Part 5 - Blood of the King

Chapter 103 - High Elder Gods

Max went to go and see Jacob not long after Conall had left. His friend was cleaning mud off one of the raptors in his pack.

"Hey Jake."

"Wassup, Max. I feel like we haven't talked in like…ages."

"I know. Sadly I'm not here on a social visit."

"Oh yes sir…" Jacob answered sarcastically with a mock salute.

Max chuckled.

"At ease, dino man. Nah, seriously; I need your help."

"What with?"

"I need to find the High Elder Gods."

"Err…why?"

"Because Mum had an idea that if we restrained Khahrahk and destroyed the dimension, he'd die. Makers of the makers sound like the best people to go to to find a way to do it."

"You know you're talking about the dudes that literally started this whole thing by creating stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Well…you're doing the talking, man. But I'll help a friend any day. Where do we start?"

"I figured somewhere in Noladis. A little village somewhere in Norway in one of the Earth-616s. The original name is in Norwegian, but its new name is New Asgard. I'm hoping it will be like the old Asgard in our multiverse and we'll find Thor or someone who can tell us where to find the High Elder Gods."

"Right. Or you could ask Jesus? Or maybe SCP-343; I hear he's a Brother of Death like Jesus and Lucifer."

"Hang on; isn't 343 supposed to be God? So how can his brother be his son?"

"I dunno. Let the Author or someone figure that one out."

"Or not."

"LOL."

"So who do we talk to? Your call."

"343. He's apparently a nice guy."

"Cool."

SCP-343 seemed to be an old man. He was roaming the streets of Vienna, Austria, dimension 9633. He seemed to know Max and Jacob were approaching as soon as they warped into the dimension. He turned and smiled.

"It is a lovely afternoon, is it not?"

"Yeah." Replied Max.

"There are very few people nowadays. It is like a tree from which all the good fruit has been plucked, leaving the rotting and old."

"The Legion and Republic are kinda scraping the barrel. I wonder where they got four hundred and fifty political power points?" Replied Jacob.

"343, I need your help." Said Max, ignoring the Hearts of Iron Four joke.

"Anything."

"I need to find the High Elder Gods, but I don't know where."

"They are everywhere, but remain in one place: the Void."

"As in literal nothingness or is it actually a place?"

"As this multiverse has many dimensions and a world between worlds, so too does the omniverse as a whole have the same. The Void is the world between worlds of it all."

"How do we get there?"

"I believe such a question would be better put to the Pritari, given they themselves come from it."

"I'll ask. Thank you, 343."

"It is my pleasure."

Max and Jacob were about to return to Zaltoxir to locate a Pritari. However, much to their surprise, one appeared just as they were preparing to jump.

"You seek the Void?" They asked.

"The High Elder Gods, specifically."

"Come. We will take you."

Whether the spider and his friend like it or not, they were soon standing in the transfer room of a ship that began to shake a little.

"How did you know where we were?" Asked Jacob.

"Death knew you would need us. We've been tailing you for a while now. And now we have arrived."

"Max is the only one going to the Gods. I'm just here for mental support."

"Then please step off the transfer pad."

Jacob did as he was told and with a nod Max disappeared in a column of energy.

Max found himself in the courtyard of some sort of temple. He had expected somewhere called the 'Void' to be a lot more empty, but 343's comparison to the world between worlds suggested people could easily build in it. The spider took a step forward so he was in the very centre of the space. Suddenly, things grew darker and a thin mist drifted in like when Death was around.

"Speak, mortal. Your arrival has been…expected."

The voice sounded slightly unsure, but calm and relaxed at the same time. Max got down on one knee and bowed his head.

"My name is Maximilian Morales-Stacy. I was born in…"

"We know who you are." Said a second voice, this one female and stern.

"Patience. He fears us." Said a third, the voice of an old man.

"Speak, mortal." Commanded the first.

Max decided to skip his life story.

"You said me coming here was expected. If you knew that, you'll know Khahrahk, the Scarlet King, or whatever…"

"We know of Khnith-hgor: King of the Darkness Below." Snapped the second.

"Then you'll know how close he is to destroying everything. He just needs to march his army up to the Tree in Zaltoxir and burn it then everything outside of Noladis and Bastria is gone. Of course, he won't stop there: he'll tear Noladis and Bastria apart then all that's left is here."

"Let me guess; you want us to smite him?" Asked the second.

"No. We can do the smiting. We just need a way to restrain him."

"Only a High Elder God can overpower a Low Elder God."

"Is there any way I could…borrow some of your power or you could make a fancy chain or something that will stop him escaping?"

There was laughter that seemed to last an eternity. When it died away, Max felt like an idiot in the silence that followed. Why would the creators of the omniverse give him any of their power. However, he received an answer that gave him a little hope:

"We will consider your request, but first you must prove your worth."

"How can I do it?" He asked, surprised the answer wasn't just 'no'.

"Go to the Darkness Below and liberate the seven Animators. When you have freed them from their prison, take them to Bastria. Only once this task is complete and you have returned to this place shall we decide."

"I'll do it. And thank you."

The light returned and the mist lifted. Max stood up, only to be transferred straight back to the Pritari ship. He explained the mission to Jacob who agreed to help with some of his raptors.

Within the day, the spider and his friend were ready. Max patted one of the metal raptors on the nose and gave the Pritari a nod. A few seconds later, the pair and four metal raptors were standing in the barren hellscape that was the Darkness Below. The place seemed almost completely deserted; most likely all of Khahrahk's forces were engaged in Zaltoxir.

"Where do you think the Animators will be?" Asked Jacob.

"That way. At least, that's what this scanning thing says."

The Pritari had given them a device to locate the Animators.

"Lead the way, spidey."

It took almost two hours to reach where the Animators seemed to be held: an enormous red castle. Max punched the gates down and drew the Grasshopper Sword. There was no way it could be this easy; the pair hadn't run into anything yet. Suddenly, as they entered a corridor, things became weird: the walls seemed to start spinning a little, parts of them peeling off and rolling around like a horrible sludge. They tensed up, pressing on. The illusions seemed to disappear as they got closer, showing that the walls were still intact and the corridor was straight. Neither let down their guard; even the raptors seemed ready. Max stopped outside a room.

"This is it. They're in here."

"All of them?"

"I hope."

Jacob pushed the door open gently, peering through the gap. He could see all seven Animators sitting on pedestals like crown jewels. He pushed the door all the way open and walked in. Suddenly, there was a crack and a stone spike leapt out of the ground.

"Jacob!" Max yelled as his friend was skewered.

The spike retracted; the raptors sprinted into the room and charged at a little girl who looked no older than eight. Max knelt down next to his friend, but there was no response: Jacob was dead. Max stood up slowly, feeling adrenaline coursing through his veins. The raptors appeared to have turned into rocking horses, casually going back and forward without a care in the world. The girl was standing in the middle.

"Max!" She exclaimed happily.

"Do I know you?" The spider snarled back.

"No! Why would you know me?"

"You killed my friend."

She giggled.

"And now you're alone! Daddy wants me to nail you to a tree!"

"What?"

"That's what I said! I want to have fun with my new toy!"

"I'm not your toy."

Max began to charge at the girl, but suddenly found himself lying on his back. He made to stand up, but an unbearable stinging pain began to work its way up his leg. The little girl was giggling, but was Max was crying out in pain as he seemed to be dissected by nothing. More and more cuts began to appear, ripping apart his spider suit and drawing more and more blood. He gave up counting how many there were and reached for his dimensional watch. With an agonising stretch, he hit a button labelled 'safety'. He was consumed by a display of colours leaving the girl alone. She began crying.

"My new toy! I want my toy back!"

Grace wondered who could be knocking at the door. As far as her parents had told her, no packages were due. She unlocked it and pulled it open with a sigh. As she saw who it was and the state they were in, she gasped.

"Oh my god…Max! What the hell happened?"

She caught him as he fought not to pass out from blood loss. She carried him to the couch and lay him down on it, kicking the door closed with her foot. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed a first aid kit, a tub of water and a cloth. She knew none of it was likely to do much, so she was hoping his spider powers would heal him fast enough that he didn't die. He still seemed to be conscious when she returned to him; she used his hand to try and morph his suit off, but the resulting ball of programmable matter just crumbled apart in her hand. She dropped the rest and removed the other clothes he was wearing apart from his underwear. She wondered what people would think if they saw the scene, but she needed to clean all his injuries before they became infected. It looked like most of the blood was dry now which meant he wasn't bleeding anymore, or at least not as much. She gently wiped the blood away, being careful not to start the flow again. He was gritting his teeth against the pain, but didn't complain. This was going to be a long day.

Crossovers in this Chapter

- SCP Foundation