there."

Alan smiled. "Thanks, I'll make sure to get a few people on it, good luck out there!"

The screen flickered, shifting to nothing more than a command prompt. Argonaut leaned back in his chair and sighed, before looking up at Alexandria.

"You know, I'll be the one to say it: we don't have to do this."

Alexandria frowned. "You assisted with the construction, planning, and organization… how could yo-"

"I'm did all of that because you asked me to do it," said Argonaut. "Because I understand why this is important, but I'm just pointing out that what we are doing is crazy, and, somehow, no one has pointed this out yet."

"This has been nearly three years in the making, to back out now would be unthinkable."

Argonaut sighed. "We both know that this whole plan was in response to Leviathan sinking Newfoundland, but this was something that we planned to do years down the line, after we've gotten Icarus's Sentinel up and running to proper fighting form, and doing more than serving as a reaction force. This feels rushed…"

"This is something we need," Alexandria said sternly. "The world has seen too much death and destruction, too much has been lost for them to continue looking forward to the future. This will give them that hope, make them believe that we can win the fights that are to come."

"Doesn't mean that this is something we can do," Argonaut countered. "This isn't another raid on a villain's hideout, an attack on some cape groups base, or even a PR stunt. This is big, like, the biggest thing we've ever done. Have we really planned enough for this?'

"Contessa said tha-"

"Ugh, enough about Contessa already!" Argonaut interrupted. "We know that her power has issues with things like this, and even if she has a partial Path laid out for this, she could be wrong! Did you even think that?!"

Alexandra stared sternly at the other hero, her eyes boring holes into him.

After a moment, Argonaut slumped and sighed.

"I'm sorry, its just that…"

Stepping closer, Argonaut took Alexandra's hand, his fingers intertwining into hers. "I've got a bad feeling about this Becky. I don't like what we're doing and think it's foolish, but I will stand beside you, I've already promised that. And you know what they say, don't make a girl a promise…"

Rebecca let her head fall against Argonaut helmet, closing her eyes to whisper, "If you know you can't keep it."

Argonaut chuckled softly, leaning into Rebecca, his other arm reaching out to tug at Rebecca's hip to bring her closer to him…

Rebecca pulled away (despite the ache in her heart). "Not now Johnny, you need to suit up."

"Oh come on," Johnny protested. "We have a few minutes, and there's a bed right here!"

Rebecca huffed and turned to walk away. "It's bad form to wear a helmet when you woo a lady, removes the intimacy."

"I can take it off!" a desperate Johnny called out.

"Too late~!" sing-sung Rebecca with a smile as she went to leave the room.

"Hey."

Rebecca turned to see Johnny reaching out to her, his body language unusually serious.

"… Promise me you'll be safe?" he asks.

Rebecca smiled, before sliding on her helmet. "I'm Alexandra, I'm always safe."

---

There was an eeriness to the green halls, something that tickled at the mind, speaking of wrongness.

This caused most of them to be empty, devoid of life, further enhancing the effect.

However, Alexandria knew what it was, the smoothness and uniformity of them.

Humans might wish and reach for perfection, but only to a point. When faced with Argonaut's power however, their minds noted things. The lack of imperfections triggering the primal parts of the brain to recoil in confusion and fear, a classic case of the Uncanny Valley. Even Alexandria felt it to some degree, though she was easily able to push it away.

All the purpose-made signs, lights and other assorted things place to break up the uniformity of the hall that she passed on her journey helped as well.

Argonaut was a Projection cape, one of the most powerful in the world. He could create walls and shapes capable of holding up several hundred tons before breaking, twist them into reinforcing gaps and holes in buildings and structures. They were even capable of withstanding a hit from Behemoth before breaking down.

However, he only could do solid constructions; everything had to either be in one piece or worked into something else, as well as clear of anything moving or alive. With the lights and doors, he had to leave spaces for them to be attached and wired. Fixing up buildings meant anchoring it with spikes of his power, as no glue or adhesive could hold onto his projections. If someone tried drilling or making a hole in to his projection, the whole thing would fall apart.

Furthermore, once something was set, Argonaut was unable to change it without destroying it, which was compounded by the fact that his power was not only touch-based but was effectively permanent when placed (provided that it was either build correctly or anchored to something: the constructs were light enough to fall over in a breeze). Despite this, Argonaut had a creation range of nearly a mile if given enough time for his power to work, was capable of making any shape, and knowing where it was via his 'mind's eye.'

But it wasn't until Contessa stepped in that the hidden use of Argonaut's power was revealed. Before then, he was known as Daedalus, a rapidly rising hero in the world of capes: one that had quickly earned a place in the same category as Alexandria, Legend, and Eidolon with his powerset and skill in using it.

However, after Contessa stepped in, the fifth member of what would be later known as the Silver Seven became Argonaut, in charge of the Protectorate team of Seattle, Washington.

Alexandria stepped up a set of stairs and ducked though a metal hatch, turning to head towards a door leading outside.

The reason for the sudden spike was simple and the sole reason that Argonaut was effectively single-handedly making this plan happen.

Stepping outside, Alexandria felt the steady drip-drop of rain trickle against her body, something that would've surprised people when they looked up and off the deck to see where they were.

Because at twelve thousand feet above Hastings, Nebraska, nearly smack-dab in the heart of a superstorm, with nothing but dark, roiling clouds as far as the eye could see in any and every direction, it was unexpected to be experiencing just a bit of a breeze and a trickle of rain.

When Argonaut used his power to create something more than walls, pillars, traps and barriers, they would be imbued with a damping effect in relation to the idea of what his power was shaped into.

Which was why when Alexandria looked out over the railing, she saw several faintly green-glowing schooners, cutters, a number of brigs, some barquentines, a few junks, and several other class of sailing ships, all held aloft by engines mounted in the underside of their hulls, designed and powered in part by Icaruss' reactors.

Not a single one of the ships' masts or rigging worked, they were just as rigid as the ships hulls, but it was the idea of the ship, the concept, that allowed them to create fields that allowed people to walk across their desks, not feeling the bite of the cold, the harsh tug of the winds, or the pounding of the rain.

Argonaut could make buildings and shelters that withstood Endbringers, encouraged wounds to heal faster, to calm and restore hope with but a roof over people's heads.

Sailing ships of an era long past stood strong as they traveled unknown seas, weathered storms and rough water, to endure the journey of thousands of miles.

This was what carried the Assault Teams forth, a mix of Tinker-Tech and Shaker effect, protecting them from the storm as they traveled through it.

The roar of four turboprops rattled by as a Lockheed C-130E flew past, flying parallel to the 'fleet.' Close enough that even with the speed and distance, Alexandria could read the name on the side of the craft as it flew on: Skyforge.

As part of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, this C-130, its crew, and several others of the 53rd had been pressed into assistance; the largely-unmodified aircraft were some of the few standard aircraft that could weather these types of storms with ease. Several of them flew in the storm, dropping sensors and taking readings, gathering intel for the upcoming fight.

As the large cargo plane turned storm tracker banked away, water slicking off of it as it powered through the storm, something was dropped from the back of the craft; a dropsonde, a weather reconnaissance device which was used to gather information inside storms.

Alexandria watched as the C-130 turned away from its parallel path of the 'fleet,' and straight into the grey, swirling mass of the Eyewall, the same place that the fleet was soon heading, vanishing with the dark mists.

Stepping back from the railing, Alexandria watched as the many passengers made their way up, most wearing packs of Tinker-Tech, manufactured by Icarus, mindful of the countdown happening in her helmet.

Considering the heights that this assault was taking place at, measures had to be taken to protect the capes that lacked the durability of someone like Alexandria. So in addition to the flight systems on the ships Icarus had teamed up with a number of other Tinkers (including one who was starting to make waves for her programing and robotic work work up in Canada) to make the necessary gear to ensure the survival of the volunteered capes.

From simple jetpacks and tethers to help keep people on the ships, to shields for flyers capable of flying in the storm and for the various ships in the fleet, all the way to the guns mounted within the hulls and on the decks.

It was all the work of nearly three years of planning, three years of tracking, and negotiating with, capes of all sorts, all leading up to this moment.

Alexandria watched over it for a few moments, taking in the controlled chaos that the deck quickly became as more and more capes showed up and the clock in her limited HUD slowly clicked down. Even with the gear that many of them sported to help keep them safe, the sheer amount of different costumes made the deck seem like a gathering of a circus rather than an group of highly capable people about to undertake the hardest mission of their lives.

The female hero watched them prepare for a moment longer; she didn't need to step in, everyone had already been briefed before they had gotten abroad, and there were people in place to handle that sort of thing.

Turning back to watching the storm, Alexandria noted that there were already teams flying around the fleet, likely testing equipment one final time and getting the hang of it before the big moment.

One figure shot away from the others, rapidly gaining height with their pack. Alexandria watched them, taking in the details as they climbed; no one was panicking, and they seemed under control…

"Alexandria," came a call over her helmet radio. "We need to talk."

The hero followed the flying figure with her eyes, watching as it flew towards a shield that suddenly appeared in the storm, as well as the flash of light that heralded Legend coming out of his Breaker state nearby.

Alexandria sighed, and launched her way up, shooting into the sky in a blur.

They didn't have time for this, but there were few reasons that Legend would call for her at this point.

The damping field only extended a dozen feet above the ship, not even going halfway up the mast, so the transition from, 'raining-but-sunny-out,' to, 'in-the-middle-of-a-tropical-storm-of-coconuts-being-launched-from-a-cannon,' was jarring, even for someone like Alexandria.

Still, she powered through, not really feeling it as much as it was acknowledged, quickly gaining height before bolting towards the shield.

She slowed to a near stop as she approached, seeing the other still active members of the Silver Seven within it.

Eidolon seemed to be in the middle of arguing with Icarus as she moved into the shield, the water on her body slicking away as she passed through it. Legend gave her a nod, but remained unmoved from his floating position, arms crossed and face set in a scowl.

"-et it!" Icarus shouted, her voice easily overtaking the pounding of the rain. "This isn't just linking up wires, this is interfacing dozens of different design strategies! We can't rush this kind of thing! We're going to have to delay the attack."

Icarus wasn't wearing her usual gear, instead she was wearing one of the protypes for her and Argonaut's Sentinel project. Currently it wasn't more than an exo-frame with a reactor strapped to the front of it, alongside a back-mounted engine to get the user flying (she was standing on a platform Eidolon had made for her to avoid using the thrusters), all metal and exposed bits, the bare minimum to get it working.

Still, it fit her usual flight-suit based aesthetic, if more… military-themed, given the lines and limited placement of armor.

Icarus was more of those rare Tinkers that was over specialized. Where some amount of overlap would exist for Tinkers (such as power sources, computers, armor), Icarus was a Tinker of power sources and engines, near exclusively so, to the point that aside from systems within or built to support her tech, Icarus couldn't make any better of: metals, computers, gears, scanners, guns, etc., like any 'normal' Tinker.

It did however allow her to make thrusters strong enough to get Sphere's heavy lifter into orbit, as well as get a reactor that didn't (in her words) need anyone to look over it as long as it wasn't damaged as a replacement for the nuclear plants lost during Behemoth's attacks at Lyon. It essentially was a black box heat generator, limited only by how many water pipes they could run nearby the reactor to change into stream; it was already outputting more than double of what the old plants had managed and there was still room for expansion.

"We can't delay, everyone is getting prepped as we speak," Eidolon stated to Icarus. "Can you work around it or not? Maybe get some replacement from one of the other ships?"

"No! we don't have any because someone pushed the agenda up by nearly a year!"

'Well this explains Legend's mood.'

Alexandria coughed into her fist, grabbing the attention of Icarus.

It was strange how well a glare translated through a reflective armored helmet, though as one of the two someones that pushed the attack forward, Alexandria understood Icarus's frustration.

She herself had some with who they picked to round out the teams.

"How bad is it?"

Icarus inhaled, as if to build herself up, before sighing explosively.

"… We're down three craft, maybe four, depends on what happens with the limited reworks that are being done right now."

Icarus jabbed a metal finger in Alexandria's direction. "I told you we needed more time, Tinker-Tech isn't a plug and play system! I had my hands full just dealing with the different Tinkers stepping on each other's toes before even accounting for that! No even to mention the other gear you demanded we bring?! Some of which you haven't even told me about! If I'm to be your head engineer, then why aren't you letting me see whats within the Gungnir's hold?"

"Operational security," Alexandria replied tensely. "As well as a safety one. We were instructed not to interact with the tech until absolutely necessary, in order to ensure the best results. We don't even know if it will work, but we're hoping it will be our trump card against the Endbringer."

"And why haven't you told me about it? The holds been cut off from the rest of the ship! You've even done something to block scans of the room- and yes! I have tried to take a look! Wouldn't you?!"

"We were told that you would react badly," stated Eidolon. "As well as would cause issues with the tech."

"Well if that's the case we need to call this off then; relying on untested and unknown equipment? On top of rushing everything and making all the deals? At this point you've made me more concerned about what happens if we succeed."

"Even if we wanted to head back, we can't." Legend interjected, redirecting the conversation before it got out of hand. "What we're doing here is far too important… but I agree with you Sam, on several points. If the public found out about what we promised to the capes on these ships and what we've done to get them here…"

From both a tactical and strategic point of view, it was easy to understand; if you wanted the best chance at victory, you gathered the best and greatest in what they did.

Trouble was, those people weren't always the most upstanding individuals.

Oh, they weren't people like the Nine, but many were either on the 'Kill List,' were working their way onto it, or were wanted for a variety of other reasons that would have caused the governments of the world to balk at gathering up into one place and promising them amnesty, but not a clean slate.

There had been even talk of pulling people from the Birdcage, but Contessa had Pathed that out.

It never ended well.

There were heroes present, but given the scope and risks of what was planned, taking only heroes would only end up hurting the PRT/Protectorate in the long run, no matter how this all turned out.

So in the end they took almost anyone who accepted the deal offered; hero ,villain, and civilian alike.

After all, even with Cauldron helping out, there were only so many capes in the world that could participate. To say nothing of the ones what were willing, even with the benefits offered.

"Our odds are good," Eidolon added. "And we've stacked the deck as best as we could, given the situation. This is no different than what we do normally."

Icarus huffed. "Part of me wants to say I told you so when this all goes to shit, but for that to happen we all need to be alive."

"Then why don't you leave?" Legend asks. "You don't have to stay, you were never forced to come along."

Icarus was silent for a few moments. "... Because it's where I need to be, and someone else would have gotten it wrong."

With that said, she fell out of the shield bubble, passing Argonaut as he rose up in his Greek-inspired flight suit.

The Tinker-Tech wings folded into his back as he approached the bubble, and Eidolon used some sort of power to pull the last few feet inside.

"Whats up with Carter?" Argonaut asked, looking backwards at the retreating cape. "She looked upset."

"No more that you are," Alexandria filled in. "Are we ready?"

Argonaut nodded. "The last of the crews have reported in and are ready to go, just give the word and we'll weigh anchor and should be in position on schedule."

Alexandria nodded, and reflectively checked the timer on her HUD. They had time, enough to get other things done before they were forced into action.

"We're not sailing, we're flying," Eidolon sighed.

Shrugging, Argonaut asked "And? They look like ships, David, we can treat them like ships."

"Then we move out," Alexandria stated, interrupting the fight between the two heroes. Eidolon and Argonaut never really had gotten along, their personalities and ideologies grinding against one and other for years.

"To your ships, gentlemen, I'll scout ahead and tell the planes to exit the area."

The other heroes nodded at Alexandria, the shield falling away as they all split off.

Alexandria was left hovering for a few moments, watching as her teammates- friends- traveled down to the fleet.

She took the moment to steel herself, to shake the same feeling of unease that had been brought up by many people. Before twisting in place and shooting off into the storm, following the beacons of the C-130s as best as she could.

"Alexandria to Skyforge, it's time, Captain, get out here at best speed."

"Skyforge to Alexandria, Captain Shack here. Copy that, I'll pass the word."

From out of the black and dark, the silhouette of a plane emerged, breaking out of the churning clouds and rapidly bypassing her on its trip out of the storm.

"… Good luck out that Alexandria, I think you'll need it."

The rest of the trip was only accompanied by the sounds of wind and water, her only guide being a beacon dropped form one of the 53rd's birds.

It happened suddenly, a shift of wind that even had her struggling for a moment. Like hands grabbing at her, tugging her up then down, trying to yank her left and right.

Then, resistance. Like the air itself was fighting against her.

Alexandria pushed back, forcing her hands forward as if to shove back at the air…

Then nothing.

No rain, no wind, just flashes of lightning happening in the distance. The eye of the storm, half hidden by clouds overhead, yet containing little in a large area outside wisps of cloud tendrils, twisting like smoke in the air.

And below her, a dark shape moved. Blending into the storm, lit up only by flashes of lightning, the faint hint of light from above, and its own bioluminescence.

Tāwhirimātea.

The Stormbringer.

There were many things that were either withheld or forgotten by the public about Tāwhirimātea, one of the more obvious ones was the fact it glowed.

Seeming like bioluminescent stripes of some deep-sea creature, Tāwhirimātea was covered in lights that stretched across its body, hovering just above the surface, ripping and flowing in a mesmerizing pattern for unknown purpose.

Like some sort of faint holographic shell, it extended along the wings and stretched down the tail, with a ring of lights on the top marking out what was best guessed as the 'head' of the Endbringer.

It took a moment for the rain to return, as the bubble of Stillness that served as the final marker of approach to the Endbringer was what had caused such resistance in the Eyewall in the first place. Aside from the obvious storm that surrounded Tāwhirimātea, it was these final chaotic winds that stopped most aircraft from getting close to the Endbringer.

Even the C-130s of the 53rd were heavily scrutinized for damage, before and after each mission, and they were the ones tasked with monitoring and researching storms like this.

As Alexandria hovered above Tāwhirimātea, the sounds of its calls echoed in the air, mixing in with the rush of wind and the pattering of a soft new rain, she observed the Endbringer, taking in its form. From the flexing of the wings, to the faint red hue that marked out where the shields protected entrances to its insides.

All of all the Endbringers, Tāwhirimātea was the one that had people the most divided. It would cleanse the land it flew over, restoring it to beyond exceptional condition, yet also caused flooding, destroyed towns, melted snowcaps, and caused many lives to be lost.

Yet it always seemed to pass over places hit by Behemoth after attacks, to avoid and redirect storms away from areas hit by Leviathan.

Some viewed its actions as a kind of indifference, simply being balance to the world.

Alexandria however just viewed it as another steppingstone to the real enemy.

If they could defeat Endbringers, and do so reliability, then the world had a better chance to defeat Scion.

This is why Cauldron had looked into every way possible to fight Tāwhirimātea, as it was the sole Endbringer that could be fought at any time, as the others fled out of reach when beaten or finished with their 'tasks.'

In the process, they had learned of several new capes that they needed to keep an eye on, as well as uncovered a few that even the Endbringers seemed to shy away from.

Still, Alexandria understood the risks involved, as did every cape in the fleet.

Speaking of…

It was the smaller ships that burst through the Eyewall first, their engines flaring and roaring. Following them were the others, all staggering out of the clouds, their formation lost, as expected.

The same went with the sudden flurry of transmissions over the radio.

"This is In Amber Clad, we just lost engine two, others are working fine but we're… tilting."

"Ishimura here, all of our lights just went out, makes it kind hard to see anything."

"Alicorn here, uhh, all the chargers for the Tinker guns just cut out, can someone tell Icarus that?"

"Woah! One of our guys just got launched overboard from the bucking! Someone needs to catch him!"

No matter what the craft, and even some types of Tinker-Tech, they always had electrical problems after passing through the Eyewall. Even the C-130s had issues, though they had the benefit of having more mechanical systems that were short-proof that allowed them to keep flying with those issues, as well as having hardened hardware to protect against that kind of thing.

There was still a risk, but they had learned from their early days and had improved their systems for ease of repair, as well as stripped some parts away to get at the hardware that tended to fail.

The assault team lacked that experience, and as such, didn't fully know how to deal with those issues, even with the 53rd giving tips.

Add this to the flux of winds battering the ships around, it was expected that they could lose people via falling off the ships, even when limiting how many could be on deck at the time.

Alexandria watched as several flyers moved into the storm, some wearing shields to protect them. A flash of light signaled Legend grabbing someone-

-Several someone's from the way he flickered around the fleet.

"Icarus, how are we doing?" Alexandria called over the radio, her sharp eyes tracking each ship as it moved back into something resembling a formation. "I'm seeing several of our ships drifting."

"… Icarus, respond."

The number of calls slackened as the fleet undertook the hard work of repairing what they could, yet nothing from Icarus.

"…. Icarus, what is your situation? We have multiple ships in duress."

"Would you kindly all get off my BACK!?" Icarus shouted over the radio, much to the shock and shouts of others on the net.

"I'm busy! and in case you haven't noticed, we lost the Keyes!"

The Keyes was the fleet's heavy lifter, the support ship that carried over thirty-five percent of their extra gear, as well as having the sole fully stocked medically facility on board.

Losing it would be a heavy blow, they would no longer be capable of saving as many injured, let alone keeping the fight up for a prolonged period of time.

"Does anyone know what happened to it?"

"I think I saw an explosion in the hull as we were going through the Eyewall, and no one is responding on the radio."

"I found it," came Eidolon's voice. "The engines are gone and there's fire coming from the hatches. Its falling fast… I don't think there's much I can do at this point."

"Engine failure?"

"… looks like it."

Neither hero said anything else and Alexandria could only grimace.

Icarus wasn't so crass as to say 'I told you so,' but Alexandria knew that she would find a way to bring the loss of the Keyes up, as well as the fact that it was her plan to push things forward without taking the proper amount of time to get things ready.

Still, more than a fair number of ships were still operational, so the plan would continue after everyone checked in.

---

Surprisingly, the Keyes was the only ship lost. The rest still were able to continue onwards to the objective with only a few capes injured and some restrictions on certain craft.

Tāwhirimātea had slowed, forcing the fleet to climb above it to keep the distance, giving anyone that looked over the side of their ships a great view of the Endbringer's outline as it flew underneath the fleet.

This wasn't cause for concern, however. Whenever someone breached the Eyewall, the Endbringer would seemingly act…. curious.

The rain would fade from their area, the winds would be gentle and guiding, rather than violent and unpredictable.

It would make more calls, adjusting its course as if moving to investigate the newcomer that had come to see it.

In fact, Tāwhirimātea could be quite calm at times, allowing planes to fly all around it without incident, or reducing its storm as it passed through a flight corridor.

More than one flight crew that experienced trouble would find themselves encountering calmed air until they left the Endbringer's range.

Lighting would lessen, being more distant and less frequent. The winds would shift, pushing things along and away from Tāwhiri, yet gentle enough that one didn't have to worry.

Farms would often be untouched by weeds and bugs after the Endbringer passed by, with their crops being ready to harvest then and there, and the ground fertile enough to have another season before the year was up.

Fish would flock to waters, buoyed by an explosion of food; the same for crustaceans and other sea life, with coral reefs even recovering from damage.

It would even dive down towards the ground and perform rolls and flips for cameras, seemly playful as it flew through the clouds over cities, its storm often strong, but never quite as damaging as it was predicted to be.

But those that hung around too long would find themselves about to have a very bad day.

Planes would go down, their craft ripped apart by sudden updrafts, hail, and the occasional burst of lightning.

The sea would rage, snapping ships in half.

Whole mountains would crumble, while rivers swelled far beyond their banks.

Cities would experience feet of rain in minutes, flooding homes up to their windows.

Forests would expand, overgrowing towns and roads within days.

Yes, some viewed Tāwhirimātea as having 'her' own ideas and plans, with the humans just getting in the way at times and the Endbringer not caring if some drowned so that a strip-mine was healed over. But Alexandria saw it differently.

She likened instead it to a killer whale: seeming gentle and majestic at first, but it would still take a bite out of you if you got too close and it wasn't feeling 'playful'.

The trouble was that this whale was big enough that even islands would get a bite taken out of them.

Some would call this attack foolhardy, and while Alexandria did see it to a degree, she also saw it as necessary.

Tāwhirimātea was the only Endbringer what was always within reach, the sole one that could even be counterattacked. And while she did have some doubts that they would succeed in killing it, what they would learn from the Endbringer would more than make up for it, as well as the possibility of damaging it to the point that it would flee back to the waters of New Zealand.

She also foresaw much of the attacking force being killed, as they were fighting a being that had been named after a god of storms, in its own territory, n less.

Yet this something that the world needed. They needed the hope of being able to kill the Endbringers, the death and destruction they had wrought over the years had weighed on the collective psyche of the world, to the point that it was less about fighting and defeating the Endbringers, and more about throwing enough bodies at them to slow them down and delay them long enough for either Scion to show up, or making them retreat.

This was why Alexandria had been willing and had pressed so hard for this to happen, the world needed to see that heroes would- could, still win this war. That it wasn't a matter of holding the line, but of tactical and strategic moves.

Her musing was interrupted by Icarus contacting her.

"Scout teams are ready, Alexandria, and most of the heavy damage has been fixed. Though I'll need to stay with the fleet to continue making repairs."

"Very well, we'll head out then. Do you believe that you'll be able to get the fleet moving again soon?"

"… against my better judgment, yes. We'll be somewhat slower and should move people around for when we need to bug out, but we're still able to do this stupid plan of yours."

Alexandria sighed, her breath coming out in a puff of mist due to the height and the chill.

A quick adjustment and she switched frequencies on her radio, the clock ticking ever further down.

It wouldn't be long now.

"Argonaut, do you have someone that can help out Icarus? She's a little swamped and could use a hand."

"… I do, but does she really need it Alex? I mean, she's got years of tinkering under her belt with the Protectorate."

"You never know, and I'd rather have the help and never need it, than her make a mistake and not have anyone there beside her."

"… all right, I'll get someone."

Letting her hand fall from her helmet, Alexandria sighed again.

Icarus had been a staple with the Silver Seven since before they the group even existed, with her and Argonaut being the only two that weren't Cauldon capes.

She was also one of the two that didn't know about Cauldon; Kuzunoha was never brought in for obvious reasons, and Icarus was never able to be properly vetted.

By all accounts, she just showed up tinkering one day, gaining the attention of Hero, who ended up bringing her into the Protectorate where she rapidly gained even more of a name for herself.

It was odd, she never once interfered with the PRT or the Protectorate, never arranged things to let a villain escape, never sabotaged anyone or any plans.

Yet both the Number Man and Contessa were unable to properly find a way to bring her into the inner circle of Cauldon that didn't end with her turning against them.

A problem for sure, especially considering that when both the Number Man and Contessa were working towards a goal together, it would take an Endbringer or Scion to stop them from completing it. Therefore, the fact that the odds of Icarus siding with Cauldon never went above forty-five percent, and every Path that Contessa made, with the caveat of Icarus not betraying Cauldon while still telling her about the group, always ended with some form of Icarus being shot in the back of the head.

This discovery lead to a deeper investigation of Icarus, which lead to the discovery of inconsistencies in her life.

She had no family, no friends outside heroing that could be found or contacted, and seemingly nothing to her name aside from a record detailing her life, a bank account, and an apartment that she never visited.

While cutting one's self off from the world wasn't uncommon for a cape (due to heroing turning into a full time job to keep their identities a secret), even Alexandria took time off or checked up on her family (even if it was from afar).

Icarus on the other hand did none of this, as she was either being Icarus, or had somehow vanished for a short time before returning to work, never saying where she had been.

This mystery, coupled with the two best Thinkers of Cauldon being unable to work out a way to get her on their side, had led to unwanted friction between the members. As much as Alexandria wanted to trust Icarus, the fact that she would apparently betray them, even after learning about Scion, Eden, and the Agents, meant that measures had to be taken.

Keying back up her radio, Alexandria called for the scouting team to weigh anchor.

Three ships broke free from the fleet: smaller ones, each only carrying a handful of crew. They headed downwards, towards Tāwhirimātea, joined by Alexandria, Legend, Eidolon, and Argonaut.

More than anything, this was what this attack was truly about. Of all of the Endbringers, Tāwhirimātea was the only one able to be accessed easily; the Big Three placed themselves in places that made access… difficult, to say the least.

Shari-Hulud was in constant motion, and while parts of the Endbringer could be gathered with ease, most of what had been found had been revealed to be little more than compacted dirt, molecularly rearranged and held together with some kind of energy field to make it capable of standing up against military-grade weapons.

As for Eukaryote… well, despite what people thought of their governments, they weren't stupid.

This meant that it was Tāwhirimātea that gave the best chances for research into Endbringers, not only in regards in how they worked, but also in the best ways in killing them.

Against the vast size of Tāwhirimātea, the small ships appeared even smaller, like a car before a mountain.

With the wind and rain picking up, flight-capable capes with Brute ratings backed by several others with gear built by Icarus descended onto the Endbringer, the rest of the Silver Seven following then down.

As she flew down, Alexandria got her first real close look at the Endbringer. Like all the others, Tāwhirimātea was unique in its composition.

Similar to a mix of Behemoth and Leviathan, Tāwhirimātea's surface was a bumpy and knotted mix of crags, ridges, and divots. It had Leviathan's rough texture, as well as portions of his rolling musculature, particularly around the shielded openings. Yet at the same time it had craggy sections like Behemoth, with twisted and jagged protrusions jutted up or outward, like spires, or thorns.

Setting down, Alexandria was quick to float over to a team lowering equipment from one of the ships, lines extending from a pulley system to lower down several crates of tech.

"Ten minutes!" she yelled over the rising winds and the noises of the Endbringer, cutting some time off of the timer for their sake. "No more! If you're still here five after that, we won't hold our fire!"

The cape, a man that had seemly taken the full Knight theme a little too far, turned to her as he held onto a rope, water pouring down his plate armor and the jet attachments that were preventing them from being knocked over from the winds.

"Trust us, we'll be gone before then. None of us want to be here when the fleet opens up!"

Alexandria nodded and turned away from the cape (actually a woman, from the voice), to look out at the other nearby teams.

Several people were hard at work taking samples from the surface, with both mundane equipment and Tinker-Tech being used.

"Ma'am!" one the of figures waved to her and she flew over.

"He hit it with the mining laser!" he shouted, gesturing to the very large gun at his side, his friend holding onto it as well to keep it upright.

"It worked, but only for a bit before the skin stopped being… laserable! But take a look at this!"

The man gestured at the 'skin' of the Endbringer, and it took Alexandria a moment to see what he was talking about.

It was moving. Rippling into rows and lines and divots, flowing like it was being pressed or etched into shape, then shifted back into a nearly smooth surface once more.

"I know, right?!" shouted the man. "Just when you've thought you've seen it all!"

Alexandria had thought that it was the rain, that the flowing waters were playing tricks on her.

But now…

Now she saw it.

The spires, they weren't static, but shifting, growing and altering subtly as time passed. The thorns and crags would twist slightly, becoming either harsher or softer in no particular sequence. The musculature around the shielded areas flexing lightly, water seemingly draining away through some hidden gap.

It hadn't impacted her before, not really, not in a way that had weight.

She was standing on top of a living creature, even though she considered those words a stretch.

This was the closest that she'd ever been to Tāwhirimātea. There was never any reason before now, not one that was more than a glance. The fact that it never acted aggressive meant there was never a reason to interact with the Endbringer, one just needed to bunker down or avoid it, similar to how the Ash Beast was once treated.

Everybody in the fleet understood that this mission was very likely a one-way trip: one does not simply fly into the sky to fight a god in their own territory, after all. The best that many of them could hope for was that they could outrun or outclimb Tāwhirimātea's storm in the fleet, or that they would be teleported out by another cape (including the Doormaker, if necessary).

In fact, were it not for the promise of rewards and the Silver Seven's own words of this working, as well as committing themselves to the task, Alexandria doubted that would have gotten half of the people they needed.

Even as it was most of the crews aboard the ships were unpowered personnel, people whose job was to help watch over the ships while most of the capes were out fighting, as well as to keep any supplies moving during the attack.

"Assault Teams, be advised: current data suggests that the storm is increasing in intensity, both inside and outside the Eyewall. I suggest picking up the pace… but that's just a suggestion!"

"Thank you, Dragon, we understand what you mean," Legend comforted the new Tinker. "How is your system coping?"

"Good so far! There are some things that I'll need to work on to refine the system, but I should be able to have a proper communications system set up for future Endbringers' attacks that will allow several things to be automated, though like this attack, coordination will have to be handled by capes in the field, but it will be easier to work out plans on the fly."

Dragon was a relatively new cape, but one that was making a name for herself with her computer skills. Already she had earned Watchdog's respect for her help in tech and computer security cape activities, her suits and Dragon Tech a name in the public eye, and was well on her way to joining the Guild due to all of this.

Contessa and Doctor Mother were interested in Dragon, which meant that she had a power that caught their attention.

Alexandria felt somewhat bad for the new cape. One way or another, it was rarely a 'good thing' when the founders of Cauldron started paying particular attention to someone, but there was always a reason for it.

Several of her drone craft were in the fleet, serving as flying eyes and sensors for the assault team, but they were limited in scope and few in number.

Alexandria watched as several of the scout teams were quick to flee back to their ships, a few having to be supported by each other in the building gale. Which was good, the more people that were safe on the ship, the more people that could use a power or weapon against Tāwhirimātea.

"There is… something else…" continued Dragon. "I've picked up a transmission, coming from… Tāwhirimātea. I don't quite know what it is, but I have narrowed it down to somewhere near her head."

"A transmission, coming from Tāwhirimātea?!" Argonaut asks.

"No... not from her, it's coming from her surface I think, and it's more like a beacon. I don't know what it's saying, but I can tell that it's a simple and short pattern; a bunch of the support people are working on it right now. It could be a transponder for some Tinker-Tech, or even a distress beacon."

"We'll check it out," states Legend. "We're faster and everyone else can finish prepping while we go. Alexandria? Eidolon?"

"Copy," confirmed Alexandria, Eidolon saying something similar moments later.

Dragon explained the rough placement for where the signal originated, using the distance from Tāwhirimātea's edges to mark out where it could be.

In between the rain and the fact that things tended to blur when she was at high speed, Alexandria was forced to fly slowly, the group of three heroes quickly setting up a search pattern.

It was Eidolon that found it, and the others were quick to fly over to where the man was floating safely within his glowing shield.

Tāwhirimātea's surface was a mix between symmetry and asymmetry; there were sections that were clearly mirrored, yet there also were outcroppings and sections that varied, in some cases wildly.

These ranged from places that contained blister-like formations, a set of smaller but numerous shielded holes, a few interlinked outcroppings, there were even places that looked scarred and burnt over, the flesh twisted and warped, like something had melted it away.

Despite that, much of the Endbringer's surface was largely uniform in design and texture, unchanging aside from how it was generally laid out for hundreds of feet.

Beneath the heroes, however, at one would best describe as the center of its manta ray-style 'head,' was a section that differed from its 'normal' surface.

A set of three-ringed pillars, all curved inward, like a bullseye of ribs.

And in the center of them all, was a rotating human-sized red crystal, vaguely heart-shaped, all angles and edges.

Alexandria could see all of this with ease, not only because of her eyesight, but also because the rain failed to fall within the rings. Instead, it curved away, like it was hitting a dome, the outermost ring getting most of the water, while the middle one caught anything that slipped through, leaving the innermost ring completely dry.

"It's the only thing that's different," Eidolon stated. "And I have a power that can detect signals, but the location is…"

There were many theories on the Endbringers, Cauldon even had explored a few as best as they could (though trying to make an Endbringer was shot down by Contessa, as any Paths in that direction were blocked), but they were at best theories.

This did not stop people from trying to make sense of the Endbringers, attributing all sorts of things to them, ranging from everything being a Simurgh Plot, to Eukaryote being Nature's Vengeance given form.

But they all shared similar traits: being hard to kill, having powers far outside the norm, being capable of destroying anything and everything in their paths…

Yet none of them had done something like this.

Then again, Tāwhirimātea had always been different, even in regards to what and Endbringer did.

Suddenly, Legend began to hover downwards.

"What are you doing!?" Alexandria yelled.

Legend glanced back over at the pair of floating heroes. "Are we just going to see this and then walk away from it?"

Eidolon was the first to follow, with Alexandria hesitating for several moments before flying down behind him.

The trio descended into the ring, powers at the ready as the traveled into it. Alexandria was expecting the water to get sloughed off of them as they passed through each section, but instead, it was like the falling rain was being redirected away from the rings rather than a shield being in place to deflect it.

Alexandria noted that the crystal was larger than her estimate, and only superficially resembled a heart, more like a child's straight-lined version of one; all straight lines and angles, with the top 'prongs' being far smaller and sharper than what would normally pass for the shape.

Still, to her eyes, it was a heart.

Each hero kept their eyes open as they circled around the rings, wary for an ambush or attack of some sort.

"… I'm not picking up anything with my Thinker powers," Eidolon stated. "Just a general sense of unease, but nothing to suggest an attack here."

"Though considering how well those powers work with Endbringers, that is not surprising," said Legend.

"Tāwhirimātea has broken the mold with Endbringers before," stated Alexandria. "Its path can be plotted with ease, it never goes after major population centers, flies over Behemoth's attack sites, and while its full capabilities are blurred, the world's Thinkers have already determined that it's been flexing its powers inconsistently as it travels."

This was yet another reason the attack had been pushed forward; Tāwhirimātea's storm could be analyzed and while its full effects and how they worked had yet to be understood, there was enough evidence to suggest that it needed time to recharge in-between 'sessions,' times when the effects of the storm were much more pronounced.

Places would become overgrown in days, deserts would become forests, lands ravaged by pollution and destruction would become repaired.

Thinkers, both of the powered and non-powered variety, had figured out years ago that Tāwhirimātea's flight plan revolved around this fact; hitting seemingly random places, but actually performing a counterclockwise excursion across the globe, moving in a way that would hit places that were sufficiently 'damaged' every few weeks.

"So… thoughts on this?" Eidolon asks. "Some kind of decoration? Like the Simurgh's wings? We know that she doesn't need them to fly."

"But the Simurgh doesn't bother to hide her wings, or protect them," Alexandria countered. "And while I doubt this is anything important…"

The unspoken words of, 'why is it here and protected from the rain then?' echoed through the minds of the heroes.

"… Should we try and take it?" Eidolon asked. "Add it to the collection of samples?"

It was a tempting prospect, as there were only so many Endbringer samples in existence.

Eukaryote had no samples (for obvious reasons), the Simurgh's were under lock and key (just in case), Shari-Hulud's were found to be nothing more than dirt pushed together with some sort of power to make it into incomplete layered alloy armor, and Leviathan's bits were almost impossible to find after his fights.

Behemoth had the greatest amount of samples, and what they'd found didn't look promising for defeating the Endbringers with conventional means.

But more samples were always needed; the more they had, the more they could test with powers, the better the chances they would find something they could use to defeat them.

"It could be useless decoration, or it could be some sort of power conduct," Legend says, floating around it slowly.

"… At this point, we should take what we can, and hope for the best. It isn't like we aren't going to piss Tāwhiri off and then be ready to run away in a few minutes anyway."

"I'll grab it then," Alexandria declared. "It would be better than Eidolon, I can move fast enough th-"

"Uh, guys?" Argonaut called. "We've figured out what the message is saying, and well…"

"You've managed to decode it?" asks Legend in the following silence.

"That's the thing, we didn't," stated Argonaut.

"It just decoded by itself as the teams were looking at it. Then I lost contact with the outside teams when it started broadcasting on their channels, and I can't even contact Dragon on her network. We need to leave by the way, and I recommend doing it quickly."

"What are you talking about?" Eidolon demanded. "How did you los-"

The radio squealed in Alexandria's ear, causing her to flinch and slap one hand to her helmet. the other two heroes did the same, Legend being the only one to remove it before the sound faded.

And then was replaced by something else.

It echoed across all channels, four words on repeat. A never-ending loop of a single, direct question.

WHY

ARE

YOU

HERE?

As the question was asked, broadcast across the entire network, the winds shifted, howling outside the shield. The rain came heavier, fat drops splashing around into the middle ring, a few splatters flicking up to land within the center.

The clouds shifted and rolled, lightning flashed across the sky, outlining the fleet as it approached, and casting strange shadows that seemed to move of their own accord.

A rumbling came from Tāwhirimātea, her wings flexing, seemingly like the Endbringer was stretching out to reach into the storm.

Faintly, music could be heard, a chorus of noises, like an electric choir.

With a shove of its wings, Tāwhiri forced its way up, right into the middle of the descending fleet.

Yet there were no collisions, as Tāwhirimātea slowed, settling into place within the fleet, the many ships wildly maneuvering as they panicked, more at risk of hitting each other than the Endbringer.

And just as suddenly, it all stopped, the rain, the wind, and the sounds accompanying them.

There was silence in the Eye of the storm.

Then… a voice, carrying deep and echoing eerie lilt to it that marked it as something else spoke.

"What you interfere with now is bigger than you can imagine."

The trio of heroes spun around to face the source, the speaker in question stomping towards them on heavy double-jointed legs, while its words carried the weight and power of confidence mixed with flair.

It was far taller than any of the heroes present, an easy eight feet, even hunched over as it was. Its four legs were linked to a long, thin torso, from within a glow echoed faintly from. Spindly, with interlocked connections- like a twisted lattice of black bone that flowed up to a wide set of shoulders, which stretched onward to a wisp of a neck.

Water dripped off a bone-white flat face, which contained no eyes, but instead had four diagonal recessed slashes, each containing a blue glow within, the rest of its being segmented, divided up like armored sections, insectoid-like. A set of four horns jutted from the top of its head, one pair being warped and twisted, as if it had been burned or melted away, with its partner being all but snapped off at the base.

A double pair of arms- one set located high on its rounded orange fin-like shoulders, the other just below them- shifted as it moved, a four-fingered claw reaching out to grasp onto one of the nearby pillars as it walked over Tāwhirimāteas surface toward the group.

"If you continue, you will bring down our Gilded Enemies' wrath upon us both."

It was only in the flashes of distant lighting that they were able to see the full texture and colors of the figure; a black base, with soft oranges layered along the major body parts- like the shoulders and thighs- and bone-bleached white arranged along something that could pass for armor- placed along the forearms, knees, face, and chest.

Ridges and lines and raised areas dotted its surface, curving along like veins on a leaf, while dots of blue and green lights rippled and flowed over its skin and along the gaps of bone-white armor, reminiscent of bioluminescence, drawing the eye towards the soft curves and gentle angles, as well as the long-reaching lines of the figure.

"It has been foreseen."

It was inhumanly graceful as it moved, symmetrical and shaped in ways that marked it as organic, from the form and workings of the joints as they bent and shifted, to the placement of where one part flowed into the next -yet the curves and arches were too well placed, devoid of evolution's compromises.

Watching the figure approach was like walking a clock work, every piece had its place, every part served a purpose.

Yet its surface was potted and pitted and damaged, tiny imperfections here and there that altered the flow of the falling water on its downward journey. Not scars or battle damage, aside from the clearly damaged horns, but something not mechanical, not made that way, but something that was formed, grown, like the freckles on someone's skin.

Slowly, the figure walked within the outer ring, one arm trailing along the pillars as it circled the heroes, who backed away, forming a line to ready themselves for an attack.

"Those that hide behind their gilded false-warriors, puppeteering their exhaustible forces, hidden within the twisted forbidden space that they claim to have gained mastery over."

The pillars d under its touch, flexing and shifting texture as they were fluidly altered from curving inward points, into head-height carved formations, the type one would expect to see in front of a public building to show off its splendor.

"The Foe, so hated, so feared, acting out their long-forgotten echo of false, corrupted, light."

Several more pillars flexed and shifted, mimicking the others, even while others melted and dissolved into a black-red fluid, draining seemingly straight into Tāwhirimātea's surface.

"You know none of this, do you? What are you thinking, I wonder? That you can endure the coming storm? That you might escape the coming White Fire from those that lurk and plot, hidden away?"

The figure stopped circling, and turned to face the assembled heroes, flashes in the distance from silent lightening twisting its shadow and outline into something… more.

Its posture suggested not confidence, but ease, as if having a conversation on top of an Endbringer with three of the Protectorates' most powerful heroes was a normal occurrence.

With that same ease it shook its head, one hand flicking out in a hard slash through the air.

"No… The incoming storm is Eternal and Inevitable; you cannot escape it. This world of yours will drown, instigated by your own actions and attempts to save it. Not even you, the, Silver Seven, will stand, unbroken, from your lofty lairs in the aftermath to witness the Ascension, the culmination of a Great Journey. For all of this was ordained, and will be; no matter your wants, no matter what we wish, know this is how it always will be."

Despite the words, Alexandria noted the figure's words were… resigned and forlorn, not as powerful and commanding as before.

There was a faint scratching noise as the figure caressed one of the pillars, arms and body seeming to slump as its words caught up to it.

"… Even my people failed to stand against them, driven back by weapons and horrors that you can not even begin to comprehend."

"… You know none of this, yes, and my words bring nothing but questions… but it is I, that will extract answers first. Because the question I have is of the utmost importance."

It advanced, then and there, stomping forwards as it raised its four arms up, grandly gesturing all around as the storm and Tāwhirimātea, as it looked at each of the heroes in turn.

"Why are you here?"

"David?"

It had no eyes, yet the hero was pinned in in place by the gaze, the shield he had thrown up flickering in colors.

"Nathan?"

Legend shifted, his face hardening as the sightless gaze was turned onto him, hands up and glowing with untapped power.

"Rebecca?"

Alexandria on the other hand… the only reason she had yet to rush forward in attack, was because of the timer slowly ticking away in her HUD.

"Have you truly considered your actions here?" it asked, one claw reaching out to caress one of the pillars that now ringed the middle platform, just feet from the heroes. "Of what is to come from it? Of the unforeseen consequences?"

"For I do not believe you have; desperation has led you here: a city, lost. A hero, fallen. And a pact… broken. You… you need a symbol of your might, an icon, something to show the world that the Dark End is not yet to come. But it is, all things come to an end, in one way or another."

None of the heroes responded, Eidolon shifting his gaze to Legend and Alexandria in the stretching silence, the surreality giving them more than just pause.

"… you know about us, about the Protectorate? About capes? About Humans? You understand us?" asked Alexandria.

It was important to ask, even though the answer was fairly obvious, it needed to be asked.

The figure scoffed and flicked a hand into the air, dismissively, before turning to resume circling the trio with a heavy tread.

"Oh… I know you, I know all of you. I know of the woman-that-is-not-a-woman, chained and imprisoned within her own mind; I know of the killer-turned-companion, the one that sees the world in what-could-be's; I know of the boy whose vision sees all, yet his mind is lost to what it was before."

The figure reached out and ran his claws over the pillars as he spoke, never stopping his circling.

"I know of the distilled essence that is bartered for favors, of the slumbering men and women, laying in wait for the moment you need them the most. I know of the wild dogs that you let run wild and free, unchained, all the while building your fences and convincing people that it is safe behind them, never revealing how easy it would be to eliminate those rabid rats."

"Yes, there are many things I know, of a girl that killed a god, and the Twisted Garden that was left behind, yet there are others outside my knowledge. Knowledge like you now seek yourselves."

"… what are you?" asked Alexandria after several moments of shock, shifting to fly that tiny bit higher.

"Are you a cape? Some kind of Tinker construction? Or are you Tāwhirimātea?"

'Are we talking to an Endbringer?' was the unspoken question.

Attempts had been made by others in talking or communicating to the Endbringers, though they were few and far between aside from the Simurgh's first appearance, and everyone knew how that turned out.

And now, to find this, to have a conversation with something that looked like it was part of the very Endbringer they were standing upon, a conversation that touched upon secrets that were known by a select few and hidden away for a reason…

It did not bode well for Caldron and their plans.

"That, is not my Sisters name… though she has grown to enjoy it," grumbled the figure.

"… sister? What do you mean sister?" Eidolon demands, shield flaring up. "Are you some kind of… proto-Endbringer?"

The figure shook its head slowly and sadly, coming to a stop from his pacing to face the red crystal.

"See, Sister? They insult you, comparing you to those… puppets! As if they are anything compared to you!"

"Answer the damn question!"

"Eidolon!"

The hero glanced over at Legend, a set of six orbs that were changing size and color every few seconds circling him.

Alexandria understood, perhaps better than Legend did, it was different for him. Both she and Eidolon had given their lives to heroing, and while Eidolon wasn't quite living the double life she was, Alexandria knew that he spent just as much time in costume as he did with Cauldron.

Yet his actions were was concerning; Eidolon was their best bet for fighting Scion and the Endbringers, but there was only so much one man could do, especially with his powers starting to wane as time went by.

Endbringers had already proven that they learned and adapted, they could think, plan, and remember; if this figure was either the start of a new one, or the voice of the Endbringers themselves and knew about Cauldron…

Then everything they had worked towards would be for naught, something that would be crushing to Eidolon, given the heaps of hope they had placed upon the man's shoulders.

"Would it matter if I did? Truly?" asked the figure. "For the answers I give will simply incite more questions, and invoke more questions that I have no answer for. To say nothing for ones I will not give."

It renewed its pacing, this time moving away from the trio of heroes, back out into the area unprotected from the rising winds and rains.

"And as for who I am?"

The figure turned, facing the heroes, as flashes of movement behind him, revealed… creatures, rapidlydescending from the sky.

Orange, white with sections of black, they unfolded, with arms that either ended in long U-shaped sections, or extended down to hold onto blunt interments. A second pair of limbs extended from their midpoint, one on each side, while their legs tapered down from large 'thighs' to points.

They seemed to be split in two, with the sole link connecting each side of their bodies being at their heads, each side being roughly symmetrical.

Some had large black and orange fins nearly the size of their bodies, others had far smaller white ones. Each in the center of each of them, a blue glow emanated, flaring and emitting.

Several more fell from the sky, these wielding kite-like shields on of their arms, with a golden glow coming from a hole in its center. More built up in the frame, these ones had thicker bodies and were more white-colored, with the shield carrying arm being more articulated.

These new units floated forwards, shifting to arrange themselves into a formation behind the figure, standing ready after slamming their shields down behind him.

All the while, the winds and rain and lightning picked up, casting strange moving shadows in the sky, while the newcomers hummed and sang with an electric chorus, harmony somehow existing within their sounds of disharmony, slowly shifting in place with their limbs.

"… I am Sajuuk, Vanguard of my people, and you are not welcome here."

Above, the fleet moved into position, holding in place at points where powers could open fire upon Tāwhirimātea without hitting each other.

And Sajuuk glanced up at them, taking them in as they fought against the winds to maintain position.

They had planned for this; in case of a radio blackout, the attack was to continue, unless someone signaled using a flare for it to stop.

It was questioned, why?

Would it not make sense for the fleet to turn around and figure out what was causing the blackout? To figure out a way around it and overcome it?

… But there was a very good reason why the attack had to continue, why it couldn't be stopped from the moment they were committed to it.

"… I should kill you all where you stand, lest you interfere with the unfolding Plan," stated Sajuuk, casting his sightless gaze back to the heroes.

"Mucking about in the dark as you are, unaware of the danger hidden within it. But it is the wisdom of my Sister that you will be spared, that you still serve some purpose for the Plan, so… I will ask you this once and only once."

Like a showman, Sajuuk twisted his body and arms, two of them flexing outwards in a flourish.

"Would you kindly… LEAVE."

"… oh, I'm sorry… were you expecting something else?" Sajuuk asked, his head tilting while somehow emoting a grin, despite lacking a face able to do that.

"My sister demanded me to be… polite, to you all, and I have, even though you have come to attack her."

The last part was echoed in a growl, the floating shield units shifting until they pointed their weapon arms at the heroes, causing the trio to better brace themselves for an attack.

"After all, what is to come will render everything you have done and worked towards as useless, and set you against one another like wild dogs."

"… Though that won't be much of a change for you," Sajuuk mused. "Given how you snap out at those that don't fit within your paradigm, and work to shift the world into what you see as the 'best' future for your goals, heedless of those you crush underfoot."

"We are not some secret…" Legend began, anger hot in his voice, before pausing to consider his words.

"… our actions and choices have always been for the betterment and protection of others! There had been some times that we have had to step in and deal with things in an unconventional manner yes, but those times were extreme, times that there were no good options! We are heroes! Not… warlords, like you seem to think we are!"

Alexandra could understand Legend's frustration, they were lacking key intel on what was happening and were on the back foot. Were it not for the fact they hadn't been attacked already, Alexandria would have slammed into this, 'Sajuuk,' in an attempt to see what it knew.

As it was, they were getting more from not doing anything than doing something, and as long as Legend didn't get any more of his buttons pushed and Eidolon didn't lash out in the same way.

He was already upset enough that this plan didn't have anything to do with him other than assisting the others, finding out that there was even more to the Endbringers he would struggle to fight against would likely drive him to the edge.

"You? You claim to be heroes?" asked Sajuuk. "You believe that your masks make you powerful, important, and safe, hidden behind them as you are?"

"No," continued Sajuuk. "Not here, not in the ways that matter. Behind those masks, you are nothing but children playing a game, just like we were, once."

"And children always grow up, whether they like it or not."

"And you are, children," Sajuuk mocked. "Messing with things you don't understand, playing around and declaring yourself heroes and protectors, despite the world burning down around you."

"It is for this reason I give you this chance, a single chance, to leave and neve-"

Sajuuk paused, then spun impossibly fast, his gaze casting out into the fleet.

"What is that?"

On Alexandria's HUD, the countdown reached zero.

Deep within the hold of the Gungnir, a system finished clicking on. A power supply, which had been connected only when the fleet had gathered outside the eyewall, finished changing.

Several locks disengaged, clunking as they were freed from their places, and the side hatch opened, a simple electric motor pulled from a motorized gate chugging away.

The way was cleared, and power continued to flow through the large device that was mounted onto the very frame of the ship.

And then the D-Driver Model 6 fired.

It wasn't quite a beam that was fired as much it was a ray of blue light, not too dissimilar to a flashlight clicking on in the dark.

Despite the lackluster appearance, it tore through Tāwhirimātea, burning a hole straight through her body in a matter of seconds, before blasting out the other side, leaving behind a simmering gaping wound while short-lived steam billowed out from around the ray.

The Endbringer screamed, a horrific sound, one that seemed to r the very skies itself as it echoed throughout the storm in a near electric wail of radio static turned to eleven.

Tāwhirimātea juked, all but throwing herself to the side to try and get away from the ray of light, seemingly willing to endure the pain of the shot cutting across her form in an attempt to get away.

But the weapon followed her, controlled by gimbles to keep the ray on target, further assisted by the Gungnir firing its engines up to keep the Endbringer in line of sight, prevent it from escaping.

The D-Driver raked across Tāwhirimātea, internal motors moving to shift its fire from left to right to further spread the damage out.

Sajuuk was driven to his knees by the force of his screaming, his forces falling into disarray as they reacted to the damage being done to Tāwhirimātea.

Shield units fluttered and collapsed. Several of the smaller units, the ones not carrying shields, tumbled away, seemingly unconscious as they fell and bounced away via Tāwhirimāteas rolling.

For the heroes it was a different story, as each of them could fly, it was easy to keep up with Tāwhirimātea as she tried to dive and turn through the air, the ray always seeming to keep her in its sights as she-

The ray faded away, the capacitors having spent their charge up for that attack, and the sky grew quiet.

Sajuuk shuttered and gasped, his limbs splayed out as he righted to right himself, wavering and disoriented.

"…You, you DARE!?" shouted Sajuuk, his voice crackling with an electronic tone that hadn't been there before.

He rose up on shaky legs, one arm limp and spasming, face and body language full of hate.

"Such arrogance! Even our FOE knows better to attack us in such a manner! This disgrace will not go unpun-"

From within the Gungnir, the capacitors finished charging back up, and the D-Driver fired once more.

And one more the sky was filled with screaming.

Through the efforts of the Clairvoyant, the Number Man, and Contessa, many capes with great powers and skills had been found, but it was one Tinker that had set his entire plan into motion.

String Theory, a villain who used her tech to threaten people and locations, able to strike near anywhere in the world, delivering untold power with her weapons.

And in several simulations they had run with Contessa and the Number Man, it was those same weapons that would drive back Endbringers.

Alexandria hated that they had been forced to work with her, to give her resources and money and a lab, just so she could build them a weapon.

A weapon that showed String Theory that just because she could only use her weapons once, didn't mean they only could be fired once.

Alexandria knew that they would have to lean on the resources of Cauldron to track her down later, utilizing the Clairvoyant and the Doormaker to get her before she destroyed a portion of a continent with her tech.

But for now? The Tinker's large weapon was instrumental in destroying Tāwhirimātea, and served as proof of concept that Endbringers could be destroyed.

From the fleet came waves of fire, as capes used both their powers and the Tinker weaponry at their disposal to rain hell upon Tāwhirimātea.

The sky was filled with a rainbow of colors and effects from the many capes, some flying capes dropping bombs or doing runs upon the Endbringer.

And Tāwhirimātea… fired… back.

From lifted sections of her surface, areas where the rocky crags emerged, purple, blue, and gold energy coalesced, shifting into bolts and beams that raked back at the fleet, slamming into shields and hulls alike.

But they had planned for this, and with a combination of powers and Tinker-Tech, backed up by Argonaut's power providing that little bit more of protection, only a handful of ships received damage.

Those that did fell back, sliding behind other ships of the fleet to lessen the damage.

Yet it wasn't solely Tāwhirimātea that had to watch out for, as the storm seemed to come alive and reached out to crash into the fleet.

Winds shoved against the flying craft, forcing them to maneuver wildly to avoid hitting one another. Lightning cracked and flashed, manifesting in both bolts and balls, reaching out from both Tāwhirimātea and the very skies themselves to hammer away at the fleet.

But this was something that the assault team had accounted for as well; like Behemoth and Leviathan, it was clear that Tāwhirimātea had mastery over the skies, as such, countermeasures had been made.

Capacitors and shields, lines of copper to create faraday cages, Argonauts own power dampening effect born from his projections. All of this combined with the fleet movements, carefully plotted as best as they could to give the best angles for their firepower, while maintaining distance between the other ships and Tāwhirimātea herself.

It created a shifting battle line, where Tāwhirimātea tried throwing her mass to one side of the eye to avoid the fleet, while said fleet did their best to not die and keep up the pressure on the Endbringer.

And throughout all of this, Sajuuk screamed alongside his forces and Tāwhirimātea, while the trio of heroes watched impassively.

There would be no compassion from them.

"… you claim to know things about us," Alexandria states. "Things that I really wish I could interrogate you in how you know about them. But that isn't in the cards, there is too much at stake for us to risk taking you alive just for that."

"Because if you know about Cauldron, about Eden, then you know about our goals."

"You will be a stepping stone Sajuuk," declared Alexandria. "You and Tāwhirimātea both. There have been too many sacrifices from too many people, for it's not just this world that is in danger."

"But you know that already, don't you?"

Sajuuk roared and rose, as if to charge at Alexandria and the other pair, only to fall to the ground once more as the D-Driver fired once again.

"There still will be many sacrifices to come," Alexandria continued. "But that is something we've come to accept."

Behind her, Legend steeled himself at Alexandria's words, knowing that there were no good options in their self-appointed task. Because he knew that she was right, there was too much at stake, and he was no stranger to making those choices.

Eidolon, however, remained impassive, seemingly unmoved by Sajuuk now that the attack had crippled him and his forces. His instead eyes were on the fleet and the attack itself, having long ago condemned himself to walk his path, of what the event they were working towards, and his legacy that would form because of it.

"So yes, we are heroes," Alexandria mocked. "We are the ones that stand before people like you, but we are hardly children."

"We each have faced hardship, just like everyone on this world we are trying to protect, like all the worlds we are trying to protect. And we will not only try our hardest to save them, but do what must be done to sav-"

Sajuuk, with grunts and a roar of effort, lifted an arm into the sky as Alexandria spoke, seemingly fighting against an immense pain, his fingers having curled into claws.

And then with a roar, swiped them down in the direction of the Gungnir.

The skies parted, something cracking through the air in a rush and boom of wind and fire, moving so fast that the rains were shoved away, radiating out to clear the skies of water.

The Gungnir was snapped in half by the impact, its stern looking to impact its bow for the briefest of moments-

Before the Tinker-made weapon within consumed it in a blaze of green fire that cracked through the air.

A ray of sunlight outlined the explosion, brought forth by whatever had torn though the ship.

That light gave clarity to the world, revealing all of the fleet, now having halted their fire, and all of Tāwhirimātea, as well all that stood upon her surface in the brightness of the day.

Sajuuk shuddered, his frame twisting and rolling.

And then stood.

Gone was the body language of a showman, of something relatable to the human senses. Instead, something else stood before the trio of heroes.

"… I was willing to let you go," Sajuuk said into the stillness of the storm. "To let you retreat, unharmed, not for your sakes, but for my people's."

"But now you've stepped into a war," growled Sajuuk as the winds picked up, the clouds in the background all starting to flow in one direction.

"One that you have no hope of winning, despite our limited numbers. We might be used to fighting in the shadows against our foe, but that doesn't mean we won't step into the light."

From above, a boom of displaced air sounded, as the sky was split once again.

Large shapes, the size of houses, crashed down with the rain into Tāwhirimātea, impacting straight into her hull with their pointed tips, their surface red and burning from their speed, while steam poured from their bodies.

Like the smaller floaters, these newcomers shared the orange, white, and black color scheme. However, they lacked arms, despite the almost human-like shape.

There were two long sections that extended over the top of the main body in a loop, with smaller positions that criss-crossed over the frame underneath them. A glow flared from within the main bodies, as their surfaces cooled and healed over.

But not entirely, for as Tāwhirimāteas surface flexed near the impact sites, as one, two… five… eight… eleven of the new arrivals came down, rocking the Endbringer with impacts.

And through the rain and steam, Alexandria noted they were damaged.

Positions of their surface were marred with melted areas, like distorted clay, with several missing sections of their bodies, one not even having the loops on the top of it.

The surface of Tāwhirimātea rippled and flowed, positions of her surface lifting up like tendrils to grasp at the new arrivals, who flexed in return as they became interlinked with the Endbringer.

With a rolling wave, Tāwhirimāteas surface changed. Areas where the shields were shifted and rose up, displacing buckets of fallen rainwater, becoming slopes that entered into her depths.

Sections around the newcomer's altered, growing pillars made of harsh lines from which lightning flowed across, which not only reached into the spinning sky, casting everything in flashes of light, but also into the bodies of the things that had impacted into her surface.

With strange groans, the newcomer's loops disconnected from their fronts, and reached out and then toward their centers, grasping at the seam running down their middle.

Then they pulled open their chests to reveal glowing orbs, out from which numerous numbers of the smaller units appeared in flashes of blue light.

Several new designs landed and twisted in place, some looking like floating faces with large eyes, others have a multitude of arms, some looking like flying stick-dog analogs, all floating above the surface of Tāwhirimātea for mere moments, before shooting away in every direction.

Tāwhirimāteas tendrils reached out to help these spawners, opening them open even further, two going as far as being overrun by the tendrils, melting into Tāwhirimāteas surface until it resembled a ball of light, held in place by twisting, knotted branches.

The raised shield sections shifted and spilt in the middle, revealing that they were not barriers, but closed doorways, and even more of the growing army flowed from out within the Endbringer.

Within mere minutes, Tāwhirimātea was overrun by these many types of flyers and floaters, their humming and electric buzzing strong enough to be heard even over the now roaring winds.

Like an angry wasps' nest, they flew, floated, and crawled over the damaged Endbringers surface, distorting her outline, and adding more noise to the now hammering of the rain, and the roar of the twirling winds.

"… forget heaven… let us revel with rebels."

It was instantaneous.

One second, Sajuuk was dozens of feet away.

The next, he had glowed a crackling blue and was standing right in front of Legend, two of his arms embedded into the man, his claws sticking out of Legend's back.

Just before he split him open.

Eidolon turned, but he lacked the reaction time to counter whatever Sajuuk did with his other two arms, the wave of purple-blue crackling light rushing forth, engulfing Eidolon and flinging him into the sky with cascading waves of pulsing blue-purple.

Alexandria bolted, her reaction times allowing her to see Legend shift partly into his Breaker state, blue-white light lining the wounds as he stumbled/flew backwards, as she rushed headlong into Sajuuk.

It was this same reaction speed that allowed her to spot the blood and meat on Sajuuk's claws.

"But I've never been one to meddle with Devils!"

Another flash and crackle of light, and Sajuuk was gone, having raced further down Tāwhirimātea's spine, into the rushing mass of floaters and towering spawners.

They opened fire, beams of golden light and blasts and bolts of firepower racing through the rapidly chilling air from their arms, while others hovered forward, extending their arms outward as if to strike at her.

Alexandria plowed through them, the blasts destroying her clothes as easy as fire to paper, but her skin was unharmed.

Just as Sajuuk did with Legend, she tore through his forces, ripping limbs with ease and cracking open glowing chests as she blew through the masses.

The sounds and bursts of electric pain echoed over the sounds of weapon fire as Alexandria raced after Sajuuk. She knew that her companions would recover, that they would rejoin her in the figh-

Screaming over her radio nearly deafened her, calls of help and requests for orders overlapped one another as the fleet was attacked. Several ships were overrun near instantly

Shots poured from most of the fleet in every direction, the defenders struggling to both help besieged ships and hold back assaults on their own vessels.

Large flyers suddenly descend from the clouds, crashing into ships, using their sheer mass to crush people under them.

Large wings, larger than busses, propelled them unflappingly through the air, a pair of smaller arms the size of cars extended down from a lower torso, with mechanical bits attached to its flesh-like skin. An armless body extended from the main torso, a large horned head twisting around as it searched for prey.

The wings turned into arms as they clambered over the decks, smaller limbs grasping at the crew, crushing or flinging them off the ships, while the ones that still flew stopped and hovered, blasting at ships by pointing their wings at them, beams of energy launching forth to rake across the vessels.

The smaller of the forces flew upwards in bursts of energy, descending upon ships en masse, like locusts upon a field. They were small enough to travel through the ships' many doors and hatches, and Alexandria could see flashes of weapons fire echoing in windows and firing ports, no doubt slaughtering those inside.

Eidolon and Legend were fighting in the sky, Eidolon using whatever his orbs did to blast apart clusters of Sajuuk's forces, while Legend was filling the skies with lasers that twisted and stuck at dozens at once.

But despite that, they were being overrun.

Each blast seemed less effective, and for every foe that Legend stuck, the very next seemed to push closer, unaffected by his power.

Eidolon was having better luck, as whatever the powers he was using at the time seemed too much for the advancing forces, most of them getting blown apart as soon as they were hit.

"… Everyone! Fall back!" Alexandria commanded over her radio, breath coming out in stream from the dropping temps. "Disengage! Get back through the Eye Wall!"

A rush of air and water, then a voice was in her ear.

"… Were it so easy."

She swung, and missed Sajuuk as he rushed away, his voice calling out to her in a Doppler effect.

"You are the one that wanted this Rebecca! This is your mistake, and you will pay forit!"

A shockwave rattled the air, Eidolon having shifted powers into some more area of effect, by all that did was cause the attackers to abandon him as a target.

"Alexandria! I can't get a Door open!"

Alexandria startled midflight, smacking back a melee orientated fighter as it closed in on her.

"Door! … Door!"

Nothing happened at her words, and her mind whirred. Were they being blocked? Was the Doormaker not opening portals? Several thoughts ran through her head in her pause, before she launched her way into the air, calling out on the radio.

"Eidolon, Legend! Get the fleet out of here!"

" -ere yo- -torm is-"

"Legend!? Legend!"

"-ain!"

"Legend?"

Alexandria's helmet crumbled under her touch, the metal falling apart when she pressed her fingers into it.

Grasping onto her crumbling helmet as it fell apart, Alexandria noted the way the metal bubbled and boiled and melted away under the rain, the remnants of her suit doing the same.

Lightning booms and the distant cracks of powers in use echoed over the raging winds, the fleet now caught up in the swirling storm.

Many ships were dragged within the winds, their thrusters long ago having failed, all but tumbling in the sky as they were dragged along.

Alexandria could still see a number of the larger ships trying to remain upright however, a few being protected by shields and arrays of lasers…

The others were either being overrun, or were being swept away in the raging storm.

For several seconds, Alexandria watched the world fall apart around her, the broken fleet struggling to remain airborne…

Before she spun around and bolted back towards Tāwhirimātea.

Back towards Sajuuk.

Several floaters got in her way, one managing to deflect her path by spinning rapidly enough that it managed to knock her aside for a moment, but most she simply plowed through.

Limbs and parts were left in her wake as she flew, uncaring of what stood in her way.

She hit Sajuuk like a freight train, lifting him off the ground before pressing him into Tāwhirimāteas surface-

And dragged him along it for dozens of feet.

Upon stopping, Alexandria demanded, "Call them off! Call them off or I'll rip you apart and piss on your remains!"

Sajuuk shuddered underneath her, one arm missing while another was twisted in a way that looked painful.

"Now do you see the powers you face? And we lack our full streng-"

Alexandria slammed Sajuuk into the surface of Tāwhirimātea, even as several of his forces closed in on her, firing their weapons to no effect.

"CALL THEM OFF!"

Sajuuk just groaned, then huffed.

"… I take no pleasure in this!" he declares. "For it will take us years to replenish the numbers we lose here, crippled from exposure as we are! Years we do not have! And our foe knows this! And they will be emboldened! Striking against our scouts and miners! Against those we have marked as our own! Our only hope will be within the Pseudobroberyl! And I refuse to let my people become slaves to false g-"

Alexandria slammed Sajuuk into Tāwhirimātea's surface, rattling his frame.

"I don't give a shit about your-"

Over the sounds of the winds, a humming built up, and a glow flared up from Tāwhirimātea. A roaring purple fire had engulfed one the orbs, seemingly struggling to free itself.

It crackled and rippled, before compressing in and launching itself into the sky. The orb flew through the raging storm, altering its path to cause several of the shield ships to pass through it.

The ships vanished for moments, hidden within the glowing cloud, before emerging out the other side, the orb continuing on, altering its course to pass over several other ships.

Suddenly the green glow of the fleet faded, the hulls of the ships beginning to break apart in floating motes, vanishing into the dark sky.

Alexandria didn't realize it was her screaming until after Sajuuk slipped through her weakened grasp.

Once more she plowed into him, cracking his chest open with her bare hands to reach for what she guessed was his hear-

And was suddenly launched dozens of feet into the air.

For a moment, she was confused, wondering what had just happened…

Then she was slammed into the surface of Tāwhirimātea, and pinned in place by a crackling blue field that pulsed over and over to keep her down.

"You think that because of what I am that I can not Trigger?! That I can not gain unholy power like yourself?!"

"No!" Sajuuk declared, forcing one of his arms back into place, as another cackled with power as it pointed at her. "I was cursed! Just like you are! Leveraged into being there for my people! Yet unable to stand beside them as I once did! To weather winds and rains and fire! I gained power! But I lost something in exchange for it!"

All around them the storm raged, wiping away any traces of the fleet with howling winds and acid rains.

Yet Alexandria was untouched by it all, only the creeping cold really affecting her, trying to steal her breath from her lungs with the help of the wind.

"While the others, my family, hid, safe inside their chrysalises, I stood alone, the ever watching sentinel, to wake them from their slumber whence the time was right."

Long white tendrils with glowing blue highlights grasped around Alexandria, pinning her in place.

She tried to free herself when the blue field faded, but only managed to struggle enough to make something shatter nearby and cause a groan of electric pain, the grip then tightening until it was something resembling painful, even to her.

"And I burned under the blinding unlight," Sajuuk continued, stepping fearlessly up to her. "As the corrupting unmists and waves of intangible waters washed over my shell. These scars will never heal, both those on my surface, as well as the ones within my mind."

"But yet I, survived! Endured!"

Lightning flashed, revealing the scores of units standing ready, some marred by damage, others unblemished, glowing in the dark.

And Sajuuk, his arms repaired, if different in shades, his face right in Alexandria's, hate in his non-existent eyes.

"So who are YOU? Alexandria? That thinks they, can, harm, ME?!"

Black water flowed over and around Sajuuk, rippling out from under his feet.

It rushed over his body like snakes, shifting around like it was all but ignoring gravity, then it launched at her face, covering her mouth, crawling into her nose and throa-

Then it retreated, flowing backwards to cover Sajuuk like a second skin, leaving Alexandria coughing and struggling to regain her breath.

"… it seems that this place will not be your grave Rebecca, my Sister says I am to let you live, despite how easy it would be to drown you in the rain."

Another figure was behind Sajuuk, different, larger, with a frame that wrapped around them, crab-like arms extending down to the floor.

Then she was moving, Sajuuk taking her somewhere in stops and bursts of his power, the forces around them dispersing into the area to vanish into the storm.

"Know this Rebecca, we are not like the ones that you have erroneously named, we are not masters of blade and gun, trained and conscripted by the undivine. We are electors of our own fates, masters of our own destinies. As such I refuse to let you bastardize us with your silly names!"

Sajuuk shook his head and scoffed. "Charger and Paladin, Specter and Phantasm, Skewer and Screamer… it is if you picked the simplest names you could for them, why? To insult them? They are beyond such things."

They stopped nearby one of the consumed orbs, black liquid flowing around it in a mesmerizing pattern.

Pillars flowed out from Tāwhirimātea's surface from the black, curing inward to form an array of dozens of arches, stretching out into a line. They began to crackle with lightning brought down by the storm, sparking between each pillar.

Alexandria was carried to the start of the line where the black fluid rippled over her, and she was released.

But yet somehow still held in place, like a field had engulfed her, tugging at her body via the liquid that rolled over her. No matter how much she tried to rip it away from her, it simply flowed back, keeping her in roughly in place.

"… but unlike them, I will stand up and speak, telling you who WE are."

Then it was just her and Sajuuk, her captor/transport turning away and flying into the storm.

"You will know as the Sentients!" declared Sajuuk, spreading his arms wide while the lightning flashed all around, the winds carrying rain sideways, the clouds rolling and shifting.

"Builders and destroyers! Survivors and crafters! We breathed life into worlds, and then snuffed out others! And by our many hands, we crushed an empire!"

There was a hum, a hum that built up and charged, and the hair on the back of Alexandria's neck stood up.

Sajuuk glanced at the orb, the glow now brighter and having lightning cascade from it to chain along the pillars, before huffing and turning away from her.

"Now farewell Rebecca, and know that I will not show mercy to you a second time."

The humming grew in strength, the lightning increased along the pillars in pulses until it started to strobe-

A flash, a rush of air.

Then nothing.

---

A/N:

In Their Undue glory

You'll fester with a Fearsome Infection

Even hearts so Pure, Distorted

By the Violence behind Good Intentions

The Gods and Devils have all heard this story

Of the Ones who will cross the Dimensions

Through Heavens and Hells, and the worlds of Purgatory

You'll Burn with your Unholy Ascension

Now that the gates of Hell are due to be unlocked

Your magazines shall be fully loaded, guns cocked

He told Them They'd be Kings when Hell froze over

So did anybody notice that the Temp just dropped?

They are your Nightmares, They are Infernal

They'll strike fear in you, 'cuz fear is Universal

They will be Amalgamations of your Hell's nine circles

They are your Doom, AND THEY ARE ETNERAL!

A/N 2.0: Sajuuks theme is Massive Hybrid Trailer Music - ''Vanguard'' by Position Music, because I can't post links here.