Monty lowered his gun from the shot he'd fired off at Invictus. The mech continued to slash its blades together, sparking up even more power from the two as he did. The soldiers manning the wall were left confused and terrified, seeing a marvel of mechanization and power leveled against a tribe that still used crystals for light. Combining it with the near battalion of Vermillion that stood behind Invictus, the fear that had stricken the Tribe was tense and palpable.
"We'll handle the mech," Monty nodded as he held the SoS up, "You all handle the army!"
"We sent for reinforcements before the Raiders arrived," Acronix' growled out, "But we have no idea when they will arrive. We will have to fight alone and stand our ground!"
Invictus raised its swords to cleave down and into the wall. Monty blasted up into the air, flying directly towards Invictus. Just as he planned, the mech turned to quickly change targets to him. Lulloyd grabbed Lloyd's hands, jumping into the air and unfurling his Mechdragon to send them both flying with a brick-fueled roar. Mage turned his eyes copper and levitated into the air, drawing Aevum and flashing the hands on his Time Matrix down to turn it a bright green.
Acronix' reached down, drawing his short sword and dagger in each hand. Both glowed with runes similar to that on Aevum, and both were carved from that same sleek and shining black rock. As the two glowed, Acronix summoned his Time Matrix, turning one hand down and the other to the right, causing it to glow half blue and half green. Krux', meanwhile, hefted up his gauntlets, slamming them together and causing a shockwave of red and orange to blast out from either arm.
"For the tribe!" Acronix' shouted. In turn, the Vermillion charged straight towards the wall, readying their assault with the thundering of their metallic boots.
As the Vermillion charged right for the Time Tribe, Monty spun his body in an arc around Invictus' head, flying behind him and leveling his pistols to fire off more shots from them. Invictus shrugged them off as though they were pebbles. Instead, Lulloyd flew around him in a rippling circle, letting off his spine missiles and sending them rocketing right towards Invictus. When Invictus raised its arm up to form its shield and block it, Mage came careening in and slamming his earth-enhanced fist right into Invictus' head. The mech barely moved.
Monty shot off towards the west of the Tribe, guiding Invictus away from the battle. With a blast of rockets that sent a number of Vermillion flying, Invictus took off after Monty. Lulloyd flew parallel to the mech, trying to assess spots to attack. Mage flew off towards Invictus, but quickly turned to see the Vermillion waves advancing towards his tribe.
"Mage, you stay back and help your people!" Lloyd shouted into his comm, "We'll keep Prime distracted!"
"But-" Mage was cut off as he saw Vermillion at the wall. Several warriors began to disintegrate into snakes, then rapidly curl around each other and up the wall. The snakes writhed as they climbed higher and higher up the wall using each other, forming a sort of fleshy ladder that other Vermillion began to climb.
"There's no point in fighting if they don't survive," Monty shouted to Mage in his own comm, "Go, now!"
Mage looked momentarily torn, but quickly relented. He spun around on his foot, blasting back towards the wall with jets of flame and red eyes. As he approached them, he rubbed his hands together and sparked them, flying straight past the Vermillion ladders and shocking them apart with lightning. The Vermillion let out a horrible noise as they were crackled and fried on the spot, sent hurtling back towards the ground with sickening thuds. Mage flew back and forth twice to blast them all down, then landed beside Acronix' and Krux'.
"We need to push them away from the wall!" Mage shook his head, "How many archers do we have?!"
"About fifty," Krux' nodded, "What are you thinking?"
"Do you see any generals?" Mage looked across the sea of Vermillion. He expected to see someone like those orange snakes he'd fought before. But instead, he saw only the endless vast ocean of red, writhing masses of metal.
"None," Acronix' shook his head, "For right now, just keep them from scaling the wall!"
"Be ready for them to scale the wall!" Krux' ordered his men, "Knock down anything that dares to get over us!"
The Vermillion, in the time it'd taken them just to say those words, were already building more ladders out of their own bodies. The men on the wall quickly moved into action, the spearmen taking point behind those with swords and the archers between the groups of two. Mage nodded to his friends, then jumped from the wall again to take to the air. This time, he gathered wind in his hands, eyes a deep navy as he flew about and blasted them off the wall by force. He made several sweeps across them, hoping to try to drive them back.
Instead, Mage suddenly sensed something from his right side. A deep red laster blasted him in the side, only kept from hurting him by his metal body. As he tried to make another pass, a small cluster of lasers flew at him again. Mage was forced to fly back to the wall, throwing his hands up and forming a shield of ice instead to catch them. The lasers rang out all across the wall, however, nearly striking down several of the men standing there.
"What are those?!" Acroinx' shouted at Mage. Mage quickly scanned the battlefield, seeing a row of Vermillion holding up laser rifles. The rifles were painted a deep red and black, almost blending in perfectly with their armor as they fired straight towards the men gathered on the wall. Mage quickly split his shield into pieces, sending them flying out to try to catch as many of the lasers as he could.
"I saw those before, in other worlds!" Mage gasped out, "They're like crossbows, but faster and deadlier! Don't let the men get hit with them!"
"Archers! Take them down, NOW!" Krux' shouted. The archers quickly moved up to the edge of the wall, notching their arrows and firing them. The first volley struck several of the Vermillion with the rifles, sending them falling to the ground. For a brief moment, the volley let up. More Vermillion simply either picked up the rifles or simply reformed in a puff of dust in front of all their eyes. The sight brought fear to the archers attempting to notch their next volley.
"These creatures… what are they?" Acronix' growled, "What do we do against them?!"
"We hold out!" Mage slammed his hands together, "They can't fight forever!"
There was a sharp cry from the other end of the wall. Mage shot his head to the side, seeing one of the Vermillion ladders had already made it to the top. A swordsman slashed the Vermillion apart, but not before their blade had sunk into the arm of the archer beside him. The swordsman focused his power, causing his sword to turn red and cut the Vermillion into a brief, frozen moment in time. The spearmen behind him lunged forward with his blade, knocking the paused warrior back. The paused momentum caught up to him, blasting him straight down into the army below.
"You take left, I take right!" Krux' shouted. Acronix' nodded to him. The two turned and raced in opposite directions across the row of men. Acronix' flashed his dagger, causing his body to blip forward in time and appear just as another warrior made it up the wall. He spun his short sword, slashing him and slowing him in time. The spearmen cut the warrior down into snakes and metal. Krux' raced to the warriors on his side and smashed his orange gauntlet into them, causing the entire ladder to reverse in time until it hadn't even formed. The men quickly made space for their leaders to guide them.
"Do not give in, men!" Krux' roared, "Control Time!"
"CONTROL EVERYTHING!" The men roared back to him.
"And what do we control?!" Acronix' shouted back.
"THE TIME TRIBE!" The men roared again, slashing their weapons out and cutting down the Vermillion.
Mage turned to the distance, seeing Invictus disappear behind a small range of mountains. His focus, however, was quickly pulled right back to the battle. Standing firm at the middle of the wall, right above the gate, Mage reached out with his power. He felt for the spot in the earth where those wielding their rifles stood. He felt for each footfall and step. When he finally had it, he slammed his hands together. The ground under them erupted, launching a pillar of earth into the air. The wall extended across the entire path and into the hills guarding either edge of the path, splitting the army in two. Mage stumbled on his feet at the effort, but quickly shook his head and held Aevum forward as Lloyd had taught him.
"We have the Dragon Lord!" One of the men shouted, "We can win this!"
"Dragon Lord!" A woman's voice shouted, "Lead us!"
"Listen to Acronix and Krux!" Mage shouted back at them, seeing Vermillion starting to crawl up in front of him, "Follow them!" Mage slashed apart several Vermillion in front of him, their snakes suspended in slow-motion in the air from the cleaves. Mage took a step back and blasted a geyser of flame from his hand, lighting up the entire wall in turn. The Vermillion shut their eyes at the intense light of it. Mage turned his hand down, scorching apart the snakes that climbed the wall in front of him. The very stone itself singed black from his intense power leaking out of him.
Even now, the Vermillion behind the massive stone wall that Mage had erected were smashing against it, trying to break through. Mage knew it wouldn't last them long, but he could make even more use of it. Mage spun Aevum around, then he focused with eyes turning aqua. He held them forward, pouring out wave after wave of water onto the ground. The Vermillion, confused, watched as the large patch of land in front of the tribe's entrance became a small then thrust his hands out in icy blasts, causing the water to freeze the Vermillion into place. With their feet held down, Mage nodded to the men on the wall. The archers rapidly cut down the Vermillion as fast as their arrows would fire.
The Vermillion were smashing through the stone wall even harder now. Mage could feel the earth breaking. Desperately, Mage reached into his well of elemental power, causing his eyes to glow copper as he gripped the entire sheet of ice with the power. The ice, and the Vermillion trapped up to their ankles in it, were raised up from the ground to the amazement of all those in the tribe. Mage gasped out in exertion, his feet digging into the floor as he shouted in effort. Almost two hundred Vermillion came smashing down to the ground, their armor knocked apart. With one final exertion, Mage held out his hand, exerting control over metal to cause the armor, as much as he could, to magnetize together and scatter it to the wind.
Mage fell down on one knee, panting as he tried to get a grip on himself. Two soldiers of the Time Tribe quickly got down and helped him back up to his feet. With a massive crack, the wall of earth came crashing down, smashed apart by sheer force of Vermillion might. Mage watched in awed anger as the snakes he'd broken apart slithered back towards their other allies, joining in with their armor and causing the first two rows of Vermillion to grow in size. They matched right towards the wall, hefting up their swords.
"Those things… did they?" One soldier asked.
"What in the name of…?" The other soldier frowned.
"Get ready!" Mage shouted, shrugging the two off as he held Aevum up. These Vermillion, as strong as they were, marched up to the wall, only a few falling to the arrows that the men sent their way. With their stronger bodies, the Vermillion dug right into the stones of the wall and climbed it, their hands spreading out like vines to sink their snake fangs in for purchase. They climbed up right towards them, some taking entire spears to the arm and continuing to climb.
As the first massive warrior leapt over the wall, a swordsman slashed into them. As the two locked blades, Acronix' slashed his sword blades apart, cleaving the warrior down in a perfect V through its armor. Men with forward powers quickly followed suit, charging their weapons green and slashing them down. Those with slow-mo would instead slash their warriors and hold them still long enough for the others to do so. The spearmen, almost all of them sporting pause powers, did the same with their longer reaches. The archers all sent their arrows flying with orange at their tips, causing the Vermillion they struck to appear further behind in their march.
Krux' turned to see two of his men fall to a Vermillion wielding two massive red jagged swords. He raced forward and swung his red gauntlet, blasting him into the air and freezing him in time. Another Vermillion climbed up and swung their blade at him. Krux' dodged and smashed him with an orange gauntlet, causing him to reverse to only halfway up the wall. The other Vermillion in the air fell out of paused time, coming crashing down into the reversed one and causing them both to fall. Krux' quick gripped his two men and hurried them over to stairs that led down from the wall.
"I'm sorry, sir…" A young woman bled out from her side as Krux' carried her.
"Don't be," Krux' grunted, "Just heal yourself and join the battle again."
A young man in orange on them took hold of the two, guiding them to a small building near the wall where he rapidly began using reversed time to heal the two soldiers. Krux' hit his leg with his orange gauntlet, reversing him up to the top of the wall in an instant. He was just in time to dodge another slash from a Vermillion, sending him back and down from it. The men rallied around Krux', leveling their weapons to help him cut down any who dared to challenge him.
There was another explosion off in the distance. Mage turned to see a cloud of smoke from a half-exploded mountain fill the air. The men, however, turned their attention back instead to the Vermillion that were already coming at them. With a nervous glance, Mage shuddered and then watched as the next wave of Vermillion readied to ascend their fortress.
At the center of that explosion was none other than Monty. The ghost flew out of the cloud a moment later, the SoS gleaming in his hand as he did. A last minute glance had shown him the moment where the attack would land. Prime raised his arms, readying the cannons to fire off and blast Monty yet again.
Instead, the left arm blared a warning on screen to Prime. The mech pilot hissed in anger as he tried to see what the source was. Lulloyd had sunk the jaws of the Mechdragon right into his left shoulder, wrenching it back as hard as the ratchets would allow him to. Lloyd quickly jumped off the Mechdragon with a twist of Spinjitzu, landing on the mech's shoulder. He slid down the mech's body, drawing his sword and slashing it down into the armor to slow his descent. He slid all the way down until he found the hatch Prime used to enter the thing, jamming his sword into a gap to jerk him to a stop and leave him dangling in front of it.
"Prime!" Lloyd appeared on the viewport of Invictus in front of Prime, "What are you doing!? You're going to get everyone in that Tribe killed!"
"The Twins were going to kill them all anyways!" Prime shouted back at Lloyd, "They were the ones that brought that on themselves! I came to fight Over and nobody else!"
"I thought you protected the people!" Lloyd shouted back at him, "You can't be okay with this!"
"Yes, I protect the people. My people!" Prime shouted, "And if I defeat Over then I'll be able to win all their lives BACK FOR THEM!"
Prime twisted Invictus' body, trying to throw both Lloyd and Lulloyd off. Lulloyd quickly opened his dragons' jaws and flew off. Lloyd yanked his sword out and twisted into Airjitzu, soaring away from the mech. A moment later, the Mechdragon flashed by and caught Lloyd. Prime shook his head and quickly assessed damages before activating the targeting system, locking sights on the dragon.
"If you just give me Over, none of you have to get hurt!" Prime continued, blasts of laser firing off at them, "I'm still willing to let you all live! Do you want to die for a maddened monster of a man like him?!"
"Honestly, no," Monty's voice sounded off in Primes cockpit, "But I can't exactly die anymore."
Prime twisted his head just in time to see Monty jam the SoS down into the cockpit hatch. A blast of air was sent pounding straight into it, targeting the locking mechanism. Prime focused on the spot and directed the energy of the core directly into it, causing the area to electrify in green and blue sparks. Monty felt the current go right up the sword and into his solidified hands, but he held on all the same. Slowly, Monty felt the lock breaking apart under the high velocity bombardment.
Prime raised his left arm up, aiming it down at his stomach to try to blast Monty straight off him. The Mechdragon shot up through the air, holding what looked like a pair of brick built handcuffs. Prime turned to see the rocks kicked up by the earlier explosion half turned into bricks. Lulloyd linked one end around the mech's left wrist, yanking it to cause the blast to go arcing off away from Monty. Prime tried to yank the arm back, but Lulloyd unfurled the extra thrusters on his dragon. He swung Invictus' left arm behind its back, then spun his dragon around to wrap the tail around the bicep of the right arm. Lulloyd yanked his controls together, trying to yank the two arms together as close as he could.
The mechanical muscles inside of Invictus rapidly began to whirl apart, stressing the bricks in the Mechdragon. Lloyd grabbed hold of the controls, shouting something at Lulloyd. Lulloyd quickly jumped off the dragon and onto Invictus, rushing to the right arm. Seeing it was close enough to the ground to jump, Lulloyd did and rolled once he hit the rocky slope. He looked around, seeing large boulders and fauna. He broke them apart as fast as he could, rebuilding the rocks around the boulder and fauna into a small piston. Lulloyd jumped on top of the piston and slammed his feet down on it, causing it to slide out and knock the boulder into Invictus' right arm. The impact was just enough to knock his arm closer to the left, letting the brick-built cuffs lock them together.
Feeling that his mech's arms wouldn't move, Prime snarled in anger and rapidly fired off blasts from his arm-mounted cannons, shredding apart the rocks behind him. Lloyd piloted the dragon down to pick Lulloyd up to soar up and out of the blasts. Monty, having clung on the entire time to his sword, continued to try to blast the lock on the cockpit entrance open again. The warning on Prime's screen blared for his hatch. Just as the lock began to break under the wind strain, Prime opened his eyes as the SYNC meter climbed to almost 70.
Prime held his arms behind his back, feeling the cuffs on them. The lock broke open just as Prime leaned forward and threw his weight back, slamming the cuffs and the mech's back against the mountain. He felt the cuff on Invictus' right hand break just enough for him to spin the mech from the ground, aiming his cuffed hands at where Lulloyd and Lloyd were heading. The Mechdragon was struck in the side, shattering apart pieces from it and causing the two to nearly fall out. Prime smirked, spinning back around and raising his knee to scrape Monty off his body. Monty, seeing it incoming, tried to possess into the mech momentarily to dodge. Instead, Prime's eyes flashed as the core of the mech blasted powerfully right at him, causing Monty to eject from it along with the SoS. The two smashed into the ground as Prime slammed Invictus' foot into the ground and yanked at the cuffs.
With a massive snap, the cuffs came apart, causing the bricks to revert back to stone and fall down to the ground. Prime shot out and grabbed hold of the Mechdragon in the air, wrapping his hand around its tail and hurling it straight down towards the mountainside. Lloyd grabbed Lulloyd and twisted into Airjitzu just in time for the Mechdragon to smash into the mountain and explode into roughly 544 or so pieces across the mountain. Lloyd landed just in time to see Invictus fire a blast from its cannon into the severed tail it now held, shattering it too apart. When Lloyd turned to see it, his eyes widened. The engine bricks had been cracked open and broken. The dragon was truly broken.
"Run!" Lloyd shouted. The two jumped and slid down the slope just as Prime tried to blast them. The impact sent them both tumbling down from the force of the shockwave. Just before they could fully come to a stop, Lloyd spun into Spinjitzu and sucked Lulloyd up with him, letting them come to a stop on their feet. They both looked up in time to see Invictus staring down at them from high up in the air.
"Give me Over!" Prime spat at them through the mech, "You don't have to die today, Lloyd! You don't have to die at all! Give me Over, apologize to the Twins, and you can live to fight another day!"
"The Twins have murdered an entire universe, Prime!" Lloyd shouted back, an ant to Invictus' giant, "You can't seriously believe they won't one day decide to do it to you! What if you become a threat to them, without even knowing it?"
"Better to take that risk than not try at all!" Prime shouted, "You haven't gone through what I have, Lloyd! You may be like me, but you'll never be me! If you had to pull her out of the rubble like I did, you'd be fighting just like me!"
Monty landed in front of Lloyd and Lulloyd, looking back at them and holding up the SoS. The reflection shimmered in the blade, showing the three of them dodging a blast from the mech. Wordlessly, the three immediately jumped as the blade's prediction told them to, dodging Prime firing off a warning shot right behind them.
"Think you can still keep him occupied?" Monty asked as the three stood up.
"We? Don't you mean us?" Lloyd asked. The three followed a flash in the SoS to dodge another blast.
"You two are the ones that can't take a blast from him," Monty snapped, "What do you think? We running or not?"
"W-Where would we even run to?" Lulloyd asked.
Monty hissed, "Just get ready to run!"
Prime unloaded his volley at them, energy surging right from the mech's core and straight out towards the three. As the explosions rippled across the mountains, Mage continued to throw his waves of elements at the oncoming Vermillion. The explosions rang hollow to those that were fighting desperately just to keep the Vermillion off the walls.
"Fight on!" Mage shouted, "We can beat them! Keep fighting!"
"Incoming!" One of the men on the wall shouted.
Mage shot his gaze towards the procession of warriors. The Vermillion began to part the path, opening up a gap as three tanks, hovering now above the ground rather than on treads, slowly ascended up the mountain path. The Vermillion allowed only a gap that was large enough for the tanks, creating an odd ripple as they parted and reformed for the tanks. The three moved to line up just out of the range of their archers.
Slowly, each tank lowered two claws towards the ground behind them. In each claw, a large gray orb was placed in them. Mage realized quickly what was going on, but it was Acronix' who shouted, 'Get down!" Each tank then shot the claws up in a catapult, flinging their cocoons straight through the air. Some shattered apart on the wall, others on the walkway, and two errant ones landed on the ground behind the wall. Mage checked nobody had been struck before readying to try to destroy the tanks as he had before.
"They're inside the wall!" The cry from another soldier made Mage turn in shock. The cocoons that had broken apart on the streets behind them had deposited snakes, armor and a single sword, which formed into Vermillion rather quickly. Soon, four of them were walking down the streets of the city. Mage readied himself to leap down and attack.
Instead, Acronix' slashed his weapons together, throwing him forward in time and appearing behind the warriors. He cut them down with ruthless efficiency, his blades leaving snakes suspended in the air before falling to the ground sliced in half. He panted as he turned around, ready to return to the wall only to see four more be lobbed right over and crash down the streets around him. A fear gripped Acronix' as he saw one start to form on top of the roof of a building above him.
"They're breaching the wall!" Another soldier cried out.
"Hold your ground!" Krux' shouted. He locked eyes with Mage across the wall. Quickly, Mage jumped forward and flashed with speed along to him, the two looking down to see the warriors being flung and cracked open all throughout the city. Already, they had lobbed 10, and it seemed their cocoons weren't going to stop coming.
"I, I can take out the tanks, that's what they're called," Mage panted, wiping sweat from his brow, "You… you need to-"
"No," Krux' shook his head, "Your friends don't seem to be doing too good out there," He looked to see the mountain still rumbling from explosions, "If that mech gets to us, all is lost. You need to go and help them."
"Monty told me to stay here!" Mage saw a cocoon in the sky above him. He threw his hand up to catch it with gravity, throwing it back over the wall before it could break open. Three more, however, were still tossed inside.
"It seems that we can't win this battle with the men we have, Mage," Krux' shook his head, "I must send Teran to go and speak with him!"
"...Are you sure?" Mage asked.
"Yes, my brother and I will hold them back until he wakes up," Krux' nodded, "Keep that thing at bay for us, we will handle the armies!"
Mage took a moment to gaze at Krux', seeing if there was any doubt or hesitation in them. Instead, all he saw were the eyes of a warrior that knew very well what he was asking. Mage nodded his head.
"Hold the line!" Krux' shouted as he turned back to the army of Vermillion. The men raised a cheer to follow him as Krux' smashed his gauntlet into another Vermillion on the wall. Mage took a few steps back, feeling a guilt at leaving the battle. With a reluctant shake of his head, he pressed his hands together with a flash of light and disappeared. Seeing this, Krux' raised his voice, "The Dragon Lord will give us the strength we need to win this battle! Fight men! Fight until his help arrives!" Krux' nodded to Teran, who leapt down from the wall and rushed off through the streets towards the palace.
Mage flew straight away from the battle, watching as the men there fought with more and more Vermillion being lobbed into the city. He watched Acronix' as he flashed from street to street, slashing them apart and refusing them to get close to the city center. He watched as the soldiers fell from the wall, injured or dying, with each passing minute. Krux' flashing his gauntlets and breaking apart as many as he could, the men rallied behind him in a desperate struggle. He had to do something to help them…
...Which, right now, was fighting Prime. He soared straight over the mountains, flying as quickly as his tired body would let him. When he arrived, he could see it. Prime standing in Invictus, lording over Monty, Lloyd and Lulloyd who each looked exhausted. The entire area around them was blasted up, almost in a ring around where Invictus stood. He could see the shattered Mechdragon, and knew what was happening here.
"Hey!" Mage shouted as he slammed down at the top of one of the hills, revealing himself with a flash of flame, "If you're going to pick on my friends," Mage slammed his hands together, "You can handle me now, can't you?!"
The noises of war carried far off into the distance. At the entrance to a tribe that was now long since fallen to time and hatred, a single dark figure stood. He looked out across the expanse, his wings falling to his sides as he slowly stepped forward onto the bridge that connected them.
"...Overlord…" Over whispered to himself, "Please… speak to me."
There was no noise. Nothing other than the sight of the wind as it blew through the empty ruins. Ruins of the Amber Tribe, one that had been wiped off the face of this world out of fear, out of confusion, terror brought on by their immense power. A tribe that had done nothing wrong, and yet had suffered the worst of the fates that could have befallen them. Much like Over, as his thoughts drifted him to thinking about himself.
"Over!" Lloyd's voice emanated from Over's wristband, "Over, where are you, where are-"
Over pressed his hand down to the watch. He didn't want to hear what it had to say. He knew nothing that came from it would be good. Something was happening, and yet he couldn't bring himself to fight. Not right now. Not when even the shadows had forsaken him.
"Is this true, Emperor?" Sun's voice once more drifted into his ear, "That for once in your reign of tyranny, you have decided to flee from a fight?"
Over didn't even need to turn around to know that Sun was there. It was his memory, his thoughts once more making him hallucinate that the boy was there. In his head, he knew that Sun wasn't there. He knew that there was nothing there. But even still, his body locked up in fear as he heard that voice.
"Go away," Over spat, "I have already left them behind. There is no need for you to speak to me anymore than the dead have the right to rise from their graves."
"I am disappointed in you, Emperor," Sun declared, "You were never known for your cowardice. I knew not a single battle you ever did flee from, nor one you did not fight to win. Not even the last that we shared together."
"And look where that has gotten me," Over hissed out, "Stuck in a conflict that feels neverending, a battle that has taken my Empire from me, and now the voice of a dead boy accosting me from the depths of my own guilt."
"Your friends are in danger," Sun appeared in front of Over, "Will you not go to their aid?"
"My shadows do not obey me," Over gripped his fist, "The Overlord will not answer me. I am disconnected from my own self. What help would I be to them?"
"You were given the same teachings as I was from Sensei Garmadon," Sun held up his wooden hilt, "A weapon's power comes from the soul, bound to a vessel. Should the soul waver, the vessel becomes yet another blade of any common man."
"And yet I have nothing that could hope to return me to the state in which Shadow Control will manifest," Over gripped his arms, "Leave me be."
Sun frowned deeply at Over. It was a frown of disgust, disappointment, anger. The same frown that Over would use on himself, should he have the chance. Sun walked over to stand on top of a small stairway in front of one of the ruined buildings. One that Over posited once was a home for some family long since gone.
"And would you allow for Mage's charge to fall to ruin?" Sun ran his hand along the stone, not disturbing a single ounce of it, "You know that they are in danger. If you do not help them now, they will fall. Do you not care?"
"Of course I do!" Over snapped, "But I would hinder them far more than I would help. I… will not deny that I care for Mage. He does not deserve this fight."
"Then you should do what you can to end this fight for him, yes?" Sun declared to him, "You should help him. You ran away because of your own fear. Perhaps now you should use it to take action.
"..." Over frowned, "I came out here to be alone. I know not where I will go, but back to them… would mean nothing now."
"I believe it will mean much more than you think," Sun nodded, "Can you stand to let the boy die?"
Over didn't respond. Sun walked forward towards him, reaching out to put his hand on his shoulder. Instead, the hand didn't feel like anything at all. He was just a memory, a memory that he knew more than anyone else. A memory that would not leave him be.
"... I did so for you," Over remarked.
"A man should not live with regrets," Sun declared, "But one who does should work to atone for them. You may never do so, but to live a life without ever trying to, that is a life that is truly wasted. Do you truly see yourself that far gone, Emperor…?"
With that, Sun faded away. He left Over standing there, quiet, contemplative, silent. Looking out across the ruins with an unreadable expression. Slowly, he turned back to look towards where Mage was, to where his allies were fighting. He looked back to where he should go, and to where he could. And as the two worked between him, he went silent and slowly gripped his staff.
"You!" Mage pointed at Invictus, "You need to leave! NOW!"
"And why do I need to do that?" Prime asked inside his mech, "What are you going to do to make me?"
Mage snarled, bringing his hands together and rubbing them together. Invictus held its arm up in anticipation for a charge, and instead he watched a blurred line of speed through the air. Mage appeared right in front of Invictus' head, bringing Aevum over his head in a viscous slash. The sword sliced deep into the armor before Mage yanked it backwards, sliding it right out of the mech as he landed firmly atop its shoulder.
"You will not threaten my people!" Mage shouted again, swinging Aevum to cut deep into the side of Invictus' neck, "You will not hurt my tribe!" Mage ducked under a swipe of Invictus' hand and dug the sword in a plunge into the shoulder, "You don't even know why I'm called the Dragon Lord, do you?!"
"I don't care!" Prime shouted, "Get off!"
Mage looked to see Prime angling the mech's sword right at him. Mage pressed his hands together and focused. The sword sliced right up along the hilt of Aevum, narrowly missing breaking the thing from its plunged state. When Prime pulled the sword back, smoke reformed from around the mech's neck and back into Mage. His hands reached out, gripping hold of Aevum's hilt again and charging his entire body with a massive blast of lightning.
"Because I am the one… who has mastered… the power of all the dragons!" Mage shouted, "And I will use that power to stop anything that threatens those the dragons are sworn to protect!"
The lightning coursed all the way through the mech as Mage unloaded his power Prime was forced to step back from the viewport as the entire cockpit began to crackle and pulse with lightning. He hissed in anger, holding his hands up, trying to get a read on where Mage was. The lightning reached down towards the core, arcing out from the walls towards the spinning green orb as though to absorb it.
Instead, Prime slammed his foot down and focused. The core suddenly pulsed out, sending green electricity out to meet Mage's lightning. The moment Mage felt his power reflected, he yanked Aevum out of the mech's shoulder and leapt straight off. Green power burst out of the wound he left behind, nearly frying Mage dead on the spot. With a swift flash of copper eyes, Mage landed on the ground in front of Invictus, holding Aevum out behind him as he looked up towards the machine.
"If you're master of dragons, then I'm master of machines!" Prime shouted, "And I won't let you dare get that close to Invictus' core again!"
Prime raised his swords up, readying them to plunge down at Mage. Mage leapt to the side with a blast of wind, the ground cracking apart and sizzling with the energy swords that impacted them. The boy then spun his body around, pressing Aevum down onto the sword and balancing his feet on it. He held his hands back, blasting fire from them as Prime raised the sword. Aevum slid straight down Invictus' energy sword.
Mage leapt off the sword just before it went vertical, grabbing hold of Aevum and landing right on the mech's thumb. He swung his body down and around, gathering up earth with brown eyes. His feet slammed straight into the hilt of the knife Invictus' sword formed from. Prime shook the mech's arm, making Mage jump into the air for a few brief seconds.
"You're mine!" Mage shouted as he fell through the air. As he flew down towards the mech's knees, he swung Aevum and dug the thing right into the mech's armor at the end of its thigh. Mage shut his eyes and let his arms snap tight with the impact, letting him rotate perfectly around the sword and land on top of it with a quick flash of gravity to steady himself. He held his fingertips out and filled them with poison, eyes glowing a sickly green as he tried to melt through the mech's armor. As just a sparse piece burned away, he slid his hand inside and flash froze the entire knee, preventing it from bending for a brief moment. Mage leapt into the air and shouted as he slammed his feet into it, delivering another earth-fueled kick as he grabbed Aevum and slid both himself and the sword through the air as the ice shattered to stagger the mech.
Before Mage could hit the ground, the earth rose up in a massive hand, giving him a perch. He held his hands down and threw them upwards, causing the pillar to fire up like a piston and send him into the air. He leapt off just as the earth smashed right into the mech's torso. This time, Mage did land on the ground, almost immediately feeling a massive wave of exhaustion in his body as he staggered, falling onto his knees as he gasped for air in his now exhausted body.
"Mage!" Lloyd's voice caused Mage to turn and look at him. A moment later, Mage was struck head on with a blast of green power. Just as he had at the Summit, the power roared through his body and caused his elemental power to refresh. While his aching muscles wouldn't go away with that alone, Mage leapt up to his feet and panted heavily.
"Thanks," Mage groaned, hefting Aevum up in front of him, "Did I..?"
Mage's question was answered a second later as he saw two flashing dots in front of him. Invictus unloaded its cannons straight down into Mage, vaporizing the very rock he stood on. Mage leapt backwards and landed just out of the radius, only to see another flash. He gripped the earth in front of him and yanked it upwards, creating a shield that blew apart into rubble a moment later. When Mage shook his head to look up, Invictus stood in front of him, as powerful and shining bright as it ever had.
"Was that the best you had?" Prime shouted back to him, "You all keep insisting on fighting me, yet you can't even leave a scratch on Invictus!" The mech's swords fizzled out, returning to the knives it hooked back onto its hips, "Maybe you aren't taking this seriously yet."
Invictus hefted up its smaller guns, the massive bullets firing out. Just as Monty saw the muzzles flashing, he shot forward and brandished the SoS. In its reflection, he saw the curve of the bullets as it rained down right towards Mage. Monty grabbed hold of Mage's arm and blasted them up into the air with wind, the bottom of Mage's feet barely missing the massive shell before it churned up the landscape.
Monty held the SoS in front of him, watching the curve of the arc Invictus made with its guns a second before it did. He flew both Mage and himself through the air with a beautiful grace, spinning and skating around the air mere milliseconds before the bullets aimed for them. The mech turned the guns sideways to fire its arm cannons into the mix, sending a flurry of laser blasts and bullets their way.
Lloyd and Lulloyd stood at the base of a small hill, watching as the two did. The blasts and bullets swung above them, carving into the top and causing a massive rumbling to fill the area. The two looked up to see a massive rockslide loosed from the blasts, heading right towards them. Lloyd threw up his shield and stood in front of Lulloyd, his eyes shutting as he readied himself for the pain of what was about to come.
Mage twisted his head, seeing the landslide. He grabbed Monty's arm and spun his body in midair with a quick application of speed, letting go to fly straight towards the two. Monty's momentum halted as a result. The ghost threw the SoS straight up into the air and let his body fade, allowing Invictus' bullets to go through him without a single one harming him. He shot into the air and caught the SoS a moment later, hovering in front of the mech.
The Dragon Lord landed straight in front of Lloyd, holding his hands up and grabbing hold of the air around the rocks. He condensed it rapidly, causing it to turn into clouds, then water, and finally a massive barricade of ice. The rocks began to rapidly pile up against them, slamming down against the ice and cracking it as more and more seemed to fall. Mage took a deep breath and thrust his arms up, causing the ice wall to suddenly become a bowl that held the rocks into the air. He slammed his left foot down into the mountain, rippling a crack up its surface that then formed a new wall to catch the other falling rocks. He shouted, using his own willpower to thrust the ice and the boulders on it straight at Invictus.
Invictus turned, holding its shield up and catching all but a few of the rocks on it. He leaned his hand down and pointed it straight towards where Mage stood, charging up the arm cannon and readying the bullets. Monty gazed into the SoS, seeing the three consumed in the blast. Without another option, Monty soared towards the arm, gathering as much wind as he could and blasting his body into the mech's hand at the last possible second.
The result was the shots arcing just far enough that, rather than shred the three, instead caused an explosion that threw them painfully about the rock. Mage struck his head violently down on the landscape, his vision blurring white as he did and dropping Aevum. Lloyd's shield protected him enough to make him not immediately collapse, while instead Lulloyd slammed down onto his back with a hard gasp. Monty's cape burned up with the heat of the laser, sending him flying off and crashing into the ground himself.
Slowly, Lloyd pushed himself up to his feet. He looked around to see the three of his allies down. Mage was bleeding from his head from the impact. Lulloyd was gasping in pain as he tried to push himself up to his feet. Monty was lost in a cloud of dust, the SoS the only thing he could see from this distance. Invictus stood over them, shining with a demonic blue light amongst the dust, broken mountains and the weapons that it held. Lloyd looked around, seeing nothing left there for them.
"Looks like you're the only one left, Lloyd!" Invictus roared off Prime's voice at him, "And I bet you'll be the easiest one to put down!"
Lloyd looked up. He knew Prime was right. He looked down again. He couldn't get his friends up in time. He couldn't save them. He… he couldn't…
"Maybe if you surrender," Prime lowered one of the mech's arms to point the gun right at him, "I'll let your friends go!"
Lloyd bit his lip. He looked up again, trying to figure out what to do. He had to… he had to fight. Had to do something. He had to… he needed to…
Something warm pressed into his chest. Lloyd reached down into his gi, feeling it. The thing he'd put inside of it. He reached down and ran his hand over it. Wu's words began to ring in his head. He looked around again. What was he going to do? What… what could he…?
Lloyd raised his head. Invictus fired, not even giving him time to respond. Lulloyd shouted in fear as the explosion rocked him and Mage even further. Mage's eyes widened as he stumbled up to his hands and knees, looking towards the sight of the cloud of dust that had once been Lloyd. For a moment, he didn't know what had just happened. What had just happened to Lloyd. And for a moment, he felt his anger welling up in him alongside the pain, the pain of… of…
"GGWWWWWAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGAAAUUGGGHHHHHH!"
Mage looked up from the rubble. Something shot through the air, right off towards the mech in the sky. It struck down against the mech's arm, slamming its weight into it. Prime's left arm was knocked out of position as the creature slammed back down onto the ground in front of Mage. He could only catch a glimpse before it leapt up from the ground, slamming its body into the mech's stomach with a crash of its feet. Invictus stumbled back a step, letting the creature crash down onto the ground on all fours.
"What…?" Mage blinked, coughing as he forced himself to stand upright. The thing was clearly human in shape, but its skin was all wrong. Its entire body was completely hardened by rock, a gray chalky that pulsed with powerful purple energy under the cracks. The rocks slightly shifted around against the power, as though they were only being held on by the pull of the purple light. The creature's face, however, was hidden behind a purple mask that seemed fused to its face, with streaks of blond hair sprouting out from both sides of its head.
"Get out of here!" The mask's voice distorted the voice under it as the thing stood up to face Invictus, "GO!"
"Lloyd?" Mage asked in confusion. The blonde hair and the voice were all that he could relate to his friend. Lloyd stood up, looking up at the creature. Slowly, rocks began to colhease around his shoulders, forming armor pads around them. He reached backwards, and slowly, a sword made of that same combination of purple power and rocks formed on his back. He drew the thing, then leaned his head back and let out a massive roar towards Invictus.
Monty landed in front of Mage, gripping his arm. Before Mage could protest, Monty had blasted wind off from his feet, sending the two of them up and into the air. Mage gasped out in pain as he did, but Monty refused to let go of him.
"He told us to run, we run!" Monty spat at the boy as he flew the two through the air, "He takes care of the big one, we take care of the grunts!"
Mage looked down, seeing the sea of Vermillion that were still marching up the path towards the Time Tribe. He looked back towards the battlefield, seeing the men and women of the Time Tribe fiercely throwing back the Vermillion using each other to scale the wall. Mage held his fist down to send freezing blasts of ice into the crowd, but knew it wasn't of much use. For now, he had to purely retreat.
"L-Lloyd…?" Lulloyd, having finally stood up, asked nervously, "W-What is…?"
"Get away from me!" The masked Lloyd spat at Lulloyd in a vile and hatred-filled tone, "If you can't fight, then leave it to those who can!"
Lulloyd took a step back, feeling the weight of anger in those words. Instead, he looked up just in time to see Invictus raise its sword. Lloyd shouted another rage-filled cry and ran forward, swinging his own sword into the air. The impact of Invictus' blade on the one that Lloyd held took a moment to even fully register in Lulloyd's ears. When he looked forward, he saw Lloyd there, holding the mech's sword with just one arm on his own blade. The mask's power raced through his body, causing the rocks to grow up and around Lloyd's arm as he held it back.
"That's one of Oni's masks, isn't it?" Prime asked with a frown, "When did you get that…?"
"This mask won't let you defeat me!" Lloyd shouted, "YOU WON'T HURT MY FRIENDS ANYMORE!"
Lloyd gripped the sword with both hands, thrusting his arms to the side and slicing the mech's arm out of position again. Prime was jerked about in his cockpit with a shocked glance as Lloyd grabbed hold of the mech's sword with his own hands. The energy crackled and burned against the armor, but the mask's power dared not break. Lloyd dug his heels in and yanked the sword forward, thrusting the mech towards him. The sheer force yanked Invictus down to its knees.
"Oni said he made this thing… it's stronger than the one she had…" Lloyd's distorted voice sounded out as he let go of the sword, "I'm… stronger than her. I'm stronger than you, Prime! I have all I need to TAKE! YOU! DOWN!"
Lloyd jumped forward again, sending him right off the ground and towards the mech. Prime saw Lloyd's stone-covered body fill his viewport just as he slammed his fist down into the mech's body. The armor dented inwards around his punch. Lloyd dug his hand down into the bent armor, using it as a perch as he huffed, snarling like a feral animal. He slammed his sword onto his back and quickly began to scramble his body up the mech, slamming his hands into the thing and climbing straight up the machine. Despite the force, he was so fast Prime couldn't detect where he was fast enough to stop him.
When Lloyd reached the mech's head, he gave a hard huff, his entire body heaving along with him as he gathered his power. With a sudden leap into the air, Lloyd's hand came roaring right down into the mech's eyeball, shattering the metal-reinforced glass apart. Prime felt an impact on his face, jolting him in the cockpit. Lloyd's hair swished about the mask as he slammed his hands down again, pounding punch after punch into the mech's neck and face. He didn't even know why he was attacking this spot, what he was doing. He simply kept punching, wailing, hurling himself into it.
Lulloyd watched the display with horror in his eyes. The thing that was attacking Invictus didn't even seem like it was human. It was more like an animal, wailing away purely on instinct. Not even his father, at his most desperate, had looked that way. And the sight of Invictus actually keeling to it, almost bowing to its power, made his throat tighten.
"L-Lloyd…" Lulloyd rotated his head, "No, y-you shouldn't… y-you can't do this…"
Prime finally managed to get his hand up amongst the onslaught, wrapping his fist around Lloyd and hefting him up into the air. The moment he did, Lloyd roared again, crashing his body about in the grasp of the machine. He reached forward, wrapping his hands around the mech's thumb. Suddenly, alerts filled the screen as Prime felt his body shaking.
With a powerful screech, Lloyd ripped the thumb off the machine. Prime grasped his hand in pain as Lloyd fell towards the ground, taking it with him. The thumb was almost as big as his torso as he slammed atop it onto the ground, huffing out and growling as he looked up towards the mech now cradling a sparking hand.
"G...Gwarrhg…." Lloyd growled out, "You're nothing like the Colossus. I won't lose to something like that again. I won't lose anyone else to something like you again!" Lloyd's distorted voice formed into a feral howl, "YOU WON'T TAKE SOMETHING FROM ME AGAIN, HARUMI!"
"Lloyd!" Lulloyd gasped out, racing over towards him, "S-Stop! Don't use that thing! I-It doesn't, that can't be-"
"IF YOU CAN'T HELP," Lloyd turned his demonic mask to look at Lulloyd, "THEN LEAVE!"
"T-Take it off!" Lulloyd took a step towards him, "P-Please, you have to take that mask off! I-It's not good!"
"Then come over here…" Lloyd huffed out, "And make me!"
"I won't!" Lulloyd steeled his gaze, "N-Not like this. Y-You'll take it off yourself!"
Lloyd growled, looking at Lulloyd with a head cocked so far it almost looked unnatural. Invictus, suffering several blows by now, was still recovering from losing a finger. Prime looked down towards the two on his viewscreen, now slightly cracked from all the punches, with a trembling growl.
"Y-You…" Prime growled out, "I won't let you-"
Suddenly, time froze.
A blast of red shot out from the center of the Time Tribe, arcing out in a perfect circle. Everything that it touched, it froze with a red glance in time. Mage and Monty, having just arrived on the wall still under siege, were caught in it. Prime, Lulloyd and Lloyd all froze solid, their bodies and minds paused. The entire army of Vermillion were caught in it, snakes caught just about to plunge their weapons into men, loading more cocoons into the city, those readying to break down the doors to the homes. The entire area had been completely frozen.
Aside from two men. Acronix' looked up from inside the streets of Tempus, seeing the Vermillion he was fighting completely frozen. Krux', atop the wall, followed through on his swing into the Vermillion in front of him, only to find his blow to have no effect. As the two looked about to see the world paused, both of them knew it could be only one thing.
A massive roar sounded off from inside the mountain behind the palace. From a massive cave at the end of a path from the top of the palace, a massive creature stepped out. It was four legged, with massive wings on its back that stretched open, the skin torn and filled with holes in many places. Its body was covered in deep brown scales which rippled with lines of deep red underneath them. The thing's head was thin, yet sported massive teeth that made up a good amount of its body. And from the inside of its mouth, rippling down and across its body, was a pulse of red power that caused its scales to ripple down to the end of its short and four-way split tail.
Muto, the dragon of the Time Tribe, the one that had granted the power of time to his followers, let out another massive roar. All at once, Acronix' and Krux' dropped to their knees, both of them pressing their hands into the ground. The dragon surveyed the land from atop its perch, its body huffing out as it welled its power from deep in its body and out through its scales. It rippled as it raised its wings, letting them flare out. The wings were a deep red as well, with veins that pulsed the blue, green, red and orange of the powers of time itself. As it looked upon the world it had paused, it opened its jaws with a single word that boomed across the land.
COME. Acronix' and Krux' both stood up as they heard it. Krux' quickly raced down from the wall and into the streets, right towards his brother. Acronix' slid his blue sword back into his holster, his green dagger flashing. The moment he touched Krux', the two zipped forward in time to find themselves right at the ground in front of the dragon. Acornix' nearly stumbled off his feet from such an effort, but looked up all the same. Slowly, the dragon lowered its wing to offer them a spot upon its back. The moment the two saw this, they both looked at each other and nodded in awed reverence to what honor they were receiving, climbing onto its back.
PROTECT. The dragon spread its wings hard, taking flight with a rippling crack of lift. Acronix' and Krux' both bent forward beside the other, gripping a slot in its scales to hold on as best they could. The dragon flew into the air, casting its shadow down upon the tribe as it flew back around the mountain it had slept under for all this time, beating its wings to restore its long-since lost practice.
As the dragon soared over the tribe, its shadow was cast down. As the shadow passed over the people on the wall, the effect of paused time faded from them. The Vermillion both in and outside the city, however, remained frozen. Those people that looked up to see their patron dragon flying over them, a sight that none of them had ever known could be so graceful, left them stunned and dropped to their knees once more in sheer reverence towards it.
With a massive crash, Muto landed down among the army of Vermillion. Those unlucky enough to be under its feet were reduced to a squirming heap. The dragon inhaled several times, gathering its power. Sensing their need, Acronix' and Krux' gripped the dragon, pouring their power through their weapons and into the beast. Muto spun its body around, using its tail to catch Vermillion both along and outside the wall within it. The dragon spun around twice more before stopping, causing the Vermillion to fly backwards away from the tribe.
Suddenly, Muto's lips began to glow green. The paused time effect halted on the world, and instead the dragon's body was enveloped in its power. The Vermillion that hadn't been thrown back were made to look up just in time to see the dragon suddenly zip forward and appear before them, raising its legs up and charging a blast of concentrated time energy in its jaws. The feet crushed those in front of it, while the power in its jaws blasted apart entire squadrons of Vermillion soldiers. The dragon zipped forward in time once more, appearing in the middle of their army and smashing them apart. With a single swipe of its tails, the tanks were sent flying off into the distance, crashing and shattering apart on the rocks.
"T-The dragon!" Teran stood up on the wall, "The dragon has come to our aide!" The man drew a massive curved sword and shouted, "Fight, men! Fight alongside our protector!"
Those that had bowed in prostration to the beast stood up, roaring out in affirmation. The gates to the tribe were thrown open as the men raced down from the wall and out onto the path, Teran at their head. Those Vermillion that had not been already swept back by the beast were cut down by men and women brandishing the power of time at their fingertips, cleaving away the path to once more reveal the rock under the army's metal feet.
Muto continued his path of destruction down the way. The two leaders of the Time Tribe held on as the dragon channeled its power through them, cleaving apart Vermillion off into the distance faster and faster. The sheer speed and power of the beast was enough that Vermillion were beginning to back away. Muto slammed its feet down, opening its jaws and blasting the army with a blue shower. As the Vermillion slowed in time, they were forced to watch as the dragon sped towards them, shattering their ranks apart without the time to stop the dragon's wrath.
Finally, the Vermillion gave the order to retreat. Suddenly, the hive mind cried out in fear as the snakes both inside and outside the tribe turned and began to run. The soldiers cut down those that tried to flee through the gate, but several more managed to slither by them as either snakes or as half-destroyed warriors. Muto continued to chase and cut down all of those that tried to run from him again.
As the Vermillion horde retreated, the battle that had taken place between machine and mask was still frozen in time. Slowly, however, that effect began to wane as the dragon moved further and further away from them. Lulloyd and Lloyd were the first ones to feel the effect. The two stumbled forward, hearing roars and cheers of support far off in the distance. Invictus slowly began to flicker with power, just in time for them to both look up and Prime to look down at them in shock.
"What… what was…?" Prime asked.
"Did time just… s-stop?" Lulloyd asked, "I-It feels like it did…"
A shadow flew over them. In front of them, Muto crashed straight down, landing in front of Invictus and looking up at it. Lloyd and Lulloyd looked up as they saw Acronix' and Krux' both look up towards the mech. The two stared Prime down as the dragon stood no taller than the mech's knees, yet commanded a power to it that even Prime knew not to touch.
"Leave this place," Acronix' commanded Prime, "Or else we will attack."
"Do not make us drive you back by force!" Krux' shouted alongside his brother, "This world does not belong to you, nor will it ever! Go back to your master, you Twin's lapdog!"
For a moment, Prime considered his options. He could already get a read on the dragon. As it was, he could take the thing. But he didn't know what the limit of its power was, what it could do to him. He could ultimately win… but at the moment, he knew that he couldn't afford to break Invictus any further. He couldn't afford to wait.
"Fine," Prime cockily smirked, "I'll retreat. For now. But you tell Over that if he wants me, I'll be waiting for him!" Prime shouted, "And if he doesn't come and find me soon, I'll come looking for him again. And again. And again and again and again until I find him! Do you hear me?!"
"Noted," Acronix' spat, "We'll pass on your paltry barks to him. Now begone."
Slowly, Prime gritted his teeth at the insult, but pulled his anger back. He needed to repair the mech, retreat for now. He hadn't failed his mission yet. Slowly, the sparking lines of power traveled across the mech's body. A portal to another world opened up under the mech's feet. Lloyd snarled, stepping forward. Muto, however, turned his head and let out a deep, ancient growl that caused even the Oni Mask to heed its call.
"Make sure Over knows all that happened this day," Prime shouted one final line, "Is on his head!"
Invictus disappeared in a flash. All at once, there was quiet. The mountains around them showed the violent scars of their battle. No piece of the valley around them had been properly spared from it. Slowly, Muto turned towards Lloyd.
OFF. The dragon ordered him. Lloyd, still huffing and growling under the mask, for a moment didn't obey the dragon's call. In turn, the dragon let out another growl, one that rattled even Lulloyd to his core.
"L-Lloyd…" Lulloyd gulped, taking a shaky step towards Lloyd, "I-It's okay. Prime's gone now. You don't need the mask anymore…"
Lloyd growled a few more times. But, slowly, his hands reached up towards the mask. As soon as he gripped it, his arms went slack, as though trying to fight against him. Instead, Lloyd forced himself to tug. The action took barely any effort, yet it felt as though moving a mountain. Power began to seep out from under the mask, causing the rocks along his body to start to shake and crumble. Lloyd let out a long growl as his body fought himself in one last hurdle.
With a flash, the Mask of Hatred came off Lloyd's face. Slowly, Lloyd looked down at the mask, feeling it in his hands. Lulloyd's face shifted to that of a relieved smile. Slowly, Lloyd slid the mask back under his gi with a shaky hand.
"We… won…" Lloyd nodded.
"We did," Acronix' informed him, "Yet it seems that the battle you were fighting was another draw."
There were no other words to that. Instead, the two leaders, two green ninja and an ancient dragon stood among the result of their battle, one that had given them almost nothing and cost them almost everything.
DRAGON LORD. Muto growled out.
Mage looked up at Muto with a smile on his face. The boy was currently leaning on Aevum inside of its hilt for support. The boy stood in front of the main gate of the Time Tribe. Muto's body took up the entire main street and then some. Around the two, a crowd had gathered to admire their patron dragon.
"It's good to see you again, Muto," Mage reached his hand out, "You had wonderful timing."
Mage rested his hand on Muto's head. The dragon let out a long and deep huff, a noise that sounded as regal as it was powerful. Mage chuckled gently as he did, looking at him with a respectful nod of his head. As the crowd looked on at the sight, Mage turned to them and nodded his head.
"We've won the battle today," Mage nodded, "And we will win whatever else they throw at proud of the fact that you are of the Time Tribe, for today, we've controlled time!"
The crowd gave a cheer of victory. Mage, even as he limped along, did his best to look happy for them. As the people crowded around them, Krux' and Acronix' stood in front of Monty and Lloyd, looking at the sight with a long and almost wistful look on their faces.
"Muto has come to our aid," Acornix' mused, "I'm surprised that he was even awake."
"What do you mean, awake?" Monty asked with a frown, "Does he just sleep all the time?"
"Normally, yes," Krux' nodded, "All of the dragons are normally asleep. It is how they have lived so long in this world. They rest when their powers aren't needed, and awaken when the tribe has need of them. All the tribes are built around the resting grounds of their dragon."
"When Muto trained us, he did so through his dreams," Acornix' informed them, "He instructed us through his own thoughts while he did. The only other time that we have seen him was when Mage and Skylar used the Call of Dragons to awaken all of the beasts and come to their aid."
"That's why he's called the Dragon Lord then, eh?" Monty shrugged, "Checks out."
"About that, sir," Teran walked up towards the two brothers.
The four turned to look at him. Teran's armor was stained with the bite marks and bits of snake yet to wash off. For the most part, however, he looked unharmed.
"What?" Krux' frowned.
"When you sent me to go and awaken our dragon, I did not need to awaken him," Teran nodded.
"What?" Acronix' blinked, "No. That can't be. The dragons are never awake. That means…"
"Something had already awakened him," Teran nodded, "He informed me that once this battle was over, we should ready ourselves to the aid of the other Tribes."
"Why?" Krux' asked, a nervous glint in his tone.
"Because the one who woke him up was not our own plight, but the other dragons," Teran informed them, "The other dragons called to him."
The two twins froze in place. Lloyd and Monty looked at each other, piecing together slowly what that meant.
"Wait, I'm not getting it," Lloyd asked, "What… what does this mean?"
"Then that means…" Acronix' shook his head, "If the other dragons awoke for the reason we called upon Muto, they're already under siege,"
"It seems their revenge is more than just on us," Krux' frowned, "It's upon the entire World."