Chapter 59: Let Out the Dogs of Bellwood

"Let slip the dogs of war" is from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. "Let slip" sounded kind of lame though, so I changed it up a little. Also, Ben's Zeus pose is something I found on Google images. It's pretty cool.

By the way, the reason this chapter is up a day early is because I'm getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. I probably could upload it tomorrow, but then I'd be high as a kite due to the painkillers. So yeah, early update. You're welcome.

P.S., this chapter is slightly M-rated because of this one little word I used. It's totally OOC for this character, but it drives home just how fed up he is with the High Breed. So please, just bear with me here.

A few weeks later

"You're quitting the soccer team?" Carter asked as she turned on her digital camera.

Ben, who was clad in his soccer uniform and putting items in a duffel bag, responded. "Yeah, I figured that after the High Breed invasion everyone will know I'm alive and will either want my help or try to kill me. If it's the latter there'll be less collateral damage if they attack me at the field. In either case it'll be one less obligation for me to worry about."

"How pragmatic," Carter mused and Ben hoisted the duffel bag onto his shoulder. She held up the camera. "Can I take a picture? I've never really seen you wear a soccer uniform and in a couple months you'll be done, so…"

With a good-natured eye roll and a smile he put down the bag and posed like Zeus, one hand pointed in front of him, the other over his head, lightning fizzling out of his hand to create a spear. Carter quickly snapped a shot, examined it, and said, "Okay, looks good."

Taking back the lightning, Ben straightened up. "You happy?"

Carter pursed her lips. "Can we do one with you posed as The Thinker?" Ben stared at her before sitting on the bed and taking the position. Carter took the picture and then said, "Now how about Charlie's Angels?" She dodged a pillow to her head.

As Ben hoisted his duffel bag over his shoulder, Carter got out her phone and examined the text she just received. It was Cordelia, no surprise there. Found trouble. Go to HQ.

"I gotta go." Carter kissed Ben on the cheek and opened his window. "Call you later?"

"Sure thing." He waved goodbye as Carter climbed out the window and disappeared. Suddenly Carl appeared, his head swiveling around, looking for the girl. He leaned his hands against the window frame and asked:

"Can't she use the door like a normal person?"

Underneath Bellwood…

Carter found Evan and Sam sitting against the wall of Slayer HQ, Evan eating Skittles and Sam with her nose buried in math notes. The two of them looked up as she approached. As she slid down the wall to sit, Carter got out her iPod and hit the play button, the tinny sounds of Linkin Park evident.

It took awhile, but Cordelia finally walked past them. On cue the Pride stood up and walked behind her, Evan shoving the rest of the candy in his mouth, Carter winding up her headphones, and Sam just holding the notebook. They walked silently into a small room with a hole in the ground where there should have been desks.

When the door was closed, a metal ring appeared out of the hole. Blue LED lights appeared above the ring, swirling together before creating a holographic image of enormous spaceships attacking planets.

"When did the High Breed invasion start?" Sam asked immediately.

"Two days ago," Cordelia responded. The hologram shifted to show other images, this time of destroyed planets. What were once eclectic worlds were now brown and black, their past glories turned to ash. "The High Breed wasted no time in decimating a good chunk of the universe."

Now the hologram shifted to show a small green planet with a ring on the surface. "Galvan Prime," Carter said grimly.

"The armada is nearing that particular planet, no doubt thinking taking out some of the smartest beings in three galaxies would improve their chances of victory," Cordelia told them. "We've dispatched Slayer operatives just about everywhere, helping the Plumbers and taking in refugees. We would help Azmuth, but we're spread too thin."

"I'm betting either Azmuth has an escape plan or Professor Paradox will intervene," Evan noted. "He's too important to lose."

"Either way Galvan Prime is going to be another in a long list of casualties," Cordelia went on. "And knowing the High Breed, their next stop is Earth."

"Naturally," Sam said dryly. "What do you suggest we do?"

"At the moment, nothing," Cordelia said. "You can't really do anything until the armada nears Earth. I would send you out already, but the three of you alone could barely take out a fighter ship." The Pride grimaced at that.

Her voice turned gentle. "Besides, you're needed here. Ben needs all the help he can get. And if my calculations are correct, this could be the starting point of a better alliance."

"You mean between the Slayers and Plumbers," Carter stated.

Cordelia nodded, smiling. "If we work together on this and we all survive relations should be smoother from now on. Oh, there'll still be some animosity, but the tolerance between us would grow. That's all we're really asking."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"Isaac and I," Cordelia corrected herself. "We're hoping for better relations."

"The better for politics," Evan said with a bitter smile.

"Or I could be genuinely hoping for this." Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I have a heart?"

"You told me you lost that five millennia ago," Carter said.

Cordelia sighed. "Just go, and be on call when I need you."

As the Pride left, Evan put a hand to his mouth. With a worried look on his face, he said, "I think I'm re-tasting the rainbow." Carter and Sam, without looking at him, put a hand on his back.

"You worried, then?" Carter asked.

"Oh, hell yes," Evan said as he swallowed saliva. "Aren't you?"

"I'm feeling calm actually," Sam admitted. "It probably won't sink in until just before the battle."

"Same here," Carter said.

"So I'm the only one about to throw up?"

"Yup!" they both said in unison.

Evan groaned. "Great…"

In the Valentine kitchen

They found Newt eating cheesecake.

He looked better than what Ben described. According to him, the last time he saw Newt the boy was practically a walking corpse, with waxen skin and dull, sunken eyes. Except Newt, despite having the Valentine pale skin, had a healthy glow surrounding him now. His eyes were bright and full of joy as he ate his snack, devouring the strawberries imbedded at the top.

Newt looked up as they walked in. "Hi guys," he said through a mouthful of cake.

"Dude, you have cheesecake?" Evan asked, giving Newt a slap on the back and a hug.

The blonde swallowed. "Found it in the fridge. There's, like, a giant cake of it."

"Awesome. You guys want some?" Evan pointed a finger at the two girls. They both nodded.

As he went to get plates, Carter asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too cuz."

"You know what I mean," she snapped lightly.

"Cordelia told me the final battle was today so she ordered me to hightail it here," Newt answered before shoving more cake in his mouth.

Carter and Sam exchanged a look. "Newt, I love you like a brother, but there is no way we're letting you on the battlefield," Carter told him.

"Though he's really good with defense spells," Sam pointed out. "Isaac always told us a good defense is a good offense."

"Yeah, but you can't really use that advice," Evan said as he cut cake into equal slices. "Fire is all about offense, so you've had to woefully neglect your defensive skills."

"That's true. And that's why it might be a good idea to bring Newt along," Sam said. "We could just hide him in the back while he uses his powers."

"Yeah, but using his powers always put a serious strain on him," Carter reminded them. "Even if he uses the bare minimum of spells, it'll only be a matter of time before he collapses."

"You do realize I'm right here, don't you?" Newt said annoyed.

"Oh we do," Evan said as he set down plates.

"I've been training with Isaac for a while now," Newt went on. "I'm still not good at offense, but I make a much better defense. And he taught me this super secret technique that'll really help us."

"Really? What is it?" Evan asked.

"Super secret, remember?"

"Right…"

"So you'll be fine?" Carter interjected.

Newt shrugged and lied through his teeth. "That honestly depends on how bad the fighting is, but yeah, I should be."

"Good," she said visibly relieved. Evan smiled, happy with the outcome. Sam was a bit more suspicious. She decided to sweeten the incentive to live.

"Newt, if you live through this, I will get you any kind of cheesecake you want," she vowed. Everyone stared at her, shocked.

Newt gave her a suspicious look. "Even the chocolate sampler kind?"

Sam nodded. "Even the chocolate sampler kind."

He held out his hand. "It's a deal." They shook on it. And with that came ten minutes of laughter and eating, of four kids enjoying each other's company. They didn't even mind cleaning up after themselves.

And then came the text message.

Galvan-Prime desolated. Armada heading towards Earth. Meet up at these coordinates.

Evening

The Pride was clad in their fighting gear, faceless masks attached at their waists. They walked towards the Dodge Challenger in the parking lot. Kevin was leaning against it, scowling. Gwen was standing around, tense. Ben was walking towards the car, smoothie in hand. And of course there was Professor Paradox, accompanied with Azmuth of all people.

Once everyone was situated, Kevin initiated the conversation. "What was so important that I had to miss the auto show?"

"The imminent destruction of your primitive world and all who live here," Azmuth said atop Kevin's car.

"But hey, if you'd rather go look at a convertible, by all means," Sam said jokingly to Kevin.

"Hate to say it, but the High Breeds are coming this way," Evan said solemnly.

"Really?" Gwen asked. "How long have they been attacking?"

"We've been fighting them for weeks Gwen," Ben said dryly. "You tell me."

"I meant how long have they been attacking other planets," she snapped.

"A couple of days at the most," Azmuth answered. "They've already conquered my home world, the only planet with the technology to fight them head on."

"And their next target is Earth, the only other place that's been showing any hint of resistance," Evan continued for them.

"Yes," Azmuth agreed. "The High Breed attack plan has worked on dozens of worlds. They send a small number of High Breed to the target planet."

"Then infiltrate the locals by turning them into DNAlien slaves," Paradox went on.

"And use the slaves to build a jump gate," Kevin said.

"Correct." Azmuth nodded. "A hyperspace jump gate is an interstellar shortcut allowing the High Breed to send war ships across the galaxy in a matter of seconds."

"Three of us could barely take down one," Ben pointed out. He turned to the Pride. "How about you?"

"You guys never took down a war ship," Sam told them. "It was a small cruiser."

While Gwen and Kevin looked shocked, Ben just grumbled, "That's encouraging."

"On the plus side, the three of us did take down a war ship," Carter pointed out. "Granted we were nearly killed in the process, but we still took it down."

"No force on this planet could destroy a single High Breed warship," Azmuth went on. "They will send hundreds."

"Yeah, okay, we get it," Kevin groaned. "We're hosed."

"Unless we stop them before they complete the hyperspace jump gate," Paradox said.

"It should be simple enough to find," Azmuth said, "even if they cloak it."

"It'd have to be someplace with an abnormal supply of quartz crystal," Paradox went on, "to stabilize the matter transmission frequency."

"The abandoned quartz mine near Lo Soledad," Sam stated. "We did our research."

"They're also building a giant arch at the old army base," Evan pointed out.

"So we know where we gotta go, and we know what we gotta do," Kevin said darkly.

"Direct approach," Gwen stated.

Ben took off his soccer jersey, revealing his black t-shirt. "Direct but not stupid." Everyone smiled at him proudly. "We met a bunch of Plumber's kids with superpowers and a lot of them owe us favors." He put on his jacket. "I say we call them in."

"May I suggest you send your teammates out for that job?" It was technically a question, but Azmuth made it seem like an order.

"Why?" Ben questioned.

"I would have a word with the wielder of my Omnitrix…in private," the grey alien said seriously.

"Right, like I'm going to miss this," Kevin sneered. "See you when you get back guys."

"Kevin, if you don't go, I'll tell everyone your middle name," Sam said in a neutral tone.

"Bye, Ben, see you later," Kevin said as he hurried away.

"We'll split up here," Carter told Ben. "We got about three people who we think can help us."

"You're talking about…"

She put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll have to put up with it for now, Tennyson."

"I'll stick with Gwen and Levin," Evan said, moving over to Paradox. He nodded to Sam. "You'll have a better chance of convincing them than the rest of us."

Sam rolled her eyes and groaned as she and Carter shadow travelled away.

To the lab!

Sam and Carter finally ended up in Beck's lab. All traces of a DNAlien attack were gone. The scorch marks had been cleared and the gunk gone, replaced with the familiar clutter of a mad man's lair. Beck himself was situated beside a small metal machine that looked suspiciously like a dragon. Charlie was beside him, melting bronze and reforming it as Beck instructed.

Sam put two fingers to her lips and gave a sharp whistle. Beck dropped his tools with a loud curse. Charlie turned the metal into a little ball and set it against the table, where it continued to melt.

"What's up?" he asked pleasantly.

"Earth's under attack and we need your help," Sam said. Now was not the time to beat around the bush.

"Ben doesn't want our help," Beck pointed out bitterly.

"Yeah, well, he's sucking it up because the planet's about to be destroyed," Carter said sharply. "Are you coming with us or not?"

Charlie shrugged. "Sure." He turned to Beck. "How about you?"

Beck groaned and said, "Fine. Let me just grab some tools." He went over to his yellow toot belt and strapped it on. He then went over to the closet and started inserting tools into the belt's many compartments.

"Oh, yeah, how's that carbon project going along?" Sam suddenly remembered, snapping her fingers as the thought dawned on her.

"I just finished testing it," Beck answered. "I was going to set up an appointment with Cordelia and Isaac tomorrow, but with the alien invasion…"

"What exactly do you use for carbon anyway?" Carter asked. "I know it's in diamonds, but we can't use that as a power source."

"Well, you know the rumors of the cleanup crew, right?" Beck said. "You know; how those people gather up the dead bodies and drive them to a plant where they're purified so that Isaac and Cordelia can use the body parts as transplants for their patients?"

"I'm well aware of those rumors circulating, yes," Carter said with a hint of bitterness.

"Well, if that's true, then I was guessing Cordelia and Isaac would like the carbon machine," Beck went on almost excitedly. "Since carbon is in everything, even humans, whatever your grandparents don't use they can feed into the machine and power up weapons or something."

"That's gruesome, Beck," Sam told him, a shade green.

Carter stroked her chin in a meditative gesture. "Gruesome, yes, but useful. And if the rumors are true, then it'll be less gruesome than that conspiracy going around a few years back."

"Conspiracy?" Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"Supposedly a few years back, there was this company who transported bones from hospital to hospital for transplants," Carter explained. "Normally transplants have the consent of the old owner or family, but these bones were actually from morgues and were diseased and rotted. Naturally they were found out, but it took several years."

Everyone looked green at the face at that. "That's disgusting," Beck squeaked out.

"Incredibly so. Though if the rumors are true, than what Cordelia and Isaac are doing is the same thing, except the transplants have been purified," Carter mused.

"But those transplants came from criminals," Beck protested quickly. "They don't deserve those limbs or organs!"

Carter held up her arms in surrender. "And I agree. But society doesn't see it that way."

"Fuck society!" Beck proclaimed.

Sam gave a slow clap, smiling. "This is insightful and everything, but we have a war to win. Let's roll."

In Cooper's Lab

Paradox led them to Cooper's lab, where the blonde boy was saying, "Work's like a charm."

"Cooper?" Gwen asked tentatively. He turned around to see the gang behind him.

"Gwen!" His face lit up. "How'd you get in here?" He then added, "I don't care, it's great to see you." Cooper ran over to hug her, only to phase right through her. Evan took that moment to notice that Cooper looked vaguely transparent.

He quickly stepped back and pressed a button on his red glove. "Intangibility glove," he explained apologetically. "Still experimental, but I can use it to create an exceptional field to three dimensional physics, defying-"

"Maybe you can tell me about it later," Gwen quickly interrupted. "I need a favor."

"Anything for you, Gwen," Cooper said with a lovesick look on his face.

"Now how many times do you hear that in a lifetime?" Evan asked rhetorically. Despite his joking manner, he had to hand it to the young genius: he knew the right words to a young lady's heart.

"Kind of sucks, considering we're asking him to risk his life and all," Kevin noted with a shrug.

"…What," Cooper said flatly.

"We're going back to Lo Soledad to fight the High Breed," Gwen quickly explained. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Bits and pieces of robotic material started to flow around Cooper. "If you're going…" With a blinding flash of light the robot bits became a giant mechanical suit, red and silver and totally badass.

"…then so am I," he finished at the top of his awesome robot.

At Mount Rushmore, about twenty minutes later

Beck, Charlie, and Newt were leaning against some of the consoles connected to the supercomputers. Sam and Carter were standing around the machine that would bring an unlikely ally to the renegade army. Alan was nearby, lit up like a birthday candle. They all turned suddenly when a flash of blue light appeared in the center of the room, bringing Professor Paradox, Kevin, Gwen, Evan, and Cooper in his robot suit.

Beck took one look at the suit and said, "Badass."

"It is indeed," Newt commented solemnly. "So, what're we doing here exactly?"

"Bringing Dark Star," Gwen said. Everyone who knew who that was started.

"Really?" Sam had to ask. "We're bringing your stalker here?"

"Stalker?" Cooper squeaked.

"He's not my stalker," Gwen said hotly.

"You mean, when he's not after us, trying to steal our life force," Carter snapped.

"Yeah, he's a real swell guy to be around," Kevin said sarcastically.

"Cooper, work the machine," Gwen ordered him. Meekly the boy genius went to work, putting wires together to reconnect the Null Void projector. Beck strolled over to help, and Cooper quickly made room for him.

It took a long time, but eventually the two got the projector operational. "Okay, we're all set to go," Beck said standing up and clapping his hands. He sent a worried look Gwen's way. "You're sure about this?"

"Ben said all the help we can get," Gwen pointed out.

"Okay," Cooper sighed before turning on the machine. A red light appeared out of the center, and Dark Star was there, stuck in his prison.

"Free!" Dark Star shouted. He touched the red wall only to be painfully repelled back.

"Did you honestly think we'd just let you walk away?" Newt snapped.

"He's right," Kevin said. "Save yourself the trouble. You don't get out of there unless we say so."

"Kevin Levin, the Pride, and the lovely Gwen Tennyson, to what do I owe this unexpected…pleasure?" Dark Star dragged out the final word with as much disgust as he could.

"We're here to free you from the Null Void," Gwen stated.

"…Why? You put me in here in the first place."

"Much as I like to take the credit, Ben gets the glory on that one," Kevin said through gritted teeth.

"There's a threat to the Earth. Ben needs your help," Gwen said. "We all do."

"And if I promise to help you?"

Gwen shrugged. "We let you out. Simple as that."

"Then we have an agreement, lovely Gwen," Dark Star enunciated.

"Let him out," Gwen told Cooper.

"No. I don't like the way he talks to you," Cooper said dangerously.

"Yeah, I'm with him. Guy's a total asshole. Better leave him to rot." Beck shot a glare at the prisoner. He didn't deign to answer back.

"We need him," Gwen said resolutely. With an audible groan Cooper commanded the machine to release Dark Star, shutting off the red laser wall. Dark Star jumped down from the projector, meeting Kevin up close and personal.

"Why would you trust me?"

"I don't," Kevin growled. "And neither do my friends." Dark Star tried to move his head only to find a scythe blade around his neck. A gun barrel was at his temple, and two Dao swords were around his waist.

Charlie walked up to the villain casually and said darkly, "One wrong move and your head comes off."

"And if you don't help us, you'll be destroyed along with the rest of the planet," Newt told him smoothly. "You can't win."

The blades and gun slowly receded, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The few who were taken aback stood upright again, and as Paradox led everyone out of the room, Alan had to blurt out: "You're the Pride?"

The three in question turned back. "Yup, otherwise known as the children of the corn," Sam said in a spooky voice as Evan did sound effects. Alan smiled.

"I never did get a chance to thank you back then."

"No worries, man, we were just in the neighborhood," Carter said blithely. "But we should really get going. We don't want the Professor leaving us behind."

Back at Mr. Smoothy

Ben and Azmuth were in Kevin's car, angrily arguing about something. "Should we interrupt?" Charlie asked Sam.

"No, let's give them a minute." She put a hand on Kevin's shoulder to stop his seething. "Calm down, you'll have your car back soon."

There was a green flash from within the vehicle, and all sounds of arguing stopped. Kevin waited for thirty seconds exactly before storming over to the driver's side of the car and rolling down the window. "Get out of my seat Tennyson!" he snarled.

Carter pushed him aside. "We brought help." She walked away so Ben could see the small entourage they brought: Evan and Sam and Gwen standing off to the side, Paradox standing next to the Pyronite, Cooper in his battle suit with Beck and Charlie underneath him, and Newt next to Dark Star.

And then Newt put two fingers to his lips and whistled, and out bounded a happy little alien bleating, "Ship! Ship!" And then the little guy slowly turned into a giant war ship of mass destruction, screaming out a monstrous, "SHIP!"

"You totally forgot he could do that." Newt smirked at Ben's stupefied face.

Evan hopped onto the hood of Kevin's car and shouted, "Onwards to battle!" just as Paradox teleported them to Lo Soledad.

In a galaxy, far, far away…

Dead bodies were everywhere.

Plumber agents littered the floor of the High Breed ship. They had been trained to fight for their lives, to give their souls to their cause, but the sheer amount was enough to make the bravest of men quake in his boots. They never should have snuck on board the ship. It had been a decent plan in the beginning, but then their numbers dropped, leaving only a handful to deal with the remaining three High Breed.

The young agent in the very front had grown up hearing about the glories of the Plumbers. They were the defenders of the universe. They were justice. He had come into the field bright eyed and cocky, ready to throw criminals into the Null Void.

That was a week ago.

Now he just wanted to surrender.

A hand was on his shoulder. The young agent looked up into the mirthful green eyes of a human male, with glasses and brown hair and a beard and a kind smile. He was smiling at him, the battle scars on his face stretching. He was dressed in cargo pants and a black t-shirt, black bandages on his arms. He let go of the agent, revealing large twin guns in his hands, silver weapons streaked with green.

The High Breed brought up a claw. The man lifted one gun, the silver metal breaking apart and reassembling itself. It created a cannon shape, and with one pull of the trigger a fiery blast came out, obliterating the monster's arm.

The monster screech as a woman clad in red and gold ran up to it. She was barefoot and wearing a dress that was unfit for battle: long sleeves and a collar up to her neck with golden fire designs weaving up and down the dress, with a skirt that was far too short, the front cut off at the top of the thighs and the back slightly longer to completely cover her rear end. The agent could make out black shorts underneath her skirt before the redhead used her powerful legs to jump up. Something bronze was attached to her wrists-gauntlets- and as she punched she sent powerful blasts at the High Breed's head, red sparks flying. The head came off with the third punch.

Suddenly a gray scabbard connected to a black ribbon struck the second High Breed's shoulder, making it squeal in pain. It retreated, revealing a man clad in blue behind him. His cerulean robe was slashed with white like stabs, flowing behind him as the wind blew dramatically. The robe was cut so that the entirety of his legs could be seen; he was wearing jeans and sneakers, oddly enough, and beneath his robe he didn't appear to be wearing a shirt, though only his collarbone was visible.

The man jumped up, seemingly flying through the air and launching lightning at the High Breed before landing on it. The giant alien tried to swipe him away, yet the blonde struck his black sword into its chest, making it cry out in pain. And then he jumped off as someone else took the stage.

It was another woman, this one with long silver hair tied back in a braid. She was wearing a black jumpsuit that covered her from neck to foot, with silver shoulder and knee pads and belt. Over her shoulder was a scythe, but it didn't look like any ordinary farmer's scythe: this one was silver and black and looked mechanical, like an overly tricked out rifle.

The woman put the scythe in front of her and grabbed a lever. Pulling it back, bullets came out of the pole with the blade attached, hitting the High Breed square in the chest. Bullets rang out of the sniper-scythe until the High Breed finally staggered back. And then the woman jumped up, swinging the scythe around the neck and decapitating the monster.

The third and final High Breed loomed over the last of the group. This one was blonde as well, clad in a purple cloak and black clothing not unlike the silver lady's. A giant staff with runes carved into it was in his hand. He looked up stoically at the High Breed as it screamed gutturally and began its attack. The man lifted his staff and the High Breed began to slow down, down, until it was frozen in time. It stood there, locked, until the man snapped his fingers and the alien simply shattered, like it was nothing more than glass.

Without bothering to look at the damage falling from the sky, the man turned around to the last few remaining Plumber agents. "Where's the High Breed communications relay?"

The young agent nodded to the controls in the front. The purple man stalked towards it, his cloak billowing threateningly behind him. The other members of his team followed behind him, hiding away their weapons in seemingly invisible slots.

The young agent had to ask: "Who are you?"

The redhead turned around. "We're Slayers."

He made a confused noise. "I don't know what that is!"

"All you need to know is that we're friends," the man in the blue robe said. Static sounded out from the controls, followed by the sound of hissing.

Isaac leaned into the microphone, thoroughly pissed off. "Listen here, you supremacist cunts," he hissed. "We've taken down a good chunk of your armada. We've saved numerous lives from your onslaught. Your murder of precious worlds is going to come to an end. Do I make myself clear?"

Static, followed by more hissing, until someone had the gall to ask, "And what if we do not, foul, loathsome scum?"

"When the sea rises with the blood of the enemy, and corpses wash up on shore," Cordelia began.

"When the earth screams in anger as the clashing of steel meets flesh and bone," Isaac continued.

"When fire rains down from the heavens, spreading its embers on graves," Irene snarled.

"When the wind sings with the cries of the fallen, its victims begging for revenge," Phineas said.

"Vengeance will strike and fight until it takes its last shuddering breath, taking its enemies down with it into hell," Isaac thundered. "And with my dying breath I so decree: we're coming."

"We're coming," the four said as Raphael shot the transmitter to pieces.

Those very last lines you just read are officially the Slayer creed. I hope you find it as badass as I do.

Also, I completely forgot to mention this the first time I posted this chapter, so for anyone who read this before, I'm sorry. Anyway, Cordelia's sniper-scythe, Lucille's gauntlets, and Phineas's sword-and-scabbard combo come from the Rooster Teeth web series RWBY (pronounced 'ruby'), while Raphael's gun-cannon thing comes from the futuristic dystopian anime Psycho-Pass. Isaac's wizard staff/cane is something I came up myself.

So, thoughts anyone?