Skye felt her heart skip a beat in excitement as more and more figures appeared and more and more hope began to fill her. She watched as they gathered together and began to walk towards the large building. She looked to Omi, whose jaw was still on the floor from what happened to the dragon Crystalite. He growled.
"Where is it?" he asked, predicting the answer in his voice.
"Melted," one Crystalite said, "They teleported it into a dying gas giant and it died in the ensuing explosion."
Omi growled before screaming, "This is BULLSHIT!"
Skye laughed, "What's wrong? Find it stupid that you're gonna lose?"
"This shouldn't be happening," he said, "I should be winning!"
"Um, sir?" a Crystalite said.
"Not now," he said, seemingly trying to find how he was losing, "This is impossible! The odds were in my favor! I was destined to win! I WAS DE-"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
The sudden sound of knocking on glass caught their attention as Omi turned around and his jaw dropped again to the sight of Crystal Flame floating in front of the glass nonchalantly, arms crossed and his suit covered in dust. Omi stared back at him for a moment, the tension palpable, before sighing.
"You stupid little shi-"
He was cut off once again as Crystal burst through the window and the two flew through the building and out the other side, leaving a ginormous hole on the other side. Skye took one look before returning her attention to the rest of the Crystalites in the room.
"Well, guys," she said, "It's been fun, actually it hasn't, but I'm gonna check outta this place. So… bye!"
She burst into a sprint and ran out of the room and jumped down the Crystalization chambers and landed on a Crystalite soldier. It fell and stumbled around before falling down the deep chamber pits, seemingly to its death. A Crystalite jumped at her and she tried to dodge but didn't have to as a machete blade lodged itself in the thing's head. It fell to the ground and the machete was pulled out by a familiar figure.
"Delirious!" Skye said, almost screaming his name like he was a ghost. Delirious sighed in relief.
"Glad to know you're alright," he said. Skye nodded. Then, another blue figure stumbled into view.
"Krystal!" she said, a lot less excitement and more worry as she looked nearly dead. She tried to stand but fell to her knees.
"The energy should be coming back soon," Delirious said. Then another idea came to him. He pressed a few buttons on his watch and pulled out a can of soda. He handed it to her.
"Take a sip of it," he recommended. Without much of an option, she took the pop and took a sip. Her eyes suddenly widened with a new surge of energy. Delirious scoffed.
"Well, OBIS was right," he said, "Low blood sugar. Just needed something to reinvigorate you."
"Well, that was refreshing," Krystal said. Skye sighed in relief, only for something to fly right by her head and for her to turn and see a group of Crystalites rushing the room.
Delirious pressed on his coms, "Um, we need some help here guys!"
"Yeah, maybe a little backup here would be nice!" Evan said in the coms as well as he held out his hand and a yellow energy surrounded them. Then, a flurry of machine-gun bullets shot against his hand but had no effect as they succumbed to gravity. After a moment, the clicking of a gun was heard and he kicked the gun out of the Crystalites hands. Then, with everything he could muster, he slammed his fist into the thing's face, breaking off some of the crystal metal and sending the thing sliding against the ground. He then looked to Sean and Brian, who were at the door breathing heavy as Brian swiped the card. The doors to the facility opened and a wave of air and noise. Noises of uncertainty and fear from people who didn't know a thing.
Inside was a white tiled prison with multiple cells on two floors. They couldn't look in to them, nor did they want to. They were only there for the prisoners, which all of them were in the canteen area. All of them wore their original clothes from when they were taken, from normal casual clothing to business suits and ties. Some were teenagers or young adults while others were middle-aged men and women. They all stood in fear, asking questions to the identity of who these people were. Sean stepped up and shouted.
"Everyone here!" he said, catching their attention, "We are here to get you all home safe and sound."
Those words alone eased most of the people and watched as Sean continued.
"The fine gentlemen with me will assist everyone in getting home," Sean said, "If you could kindly follow us and we will get you out in no time."
"Alright, everyone," Brian said, "Follow the owl mask over there and I'll stay behind to make sure we aren't flanked."
Evan led the people out of the hangar in groups of three and Sean helped to get them out of the strange prison. Things went rough at first, with some of the rich pushing people out of the way so they could be the first out. This was quenched when Sean screamed at them.
"You'll all get out in a fuckin' minute!" he said, trying his hardest not to slap one of the nearest suits into submission. Brian sighed before a familiar voice spoke.
"B-Brian?"
Brian felt his heart flutter at his name as he turned around to see a lady, just a little shorter than him. She wore jeans and a black shirt. Her hair was to about her shoulders as she approached Brian slowly.
"Lanai?" Brian asked, his voice nearly shaking just at the sight. A moment later, the two charged each other and held each other in an embrace, both crying tears of joy as the other tried their hardest not to let go. He sighed in relief before she ended it quickly.
"You guys need to hurry!" she said, "Just before this, they took a bunch of people."
Sean stepped forward, "Who did they take?"
"They took four," she said, "One teenager, a mom, a boy, and another girl."
"What did they look like?" Brian asked as the three waited for their turn to go. Another person spoke up, this time a young boy.
"One of them looked like Marzia from PewDiePie's videos."
The words were heard around the group as Brian was about to speak into the coms and left them open. Everyone heard the boy's words. It was deduced that the boy who said it was actually Bill's younger brother, which would be good news for him. The teenage boy taken was most likely Lucas, Kegan's younger brother. The wife and child were quickly thought to be Ian's as more and more pieces fell in place. The woman was simple enough: it was Marzia. Felix spoke first.
"Where did they take her?" he questioned. Sean thought for a moment.
"Maybe they went to the main tower?" he proposed. Delirious added on.
"I'm in the tower at the moment," he said, "Nothing but soldiers and messes here. Skye can attune to that."
Then, Mat came on, "We have the prisoners at the edge of the island, ready to get them outta here. Just be warned, some have decided to stay behind and fight."
"Understood," Sean said.
"Wait," he said before screaming into the coms, "GUYS, THEY'RE TAKING PEOPLE OFF THE ISLAND! THEY'RE HEADING EAST!"
"Ex, can you take 'em?" Felix asked sternly.
"I can try," Ex replied back, "Noah, what about you?"
"I'm beating the shit outta Omi right now," he said, "Care to join or no?"
"No, no," Ex said, "Sounds like a lot of fun, but I just got something to do. You do you."
"I'm coming with you, Kegan," Dave said, "You're going to need all the help you can get."
"Understood," Ex said, "I'm heading east now."
The mountains cracked under the sheer force that Omi was being thrown at. He felt all the rubble push beside him as he hit the ground and skidded through the ground. They were now in a strange world, one that didn't look anything like the other world they were in. They were no longer three-dimensional, now only able to see his two-dimensional self. He growled as a voice asked him.
"Has enough yet?" Omi looked up to see Crystal hovering above him, his invisible head hiding his emotions.
"What's the point?" Omi asked, "These people have done nothing but take and take and take! And yet you still help them. Why?"
"It's the right thing to do," Crystal replied simply. Omi laughed.
"To you it is," he said, "But to others, it isn't."
"Really? Like who?"
"Like him." Omi smiled as he watched a Crystalite swing a huge weapon at Crystal that sent him flying into a building, causing it to begin to cave in. Omi looked at the Crystalite, which was the one with the mohawk-like head. He smiled and wiped the dust off his suit.
"The guy won't be a problem anymore?" Omi asked the Crystalite. The mohawk Crystalite turned to watch the building beginning to collapse and then back to his leader.
"He shouldn't be a problem anymore, sir," he said with confidence. Omi smiled and stood.
"Well then, Hawk," he said, naming the Crystalite, "How about we get back and finish this mess?"
Hawk looked to Omi with awe and a sudden responsibility. It was rare for Omi to give codenames, let alone actual names to Crystalites. In Omi's eyes, names were only for the important things in life. Therefore, he found this Crystalite soldier to be important. Very important.
"I will not let you down, sir!" he said, a sudden excitement entering his voice. The King smiled and opened a green portal back to his command center.
"Then let's teach these punks a lesson."
Across the world, a pair of eyes opened at the sound of concrete breaking and falling, along with the screaming of innocent people. The eyes looked around for a moment before shooting out of his bed and grabbing his clothes before shooting off into the direction of the noise.
Crystal felt his hands pushing and pushing as much as he could as the large concrete seemingly gained more and more weight. It was almost too much like his muscles were burning in acid. But for some reason, it seemed like he could still hold it for quite a while. It was strange. Then, a voice came.
"Hey! Do you need some help there?"
Crystal recognized the voice before he saw the figure. He looked and saw another floating figure, but this time they had some kind of energy flowing around him. He wore an orange gi of some kind and had blue boots and what looked like workout bands on his wrists. His gi had a circle with a character that he didn't know what it meant. Moments after asking the question, he quickly flew under and assisted Crystal by lifting the concrete away from the ground below and setting it down before sighing. The man extended a hand.
"I'm Goku," he said. Crystal stared for a moment before shaking it.
"Call me Crystal," he replied. Then, a group of Crystalites appeared through a sudden flash. Goku stood in a ready position.
"Sounds like you guys may need some help dealing with those guys," Goku said. Crystal nodded.
"Maybe a little," Crystal admitted. Goku chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
"You seem like you're a Saiyan," he said, "But you don't have the energy. Then, what are you?"
Crystal thought for a few seconds before replying, "Long story. Don't have all day. Sorry."
Goku nodded, "Oh, I understand."
The two were silent as Crystal walked to where the green portal was and a hand was suddenly placed on Crystal's shoulder. He turned back to see Goku confidently smiling.
"Need a helping hand?"
The world had slowed to a near crawl as guns began to fire and screams for charges softly echoed around. Joe looked around and saw as the fight was quickly turning bad for them. He sighed, stretched his fingers and legs, and shot off towards the Crystalite army. He first came across a trio of defending Crystalites, and their mid-air bullets flying towards the group. He quickly grabbed one of the bullets, the heat surprising him causing him to let that knowledge in hand, he used his index finger and thumb and spun the three bullets back towards the Crystalites. He then ran off.
His next target was a huge cannon-like weapon that they were pointing towards the group. He took his boots, which Ex had said was made of iron, and began putting dent after dent into the machine. He knew that his speed had increased his strength near tenfold, maybe even more, but he knew that it was strong enough to dent metal. For a moment, he wanted to see how it would affect the weapon but then saw that a few Crystalite flyers were coming.
He stood at the end of the cannon then ran to the front and used it as a ramp. Against physics, he felt his feet leave the ground and he flew towards the Crystalites. Instinctively, he began flailing his arms to make sure he would make it, but mostly because he was so deathly afraid. His hands grabbed onto one of the few Crystalites that would've been unaffected by the group and began pummeling it. To Joe, it felt like he was punching a solid wall, but there was no pain. Just his hand stopped. He continued for a moment before going to four others and doing the same thing. Finally, he hesitantly dropped off the Crystalites and fell down to the ground, and approached the group. He smiled as he saw the bullets beginning to speed up again.
"Time is returning to normal."
As the last word left his mouth, chaos ensued as Crystalites fell from the sky and things exploded behind him. The group continued the charge as he turned around and saw the damage he had created: Crystalites now turned into crushed messes and the large cannon was in a fireball mess. He gave a small scoff at his work before joining the crowd in the charge.
Delirious had almost melted into the wall as another group of Crystalites passed. He chuckled lightly before jumping onto the floor and motioning Krystal and Skye to follow, the two of which deactivated their invisibility watches and ran after the hockey-masked hero. Krystal glanced back as they ran down the hallways and then back to Delirious.
"Are you sure they're fooled?" she questioned. He shrugged.
"Are they screaming after us?" he asked back. They came to a corner when suddenly, a large Crystalite rounded it with a large weapon. Delirious' eyes widened as he saw the Crystalite approaching them with a-
"RPG!"
Without hesitation, he smacked the RPG away from them as the two behind him ducked in fear. It was too late, however, as the Crystalite pulled the trigger and the rocket flew out of the barrel and into an adjacent wall. The wall exploded and sent the Crystalite flying down the hall and Delirious into a wall. He sat there, shell shocked for a moment, before coming to his senses and stumbling over to Krystal and Skye to make sure they were alright.
"You guys alright?" he asked, his high-pitched voice now wheezing as each word left his throat. Krystal nodded and stood, revealing that she'd been protecting Skye from the blast. The three stood and saw the exit hole of the blast and sighed, knowing that the hole would've been the end of them if Delirious did nothing. They sighed for a moment before the sound of footsteps began approaching them. They all turned back and saw the army of Crystalites charging at them from the corner. Delirious looked at the two and grabbed them.
"Run. Go! I'll keep 'em distracted!" The two were taken aback by his words and seemingly hesitant about what he wanted them to do. They wanted to fight. But Delirious would most likely stop that decision immediately. Getting a head start was their best bet at making it out alive. The two kept their heads facing Delirious until they made it around the corner and bolted as Delirious stood and watched as the Crystalites approached. He grabbed his machete and held it at the ready, knowing his plan of attack well in advance of the fight. As the first Crystalite tried to hit him, he turned into a cloud of smoke before reappearing and slamming the blade into the unsuspecting Crystalites skull and turning to the rest.
There were about twenty or more, and he knew that it would be bad if took them one by one. Then, his eyes darted to the hole in the wall and back to the Crystalites, suddenly getting a good idea. An idea that could get him hurt, no worse, killed if he did it wrong. In the split second, before he was tackled, he flicked his wrist and a small ball appeared in his hand and he threw it at the ground near the wall adjacent to the hole.
He felt the force of the Crystalites landing on him and the device pushing into his back. For a moment, nothing happened, then the rapid beeping started. The Crystalites looked at him with a sudden look of fear before a rush of air rushed below Delirious and he felt his body leave the ground. And so did the others. They flew out of the hole and Delirious tried his best not to scream but failed miserably as he saw the ground approaching quickly. For a moment, he thought he was going to die as the Crystalites were mowed down by gunfire but no matter what happened, no craft could get him.
"Delirious!" Stephanie yelled into the coms, "Catch!"
He looked around before seeing a flying arrow rushing towards the building. He waited for a moment before the arrow struck the building below him and he reached for the arrow now stuck in the wall. He grabbed it and felt his body drop due to gravity. In a split second, he felt his shoulder almost dislocate from his body just from the force of falling and he let that pain out in a growl.
"Thanks for that," he said, trying to not let the pain fall into his words. Then, Crystal came hovering close by and extending a hand.
"You have fallen," he said. Delirious looked at him with an angered expression.
"No shit!" he almost screamed. He took his hand and he flew back up to the hole they were in and the two entered to clear out again.
"Where were you?" Delirious asked.
"Was a little preoccupied." Outside, loud thuds were heard as anti-aircraft guns blasted everywhere around them. Delirious sighed as they ran to the right.
"Well, at least we won't be alone for long."
"GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!"
Ex knew his voice was drowned out by the rushing wind as he flew towards the escaping Crystalites. There luckily wasn't many, only about ten at most. Each of them carried one person. He flew above to gain speed and then dove back down above one Crystalite. He used his rifle and shot it in the back of the neck. It jerked before he grabbed the person it was carrying: a tall woman with dark hair. She breathed heavily before Ex quickly placed a rift bomb in her hand. He did the same thing to most of the others. After a minute, only five remained, but he only had two rift bombs left. The other Crystalites dropped their prisoners in response and they flew away. Ex gritted his teeth.
"YOU FUCKING PUSSIES!" he yelled angrily before he dove down and fell for a moment with the group, urging them to quickly try and get into a tight group as he activated another rift bomb. He quickly turned and saw the Crystalites being hit with huge spouts of water and falling downwards where Dave was taking them down. He gave it to one of the falling ones before he looked into the boy's eyes, recognizing the face immediately.
"Lucas…" he said softly before he let go and watched as they teleported away to the base. He then looked down and smiled at Dave.
"Thanks, Dave!" Ex said.
"No problem," he said, "I may need some help here."
Ex dove down and saw Dave slicing the remaining Crystalites with his kana wa blades. Ex dove down and hit a Crystalite before it was sliced by Dave. He sighed as he hovered above the water and did a quick check.
"That's all of them," Ex said.
"Where's Celina?!" Markus asked hurriedly.
"Who the hell is Celina?" Ex asked.
"My fucking daughter!"
Ex sighed, "Shit! We've been everywhere on this island. Where could she be?"
"Only one other place," Markus said, "In Omi's sight twenty-four seven."
"Then it would most likely be his control center," he said, "Understood, on my way to the rest."
Chesh punched another Crystalite, his power giving him more than enough strength to take it down. It seemed like there were so many of them and the three of them were dominating them. Sans was constantly taking out more and more Crystalites while the Slayer was keeping a lot more at bay. Chesh stayed back and made sure that the Crystalites didn't reach the button. He was successful for the most part, keeping all of them away from the console. But he was running out of energy. Fast. Sooner or later, he was going to need to call for backup.
"How's it going there, fellas?" Sans asked.
"Getting a little breathless," Chesh said, "That's all."
Chesh turned and saw a sudden Crystalite jump at him. In a split second, however, a blade extended from the Slayer's wrist and impaled the Crystalites head before reaching him. Chesh was at first shocked but sighed in relief after seeing the Slayer. He looked around after taking a short break before returning to protecting the console again. It was another moment before a few more Crystalites came up and he grabbed it with his right hand, a sudden purple flame latching onto the thing's head. It gave a scream before a new surge of energy rushed through Bill's body and he watched the Crystalite's life seemingly dissipate from its eyes. After a moment, it fell to the ground lifeless and Chesh felt a new surge of strength and energy inside him take over.
"Who needs help?" he asked. He turned to see Sans being nearly overwhelmed by hundreds of Crystalites. He looked at his hands, seeing the flames beginning to form from what looked like an excess of energy. Thinking quickly, he placed his hands on the ground and watched as the energy from his hands shot forward at a high speed and stopped near a group of Crystalites. It looked like a trial of gasoline had just been lit on fire and Chesh just lit a match. After a moment, a sudden purple explosion occurred and spewed purple flames over the Crystalites. All of them began to burn under the heat and they fell to the ground one after the other. It looked like they were being melted by acid rather than burned alive.
Sans took a step back, "Seems like they're having a serious melt down."
Chesh couldn't help but chuckle at the pun as Sans held his famous pose as the Slayer shook his head.
"Alright. What no-" Chesh was cut off as the generator began to power up. The three turned and looked at the console, but to their surprise, there was no green robot. He looked to Sans and began panicking.
"Wha- how?!" he almost screamed.
"Probably has a remote switch on," Sans said as they ran to the console. Chesh looked around, trying to find a way to turn it off. He then looked back to the entrances and saw the Crystalites had stopped coming in large numbers. Chesh groaned as Sans summoned a Gaster Blaster and shot at the generator, having little effect as an invisible force field appeared around it. The Slayer then resorted to slamming his fists into the console, which again, had little effect on the problem. Chesh looked around before tapping on his coms as the ground around them shook.
"Um, is this supposed to happen?"
"Schnell! Raus raus!"
Minutes earlier, Medic's voices rang out between the group as more and more Crystalites were blasted away and the large building was close enough for a group of them to get in. That group was Ex, Fox, Joe, and Beth. They almost made it to the rappel rope where they could go up to the hole created by Delirious but were blocked by a huge group of Crystalites. They kept spraying bullets as more and more people tried to hit them. Grenades were thrown but shot out of the air, people shot at them, but missed or were not effective enough. Fox groaned as more bullets peppered their cover.
"We need a way to get these guys outta here!" Fox yelled. Ex nodded.
"Maybe there's a way," Ex shouted back, "MEDIC!"
The white-coated German ran over and knelt near the four.
"Yah?" he asked.
"How far is your uber charge?" Ex asked.
"Uber what?" Fox asked, confused. Medic, however, had a huge grin on his face.
"87% and rising fast," he said, connecting the beam to Ex. Ex nodded.
"Any side effects that may affect me?" he asked. Medic shrugged.
"Only one way to find out," he replied simply. Ex sighed, knowing some facts about it, including how most of the mercenaries from the TF2 game had much bigger hearts in order to keep them in the fight. He knew that his heart was only average, meaning he could possibly die from this. But now back to the main issue: how were they going to-
"DOCTOR!"
The deep voice and Russian accent made Ex jump at first, but then his lips curved into a smile as he turned to see a familiar face. The bullets on his chest, the tight boots on his feet, and Sasha: the one and only minigun. The heavy weapons guy was back in the fight. Medic stood and shot the healing beam at Heavy as the end of his medi-gun began cracking with electricity. He smiled.
"I am fully charged!" he shouted. Ex patted Medic on the shoulder.
"Can you clear a path?" he asked. Medic smiled.
"Am I not the Medic?" he asked back. Ex smiled and slapped him on the shoulder.
"GET BEHIND ME, DOCTOR!" Heavy screamed as Medic obliged and stood behind Heavy as he activated the Uber-Charge. Heavy began laughing as the familiar sound of his minigun revving up and the sound of more electricity cracking as a dim red light appeared. Heavy was now looking like some type of jello monster came to life, except energy was pulsating around him as he finished laughing.
"I AM BULLETPROOOOF!" He screamed the words at the top of his lungs as he began firing into the crowd of Crystalites, tearing them apart with no mercy. After a few seconds, Fox nodded, and the four vaulted over the cover and ran for the rope. It was broken, meaning there was only one way up. Ex looked at Fox, who shook his head.
"Make sure I don't vomit," he said.
"Oh, you won't. It'll be quick," Ex said as he grabbed him by the armpits and the two flew up after Beth. Before long, the two were in, Beth waiting for them and Joe seemingly defying gravity by running up the side of the building. Fox looked at him in disbelief for a moment.
"How did you-"
"I don't know. I just know every other speedster does it." He spoke quickly before pointing down the hall to the left. They went down the hall and kept running as they came to an opening to a huge area that seemed like an airplane lounge. They looked around for a moment before Joe and Beth ran down another hallway leading away, leaving Ex and Fox in the room seemingly alone. They looked around, seeing a few figures dead. They were Crystalites. All of them were. Someone was here and killed the guards stationed there. Ex grabbed his rifle and aimed it around the room, hoping that the fighters were on their side. Before long, a sudden noise came.
Boing! Boing! Boing!
The sound of audible bouncing could be heard. Fox grabbed his pistol and aimed it towards the sound. Before long, a sudden figure emerged. A figure in a blue overall and red undershirt with a distinctive red cap.
"Mario?" Fox asked, recognizing the figure. The figure came into the light with a sigh of relief.
"Mama mia! It is so good to see you, Fox!" he said, an edge of tiredness in his voice. Ex sighed and Mario looked at him.
"And you must be one of those-ah System Breakers, right?" he asked. Ex nodded, pushing the fact that he was talking to a childhood icon to the back of his mind.
"Y-yep, the name's Keg- Excavious," he said, extending a hand, "But Ex is fine right now."
"Mama mia," Mario said, shaking his hand, "You all did some serious damage out there and in here."
Ex nodded, "Yeah, we're seriously be- wait a second, you didn't do this?"
Mario shrugged, "I escaped before I was overwhelmed. That hockey mask guy, Deliri… whatever, not important. He was with the rest of the group when I and a few others ran away. Of course, we didn't know that he would've taken us to safety."
"So you fought your way here?" Ex asked. Mario nodded.
"Because we thought that there were others here," he said.
"Then if you didn't do this," he said, referring to the dead Crystalites, "Who did?"
"You should know the answer to that," a familiar female voice said. Ex turned to see Skye, standing with Krystal by one of the small trees. Ex looked to Skye, who was near breathless and then to Krystal who sighed before her eyes trailed to Fox. The two's expressions softened as Ex saw Fox's hands shake.
"K-Krystal?" he stuttered, making that the first time Ex heard him do that. Krystal seemed to burst with emotion as a tear ran down her cheek. Ex took a step forward, only to watch as a green hand clasped around Skye and Krystal's necks. Without hesitation, he raised his rifle and aimed in at the target: a much taller Crystalite with what looked like a mohawk on the top of his head. Ex gritted his teeth.
"Put them down," he growled. The Crystalite snickered.
"I'm sorry, but that isn't going to happen," it said, holding them up higher. Ex sighed in frustration.
"What's the point of this, huh?!" he screamed, "You taking and killing people for what? Balance? HA! That is complete bullshit."
"Language!" Mario yelled. Ex rolled his eyes.
"Why do you think this is right?" he asked before immediately answering his question, "Oh wait, you don't think, do you?"
The Crystalite sneered, "You are trying to do something. I can tell."
Ex sighed, "Just so you know, you talk too much."
As he said that, a sudden noise similar to the Mario power-up sound was heard, followed by the famous superstar melody. Ex grinned as Mario charged at the Crystalite and hit it shoulder first, sending the Crystalite flying. The Crystalite attempted to sidestep, causing Mario to hit the side and the Crystalite to fly towards a window. It dropped both Krystal and Skye to the ground as it broke and sent the Crystalite flying out of the window. Krystal slid and almost fell out of the window while Skye was thrown into one of the metal walls of the room, causing it to dent and her to slide to the floor. Ex immediately ran to get Skye while Fox ran and grabbed Krystal. Ex grabbed Skye's arm as she groaned in pain.
"You alright?" Ex asked, helping her up.
"Y-yeah," she groaned out, "You actually came."
"I made a promise to a friend," he said, "And I'd damn myself to hell if I broke that."
Skye chuckled, "Just make sure to make good promises. The ones that won't get you killed."
Ex looked over to Fox, who was holding Krystal in a tight embrace and softly talking to each other. They left the embrace but still held each other. Ex smiled until his eyes refocused on another target: the mohawk Crystalite hovering outside the window, aiming what looked like a rifle at the two. He was about to panic, only to scream.
"FOX, WATCH OUT!"
They looked to him and then to the Crystalite, causing Krystal to grab onto Fox tighter. In a split-second decision, Ex flicked his watch and threw a familiar-looking hilt at Fox, who quickly saw it and grabbed it, igniting the lightsaber and holding it in front of themselves. A bullet was fired and on impact, it disintegrated at the lightsaber. The Crystalite growled and charged at the two, only for Fox to swing the lightsaber and for it to but the things arm off. It screamed in pain as it stared at its now severed arm. Then, a familiar tune of the superstar melody was heard as Mario once again threw himself at the Crystalite, sending to the edge of the building. Ex began unloading his magazine into it, causing it to slowly loosen its grip.
Then, Fox spun around the lightsaber and threw it at the Crystalite, hitting it and splitting one shoulder from the body. The body swayed for a moment before it fell out of the building. It was quiet for a moment before Fox turned to Krystal, who suddenly pulled him into a kiss and the two held it there for a minute. Ex felt his face heat up and he turned away for a moment before sighing.
"Hey, I hate to break up this moment," he said, causing the two foxes to leave the kiss and turn to him, "But I don't think Omi is going to wait for your kiss to end."
Fox sighed, "You're right, but still…"
He returned his attention to Krystal and the two genuinely smiled at each other. Joe and Beth arrived just in time to see the kiss and sigh in relief.
Beth smiled, "Good to see you, Krystal."
"Same with you, Bethany," she said, "Or is it Squaishy?"
"Either or," she said. Joe's arm wrapped around her shoulder and he leaned on her with affection. She playfully pushed him off as the group suddenly felt the ground below them shake. Ex gritted his teeth.
"If it is that dragon, I swear to gosh," he said with anger, gripping his rifle before angrily reloading it by furiously removing the magazine, shoving a new one in, and then yanking back on the charging handle. Then, Chesh spoke into the coms.
"Um, is this supposed to happen?" he asked. Ex looked to Joe and Beth and they ran to the window to watch as the center of the island began to crack with electricity. That could only mean one thing: the reactor was getting charged.
"Shouldn't that not be happening?!" Chesh asked, fear plastered in his voice. Mat replied quickly.
"It's charging up remotely," Mat said, "So there's no stopping that. But if they don't hit the reactor button, then it will only be a supercharged bomb."
"You say that like it isn't dangerous," Ex said.
"That is our new objective, then," Felix said, "We get to that reactor and keep it from blowing everything up."
"Gaijin," Mark said, "How long can you- UGH… How long can you keep a rift portal open for?"
"Automatically?" he asked, "Four minutes at maximum. But, if I'm by it for the first minute and a half, I can get it to about nine or ten."
"You do that," Ex said, "We'll get to the reactor ASAP."
"Got it," Gaijin said, the group watching a figure run towards the edge of the island. He then turned to Fox and Krystal.
"You guys go with him and get back to the base," Ex said, "We'll handle it from here."
"Like hell you are," Fox said, "We're staying here and helping. End of story."
Beth sighed, "We understand you want to help, but Krystal needs to rest and get medical attention in case something did happen to her."
"Then let us help with something else," Krystal said, "Like the evacuation or-"
"Celina," Ex suddenly whispered, "Maybe you could help with that."
"Who's Celina?" Joe asked.
"Markus' daughter," he replied, "Omi probably has her kept in the control center."
"I was there," Skye said, "I didn't see anything."
"I'm gonna recheck then," Ex stated plainly, "Markus is counting on us."
Joe sighed, "Okay. Fox, you and Ex go. Krystal, you head back to the base."
"I can live with that," Fox said, turning to Krystal. They communicated quietly, maybe even telepathically and then Krystal nodded.
"Alright," she said, "Take me."
Beth nodded and brought her close as Joe ran down the building and to the generator. Fox and Ex looked at each other before they ran to where OBIS said the control center was. They ran into the Crystalization chamber and saw a door and platform at the top. Fox sighed as Ex knelt down and he hopped on his back and he bounced up to the platform and they burst into the room to find Omi, standing there with a little girl. She was no more than nine, had pale white hair, and tears were streaming down her face. She was mortified. Ex reached for his rifle but Omi grabbed the girl in response.
"Ah ah ah," he said teasingly, "You aren't going to do that, Excavious."
"Yeah? And why's that?" he questioned, his hand ready to grab the SK 709 at a moment's notice.
"Because you don't want to shoot this girl, right?" he said, almost as if he was daring him to do it. Ex sighed.
"Okay, what do you want?" Ex said.
"An explanation," Omi said, "Of why you chose to come and fight me."
Ex looked at Fox and sighed, "Because I know you're not going to leave us alone even if we leave."
"You think I'll follow you to World Zero?" Omi said.
Ex smiled, "I read ya like a comic book. Heh, I like the pictures."
"Are you calling me predictable?!" he screamed. Ex chuckled.
"Duh," he said nonchalantly. A blade suddenly extended out of Omi's arm as he held it out to him.
"Maybe you'll be more careful next time," he said as he brought the blade up.
"Wait! One more thing!" Ex screamed. Omi stopped and looked at him with curiosity. Behind his mask, Ex smiled.
"It says gullible on the floor." With those words, Omi looked down only for a clone to shoot from the floor and grab Omi by the neck, causing him to release Celina and her to run to Ex and Fox.
"What are you?!" Omi questioned the clone. It tilted its head to the side confused.
"Aw, you've forgotten me already?" Alexi said, causing Omi to figuratively go white in the face.
"Y-you!" he said as Alexi slammed him into the ground. He looked to Ex before falling to the floor again.
"That was so worth it," Alexi said. Ex chuckled.
"Would've wanted the same partner," he replied mentally. He then turned his attention to the little girl hugging his leg. She was just taller than his waist and her pale white hair flew in the soft wind. For a moment, it felt like time had slowed to a crawl as Fox knelt down next to the girl and she quietly turned to face him. Ex still stood, comforting her while also keeping an eye out. The little girl didn't seem interested in talking, rather, she seemed to only want to hide away in a safe place. Ex then felt the ground shake again, meaning that the generator was almost ready. He looked at Fox.
"Get her outta here," Ex said, "This place could blow any moment."
"Don't expect me to be gone long," Fox said as Ex ran towards the hole in the control center window.
"Buh bye!" he screamed as he launched himself out of the center and into the sky. Fox sighed as he grabbed Celina and began running. He murmured something about how this whole situation was ridiculous as he ran down the stairs to the group.
The crowd of people was anxious as the ground kept shaking more and more. Gaijin has to listen as more and more people began panicking more. It was clear that something was going awry, but not clear enough that the problem would show itself. A pair of feet landed close by and he turned to see Crainer and Ian approaching him.
"Is it working?" Crainer asked. Gaijin shook his head.
"I don't know about how to open something this big," he replied, "I thought that maybe it would work, but I just now realized how much of a power shortage we have."
Crainer turned his attention to a sudden Crystalite and began shooting at it, his gauntlets glowing as a bright yellow light shot at them. Ian then spoke up.
"What power are we talking about?" he asked. Gaijin quickly shrugged.
"I don't know," he said frankly, "But it's going to need a lot in order to keep this thing running."
"Maybe Joe could help with that," Crainer suggested. Gaijin nodded.
"We'll have to see," he replied, "Joe, do you have a minute?"
A sudden burst of wind appeared and people shrieked in fear as Joe stopped by Gaijin.
"Yeah, I've got one," he said. Gaijin held up the rift bomb.
"Do you think you could hit this rift bomb with… say…" he thought for a moment, "Three bolts of lightning."
"Gaijin," OBIS said, "That is about nine hundred million volts."
"And?"
"And it is just beyond the recommended amount of electricity I believe Joe could handle," he said. Ex then interjected.
"But maybe-" he was cut off as a distant explosion happened, "Motherfucker. Maybe he could redirect parts of the energy into the device and other parts into the ground. Would it have no effect on his body then?"
"That would mean he would need to slow down for that to happen," OBIS said, "But it is plausible."
"If this has a chance of Joe dying," Beth said, "I won't go through with it."
"The likelihood of death for Joe is fifty-six percent," OBIS said, "The likelihood of severe damage to the body is eighteen percent, while damage to the brain is twenty six percent."
"Those numbers don't help, OBIS," Joe and Beth said simultaneously. Ex sighed.
"We either do that or-" he was cut off again by a distant explosion, "I swear to gosh… Anyways, it's either that or we all die with this island possibly exploding."
"Are you alright, Ex?" Gaijin asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just-" another explosion rang out, this time much closer. Gaijin looked up and saw Ex falling down before catching himself and turning to see what looked like a Crystalite with a cannon on his shoulder.
"ALRIGHT, FUCKER! YOU'RE ASKING FOR IT, BITCH!" Ex screamed enough even for Gaijin to hear as he shot towards the Crystalite and jumped onto it and tore its head off with a blue blade. Not the prettiest way to go, but one that would've been better from whatever else he had in mind.
"Sorry about that," Ex said, "Needed to let off a little steam."
"No problem," Gaijin said as Ex flew off, "Anyways, Joe, can you do it?"
"I think I can," Joe said reluctantly. Gaijin walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You know," Gaijin said, "Maybe there is another way."
"No, no," Joe said, cutting Gaijin off, "I can do this."
"Ok," Gaijin said, "If my calculations are correct then you are going to need to run about four laps around the island to get the minimum charge."
Joe nodded and readied himself. Gaijin looked at him with a reassuring face, well, one through a metal mask at least. He nodded and Joe shot off around the edge of the island before a second later he ran past Gaijin as he activated the rift bomb. He ran past him a second time and the rift bomb was about to go off when Joe ran past him a third time and Gaijin threw it in the path of the runner as he approached the fourth time and reached forwards to grab the bomb. In a split second, the bomb exploded, but now with more power and energy behind it. The rift bomb, instead of opening and then closing in a split second, now opened up a huge white crack in the air around them, and in between the cracks was a huge portal. The thing looked like someone had punched through glass and inside it stood a wall of a thick jelly substance. The group of prisoners backed up in fear as they watched Gaijin slowly push his hand through the portal and then back out. He looked to Joe, who strangely, had stuck his head through the portal and then back. He looked at Gaijin with shock.
"I think it worked," he said, suddenly sounding weak. Suddenly, his legs gave out from beneath him and he fell to the ground. Gaijin quickly ran over and caught him just before he hit the ground. He held him and made sure he was alright, checking for breathing and blood flow. Another figure ran towards them, and Gaijin thought that it was Beth. Instead, however, it was Markus who stood there with a health pack as he gave it to Joe. Markus sighed in a mixture of relief and frustration.
"I hope that this is the end of this shit show," he said, standing by them as he turned and shouted to the people, "ALRIGHT! Get moving in there! The people there will escort you to a place where you will be taken back to your homes!"
With those words, people began to file into the portal with surprising speed and politeness for them being locked up for an undetermined amount of time. They were anxious, but most were too tired to do much. By the time the ground began to shake again, most of the people had been evacuated. But there were still some stragglers, most being injured and being assisted by others or the old or young. Markus sighed in relief.
"Okay," he said, "That should be all of them."
"Not necessarily," Ex said as he landed by the three, Joe groaning as he finally recovered from the huge energy burst.
"What happened?" he questioned. Gaijin smiled.
"You saved them," he replied, "You saved a lot of people."
Joe sighed in relief, "That's good. That's good to hear."
Gaijin was then interrupted to see Fox running towards them, a little girl with white hair in Fox's arms. Ex dashed forward and blocked gun shots and small explosions from hitting them as they sprinted towards the group. Behind them, the rest of the fighters were on their way. Markus suddenly stood at the sight and began running towards them, only for Ex to wave him back.
"Keep it open!" he shouted. Fox nodded, silently agreeing with the young hero. More shots were fired as Gaijin turned to see Crystal and Goku still dealing with any airborne Crystalites trying to attack them. Fox stopped at Markus before handing Celina off to him. Markus stood silent for a moment before looking up to Fox and Ex, giving the two a silent nod before running through the portal. Ex looked at Joe and extended a hand.
"Can you walk?" he asked. Joe nodded before he stood shakily.
"Alright," Gaijin said, "If that's the case, then we'll have the might to keep the Crystalites from getting into that portal."
"So, will it stay open?" Crainer asked, landing down by the group.
"About three more minutes," he replied. Fox nodded and quickly took up a position before Ex looked around, seeing everyone landing. All except one.
"Where's Bill?" he asked. The group looked around as a much larger disturbance was felt through the ground. Along with the realization that Chesh, the Slayer, and Sans were still at the generator.
Crystal looked at Gaijin, "I'm going to get him."
"I wouldn't recommend it," he said simply as Gaijin watched as Crystal flew off. Gaijin grabbed Ex before he could take off.
"If anyone could get him, it's him," Gaijin said, trying to stop Ex. However, his words didn't stop the teen.
"I can't sit here knowing that he's in danger." His words were low and serious as he jumped into the air and flew off. Gaijin sighed and stood as a sudden airwave dashed by his head. He knelt down and saw where it came from: a huge group of Crystalites being led by Omi. Gaijin sighed and turned to the group.
"What now?" he said, instinctively pulling out his katana before Felix answered.
"We hold the line."
Multiple people, from Mario to Ratchet to Heavy and Scout came behind them and stood at the ready to defend the portal. Felix's fists began to glow and a red color appeared before it disappeared. They looked at him. His face turned into one of someone who had an idea.
"Everyone," he said, "We need bigger guns for these people. Much bigger guns."
Multiple typing watches later, the ground grew with smoke as a smoke grenade was thrown. The group was engulfed in a bright white light while others either got into ready positions while others were grabbing their best gear. The Crystalites stopped for a moment before the smoke lifted, revealing the System Breakers and their allies. All of them were carrying a huge arsenal of weapons, from RPGs to machine guns to science fiction mega weapons. The Crystalites seemingly flinched before Omi screamed in anger, causing the Crystalites to charge forward. Felix grinned as he pressed the electronic button on the minigun, causing it to whir to life. He screamed at the top of his lungs:
"GAME ON!"
Chesh and Sans tried to open the door but to no avail. It was barricaded from the other side. They were trapped in what seemed like a ticking time bomb. It was going to kill them, no questions asked. Chesh was ready to give up hope as the Slayer bashed on the door again but to no avail. It was almost hopeless as the generator let loose another wave of energy, causing Chesh to fall to the floor in defeat. It wasn't going to be long until-
THUD! … THUD! … THUD!
Chesh looked up as he watched the ceiling dent more and more until finally it gave in and two figures dove in. One in a red suit and tie and the other in a blue, black, and white suit. Chesh smiled as Crystal and Ex ran over to help their friend.
"You guys came back," he said in relief.
"Why the fuck did you think we were going to leave you?" Ex asked. Chesh gave a genuine smile and extended a hand to which Ex and Crystal took one. He stood up and Sans sighed in relief.
"Great to see you guys," he said. The ground shook again and the generator began to give off a glow of built-up energy. Crystal looked to Ex before grabbing Chesh and flying out. Sans followed behind as a Gaster Blaster appeared near his feet and the Slayer waited as Ex summoned two platforms that they stood on. They then rose up into the hole in the generator room and the two watched the sunlight approach rapidly, followed by the sound of bullets whizzing by their heads. For a moment, the sun blinded them to the chaos of the island. A moment later, the Slayer had begun running towards the fighting that Ex had only heard before. It seemed like the Crystalites had outnumbered them, but the System Breakers and everyone else outgunned them. For a moment, it seemed like the overwhelming amount of Crystalites would be a problem. That was until a sudden beam of light and energy shot down from the sky. The Hammer Of Dawn. Ex smiled as Sans and the Slayer joined in on the action while he watched Crystal fly over with Chesh. With the coms now open, the conversations were noticeable from down on the ground.
"Wel, what now?" Crystal asked. Chesh looked down and then his eyes brightened as if he got an idea.
"Wait, Keg," Chesh said, "Remember what you said about my powers?"
"Yeah, why?" Ex asked as three Crystalites jumped him. Two he shot with his rifle while the other one he used his hilt to shoot a metal spear into one's neck before listening back onto the conversation.
"What if I touched Omi?" he questioned. Ex chuckled at first, before realizing what he meant and feeling his heart near stop.
"That's most likely suicide," Ex said, "If you were to get a hand on him, and us not knowing the extent of his powers, you could get some type of overload and die."
"Well, it's worth a shot," he said.
"We just saved your ass back there," Crystal chimed in, "Now you wanna go back and try to kill yourself again?"
"I mean, who hasn't almost died here?" he questioned. Ex sighed in defeat.
"Touche," he said, "Crystal, get him close enough to the ground to drop him. Mat, can you get Medic ready just in case?"
"Already done." Ex dodged a punch with ease before looking up and watching as Crystal dove down and let go of Chesh, who dove down onto the Crystal King and extended his right hand. Omi saw and tried to deflect, but was hit as Ex kept a steady rate of fire on his arms and torso. Ex aimed and fired one last bullet, causing Omi to scream in pain as a bullet entered his wrist. He dropped to the ground on a knee as Chesh finally grabbed Omi on the shoulder, now with his bare right hand. For a moment, nothing happened, like it was not effective against Omi. Chesh crashed into the ground and screamed in pain as his muscles tore and a few bones broke. Omi chuckled.
"What a pathetic move," he said confidently, "What did you think you'd accomplish from tha-"
He was cut off as Chesh suddenly stood, jumping around with some type of new energy he had just received. Ex chuckled as Omi suddenly gasped inwards, somehow causing him to choke or something similar as his mask began to lose its pale color and form into a yellowish color, as if it was rotting away against the streams of time. The Crystalites had stopped their attack and watched as their leader had begun to seemingly die from unknown means. It took a moment before the dots were connected and Chesh began to run towards the portal while, conveniently, the generator began to make a deep rumbling sound and everyone looked as the rest of the group ran towards the portal. The sound made the group pick up the pace as the portal suddenly began to slowly shrink back into nothingness. Crystal flew down and grabbed Chesh while Ex saw the Slayer extending a hand, to which Ex grabbed and flew as fast as he could. A deep drone happened as a wave of force pushed everything around them. The portal then began to crackle with energy as Gaijin spoke.
"That's our three minutes coming to an end, guys!" he screamed. First to jump through was Fox and a few other allies while Ex and Crystal quickly flew behind them with Chesh and the Slayer. Finally, the System Breakers group jumped into the portal as debris shot around them and they flew through the portal. Ex looked through the portal and saw Omi attempting to say something to them, but Ex held a fist and grabbed a grenade before pulling the pin and sticking his head through.
"Yeah, FUCK YOU TOO!"
He chucked the grenade into the portal before it suddenly shut as if a door was being slammed in the face of escaping Crystalites and the explosion was gone. The boom echoed around them for a moment before…
Silence.
A few moments of quiet overtook everyone as they waited for any more Crystalites to come. There had to be something else. Some kind of air force was on their way to get them.
Silence in the air.
Ground force?
No vibrations in the ground.
Everyone looked at Markus as he was talking into a military walkie-talkie. For a moment, something caused him to jump, then he smiled. He then ran through the crowd and climbed onto a track that was in reserves. He jumped to the top and screamed.
"WE DID IT!"
The crowd roared into applause and cheers as the ordeal was over. The words caused Bill's legs to buckle slightly, only for Ex to catch him before he fell to the ground. The group came together in a celebratory cheer and they all discussed what to do next.
"Well, what now?" Felix asked, a smile still plastered on his face.
"Well," Ian said, "We still have a family to get to. As well as-"
"Arranging 'that,'" Mark finished. The group nodded before continuing on.
"What about Thea?" Crainer asked. Ex sighed.
"Right," he groaned, "Do we tell them about… this? Or do we keep 'em in the dark?"
"I say we tell them about this," Sean said, "Get all this outta the way quickly."
Crystal sighed, "But we gotta make sure they don't tell anyone else about it."
"Yeah, imagine the FBI getting on our asses," Chesh said.
"At the moment," Ex said, "I'm more afraid my parents are going to ground me."
"Let's slowly let them know," Mat suggested, "Go back to base, take all this off, and see them normally."
"That's probably our best bet." The group typed into their watches and returned to the base, at the dismay of most of the heroes. Fox looked around for a moment before finding Krystal and the rest of his crew reuniting in a big group hug. In the heat of the moment, Fox and Krystal had unknowingly accidentally locked lips again. When they realized what they were doing, Fox groaned knowing the ribbing he was going to get later.
Somewhere else in the crowd, Ratchet and Clank had reunited in a quick hug and chat before the two ran off to help out with any repairs that the base would need.
Finally, Markus and his wife cried tears of joy as they reunited with their lost daughter. The family was finally together again. Markus was apologizing profusely while his wife and daughter only told him things like he did the right thing in the end. Markus sighed in relief below a finger tapped on his shoulder. He turned to see the familiar face of Kegan. He wasn't wearing his suit, rather, he wore a pair of black and white shorts and a gray dry-fit shirt. He looked behind him and saw the rest of the group there. Markus smiled and shook everyone's hand.
"I am forever in debt to you," he said, "You did the thing that I thought was impossible, saving my daughter."
"Markus," Ex said, "I mean this in the most respectful way possible: don't give us that bullshit."
Markus snorted and Felix stepped forward, "We did that because it was the right thing to do."
"F-Felix?"
His name immediately caught his attention as he turned to see the familiar face of his wife: Mariza. They stood still for a moment before Felix stepped forwards and embraced his wife and they sobbed in joy. Felix then watched as everyone else ran to embrace their loved ones, Ian with his wife Madeline, Crainer with Thea, and Sean with his girlfriend Evelien. He then watched as Ex embraced his brother Lucas, who was surprisingly a head taller than him for being a younger brother. Bill and Noah are embracing what looked like older brothers of theirs. The conversations started, asking if they were alright, where they had been and such. For a moment, there was the euphoria of happiness between the groups. Then, a voice shouted from the back.
"Something is coming from the Vortex!" a soldier cried. Felix immediately felt his back straighten as electricity cracked to life behind him. He turned around to see an injured Crystalite holding a weapon, ready to commit more atrocities. Marzia screamed and shielded herself behind Felix as he stood ready to take it on. Then, a sudden force hit the Crystalite in the shape of what looked like a buzz saw. The shield bounced back to Mat, leaving Marzia was stunned for a moment before he thing charged at her and Felix, to which Felix yawned and reeled back before shouted.
"Tama Unite Ise!"
His fist glowed a shade of bright red and he hit the thing with what felt like a minimum amount of his strength, but it sent the thing flying into a wall. Then a purple flame flew on the ground and to the feet of the Crystalite. It looked up fearfully as Chesh quipped.
"I'll make sure you are balanced." His quip ended and the Crystalite exploded into a black ooze spot on the wall. He sighed and stood up straight.
"Balanced on a small shelf in a museum, 'cause you're history," he finished. Kegan sighed in relief as he turned to his brother, whose jaw was on the floor in shock. Most of the others were as well. Felix chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, we've got some explaining to do, huh?"
A/N: SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! After this, one last chapter and this story is done! Thanks to everyone who's been here for the whole time I've been writing this, and I hope y'all can stick around for more stories to come. Idk what is next, but I have this site and Wattpad ready when I have something else come to me. Also, I've wanted to see if I could improve on things with my writing. So if you guys have any ideas or such, let me know. So yeah, thanks again for sticking with me, and have a great morning, day, afternoon, or evening!
