DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.
Savages: Multiverse
Chapter 4: Call her Esdeath, Call her Death!
A hush overtook the scene, filling the air with dread as the team observed their surroundings. Most of them didn't know, but surrounding them were several soldiers of this world's tyrannical Empire and their special task force assembled to bring down the elusive Night Raid: The Jaegers. The one who had ambushed Megatron was Seryu Ubiquitous. A psychopathic former member of the Imperial Police with several cybernetic enhancements throughout her body and owner of the biological Teigu known as Hekatonkheires, or as she calls it, Koro. The young man with blue hair was Wave. Formerly of the Imperial Navy, he is the bearer of an armor-type Teigu called Grand Chariot, currently manifested into the sword he was currently carrying.
Next was Bols. Once a member of the Empire's Incineration Squad, he is the owner of Rubicante. A Teigu that took the form of a flamethrower. Following him was Run. The second-in-command of the Jaegers and user of the winged-type Teigu, Mastema. Finally, there was Kurome. Trained as an assassin since she was a child, she is the owner of a Teigu known as Yatsufusa, a sword that could reanimate the corpses of its victims...and was also Akame's younger sister.
Leading them was General Esdeath. A high-ranking general for the Empire and possibly the most feared person on the planet, she controlled a rather unique type of Teigu, the Demon's Extract. Forged from the blood of a wicked beast from the North, those who drank the blood would, if it resonated properly, grant the user the ability to control ice. Esdeath, after drinking the entirety of the Teigu, was the first and only one who managed to control the power that now lied inside her, making her powerful enough to conquer the entire Northern Tribes and slay its greatest champion, a feat that would normally take a year, in a matter of weeks.
"Well now, this is certainly a pleasant surprise," the General stated as she continued to approach the band of killers. "And here I thought today would be rather boring for me. I will admit, of all the things that could've possibly happened, I wasn't expecting a metal monstrosity launching an attack against the very heart of this Empire. Whether or not that was incredibly bold or unbelievably stupid, I still can't decide."
Hearing this, Megatron snarled in contempt as he rose back to his feet, glaring down at Esdeath as she paid no mind to him.
"Then myself and my Jaegers arrive to be greeted by this lot of freaks, and, am I seeing things, or is that the notorious One-Cut Killer herself over there?" she continued, locking eyes at Akame.
Akame said nothing in response, simply staring back emotionlessly at the General. Leone, on the other hand, was practically quaking in her boots.
"Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit!" she whispered to herself.
"What the hell's wrong with you?" Catra whispered back.
"This is the last person in the Empire you wanna fuck with," Leone answered. "She's the kind of person that'll make your worst nightmares shit themselves!"
"Pfft, how bad can this bitch be?" Catra sneered. "She doesn't look so tough."
"You wanna go for her, be my guest," Leone responded. "Your funeral, though."
"Relax," Erron interrupted. "I'll take care of this."
As Esdeath neared them, Erron began to approach her.
"Oh, here we go," Trevor irritably sighed.
"Bout time ya got here, ma'am," Erron greeted, causing Esdeath to cease her stride. "Been doing everything I could to keep 'em here 'til you arrived."
"...Is he..." a slack-jawed, wide-eyed Catra said. "...Is that bastard really selling us out?!"
"No," Trevor answered. "I've had the unfortunate pleasure of being with that twit long enough to know when he's stalling."
"How much time, Hekapoo?" Acxa asked.
"We still have about five to ten more minutes before we can escape," the horned girl answered. "That hick better know what he's doing."
"Spotted those two from Night Raid tryin' to sneak a drink before they head back to their base," Erron furthered. "Figured I was in need of a new pair of boots, so I conversed long enough with 'em 'til you came here."
"Is that right?" Esdeath asked, arms crossed with a smirk already on her face. "Then how do you explain the giant hole where the roof of this tavern use to be?"
"That there's one of my many accomplices," Erron explained. "Bit blunt, I know, but how else were we gonna catch your attention? And yes, some of these other fine folk you see here are with me as well. Now then, why don't we all just take a walk back to the Capital so we can discuss our reward money?"
"Here is my counter-offer," Esdeath challenged. "You and the rest of your 'fine folk' start explaining who you are and what you're doing in this city, and maybe, just maybe, you won't be taking a trip to my torture chambers."
The gunslinger paused as he tried to form a response that would buy his crew some more time. But right before he could do so, the guttural sound of a dark chuckle was heard. These chuckles soon gave way to a full-blown laughing fit as everyone turned to the one responsible: Durge.
"Hm?" Esdeath mused, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "You there. How much of a masochist are you to find that amusing?"
"'Torture?'" Durge snarled. "You think you could possibly bring me any more suffering than I've already endured?"
He then began to march his way to the General, the floor beneath shaking slightly with every stomp of his boots as he continued.
"You have no idea the amount of pain the Mandalorians had put me through. It took me nearly a century for my body to heal! I spent sixty of those wretched years buried alive!"
He clenched his fists upon reaching the General of ice, who simply looked up at him unimpressed, all while Erron backed away from the two of them, already knowing how this was going to go down.
"Ah, shit," he cursed to himself.
"And let me ask you something," Durge continued. "If the Sith couldn't kill me, if the Mandalorians couldn't kill me, if the Jedi couldn't kill me, if the Bloodboilers of Kragis couldn't kill me, and if even the Galactic Empire itself couldn't kill me...WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN?!"
The bounty hunter rose both of his fists up, ready to bring them down upon his target and crush her skull. However, before they could reach her, Esdeath simply thrust herself backward to dodge the attack, which caused a large chunk of the floor to crack and cave in. Once she was out of harm's way, Esdeath unsheathed her massive rapier and pointed it at the team.
"Bring them to their knees!" she commanded.
With just those five words, every soldier and Jaeger charged towards the group of killers, ready to claim their heads for their Empire. Not even a second later, Erron had already grabbed both of his pistols and fired at the soldiers. Two bullets managed to blow the brains out of two of them while a third pierced another soldier's shoulder.
"Well, what are ya'll waitin' for?" he asked the others as he shot the third soldier in the heart. "Pick your dance partners!"
"Their leader is mine," Durge snarled before charging towards Esdeath, shoving every soldier that tried to stop him aside.
Scoffing to herself, Esdeath's response came in the form of snapping her fingers, which caused a wall of ice to form between herself and the brute that was after her. Durge, however, was more than prepared and deployed a wrist-mounted flamethrower that began to melt the wall, all while not slowing his approach even remotely. The bounty hunter smashed his way through the wall, only for Esdeath to sidestep out of his path and slice her blade across the Gen'Dai's stomach. Interestingly to her, this didn't seem to draw any blood despite her blade piercing through his armor, but she didn't have enough time to think about this for long. For her opponent was currently swinging his chained flail towards her. The General was able to form an arm shield made of ice to protect her from the spiked weapon but said shield shattered on impact, the force causing her to slide backward slightly.
In retaliation, Esdeath swung her sword once more, only for Durge to use his free arm to deploy one of his own arm shields to deflect the attack. The two of them exchanged several blows, Esdeath with her rapier and Durge with his flail. The ice general was forced to dodge each of the attacks whilst backing herself outside the tavern and into the empty streets, all while Durge blocked all of her own offensives with surprising speed for someone of his stature. Suddenly, Durge lashed his shielded arm outward, causing Esdeath's right arm and her blade to be forced out of her opponent's way. This created just the opening Durge needed to deliver a kick to his enemy's chin that sent her off her feet and nearly broke her jaw in the process. Fighting through the pain, Esdeath managed to counter with a kick of her own while in mid-air right across Durge's helmeted left cheek that caused him to stumble back slightly.
Still, the blow was powerful enough that it sent the General hurtling towards the roof of a nearby building. However, she was able to land feet-first with no trouble at all, all while holding her cap firmly onto her head. She looked down and saw that Durge had easily shaken off the blow she had delt and was priming his jetpack. Suddenly, one foolish Imperial soldier attempted to intervene with a spear aimed right at Durge's head, only for him to use his free hand to smash his head deep into his body before pulling it and his spinal cord out, a mass of blood spraying onto the bounty hunter's armor.
"Hmm, it seems I've underestimated you," she admitted with a smirk. "It's been far too long since one of my enemies had managed to strike me. You're proving to be much more interesting than I had anticipated."
No sooner had she said that did Durge rocket towards her, a blaster pistol firmly in his right hand as Esdeath readied her sword once more.
Nearby the ensuing chaos, Megatron easily managed to stomp on some of the soldiers who were foolish enough to try and attack him, but swatting these insects wasn't what currently concerned him.
"Where is that human who ambushed me?" he growled.
His answer came in the form of the sound of another motor shell being fired. This time, however, he casually stepped out of its path and allowed it to destroy a nearby apartment complex. He looked over to a building that was several meters away from him and saw Seryu standing atop it, her cannon arm at the ready and grinning with psychotic glee while Koro stood beside her.
"I'm going to enjoy dismantling you for spare parts in the name of JUSTICE!" she shouted.
Megatron's response came in the form of a harsh glare before charging his cannon.
"Spare me this mockery of justice!" he countered.
With just one shot of his cannon, the former lord of the Decepticons obliterated the roof upon which his targets stood atop. However, Seryu and Koro planned this and allowed the explosion to launch themselves towards their robotic enemy.
"Koro, Phase 1!" Seryu ordered as she held out her cannon-arm.
While in mid-air, Koro barked in response before growing in size exponentially and sinking its fangs into Seryu's cannon-arm, seemingly swallowing the cannon whole. When its jaws opened, in the cannon's place was now a gargantuan flail attached where her hand would normally be. With that same crazed grin on her face, she aimed it right at Megatron's face as she descended towards him, only for the former gladiator to block the offensive with his arm blade.
With Seryu's offensive thwarted, Megatron swung his arm blade outward, sending his enemy flying away from him, only for her to land atop a second building. The former warlord charged towards her, only for Koro, who had now grown to Megatron's size, to tackle him from his left whilst roaring aggressively at the one who attempted to harm its owner. This caused the two of them to crash through a nearby building, causing it to collapse atop them while they struggled for dominance.
Back at the destroyed tavern, Erron had grabbed his shotgun and blew a hole deep into one Imperial soldier's gut. As he screamed in agony, the cowboy tossed a sand grenade right into the freshly made hole before grabbing his pistol and shooting it. This caused the grenade to explode, sand bursting out of every orifice he had and causing both of his eyeballs to burst out of their sockets. With one soldier disposed of, Black then pistol-whipped a second that tried to ambush him from behind. As he stumbled and recoiled from the harsh blow, Erron wasted no time tossing a vial containing an acidic compound onto the floor and right in front of his opponent. He then shot both of the soldier's kneecaps, causing him to fall to his knees before forcing his head onto the acid with his boot. The soldier yelled out in pain as he felt the side of his head slowly melting away before Erron finished him off with a stomp that smashed the rest of his head into a bloodied pulp.
While that was going on, Catra had swiftly dodged a soldier's spear and quickly retaliated by delivering a kick to his gut that sent him crashing against the back wall. The former Horde Force Captain then splayed out the claws in her right hand and slashed two horizontal lines across his face, following suit with two vertical lines. Catra didn't even give him a chance to even react to the pain he was no doubt feeling before harshly plunging two of her claws into his eyes. The now blinded soldier screamed as he placed his hands where his eyes once were, fumbling about until running into Leone, who delivered a right hook so powerful it caused his neck to snap instantly, killing him.
"Magma Drive!"
A mere second after hearing those words, both Catra and Leone turned towards the source just in time to see a ball of fire explode out of Bols' Teigu. But before it could reach either of them, the Sorceress swooped down and landed in front of the two of them, plunging her staff into the ground to shield them with Eternia's magic, causing the offensive to be blocked. Not wanting to give the former Incineration Squad member a second chance, the Sorceress flew towards him, only for Run to fly at her from her right, grabbing her before flying out of the tavern. This, again, left Catra and Leone to combat Bols.
"Hey, uh, listen, no hard feelings, kay?" Bols said in an oddly timid tone as he readied Rubicante once more. "Just doing my job over here, ya know."
Catra went completely slack-jawed upon hearing her opponent's voice.
"That...was the last voice I was expecting to come out of him," she stated.
Shrugging her surprise off, she and Leone both charged towards Bols as he pointed his flamethrower at them.
Meanwhile, Kurome had her eyes set on Akame and began to approach her right after she had used Murasame to decapitate a soldier. Sensing her sister's presence, Akame turned to face her, her expression as blank as ever.
"Big sister," Kurome began, clasping both of her hands together while she smiled in a creepily cheerful manner. "I've just been dying to see you again!"
She then unsheathed Yatsufusa, prompting Akame to ready Murasame once more.
"And once I kill you, I'll finally be able to add you to Yatsufusa's collection," Kurome continued. "Wouldn't that just be wonderful? You and me, together again, just like the old days...and you'll never be able to abandon me or the Empire ever again."
But instead of swinging her blade towards her sister, Kurome instead pointed it upward, causing several bolts of dark energies to burst out of the tip, eventually resulting in multiple sets of hands bursting out of the tavern's floors. Several reanimated corpses then rose out of the ground, all while the one who controlled them had that same innocent yet foreboding smile on her face. Not long afterward, the ground began to shake beneath them, prompting most parties involved to cease their fighting, Erron having just blown a soldier's brains out while Hekapoo had sliced another's neck open using one of her many pairs of Dimensional Scissors.
"I've improved a lot since last we met, big sister," Kurome stated. "Now, I can control any corpse I choose...including an S-Class Danger Beast...Desta-Ghoul!"
Then, without warning, a massive, skeletal creature burst out of the ground from behind Kurome, destroying the half of the tavern that was still standing behind her, all while keeping its wielder in the palm of its hand. The creature, the Desta-Ghoul as Kurome had called it, stood about eighty feet tall with large spikes jutting from its shoulders and what could almost be mistaken for a dinosaur skull for a head.
"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Trevor groaned, a statement that, no doubt, the rest of the team shared.
"And soon, you and your new friends will be joining him, big sister," Kurome said with glee. "Doesn't that sound ju-?"
But before she could finish her sentence, Krang suddenly exploded from the other side of the tavern, both him and his android body growing to the same size as Kurome's puppet, much to her shock.
"You're not the only one full of surprises, you little brat!" the alien gurgled.
His android body proceeded to retract both of its hands and deploy two axes in their place before swinging one of them onto the Danger Beast's shoulders. The reanimated corpse roared in agony before swiping its claws at Krang, causing him to fall atop a nearby store, destroying it. The interdimensional alien got back on his android feet, however, and fired a laser beam from his body's goggles right at the Desta-Ghoul's chest, causing it to stumble against the building behind it.
As she struggled to stay on, Kurome noticed Akame quickly scaling the beast's skeleton before leaping towards her, Murasame at the ready. She took aim at her younger sister's neck, forcing her to use Yatsufusa to block the attack. Then, out of the corners of their eyes, the sisters noticed something coming in from their left and both quickly lept out of the path of both the Sorceress and Run as they continued to trade blows. Fortunately, it was the protector of Castle Grayskull who came out on top by tossing the Jaeger second-in-command down to the ground, causing him to crash into a fruit stand as the Capital's inhabitants scattered about in mass panic. Despite this, Run managed to fight the pain he was in and flew back into the air, facing off with the Sorceress.
"Please, listen to me," she said. "Your General must call off this attack. You have no idea the danger you and your universe are in!"
"Even if General Esdeath would oblige, which, I assure you, she will not, you and your allies have committed several crimes against the Empire," Run replied. "I'm afraid I cannot allow any of you to escape us."
"Nor can I allow any of you to hinder us any further," the Sorceress retaliated. "And even with Mastema at your disposal, its power is insignificant compared to the power of Grayskull."
"So be it," Run responded before flying towards his enemy once more.
While that was going on, Esdeath continued to effortlessly evade the blaster bolts from Durge's pistol before leaping up to the hulking bounty hunter's head, firmly planting her open palm onto his face.
"Freeze for me," Esdeath demanded, her voice laced with devious pleasure.
Then, all in the span of a split second, the Gen'Dai's entire body was encased within an icy tomb, all while the one responsible landed feet first behind him. Unfortunately for the Empire's Strongest, however, her victory was short-lived. For just moments after being frozen, Durge managed to burst out of his prison with little effort, yelling out in pure, hot-blooded rage. No sooner had he done that did he elbow a soldier that tried to ambush him to the ground. In spite of his protests and screams of terror, Durge proceeded to grab him by the leg and swing him towards Esdeath. The general managed to leap out of the soldier's path but said soldier wasn't quite as lucky. His head smashed against the ground, cracking open like an egg and causing blood and his brains to splatter all over the pavement.
With his free hand, the brute of a bounty hunter shot out dozens of darts from his gauntlet towards the ice general, who quickly countered by thrusting her hand outward to form an icy barrier in front of her. As the darts bounced off, Esdeath used her free hand to form several sharp icicles from the shield before launching them towards Durge. Two of them managed to pierce through his armor, but he didn't so much as flinch in pain from the attack. Rather, he ceased his own offensive and began to charge towards his opponent once more.
With one punch, her defenses shattered, and she reacted by slashing her rapier at Durge. However, the Gen'Dai simply grabbed it with his bare hand and pulled it out from her own, tossing it away while using his other hand to crack Esdeath across the cheek. The force of the blow caused her cap to fall off her head as she reeled to the left, only for Durge to follow up with a blow to the gut. Fighting the pain she was in, Esdeath formed an ice sword in her hands and slashed Durge across his chest, causing him to stumble backward slightly. As he reoriented himself, Durge noticed Esdeath was, of all things, laughing in delight over what he had managed to do to her.
"Very impressive," she complimented with a devious smirk. "Keep it up!"
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Acxa had managed to shoot down two soldiers whilst Trevor, who stood behind her, lunged his whip at a third who tried to run away from him. His weapon wrapped itself around the soldier's neck, and before he could even get a chance to pull it off, the monster hunter reeled his arm back sharply, internally decapitating the soldier. But just as said soldier's body fell to the floor...
"GRAND CHARIOT!"
A tremor shook the ground beneath the duo, prompting them to turn towards the source of the sound. Their eyes were greeted by a bright light that revealed Wave, now encased in a black, full-body suit of armor with blue highlights and a translucent defensive film on its back. Despite this, Trevor simply scoffed at the sight before making his approach, his whip at the ready.
"Uh, you seem pretty confident there," Acxa pointed out.
"Please, I've slain fucking vampires, for Christ sake," Trevor countered as he got closer and closer to Wave. "Some miserable little shit in a suit of armor is hardly-"
He was rudely interrupted, however, by Wave backhanding him with such force that it sent him flying backward before crashing into a table, breaking it in two upon impact. Groaning in pain, the vampire hunter opened his eyes to see the Galra warrior looking down at him, an eyebrow raised in an unimpressed manner.
"...Not...one...word..." Trevor groaned as he weakly pointed a finger at Acxa.
But before she could defy his request, Acxa heard the sounds of Wave rapidly approaching her, forcing her to turn towards him and open fire at him. The former member of the Imperial Navy was then forced to go on the defensive, using Grand Chariot's enhanced speed to dodge the laser bolts with ease.
"Hekapoo, how much longer?!" she shouted.
"Two more minutes, at least!" Hekapoo answered right as she jabbed a pair of her scissors into the side of a soldier's head.
Back with Megatron and Koro, the former warlord had been knocked against a nearby office building by the organic Teigu. As he got back on his feet, Megatron watched as Koro practically spiraled towards him, its jaws ready to tear him limb from mechanical limb. Obviously not wanting to give this thing a chance to do so, Megatron aimed not at Koro but at a building that was next to him. He timed his shot just right, firing a powerful bolt that detonated the bottom of it, causing it to tumble down and onto Koro before it could reach its intended target.
Both the building and Koro seemingly vanished within a massive dust cloud, hinting that Megatron had finally slain the beast. Hearing the sounds of a fight nearby, he turned his attention to Esdeath and Durge's continuing brawl, the general having just managed to pierce Durge against the wall of another building with several icicles she had shot at him. Sneering in contempt for the Empire's Strongest, Megatron proceeded to point his still charged fusion cannon down at her while she wasn't looking.
"No one disrespects me and lives to tell about it," he snarled.
But right as he was about to fire...
"Koro, berserker!"
The sound of the one who ambushed him was enough to distract Megatron from finishing Esdeath off, prompting him to turn his attention to her instead. But the instant he turned around, a massive dark purple arm shot out of the building he had just demolished. Not long afterward, Koro, its normally pudgy form given way to a much more muscular and imposing physique, rose up. Now even taller than even Megatron was, the Teigu bellowed out an ear-piercing roar that was enough to force most of the civilians below to cover their ears.
Megatron, however, didn't cower before the monster before him. For he had done battle with creatures that this beast paled in comparison to and came out on top. Rather, the former Decepticon leader scowled at Koro, frustrated by its stubbornness.
"Why won't you DIE?!" he shouted.
With that, Megatron decided now was as good a time as ever to demonstrate his air superiority to this monster and transformed into his jet mode, rocketing towards Koro. He wasted no time firing several rapid shots from his cannon, only for Koro to easily brush them off and swipe its claw towards its enemy. Megatron swiftly dodged the offensive and flew past Koro, quickly turning around to continue with his own attacks.
As that was going on, Durge, having freed himself from Esdeath's thrall, grabbed both of his pistols and opened fire at the ice general, only for her to easily evade the blaster bolts and reclaimed her weapon before sliding past the bounty hunter, slicing her blade through his right leg. But just as she jumped back to her feet and was about to slash her rapier against Durge's back, the Gen'Dai, unphased by Esdeath's attack, had already turned himself around to deliver a punch to her left cheek. The force of the blow was so great that it caused Esdeath to slide backward before harshly slamming her back against a wall, a grunt of pain escaping her.
Wanting to end this fight, Durge grabbed his flail once more and swung it towards Esdeath, intending on crushing her skull with it. However, the general still had one last trick up her sleeve, as evident by her smirking despite the odds now being against her.
"Everything in sight will be encased in ice..." she whispered to herself. "MAKAHADOMA!"
In an instant, space and time itself froze in place. The battle had quite literally halted and Durge's flail stopped just inches away from Esdeath's head. Said general was the only one capable of moving freely. An advantage that she used to casually approach the frozen Durge as she reclaimed her weapon.
"Most impressive indeed, stranger," she complimented. "It's not every day that a combatant of mine has forced me to use my trump card. For that, I congratulate you."
Then, once she was close enough, she swiped her rapier at Durge's neck, cutting his head off of his body.
"Unfortunately for you, however, this little game of ours has reached its end."
Certain of her victory, Esdeath turned away from Durge just as time slowly began to resume and the bounty hunter's head began to fall off. A loud clang was heard, no doubt caused by Durge's helmet hitting the pavement. Esdeath then looked around, thinking about which of these strangers she was going to fight next...when she suddenly heard a strange, almost disgusting sound coming from behind her. Curious, she turned to where she assumed she'd see Durge's corpse...and her blue eyes widened at the sight of the bounty hunter's flesh reconnecting his head back onto his body, minus his helmet.
"What?!" she gasped. "Impossible!"
The Gen'Dai's head slowly lifted up, revealing to the Empire's Strongest his true, ghastly appearance, his razor-sharp fangs gritted firmly and hatred consuming his eyes. Without warning, he charged towards Esdeath on all four of his limbs like a wild animal and tackled her to the ground. The general had been severely hindered thanks to her using her taxing special maneuver and was now completely at Durge's mercy. The bounty hunter delivered a crushing blow to Esdeath's head, causing blood to gush out of her nose as Durge raised his arms once more, intending on making this hurt as much as possible. However, before he could continue to pummel Esdeath...
"Durge!" the Sorceress called out.
Snarling in irritation, Durge looked up to see the Sorceress fire a mystical blast from her staff at Run, causing him to crash through the window of a nearby apartment complex.
"It's time we make our escape!" the watcher of Castle Grayskull stated.
As she flew back to the tavern, Durge looked down at the still immobilized Esdeath, who simply glared right into his eyes, not willing to show him even the slightest hint of weakness.
"You have no idea how lucky you are," he growled.
With that, the bounty hunter grabbed his helmet and placed it back over his head before following the Sorceress back to the tavern. Esdeath could only watch as she slowly got back on her feet, continuing to glare at the one who just came as close as one could get to slaying her.
Back at the tavern, Catra began to run across the walls of the building to evade Bols' flames before launching herself at the former member of the Incineration Squad, tackling him to the floor. Leone, now also free from the fires of Rubicante, swiftly grabbed a soldier that tried to ambush her and forced both sets of her fingers into his mouth. Despite the soldier's protests and attempts to free himself, Leone pulled the top and bottom of his head apart, ripping it in half. No sooner had she tossed the man's corpse aside did Hekapoo start running towards her.
"Okay, time's up, Nala, we need to move!" she stated before grabbing a pair of Dimensional Scissors. "Here!"
She then tossed the scissors to the wielder of Lionelle, who only looked down at them in pure bewilderment once she caught them.
"Wha-What the hell am I suppose to do with these?!" she yelled.
"Just think of Night Raid's hideout and then slice them into the air," Hekapoo answered.
An eyebrow raised, Leone did just that, opening the scissors before cutting into thin air. This, in turn, caused her to yelp in surprise once a large portal suddenly manifested itself right in front of her.
"Wha-How did-?!" she attempted to ask, only for Hekapoo giving a sharp whistle to interrupt her.
"Alright, guys, let's go!" she shouted before dashing into the portal.
Running low on options as more and more soldiers burst into the ruined tavern, Leone followed suit. Catra, having pounced off of Bols, was the next to go, followed closely by Acxa and Trevor, the Galra warrior firing several shots into the ground with her weapon to hide the two of them from Wave thanks to the dust cloud that formed around them.
Hearing Hekapoo's words, Megatron flew under Koro's left arm and through the portal, all the while Krang bashed Kurome's Desta-Ghoul's skull with his android body's massive fists. This, in turn, disoriented it enough for him to shrink back down to normal size and make a run for the portal, just as the Sorceress, Durge, and Erron ran through. Akame, now the only one left, delivered a spin kick to her sister's head and ran down her beast's leg, slicing through four soldiers that tried to catch her before jumping into the portal.
Not wanting to let these enemies of the Empire escape, one soldier let out a battle cry as he sprinted towards the portal and attempted to jump into it. However, the portal closed right as his head made it through, decapitating him and causing his corpse to stumble across the floor, drenching it with blood before coming to a stop at a nearby wall.
Thirty seconds earlier...
"Akame and Sis still haven't come back," a concerned Tatsumi stated as both he and Najenda walked out of Night Raid's hideout hidden deep within the woods. "You think the Empire might have gotten 'em?"
"Don't worry about them, Tatsumi," Najenda answered as she lit up a cigar that was firmly in her metal right hand. "Something tells me Leone's just out getting drunk again."
She proceeded to take one smoke from her cigar before continuing her statement.
"If there's one thing in this world I do not envy, it's that woman's kidneys...assuming she even still has any."
Then, without warning, a portal manifested right in front of the two of them. Najenda's sole eye widened slightly whilst Tatsumi immediately grasped onto Incursio's hilt, anxiously waiting for whatever would spill out from the other side. Not long afterward, Leone and Akame both stumbled out of the portal and landed face-first onto the grass. One by one, the merry band of killers all followed in a similar fashion, Megatron causing a small tremor when he landed, before the unlucky soldier's head rolled out of the portal.
Once the gateway across the world closed, both Tatsumi and Najenda stared slackjawed at the eleven killers as they attempted to get back on their feet. Not long afterward, Mine, Chelsea, and Susanoo ran out of Night Raid's hideout to confront whatever had wandered into their territory, Mine with Pumpkin at the ready.
"What in the hell was tha-?!" Mine exclaimed, only to stop once she got a good look at the ones responsible.
No sooner had she done so did both her and Chelsea's jaws drop at the sight of these strange intruders while Susanoo remained completely expressionless. Leone, meanwhile, spat out a chunk of dirt and grass she inadvertently got a mouthful of when she noticed a shadow looming over her. Her blood running cold with fright, she slowly looked up and saw Najenda glaring down at her. Leone could only gulp at the sight before she addressed her superior.
"Uh, h-hey there, Boss, uh, I, uh..." she nervously greeted. "I...I can explain...somehow..."
"Oh, please, do tell," an unenthused Najenda responded.
It was at that moment that Mine finally noticed something.
"Wait...Where the fuck is Lubbock?!" she shouted.
Said green-haired wielder of Cross Tail had awakened the instant a tremor was felt and groggily rose out of his bed before approaching his bedroom's window. He pushed the blinds aside and took one look at the strangers outside, his tired expression somehow not changing even remotely.
"...Nope," was all he said before instantly shutting the blinds and falling back onto his bed.
Twenty minutes later...
Najenda let out a heavy sigh as Hekapoo and the Sorceress finished explaining the predicament they were currently in. News of parallel universes and an unkillable witch seeking the Teigu had, in an instant, further complicated her goal of the new world. Now, dismantling the Empire was no longer the endgame. It was but one small step towards accomplishing said ambition. It was almost like a never-ending cruel joke to the former Imperial general. For every step forward, something would always follow that put Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army two steps back.
"Najenda, I understand that this is quite a lot to take in," the Sorceress attempted to reassure.
"Not to mention a bit hard to believe..." Hekapoo added.
"Oh, believe me, any doubt flew out the window the second a talking brain landed in my front yard," Najenda coldly remarked. "What I would like to know, though, is how you intend on stopping this 'Salem' from posing a threat to us."
"First, we need to track down the scissors she gave to her cronies and destroy them," Hekapoo began. "Then, we get the scissors she stole in the first place and get them as far away from her as possible. Without them, she...hopefully won't be able to cause you any more trouble."
"'Hopefully?'" a doubtful Najenda repeated.
"The prophecy claims she'll set her attention on the Prime universe, so odds seem to be in your favor," Hekapoo explained, much to the Sorceress' ire.
"Still...one thing does elude me," the leader of Night Raid stated as she placed her organic hand on her chin. "You claim that Salem wishes to die, correct? If that's the case, then why is she targeting relics that could do her harm and possibly kill her?"
"I believe I have a theory for that," the Sorceress answered. "The Council believes that Salem's goal on Remnant was to end her life whilst bringing the rest of her world down with her. But now, with knowledge of the Multiverse, she isn't going to stop until there is nothing left at all."
"And she's ensuring her success by making sure nothing can be used to stop her while she thinks of a way to bring about the end of the Multiverse itself," Hekapoo added.
"I see..." Najenda replied before taking another smoke from her cigar. "And she has her eyes set on the Teigu?"
"All of them," Hekapoo confirmed. "And here's the thing. Salem's nothing else if not persistent and patient. We might've managed to get Tyrian off our backs, but she'll return. Again, and again, and again, and again until she gets what she wants. And that scorpion-tailed freak won't be the only one backing her up. She'll send the rest of her flunkies after you. Not to mention hordes of creatures the likes of which even the toughest of...whaddya call 'em again? Danger Beasts? Yeah, her Grimm would make even the strongest of them piss themselves. She'll keep at it until she's burned down the whole world to get the Teigu. So, unless you want her to slaughter you and your team, we need to put a stop to her scheme NOW."
The former general took the demon woman's words in and mulled her options. She wasn't too keen on sending one of her troops, someone she considered to be practically family to her, out into the unknown horrors of the Multiverse. However, Hekapoo was right. Salem needed to be stopped if she was to ensure the new world. Not to mention, she knew Leone and what she and Lionelle were capable of. She would make anyone who dared to stand against her regret making that mistake instantly.
So, with that in mind, Najenda came to her conclusion.
"Very well then. Night Raid accepts this mission."
But before either of the Cosmic Council members could respond, Krang suddenly burst through the doors, seemingly in a hurry, catching the three women off guard.
"...Could've knocked first, ya know, but, okay," Hekapoo uttered before addressing her reluctant ally. "What is it, Krang?"
"The Technodrome's picked something up, *gurgle*," the interdimensional alien answered.
UNIVERSE #30525
Kumandra.
A once-prosperous, peaceful land where mankind lived in harmony alongside their protectors, the dragons, was now divided and at the brink of war day in and day out. It started with the arrival of the nefarious Druun, who spread their plague-like wildfire across the land, turning any living creature in their grasp into stone. Their numbers growing exponentially, it was up to the last of the dragons, Sisudatu, to thwart them, concentrating her magic into a mystical gemstone that banished the Druun and revived the people of Kumandra. Unfortunately, the dragons could not be revived, and without their protectors guiding them, mankind did as mankind always has throughout the Multiverse.
They made enemies of each other.
In a power struggle for the last remnant of Sisu, Kumandra was split from one singular kingdom and into five tribes: Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon, and Tail. The gem was ultimately hidden within the tribe of Heart, safeguarded in secrecy for five hundred years, until one fateful day when Chief Benja, wanting to end this senseless conflict, held a feast in his land for the leaders of all five tribes. Instead, Namaari, daughter of the chieftess of Fang, deceived Benja's daughter, Raya, into showing her the location of the gem and once wind caught of where the remnant of the dragons' magic was, the other tribes fought for it, resulting in it being shattered into five pieces in the process.
In an instant, the Druun were set free and began to wreak havoc once again, eventually overtaking Heart and trapping many within the soon desecrated tribe, including its chief. And yet, even still, the tribe leaders' biggest concern was gaining the pieces of the stone, resulting in the chiefs of four of the tribes gaining a shard. The last was given to Raya by her father before he was turned to stone. Since then, for six years, Raya has traversed Kumandra in search of Sisu, with the hopes that she may cast the Druun out as she did long ago.
But she is not the only one looking for a solution to the ravaging spirits that plagued this land once more. The fiercest of the five tribes, Fang, was running low on both space and time. Sooner or later, the Druun that surrounded them would overrun them, and they would share the same fate as Heart. However, it seemed that a solution to this problem of theirs would present itself.
Though not in a manner that Chieftess Virana would have expected.
As she continued to plan inside of Fang's war room with her generals, her daughter standing at her side, the sounds of footsteps caught the chieftess' attention. Both she and Namaari turned to see four of her soldiers escorting two strangely dressed people towards her with their spears pointed at their necks the entire time. The first was a young woman with hair that was a mint-green shade, red eyes, and a light brown tone on her skin, wearing an olive-colored crop top with a white top. The second was a young man with gray hair and eyes wearing a gray and black jacket.
Upon seeing these two strangers, Virana raised a hand up calmly to tell her soldiers to cease their approach. An order that they and these outsiders followed.
"We've intercepted these two approaching the kingdom, your grace," one of the soldiers informed. "They claimed that they had vital information regarding Heart's gem piece and wished to speak to you directly."
"Chieftess Virana, my name is Emerald, and this is my partner, Mercury," the green-haired woman introduced. "We come before you humbled and with news that would be very beneficial for your tribe."
As she spoke, Emerald slowly bent down to one knee. An action that caught Mercury slightly off guard.
"Wha-The hell are you doing?" he whispered.
"Get down, dumbass," Emerald silently gritted through her teeth.
Rolling his eyes, Mercury obliged...despite how much he wished he couldn't.
"This is humiliating," he muttered as he knelt down.
"Neither of you appear to be spies from Tail...in fact, I'm not certain of which tribe the two of you hail from," Virana admitted.
"Let's just say that we're...from out of town," Mercury stated.
"And really, your grace, is where we came from more important than where we know Heart's shard is?" Emerald asked. "Especially with these Druun knocking on your door?"
"And how did you acquire such intel?" Virana pondered.
"We've been tracking Raya for quite some time," Emerald answered. "She's currently on her way to Tail as we speak. If we can intercept her, your tribe will be in possession of two shards. That should, at least, help you buy some time as you strategize a way to get the other three. All we need is a little extra help from your troops to snatch it."
The chieftess of Fang mulled the strangers' words for a few seconds, pondering if she should accept their request despite some...reservations she obviously had. Still, Fang was indeed starting to run out of time, and with that thought, she came to a decision.
"I shall accept your request...provided you allow yourselves to make one little compromise," she said.
"And that would be...?" Emerald asked.
"My daughter, Namaari, shall accompany you," Viranna answered.
She motioned her hand to said princess of Fang, who hadn't stopped glaring at the duo in an untrusting manner since they arrived.
"She will lead this team of yours," Viranna furthered. "You are to follow her every instruction and command without question. Understood?"
Nodding once, Emerald rose back to her feet, Mercury following suit, before the soldiers that lead them in here escorted them out. Once they were out of sight, Namaari turned to her mother.
"Do you really trust them, mother?" she asked.
"Oh, of course not," Viranna answered. "Still, given our current situation, this isn't an opportunity we should ignore."
"Agreed," Namaari replied. "What are your orders?"
"Keep a close eye on them," her mother answered. "Once the gemstone is in your possession, you run straight back to Fang. If they try to double-cross you, dispose of them."
She then placed a hand on Namaari's shoulder and gave her a warm, motherly smile.
"Be strong, my little morning mist."
With a smile of her own, Namaari bowed before her mother, placing her fingers against one another, before turning to leave the war room, ready to claim Heart's shard...and to face Raya once again.
UNIVERSE #10413
The entirety of Honnō City practically froze upon seeing a massive portal opening just above Honnōji Academy. From the slums below to the school perched atop the island, a majority of the people that went about their lives here in this city gawked at the sight above them. A look that was only amplified as several mounds of a black, liquid-like substance began to rain from the gateway to another dimension. Every droplet landed in the academy's courtyard, where several students, all of which bore their Goku Uniforms, had gathered to confront whoever was foolish enough to launch an attack against Lady Satsuki's domain.
Naturally, leading the charge was Ira Gamagōri, who scowled with intense hatred for this mysterious force. The unnaturally large three-star enforcer stood between the students and the school's entrance, acting as Satsuki's Impenetrable Shield as he usually was. Then, the member of the Elite Four noticed something forming out of the black substance. The shape bent and contorted as it took shape, eventually forming an avatar of Salem herself, who stared back at her opposition.
Several murmurs erupted from the other students, all of which had to do with their enemy's bizarre appearance.
"What the hell is that thing?" one of them asked.
Suddenly, a tendril shot out from Salem's back and grabbed onto this rather unfortunate student, who gasped out in fright. But before he could so much as scream, a second tendril forced itself down his throat, causing him to convulse as he began to choke on it, much to the terror of the other students, all while Ira's scowl further intensified. Then, several smaller tendrils pierced out of his body and began to wrap around him, some of them digging into his flesh a second time, before Salem finally answered his question.
"...Death."
Without warning, the tendrils pulled outward, tearing the student's entire body apart. The mess of blood, mangled flesh, bones, and organs fell to the ground harshly as the Life Fiber from his uniform floated away. The other students were positively petrified at Salem's brutal display of power, some of them throwing up in disgust upon seeing what little remained of the deceased student. Ira, however, ground his teeth in contempt before pointing right at the Queen in Black.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" he shouted. "THIS ABOMINATION'S ACTIONS MUST NOT BE TOLERATED IN LADY SATSUKI'S DOMAIN! TEACH THIS FOOL A LESSON FOR DEFYING YOUR STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT!"
Though hesitant at first, the students obliged, charging towards the dark witch's avatar. However, Salem simply smirked at this before raising her hands upward, causing several Ursas, Beowolves, Death Stalkers, Borbatusks, Griffons, and Beringels to form out of the black pool and counter the opposition to their queen. In retaliation, Ira attempted to charge towards Salem, only for a Death Stalker to intercept him, forcing the enforcer to dodge its massive stinger.
Amidst the all-out riot that was going on, a massive, almost humanoid-looking Grimm descended to its queen from the portal above, landing beside her. The Grimm Queen turned to this mysterious Grimm the second she heard its arrival.
"Locate the one known as Ryūko Matoi," she commanded. "Tear Senketsu out of her corpse if you must. I will dispose of 'Lady Satsuki' myself. Once they fall, Ragyō and the Original Life Fiber will be next."
"...Ryū...ko..." Salem's Hound growled.
UNIVERSE # 30213
"RRRGH! All this...this happiness and joy that surrounds us...It sickens me!" Tyrian growled as he and Hazel continued to walk the streets of Blytonbury. "Please, let me kill someone! I beg you!"
"No, Tyrian," Hazel responded. "Our orders were clear. We're just supposed to find a way to get into Luna Nova and get the Shiny Rod. No one has to die today."
"Oh, you're never any fun, Hazel," Tyrian groaned.
The source of the currently disguised scorpion-Faunus' ire was the simple fact that their Dimensional Scissors can't seem to get them to Luna Nova. It would seem that the school for witches had placed several mystical security measures to ensure that only those attending or working the academy could enter. As was proven when Tyrian arrived at Hazel's location only to find him continuing to try and open a portal to Luna Nova, only to be spat back out.
So now, this reluctant pair of Salem's acolytes wandered the streets of Blytonbury, endlessly trying to find a means to break into the school. As they did so, however, someone observed them from across the street with an uneasy look in her eyes. She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that those two weren't up to anything good.
"Huh? Hey, Akko, something wrong?"
"Probably. It's not like her to just fall quiet in the middle of a conversation...Or at all, for that matter."
"Wha? Oh! Sorry, wait up, guys!" Akko Kagari called out as she ran to catch up with Lotte and Sucy...unaware that her sense of danger was quite well warranted.
UNIVERSE #32275
The Kingdom of Corona was a land of majesty and beauty, ruled by a wise and just king and queen, and while they were grand rulers, it was their daughter, Rapunzel, who was the true hero of Corona. With her lover, Eugene, and her friends, they had bested the evil of the demonic sorceress known as Xan-Tiri, after she had manipulated her best friend, Cassandra, to usher in her return. Though the cost was high, Rapunzel having gave up her magical hair to cast the source of evil back into the darkness where she belonged. With Xan-Tiri gone, Corona returned to being a land of peace, even allowing Rapunzel and her lover to be married once again.
But those days of light and joy had been enveloped by darkness once more. It began with sightings of strange and fearsome beasts on the outskirts of the kingdom. These beasts were massive and sought only destruction and death as they soon began to tear through the countryside, slaughtering every living that they could find in their wake. The army of Corona was powerless to stop these monsters as they began to tear a path of destruction directly toward the castle. But rather than lay siege to it, they instead parted ways to allow a single woman to step forward and approach the royal family's home. In a matter of hours, a single woman had laid waste to the entire army of Corona as she made her way to the castle.
Once inside, the pale witch slaughtered the castle guards until she found those that she was looking for. Now here she was, sitting on the king's throne as she looked down upon the now tied and bound royal family as her monster surrounded them, all of whom waited for their master's order to rip them to shreds the moment she gave the command.
"What do you want?" the king demanded.
"You're going to help find something I've crossed through many worlds to find," Salem answered simply. "And I will kill every last person on this planet to get it if I must."
With a mere gesture of her hand, Salem levitated the king off of the ground before launching him across the room, knocking him out from the impact with the ground. Rapunzel, wanting to defend her family, stood up in defiance of the witch.
"Why are you doing this?!" she demanded. "The sundrop is gone! My hair is cut! What do you want with me?!"
Salem, unfazed by her demands lifted the princess off the ground and levitated her off the ground the same as she did her father, only instead of flinging her across the room as she had done previously, she instead brought her closer to the Queen in Black. Eugene attempted to stand and try to save his wife, only to be shoved back to the ground by a Beowolf.
"My dear, whoever said that I wanted you?" Salem inquired simply.
Rapunzel, still trying to process what she had meant by that, was sent flying backward until she was pinned to a wall by an unseen force. As she pinned Rapunzel against the wall, Salem causally got up from the throne and slowly walked over to where she was holding the young woman with her powers. Once she was close enough, she leaned forward so that Rapunzel could look her dead in her blood-red eyes.
"Now tell me, princess..." she began as sparks of purple energy began to dance on her fingertips. "Where. Is. Cassandra?"