A universe away, the dark robed figure that freed Cell from his prison, the hell lord known as Dahak walked through a government complex completely invisible and undetectable to the humans around him.
"How delicious. The negativity. The greed. It spreads to all stations in life. These "guardians" are no different than other humans. Base, vile, weak." Dahak said with a dark smirk beneath his robes
"Yes. They are rather despicable." another voice said to Dahak
"No, no, no, you misunderstand me. I like humans. Those qualities are desirable. They are the things that make humans like us. Of course, the spirit can be nauseatingly pure. Even the darkest heart contains some love, some compassion; some qualities that I wish were not so close to the surface. You see that's why I need you Moloch. You have interesting properties, merging with machines and the like. With you here and with an army, you could make at least this pitiful world a bit more like what I'd want it to be." Dahak smiled
"No Slayer on this world to stop me." the bodiless demon, Moloch said remembering his defeat at Buffy's hands.
"No. But there are threats. Mutants, humans with powers, and even some gods exist here. They're much more powerful than the Slayer. However, you'll have an army." Dahak smiled as he and Moloch stopped in a room where huge robots were being manufactured by the oblivious humans.
They were called Sentinels.
"Will they get the job done?" Moloch asked of the giant machines.
"Controlled properly, yes. Though they can be dismantled with ease by some of the higher ups. However, I think there's a body a few miles south of here that would be more fitting to fight the super humans. It's being created by one after all. Once you interface with the computers here in this factory and activate the Sentinels, you can then take up permanent residence within said body. With complete control of the Sentinels and a few nuclear missiles of course. Make this world a Hell, Moloch. Make it burn and make the humans become animals. Make them embrace me. And it may be of interest to you that you may get a fair share of retribution on the Slayer." Dahak smiled
"What do you mean?" Moloch asked of Dahak.
"Well, the Slayer herself is not on this world. But one of her friends, the human Xander, is. I take it that will be an added incentive?" Dahak laughed
"Very much so. I'll take great pleasure in destroying him. Then I want the Slayer. And the redhead." Moloch scowled
"Perhaps if there's anything left of them by then. Until that day comes, please take pleasure in this world I've given you to whip into shape. Now I take my leave. Good day." Dahak said
"Wait! My new body! Where is it?" Moloch asked as he prepared to download within the computer systems that controlled the Sentinels
"Oh yes. It's at some compound in New York City. Some group called the Ultimates operate there." Dahak said departing.
"RAAAAAAAAAAARH!" Piccolo roared as he slammed into the ground.
He was then stomped horribly in the chest. His healing factor took care of that though. However, he was stomped again and again causing unbearable pain. Cell simply smiled.
"You know, that Namek healing factor that we share is most useful but at the same time can cause so much pain doesn't it Piccolo?", Cell laughed
"Leave him alone!" Gohan roared as he hit Cell repeatedly in the face.
"Gohan….sit down. I'm not ready to deal with you yet." Cell said slapping Gohan across the country.
"Gohan!" Piccolo screamed right before Cell stomped him again.
Cell laughed in delight as he punished the Namek. Artillery fire opened on Cell. From a distance he could see the military ground forces approaching. With a mere wave of his hand, Cell wiped them from the face of the earth.
Goku roared and slammed into Cell's lower back. Vegeta charged him from the side grabbing his arm, twisting in such a way he sought to break it. This gave Piccolo the leverage he needed and he grabbed Cell's legs. Cell laughed and snapped his arm forward, slamming Vegeta into the downed Piccolo. He then turned and kicked Goku away. But the sacrifice was not in vain. Vegeta had grabbed Piccolo and flown off with him, taking him to safety. Goku then smiled and unleashed a Kamehameha on Cell. Another one fired from across the county. Gohan.
From above, numerous ki bolts rained down on Cell. A Galac Gun blast and spiral beam was issued forth from Vegeta and Piccolo respectively. Dust flew into the air and the bolts of energy kept coming. The area was blanketed as immense explosions thundered. Cell floated high above the scene watching with amusement. He wasn't even down there when he fired.
"So tell me, have you got him yet?" Cell laughed. The stunned warriors looked up at Cell.
"Yes that's right. I'm faster than I've ever been. Not that I couldn't take those blasts. I just want to have fun. SOLAR FLARE!" Cell shouted as a burst of light issued forth and blinded the warriors.
Yamcha had managed to shield his eyes though. Of course he wished he had been blinded once he saw Cell approach him. Below Yamcha, the three eyed warrior Tien felt warm rain fall on him…and then something heavier hit his shoulder. When the haze that had blinded him cleared, he saw that he was bathed in blood. And some of Yamcha's innards were on his shoulder. Cell smiled and dropped the disemboweled warrior to the ground. He then was face to face with Tien.
"You know, I've always wondered why you kept that third eye. Is it really that helpful? It just makes you look like more of a freak. Allow me to fix it for you." Cell smiled. Tien screamed in pain as Cell's finger entered the third eye of his forehead and began to move around inside it.
Tien immediately blasted Cell but to no avail. Cell still was in front of him. Cell then smirked cruelly and a blast issued from the finger in Tien's head and exited the back of his head.
Android 18 was upon Cell then attacking him furiously. Her husband Krillin was behind him powering up his own attack, the Destructo Disk.
"18, it's been a while. Tell me; do you miss the days when you were inside me? I must say this I found it rather intimate. We made a good team. You gave me power and I…..well it wasn't exactly a fair partnership was it? It's been nice chatting with you though. Goodbye." Cell said teleporting away from her.
Android 18 then felt extreme pain as Krillin's Destructo Disk, meant for Cell, sliced into her as he disappeared from in front of her. Krillin screamed as she was cut in two. Cell teleported behind him and was ready to end it, when Goku charged into Cell.
"NO MORE CELL! NO MORE!" Goku said angrier than he had ever been before.
He had seen friends slaughtered and now his energy level was rising to higher levels. He actually caused Cell to bleed slightly from his lip. Cell scowled and threw Goku out of the atmosphere.
"Oh yes. Much more." Cell smiled
"What's a Balrog?" Buffy asked Hercules
"A huge demon. I've only heard tales of it destroying Persian Armies. It would appear they were accurate." Hercules replied as the forest was aglow
"So what do we do Herc?" Ioulus said, looking at his closest friend.
"Get the women and children out of here. We might have held off just the Orcs, but not the Balrog too." Hercules replied
"Hercules, I don' think there's time. The really ugly guys are getting closer." Buffy yelled.
Hercules looked at the orange lit forest and saw the Orcs approaching. Even more clearly than Buffy did because she was just a Slayer whereas he was a demigod. Where Buffy saw shadows dancing against the warm glow of the Balrog's presence, Hercules saw all the horror with crystal clarity. Yellow eyes, teeth gnashing, curved swords, it was a nightmare come to life. And behind all these Orcs was something far worse. Hercules saw it and he did despair. He knew fear as the immense fire demon set the forest ablaze with mere steps. Hercules saw death looming. There was one chance and one only.
"Fight.", Hercules again ordered, lifting a spear.
Buffy lifted a bow as did Ioulus and fifty other bowmen. The skies rained drops of wood and metal. Orcs screamed in pain and in anger. And they returned in kind. Arrows flew back to the fortress. Many fell short but the closer the Orcs got, the more successful the shots. For the most part the shots were sloppy and did no damage. But then again they didn't have to. All that was needed was to send wave after wav of Orc upon the fortress until the Balrog arrived. And then there would be no fortress.
Hercules threw another spear and met with the same results as last time. Orcs were injured and dying. They were covered in arrows and howled in agony. Some began to climb the fortress walls only to be riddled with still more arrows or stabbed as they reached the top. More attacked. Wave after wave. Arrows grew scarce. Beads of sweat ran down Buffy's face. Hercules cursed under his breath when he had no more spears. Ioulus looked grim.
Bowmen fell either shot full of arrows or skewered with the swords of climbing Orcs. Swordsmen inside the fortress shook and trembled as the Orcs pressed against the gates seeking entrance. Women held their children close and wept. And still after the battle had raged for a half an hour, Orcs kept coming. But they stopped abruptly and suddenly. Lurtz himself was on the front lines with the Creeper landing next to him both ordering a halt. The forest was aflame and despite the roaring crackling sound the air was still.
"Great. A Mexican standoff." Buffy said wiping her forehead.
" Huh? What are they waiting for?", Ioulus asked
"They're just going to watch now. Everyone off the wall!" Hercules roared, "Autolycus. The box you stole. Get it."
Autolycus scrambled down the ladder and into the huts within the fortress walls. Hercules stood ready. He looked at Ioulus and Buffy and it was a hard look. A look of steel. He nodded and lifted one last spear and threw it as a javelin in a final act of defiance. An approaching Orc scout was skewered
And as he did his eye's corner caught it. The great fire demon walked out of the forest. An immense plume of flame in the shape of a sword in its hand. It roared and when it did flames leapt and danced off of its devilish form.
"Hercules!" Autolycus yelled at the base of the fortress wall.
Hercules looked down at him and the King of Thieves immediately threw a small box up to the man-god. Hercules instantly ripped the box open and held its contents. They had a chance. He raised the object top his lips and bit. This was their only hope. And the sword of flame wielded by the Balrog exploded downwards destroying the wall. Autolycus rolled from the base of the wall with only hairs singed white on his head. Ioulus and Buffy both fell from the wall and onto the hard ground inside the fortress. Ioulus groaned and grabbed his leg while Buffy was up only a moment later, watching the sword rise again.
Not all souls were as fortunate as these. Many bowmen fell to the opposite side and were instantly beset and buried under Orc warriors like army ants. A few even fell upon the Balrog and were naught but ash a moment later. And Hercules… Hercules had taken the full brunt on the sword. No man, even a demigod could survive such a strike.
And Hercules stood slowly. No man could survive the strike. But a god could. The ambrosia Autolycus had stolen was a blessing. He had eaten it just a split second before being struck and that act had saved his life. Energy pulsated about Hercules as he looked at the Balrog, no longer in fear but in anger. The Balrog itself cocked its head in wonder. Never before had anything short of a powerful wizard survived the edge of his blade. He struck again, but Hercules was gone; faded into a white glow and reappeared behind the demon.
And he unleashed a great burst of energy into the air blinding foe and friend alike. The Balrog looked at his bolt and laughed in its throat. He needed to work on his aim. The Balrog swung at the godling again. Hercules merely teleported again and was now high above the demon floating in the air. As the son of Zeus he had access to the powers of the sky. He pooled his mystic energies and those of the natural elements and created an immense blast of lightning infused with magicks.
The Balrog went to one knee and roared in anger. Sword became whip and the stream of fire struck out for Hercules. Hercules again teleported and was mere inches from the face of the Balrog. He pooled his powers again and the lightning struck the beast in the face at point blank range this time. The Balrog fell back onto some unfortunate Orcs incinerating them. It sat up groggily and growled at the Olympian. And then its eyes turned to the skies. There was a glow about it as if hundreds of fireflies danced in it. Then he was knocked back again but an immense hammer that was hurled from one of the distant fireflies. A moment later, a rugged man in sheepskins with a horned helmet retrieved his hammer. Hercules smiled.
"Good to see you Thor." he said
Thor merely grunted and stamped his hammer on the ground summoning a great storm. Now the power of lightning times two was directed at the Balrog and he was sent tumbling back into the forest. Soon other "fireflies" appeared and cut down the Orcish army with spears, swords and bolts of energy. Hercules and Thor were soon joined in their efforts by a tall handsome man summoning harsh light against the Balrog. The great demon was faltering, rocked by the lightning and pierced by the light of Balder the Brave.
The storm Thor had created grew ever more powerful. The rains and winds stopped the blazing inferno of the forest and with the other talents of Balder and Hercules were killing the Balrog. The three gods pressed onwards and the light penetrated the great demon which was now screaming. Lurtz roared in defiance but was drowned out by the storm. The Creeper struggled to stay on his feet as the storm grew in intensity. Then when the tempest reached its climax, the Balrog exploded under the divine energies.
Lurtz was wiped from the face of the earth and the Creeper was torn to shreds and thrown to the air on torn bat wings only to crash to earth again. Orcs were blown away by the blast and those close enough were completely destroyed. In Athens, Sarumon felt the blast and heard the death cry of the Balrog. As soon as the storm came, it departed and the night sky was clear once more. Buffy was blown away by the immense display of power by the three gods.
"Wow." was all that escaped her lips.
Balder the Brave sighed out of breath and turned to Hercules who was smiling.
"Thank you for answering my flare." Hercules said
"It was an honor old friend." Balder replied.
And again Thor merely grunted.
"Umm excuse me?" Buffy spoke up, "But what the frig?"
"Oh. Buffy this is Balder and Thor. They're gods of the Aesir from the northern lands. Those are the Valkyrie." Hercules said pointing to the shield maidens riding winged horses and skewering the remaining Orcs, "Balder, Thor this is Q's representative from another realm."
"A pleasure." said Balder, wearing a genuine smile.
Thor merely grunted again.
"Nice to see some gods willing to get off their butts and help out. And by the way, OW!" Ioulus yelled while holding his leg
"What is it with you and breaking limbs?" Hercules smirked
"Allow me." Balder said walking to Ioulus and letting white light flow out and heal his injuries, "I'll attend to the other wounded."
"Anything you can do for my hair? Hello?! Well, last time I look to someone named Balder for help with my hair." Autolycus said holding his hand over the white streak.
"I'm no strategist like Tyr," Thor began, "But now that some gods have actually interfered, won't Dahak himself step in? The wizard in his employ should be trying to summon him as we speak."
"Wow. He speaks." Buffy snidely remarked.
"And he's right. When Dahak first sent his forces here, he made a mandate that if any gods would interfere they would be destroyed. I broke that mandate in becoming a god and in summoning the Aesir." Hercules stated.
"Well he can't take an entire pantheon of gods right?" Autolycus asked
"He did before." Hercules said grimly
"But this Creation Stone thingy can stop him right?" Buffy asked
"It can bind him for a while. The only problem is that we both need it Buffy. I honestly haven't reached a solution on that yet. I want to give it to you so that it can be used to stop Dahak, but I don't want my world to die." Hercules said to the young Slayer.
"Perhaps you won't need it." Balder called over, "The Paints of Destiny could be used to at least delay Dahak's advance."
"The whats of what?" Buffy asked raising an eyebrow
"A few years ago Balder and Thor's brother Loki used these paints that could alter reality after you painted a picture of what you wanted with them. He wanted to rule the Northern lands. Luckily I stopped him and put things as they were. I hadn't even given them a second thought." Hercules explained
"But if this Dahak has gotten so much more powerful…." Buffy began
"They won't keep him out indefinitely but they could buy us some time to figure out what to do with the Stone. Thor, would you?" Hercules said turning to the thunder god.
"I'll get them. But I'm not your errand boy Olympian." Thor growled before slamming his hammer to the ground and disappearing in a shower of lightning.
"Well, he's gotten more pleasant." Hercules smirked before turning to Buffy, "Now do you want to debate where the Stone should go?"
Buffy was deep in thought before looking at Hercules, Ioulus, and Autolycus.
"These Paints of Destiny can basically do anything right?" she asked.
"They can alter reality and possibly hold Dahak out." Hercules replied, "But the Creation Stone is what Dahak fears."
"So they can do almost anything?" Buffy replied.
Hercules nodded, "Yes, that's what I just said."
"So…then they could make a copy of the Creation Stone for this world, when I can take the original as a weapon?" Buffy said.
Hercules, Ioulus, and Autolycus all paused…and looked at each other…and had confused looks on their faces.
"Yeah….I uh…suppose so." Hercules said, "I had uh…never thought of it that way."
Buffy smirked.
"Well, we call that 21st century thinking." Buffy said, "No wonder Q sent me here."