Part 11 - We Could Burn It All Down
Chapter 200 - The Last Stand
The first shots were fired merely hours after the Scarlet King's army arrived in Zaltoxir: a squadron of Phantom jets dropped nearly five-thousand tons of bombs and missiles on the countless Kates. From the relative safety of a few more Phantoms flying high above, Miles watched the attack barely graze the enemy's numbers. He wondered how Khahrahk had managed to build such an enormous army, but it was too late to do anything about that now. They were here, marching on the very core of the omniverse. However, the one abomination that was absent was the Scarlet King himself. Miles couldn't help but feel he was biding his time, letting his minions break the forces of reality's resolve before he struck the final blow.
By the end of the first week in Zaltoxir, the army of the Scarlet King had crossed the Arctic ice shelves into Siberia and now pressed their advance south, towards the location of the Tree of Knowledge, somewhere in the Middle East. The air strikes had been constant, but had had no effect on the speed of the Kates and other abominations. They'd started to be intercepted by creature Miles and Jacob had completely forgotten about: the so-called Meatball Demons. In response, star ships were being used. Sadly these presented little more than a light workout for the Heart of Darkness and the world was littered with their burnt out remains.
By the end of the second week, the Scarlet King's forces were within what had now been named the Yellow Zone; a ring about a hundred miles wide around the Tree of Knowledge. Yet much to Miles' surprise, Khahrahk himself was still yet to show himself. Was he scared of the sheer amount of firepower being thrown at his forces? Or maybe it was the threat of the Watcher interfering? Either way, the longer he wasn't on the battle field the better. Miles' chain of thought was interrupted by the sound of tens of thousands of engines starting up. For a mile in both directions stretched enough tanks to make the Battle of Kursk look like a minor skirmish. The smell of exhaust fumes was almost unbearable as the battalion set off to begin the first land battle of the Battle of Zaltoxir.
The day after the tank battle, only a handful of the machines had managed to escape the slaughter. Hot on their heels was Khahrahk's army, its numbers reduced by hundreds of thousands since its arrival, but ultimately barely dented. At last it came to a halt a few hundred metres in front of the wall the Duotari had built. The fortifications would likely last as long as those in Bastria had, but maybe a few minutes would change the outcome of this battle. At least until Khahrahk arrived, anyway. Gwen slipped her hand into Miles', feeling fear starting to take hold of her. He just stared straight ahead, watching the army to see if there were any obvious generals other than the Leviathans. Suddenly, the sky began to darken a little and an enormous red tear in space appeared. Now the fear was blatantly obvious in Miles; his eyes widened as he waited for the Scarlet King to emerge. However, much to the relief of the alliance of omniverse forces, all that emerged was a deep, raspy voice:
"Throughtout all of time, all of Creation, I have felt its pain. It must be destroyed. Surrender to the King of the Darkness Below, or I will wash all things away with your blood."
Miles heard Teresa bark an order, and it was echoed by the various other commanders and generals along the wall:
"Let's shut this motherfucker up permanently! Artillery: fire at will!"
The air was filled with the thunder of guns and the scream of artillery shells. Khahrahk's voice spoke over the din one last time:
"You have chosen to suffer."
A horn bellowed from the ranks of abominations, as the tear sealed itself, and the Scarlet King's army began to surge forwards. They started at a steady trot, then picked up to a run, a sprint and finally a full-on charge. All along the wall, all manner of firearms opened up. From archaic bows and arrows to energy weapons, the din was now deafening.
The major flaw in the wall's design became apparent very quickly, and the Kates were quick to exploit it: the small gaps between the bricks was perfect for a foot hold. But that was why a significant quantity of the alliance forces were designated to fighting hand to hand. As a Kate reared its ugly head over the top of the wall, Gwen drove one of her katanas straight down its throat. Its carcass fell back into the swarm, disintegrating as it did so. Miles venom struck another. Just as Gwen went to take down another, something zipped overhead. An explosion rocked the ground, causing the wall to crack. A mushroom cloud began to rise up from the alliance's side of it, and for a moment the spiders thought someone had detonated a nuclear device. Instead, they realised it was the ammunition stockpiles. The resulting shockwave blasted the wall apart, hurling people into the midst of the Kates. Fortunately it knocked most of the Kates down as well. The artillery had ceased fire, having been obliterated, but Miles' ears were still ringing as he forced himself back onto his feet. His first thoughts were worrying about Gwen, but then he remembered where he was himself and that it was everyone for themselves. Kates began to bear down on him, and he charged a mega venom strike which he used to give himself a few more seconds before being thrown into the thick of it. Now fighting for his life, the fear disappeared as adrenaline flooded his veins. A Kate leapt on top of him, knocking him back to the ground where he wrestled with its jaws, struggling to hold them open and maybe tear the thing's skull apart if he was lucky. All of a sudden, it leapt off him to go and kill someone else nearby. All the other Kates seemed to be ignoring him, and for a few moments he was left wondering if he'd accidentally turned invisible. Then he saw why: a little girl was giggling to herself, wearing what may as well have been a Halloween costume. Around her, reality was beginning to warp, and its effects were spreading. Miles realised quickly enough she was the same Witch Child who'd nearly killed Max when he'd tried to reclaim the Animators. Hitting her fast was his only chance. He began to sprint at her, but space stretched more and more so that with every step he took she got two further away. He felt a searing pain in his ankle and tripped, face-planting in the mud. The rest of his body began to burn, and he felt as though he was being torn apart from the inside out. But that stopped all just as quickly as the Kate had left him alone. The girl began to cry, running off in a strop. Miles saw his chance and grabbed a rifle lying in a dead soldier's open hand. He took aim and pulled the trigger, letting two bullets fly. They struck her, one through her heart and the other through the back of her head. Her body disintegrated, but the spider felt no remorse at killing her; it was what had to be done. Just as he thought it, he came to a realisation: he'd become what he'd promised Max he'd never be again. He'd become Ethereal Legion Miles.
While Miles had no idea why everything was leaving him alone, Edward and Venom knew exactly why. They'd heard Khahrahk's orders:
"Spare Miles Morales."
As the admiral let the symbiote do the fighting, he allowed his mind to wonder why Miles should be spared. A horrible thought occurred to him: was this all a set up? Was this Miles from the future really who he said he was? Had he come back to aid the Scarlet King? No, it seemed more than a little out of character. His thoughts were interrupted by two blasts from the same horn that had started the battle. The Kates began to fall back, retreating behind a solid line of Scarlet Golems. The surviving alliance soldiers taunted them, but Edward ignored the victory. As Venom retreated back into him, he looked around for Miles, spotting him staring at a rifle in his hands.
"Let's eat him for his treachery." Said Venom.
"We don't know the full picture. Let's not draw conclusions."
"Fine. But I need a nice…juicy…liver."
"Business now, recreation later."
"Is that a promise?"
"You know fine well I don't promise anything with you."
Upon reaching Miles, Gwen was already with him although looking seriously beaten up. The spiders were miming to each other, clearly both deafened by the explosion. That was OK; there were a variety of medical treatments available for that. The admiral dragged Miles through the crowds of celebrating soldiers and into a medical tent where he explained the ailment to the medic. After a quick scan, some messing around with a small device, then what may as well have been more scanning, they went to treat more patients.
"Can you hear me?" Edward asked.
His voice sounded serious, perhaps with a hint of anger.
"Yeah. Did we win?"
"No. Khahrahk himself didn't show up."
Teresa walked into the tent, wiping some blood off her knuckles.
"I was just about to drill him. Seems you're on the ball today, Edward."
"I do my best."
"Then let's cut to the chase. Miles: why did Khahrahk order you to be spared."
"What?" Miles replied, clearly very confused.
"Don't act stupid. Everybody heard him say it."
"He lost his hearing in the explosion." Edward explained.
"Right. Well Khahrahk said to spare you. Any ideas?"
"No. Why would he?"
"You tell us."
"I don't know anything, Teresa. If I did I'd tell you."
"You aren't secretly working for Khahrahk?" Asked Edward.
"That guy destroyed everything I knew and loved. I'd never help him, never will. What sort of a monster do you think I am?"
Teresa and Edward exchanged looks.
"I'd say he's being genuine." Said the latter.
"I agree. There's nothing we can do about this."
"Let's get ready for round two."
Gwen received a handwritten note from Teresa late that evening, asking her to report to the commander's tent. She followed the instruction, arriving bang on time.
"Close the door."
She let the flap close over.
"You know exactly how much I despise you, so I'm sure you're a little surprised I want to talk."
"We're at war. I was expecting to receive some orders at some point."
"Good. But you won't like these ones. I need you to keep a watch on Miles. Did you have your hearing?"
"No. I lost it in the explosion."
"Khahrahk told his army to spare Miles, and we don't know why. If he does anything strange, hurts anyone on our side without reason, you're to report it immediately. Imposters are the last thing we need."
"Why me?"
"Because he has some level of trust in you. Like I said before, I despise you. So I wouldn't ask if there was someone else."
"I'll do it."
"Good."
Miles was woken up by people yelling for everyone to take their positions. He groaned, not wanting to get up. But deep down he knew if they won this war he could sleep as much as he wanted. He grabbed the programmable matter ball of his suit and pressed it to his chest, sprinting out his tent and joining the quickly gathering ranks of the alliance. Gwen appeared at his side, but he noted she seemed distracted.
"You good?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"OK."
There was no time to press the issue, as the army of abominations was already charging at the alliance at full speed. This time the only wall was a sturdy shield wall. It likely wouldn't last long, but at least it was something to take the edge off. The Kates screeched, waving their tentacles high in the air. A few leapt over the wall, bearing down on those who weren't quite ready behind it. Miles noted none of them seemed to be going for him, but people all around were being torn apart. He venom struck a Kate as it made to bite someone's face off, saving their life but only distracting the Kate. It swatted him to the ground and pinned him down, bearing its teeth so that a disgusting mixture of saliva and blood dripped all over him. He fought and fought to get it off, but couldn't. Not even his venom strike did little more than make it flinch. Suddenly Conall slammed into it, then pulled a one-eighty in mid-air and grabbed Miles, dragging him back towards where another shield wall had been formed. The Kates weren't attacking it so to speak, merely pushing at it to make it stay where it was. The scope of the situation became apparent as word spread throughout the cluster of alliance soldiers: they had been split in two. That meant Khahrahk had open access to the Tree of Knowledge if he wanted it. Miles silently prayed for a miracle, hoping Max and the Watcher might hear it and realise it was now or never. There was no such luck. A red tear in reality appeared, and the Scarlet King stepped through with a delighted smile.
"So passes the age of reality. Now return to the void from whence all your pathetic species came from."
Khahrahk drew the Scarlet Crucible. With every thundering boom of the King's footsteps, Miles' heart sank further and further. He wanted to swing up and try and fight, but not even Conall, with his never-ending thirst for a fight, had the confidence to do that. The Scarlet King had won, and that fact was consolidated with one last swing of the Scarlet Crucible. The trunk of the Tree of Knowledge was split in two. With each splinter that flew off, a dimension was torn apart. Khahrahk's haunting laugh rose from the abyss reality was being sucked into.
"Naralas, Klåw Keråðis. Üråðür nicretilþ norst."
"Tilår niwasv nalir."
The void began to spew out the reality it had consumed, accelerating eternally until it stopped and time resumed. The Tree of Knowledge was intact, and Khahrahk's face was one of rage. Miles had heard the words in Fusis Þinutir, Elder Tongue, and he knew the voices that spoke them. There was a blinding flash, a sound like shattering glass, and a beam of energy falling from the sky.
Dei Volente viewed the situation from the back of a horse. Being used to dragons, he was enjoying how tame these steeds were in comparison. From the top of the hill, he could see the Kates holding the gap open for Khahrahk to pass. The Scarlet King himself had stepped away from the Tree, knowing any attempt to destroy it would be immediately reversed by the High Elder Gods. With a sneer, he opened another red portal and disappeared through it.
"That gap needs sealed. Take a third of the army and cut the Kates off. I'll take the other two and charge the rest of the army head on." Dei Volente instructed the Watcher.
"Our troops are afraid."
Dei Volente glanced back at the tens of thousands of cavalry soldiers he and the Watcher had pulled from different points in time.
"Understandable. Sort your flank out; I'll make an inspiring speech."
The Watcher walked briskly towards the right flank of the army. Dei Volente turned his horse around to face those behind him.
"I know you're all scared. If I'm being honest, I'm a little scared too and I'm immortal. But we can't let fear stop us now. All of you come from the past. What do you want your future to be? If you give in to your fear, there will be no future for any of us. Think of your children, and their children. Today we fight for them as much as we do for ourselves. So ride now! Ride for ruin, and the worlds' ending!"
It seemed to have done the trick. There was less fear and more ferocity in the soldiers' eyes. Sure he'd had to steal a line or two from Lord of the Rings, but oh well. Dei Volente turned his horse back to face the swarm of Kates, glancing along to see if the Watcher was ready.
"Charge!" He roared.
A series of horns took up the call, and the horses and their riders surged forward.
"Then the Winged Hussars arrived." Max muttered to himself as the trot became a run.
He drew his sword, Furore Mortale, as the run became a sprint. At the same time, he spotted a swarm of Meatball Demons tearing down at them. In response, a thunder storm brewed out of nowhere. Lightning struck each of them in a ferocious display that may well have frightened the Kates a little by the way they tensed up. When the Demons were wiped out, the lightning began to ravage the front ranks of the Scarlet King's army.
The distance was closed quickly, and as it narrowed to just two hundred metres, some of the Swedish soldiers took up a battle cry which quickly spread throughout the entire force:
"Gott mit uns! [God with us!]"
With that, the armies collided. Thousands of Kates were simply swept away, trampled to death or impaled on spears and pikes. In addition to the broader front led by Dei Volente, the narrower charge led by the Watcher managed to penetrate deep into the ranks of abominations, cutting off the Kates that held the gap between the two pieces of the alliance forces. With the fresh burst of morale, the gap was sealed quickly and the tens of thousands of Kates inside it were slaughtered.
After the gap was sealed, Miles had only one priority: to reach his son and talk to him. Maybe he'd know why Khahrahk wanted his life spared? Reaching Max was a lot easier than he'd thought it'd be, as the Kates were still heeding their King's orders and didn't touch him. He reached his son just in time to see a Kate snap the neck on the God's horse, killing the beast. Max himself rolled out of the fall, slashing Furore Mortale through the side of the abomination's head then hurling the blade at a Scarlet Golem which was charging him down. Miles felt a little pride that this was his son, but knew he'd had little influence on Max's skills. The God grabbed a Kate Sergeant out of mid-air and slammed it into the ground, slashing his blade up the creature's gut as it returned to his hand. No more forces came for him for the moment, so he turned to face his father.
"Yo."
"Thanks for saving us."
"Just doing my job. What's on your mind?"
"Khahrak wants me spared."
"Makes sense. I haven't seen a single Kate go for you."
"Why?"
"You tell me."
Max switched up his grip on Furore Mortale and drove the glistening blade into a leaping Kate's chest behind him.
"You've got something else on your mind."
"I killed that witch girl and didn't feel bad about it. She's a child."
"She's about as much a child as me."
"But I didn't feel bad."
"So? She's Khahrahk's needy little bitch. You think that makes you into Legion Miles or something?"
"I was scared it did."
A lightning bolt blasted a Scarlet Golem apart to the right of them making Miles flinch.
"Legion Miles didn't feel bad about what he did either, but he didn't think what he was doing was wrong. He spent a lot of time justifying his actions to others. You know killing is wrong, in most cases, and you're justifying it to yourself. I'd say you're safe for the moment. Well…safe is bad word choice right now, but you catch my meaning."
"That's all I needed to hear. Thanks."
"I wouldn't be talking to you if you were that guy again."
Miles was about to reply when his spidey sense went off. He looked up to see an enormous red fist coming down to crush him and his son. Max raised his sword and it struck a bubble of energy. Khahrahk roared angrily, drawing the Scarlet Crucible and driving it down at the God's shield. Max hurled Miles away with a sweep of his arm and leapt clear himself before tearing into the air with energy coursing through his veins.
"I hope you're liking the party tricks."
"That is all they are, Dei Volente. Allow me to show you some of my own."
"Don't be hasty. The day's still young."
"Silence, you fool. I will tear your bastard soul from your body."
"Bastard? Pretty sure my mum and dad were married when I was born. But OK. Let's party."
The two Gods, one once mortal, the other twisted and corrupted, lashed out at each other, the physically smaller creating an enormous form of himself to combat his enemy. The Watcher joined the fight now as well and Khahrahk quickly found himself fighting a losing battle. He may have the power of one High Elder God, but against two that was nothing. An orange bubble imprisoned him and he was cast into an abyss. Black tentacles began wrapping themselves around him.
"You have failed, King of the Dark Below." Hermaeus Mora growled.
Khahrahk slashed at his bonds with the Scarlet Crucible, severing many and allowing him to escape through a red tear back into Zaltoxir. Dei Volente's giant drove its fist into its enemy's face, but the Scarlet King had been fighting these battles for long enough to have come up with a few dirty tricks. As he began to stumble, he brought the Crucible up so it sliced through the giant's chin and split its head in two. Dei Volente destroyed what remained of the manifestation. As he was about to continue the fight, however, a red creature leapt up and stung him in the back. The Heart of Darkness' venom had no effect on Gods, but the pain was quite severe. Enraged, Dei Volente drove the Leviathan down into the ground creating a crater. As the dust settled, the Koitern streaked in and tore the Leviathan to shreds. A Kate Sergeant made to finish the Leviathan's failed job, but a burst of yellow bioelectricity incapacitated it. Miles ran up to his son again, seeing the injury.
"You good?"
"I'm good. Where's Jake and Conall?"
"Haven't seen Jacob. Conall's somewhere in all this."
"Find him and tell him to hit Khahrahk with a distraction."
"OK."
Dei Volente rocketed back into the sky, coming to a hover in front of Khahrahk's face.
"Is that all you've got?"
"That is nothing compared to what I can wield."
"Then hit me with it."
The Scarlet King's fist came round, but the God dodged it with ease before rocketing forward with Furore Mortale gripped firmly. The Watcher struck the King's legs as Dei Volente his his forehead, digging his sword into the flesh. The two impacts did more than the stab wound, succeeding in knocking Khahrahk off his feet. The Scarlet Crucible flew from its wielder's hand, and buried itself in the ground a short distance away.
Miles saw his opportunity to help out in this clash of titans. He fired a web at the Crucible and swung up to its handle which he placed a hand on. Instantly, it shrunk down to a size which he could wield. Now Khahrahk had no weapon, the High Elder Gods could finish him off.
Black tentacles were wrapping the Scarlet King, as well as what seemed to be tree roots. With the number of Kates slowly beginning to thin out, it was starting to look like the alliance might have victory after all. Gwen watched from a short distance away as the last bonds were created. Teresa joined her.
"This is too easy. Something isn't right."
"What do you mean?" The spider asked.
"Khahrak isn't fighting back."
The spider looked closer: the commander was right.
"Why?"
That question was answered moments later. The Watcher was hovering over Khahrahk's nearly hidden face, creating a pocket universe that could be used to wipe him out. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain go through his chest. He gasped, attracting Dei Volente's attention who streaked at the aggressor. Khahrahk's laughter rose up from behind the bonds. An eerie red light grew brighter and brighter and the bonds exploded. With the muttering of an ancient spell, the Watcher, Quantüyþ, was consumed. The Scarlet King looked down at the person who'd stabbed the Watcher. The yellow glow faded from Miles' eyes and he was allowed to realise what he'd done. Max saw his father was in control again and scrambled off him.
"You cannot stop this now." Khahrahk taunted, turning his sights to the Tree of Knowledge.
The Scarlet Crucible flew up into the hand of its rightful owner.
"Stop him!" Miles yelled at Max.
"I can't. He's too strong. It's too…arrgh!"
Max collapsed to the ground, clutching his head in agony. A roar echoed from the swirling abyss of tentacles in the sky. Miles grabbed his son's shoulders.
"No! No! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I wasn't in control! We can stop this!"
"I know, Dad. But we can't. It's too late; he's killing me, Hermaeus and Dea. I know why he spared you now. No doubt he'll have some other uses for you once the omniverse is gone."
"I won't serve him. I promise."
"Don't promise that. You can't stop it if that's what he wants. Just promise me one thing."
The alliance forces were waiting with baited breath for their reality to be destroyed. A shout rose up from the ranks:
"Natåranür tresþ!"
A fissure opened in the ground, swallowing countless alliance soldiers and Kates. It didn't matter; no foot soldier could change the fate of the omniverse now. Khahrahk stepped over the fissure with little care. Jacob racked his brain for another spell he could use to save this.
"Ðerabv!"
A shimmering shield of energy appeared in the Scarlet King's path, suddenly reinforced by a sheet of golden energy. Khahrahk snarled and looked to see who had been causing him such an issue. He spotted Conall hovering with his golden wings spread wide in what would likely have been a show of intimidation. The Scarlet Crucible came up, striking the immortal and killing him immediately on contact. The gold sheet fizzled out, but the transparent shield remained. Khahrahk charged an excessive amount of energy into his hand and punched it, shattering it as if it was made of glass. There was one more phrase Jacob could think of that may still salvage the situation, but it had gone incredibly wrong before. What was there to lose?
"Tilår niwasþ nalir!"
Nothing happened. Khahrahk burst into a fit of laughter.
"You cannot defeat me with powers that are now my own!"
He'd now pinpointed where this mortal nuisance was. Jacob stared up at the giant red fist coming crashing down for him.
"Ah shit."
Miles was sobbing now as the Scarlet King reached the Tree of Knowledge.
"I'll do anything." He replied to his son's last request.
"Whatever he makes you do, remember that I forgive you. One day you'll break free, find some allies and together you'll rise to the challenge of stopping him. But until then, stay alive." Max replied, his voice now extremely weak.
"I promise. I promise."
Suddenly, someone dragged Miles off his son and punched him into the ground. Teresa's blue and white projection screeched as viciously as a Kate. As the Scarlet Crucible slashed through the Tree of Knowledge and reality began to be swallowed by the same black abyss as before, the projection's clawed hand slashed down Miles' face. The last memory Spiderman had of the reality he had once called home was of searing pain.
To begin with, Miles thought he was dead. This pitch black abyss must be the afterlife when there was no afterlife. No. He'd been dead before, and this wasn't what it had felt like. He was alive, lost in nothingness. Suddenly, a pair of burning yellow eyes appeared. The haunting voice of Khahrahk, the Scarlet King, echoed in the abyss.
"I have spared you, Miles Gonzalo Morales. Without you, I would have failed as I did before. It was your memories that guided me, and your last strike that weakened Quantüyþ."
"I didn't want to survive! I wanted to die with everyone else!"
"To what end?"
"Everyone has to pay for the bad things they do."
"What bad have you done? You have spared your fellow mortals from the suffering that was Creation. And you will go on to spread this salvation. There are realities beyond this one: narratives. In their blood you will stand tall."
"I'll never join you."
Even as Miles said it, he could feel all control slipping from him.
"You will cast my shadow over them, making ready the way for me to save them from their suffering."
"Never!"
His Spiderman suit was suddenly consumed in fire, the light from which danced on the Scarlet King's royal robes. As it burned away, so did the last of Miles Morales' resolve. He was encased in a new suit with three glowing red gems and what looked like a curled up spider imprinted on the dark grey that made up the rest of the suit.
"From now you will be 'Üråðür Þåraðis', 'Blood Spider'. Go, Üråðür, and fulfil your destiny proclaiming my name."
"The Scarlet King's reign is…eternal."
Crossovers in this Chapter
- SCP Foundation
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Skyrim
If you want the full list, go search your imagination. If you can think of it, it was somewhere in this battle, just maybe not mentioned!
Note
So this is it: the end of Labours of Their Love. It's been over a year since I started, and now I've no idea what I'm going to do with my life...I guess wait for Spider-Verse 2 to come out!
On the subject of Spider-Verse 2, you'll notice the story was left a little on a cliff-hanger. I plan to write a sequel to Labours of Their Love (I think I'll call it 'Beyond the Spiderverse', but keep an eye here for updates on that!). The only problem is it's going to be based after the events of Across the Spider-Verse Part One, and I can't exactly write that if I don't know what happens. So unfortunately you'll have to wait about a year for the sequel. But until then, farewell my friends.
Update (4th May, 2022): So Across the Spider-Verse is delayed which means a longer wait, but more annoyingly Sony stole the title for my sequel...It may be called 'Far Beyond the Spider-Verse' now, but I'll keep you informed.