Disclaimer : All characters and places belong to Nintendo, Sega, and Sony, ©1999-2008.
V.
Nothing But Remains
"Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Should I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take."
He had heard those words from long, long ago. When the idea of conducting the Conquest was new to them: him and Left Hand and He Who Cannot Be Named. It was from a planet infantile and oblivious to interdimensional travel, alien entities, and multiple universes. A world ripe with energy,
Before its destruction was imminent, he had been told by Tabuu the words were from a prayer elders taught to their children before they went to sleep. To them it was a common custom based on their religion, asking for the One True God to protect them from being assaulted by the demons of the Closed Space, an uninhabitable void that lay beyond the Spiral.
But could the One True God protect them from His Son the Sinned? Could He perceive the inevitable doom that would befall them?
Certainly not.
And just like that, they could Not Be Saved.
He pitied them, those humans. In a universe where only they were the supreme rulers, it must have been a lonely existence. Perhaps, in a twisted sense of altruism, it was for the best. They never knew of what the First God planned to use the core for. They never knew the devastation left behind.
Truly there was nothing left of the rock they called home -- no debris or space dust or galactic juices to lap up. They were Gone in a flash of light. The humans were No More.
So would this, too, be for the better good? Slowly succumbing to third degree burns all along his body and suffering from a ruptured, internally bleeding core? If Death so desired to whisk him away at such an opportune time, it would be now. Now, so he would not have to watch everything the Smashers held dear be grappled in an iron fist. So he would be spared the sight of their execution. Their Judgment.
Yet who would have thought a small contingent of warriors would arise from Terra's ruins and fight to their last breath? With the Avatar of Chaos Embodied, the Shadow Bugs, and a full arsenal of technological omnicide at hand's reach, they would have been outnumbered and overwhelmed! But imagine the turn of events when the Avatar, King Bowser, Lord Ganondorf, and Wario were persuaded to dethrone the Subspace Emissary! And the Ancient Minister -- O' He, the First and Last R.O.B., abandoned the Conquest in favor of seeking Vengeance and Redemption!
Toward the Stairway to the Spiral they go, intent on finishing the War of Wars. They who opposed Him of Their Free Will and sought to cast Him to the bottomless pit of Nowhere.
Why did he not have Their Strength? Why did he not heed His Brother's words when the path was open? Why did he not refuse to conduct his Creator's magnum opus at the very Beginning?
Woe betide him! If only he had the courage to speak his mind and forsake the corruption festering in his Master's soul!
If only . . . .
If only . . . .
Right Hand sighed, suddenly feeling very, very cold. 'There is nought else I can do,' he mused morosely. 'I have played my part, and I accept the End for what it is. At the very least . . . I can look forward . . . . . to traversing the Stars . . . . . forevermore . . . .'
High above, a Crack marred the tainted black of Subspace. One, then two, then four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-two, one-hundred-four, two-hundred-eight Cracks dragged soundless scratches across the gloom and unfurled blinding, colorless light unto the dimension. Multiple universes entombed in floating bubbles popped to airy oblivion and glass steps shattered one by one.
'M-Maybe . . . . . n-next time . . . . . ar-around . . . . . things . . . . . w-will . . . . . be . . . . . mo-more . . . . in . . . ter . . . est . . . . ing . . . . . . . ."
The world around him began to evaporate.
His Jyx core spilling out clear plasma from the serration in His chest, Tabuu, the Time Devourer, smiled humorlessly at the Smashers gathered below His hovering form.
"Job well done, Terrans. For preventing the Conquest's final phase, I shall give unto you a parting gift, My Final Act as Tabuu, The Subspace Emissary. Here Is Your Reward."
The core exploded. Light engulfed Everything.
And then there were None.