Part 5 - Blood of the King

Chapter 100 - When the Bastion Burns (Part Two)

Miles was helping to pile up the rubble from the Borderland wall. They were using it to plug the gap until it could be repaired fully. At the moment, the clock was ticking. A scout in Vaxar had said more forces were being gathered for a second assault that could arrive at any time. Miles stopped next to the large chunk which 058 was still stuck underneath. The creature was muttering its nothings:

"I dream of the day when the insect is crushed under the boot of the lord; the fire licks the boots of the angry child."

Miles was about to walk on when it said something that freaked him out more than anything else in his life.

"I dream of the time when the name Morales is spoken with the disgust of its lover."

He knelt down next to the creature. Its mouth opened to reveal four sharp teeth.

"What are you?" He asked.

"I see the corners of the fabric which turns to ash when the worlds burn. The Scarlet King's reign is eternal."

Just as it finished this and returned to its normal meaningless talk, there was a shout from the wall.

"They're here!"

Everything went crazy in an instant. Soldiers sprinted to their posts, picking up weapons and preparing for battle. Miles scrambled up to Teresa who had been the one who shouted. She was looking through a pair of binoculars.

"What do you see? Just more Kates?" He asked.

"Looks like mostly Kates, yes. But they seem to have air support. At least we got the Quintari to bring a handful of Ares jets through this time."

"What sort of air support? And is there another SCP?"

"I don't see an SCP, but the air support looks like...meatballs with arms would be my best description."

Miles took the binoculars as she offered.

"Wow...they really do look meatballs. Demonic meatballs."

"From now on they're called Meatball Demons."

"Sounds like something Max would call them."

"Where is Max?"

"I don't know. I'm dead. How long until they get here?"

"Max or the army?"

"The army."

"I'd guess an hour."

"He's got time, then."

Max appeared out of a temporal warp almost exactly an hour later. Miles gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Where have you been?"

"Fixing things with Grace."

"How'd it go?"

"I think we're good. What's happening here?"

"You're just in time for round two."

The artillery opened fire and the Ares jets took-off. Max sighed, looking around. His eyes came to rest on the breach in the wall.

"Do you think it will hold?"

"I hope so."

Suddenly, something shot overhead and exploded amongst the wall of artillery guns. Some of the Meatball Demons raced by, hurling people off the wall as they passed. Max morphed his mask on and fired a web at one. He dug his feet into the ground and started to spin it until he hurled it at another. Both exploded in a shower of sparks and flesh.

"Easy."

Miles did the same, but hurled his over the wall where it exploded amongst the Kates that were thundering forward at a fair pace. He climbed back up to Teresa who was shooting at the Kates with a rifle.

"You realise that's not doing anything, right?" Asked Max.

"Yes. But it makes me think I'm doing something."

Suddenly, another section of the wall was blown sky high. The commander sighed and handed the rifle to Miles.

"Fine. Let's do it the other way."

She knelt down, punching the wall. A slightly transparent, and much more muscular, version of Teresa appeared. It raced down to the second breach, grabbing a sword and shield.

"Half of you with me!" It yelled as it passed the first.

The rear-most soldiers broke away from the formation protecting the original breach and formed a shield wall beside the new one. The Kates began to screech. The projection noticed some of the soldiers faltering.

"We don't give an inch of ground. Do it for the memories of the people you love. Or if you're already dead, fight for your friends and family who are still alive."

It was a pretty cliché speech, but it did the trick. The soldiers roared at the Kates as the first of them collided with the wall. The shield wall fell back a few steps under the impact, but didn't budge any further. The projection and other soldiers at the front began to stab between the gaps in the shields, but the weapons glanced off. Teresa realised quickly these were Kate Sergeants. Clearly there was a brain behind this assault. The Sergeants started pushing back as the morale of the soldiers started to wane. Max and Miles spotted a danger, as did a lot of others. The spiders leapt down and plugged the slowly growing gap between the edges of the wall and the shields. A handful of Quintari fought hard. Max picked his target and kicked its front legs out. The Sergeant snarled, picking itself up. Max brought his fists up and started throwing carefully aimed punches. He aimed for the head and neck and it seemed to work better than just punching them wherever. Suddenly, a tentacle grabbed him and lifted him into the air by the legs. He tried to pull himself free, but couldn't. The Sergeant leapt up at him, only to be kicked aside by Charlotte who grabbed her falling brother and put him back on his feet.

"You're going to owe me a lot of favours after this, Max."

"Uh oh."

Miles was glad his children were getting along, but it didn't change how the battle was going. Teresa was on her third projection and the ranks of soldiers were thinning quickly. Of course, this was the Bastion of the Dead: those who were slain would return a few minutes later to carry on the struggle fighting hand to hand if they had to. Miles venom struck another Sergeant, but all of this was making him weak. He had killed himself fighting one, and now there were hundreds. An Ares roared overhead, releasing a small cluster of bombs on the flow of Kates. It helped a little, but nobody could ignore it being shot out of the sky by a Meatball Demon a moment later. The Sergeant Miles was fighting had found its way on top of him and was snapping angrily at his face, held back only by his slowly weakening arms. Foul spit covered his face and he could hardly breathe from the stench of its breath. Suddenly, the creature was lifted up and sent rolling back into a number of its counterparts.

"I'd say that's a strike."

Lucifer grabbed another and tore its head clean off as well as a tentacle with which he tied up another and spun it around. The Kates against the shield wall were knocked over and soldiers made quick work trying to find any weak spots they could. There was a roar of triumph as the devil rose into the air and blasted the remaining Kates inside the wall back out of the perimeter.

"Form up!" Teresa's fourth projection yelled.

The soldiers banged their swords and shields together as Lucifer made short work of the opposing army. Of course, it would be too easy to get victory this way: a spinning double-blade cut clean through the devil and his two halves splattered on the floor. The triumphant yelling died away and the soldiers braced as the Kates charged once more. A Meatball Demon blasted apart the original breach and Kates poured in. Now the defence was stretched across two points and the Kates were attacking with equal force in each. Max and Miles scrambled up onto the wall to see who had thrown the sword. The wielder looked mostly human apart from their size.

"What is it with big people?" Max muttered.

"I have no idea."

"I'll take him. You deal with the Kates."

"There's no way you can take that guy on singlehandedly. He just killed Lucifer, the Emperor, the guy we spent literally months trying to kill. It only took him a single hit: how long will it take to kill you?"

"You're forgetting he has to hit me first."

Conall skidded to a halt with them.

"That's Jeser, the King's second in command. Most likely he's the mastermind behind this."

"It's simple but genius. Max..."

Spider-Boy was gone. Miles let out a groan as he saw his son start attacking Jeser.

"Well...he's dead." He concluded.

"Which one? Max is kicking butt."

Max's tactic was to avoid the double-bladed sword. He kicked Jeser in the back of the neck then dropped to the floor and lay into the back of his knee. Jeser kicked his foot back, knocking the spider away and giving him a chance to take a swipe. Max dropped onto his stomach and avoided it before pushing off the ground and kicking his adversary in the chest, then bringing his fist round to uppercut him. Jeser stumbled back, then started laughing.

"Do you honestly believe I would be this easy to beat?"

"I don't know. Quite a lot of your King's goons have been easy to beat. Hastur, Moloch: easy."

"Hastur's only power was numbing life. Moloch brings out their shame. What do I do?"

"Get your ass kicked."

"Hmph. Cocky for a fifteen year old who's last words to his mother were that she didn't love anything."

Max shut out the attempt to get in his head, but in doing so opened up another vulnerability. Jeser stabbed his sword into the churned up mud of the battlefield: Max's eyes turned red and he stared up at Prince of Many Faces.

"What is your bidding?"

"Kill."

Max turned to the wall.

Conall had gone down to help out as the Kates pushed further and further. Miles was about to do the same when a flash of red caught his eye. The colour wasn't rare in this battle: it flew in the banners of the Scarlet King's army, it trickled through the mud in the form of blood. But this red glowed like he had seen once before in his daughter however long ago that had been. He turned back to see Max looking straight at him with glowing red eyes.

"Oh crap..." Miles muttered as his son leapt for him.

He ducked the blow and charged a venom strike which he used to knock Max off the wall and into the mud on the other side. He jumped down as his possessed son stood up.

"I don't want to hurt you, Max."

"It's a shame I want to hurt you."

Miles dodged a well aimed punch, jumped a kick, then drove his fist round into the side of Max's head. Max stumbled back; Miles took his chance and kicked his feet out from under him before pinning him down.

"Conall!"

The immortal glanced back and saw what was going on. He sprinted over.

"Forget Max kicking butt."

Miles was hurled off, but Conall charged an Ethereal punch and smashed Max back into the mud.

"How do we help him?"

"By forcing Jeser to give up control, or by knocking him out."

"Knock him out."

"Great."

Conall dragged Max to his feet before knocking the possessed spider clean out with a hit to the temple.

"That might be a concussion and a half."

"Now we deal with Jeser before he turns everyone against us." Said Miles.

"He can control anyone. Nobody has a chance."

"Don't make me have to fight you again."

"Not even for old times' sake?"

Miles and Conall joined the fight once more. Conall handed Miles a golden knife which seemed to do next to no good. Suddenly, another explosion joined the sounds of the battle. All eyes turned in fear as Jeser led a third spearhead through yet another breach in the wall. There was nothing that could win this battle now...or was there? A voice seemed to call on the wind. A second later, something dark filled the sky...or was it many somethings? Miles couldn't tell, and nor could anyone else. All they knew was that little more than shadows seemed to be beating back the third spearhead, then the second through the original, and finally the first. Conall flew up onto the wall and watched the Scarlet King's army retreat through a portal. He heard Max groan.

"'Then the winged hussars arrived...'"

It was clearly a delirious quotation, but on closer inspection, Conall thought he could see that the shadows had wings.

Teresa looked around. She was in a room with dead people, Death itself, the High Aether and apparently an old friend of his who seemed to be little more than a shadow they were so dark. The shadow stood and gave a quick bow to the audience.

"I am Tavi: High Aether of the Pritari. I have fought in many battles, and I know this: the Scarlet King has only just begun. We have no alternative: the omniverse must be united under one banner to stand even a chance of defeating him. He will come for Bastria again, and he will come with everything."

"No. He shall not."

All eyes turned to the seemingly confined patch of mist which was Death.

"My power wanes; the red dawn nears. In seven Earth days, the way to Zaltoxir shall open. Khahrahk will waste no time. I can keep him from simply appearing at the Tree, but that is all. It seems guns and glory will decide the fate of all."

"But we repelled him." Protested Teresa.

"Jeser walked on sacred soil. The time draws near: 'The King and his armies approach the Taproots, the center worlds, in all his wrath, and all his hate, and all his spite. He reaches out to corrupt and consume and destroy. Even now his presence is felt. Time slips away. The Brass Goddess is broken, the Serpent has fled. The heroes are gone. The children of A'habbat have been slaughtered to the last.'"

"Maybe not all of A'habbat's children are dead. Gwen might still be alive." Suggested Miles.

"I don't think she succeeded." Replied Conall, a little disheartened.

"How many died?" Asked Gwen.

"A lot. I'd guess in the tens of thousands at least." Replied Liam.

"I've been reading for three days. I need a break."

"Ninety-eight chapters in three days is a lot. I wonder if these bits are still in italics in the narrative above? I mean, the readers know what they are, right?"

Michael appeared with chocolate.

"You sure you're good, Liam? You don't usually have a crisis for this long."

"I don't know."

"That's...not reassuring."

"Something feels wrong, but I can't put my finger on it."

"What sort of wrong?" Asked Gwen.

She was starting to warm up to these two, although Liam less so since he seemed intent on remaining cryptic.

"I feel like something is about to explode..."

Suddenly, something did explode. A small boat had been sailing past a little ways out, but it certainly wasn't anymore.

"Ummm..."

Gwen stood up and narrowed her eyes at Liam, although he seemed just as shocked as Michael. She was used to random explosions, but Liam clearly had some sort of foresight. Since this dimension seemed so similar to 9633 back in her narrative, she guessed there were no superheroes or superpowers. That meant he had gained the power from somewhere...but where?

"Liam, how do you feel?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean you aren't sure?"

"Like there's something else there that won't let me find out."

It was a better answer than 'I don't know'. She'd work with it for now.

Crossovers in this Chapter

- SCP Foundation

Note

Chapter 100...did not expect to get here!