Part 5 - Blood of the King

Chapter 86 - The Ark

The trip into the omniverse ended a week later and was branded a failure. It seemed wherever the team went, they created problems instead of helping. Max was sitting alone with the High Aether aboard a Quintari warship.

"I don't get it. How can we win this? We create chaos which is exactly what Khahrahk wants."

"You cannot expect to win every battle. What matters is who wins the war."

"What about the people in that dimension with the Kha'raar virus? We have to help them or billions will die."

"Take things slowly. Not even the Quintari have a cure, or even a way to treat it. When we have one, we will take it to them. In the meantime, we must prepare for phase six."

"Six?"

"Have you not seen how Khahrahk gains a new spike with each return? He will have six this time, be taller and more powerful."

"I wasn't born when he was killed the last time so I don't know."

"Very true. But..."

"But what? Can I speak freely? I feel like I'll lose my head if I say something wrong."

"Say what you wish."

"Why are the Quintari just chilling around Ardveer while the Legion and Republic fight a war that will ultimately determine your fate as well? When are you gonna step in and help out?"

"A fair question. You will notice we have helped. We rescued you from Noladis, we gave you the jet."

"But you have the strongest weapons, the strongest ships, the best everything. But you're just sitting on it."

"I will admit we are not fond of the Legion and its practices."

"Yeah, well neither am I which is why I've changed a lot of things. I don't care what you thought about the Legion when Dad was in charge. I don't care what you think about it now, or about me. But isn't it about time you put aside your opinions and actually do something to help out before it's too late?"

"You must understand..."

"Oh piss off. More excuses, more secrets. It's all the Quintari have ever proven themselves good for."

Max stood up and stormed out.

A few hours later, he and Jacob were sitting on a bench in Central Park, 7610, drinking hot chocolate from Central Perk.

"I still can't believe you told the High Aether to 'piss off'."

"Can we forget it? It's not my proudest moment."

"You've really got a bit of an attitude nowadays."

"I've buried my sister, my dad and have the Legion to run. You'd have an attitude too."

"Probably."

They sat in silence for a few minutes until it was broken by an electronic voice.

"Temporal anomaly detected."

"Where, Corbo?"

"Six o'clock, three metres."

The pair looked behind them; Max was up in an instant and pulled Jacob with him. A red crack was starting to suck them in. They tried to run, but it grew stronger and stronger until they were being pulled in. A couple of onlookers watched in fear, filming it on their phones. There was a foul smell to the red smoke that wafted out of it. The pair were sucked through.

They found themselves on a sandy beach, next to an ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see. The crack had sealed itself, trapping them here.

"Did you pack your suit by any chance?" Jacob asked, brushing the sand off his arms.

"I've got my web shooters, but nothing else."

"Oh great. We're gonna die."

"We might not...wait, we're gonna die."

"I told you."

Two of the foul abominations were circling, their tentacles held ready to strike.

"Got a plan?"

"Nope."

Jacob picked up a rock and threw it, but the projectile was knocked away by a tentacle. The slimy limb continued towards him; Max grabbed it and tried to fight it away but it slipped from his grip and slapped him into the sand.

"How fast are these things?"

"I don't know."

Jacob started to run but was tripped up.

"At least I'll die with a friend."

"At least I won't have to manage the Legion."

Suddenly, there was a strange noise that sounded something like what Max imagined a dog would sound like trying to bark through its nose. The abominations snarled and turned their attention to the aggressors.

"What do you mean he's gone?!" Gwen yelled at Teresa.

"I mean he vanished. His last known location was Central Park, 7610, and there's no trace of him. If you want to talk to him, you can either go searching or wait for him to come back."

"If he comes back. For all I know, he's just gone to his grave thinking his mother doesn't care about him."

"I don't think Max thinks that low of you. Anyway, the point is I can't help you find him. He's allowed time off radar if he needs it."

"Has he ever gone off radar?"

"No."

"So, why would he now? Unless he didn't mean to."

"He did tell the High Aether to 'piss off' so I'd be scared too."

"Let me know when you find him again."

"Will do."

Gwen left, wondering if there was something more going on.

"Corbo, any ideas what Max might be up to?"

"He experienced a temporal anomaly just as he disappeared."

"You only mention this now?"

"I didn't think it was important."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me. Teresa!"

Max and Jacob stared in shock at their saviours. They weren't people.

"Jake, now would be a really good time to dig out those dinosaur facts you used to drive everyone crazy with."

"They're Velociraptors. At least, those four are. The other two are...I have no idea what's going on with them."

Four seemed to be quite normal, at least as normal as extinct prehistoric predators got. However, two seemed to be made from metal with an excessive quantity of blue lights.

"Think we can escape?"

"Not by running."

"Then don't let go."

Jacob thought Max was trying to hug him for a moment, but realised he wasn't when there was a 'phwip' and they were pulled off the ground. The raptors went crazy, one trying to leap up to pull the pair down again while the others sprinted after them. It was harder to swing from trees than skyscrapers, and carrying someone didn't make it any easier. They reached an area where the trees were taller; Max swung up to the top and put Jacob down on one of the branches while he caught his breath. The raptors circled below, the one that had jumped trying to climb up but failing. After nearly five minutes, there was a roar and the raptors scattered. Another dinosaur appeared, this one much taller and with claws that looked like it could cut 682 in half.

"Is that a T-Rex?" Asked Max.

"Nope. Therizinosaurus. We should go."

"Is it a carnivore?"

"No, but it'll just as happily kill us."

"Get on my back, might be easier that way." They started to swing again. "Are there any nice dinosaurs?"

"A few. Wait, stop a second."

Max stuck himself to another tree.

"I thought I recognised this place."

"How? Where are we?"

"There was an old game called Ark Survival that I used to play a lot."

"Yeah, you never shut up about it."

"There was a massive pillar thing back there. Max, we're in the game."

"Did this game come from 9633?"

"Maybe."

"Then we aren't in the game, we're in the world the game was based on."

"9633 is so weird."

"Do not watch Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. Or any of the sequels. I'm pretty sure there's a prequel coming soon."

"Too late. It's on my watchlist as soon as we get back."

"I'm gonna drop you if you aren't careful."

"We need a plan."

"We needed a plan five minutes ago."

Jacob climbed onto a branch and Max settled down next to him.

"What do we need to survive?" Asked the former.

"Food, water, maybe a doomsday bunker to keep some of those things out. Then we need a way home cos I ain't sticking around."

"I just had a stupid idea, but it can wait. We have to get back first."

"Maybe if we could build a beacon? Corbo, any suggestions?"

"I'm disconnected. I can't help."

"Straight to the point, at least."

The High Aether nodded as Gwen explained the situation.

"It seems likely he is in another multiverse. Which one, and in which dimension, could take decades to determine by which time he may be dead."

"If you won't help, I'll take that jet and do it myself. He's my son, and I've been a bad enough mother already."

"I can spare a few ships, but I would not keep your hopes high."

"He's smart. He'll find a way."

A few hours had passed and it was extremely dark. Max and Jacob were sitting on the beach where they had first arrived, slowly cooking a Dodo carcass over a fire. Jacob was gazing at an enormous pillar in the distance.

"I think I have a plan, but it relies on someone looking for us." Said Max.

Jacob turned to him hopefully.

"Anything's worth a try."

"I have a chip in the back of my neck that hears and sees everything I do."

"That's really creepy. Couldn't someone watch you in the shower or something?"

"Apparently only ELIS has access to the data and it let's someone know if I'm saying or doing something I shouldn't, but I don't trust it. Anyway, my point is it has to have some sort of temporal technology in it to talk to ELIS, cos the core is in the Legion headquarters."

"I think I see where this is going and I'm not cutting your neck open."

"Why not?"

"It'd get infected and you might die!"

"I'd be fine if the Quintari found us. And if they don't, we'll be eaten by a T-Rex anyway."

"Where does that Corbo thing come from? It must have temporal tech in it too."

"It's in my web shooters."

"So, why don't we use that?"

"Good point."

"When do we start?"

"When there's enough light to see by, I guess."

They sat in silence, the smell of cooking Dodo wafting up their nostrils.

"I can smell why people hunted these things to extinction." Said Jacob.

"Hopefully it tastes half as good. You said earlier you had a plan?"

"It's a stupid one."

"I wanna hear it."

"You sure? You might lose some brain cells."

"I'll lose some brain cells to a T-Rex in a minute, so I don't care."

"When we were being attacked by those octopus things, those raptors trashed them. We could tame an army of Velociraptors; boom, the King doesn't have an army."

Max laughed. It was just as ridiculous as Jacob had said it was. But then he began to think about it a bit.

"Maybe it isn't as stupid as it sounds."

"Dude, you're the head of the Ethereal Legion and you're actually considering this?"

"All we have at the moment is electricity and swords. I'd imagine an army of Velociraptors would look way cooler than a cavalry charge. Then there's those shiny ones with all the lights."

"What about them?"

"They did the most damage, like their teeth had an electric current or something."

"You know how stupid you sound, man?"

"Yep, but I'm gonna put the idea to the directors and, if it works, put your name on the credits."

There was a pause before Jacob raised his eyebrows.

"Are you serious or just pulling my leg?"

"I'm perfectly serious. They'll call it the Jacob tactic."

"This is getting stupid."

"Yep. So stupid it's genius."

"Sometimes my genius...it's almost frightening."

"Until a log flies through your window."

The pair laughed.

Gwen drummed one of her old band's songs on the armrest of the cockpit seat of the modified Ares. The aircraft was hovering over a dimension in Noladis which it indicated to be 'Earth-616'. This 616 looked nothing like 2095 back in Premis, most likely due to the lack of Borg influence. In addition, everything seemed so quiet.

"They aren't here." Corbo reported, finishing its scan.

"Onto the next one, I guess."

"Hold tight."

The machine warped and started scanning again. Her spider sense told her this one was going to turn up blank as well, but she let Corbo continue. She wondered what Max was doing right now; was he even still alive? Her heart told her he was, but her heart had caused all sorts of problems in the past and she had given up listening to it. Maybe that was why she and Miles had fought so much in his last few hours? She was mad at herself for doing that, and she was going to find a way to make it up to him. She had a few options, but starting another empire seemed like a bad idea. No, she would solve the mystery of the assassination attempt. According to the investigation, the primary suspect had been killed by Charlotte but their name was Carolus Lucifer Rex. Was it a move by an Empire supporter, or an assassin from the Scarlet King? Something told her the Quintari were wrong and it wasn't either and there was more to it. Perhaps there was a way she could convince someone to allow the Animator to be used so she could speak to this 'Carolus'?

"They aren't here."

"Just keep jumping and scanning, would you? Don't talk unless you find them."

"Very well."

Max and Jacob had made some sort of device. It wouldn't pass any safety standards, that was certain. But they hoped it could send a ping out that the Quintari or someone would come and investigate. Jacob was petting a creature of some sort which he had called a Lystrosaurus. It seemed to have taken a liking to him, and he to it. Max was checking the device for any loose ends.

"Alright, moment of truth."

He pressed the button to send a ping. It had once been a button to release webs, but served this purpose just as well. A light lit up for a moment.

"Now we wait."

"Can I take this guy with us?" Asked Jacob.

"Sure, if our rescuers are OK with an extinct prehistoric creature on their ship."

"Ma'am..."

"If you're gonna say they aren't here, shut up." Gwen snapped.

"I was going to say a Quintari destroyer reports a strange temporal ping with a similar signature to my own. They're checking it out and request you rendezvous with them."

"What are we waiting for?"

"Teresa also asked me to inform you Khahrahk has returned."

"Max first."

"Err...Jake. Stop house training a dino for a second."

"What?"

"That furry-saurus or whatever it was called is here."

"Therizinosaurus?"

"Whatever."

Jacob stood up, his new friend nuzzling against his leg.

"I'd say run but we're kinda trapped." He said.

"Unless we swim."

"Are you kidding? There are Megalodons nowadays!"

"Alright, let's hope it doesn't see us."

The feathered dinosaur seemed agitated. It was slowly plodding directly for them. Its eyes seemed to narrow as it spotted the pair. It began to charge them down; Jacob's pet began to flee at a snails pace.

"Oh...shit." Max muttered.

The dinosaur raised one of its extremely long clawed hands to slash them. Suddenly, there was a bang above them and a shockwave knocked the creature back. Gwen landed gracefully, staring in shock at the size of her opponent.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a Therizinosaurus!" Jacob shouted back.

The shockwave seemed to have freaked the dinosaur out: it turned and fled. Jacob's Lystrosaur plodded back to him. He scooped it up like a puppy. Gwen double tapped the side of her head, lowering her hood and mask.

"You have a weird choice in pets. What is this place?"

A Quintari ship appeared overhead.

"We're calling it the Ark." Max replied.

"Riiiiight. Do you want to come home for a shower or are you gonna stay here like cave men and be eaten by that feathery thing? Apparently Khahrahk is back."

"Can I keep this Lystrosaurus?" Asked Jacob as the Ares touched down.

"Ask your parents."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- SCP Foundation
- Ark Survival: Evolved (fun fact: this crossover was going to be in part one)