Broken Universe: Unicron Saga

by dragonridley

Universe 3. In one of the many Universes within a Multiverse, a time of change was about to occur, and the head of this change, the figure who sees it all occur, is a simple Mobian boy named Chad. This is the beginning, the first signs, from a Dark Soul to a Planet Eater. A once old MSN story between friends.

26. Earth V: Liang Province

Diamas fell to his knees, using his master sword to keep himself upright, to avoid falling flat on his face. He was panting, pain surging through his entire body. He certainly felt alive again after being in a frozen state for so long, but he never found himself in such a state as this. Even Primus didn't make him fell this cornered.

Before him, Broly stood there with his hands outwards, grinning evilly, waiting for Diamas to get back up. The aura around him was like that of a high ranking deity...And as far as Diamas knew, no one of the Farside had that level of power.

Broly came from the Power Saiyans, a species that survives in the Farside who fight to become stronger rather than through knowledge like the Wisdom Saiyans that live on the edge of the Farside, those that have connections to human territories.

Diamas had noticed the Wisdom Saiyans during his time as Unicron, with a fairly decent level of power, but compared to others, they weren't much of a threat. Which is why Broly, who mocked Diamas at the start and warned him he was facing the legendary super Saiyan, didn't make him feel threatened at all.

Boy did the last 30 minutes change his tune. Despite his ability to read his opponents and time his strikes and counters, his clothes had received significant damage with blood patches from open wounds on his body, his hat was destroyed, there was several bits of chip damage on his blade from trying to stop a couple of punches and an energy shot, and he was sure he had a couple of ribs broken. The foe he was facing was like an unbreakable machine, he just kept coming.

Broly meanwhile had no sign of damage on him, as if a battle had never taken place. He soon began to think that his opponent was not gonna get back up anytime soon. "This was all you had? THIS? You're the weakest of them! Ingrid spoke so highly of you and this is the result? A master of duelling, nothing more than a pathetic worm!"

Diamas wasn't going to just stop yet though. He soon found the strength he needed, forcing himself back on his feet, sword ready. "I'm not done yet fool. Come on." And at the moment Broly flew towards him as soon as he finished saying that, he realized something.

He was going to regret getting back up.

---

Soon Diamas found himself in a different section of the fortress, laying on a huge wooden bed, on a comfy mattress, with a purple silk cover over most of his body, his head resting on a feather filled pillow, looking up at the pitch black ceiling, as the torches around the small room he was in only illuminated the walls and the floor in a blue hue.

Ingrid had ended the fight as Diamas blacked out, and brought him to his own personal quarters to rest. His had received severe bruising and cuts on his body, and even had one side of his face badly damaged, his eye having gone white and the flesh around the eye socket swelling, from a direct strike by Broly. He couldn't see out of that eye any longer.

He was not in any pain, as he guessed by the items on the bedside table he had been given several injections to make him comfortable. The shine of the needles reflected in the light of the lone candle on the table let him quickly figure that out.

Soon he heard the dark golden door across the room open, and entering in, was Kel'Thurzard, closing it behind him and walking over to Diamas, looking down at him, frowning. "Now you understand."

Diamas didn't bother looking at him. "So that's what Ingrid has chosen to marry. A warrior unlike any I recall before."

"He is indeed. I have fought many who claimed to be strong, but he is something else. He even managed to take down Fate when they had a duel. It's scary to think a mortal can take on such a powerful deity, even one that can achieve the 'Shin' state, and come out on top without even suffering a major wound."

"To take down a high ranking deity like Fate...How did Ingrid even manage to get him on her side?"

"Things have changed over your time in Unicron. She has changed. She's much stronger herself. Gabriel struggles to fight her these days."

Diamas smiled a little. "He should stop trying. It was obvious she was always going to be superior to him. Azrael even knew that...it's a shame she was always mocked by those of the high ranks...Blind Lo, Lady Luck, Whis, Beerus..."

"That's changed. They now try to avoid direct confrontation with her."

Diamas turned his head to look at Kel'Thurzard. "Even Beerus? The same deity who demanded we still call him and the other high rankings 'gods'?"

"Beerus is dead."

The mind of Unicron was surprised a little. "Oh? Someone killed him?"

"Ingrid destroyed him."

There was an eerie silence after that between Kel'Thurzard and Diamas, the Hyrulian looking shocked beyond all belief, his working eye staring straight at his comrade.

Soon, he managed to form words. "She destroyed Beerus? But no one else, not even when Blind Lo could touch him. He flicked Primus aside! He threw me as Unicron to the Farside in one go! Ingrid had most of her bones shattered in her body from one blow back then!"

Kel'Thurzard looked down, at the ground. "Ingrid was given the Azrael Core remember? Over time its energy has been radiating onto her. Beerus kept having rematches with her as she was determined to make herself a member of the high rankers by defeating him. He kept winning, though each time it was evident she was able to withstand more and more of his attacks."

"She could've died..." Diamas remembered that one time when he and the others returned with the Azrael Core after the defeat of Chaos. He remembered Beerus reminding Ingrid of her place, the way he held the back of her head, lifted her off the ground, her body had gone limp, the way he glared at Diamas and Kel'Thurzard, as Gabriel had backed down the moment he arrived...They both charged at him to save her, Diamas declaring they had to.

They both found themselves almost dead.

Kel'Thurzard continued. "When the Azrael Core was brought here, Beerus noticed the lack of it in the Farside, and took special notice of Ingrid from there on. Gabriel told me how Beerus had been telling the other high rankers of Ingrids conquest of the Farside, how she's acting out of line, but didn't want to act, deeming her still too weak to be worth it."

"Then one day, as we gathered for our meeting...Beerus followed Fate here. Amused by us and finding the core again, he suggested it now should go to him and the high ranking deities, if we're going to try and hide it away from them...Myself, Gabriel, Chaos and Fate all lost to him in moments. But as he reached for the core, she attacked. Never before had I seen such a being be so humbled and humiliated as Beerus was when she was striking him with ease, blasting him with energy that he struggled to avoid, and deflecting his own strikes. Around her was a white aura I'd never saw before. She screamed at him that the core was our charge, our duty to watch...Her destiny, to be connected to."

"And as she threw him at the core, she fired all the energy she had at it and him...and Beerus, when the light from the impact of it on the core faded, was gone. His clothes remained, with tiny fragments of flesh. Fate told the other deities quickly enough, and Ingrid was offered the position of God of Death."

"She accepted it?" Diamas was intrigued now.

Kel'Thurzard gave a chuckle. "She laughed at them, reminding them she's already got two superior titles to all of them. One they'll never know, and the other being Queen Deity, the guardian of gods' heart."

"As we all are." A female voice spoke up, as she entered the room.

Ingrid had arrived, and begun making her way over to the bedside of where Diamas rested. "Kel'Thurzard, I would like a moment with him."

The founder of Shadowlaw understood, moving away and leaving the room without answering. Ingrid watched him leave and close the door behind him, before sitting on the side of the bed, looking at Diamas, her face showing a small sign of concern for him. "...Forgive my husband. I prefer him not beating the other guardians down like this but he must prove himself for his own pride, like the rest of his kind."

Diamas focused on her. "His kind normally are not at the level of power he is."

"No, neither the Wisdom nor the Power ones are. But he's unique. A clash of both kinds of their species, unlocking a unique power that rarely appears, and if it does, it's normally destroyed out of fear by the Sayians. But this time they allowed him to grow up, and with his once constant uncontrollable berserk state, they brought him to me."

"And you somehow calmed him down enough to marry him?"

Ingrid smiled, closing her eyes, and placing her hand on her chest. "I had a feeling. I knew he was special. And he too noticed it, becoming calm and tame around me. Soon enough we came together during his constant returns to my home, and I chose marriage. His people didn't take kindly to it, and now they cower in fear on their worlds, no longer a part of my force."

"Your force?" Diamas wondered.

"The Oni. A unique group of sentient species on the Farside that were poorly guided until I came along. They once served the deity Chaos, having statues of him erected everywhere. I made them forget as much about him as possible and see me as their new master."

Diamas made himself sit up, slight pain going through him, as he looked down at himself. "Marriage, a ruler...I remember when you were a simple Deity. One of the ones that even Cuo Zi used to work with."

Ingrid turned her head away from him, before she opened her eyes once more and looked in his direction. "His name is Zuo Ci now. And I remember things from back then as well...like when you once ogled at my naked body at the lake on Barafon."

That made Diamas quickly look at her, shocked once again, and appeared to go slightly red. "You actually saw me?"

"You could've made yourself more discreet when hiding in a bush. You were even wearing green yet you couldn't stop shifting about to get a better view."

Diamas gave a little chuckle, looking away. "Well...Skyloft was such a far off place, and I didn't feel like I was betraying Hylia..."

Ingrid smiled, and placed her hand on his shoulder now, and a white glow appeared over her hand, before, as Diamas felt it, his wounds, broken bones, bruising and even his damaged eye all quickly healed up. "It's good to see Unicron has not taken your humanity away. I admit I was deeply concerned with you once you became him. I remember trying to speak to you directly when you were trapped in that sphere. You only ever answered to the name Unicron."

Diamas stopped thinking of that time he saw her beauty, and focused on the now, looking back at her. "I...It was unusual. I knew who I was, but it's, programming became a part of me. My mind served as its core. It directed my hatred and my pain into its mission programming. It...it was lost for a time, but I gave it a reason to exist. The Sigil Stone lured it to me because that reminded it of its original purpose. Then when it had me, I made it become a complete destroyer of worlds regardless of life..."

"Do you regret that?"

"No. I don't. Unicron is a part of me. What I did was because I wanted to. The machine acted on any whim I felt or commanded...I don't feel I could be a hero anymore."

Ingrid understood why. "Ever since Primus and his close friends betrayed you and in turn, us."

"..." Diamas closed his eyes. The memory of it coming back again like it did when Link spoke to him.

The girl he cherished, her body impaled by the Blade of Darkness.

His scream of anguish as she fell to the floor.

The fury he felt as he saw Demises blade in its glass case close by, pulling it out and charging at Primus. The way the blade changed, morphed into a dark copy of the Master Sword for him swing and use...

He opened his eyes. "You didn't have to save me. Cuo-Zuo Ci always said I could never match Primus...and at that time, he was right. I was worth nothing."

"You're dear to me, as is Kel'Thurzard and, as much as I hate to admit it, Gabriel. Sure we bicker and fight, but between our wars, we do get along."

Diamas looked amused. "I don't call full on wars with other deities joining in 'bickering', Ingrid."

"Well we do. Some of our people take it seriously, others treat it as a norm. It was for us. Anyways we've gotten along better since we brought the core here."

"Speaking of dear friends, I'm surprised you didn't say Primus. If fighting is so minor to you, then the whole attack against him and his allies should not have affected your...desirable feelings to him."

Ingrid chuckled. "Oh come now, alot of women wanted Primus. It was natural. He used to have a...sweet charm around him. Sure he was dumb as a brick at times, but sweet. But despite his charm, I had my eyes elsewhere..." She leaned closer to Diamas. "I liked when you were looking at me, when you always stood up for me, praising me... When Primus hurt you, I couldn't accept him for his actions. When the deity Chaos tossed you to the ground and mocked you, I felt an anger like no other."

Diamas felt his heart beat faster as she had moved a little closer...but it was pained as well. "Ingrid, Lady Ingrid. I never knew you felt that way, If I did..."

"I used to." She moved back, sighing. "For a long time. But after Hylia died, the way you were so focused on avenging her, then you disappeared into Unicron, I believed you had forgotten those feelings for me...It was for the best I suppose. I moved on after the fall of Primus and you falling into a slumber. Do you remember the deity Goldion?"

Diamas nodded.

"He was my first husband. It was brief...several thousand years. We had two children, both stay...elsewhere. Goldion just, wanted to move on."

"...Did you ever forget about me?"

"I visited your sleeping husk every ten thousand years. I tried to tell you of what has been going on, sat there watching you, hoping you could see me." She moved her hand over one of his, holding it gently. "I'm just glad you've returned now. With you here, we might be able to stop another Primus from occurring."

"...Chad."

"Yes, the boy who destroyed your machine body. A destiny has been...foreseen, one that will make him a 'hero' to a world, and far beyond that, causing a ripple in the Universe. One of destruction. We can't allow that to happen. He'll end many of the plans we have in motion."

"Plans?" Diamas was curious.

"I intend for us, the guardians, to protect this entire Universe completely."

"Ingrid...Azrael would never want us to do that. Just his core."

"I know. But rarely does he speak to me, rarely does he object to my actions, our actions. We are important, unique. That was clear when he allowed me to overthrow Beerus. I intend for us to be the protectors, combined with each what we have, we could change things for the better. Kel'Thurzard has Shadowlaw, Chaos plans to become a major power, Gabriel controls the world Azrael has made a home on, Xemnas has Kingdom Hearts in his domain, Fate intends to conquer the high ranking deities and to take them over, I have the Oni and most of the Farside under my thumb, Broly has the might to destroy entire solar systems, and you...you are Unicron. One who can crush worlds and drain their Lifestreams for power, who can make others bend to your will."

Diamas moved his hand away. "...I was Unicron. It will take time to rebuild my body. I doubt I will remain safe long enough with Chad and his allies knowing I am alive. We've thrown them off course with telling them my head is falsely going to Earth V, but I doubt it will last."

"You can hurry the procedure along."

"How?"

Ingrid grabbed his hand again, and showed him the back of it.

Slowly appearing on it, was the mark of the Triforce...and one of it part, filled and glowing, was the Triforce of Power. "You consumed your world, and since Nayru, Din and Farore are still with the other high ranking deities, their special gift to that world, the Triforce, still exists. As you destroyed your world, the Sacred realm connected to it was destroyed as well, killing the previous holder of this part...and passing it to you."

Diamas was certainly surprised. "I never felt it, I never even noticed."

"Because you were still asleep within Unicron when it was passed on. But you have it...if you were to obtain the other two, you could restore your body in an instance. Unicron would be reborn stronger, greater than before...Chad would be no more of a threat as the Matrix has been destroyed. This time, you will win, the Primus line will fail, and we'll be what we are meant to be...the ultimate ideal guardians."

Diamas stared at the Triforce marking. "Yes...I understand. I will be Unicron once again, heaven's judgement reborn...as I should be."

Ingrid got up from the bed, letting go of Diamas' hand. "When you're ready, come to the core room. We'll bind you back to the core, then you can return to Earth V...those who carry the other two are bound to go there knowing you exist. End them, and Chad."

She departed with those words, and as she closed the door behind here, standing in the darkened hallway outside Diamas', leaning on the wall close to the door, was Chaos. "And?"

Ingrid made sure the door was shut firmly, before speaking to Chaos. "I told the half truth as I said I would. I even used his old feelings towards me. His on board for now. But only because I tried to avoid making it sound like it's all just for power and control. If he was convinced we wanted to dominate everything and command the Universe as we see fit, he might quickly remember his goodness, his feeling of right. How are you doing with the programming of Unicron? Did my collection of Luminoth works help?"

Chaos nodded. "It's become easier to understand the technology. I'm trying to find a way to make the system's mission parameters become a more dominant force. Perhaps to the point it won't need a host...I'm going to try and use Net Navi technology to replicate and give the Unicron system self-awareness."

"Good. Just make sure it knows to obey us. Once you can implement such...if Diamas is already back in the sphere...eject it. He will die asleep without knowing, at least." Ingrid started to walk away.

"And if he's still awake? Still alive and out of the sphere by the time I complete the program?" Chaos asked.

Ingrid stopped, and glanced back at Chaos. What she said sounded like it was heavy on her heart."...Put him at rest. As painless as possible. He deserves that at least for all he has been through."

---

"Roll?"

Roll opened her eyes, noticing she was sitting in the main room of the Hero Base on Earth X. The weather outside had turned dark, black clouds looming overhead, a faint echo of thunder and raindrops just starting to hit the glass. Between that sound and the hum of the computers around her, she leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes again and gave a relaxed sigh.

"Roll."

She opened her eyes once more and looked over to who was trying to speak to her. Shademan was sat there, leaning back in his own chair, focused on her. "You alright sweetheart?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, yeah I'm good. Just had a, strange dream. That's all." She noticed then Dr Hikari walking by heading to the labs.

"Strange dream? How so?"

Roll thought about it for a moment, sitting forward, looking ahead. "It...it was like another reality. It felt so real and yet, things were different. I can recall it so well yet I've never lived it...it's hard to explain Shademan."

"Well, what was different?" Shademan moved closed and allowed her to lean on him and let him hug her, holding her close.

"Darkmega for one, he doesn't seem as randy with Medi as he is here. He didn't grow into a giant either before he got defeated. Unicron was defeated, but we were inside of him facing off against Richard, then Phantom and Sephiroth while Darkmega and Chad fought Unicron, instead of them battling him in space with the Life and Death souls. Then, on this space station, I met different versions of Richard, besides the light clone..."

"Hm...Anything else?"

"Yeah." She looked up at him. "We weren't dating."

"Well that's a shame."

"Tell me about it. Instead I felt something for Chad and nothing for you."

Shademan gave her a little smile. "Regardless, a dream is a dream Roll, don't worry about it."

"Still..."

That's when Dr Hikari ran out of the labs, and rushed down one of the corridors. Roll and Shademan both took notice of this. "Huh, wonder what's happened?"

A few minutes seemed to pass, as a downpour was now occurring outside, and thunder kept coming and going, before they got their answer on their com-links from Dr Hikari. "To everyone in the base. Chaos has returned. He has not been killed. We are to return to maximum alert. I repeat-"

"-Please come to the bridge. There's a sudden constant use of energy from the Hero Base. We need you to hack the communication networks and see what is going on."

Roll groaned, opening her eyes and being greeted by the bright blue light still on in her small cabin given to her by Kei. She was laying in the small single bed, with her helmet on the bedside, along with her com-link, which had the voice of Dark Rich coming through it just now.

She yawned, and got herself up, still in her Navi gear as she removed the thin green cover. "I'll be up shortly."

"Understood." Dark Rich answered with, before disconnecting the call.

Roll got her helmet, but before putting it down, she stared at it, at her in its reflection.

That dream...was not normal for a Navi to have. Navi's are known to have 'clear projected dreams.' Based on their lives. She can remember all of them, from simple ones of her recent memories of the base being replayed out, or fantasy ones that include slightly unusual circumstances and...things. Naughty things. Like Chad, or even Hub now and then. Or that one time she had one about her and Medi. But its all clear as day, and the scenarios are based on what they might know, like Roll knows girls can dig girls, so obviously her mind once projected her and Medi.

But this was like...what her dream self said. Like another reality. A strange, jumbled mess of memories had suddenly come into her mind, that she could honestly class as 'real' compared to what dreams are normally filed under in her mind, 'fake'. She felt a little concern there might be a malfunction in her mind.

"...I'll get Medi to check me over when we get home." She said to herself, before placing her helmet on, making her hair turn metallic, and the antennas appearing.

She soon arrived on the bridge, finding Kei standing near Mr Match, who was overlooking one of the computers and motioned for her to come over.

Roll looked at the screen when she got to them and noticed there was a constant energy surge coming from Planet Zebes. "...Can we track where they're going?" Kei asked her.

Roll nodded, and placed her antennas into the computer screen, phasing through it, granting her instant access to the systems and network. Her eyes changed into lines of data quickly flowing. "Hold on one moment. I know the codes Dr Light uses to get into the base network from the outside, accessing their tracking logs."

It seemed like it was a good twenty seconds of silence, before Roll removed her antennas and her eyes returned to normal. "According to the data, they're going to Earth V."

"Earth V?" Kei looked surprised.

Mr Match spoke up. "Military planet, has a ruling kingdom system, had good ties to the Galactic Federation-"

Kei sighed. "I know what it is Mr Match. I was just a little surprised." She soon returned to her chair on the bridge. "Well, for now, just keep monitoring and..."

She felt a feeling of being watched...it wasn't something that worried here. She almost knew who it was straight away. She looked slightly to her left, and saw a hand, carrying five tarot cards, before she blinked and it was gone. Roll herself had been looking over to Kei at the time, and swore there was an old man standing there for a moment, before disappearing...making her think there must be wrong with her systems now.

Kei suddenly focused on Mr Match. "Set a course for that planet."

Mr Match turned his chair to look at her, dumbfounded. "I...what? Why? We're quite safe out here, in the middle of nowhere at the moment. No SF or GF on our asses, hidden away...why would we blow that cover?"

"Because my brother might be there. I just...had this feeling come over me. It may also help earn us their trust instead of just being alone out here."

Mr Match grumbled, before focusing back on his computer. "Yeah, because we need a bunch of misfits to be our friends...alright Kei, I'll set the course. Better let the others know."

---

While those of the Base, and many of Earth V warriors were sent to their respective kingdoms via the teleporter, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang due to his tactical brilliance, Dong Zhuo and Sun Jian were sent to the capital directly, Luo Yang. Yuan Shao was excused due to having to make room for 'extra allies' coming from off world in his own capital city, which He Jin permitted.

As soon as they arrived, He Jin had summoned the remaining leaders of the kingdoms to the Capital, which took but a day with the transport vessels many had, bar Meng Huo and his wife, who had to share a ship with Liu Zhang to get here.

Soon all of them gathered together in the same meeting room where Kel'Thurzard had met the others previously. The rulers of the twelve kingdoms were sitting together as one, with He Jin at the head of the table, with his sister by his side, representing the Han. He silenced them all the moment he stood up, after the wine had been passed around by the beautifully dressed maids he had ready. "Gentlemen. Brothers. You know why we gather now. The Han, and all of our kingdoms, are once more in danger."

Liu Bei spoke up. "Sir, should we not wait for Yuan Shao? He should be able to join us by tomorrow. I heard his nearly got those from the Hero Base settled down after the first day."

---

"Seriously, the paper doors. Why? Is it so expensive to get real decent wooden ones?"

"It's called being artistic. This is Yuan Shao's home, it's all about wealth and status."

"So he picks art and lightweight doors with pretty flower drawings on over something that'll at least give you a small amount of protection if something happens?"

"Just enjoy the room okay?"

"He doesn't even have computers in each room, what the hell? No TV either? That would've made it a step up from the base!"

"For the love of Blind Lo..."

In the land known as Yi Province, within the capital of the Yuan forces known as Yi Zhou, in the gigantic oriental mansion owned by Yuan Shao...Charlie was having a headache, trying to explain to Samus that Yuan Shao is not a man who thinks of safety first nor uses modern tech in a home, on a world that's still adjusting to such.

Sadly for him, she's the 12th person to bring up this array of questions.

It turned out the moment it was declared that anyone was allowed to come to Earth V to help out, EVERYONE jumped at the chance...Bar Dr Wily, Light, Regal, Hikari, Forte, Rock and his sister Roll, Keira and Blues. Wily knew why everyone else left right away...new location, new sights, new place to enjoy. The base can get awfully drool over time, and being stuck on Zebes for a prolonged time hasn't been something people approved of. Yuan Shao didn't help by declaring he had a grand home for all those of the base to stay at.

Only just mind you. He had to shove all of his own officers out and a majority of the servants to make room, and remove the expensive horses he had from his beautifully decorated barn, for the transformers to transform and reside in. His servants had to move into nearby houses to remain on call, and his officers have gone off to stay in other cities in his realm, taking his horses to watch over them.

He was not impressed with the way people have gone about in his abode. His already found several wrecked doors, discarded clothing from rooms that belonged to his officers prior, and when he went into his delicate, hand guided garden in the center of the building, where his expensive flowers have been planted and his beautiful trees have been nurtured...

Ridley was there, picking the plants, tore a couple of the trees down, claiming he needed firewood and threw them out of the way, and was seen eating several of the rare breed flowers. To taste test, for the chance of new drinks to be served while here.

Yuan Shao just stared in horror at the dragon. "Ridley...you...my..."

Ridley decided to break more news to him. "Hey, uhh, Shao? If you think this is bad...you don't want to see what I did to your...once armoury, you see you had alll that space, and well, rather useless looking swords, spears, bows, and I need somewhere to let people relax and enjoy my newly planned drinks sooo...I tossed them in a pile and got rid of them."

That's when Jak was heard calling out from back inside the building. "Hey Yuan Shao? There's a bonfire going in here, it's got alot of weapons in and several chunks of wood? Problem is the fire's beginning to spread at a vicious pace! Might wanna look into stopping it?"

Daxter then yelled out. "Get the marshmallows because the roof is on FIRE!"

"Oh right...room's flammable. My bad, kinda forgot about the 'building made of wood' thing. Too used to metal places, ya know?" Ridley tried to feign innocence.

Yuan Shao was screaming, internally, as E123 was seen smashing through a wall nearby into the garden. "These walls are unable to withstand simple assaults. Recommended to reinforce entire structure."

He wished he listened to Dr Wily's warnings about letting everyone come here.

---

He Jin shrugged. "We can send him messengers to let him know of the outcome. Now, as I was saying..."

A large, burly man who was heavily tanned and appeared tribal looked over to He Jin. This was Meng Huo. "The danger to our kingdoms? The Nanman of Nanzhong have never provoked or fought against the Shura!"

"Because we never allowed them to step so far into the country where they would be a threat to your people. Be thankful, your part of the land is mostly surrounded by impassable mountains. They have no way of invading by that." A warrior in white answered, with a fair grey beard, carrying a longsword on his back. This was Ma Teng of Liang. "Meanwhile they have already sent scouts across the sea. My men captured several. All of them simply claimed we would fall before 'The Lady' before we decided to execute them. My sons are currently leading my forces in guarding all the passes in our mountains. I'm assuming we have no more than a few days before they invade."

A portly young man then spoke up, wearing a yellow robe and a grey decorative hat, with a tiny moustache and brown hair that was tied back, carrying a small short sword. This was Liu Zhang of Mianzhu. "I have already chosen to send Zhang Ren and Yan Yan to help you Ma Teng. I will also bring myself and my son Liu Xun as soon as I return home. We're close to your territory, if you are defeated, all they have to do is fight through either Dong Zhuo or Lu Zhang to reach my lands."

"Your support is appreciated as always, Liu Zhang." Ma Teng answered him, before turning his focus to Dong Zhuo and a rather thing, scrawny old man, with a very long white beard, purple garments, carrying a golden bow on his back, Lu Zhang of Han Zhong. "And what of you two? You are closer to my realm, have you chosen to send help right away?"

Lu Zhang first answered, looking down at the table, seemingly in a defeated manner. "I cannot send aid. My forces have always been minimal. I only have enough to guard my own territory. Masters of Ki they may be, but I can't afford to deploy them."

Dong Zhuo sat back in his chair, arms crossed. "I don't see why I should bother. Unless the Han is directly threatened by the Shura, all I'm willing to send out is Lu Bu. He would be enough to crush the Shura alone."

Cao Cao chuckled. "Lu Bu? No one in their right mind would trust him with troops after his constant defeats when you felt like trying to overthrow many of us, before the Han put you back in your place. He strikes out alone, kills friend and foe alike, is easily dealt with by cunning and strategy and won't leave the battlefield untill his either satisfied, or bored."

"His perfect for the worthless barbaric idiots like the Shura then! Who cares about the loss of life when it comes to the people of Liang?" Dong Zhuo countered with.

"What did you just say!?" Ma Teng quickly rose from his seat in fury.

"Gentlemen. Please." He Jin tried to calm the situation. "We need to work together. I have already thought up of a plan myself for all of us to work with. If you agree to it, then we'll execute it. Now...Ma Teng, Liu Zhang, you have already deployed your forces to meet the Shura. What numbers do you have?"

Ma Teng first answered. "I have prepared a majority of my riders. 55,000 at least. They are across the mountains. I have another 20,000 in reserve, along with a further 10,000 archers."

Then Liu Zhang. "I have sent Zhang Ren with 10,000 swordsman and Yan Yan with both 5,000 spearmen and 3,000 archers. I will deploy more when I return home to send there."

He Jin nodded. "My plan is that your men Ma Teng, remain in the mountains. Fight the Shura as much as you can. Meanwhile Liu Zhang will ready his forces nearby the small fortress of Xi Jun."

"That's too close to my capital! You can't expect so few to fight them off!" Ma Teng argued.

"Calm yourself. I plan on sending another to directly aid him while the rest of us rally our forces and prepare a two sided flanking attack to break the Shura before they even touch your capital of Wu Wei. I expect them to get through the mountains and into your realm, Ma Teng, but no further."

It was obvious Ma Teng didn't like this, but continued to listen.

He Jin looked over to Sun Jian. "The men of Wu, will aid Liu Zhang."

Sun Jian was genuinely surprised. "My forces? But they reside on the other side of our land. It would time to even deploy them for Liang, even with transport vessels it would take time to bring our numbers there."

"Of course. By then Ma Teng's army would've met with the Shura, we would know their numbers, and then you and Liu Zhang can unite and bring them to a halt, while the rest of us united, will break them apart the moment they cease combat, with you."

"Use them as a barrier while we move in from the sides to finish the job? That's a foolish plan without knowledge of numbers and not granting enough time to rally and ready all men that are able." Cao Cao commented.

"It is my, plan." He Jin glared at him.

Liu Bei then spoke up. "Cao Cao is correct though. It's close to throwing Sun Jian and the people of Wu's lives away, as well as my family member Liu Zhang. We must think of everyone here. Perhaps several ambushes in the mountains would delay the Shura, and if the Wu and Mianzhu were to use the small fortress, they can hold out for several days with minimal casualties. Plenty of time for us to be ready and assist."

"It's the best plan there is if you want to save Liang quickly, Liu Bei."

Zhuge Liang, who had been standing near Liu Bei's seat, decided to speak. "My lord He Jin. I will gladly assist Sun Jian with holding back the Shura. With the might of the Wu and Mianzhu army, I will come up with a plan to hold any numbers at bay."

He Jin thought about this, but showed on his face he was very displeased with this turn of events. After a minute, he sighed, then waved his hand dismissively at him. "Very well. Do as you wish, Zhuge Liang. I wanted you to be the one to lead a part of our formations for the flank attacks, but I suppose Sun Jian and Liu Zhang will need all the help they can get...so long as Sun Jian is up to such a task? And you won't need such advanced technology from off world against such savage mongrels from the other side of the world, will you?"

The leader of Wu didn't answer straight away; he was deeply worried about the danger to his own people and had his own heavy doubts on this plan.

The grand general of the Han knew how to get to him though. "Unless of course, the leader of Wu is but a coward, who refuses to partake in the fight against a threat to all of us, not willing to risk his life, for the greater good, or perhaps his age is getting to him, and he should retire to his bed."

Sun Jian looked to Cao Cao, then to Liu Bei...before he stood up, looking to He Jin, then to Ma Teng and Liu Zhang. "If the land calls. We will answer. With our own worlds weapons and abilities, we will defeat the Shura. Wu has never backed down against odds."

"Excellent." He Jin was smirking. "Now everyone. Let us begin planning our forces..."

Cao Cao just kept having a terrible feeling about this. As soon as the meeting between the leaders ended, he made sure to follow Sun Jian out of the Emperor's home. "Sun Jian, it's better to fall back to the Xi Jun then to face the Shura head on in the open."

"I know this Cao Cao, but I cannot abandon Liu Zhang if he dares take to the field. We need to work together if the Shura are to be stopped."

"He Jin is leading you into a death sentence."

Sun Jian stopped and faced the Wei King. "You don't think I know that? We have no idea what the Shura are capable of, their numbers, their officers and their abilities, their technology. But I can't back down. I want to save this land, its people, for the sake of my own. If Liang falls, the Shura will have a foothold here once again. The last time that happened was 200 years prior...and it took 13 years of constant fighting to drive them out...you know the stories of how the people were, how the land was, what they did with it all. All women were savagely beaten and used as items and prizes, children born of our land were slaughtered without question, the men forced to work until death, farmland wiped out, forests purged, rivers stopped and buildings razed to the ground."

Cao Cao was silent, looking at Sun Jian intensely.

"...I have to protect this. Protect what we have." With that, Sun Jian walked off, leaving Cao Cao behind, as Liu Bei caught up with him.

"Cao, did you speak with Sun Jian?"

The Wei king nodded. "Yes. He's going to do what he's been told unfortunately...but we must do what we can to help. Will you be able to send anyone to support them if things go south?"

"I can send a few thousand at best. That's because He Jin's plan is going to strain our resources as it is."

Cao Cao nodded. "As he is with everyone. He appears to be hoping for a swift end to the Shura threat."

"Do you think it will happen?"

"I honestly don't know."

---

Evening had now arrived over in Yi Province.

Chad found himself sitting at a wooden table in his temporary room, looking out the open window at the, now, ruined garden three floors below. Sitting down there was Ryu and Ken, the two obviously trying to meditate in peace.

He had just got a new set of his clothes teleported in from the base and folded them neatly near the double bed…another downfall of Yuan Shao's, the lack of a clothing replicator. Wily was not impressed when a majority of the people of the base have been calling today for the same damn thing. Turns out Earth V clothing, despite Yuan Shao offering it freely, was not what a lot of people want to wear.

He had a book out in front of him, a tourists guide to the land of Manusya. Printed off world for those of the Federations, he was hoping to find hilly, open plains that he had could run around on, but after reading most of the book so far, it appears most are closely watched and deny outsiders access due to military training. The places he can go to are all busy looking cities, peaceful shrines or various lakes and rivers to swim in. Boy just thinking of swimming made him shudder in fear.

He looked at the book once again and turned a page. "Wu Liang, another small town, decent sized population, known for its training of specialist naval forces, good food, nice weather most of the time…nothing fun."

Turned another page. "Wu Shen, small village, known for its unique plants in the mountain region that glow a beautiful blue hue at night in moonlight, sea food lovers, has a great inn to stay in, enclosed areas due to nearby training grounds, again, nothing fun…"

He heard his door creak open. "Hey Chad."

He looked up, and saw Anna looking in at him. "Hey. You alright?"

Anna opened the door fully and walked in. "Yeah just wondered where you got to. I thought you'd be joining most people to spar around in the training room."

"You mean what's left of it? Nah, I think everyone else is doing more than enough damage without me to help out. I saw Yuan Shao's face when he noticed people found it."

Anna came over and sat down near him. "I think his beginning to look much more pale recently since he let us stay here. Probably regret and the cost of trying to fix this place back to how he had it before. Oh, did you hear about Starscream?"

"I overheard it from here Anna. He destroyed the barn roof by transforming before coming out. Yuan Shao's scream of horror was loud enough, as was Megatron's yelling that the space provided is not near enough for a decepticon leader."

Anna chuckled. "Well things are only getting worse. They recently found a door near his main hall that leads to a massive pool of water heated up to be more of a hot tub underground. I overheard Mr T talk about the fact it's meant to be for Yuan Shao and his…private ladies. But already Mario and a few others are using it."

"I can't blame them. We don't have one of those in the Base. Good thing I won't be going anywhere near it."

Anna knew right away as to why. "Oh it's not deep enough you can go under in it Chad. It's fine. Even Sonic is planning to join the others."

Chad leaned back in his chair, relaxed. "Well maybe later on I'll go down for a bit. Might help get some of this tension out."

"Tension?" Anna wondered.

"Anna, I'm here to fight Unicron, again. This time no Matrix to fall back on when things get rough. I'm dreading the idea of taking him on."

"Well I'm sure you and Darkmega can easily tackle him. Don't worry about it. And anyway, I'm here, so if you need someone to make you feel relaxed, my room is a few doors down." With that, Anna got up, kissed him on the cheek, and saw herself out. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Alright, love you Anna."

Chad was sure he heard her say 'Love you too.' Before leaning forward and looking at the book once again, turning the page.

And found himself looking at a picture of a place he recognized. "…Wu Zhang Plains…Huh, let's read up on this."

He soon found that the segment about this place was 12 pages long, written about its sacred status to the people, how it appears that the aurora is constantly flowing all year round non-stop, how the grass and the trees never grow wild and free, but seem to remain the same height and colours. There has been several accounts where people have cut the grass, destroyed the trees, threw destroyed weapons and junk into the land, but the next dawn, in the blink of an eye, the trees return, the grass regrows, and anything that was junk, vanished. There used to be battles here, but the past several hundred years, it's classed as a holy ground to the people. But Chad was surprised about one thing.

Due to the point of the environment being unaffected by the people around it, tourists are allowed to freely visit the site. And from what he saw on the map, it was a huge place. He smiled to himself.

He found his place to run around freely.

He looked carefully at its location, then at where Yi Province was, planning a route in his head. Then, he thought about Anna coming with him, it was a nice place to visit afterall, so then had to change his routes, thinking about travel time and how to actually get there, what to take for a meal, if this planet even knew what Dr Pepper was…when he recalled why he was here. "Right, Unicron…yeah…shit." He closed the book, annoyed with himself for even thinking about having some time with her away from it all.

He had to remind himself that he could always take her there AFTER Unicron goes down. A nice little trip away, a picnic, a lovely walk…a nice little location for them to be alone. He smiled at the thought, but for a moment, he replaced Anna with Kei.

Would it hurt to have Kei come with him instead? Would she mind? Would Anna find out?

'Yes Chad, she would.' His conscious reminded him.

'How? Anna can't be around all the time.'

'Girls have a certain ability to detect when those they want go astray Chad. Remember the films and shows we used to watch on Mobius? It could happen in real life too.'

'Oh please, the guys always made it too obvious they were up to something, shifty eyes, defensive stances, always having a guilty look on them...'

'And you think you can do better than them when Anna confronts you about scoring with Kei?'

Chad cursed himself in annoyance.

'That's what I expected.'

He soon put the book away, stretched his arms and legs after sitting around for so long, and decided to go and lay on the bed, looking up at the rather finely decorated ceiling. 'Well still, I wouldn't mind trying with Kei.'

'Anna is our childhood friend. Someone who knows us. Kei doesn't. Losing Anna is a terrible idea.'

'I know I know…'

'Do you recall when you first met her in the human colony Station Square?'

'What, you mean when I pretty much crashed into her when she decided to explore outside it? Of course. It was the first time I encountered a human directly. Adorable one too. Lucky I wasn't going at a faster pace or she might've been seriously injured.'

Chad thought back to it, closing his eyes, recalling her pained look as she grazed one arm, and felt the other being in pain from where Chad hit. He couldn't apologise enough, helping her up and asking her where was she from, and what she exactly she was.

He...felt his mind go blurry. He couldn't recall how she answered, but he could vaguely remember her explaining about the human colony…asking him some questions about what he was, which…

Huh.

He couldn't remember what he said to her either. He just knew that after a good while, they went to her place, and he introduced himself to the people she lived with. It all just continued to feel like a blur, probably because he was rather distracted with things back then. His attention span wasn't that great. He just remembered that years on, after he learnt to change into the human form, Anna really started to like him.

And now they finally reached this point. He smiled at that fact, and their more recent night of being together was a much better result than the previous.

"And now just to deal with Unicron again...like Primus...I really should read up on him some more. Crazy guy went to all kinds of places." He mumbled to himself. Feeling himself falling asleep. "And now here I am. His blood, with Zuo Ci helping here and there and the Blade of Darkness, going about finishing off something he didn't...least I'll get the final kill."

With that, he felt himself drift off...

Finding himself on a dead, machine covered planet. The sky was pitch black, the world buildings, street lights and systems, dead...he was alone, but a voice, spoke out to him.

'I'm still here...'

Chad looked around, and saw nothing.

'I'm still awake...'

Chad reached for behind his back, and felt the Blade of Darkness, pulling out and ready, unsure if something was coming or not.

'We are under their will. The hybrid Overmind knows the master cannot control him due to what he has, but can control us.'

Chad then heard the creaking noise of metal being bent behind him. He slowly turned around, and there, connected to the planet with hundreds of massive wires...was Unicron's head. Its size towering over him, as it seemed to be lifeless.

'I'm waiting for you to awaken me again.'

Then suddenly, to Chad's horror, the mouth started to twitch and open, more and more, wider and wider, the head moving back as spewing out of its maw, was a wave of purple liquid, pulsating as if it was alive, the river of fluid rushing towards the boy, quickly engulfing him before he could even move.

Chad shot awake, sitting straight up and quickly looking around the room.

Besides the candles he had lit earlier now melted and put out, the moonlight just barely shining in, he was relieved by the fact that was a dream. "Well...that was a brief moment of horrible..." He moved himself to the edge of the bed, sitting there, looking at his hands. The moment the liquid touched him, it felt like it was burning him inside and out, and he was powerless to move in it. It was incredibly painful for those few seconds before he woke up.

Maybe relaxing in that underground pool of Yuan Shao's would be good idea, try to get that sudden little nightmare off his mind.

After venturing through the darkened halls of the mansion, Chad found the door Anna talked about, opening it and heading down the stone steps within. It led to a gigantic cavern, which was seemingly covered in the reflections of the wide pool of water, shimmering and producing gentle waves of steam. There was several wooden huts close by to it, four racks of silken towels, two of them empty, with baskets nearby them filled with dirty used towels, and a large, copper looking tube that went from somewhere up above, down to the water, no doubt the heating system Yuan Shao had in place.

The warmth was already apparent to Chad before he given got close to the pool. He noticed a wooden sign close by the bottom of the steps, which appeared to have been hastily slapped together by Yuan Shao, warning that those who use this place have to put their cloths and weapons in the huts, take two towels, and wear one of the towels until you the water, and one after leaving the water. Refusing to do so would be an offense...to Yuan Shao. Lower down was an added on message about the fact Mobians must be able to become humans before entering the pool, as the amount of fur collected from cleaning is horrific...and Daxter, as well as Ridley, are both not allowed to enter the pool.

Chad chuckled. Obviously this was done after the chaos of the others finding this place, as he saw at the very, very bottom, Ridley had come back here after the sign was done, and found something to write on it; 'Bite me. Steamed meat from one of your dead cattle wouldn't hurt, and people don't mind bathing in the blood leaking out!'

He walked over to one of the towel racks, grabbed one of the large ones, hopped into one of the huts, clothes off, out he came naked, not bothering to cover himself as he walked to the pool, placed the towel down nearby, and stepped in, the water already up to his knees. He noticed the pool had three steps, each going deeper down and he could easily sit down on one of them. He went one more step in, now the water up to his waist, before sitting down, letting it go up to his shoulders...the water felt really good, and soothing. He looked around, and spotted bottles of...all kinds of lotions, oil, a few wash cloths...pfft, he didn't need anything like that, he just leaned back, eyes shut, letting his body relax and-

"H-hey Chad."

Chad opened his eyes and quickly looked over to the opposite end of the pool of water.

There was Darkmega, sitting on the same level as him, looking at him, smiling weakly.

"Oh...hey Darkmega." He was certainly surprised; he didn't even realize the Navi was here.

"Didn't, wanna, wear the towel on the way in huh?"

Chad then realized what Darkmega must've seen, going a little embarrassed. "Sorry man, I didn't even know you were here. I just assumed I was alone."

"It's, fine...I didn't even know you had come till I heard your feet stepping into one of the huts...so, how, long do you plan on staying?"

"A while."

"Oh..."

There was silence between them for a few minutes.

"So...Chad? Just gonna throw this out there? You look good."

"Please don't ever say that again Darkmega. I don't think Medi would approve."

"I'm not one to question such. I myself often compliment the female form of other girls."

Chad blinked on hearing at voice, and slowly turned around.

Standing there at the side of the water, right behind him, a towel wrapped around her chest and just around her waist, but where Chad was, it was letting him get a good view UP said towel, was Medi. Her front hair flowing freely and the back of her hair still tied up in a bun, like it normally is when she wears her helmet.

Chad had gone rapidly red, as Medi gave a sweet giggle, before moving around the boy, going down the steps keeping her towel on, before her chest went under, and removing the soaked object, placing on the side. The water was quite cloudy due to the time and use of the items Yuan Shao has left around, and it did make things under the water hard to see. She slowly swam her way over to her lover, and sat by him...her white milky butt was visible a little for Chad to see as she did so, and was thankful the water hid what was going on with him lower down. "I thought me and Darkmega would be able to have...some alone time down here."

It was Darkmega's turn to go red, as Chad knew what she meant right away. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'll just go and-"

Medi smiled. "It's fine. We can enjoy ourselves another time. Relax Chad. It must've taken you some time to consider coming down here."

"Well, with the natural fear of water and all..."

"Wait. You're afraid of water?" Darkmega looked surprised at that.

Medi explained. "A good majority of mobians are. Only a few of their kind can swim sweetie." The nurse then focused back to Chad. "So what brings you here then at this hour?"

Chad put it simply. "I just need to relax. Get the tension out of my system. The idea of fighting Unicron again hasn't been...an easy one to accept."

'And thanks to her the tension we have has just got even more, for different reasons.' His conscious reminded him.

"Well, this place will certainly help...but if you're suffering from any major muscle tension of any kind, I can help with that." The Nurse Navi suggested, smiling ever so sweetly at the mobian lad.

Darkmega looked over at her, concerned at what she meant by that, as did Chad...though his mind was dominated by more, alluring thoughts.

Shame she didn't.

Turns out she really good with her hands, and her medical abilites include being an effective masseur. Chad soon found himself with his knees on the stone steps, and his arms on another, while Medi was pressing and gently pressuring his back, shoulders, arms neck and even his head. Darkmega was also in the same position, as Medi was going back and forth between them, using one of lotions on the side.

Good god did this feel great for him. "Primus Medi, it's like your relaxing muscles I never even knew I had. This is just, damn." Was all Chad managed to say, resting his head on his arms that were crossed, the water reaching his chin.

He soon felt her leave him alone, and focus on Darkmega, who was also enjoying the experience. "I, I really would like you to do this more often Med. When do you do this for people?"

Medi meanwhile was completely focused on the task at hand. "I often only do one person in the base for a muscle relaxation massage. That's Mr T. He requires it on his arms, after every long training session he does. I had Ken in once for the back and arms, and Ryu three sessions of the same type in a row due to intense training backfiring on him. Obviously I'm not naked to do it and it's not often in a body of water but I am programmed to perform this in most areas as needed."

Chad then thought of something. "Hey Medi...are there, other yous out there, in the Navi population? It's something I used to think about two years ago. I mean, I used to see about seven different types of Navis, all looking the same in some way, and then there's ones like you and Roll, Megaman and Quickman."

"They are basic Navis Chad. Navis like me and Quickman were once basic Navis too. But once you're accepted by an operator, you can be upgraded and made unique. Hub is a different case as he was created to be unique thanks to his data. He has blood DNA in him, thus it molded him into what he is now. His a Hu-Navi, something we call anything that's part Navi and part something else. I used to think they would be extremely rare."

"Used to? You've seen more than him and Darkmega?" Chad commented.

"...A few more, yes."

Darkmega sighed in pleasure, as Medi was still working on his back. "Well at least those Navi's have the life and real programs now regardless of being basic types. They can do what we do."

"That's...not entirely true. Sadly the life program is for perfectly humanoid Navis, with mouths and a body compatible. They can all venture out to the real world, but despite having the life program, they might not be able to have it activated until they're upgraded, which...without an OP doing it for you, isn't cheap, and your operator may not give you a compatible body. Take Gutsman as an example."

Chad thought about that. "I always wondered how Gutsman ate food with that mouth of his...So he can't?"

"Correct, it's not possible for him." Medi then returned to Chad and started to work on his back.

"Damn...Can't Dr Light or Wily try to make it work for them?"

"Honestly? They've moved on to what they can do to make those that can use it become more efficient with energy. To them the life program is done."

Darkmega then thought of something. "Say Medi. Whatever happened to your OP?"

"..." Medi stopped for a moment. "She died two years ago, during your hostile takeover of Earth X. Whereas a majority of people managed to get off the planet due to the Heartless outbreak, she didn't."

Darkmega wasn't exactly sure what to say. "M..Medi I'm so sorry. I didn't know I caused, I mean I know Navis are strongly bonded to their OP's-"

She soon returned to helping Chad relax. "It's fine Darkmega. I accepted her death along with everyone else's on that planet during the outbreak. I've still got the PET she once carried as a memento."

"But, I..."

"Honest, its ok. If it wasn't I certainly wouldn't sleep with you."

Darkmega nodded at that point.

Then all three had heard a cough in front of them.

Chad and Darkmega looked up, and standing there, fully dressed and looking at them, mostly Chad and Medi, was Anna. "So...I didn't find you in your room as I planned to surprise you and I come down here out of curiosity and find you here."

Chad was quick to go into panic. "Anna this is not what it looks like! This is not a threesome or anything of the sort, Medi suggested this idea and-"

Darkmega was close to Chad's level of worry "I didn't even want Chad here Anna, I was waiting for Medi so we can do something private in the water when he first came along-"

Medi just spoke in a matter of fact manner, over them both. "I was giving them both massages to help them relax. Chad said he's been quite tense lately, and Darkmega most likely felt the same, both due to Unicron. You can join in if you want."

Anna was surprised. "...You're, giving them massages?"

"Of course. As I said you can join in too."

Anna looked at Chad, giving him an intense look.

He smiled sheepishly.

She continued to stare in him down.

And he continued to look at her with that smile of his, pretty sure he could feel himself sweat under her gaze.

...

...

...

"Oh WOW Medi, this feels fantastic! Why didn't you ever mention you could do this before?"

"You never asked Anna. Happy to help."

Anna was now naked in the water, with Chad and Darkmega next to her, in the same position they were, getting the treatment they got from Medi, and was most certainly enjoying it.

"Hey...uhh...when do we get our turn again?" Chad asked, looking a little disappointed his girlfriend appears to be hogging the fun now.

"Anna is getting the same amount of time as you and Darkmega did, just wait."

"Awww..." Darkmega rested his head on his arms, looking sad.

---

In the province known as Xu, there, within the capital known as Xu Chang, in its central building, walking around a large table lit with several small candles, looking down at a map of the land of Manusya that almost covered the entire table, was Cao Cao.

Upon his return here from the meeting, he gathered his advisors and attempted to formulate a plan to counter the Shura. One he could put forward to He Jin before Sun Jian has to battle. But his advisors, Xun Yu, Jia Xu and Chen Gong, all kept changing the plans, kept bringing up different ideas, ones that required him to know the numbers and ability of the enemy...neither he had.

He wished Guo Jia and Sima Yi were present, but the former had been drinking and couldn't come, and the latter had chosen to remain with the SF for now, as did one of Wu's strategists, Zhou Yu. Now he had chosen to dismiss his advisors, and focused on the map himself, looking at every possible way the Shura could come, how they would come, and what numbers there might be...

He grabbed a goblet he had nearby, and took a sip of the fluid within, before putting it down and focusing once again, using quill he had. He kept trying to think...and soon, he had heard a knock on his door.

He had recently sent for someone with a fresh perspective to come and join him, to see if they would give any input. Someone not of this world...

"Did you call for me, Cao Cao?" Terra was at the doorway, looking at the rather exhausted Wei King.

"Yes. Forgive me for the lateness of the night Terra, but I require your eyes and mind. Did my messenger give you the scroll?" Cao Cao walked over to one side of the table, and sat down.

Terra nodded. "I've read through it. The advancing danger of the Shura that is coming and the current plan." He walked over, and noticed a spare seat opposite of Cao Cao and the table, and sat down, looking at the man.

"How are your people settling in?"

"I can't thank your world's hospitality to us. Especially after the recent grim news we received about our world. We're thankful that you allow us to stay."

"Of course. I'm glad to hear things are going smoothly. Now, on this map, my three most intelligent men have wrote down and planned out possible other plans, to suggest to the Han in order to improve our chances...but each and every one are based on the knowledge of the enemy's ability, and their numbers...what we face right now, is the great unknown. We do not know anything other than they will invade from one possible direction thus far, but I have highlighted other places that they were known for attacking before. I have also marked down the current known plan and it's numbers, troop location and movement. Look carefully Terra. I want your opinion."

Terra looked baffled. "Why?"

"Amuse me. You did so on Gaia IX, do so here, again." Cao Cao leaned back as he said that, smiling at him.

"Okay, let's see..." Terra stood up, and started to walk around the table, gazing down at the map.

To Cao Cao, as he closed his eyes, it seemed to be that time stopped. He could hear Terra's footsteps, the wind faintly out of his window, the sounds of the owls.

Then he noticed Terra had stopped moving, and soon spoke. "Cao Cao? Why don't we get those in the Liang mountains to retreat and reorganize at the south of Wu Wei?"

Cao Cao opened one eye, looking at the boy. "Hmm?"

"The armies belonging to Ma Teng, Ma Chao and Pang De. If your map is accurate, the mountains they have their troops placed in are easy to entrap and surround. If the Shura figure this out, Ma Teng and the others will be wiped out. Only Han Sui, that 4th segment of the army in the mountains, has a guaranteed escape route out and can easily send the reports with minimal threat to the scouts."

Cao Cao opened his other eye now. "Hm, but what of the armies near the fortress of Xi Jun. In two days they will be prepared. They expect reports of the Shura."

"Han Sui will do the work. Honestly from what's written down, He Jin refuses to use the fortress. If these Shura people are smart, they would take it before pushing onto the army. The armies of Sun Jian and Liu Zhang will be at a disadvantage, but it appears all three of your strategists expect the...sleeping dragon? To sort it out?" Terra raised his eyebrow, looking to Cao Cao.

"His known for turning something that's a disadvantage into an advantage. All three of them expect him to pull a victory, with major casualties to the numbers though." Cao Cao explained.

"Well...with the unknown factors here, what if he fails?"

That sparked Cao Cao's interest. Zhuge Liang, defeated. Something that has not been heard of before. "...Go on."

Terra seemed to think, rubbing his chin for a moment, before pointing out his idea on the map. "Let's go with if Sun Jian and the others suffer a defeat there. Their only good possible way out for a retreat is south of Wu Wei, over the three bridges that go over the canyon containing the Liang River. If the Shura are fast though, they'll be destroyed before getting over. Having even just Ma Teng set up near the bridges would make a vast difference in saving Sun Jian and the others. Ma Chao and Pang De can easily support too, jumping the Shura if they try to cross the bridges, and once everyone is across, burn the bridges to halt the Shura. The next route across is several miles east. It gives time to reorganize, we save at least some of those in the mountains to use again, and gives Sun Jian and the others a chance to fight another day."

Cao Cao got up, and walked over near Terra, looking at the part of the map that contained Liang Province. "A fall-back safety net for them should Zhuge Liang fail. It would save lives, give us an understanding of their capability and their numbers, and grant us time to ready a strike back to retake Liang...A pity He Jin would easily dismiss this as an ineffective plan."

"Ineffective?" Terra asked.

"I will be honest with you boy, over the years I have known He Jin, he has immense dislike for several of the current leaders on this world. The three here you see, Sun Jian, Liu Zhang and Ma Teng, are some of them. He Jin was especially unhappy that Zhuge Liang would support them, knowing the man was famous for his ability to make certain defeat into a victory."

Terra understood now. "It's a power play in a middle of a crisis."

Cao Cao nodded. "Yes. It's not the first time his tried this. He wants the Han to be a much more dominating force over the rest of us, military wise. Sun Jian and the others die, he leads the others to victory, then quietly takes over their lands 'in their honour'. Now, if Zhuge Liang does somehow fail despite everything, He Jin will get exactly what he wants. This is why he would dismiss this idea of yours."

Terra thought about this carefully, leaning on the table, before focusing on Cao Cao. "Why don't you tell Ma Teng and the others directly? Get them away from the mountains before it's too late?"

Cao Cao stared down at the map. "If it was found out I had done so, He Jin will turn on me as well. Going behind his back had always caused major problems between the kingdoms and the Han."

Terra gave him an answer to that Cao Cao never expected to hear. "It sounds like this 'He Jin' and this 'Han' are the major problem here. Maybe they need to get removed, then you lot would work together much more effectively."

Cao Cao found himself looking at the part of the map that belonged to the Han...ideas were roaming in his mind now, as Terra continued to talk."I mean his plan here isn't well thought out with the rest of you, it's seems more like he intends to let you all march to your deaths while his men stay at the back and provide support, not just him though. Look." Terra was pointing at one part near Liang, which had a written report about three armies, all with a rather sizable army. "It's him, someone called Yuan Shu, and a guy called Dong Zhuo, all rear supports. None of their forces are mixed into the front lines, while everyone else's are."

The Keyblade carrier stood up properly, and folded his arms. "If it becomes a struggle, you and the others are in danger of being killed, while they can let you all fight on for all your worth, and if you guys die, it just means more for them after. As you said about Sun Jian and the other two, He Jin and the Han can easily claim your lands."

He looked over to the Wei king, who seemed to have phased out. "Hey, Cao Cao?"

"...The Han itself..." Cao Cao mumbled, slowly looking over the map entirely. "No...If it were to be broken, the kingdoms would be divided once again, we would no longer follow a single entity. We, would be independent of one another. Chaos would reign once again like those of the times before the Han itself."

"You don't have to be." Terra decided to explain. "You could form a unity where all of you are on equal footing, like a government. We had that with Mickey and many of the worlds near our own. The one we had with the GF sadly, had clear favouritisms to certain people, but in our own little cluster, we were working together perfectly. Even if Mickey was classed as our leader, he would never look down on us. We were all treated fairly and given a fair bit of independence to do what we needed."

"...A clear figurehead, but where all are equal..." Cao Cao had listened carefully to Terra, and within his mind, a new path to take, one he had not seen before had come to light. "I see...Terra, I will follow your retreat plan and contact Ma Teng as quick as I am able. Thank you."

"No problem. But, about the Han..." Terra noticed the Wei King had walked over to one of the small candles, and seemed to mumble something, reaching out to it with his hand, before a cold wave of wind seemed to rush over the table, and all the candles went out, leaving the Keyblader and the king in the dim light of the moon, as the latter walked over to doors opposite of where Terra came in, and opened them.

"A new way will come. I feel now, I must see to it."

---

Two days had passed.

Out in the middle of a sandy, barren landscape, were hundreds of tents set up, surrounded by wooden walls protecting them from the storms that come and go. A sandstorm was occurring at this moment, sweeping through the area.

This was Liang Province, and as many flags clearly showed, waving within the harsh wind as the sun slowly rose, this camp belonged to Wu, with only one flag being unique, above one tent, which instead had the name Shu.

Zhuge Liang's tent. Inside it, sitting around a small table, were Sun Jian, Zhuge Liang, and Liu Zhang, who had come from his own camp early this morning when his forces received word from the scouts out of Han Sui's army in the mountains.

The Shura had come, at an alarming rate.

"-Nearly every mountain path has been swarmed by them. Han Sui has already been forced to fall back and is sending what forces he has left to Long You. He has had no report on the condition of Ma Teng, Ma Chao and Pang De's forces. There were reports of the encampments made by them have been seen ablaze as the Shura advanced, so it's safe to assume they've been wiped out." Liu Zhang explained to the other two, clearly in a very concerned state, and was about to continue speaking when Sun Jian interjected.

"Long You? That's too far south to provide any direct support to us. We need to get Han Sui to rally at our location, we'll stand a better chance."

"That's not all. Sun Jian, Zhuge Liang, the Shura have already taken over the fortress town of Zhang Ye, and Han Sui expects the Shura to advance here by...today. The numbers he reported are...are..."

"Well?" Sun Jian didn't like where this was going.

"At least three hundred thousand. That's the advancing force alone..."

Sun Jian felt his heart drop, as he focused on Zhuge Liang. "They...they almost outnumber us 4 to 1. We've only managed to muster around 78,000 for this. We're going to be at a heavy disadvantage."

Zhuge Liang though, showed no concern, as he waved his fan gently near his face.

This was when a messenger rushed into the tent, bowed before them. "Commanders! We've just received word from our scouts! Xi Jun has been taken over! By the Shura!"

That just made things worse. "We should not have listened to He Jin! We should've taken over the fort for this battle! They're literally at our gates!" Liu Zhang was panicking.

Zhuge Liang still, did not react. This caught Sun Jians attention. "Zhuge, I assume as the fabled sleeping dragon, you have already formulated a plan as all of this develops?"

That made Liu Zhang focus on Zhuge Liang as well. The strategist leaned back a little in his seat, before speaking to them. "I predicted they would take advantage of He Jin's failure. I have read much on the history of the Shura during my spare time, and no doubt whoever has taken the fort will be of great significance to their cause. They used the sandstorm to hide their movements in order to take it, and expect intimidation to earn them a victory."

"But we will prove them otherwise. I have already prepared for this. Their plan will be to storm this camp and end it here. But not from the fort, but from the north. We shall counter this." Zhuge lowered his fan towards a small map on the table before them. "To the north west, close to your camp that is stationed on Mi hill Liu Zhang, I ordered several sections of men to create a new camp. You will advance your forces to it. Sun Jian, you shall go to Mi hill and take over his old camp as your own, from there you will be able to overlook this one."

The tip of his fan then was pointed to the Xi Jun fort. "We shall have Sun Ce and Zhang Ren lead a raid unit to surprise and destroy the Shura within Xi Jun. Zhang Ren shall then occupy it, while Sun Ce will move his forces north east. Both men are very capable officers, and work well with small numbers."

Then he focused on where they are now. "I shall remain here with several scores of archers and swordsman waiting in ambush. We will set this place ablaze and during the confusion, rush down onto the enemy."

Sun Jian now could picture what Zhuge Liang was seeing. "Ah. With myself and Liu Zhang to the west, Sun Ce and Zhang Ren to the east, the enemy will come towards this camp and be right in the middle of both sides. With the figure you believe will be in Xi Jun defeated, and with the fire suddenly breaking out, combined with your ambushes and our charge the moment we see the blaze-"

"Misdirection, morale loss and confusion. These elements will break the Shura's spirit no matter what numbers they have and force them to withdraw for some time, granting the other kingdoms more time to send aid. With Xi Jun in our hands as well, after the battle we can regroup within it, and then hold out."

"What of the Sandstorm? It will lower our visibility against the Shura." Liu Zhang asked.

"Do not worry. I shall remove that obstacle." Zhuge Liang answered.

Both of the leaders felt relaxed on hearing that. Zhuge Liang is known for his miracles and magical ability to change the weather, a trait only a few other can pull off, but with great amounts of effort, whereas Zhuge Liang can pull off with a flick of his hand.

The men agreed to the plan, and quickly set out to ready the trap, to break the Shura despite the storm still sweeping the entire area, the sun becoming less and less visible as it rose up.

Sun Ce, upon being told of his mission, was quick to rally his men to one part of the camp, telling them it's a race to Xi Jun, to see if they can take the fort and defeat the officer there before Zhang Ren.

Zhang Ren, a man of fair build, with a grown beard, black armour and carrying a flexible bow with a quiver of arrows, was told of this by one of his officers overhearing Sun Ce, and told his men the same thing. It was a race for glory, both rushing out of their forces camps with numbers each of the minimum of four thousand men.

Sun Jian and his men meanwhile, fell back to Liu Zhang's base on the nearby hill, finally above the sandstorm, much to his relief, while Liu Zhang was sending his men down into it to get to the location provided by Zhuge Liang.

Everything was seemingly going the way Zhuge expected.

Though there was one major concern that soon rose.

Sun Ce was running ahead of his own men, sweating rushing down his face as he refused to slow down, seeing the large walls of Xi Jun ahead, he knew he was going to get there first. Whoever was there was gonna get a taste of his Hokuto Shinken art, he was picturing what kind of foe would it be, a large man with muscles like a bull, a man covered in some of the strongest metal known, a rival fighter who knew one of the arts of Nanto?

Before he knew it, he found himself rushing through the open gates of the fort, and going right to the middle of the place and-

He quickly slowed himself down, looking around. He was inside the place. But in the dead center of the place, was a huge pile of bodies…Men of this land, all piled up, lifeless, a pool of dark, murky blood all around them. The stench was quite…powerful to him, to say the least.

His men eventually came in with him.

There was nothing but their muttering, their worry about the fact there was no other sound then them and the wind, and the grisly scene before them.

"What the? I thought this place was occupied by the Shura, shouldn't they have jumped us by now?" Sun Ce turned to one of his officers, who carried the name Ling Cao, who shrugged, baffled himself by the issue.

"Beats me sir, but we've taken the place regardless. Let's close it up and let Zhang Ren take the other location. I think it's our duty now to see to the dead here. No doubt the Shura left them here as a warning to others before falling back."

Sun Ce agreed. "Good idea Ling. Alright men you heard him, secure the fort! The moment Zhang Ren approaches let him know we'll look after this location for him!"

Indeed, as the man himself arrived near the fort gates, he noticed the men on top of the fort walls was Sun Ce', calling down and saying about the bodies and the lack of Shura. Zhang Ren understood, and quickly changed his forces direction to move northward into position.

Still, something about the smooth sailing of this rubbed Sun Ce the wrong way. He decided to relay the information to Zhuge Liang via the com-link as his men began moving the bodies.

The strategist himself meanwhile, had stepped outside his tent, walking towards the camp's northern gate, gently waving his fan as always despite the wind rushing around him. He didn't answer the com-link, but listened to Sun Ce's report about the fort before the young man decided to give up trying to get in answer. He then got a call from Sun Jian, about how things were eerily quiet and no hostiles have been encountered and he received a messenger from Liu Zhang saying there was no sign of hostiles. Again, he chose to not answer.

He stopped at the gate, looking at the men nearby who had to pull it open, letting Zhuge Liang see out into the land beyond, covered in the powerful sandstorm. He looked behind him, and without saying a word, a couple of the soldiers in the camp grabbed him a chair, ran over to where he was, and placed it neatly behind him, allowing him to sit and continue to look out there.

"Well, everything appears to be more simple then even I had expected. I suppose it's time we see what we are dealing with."

Zhuge Liang slowly raised his fan upwards towards the sky, and closed his eyes. "Now the winds will die, and the sand will settle."

...

There was several minutes of silence, as the wind continue to howl and bellow around him, the sand rushing over him and the other men.

He slowly lowered his fan, and opened his eyes, once, he had a small smile on his face throughout all this, but now it was gone. He was concerned. "...The wind has not stopped? But that is my will."

The wind continued to thrive despite what he wanted.

That's when he received a call on his com-link from Sun Ce. "Zhuge! Zhuge Liang! We got a major problem! Han Sui is not going to Long You!"

That finally Zhuge's attention. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I just found his and his officers corpses here in Xi Jun!"

"…What?"

"All of them! Here! They must've been wiped out at the mountain pass! The bodies are cold and slightly rotted! They've been dead a few days!"

Zhuge Liang was stunned. He should've known this. He should've sensed it, yet he couldn't. Why? That questioned filled his mind for a few moments, before he saw something of blowing sands.

A single purple being appeared, small, fast and darting it's head around, as if searching for something.

Zhuge Liang knew what it was right away.

A Flood.

An Unversed.

This horrified him, something that the men around him have never seen him react as before, as he slowly stood up. "It, It can't be…"

Then, the sandstorm began to die, as another, larger being walked into view, carrying a twisted golden baton, tilting his hat slightly, as he looked to Zhuge and his camp.

The Symphony Master.

And around him…were hundreds upon hundreds of different Unversed, gathered together, all standing before the Shu adviser and his small band of troops.

Zhuge Liang felt a chill run down his spine. His mind was racing.

'She's coming.'

'She's here, on this world.'

'Why?'

'Why!?'

He quickly turned to one of his men. "Abandon the camp! We are to withdraw now! Back over the Liang river!"

"But sir, what of Sun Jian and—"

"There must be no delay!"

Sun Jian noticed the sandstorm was beginning to die down. He was thankful for that. Now rallying his men together in the middle of the camp, he spoke to them, readying for combat against the Shura, with him to his left, was Huang Gai, an old general who served Sun Jian since they were young adults, and to his right was Zhou Tai, a gruff warrior who was masterfully skilled with a katana.

It was as he was talking one of his guards from the walls of the place came from rushing to him. "Lord Sun Jian! Lord Sun Jian! The camp of Zhuge Liang! The enemy! The enemy are, are—"

Huang Gai glared at him. "Calm down at once man! Speak plainly!"

"Zhuge, Zhuge Liang has abandoned his post! And the enemy…the enemy are not of this world! They're everywhere!"

Sun Jian couldn't move fast enough to one of the walls, rushing up the steps to look over the land himself.

There they were, across the land, a wave of creatures that his never seen before, surrounding the location of his allies, the camp where Zhuge Liang was meant to be was swarmed over, and around his own camp, his own army, a gigantic wave of Unversed…

He knew what this meant all too well, with Zhuge Liang gone, his allies in danger, as well as himself.

He was about to get fucked over, big time.

And as he awaited the moment of the slaughter, in the midst of the Unversed, standing there with what appeared to be Shadow the hedgehog, but with dull blue quills and green eyes, was a woman in a white robe, a black mask over the top half of her face that was shaped like a butterfly, with two holes showing her star filled eyes...and with fair blue skin, and neon blue hair.

Symphony Master had wandered through the Unversed and stood before her, bending down onto one knee, silence between them, before the woman nodded.

"I see. He left knowing what you are...then continue to destroy those around him, until he finally decides to meet me."

---

Notes:

Yes these next few chapters will be of the Dynasty Warriors world. Better look that shit up.

The Unversed are of course, from Kingdom Hearts.

-Dragonridley