Across the battlefield, the three armies slammed their power into one another. Over spun his staff with a powerful charge of purple beams, causing another massive spike of Dark Matter to erupt and skewer several more unsuspecting Vermillion. Lulloyd slammed his controls about, smashing Vermillion down and off the wall he'd created. Garmadon turned and barked orders as he quickly ascended back into his flagship, taking control of the Garmashark 2.0 to direct its massive amount of weapons right into the snakes in front of them. And from high above, almost in the clouds themselves, stood Acronix, holding his sword as he watched over the fight that was unfolding down below.
Lulloyd leaned forward to duck as another squadron of bombers flew overhead, dropping their payloads down into a row of tanks that were steadily advancing on them. Lulloyd could see in the distance the Vermillion loading up more explosive-packed cocoons to lob at them. Given that his dragon hadn't even taken one direct hit, he didn't want to imagine what his troops would think about that.
"TAKE THEM DOWN!" Lulloyd shouted, "AIM FOR THEIR CATAPULTS!"
Coco, hearing her son's order, nodded her head, "Makasete!" The Iron Dragon leapt backwards and flipped in the air, landing hard on top of Lulloyd's chair. She took his sword and looked around, seeing a Vermillion flyer heading in towards them. She kicked her son's controls, forcing the claw to point upwards. She darted forward across it, then leapt right off into the air just as the flyer was coming towards them. She grabbed hold of its angled back wings just as it shot above their heads, forcing Lulloyd and Garmadon to rotate their heads to watch her in shock.
Lady Iron Dragon held on even as the flyer began to careen with the sheer weight she put on it, flipping forward and landing perfectly in front of the Vermillion driver. The Vermillion blinked from behind his armor, then snarled angrily at her and threw a punch. With a giggle, she caught his fist and then spun her body around on one foot. The Vermillion was yanked straight out of the cockpit, swung around and thrown off to burst apart on the ground below. With a stealthy slide, she slid into the cockpit and quickly took hold of the rudimentary controls before angling it up towards the sky.
"What is she...?" Lulloyd gasped out.
"She's being the Iron Dragon," Garmadon responded without even being able to hear his son, "Oh those moves bring back so many memories, son, let me tell you..."
Coco quickly spun her controls around, angling the fight to fly close to the Vermillion horde in front of them. She could see the line of roughly five tanks that were each readying cocoons for their volley. Without hesitation, she turned towards a nearby jelly sub and gave a hard whistle. The pilot turned to see her and quickly yelped, jerking upright and giving her a muted shout of affirmation.
The Vermillion, finally noticing that she was heading towards them, quickly began to lob spears at her as well as opening up laser fire at her. Coco grinned and instead stood right up in the cockpit, balancing as she used her weight alone to guide the trajectory of the craft. Just when she could see the snakes in the tank, she gripped the cockpit, heaved her hips up, and then smashed her feet down powerfully into the craft. She flew up into the air as the aircraft was sent hurtling right down towards the tank. The snakes had only a single moment of terror before it struck an explosive cocoon. The left side of the tank went up in flames just in time for them to ignite the right side and send it ablaze. The fire spread to all the other tanks in the row, a row of gorgeous explosions that made Garmadon's eyes widen as he saw his wife soaring above them framed in the orange and reds.
Without missing a beat, Coco spun in the air and drew her bow and arrow, narrowing her eyes. In seemingly slow motion, she rapidly shot off arrow after arrow, the gray bolts soaring through the air and impaling the helmets of each one she shot. She got off almost ten before she was just about to fall into the flames. She spun her bow just in time to catch the orange chain of the jelly sub she'd signalled, the pilot of which rapidly spun the controls in terror as the Vermillion began to fire back at him. Coco giggled again as she twisted her foot up in chain and dangled upside down, her bow back in business as she picked off those Vermillion that shot at them. The sub brought her back towards the wall, where she did one last flip before landing down right beside her son with a smirk.
"So," Coco fired off another arrow, "How was that?"
"M-Mom…" Lulloyd blinked, "That, that was…"
"Oh, I've done way more in my day," Coco chuckled, "Focus on your battlements, honey!"
Lulloyd turned to see one Vermillion clinging to his claw contraption, trying to climb up towards him. With a quick snarl, Lulloyd drew his father's staff and swung it out in a spinning whirlwind of destruction. The Vermillion had only enough time to blink before he was smashed apart. The staff spun back through the air to land in Lulloyd's hand, who hefted it up and nodded.
"Thanks, mom!" Lulloyd growled, "We've almost broken through their second wave! Just a bit more and we'll have the chance to push!"
Coco gave her son an approving blink, then quickly returned to her arrows. Both saw the Garmashark 2.0 tilt upwards into the air, blasting down Vermillion fighters with the gleeful roars of approval from Garmadon. Both mother and son gave a small smile as they heard the sheer mirth with which he destroyed the snakes he faced. The explosions that rung out through the air almost created a canvas of fire and smoke around them.
"Fin missile!" Garmadon shouted, "Other fin missile! Pectoral fin missile! Gill missile, claw blaster! That's it! Come on now! SHARK SHARK SHARK SHARK SHARK SHARK SHARK!"
"Save some for later, honey!" Coco called out to him, "We're only fighting their first units!"
"I know that!" Garmadon shouted back, "I just haven't gotten to unload in, ugh, so long! Just let me enjoy this! SHARK SHARK SHARK SHARK SHARK!"
As a hidden shark cannon fired more two-piece sharks into the air, Lulloyd just smiled and passed off control of his claw to someone else. He landed beside his mother, holding staff and sword out as he shouted out his next wave of commands.
"Crab mechs squads F through M, I want you in front of this wall now! We're making room for our infantry units in! Hammerheads, I want those dropships ready to deploy! I want air support from all sub units until those fighters stop swarming out!" Lulloyd barked out each one with a powerful shout into a nearby megaphone.
"We're on it too, Lloyd!" Ninja Force Kai shouted over his comm. Lulloyd looked up just in time to see the Fire Mech slam down in front of the wall, hefting up its massive flamethrower arms. As Vermillion tried to swarm it, the Lightning Mech soared down from the sky and shocked several chunks apart before soaring back up to send out a massive burst of lightning into a wave of flyers. Lulloyd watched them with momentary awe, then turned his attention back towards the battle at hand.
With a sudden thud, Lulloyd turned to see Over having landed directly beside him. The dark-skinned being turned towards the Vermillion in front of them, holding his staff behind him as he did. With a small climb, General Kozu landed beside him. The two looked out together as Over gave a small nod of approval.
"We have a small opening on their left flank," Over informed Lulloyd, "I will gather the Stone Army and send them forward. Use that as your shield wall to advance. We will shatter their forward lines together!"
Lulloyd saw a small point of clearance on the left side of the Vermillion forces, a gap caused by a few downed ships having broken apart the formations. He looked up to Over, giving him a grunt of affirmation.
"I WANT THOSE MECHS UP HERE RIGHT NOW!" Lulloyd roared out, "WE'RE BREAKING THROUGH!"
Over spun about in the air, weaving his way through the massive crossfire of Vermillion fire before slamming into the ground. As he did, he focused his power and let out a long snarl. He held his hand forward just as tiny, miniature blade-like spikes of Dark Matter shot up from the ground around him, each as tall as his hips and forming a deep circle around him. Over thrust his hand behind him, causing the spikes to begin to spin. Like the blades of a circular saw, the spikes rapidly churned the earth up around him. Over gripped his fist, sending a small blast of purple power into it that caused them to burn with the deep purple flames of darkness, a barrier of destruction rapidly churning the earth itself around him.
"They are weakened!" Over shouted, "We advance NOW!"
"KRATA VU!" Kozu, atop his small wall of Dark Matter, roared out. A shout of affirmation formed through the ranks as the Stone Army rapidly began to form up behind Over. They filtered out to form a wall in front of him, a wall of cold eyes and powerful swords that pointed towards the Vermillion in front of them.
"KARZAHNI!" Kozu shouted, leaping down from the wall. The Stone Army shouted and roared as they charged forward, all in perfect harmony and sync as they raced across the ground. Over followed behind them at a slower pace, the swirling spikes following him with the powerful noise of the very earth being churned up in his wake.
Seeing his chance, Lulloyd leapt off the battlements and slid right down the wall. When he landed, he discarded the Vermillion sword he had and took hold of the warlord staff in both hands. The crab mechs he ordered soon scuttled horizontally over to him, their blasters and claws charging up.
"CHARGE!" Lulloyd shouted, a raw and powerful battle cry that rattled the very crab soldiers themselves. He raced forward, holding his staff up as he led them. The walkers quickly followed after him, blasting at Vermillion that attempted to stop their charge. More Shark Army troops filtered in front around the wall, holding their weapons high as they followed just behind the Stone Army.
The combined forces smashed between the gap in the Vermillion line, slicing them with stone swords and brick blades. Lulloyd swung his staff and broke apart more than his fair number of them. Over continued to lag behind, instead attacking Vermillion that attempted to reform and break them down on the flank. No matter how many they downed, there seemed to be more on the way. But they fought harder even still, forcing the Vermillion's scattered lines to shatter apart one final time.
From on high, Acronix watched the sight. He could see the small dots of the Shark and Stone armies as they broke into his first waves, breaking them into two sections they rapidly began to surround and rout. From this vantage, it was clear that they were all but lost. He kept watching with that small growl on his lips, his eyes focused firmly right on them.
"S-Sir!" From far below, Raggmunk spoke through the Hive Mind, "Let us attack them now! They've already destroyed-"
"I know that!" Acronix snapped, "I was waiting to see if they had something else to give me!"
"Uhm… sir?" Blunck's voice quickly followed.
Acronix sighed, planting his sword down and leaning down to look at them. They said whoever won the first strike could more easily win the fight. And from that perspective, he had to give them credit for even making it this far. But that snarl on his lips was slowly becoming more and more impatient, up until it finally broke into a small smile.
"Brother," Acronix spoke up, "Are we ready to use them?"
"If you think it's entirely necessary… I say it's easier to simply charge them now!" Krux responded back through their shared Hive Mind. Acronix's smile turned into a grin.
"Is this truly all they had?" Acronix's grin began to grow mad, "It's almost adorable how hard they're fighting… but we don't have time for this! Send them in!"
Down below, Lulloyd smashed another Vermillion apart and held his staff up, waiting for the next. When he saw that none were there, he looked about to see that the Vermillion wave had been cut down. Aside from some sparse fighting, the first two waves had been defeated. He took a moment to pant as he heard the thudding of the Garmashark 2.0's footprints behind him.
"My blood's on fire right now!" Garmadon grinned, "Come on, give me the next wave! Let's do this! Give it to me!"
"The Vermillion are hesitating," General Kozu's voice startled Lulloyd slightly as he walked his way up to him, "This is unusual."
"Form a perimeter and dig in for them, then!" Lulloyd ordered, "The Twins aren't going to just give up like-"
Around the gathered forces, portals began to form in the air. Lulloyd, recognizing those swirling blue vortices, gave a shout for them to be ready. With several hard flashes, the portals each shot a massive machine out of them, each crashing into the ground. Lulloyd planted his staff down to keep upright, then he narrowed his eyes. When the shadows on the machines cleared away, Lulloyd realized what they were.
"GET DOWN!" Lulloyd shouted, just in time for the eyes on the Iron Dooms around them to charge up. Before any of them were able to defend themselves, the Iron Dooms all blasted eye beams straight down into them. Lulloyd watched as his men were either blasted into the air or driven hard into the dirt. Some blasts struck the Stone Army who collapsed onto one knee.
"What the?!" Garmadon, seeing the sudden turn in the battle, rapidly spun around and attempted to fire on the sudden attackers. The Garmashark 2.0 blasted off its entire head at one Iron Doom, a snapping behemoth of a missile. The machine raised up its arms and took the blow on them, stripping away most of the armor and showing the sinuous threads of snakes that made up its interior. The Iron Doom raised up its eye again and charged another beam to blast back into the shark in turn, searing several bricks right off of its main fins.
Lulloyd looked up just in time to see several panels on the Iron Doom in front of him open up, revealing Vermillion warriors forming. He flung his staff, letting it spin through the air and smash apart several more Vermillion. When he raced in to retrieve it, though, he looked up just in time to see another Iron Doom charging up its laser at him. A shot of fear went through him as he looked around for something to shield himself with.
With a hard slam of his body, General Kozu threw Lulloyd back as the laser soared towards him. The general slammed his butterfly swords together, taking the brunt of the laser as it exploded against his body. Lulloyd spun to watch, only to shield his eyes from the intense light. When it faded, General Kozu had a massive mark on his armor and shook on his feet.
Rather than let his guilt take hold, Lulloyd scrambled to his staff and smashed apart the Vermillion advancing on him, grabbing hold of Kozu and yanking him along. The general blinked as Lulloyd seemingly effortlessly hauled his heavy form across the battlefield and out of the way of the next laser shot. He threw Kozu down towards the middle of their forces as the Iron Dooms began to close in. A quick headcount told him there were at least twelve of them, all slowly advancing to box them in and pick them off.
"Where did those Iron Dooms come from?!" Lulloyd shouted up at his father.
"Looks like they used your own portals against you!" Garmadon spat, "Another cheap trick! First time manipulation, now teleporting in troops? They fight like cowards!"
Garmadon turned his head just in time to see another blast from one of the encroaching Iron Dooms fire at him. This time, the blast perfectly struck the shark's side, causing the entire thing to unbalance. Garmadon let out a massive shout as he tried to right the shark. The other war machines let out their fire, trying to blast him over. Without much choice, Garmadon hit a button, causing his platform to rapidly shrink and then retract into the shark's forehead, a hatch closing up above him as he took direct control.
"We need to regroup!" Lulloyd shouted, looking for a way out. As he did, he watched each Iron Doom deploy more and more Vermillion out to form a ring to only further box them inside. They were cut off from the rest of the Shark Army outside of the machines, all of whom were still locked in combat with the remainder of the Vermillion forces.
Suddenly, one of the Iron Dooms let out a screech of pain. Its tail burst apart, chunks of twisted metal and snake blasted apart in the air. Lulloyd saw Over, his spinning spikes leaving the churned ground behind him, steadily advancing forward. The Iron Doom planted a sword in the ground as Over leapt up and out of his spinning blades, landing in front of Lulloyd with his staff raised defensively.
"INCOMING!" Kozu shouted for them to hear. Lulloyd turned his head, only to feel his heart sink. High above them again, Acronix held his hand out, commanding the next wave of Vermillion to charge. They were surrounded by Iron Dooms and cut off from their support. He looked over towards the others, but even now he couldn't think of what to do. Without any other option, the ground all raised their weapons to fight as the Iron Dooms charged their lasers to finish them off.
"Finally," Acronix smirked, "It's time to watch you all crumble beneath us, finally! There's no escape for you this time. Bow! Bow beneath the might, of the Time Twi-"
Off in the distance, the sound of drums brought Acronix's words to a grinding halt.
Acronix snapped his head to the sound, angered his thought was interupted. Instead, as he set his eyes on the sight, his anger turned to raw hatred.
"No…" Acronix snarled, "Not you again!"
Atop a small hill that overlooked the battle stood the Elemental Army. At the front of that army stood a large collection of each of the tribal leaders. Behind them, the army they had collected stood strong, thousands all waiting with their weapons ready. Wind Tribe archers notched their longbows while several Poison Tribe soldiers held up whips soaked in a sickly green substance. The Metal Tribe stood as fortresses in their own right, bodies covered entirely in metal and holding massive swords and axes. The Fire Tribe held massive hammers and gauntlets that lit up with their fire that burned out of their palms, while their Ice Tribe counterparts held knives and daggers each frosting over with their power. Floating above them all were the Gravity Tribe members, armed with spears and bows to rain fire down on those who couldn't fly as they did.
The back rows army marched forward to the sound of massive drums, pounded on by the stockily built members of the Earth Tribe. The resonating pounding of each step they took marched the army forward, their pace unrelenting. A few Sound Tribe members wielded what almost looked like horns as their weapons, and held them up to amplify the noise that the drums carried with them. The sound of their marching was loud enough to drown out the everpresent hissing of the Vermillion and the sounds of battle that still took place down below.
At the front of the army marched the leaders of each tribe. With a small wave of his hand, Sir Paleman pointed towards the Iron Dooms that had surrounded Lulloyd and his forces. At the base of two of the machines, several shimmers of light revealed Light Tribe ninjas, dressed in red and gray to blend into the armor of the Vermillion. They held small grappling hooks and ropes strapped to their hips, throwing their hooks up and rapidly scaling the Iron Dooms. When they reached the cockpits, the Vermillion inside were rapidly dispatched by their unseen knives that shimmered in and out with the world around them.
Standing at the front of the army were two brothers. Acronix' and Krux' stood firmly with their weapons drawn. Krux' held up his gauntlets, each one glowing red and orange to signify his powers that were bound to them. Acronix' held his two shortswords, each one pulsing a deep green and blue. They wore the battle armor they last donned when the Time Tribe had been under attack, and now wore as they instead went on the offensive. Neither brother wore a helmet.
"Forward!" Sir Griffin shouted. From around the leaders, a line of Speed Tribe soldiers stepped forward. Among them was Alacr, who reached down and drew his blade as did all of his brethren. Each one wore the same white robes with red trim, now overlaid with armor that included helmets shaped to smooth out against the wind. They lowered themselves down, holding their swords out as they waited for their order.
Acronix' looked up. Even from this distance, he could sense the ire of his universal counterpart. He could feel the anger, hatred, the raw and powerful rage that came from the man that had tried to take everything from him. More than that, though, he could remember firmly the last time he had lined up for war like this. While the enemies he'd faced then were far less numerous, the terror and fear was no less real.
Krux' reached out, gently putting his hand on his brother's shoulder, "Are you ready, brother?"
"I am…" Acronix' inhaled, "I'm ready to face whatever will come to pass."
"Well good," Krux' smirked, "Because this time, you have me."
Acronix' gave his brother a long look, then a single nod of thanks. It was all the two needed to know they were grateful that, for this battle, they would stand by each other's side. Acronix' slowly crossed his blades, his armor shuffling in a dull metallic clank. Krux' grinned in response, hefting his gauntlets up and rocking from foot to foot, ready to race forward into combat.
"Give the order," Sir Garmadon, the father of the Dragon Lord, stepped forward, "And we will follow."
"It is not me who you will follow," Acronix' nodded, then gave a bellow from the depths of his chest, "FOR THE DRAGON LORD!"
"FOR THE DRAGON LORD!" The army roared out in response. Acronix' reached out and gripped his brother's shoulder, his Time Matrix forming and the hands turning the clock green. The two blipped forward in time, appearing in front of the army racing down the hill towards the Vermillion locked in combat. Sir Griffin gave a shout, and in turn the line of Speed Tribe soldiers suddenly shot forward in their streaks of raw speed, leaving behind several lines of gray. The rest of the leaders shouted, raising their weapons and leading the rest of the army into battle. The Gravity Tribe members, Reina included, shot forward through the air, flying in front of the charging army. Sparks of raw elemental power shot up from all around the troops, their weapons struggling to maintain their powers as they put their force of will into them.
Acronix' grabbed his brother again, causing them to blip forward in time just as the Speed Tribe's line nearly crashed into them. The two appeared in the thick of battle, and immediately the two went back to back. They weaved their way through the clashing of Stone Warrior and Shark Army Hammerheads, smashing apart what Raiders they could as they went. The two worked their way through the battle, Acronix' blipping them forward in time whenever he could, until they had reached one of the Iron Dooms that was still firing on the Garmashark.
Lulloyd looked over just in time to see Acronix' slide to a stop in front of the Iron Doom. The Garmashark, now struggling to stand, shot a missle out that caused metal to burst from the Iron Doom. Acronix' nodded, grabbing his brother and leaping into the air. The two flashed forward and landed on those pieces of metal just for Krux' to strike it with his orange gauntlet. Time reversed the metal through the air, letting the two ride back up towards the Iron Doom and jump forward to grab hold of its breastplate. Krux' used his gauntlet to let Acronix' get a hold, then let out a shout of effort as he swung his brother up into the air. Acronix' landed in the viewport of the Iron Doom, then leaned back and grabbed his brother's outstretched arm. He swung Krux' inside just in time for them both to dodge the attacks of the Vermillion piloting the machine. Their combined swords and gauntlets smashed and threw out the Vermillion, both brothers turning and fumbling to work the machine they had commandeered.
"We studied the Raider's tanks, it's this here!" Krux' pointed at a set of control sticks.
"I'm trying to find out how to operate whatever it launches its elements out of!" Acronix' sheathed his blades, "Here?"
With a press of a large red button, the eye of the Iron Doom seemingly turned off. A moment later, however, the eye instead glowed even brighter, its stored power sending an even larger blast out. Garmadon, having just poked his head out of his shark, cried out in shock and ducked just in time for it to narrowly avoid blasting him clean out his mech.
"You handle that!" Krux' smirked, gripping levers and turning the machine slowly towards the other Iron Dooms, "I'll set you up for the rest!"
Acronix' quickly set about figuring out the controls while his brother turned the machine, letting them work together to blast an Iron Doom's arm off, the best falling backwards and collapsing against the ground. Lulloyd ducked down as they blasted two more of the Iron Dooms onto the ground.
The sound of hissing behind the two of them caused Krux' to turn and narrowly avoid getting skewered by a Vermillion. The two brothers, seeing that their luck had run out, both leapt out of the Iron Doom together. As they fell towards the ground, Acronix' slashed the air with his blue sword, causing a ribbon of slowed time to catch them and slow their descent. They both landed on the ground a moment later, just in time for them to witness the Garmashark 2.0 turn and blast the viewport full of missiles. The machine lit up in brick flames and fell backwards, collapsing to the ground and crushing a squad of Vermillion in the process.
"SHARK SHARK SHARK SHARK!" Garmadon shouted, spinning his damaged flagship around and blasting at the Iron Dooms not yet fallen, "YEAH! COME ON, GET SOME! SHARK SHARK SHARK SHARK!" His shouts were followed by a cannon extended from the side of the Garmashark, launching more actual sharks that struck hard enough to shatter metal.
"REGROUP!" Lulloyd's powerful cries overpowered even his father, "COME ON, WE REGROUP AND WE GET READY TO CHARGE WITH THEM, NOW!"
"Is that?" Krux' asked, looking over at the boy so boldly shouting as his troops soon began to father up behind him.
"I believe it is," Acronix' smirked, "Come, brother! We have the tide of battle in our favor now!"
"HEY!" Garmadon's voice from atop his shark made the two brothers look up in shock, "You two are those alternate guys that General Number Son was talking about, right?!"
"I… will assume that you mean yes!" Acronix' shouted back, giving his brother a look. Krux' just gave a shrug.
"Wow, you do look weird! You're like noodles glued together and all liquid-limbs!" Garmadon grinned, "Come on, climb aboard!" A ladder made from shark-tooth pieces dropped down the side of the shark, "The battle looks GREAT from up here!"
The two gave a look to one another, but both curiosity and the chaos of the troops charging about around them made them both decide to climb up the ladder. Their fingers wrapped around each tooth, a sight that made Garmadon shudder in confusion. Once the two had ascended up the shark and stood finding purchase gripping the opened hatch, Garmadon didn't even bother looking at them.
"Let me guess, you're planning to make it to those smug Twins up in that giant machine of theirs, aren't you?" Garmadon began to jerk his legs back and forth against pedals, walking the shark forward as he gripped control sticks to angle the missiles.
"That is the plan… although doing it in a giant, strangely shiny shark wasn't part of it," Krux' admitted with an amused smirk and nervous grip.
From atop their perch, the Prime Twins could see the battle. Lulloyd continued to shout and bark his orders to his troops, his expression hardened and dirt staining his uniform as he charged forward. Over had linked up with General Kozu and the two combined led the Stone Army in another charge. The Shark Army troops fell in line behind him, racing after him with their bouncy run that looked unnatural to the two of them. Lulloyd took several deep breaths as he looked onwards, hefting up the warlord staff and pointing forward.
"I want status reports on all mechs, right now!" Lulloyd barked, "Get me walkers down here now! I want dropships coming in and reinforcing our lines, we got more incoming!"
As more Vermillion were funneled into the forces already trying to swamp and overwhelm the scattered armies, the Elemental Army had slammed firmly down into the Vermillion's flank. The force split in half, one half moving in to support the Shark and Stone Armies, while the other half slammed into the Vermillion trying to charge them.
The Speed Tribe soldiers slammed into the Vermillion first, slashing their blades swiftly and powerfully, cutting down several where they stood. Alacr slashed several Vermillion apart with spinning flashes and powerful kicks, sending them down and cutting apart what snakes dared to escape his wrath. Flying above them, the Gravity Tribe forces flew in low, spearing through Vermillion helmets and firing arrows down into them with no hope to dodge. Reina spun around, thrusting his spear through several Vermillion before they could even see her.
Behind them, flashes of power blasted out through the air and brought even more snakes to their knees. The Lightning Tribe soldiers carried powerful flails and bolas, lightning coursing through their metal and sending shockwaves that blasted apart those around them. The Metal Tribe soldiers, giving them a wide berth, roared out with a thunderous battle cry, each punch from them alone strong enough to dent the metal armor each snake wore, which then crushed apart their component snakes. Even then, the Wind Tribe arches shot arrows laced in a funnel of wind, arcing through the air and landing in the lines that lay behind the ones being cut down.
Behind Alacr, Ray and Nubit appeared, Nubit wearing slightly less revealing armor while Ray sparked his hands up with claws mounted on his knuckles as conduits for his power. The three nodded and launched into battle together, even as the other tribes continued to press their atack. Under their powerful attack, the Vermillion flank began to collapse.
High in the air, Over shot up above the battle, once more brandishing his staff and soaring across the skies on his dragon wings. Below him, Kozu and his regrouped men let out their gutheral ancient war cries and charged forward. Not to be outdone, Lulloyd did the same, letting out his deep booming war song as the two regrouped lines moved to rout the Vermillion under attack even faster.
"Hey!" Garmadon slammed his hand down on a button inside his shark, turning a speaker on, "Your time is now!"
Acronix' was at first unsure of what was being said, only to realize he could hear something in the air above him. Slowly, he turned around to look up in the air, only for his eyes to narrow as he nodded his head in approval.
A massive shadow fell down over the charging armies, not one of them stopping to see what it was. With the roar of rockets, the Universe Bounty emerged from behind the Corridor of Elders. The massive ship, even when compared to the unparalleled size of the Iron Demise, still proved a powerful warship that cast a shadow over hundreds of troops as the sun shone down upon it. Panels slid open all along the sides of it, causing cannons to unfold that each began to charge up.
A golden gleam stood at the front of the ship. With Aevum pointed down and the hilt firmly balanced between his crossed palms, Mage stood in golden armor that gleamed with the raw power of dragons itself. The golden-armored boy stood with a face that was crossed with the scowl of war. The sun itself seemed to shine down on him, framing him with the glowing light of a radiant commander. Behind him stood Skylar in her leather armor, smiling at him with a look of awe, power and respect. At the helm of the ship, Lloyd stood with Master Wu, directing the Universe Bounty through the air and towards the battle.
"Let them have it!" Lloyd shouted. His friends all stood seated in one of the cannons, alongside each of the other elemental masters that they had recruited. With a volley of lasers, the Universe Bounty blasted at the Vermillion fighters that still dared to dot the sky. The Shark Army squadrons moved to flank the Universe Bounty in turn, letting its massive firepower lay down the cover for them to weave in and begin to rapidly blast apart those fighters that weren't obliterated from the blast. Even as more fighters emerged from the Iron Doom, the raw power of the Universe Bounty seemed to stem the tide.
From the massive panels that led to the upper enclosed deck, Emperor Garmadon stepped forward and out onto the main deck. He walked up to the massive main beam that held up the sail that the ship likely didn't even need, looking around with a curious glance at the utter chaos that was unfolding in front of him.
Emperor Garmadon took a step backwards just as he saw several cocoons soar up from the ground below and land with a crack on the deck in front of him. He placed his hands behind him as the cocoon revealed a Vermillion inside, then another and another. Soon, a few of them were in front of him. Skylar, still standing at the front of the ship with Mage, turned with her fist on fire and ready to attack. Garmadon, however, put up his hand.
With a loud hiss, one Vermillion lunged at Emperor Garmadon. The resurrected man took a step backwards, letting the Vermillion's swipe miss him with a wide berth. He watched the snake closely as he spat and lunged at him again, each time missing. As the others seemed to wait for him to finish, the Vermillion finally reached up and delivered a hard kick to his side. Emperor Garmadon let out a grunt, stumbling backwards as the Vermillion snickered at him.
Instead, Emperor Garmadon raised his head, a grin on his lips as purple flames began to flicker up in his palms. As the Vermillion suddenly felt his malice turned towards them, Emperor Garmadon held his hand forward, forming one of his crystalline purple blades in hand. As the Vermillion realized what had happened, Lloyd watched from the wheel as his father lunged forward and ripped each of the Vermillion apart with brutal efficiency.
"Woah," Skylar blinked at the sight, "That guy looks like he loves fighting."
Mage didn't say anything, continuing to look forward with his eyes firmly glued to the Iron Demise that laid there in the sky. Skylar, sensing how serious this was for him, went silent and instead just stood beside him. As Emperor Garmadon continued to rip and tear into the Vermillion, Lloyd slowly began to steer the Universe Bounty towards the dead center of the Demise.
Several massive explosions rocked the side of the Universe Bounty, causing Lloyd and Wu to stumble forward and grip the wheel even tighter. Below deck, Jay slowly and blearily raised his head, the cannon that he'd previously been manning now just a gaping hole in the side of the ship. As he squealed and quickly scrambled away from the hole, several of the Vermillion fighters soared by, launching cocoons into the hole to deploy more of their troops.
"Lloyd…." Jay's voice flared up on the internal comm, "They're getting IN!"
"I will go!" Master Wu declared, "Keep on course! We must use this ship's power to draw the Demise's attention away from the others!"
With that, Master Wu threw the side door out of the cockpit open, leaping forward and sliding gracefully down the handrail until he reached the main deck. As he did, he gave a loud shout of 'NINJA-GO!,' spinning forward in a swirling golden vortex and churning up the Vermillion in his wake. When he stopped, he held his staff up, ready to fight. Just as a Vermillion snuck up behind him, Wu turned his head just to see its body cleaved in half by Emperor Garmadon's sword.
"So, he finally joins the fight," Emperor Garmadon mused, "I had assumed your age had caught up to you… again."
"Those who underestimate their foes, are doomed to fall to them," Master Wu frowned back.
"Then let us not underestimate these pitiful creatures," Emperor Garmadon smirked, "And see if perhaps you fight half as well beside me as you do against me!"
As the two brothers launched into battle together against the Vermillion that seemed to endlessly invade the ship, Lloyd quickly threw a lever, blasting the jets at full throttle and sending them through the air. Around him, he watched the distinctly sand blue ships of Lulloyd's army line up around him, forming a line to try to defend him. The cannons of the Universe Bounty turned forward, blasting away at the Vermillion. Lloyd almost swore he was in a final issue of Starfarer with the sight of the two massive aerial forces clashing.
"Full speed ahead!" Lloyd shouted, "We'll give those Twins everything we-"
"Lloyd!" Pixal's voice flared up on the monitor in front of him, "I am detecting a surge of energy from the Demise!"
Lloyd looked up, his eyes widened. The Demise had slowly raised one of its massive four arms, pointing the massive replica Time Blade towards them. Purple energy charged up between its prongs, sparking and burning with raw power. Lloyd, realizing what it was pointing at, quickly shouted, "Evasive Maneuvers!" He spun the wheel as hard as he could, causing the ship to begin turning to port. Just as the side of the ship was exposed, however, he saw the purple energy release.
With a blinding flash of light that stunned even the troops on the ground, a single beam of purple shot through the air. It grazed the side of the Universe Bounty, and just that alone caused a searing black mark to burn a scar into its port side. Lloyd had to grab the wheel and hold on as the entire ship rocked, nearly throwing him off. Master Wu and Emperor Garmadon had to drop to their hands and knees to cling on, while Mage and Skylar used gravity to remain upright. The beam shot past the ship and struck the ground behind the Corridor, and in turn a massive crater kicked up a cloud of sand high into the air. A moment later, the sound of cracking rock and blasting air filled their ears, drowning out the sounds of war for a few brief seconds.
"Lloyd… Lloyd!" Pixal's voice sounded through the comm, "Lloyd, are you alright?"
"Pixal… I'm here!" Lloyd climbed back up the wheel, quickly realizing the ship was beginning to heavily list. Realizing this, he hit a big button, activating a few secondary jets to help the ship begin to right itself.
"We cannot take a direct hit from the Demise," Pixal's voice continued, "I have assessed the damages. We have lost cannons 2 through 6. Cannon 8 has been severely damaged. We are losing firepower at a worrying pace."
"Yeah, I get that, Pix!" Lloyd shook his head, "Can you repair the cannon?"
"I was already on it," Pixal continued. A moment later, Lloyd looked out the window to see the Samurai X mech fly through the air. The mech landed on the deck beside his uncle and father, brandishing its sword and sending the remaining Vermillion that hadn't fallen off deck over the edge. With another blast of jets, the mech soared over the side of the ship and grabbed one of the now dangling cannons, rapidly working to repair it.
"You need to get closer to that thing, now!" Lulloyd's voice flared up on the comms, "We're breaking through their lines!" The sound of clashing metal quickly followed.
"Lulloyd?" Lloyd blinked, "What do you mean?"
"We need support down here!" Lulloyd spat, "That's what it means!"
"Woah, hold your horses," Ronin's gruff voice butted into the call, "We're on it."
Lloyd turned to see one of the hanger doors was suddenly opening. On the starboard side, still shielded slightly from the enemy, none other than REX shot out into the air, followed by an assortment of various Nindroid and ninja vehicles, each one flanking the airship. The hatches on REX's sides were opened, revealing Ronin himself with a cable attached from waist to floor and a massive sniper rifle in his hands. All that sat within the pilot's chair was the SoS and a glowing console screen of Monty's face.
"You know the rules!" Ronin shouted, "You get one scratch on her-"
"I paint it over, I get it!" Monty hissed, "You focus on helping out our new warlord."
"Heh," Ronin raised the rifle up to his shoulder, "You know, kid, I could pull some strings and get you something similar if you wanted."
"Let me guess," Monty frowned, "You owe money to someone?"
"We can discuss specifics after this whole battle," Ronin pointed forward, "Get me down by that weird shark-mech-thing!"
Lloyd watched as several massive Nindroid jets were sent soaring into the air, each one piloted by a white robot and glowing red eyes. Behind them, several security copters, outfitted with laser cannons, quickly followed after them. The massive wave of fighters soared out with REX lagging behind, blasting their way towards where the Shark, Elemental and Stone Armies had begun to press their offensive on the Vermillion line. They unleashed volleys of blasts that churned up the Vermillion down below.
"Alright kid!" Ronin grinned, sighting in his scope, "I'll let 'em have it!"
Monty swung REX around, hovering just above the battle as the mix of sand blue and red below them surged into battle. Ronin dropped down onto his stomach, holding the rifle up and sighting in. He took a deep breath, then let it out. A moment later, the rifle firing was followed by an orange Vermillion collapsing to the ground just as it tried to stab someone.
Ronin rapidly ejected the casing and loaded in the next, taking in another breath and looking for his targets. Seeing a clump of Vermillion one lone Stone Warrior trying to blast through with his hammer, he gave a little smirk and then let his breath out. The bullet went through three Vermillion, sinking into one head, one shoulder and one thigh. The Vermillion hesitated from the pain, letting the warrior break them apart. Another quick reload and Ronin had sighted his way into another clump, the bullet going through their armor and sending more to the ground.
"Still got it!" Ronin laughed, "Not that I ever lost it."
From further down the line, Garmadon walked the Garmashark up to the front line, opening the shark jaws to reveal a massive technic cannon that he sent flying off into the Vermillion vehicles that attempted to reinforce the lines. Acronix' looked up into the air as he saw the strange Nindroid jets fly up and drop small sparkling discs that sent out an electric blast when they hit the ground, only further disrupting their ranks.
"I think I've officially lost track of what is happening here," Krux' admitted, "This is insanity unlike anything else I've seen."
"Just be thankful that sniper guy is one our side!" Garmadon grunted out, "Trust me, it'd sssuuuccckkk if they were on the other side," Garmadon grunted out, "I fought these guys called the Brickbine once, and oh boy they were-"
"As riveting as that tale is, we have a battle to focus on!" Acronix' pointed forward with his green sword, "Forward!"
From up high on the battle, Mage watched as Ronin and Monty reinforced the others. He'd remained standing still the entire time for a very good reason. In his mind, he was focusing on communicating with a specific set of voices he'd brought with him to this world. His silence, his determination, had all been concentrated. Concentration that was all leading to this very moment.
"Is it time?" Skylar asked him, seeing his twitching eyebrow.
"I think so," Mage nodded.
"Let's do it just like we did before," Skylar smirked. Mage nodded as his trembling hand reached out and gripped her own.
Slowly, Mage extended their gripped hands forward. All around them, the air suddenly began to shift. A strange feeling of raw power, elemental in form, began to emerge from the very essence of the world itself. Skylar gave a deep inhale, her body stiffening up as the energy began to course back on through her. As the two of them focused their energies forward, a feeling of raw power suddenly shot across the entire battlefield, one that those who came from that world knew more so than anything else.
"...Do you feel that, brother?" Krux' asked. He held his gauntlets up, seeing the color in them suddenly beginning to glow.
"You missed this the last time, didn't you?" Acronix' asked with a smirk, "Now it is time to see why he's called the Dragon Lord."
A massive roar ripped through the air. Mage and Skylar both jumped off the ship. From underneath the Universe Bounty, the Firstbourne herself flew up, catching the two of them on her bare back. The two slowly stood up as she flapped her powerful wings, bringing herself in front of the still full-throttle Universe Bounty. She spread her wings out, casting a red shadow behind her as the sunlight glimmered off her ancient scales. The deep amber of her eyes glowed as did the deep golden armor that Mage now wore on her back. With his other hand, Mage sheathed Aevum on his back.
"Are you ready?" Skylar asked him.
"I should be the one asking you that," Mage inhaled, "I think."
Slowly, the two focused their powers again. Mage could feel the Amber that lay deep inside of Skylar's soul, the one that burned with the imprinted power of elements. In turn, Skylar felt all of Mage's own powers suddenly leaking into her through his hand, burning and wrapping around her power and becoming one with it. A deep, golden glow began to burn deep within Mage's eyes, consuming his irises in it. A few moments later, the gold invaded Skylar's own eyes.
The elements around the two of them slowly began to burn and flare around them. Mage held up his right hand, unleashing from it a torrent of fire and water. Skylar did the same with her left, blasting out ice and wind. The elements began to swirl powerfully around the two are more of them leaked out from their bodies, as though the sheer power inside them was cracking their facades of people themselves. Lightning, poison, sound, light, mind, nature, all of them began to crackle and burn around the two of them, spinning about them in violent whips of barely constrained forces. The Firstbourne's scales seemed to absorb some of that power, causing even her own scales to glow golden as each element of their world formed around them.
With a long gasp of exertion, Mage reached their joined hands together towards theelements. When the two managed to graze their surface, the elements sucked down and over their bodies, surrounding them in a violent, whirling sheen that reflected ike some raw aura. Both of them focused their bodies to maintain it, to gather it and colhease it into a stronger, unified whole. When Mage opened his mouth, it was with a tone that sounded distant and ethereal.
"The call has been sounded!" Mage began, his voice echoing across the world.
"Come forth from time immemorial!" Skylar's voice boomed out.
"AND HEAD THE WILL OF YOUR DRAGON LORD!" The two shouted together.
The elements around their bodies suddenly flared out, burning forward as a golden glow burned through them. The golden power shot out from both of their backs in golden lines, the elements firing up and forming the shape of beautiful dragon wings, the golden power forming the lines of the bones. Slowly, those elements were consumed by the golden color. One wing extended from their backs, a sight that was nearly angelic.
"WE SUMMON YOU!" The two shouted together, their joined hands thrusting forward again. With that, the golden power twinkled together in their hands, then blasted forward into the air. The thin beam streaked across the skies, disappearing just above the clash of armies.
"TO OBEY OUR WILL!" The power suddenly exploded in the air. A massive, golden dragon head formed in the skies amongst a massive blast of gold, letting out a guttural, primal roar that called forth the very souls of those on the battle itself. The Vermillion were cowed by the sound, and all at once, each member of the Elemental Army dropped to their knees in reverence of the sight. The power spread out across the battlefield, then began to break apart into each of the colors of the tribes. Even the leaders themselves bowed before the sight in front of them, watching as the colors burned through the air. Fireworks of pure power, of raw dragon-like power and strength.
The golden dragon shot through the sky, spinning itself through the air. As it did, raw elements power glistened off of its wings, spread through the air as a fountain of random power. Lighting, fire, wind, poison, even streaks of sound itself burned through the skies from its body. When it stopped, the dragon spread its wings and then burst apart.
The Vermillion, seeing the display over, saw the Elemental Army was still kneeled entirely in reverence of the power in front of them. Sensing their chance, several of them raced forward to try to slay them where they kneel. Just before the first one could lower their blade, however, a deep sound filled the air. It was a sound of something soaring into the air. When the snakes looked up to see what was coming, several of them froze in utter fear.
Lloyd's radar on the Universe Bounty suddenly went wild, showing several objects coming from all sides. With a flash of shadow, he saw a glistening white dragon soar right by the port of the ship. Then a burning orange one by the starboard side. Then green, yellow, purple, blue. He watched in awe as dragons, larger than any that he had ever seen, each flew elegantly through the ranks of their ships. As each dragon reached where the Firstbourne flew, they did a single arc around the dragon, their eyes glistening and glowing with the golden power that the two young warriors had summoned them by. Their gaze was one of a silent respect, a dedication of loyalty before they soon fell in line beside the golden Firstbourne. When each dragon had completed their pass, they each flanked the Firstbourne, nine on each side.
In the skies over the Vermillion, nineteen dragons flew. At their center was the one born over all creation. Flanking her were her own children, each one given life by her to form the very tribes that fought in the war down below. On the back of the Firstbourne stood the last member of the Ameber Tribe and the one and only Dragon Lord. The Elemental Army stood back up their drive to win the battle given back to them. As their golden wings faded, the two atop the Firstbourne continued to clasp their hands together.
The Call of the Dragon had been given.
"Protect your Tribes!" Mage shouted, "Do not let them fall today! Destroy the Raiders that tried to take your homes, and make sure they never can fight us AGAIN!"
With the command given, the dragons let out one long roar, their mouths opening to send a blast of their tribe's power out with them. The Vermillion were once more stopped in their tracks as the Firstbourne cracked her wings, sending her into a powerful dive straight down into the enemy lines. The other dragons each followed suit, casting a beautiful shadow over those they swore to protect and readying to defend those that worshipped them.
The Firstbourne crashed down into the ground in front of the army, throwing her head back in a snarling growl that rose into a howling cry to rally those behind her. Mage and Skylar both held on as she opened her mouth, then let loose a volley of magma that crashed and washed over the hundreds of snakes in front of her, encasing them in the substance and burning them from the inside out. She gave a hard flap of her wings to snap back into the air as the dragons did the same, crashing down into the midst of the Vermillion and blasting holes in their ranks with their powers before ascending back into the air. Pillars of flame, waves of ice, blasts of roots and vines, and even opening chasms all destroyed hundreds of snakes where they stood. Before the Vermillion could try to counterattack, they had already soared back into the air.
The momentum of their attack carried through as the Firstbourne went into a violent spin, soaring right up and smashing her very body into dozens of Vermillion fighters. The other dragons followed with a massive spiralling flight around their mother, blasting apart dozens of ships wherever they flew. When the Firstbourne righted herself, the other dragons formed a ring around her, all of them opening their mouths for one powerful blast that lit up the sky.
Mage and Skylar both held on tightly as the Firstbourne soared throughout the skies, weaving her children into flights of beautiful arcs and soaring heights, destroying whatever came in their way. To those on their side, they were a beautiful unified whole of might, beautifully displaying their protection so all could see. To their enemies, they were a deadly and seemingly unstoppable force that refused to let up, with nothing able to stand in their way.
"That's our chance," Lloyd, seeing the sight in front of him, finally managed to shake himself back to reality, "Forward! Now!" Once more, the Universe Bounty charged forward, following the renewed vigor of the battle. Around him, the Shark Army did the same, charging up their dropships and bombers to soar forward into the air and push their momentum.
As the dragons weaved their way through the Vermillion flanks, Acronix continued to watch the battle from on high. This time, his frown was more genuine than any time it had been forward. Seeing the face of his counterpart, the one that had so clearly been weaker than him, had brought with it a rage upon realizing he had shown up to help these people.
"They think they're clever, don't they?" Acronix snarled out, "Well then. Let's be clever too…" He focused and shouted, "Send them in!"
From the hatches opened on the backside of the Iron Demise, a single white mech shot out. The mech had with it two massive guns held in each hand, long and massive rifles that had tubes stretched over its shoulders and down onto its back. The mech's armor was brand new, shiny and reinforced from all battles before. The head had plating that brought out the raw glow of blue in its eyes. Its convertible knives were placed on its hips, and boosters were now added to its back. A large backpack of what appeared to be a massive battery had been strapped to it, meaning that as it flew through the sky, it was little more than a white streak with a trail of blue left dazzling behind it.
"Incoming!" Garmadon shouted from down below, "Something really fast!"
Lulloyd swung his staff forward, lodging it in the ground and then leaping up onto the handle to bring it down on top of another Vermillion. He did a frontflip, landing in front of the Vermillion and grabbing the staff behind him to bring over his head and down like a massive hammer. Once it landed, he spun his body around, creating a massive gap around him as the Vermillion retreated back from him in fear. He leaned his body back to look into the air just in time to see what it was.
"That's Invictus!" Lulloyd frowned, "It looks like Prime is finally ready to fight."
Even from this far below, the sheer speed and beautiful color of Invictus was impossible to miss. The mech shot straight by the dragons, making Mage turn his head to look with a look of surprise. Invictus ignored them entirely, instead flying straight towards the massive wall of Shark Army ships that continued to support the Universe Bounty.
Invictus slammed his legs forward, slowing its speed and hefting its massive rifles up. The rifles fired, sending out blasts of lasers that exploded in the air wherever they struck. The shots rained a storm of blasts down on the ships, blasting apart bombers and subs alike. The pilots parachuted down on broken bits of ship towards the ground, while others still intact tried to return fire.
With a speed that seemed almost impossible, Invictus shot forward and ducked through each of the mimicked gunfire coming from each ship. The mech spun its left rifle up into the air and fired point black into a Hammerhead Dropship, sending its entire head clean off. Before it could fall, Invictus let the rifle go to dangle from its back, grabbing the tail of the ship and activating jets in the sides of its legs. The mech spun through the air like a top, using the dropship itself as a club to smash apart three more subs. The mech let go of the dropship, sending it flying into the ground with an explosion of sand blue and white, the occupants dizzily climbing from the wreckage.
Invictus shot forward once again, this time in a zig-zag to send a roundhouse kick into a Nindroid jet. As the machine broke apart on impact, the mech's shoulder was hit by an oncoming missile. The missle left not even a scratch, but the sender froze inside of their sub as they saw Invictus spin around, rifle raised. With a single flash, the sub was blasted apart, and Invictus reached out and gripped the tangled orange chains. With a perfect overhead swing, the wreckage was flung straight towards the Universe Bounty. Master Wu quickly spun into Spinjitzu to grab and pull his brother away as it smashed into the deck with a sickening screech of mech, sliding forward and otf the other side.
"I knew you were planning something!" Prime shouted from inside the cockpit. Standing there in his normal jumpsuit was none other than Prime. His face, however, was nothing like normal. His smile was gone, replaced by a deranged and manic grin. His hands were wide open, trembling in the air as he held onto the rifle extensions. His hair was unkempt and stuck up all over. But more than that, his eyes were burning with an intense hatred unlike anything else. On screen, the SYNC bar slowly and steadily climbed up, reaching almost 70% and trembling as it lay there.
"Tell me right now!" Prime roared, "Tell me right now where! Is! OVER?!"
The cannons of the Universe Bounty turned forward, aiming their sights on Invictus and firing. Seeing this, Prime spun, activating the small shield on the left arm catching several of the blasts on it. With a snarl, Prime spun about and hefted up both of the new rifles, pointing them right down towards the Universe Bounty with a hard roar. The rifles fired, lighting up the side of the ship with laser fire and causing the entire ship to rock once more.
"None of you are able to defeat me!" Prime shouted in rage, "I asked you! WHERE?! IS?!"
Prime wasn't able to finish his thought. Instead, a beam of purple shot through the sky, striking the head of Invictus. Prime's head snapped backwards as he clutched his temple in pain, gasping out and trembling as he held his gaze up once again. A moment later, something slammed into Invictus' chest, knocking it backwards and forcing Prime to splay his arms out to stabilize the mech. When he finally managed to get a look at what he was seeing, his lips curled back into that hard, manic grin.
Over, his massive dragon wings spread, hovered front of Invictus. In two of his four arms, he held his massive staff. Unlike the last time that Prime had seen him, some of the Dark Matter had formed over his body, creating regal armor for him. His staff still crackled with the power from where he'd shot it. As he flapped there, he grit his teeth and shouted at him.
"You can stop asking that question!" Over shouted, "I am right. Here."
"You came…" Prime chuckled, a deep chuckle beginning to rise up from his throat, "You finally, you finally showed yourself! To think, we had to do all of this!" Invictus threw its arms out, "Just to finally see each other again!"
"I will show you no mercy, Prime," Over hissed out, "I am through with allowing you to thrust your own guilt upon others. This is our last battle!"
"Yes, it will be…" Prime laughed, "I'm not going to let you get away this time, Over! I'm sick of letting your darkness, your filth, stain this world! You should have died when the Twins destroyed your own vile kingdom!" He let out a long sigh, "And it looks like it falls to me to be the one to finally finish what they started."
With that declaration, Invictus shot through the air, firing its rifles out at Over. Over spun in the air in turn, spinning his staff and blasting his own power into the Mech's arm as it passed by. The two powerhouses shot by one another. Over spun around, pointing his staff out, as Invictus drew one of its knives and charged it up into a sword. The two shot towards each other again, clashing against one another with a blast of malice and determination from them both to burn away everything else around them for their final duel.
On the battlefield, Lulloyd let his attention lapse for a single moment to see the battle that was unfolding. Deep in his chest, he felt a wave of regret, knowing what was about to come next. That regret, however, kept his attention firmly focused on that sight, long enough for him to miss one Vermillion slowly stepping forward from among the ranks of the others. When Lulloyd turned around, it was to a small flash of orange from the Vermillion's hand.
With a spin of his body, Lulloyd rolled out of the wall before the blast of magic could strike him. He shot upright just in time to watch as the Vermillion's body began to burn away an illusion, revealing copper and blue scales in its place. When Lulloyd fully stood up, the 'Vermillion' planted a golden staff into the ground, letting a golden scroll burn underneath its blade. Slowly, the Viper opened his eyes, revealing himself in full.
"Ophiod," Lulloyd snarled.
"Lulloyd," Ophiod hissed back, "You look as though you've fully embraced your own madness."
"It takes being a little crazy to lead an army," Lulloyd spat at him, "I don't see Skales with you."
"I do not require his aid to finish what we started back in that girl's city," Ophiod slammed his staff down, bouncing it into the air and spinning it in hand before catching it as it pointed firmly at Lulloyd, "It is time for us to truly finish this battle!"
Lulloyd slowly nodded his head, drawing his own curved sword in his left hand, the tassel dangling in the breeze. With a mutual glare of anger from both combatants, the two launched forward into one another, shouting as they clashed their blades together for their own bout.
Far above that battle and too close for comfort to the other, Lloyd tried to steer the Universe Bounty into optimal position to fly once more. He couldn't focus on the battle between them, not when he had so much else to do. He had to focus on helping the others. He slowly inhaled, bringing the Universe Bounty back into alignment.
Instead, he heard something behind him. Lloyd spun around just in time to see the dor to the cabin open, and with it, none other than Oni himself stand there. The being had on him his two masks, both of which were ready for use. As Lloyd saw him, his body tensed up as he reached back to draw his two swords, panting out as he readied himself for battle.
"How'd you get in here?!" Lloyd demanded.
"I was waiting for the order," Oni explained to him, "You have passed the point of being overlooked, Lloyd. I must now take matters into my own hands.
With that, Oni reached down, grabbing his Mask of Deception and planting it firmly on his face. He let out a snarl as the silver horns sprouted up from the mask, and in turn his body shifted and morphed until it was nearly completely the blackened carapace of an Oni. He snarled out as he flexed his fists at Lloyd.
"It's time I take responsibility for you too!" Lloyd declared, "It's time we finish what you started back at the junkyard!"
The stage had been fully set. The three that had plagued the group for so long, that had brought with them the pain and suffering of their worlds lost, their hope shot, their path obscured, were ready to finally face them. The tide of battle had come to face them, and with it, their destinies were at hand.
Author's Note:
The stakes are raised!
Now then, I would like to once more give a shout-out to hwompy on Tumblr, please go and look at his new fanart! Please give him a look, this time it's Prime and Over's Dance from Chapter 88!
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