The group arrived in the Mountain Sector and found a majority of its terrain replaced with volcanic mountains and flowing lava rivers all around.
"Wow…LOKI really took some creative liberties with this place." Dan said. "This place used to be so peaceful."
"We can get it that way again if we go to the last tower." Aelita said.
"Well there doesn't seem to be any…" Ruby said before they stopped and saw small viruses walking around like patrollers. And to the group's surprise…
"Mini Kolossi?" Odd said.
Virus Type: Malware
"Hmm...Impressive. They're definitely based off the Kolossus, but are only half the height yet still possess all the strength." Xavier said. "LOKI likely has them as sentries to chase down anyone approaching the tower."
"The OG Kolossus was already a pain, these smaller ones will probably be just as much. You'll need to use stealth to get past all of them." Jeremie said.
"Gonna be a bit of a challenge, especially with how hot it is here, but we can handle it if it means not fighting those things." Catra said.
"Plus, since they're smaller, they're probably not as strong as the OG Kolossus. That's probably our one saving grace against these things." David said.
"Oh really?" Xavier said as he tossed a rock near one of them as one of the sentries attacked a rock wall, making it crumble. "Small, Strong and likely faster. Gotta give LOKI credit, he really improved on my design. Although…they don't have my eye on them anywhere, which means they can be dispatched through normal means."
"Well, that's quite the sanity savior." Ulrich said.
"We can at least stealth takedown any of them too close to us, so long as they dont notice us." Kaibara said. "Let's give it a shot."
(Cue: Ghost - Avery Alexander)
With that, the group advanced into the area, avoiding as many of the Malwares as possible. Any single Malwares they spotted alone, they took out from a distance using their long range fighters. They kept as stealthy as possible even with such large numbers as they continued to make their way to the tower.
"Hey David, what was it like in Edo Japan? Y'know, with Oboromaru, sneaking around Ode Iou's castle?" Gemini asked.
"Well, comparatively speaking… It was like we were Phantom Thieves." David said. "We tried to knock out all of Ode Iou's subordinates. However, one other ninja wasn't so lucky. I… I think he was wearing a blue ninja garb? I can't really tell. I know there were two of them sneaking around. One in blue, and one in green."
"I can back up his story. He was wearing blue." Maki said. "He was impaled in the stomach by a spear."
"Ouch. Poor guy." Eddy winced. "Reminds me of something that happened on our end. One of the wrestlers Masaru fought beat this heckler up in front of his kid. It was crazy."
"Really? We saw two cavemen when we reached the sacrificial altar and one of them fell down a hole. I think they were father and son too." Jexi said.
"Weird. We saw a guy try to challenge the people who attacked my sensei's school to avenge his father." Lei said.
The group considered the implications of these events for a moment.
"...Huh." ZS said, vocalizing the shared thought between the group members.
"Just curious but was the name of the guys you met something like…Wa Tei Na Be?" Hope asked.
"Kind of, sort of." David said.
"I think we met with universal counterparts or historical counterparts of the same duo when we were all split up against Odio." Jexi said.
"And every single one of them got badly treated… think the others saw something like that in their timelines?" Flamberge wondered.
"Most likely." Leopardmon said..
"Weird how things like that work out." Eddy asked.
"Yeah…" they all said, awestruck by the realization.
(end song)
"Look, we're almost there!" Ash K said, seeing the tower up ahead.
"Now we just need to…" Aelita said as the ground shook and rumbled. "What?" she said as they saw a hand emerging from the mountain behind the tower.
"I thought LOKI couldn't control your monsters." Odd said.
"He can't…meaning that's another of his minions." Xavier said as rising from the mountain was a giant creature made of flames.
"Guess that's Surtur…the fire demon." Izuku said.
"Hoo…boy, he's big." Scarlet said.
"Wait, in order to deactivate the tower… we gotta face, THAT thing?!" Bernadetta exclaimed.
"Cmon, Bern, you know we've taken down way bigger and scarier things than this guy." Flamberge said.
"Doesn't change the fact it's a giant monster that wants to kill us. I just wanna go back to my room and hide." Bernadetta said.
"Not exactly an option at this point, Bern." Mark pointed out. "The only way out is through!"
(Cue: PANDEMONIUM - Heaven Pierce Her)
The towering fire giant looked down at the group before it let out a roar, before making a fist and throwing it towards the group.
Ruin of Asgard
Surtur
"Here it comes…!" Alphen said as he instinctively blocked Surtur's fist with his sword. He let out an exertion as he pushed back against it and leaped into the air. "Go back DOWN!" he said, stunning it with a strike to its face.
"Rush him!" Mark yelled, taking to the air and peppering the fire giant with Ki blasts. "Let's finish this quickly!"
"Huh…isn't it kinda…weird…" Jexi said as they were pushing over Surtur.
"Weird?" Natsu asked.
"We're beating back this guy…and he's supposed to guard the tower." Jexi said.
"Yeah, it seems almost too easy." David said. "I think we can all agree that LOKI is not even trying at this point."
"Something's not right…" Goku spoke up. "I can tell this thing's strong…but it's barely even trying. Like it's busy doing something else."
"This is just speculation, but… usually when guys fight like this, it means they're giving everything else they've got to suppress something that they don't want getting out." Lei said.
"But this is a virtual monster…it shouldn't even have anything like that." Aelita said.
(end song)
As the group was conversing, they continued to attack Surtur, until the fire giant stopped moving and clutched its chest in pain.
"Eh? What, you're getting heartburn now-" Emo started to ask.
"This shell, to hold…ME?!"
The group saw two shining, golden arms begin to claw their way out of Surtur's chest before the fire giant exploded in a flash of light, blinding the group for a moment. When the light faded, all that remained of Surtur were embers floating in the hot winds.
"...What the heck just happened?" Eddy asked.
"Surtur…exploded. But…I don't think it was self destruction." Yang said.
"Hey, what's that thingy down there?" Pinkie Pie-2 said looking down where a small patch of land was in the middle of the lava.
On that patch of land was what looked like a tall, burly, luminescent humanoid. His golden translucent body gave a clear view of his circulatory system, which seemed to be the only organs present. His head was a sun-like ball of light, with his face only visible as a red outline in the light. His hands and feet appeared to be coated in blood.
"No way…Sisyphus!" Hera said.
"Sisyphus? Like the guy who offended the Greek gods and was punished by pushing a boulder up a hill for all eternity?" Sunset asked.
"Looks like all that pushing finally paid off." SE said dumbly, awestruck by the sheer power the man was giving off. "LOKI created a copy of this guy?"
"No…he didn't. That is the real deal…well, his soul anyway." Akira said.
"Ah…to move again…to feel sensation once more…" the man said, standing straight up and observing his surroundings. "Hmm…this is not the city of Dis. Ah, well…it doesn't matter, I have slept long enough. The kingdom of Heaven has long since forgotten my name, and I am EAGER to make them remember."
Sisyphus then looked up, seeing the group looking down at him warily. "What's this? Visitors…hmm…indeed." he mused before he seemed to disappear from their view.
"Huh? Where'd he-?"
"And who are you…children…supposed to be?"
The group spun around to see Sisyphus behind them.
"No one that should matter to you." David said bluntly.
"Hmm…ah…on the contrary, the blood of many gods stains your hands." Sisyphus remarked. "I must admit, I'm curious about your skills, Travelers. And so, before I tear down the cities, and crush the armies of Heaven... you all shall do as an appetizer."
"Oh boy…" Bow said.
"Guys…what're our odds we can take this guy?" Eddy asked.
"I'd say not very good. We'd be lucky to even make a dent in him." David said.
"I'm sure you should prove to be a bit challenging." Sisyphus said. "Come forth, children of existence…and DIE."
Rebellious Soul
Sisyphus Prime
(Cue: WAR - Heaven Pierce Her)
"Aelita…there's no way this guy is going to let us go without a fight." Jexi said. "Run to the tower while we keep him busy."
"But…" Aelita said.
"GO!" Jexi called out as Aelita took off.
"Don't get too crazy with this guy just yet. We just need to hold him off until Aelita deactivates the tower." David said.
"Yeah…we got this. We got-" Mark started before Sisyphus grabbed Mark by the head, slammed him to the ground, and began dragging him across the rocky terrain before smashing him into a cliff face.
"Destroy!" Sisyphus Prime yelled, dashing back towards the group and hitting Hope with an uppercut that sent him flying.
"Argh…!" Hope yelled as he was sent flying. "Forget Lyoko damage, I actually FELT that!" he said as he recovered. "This guy's way too strong!"
"Uh…what's that glint on you?" SE asked.
"Huh? What glint?" Hope asked, looking down and seeing a glint on his chest, which began to shine. "...Oh."
The glint then blew up, creating a massive explosion in the air. Hope then fell to the ground, badly hurt.
"C'mon Vegeta!" Goku yelled, going Super Saiyan Blue as he charged Sisyphus Prime.
"Don't order me around, Kakarot!" Vegeta yelled as he charged alongside him in the same form. The two Saiyans each threw a punch at the soul…only for him to catch both of them in each hand.
"Nice try!" Sisyphus said as he slammed them together, then threw them both into the air. "Be Gone!" he yelled as he slammed his palms together, creating a vertical shockwave that struck them hard.
"This…is gonna suck." Kaminari said as Sisyphus knocked him aside before knocking away a number of the Alliance members.
"Keep them coming!" the soul demanded as he caught Natsu's head in a vice grip, slamming the Dragon Slayer's cranium on the ground and stomping on it, practically burying him.
"We're in deep trouble, aren't we?" Geiz asked, feeling uneasy as they watched Sisyphus pretty much wiping the floor on the alliance.
"Deep, deep trouble." Lola replied.
"(Tch… I might have a chance if I had Geiz Revive right now.)" Geiz thought.
"Seriously, all we were trying to do was…" Law said before Sisyphus hit him in the chest with a spin kick, knocking the wind out of him and knocking him back quite far.
"How long are you going to watch?" Sisyphus said to those who hadn't attacked yet. "Come! Fight!"
"Guess we have no other choice!" Copen said as Team XDR prepared themselves. "Lola, when this is over, start healing us non-stop with your powers."
"Okay, but don't you dare die here!" Lola replied.
"Not planning to." Copen replied, clenching his relic necklace around his neck. "Ignite, Airgeltam!"
The Luminous Avenger began to glow in crimson red light until his form changed once the light dispersed, donning him into his Faust Robe with a shield as an Armed Gear. His armor consists of a mostly black and white bodysuit covering his entire body, crimson red armed boots with thrusters on each opposite end of his lower knees, silver colored knee guards, each with a cross shaped crimson red crystal, a crimson red gauntlet on his fight forearm while his left forearm has a slightly more bulky crimson red and white gauntlet along with a crimson red and white bulky shoulder pad, a mostly silver colored chestplate with along with a right shoulder pad with a large crimson red highlighted 'X' mark on his chestplate, and an 'X' shaped crimson red crystal slightly above the large 'X' on his chest plate and near his neck, thrusters on his back that can generate crimson red phoenix wings for speed and flight, and lastly on his head are crimson red and white phoenix winged shaped headphones.
A handle appeared from the back of his shield as he pulled it out, revealing it to be a whip-sword similar to Maria's Armed Gear. "Alright, you want a fight, I'll gladly give you one!" Copen declared, rushing towards Sisyphus and attacking with his Burning Divider pistol with support laser fire from his bits.
"YES! That's it!" Sisyphus Prime cheered as he rushed towards Copen, taking the pistol shots and laser fire before he jumped up just before reaching Copen.
"Copen, HARD RIGHT!" ZS yelled in warning.
"!" Copen complied, dashing to his right to evade the soul's ground pound and countered with his whip-sword, slashing at the soul.
That attack method ended when Sisyphus grabbed the whip-sword with his bare hand, holding it in place. "You seem unfamiliar with getting close in fights. Here…let me help you with that!" the king said, yanking on the whip sword to bring Copen closer before slamming the avenger's head with his own, the XDR member falling to the ground, his ears ringing.
"Copen!" Ashe exclaimed, going to his aid.
"That's it, you're gonna get it from me!" Geiz growled, summoning his Arm Legion from his Legatus as the former wore the latter as armor, rushed towards Sisyphus and fired homing lasers from the fingers, then delivered a flurry of punches once he got close.
Unfortunately, Sisyphus was able to block every single attack without even flinching and grabbed the Legion's arms before it could punch. "Good effort… but not good enough." He spoke before delivering the same headbutt he did to Copen onto it and Geiz, defeating the Legion and sending the Rider flying and crashed several steps away, knocking him out.
"Geiz!" Theresa exclaimed, running to his aid.
"What power…" Bronya whispered in shock.
"Sacre Bleu…" Charlotte also whispered. "He's…. too strong…"
"Houki?" Cecilia asked.
"I… I don't think I can beat him with my current power." Houki answered while shuddering. "Even with Kenran Butou, it might not be enough…"
Lingyin gulped. "We're dead. We are so dead."
"All right. I've had enough of this!" David said before Sisyphus appeared before him.
"Too slow." he muttered before sending the ice devil flying before sending him back down with a drop kick.
"I'm sick of people like you! Idiots who destroy and kill just because they can! Because they think they're stronger than everyone else! Well, you know what?!" David yelled, entering his Sapphire God: Armament Complete Form. "Y̢ou̸'rè N̵O̸T̕!̢"
The Prime Soul's body shifted, looking interested, then excited at the boy's power. "Ah, a god's full power! Yes, show me! Hit me with everything you have!"
"You̷ want ̸it̡? ́Y҉ơư got͠ i̷t̷. ͠J҉u͡s͠t͏ don't͡ ͟c̕ome̷ ̨cr̀y̛iǹg l͢at̛e͝r̸.͡" David said as he started to grapple with Sisyphus before he broke it, and did a move reminiscent of Terry's Power Dunk. As he finished that, he went into a frenzy, attacking with a mixture of claw attacks and high-powered kicks.
Sisyphus Prime blocked David's hit, though some managed to get through, the blows stinging against his translucent body. "Hahaha…AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Not even the angel Gabriel showed this much power! Now THIS is a battle that only the invasion of Heaven could rival!"
"Y̷ou ͏thin̵k ͢th͡at's t͜h͡e bes͝t I'̸ve go͡t?͘ ͡Well̶, you'̷re ̧déa̕d ͜wrong.͡ L͘et m͠e ̧sh͜o̷w͟ y̷ou th̢e re͢s̴u̵lts ҉o̷f̵ ḿy t͏rainin̛g͢!" David said as he does a backflip that sends Sisyphus into the air as orbs of light and darkness formed in his hands. He joins them together to create a powerful orb of energy. "Sap͠phirę ̨God's..͡. U̶ltima͏t͜e A͏rt!̵ Eclip҉s͜e Bl̨a͠s̵t!" he said as he fired off a powerful beam at Sisyphus.
Sisyphus Prime blocked the beam with all his might, letting out a powerful exertion as both sides pushed against each other.
"Keep it up David, you're holding him back! Keep him focused on you until Aelita can deactivate the tower!" Ichiro said.
"Ģot i҉t.̧ ͜Ho͠pefull͟y, ̶th҉is͠ f͏o͡r҉m̡ ͡w͘ill͞ ̷l̵a̡st ̶u͝nt̕il t̷h͞en." David said.
"Xavier, once Aelita deactivates the tower, prepare for emergency teleportation out of the sector!" Ichiro told the robot.
"Y-Yes! Right away!" Xavier said.
The beam struggle between David and Sisyphus continued, and the Prime Soul slowly pushed against the beam, coming closer and closer to the Ice Devil.
"I'll ask again. Who are you?" Sisyphus asked as he came within talking distance.
"Y͠o͜u̸ wan͝t̷ ̨to ̸know who ̛I a͟m͢ t҉h͝at̨ ̕ba̷d͢ly͟?̕ ̴Fin͏e͝.̧ ͏I..̴.͟ Am David Ishihara,͝ a ha͢lf͠-͏bl͜o͞od̛ed̕ Lu̡nari͢a͟n ́r̴a̛is̢ed͝ in ͘T͏oky̕o.͝ I am ͘not̶ ̢on̛ly̶ a D͠emon S̢l̢ay̴e͡r̵,̴ ̸bưt ͞a͜l̀so.̷..a͟ ҉Go͟d͏ ̕Slaýer̴, a҉ ͢w͜arr̢iơr, a͟nd ͏a̕n͠ over̕a͡l̛l ̡ma̢n amońg̵ me͘n̕. Don'̢t ͡y̸o͠u..̸.͝ever͟ f̨orge̶t that!̸" David said as he pushed even more power into the blast.
"David…Ishihara." Sisyphus Prime repeated. "I see. I'll remember that. You are worthy of that and much more."
Before Sysiphus could fully break through David's Eclipse Blast and attack him, that was when Aelita had entered Code Lyoko as the pulse spread across the Mountain Sector, returning it to normal.
(end song)
"Hmm…that's new." Sisyphus Prime remarked.
"The tower's been deactivated! Xavier, now!" Adora called.
"Activating teleport now!" Xavier called out, the group members beginning to disappear.
"Damn…it seems our fight is over, Ishihara." Sisyphus said, annoyed at the turn of events. "For now, at least."
"Y̴ep͡.̴ T̴im͜e͜ t̡o ͘g͞o̢.͘ W̧e'̡l̛l f͢i̕n͢ish this an̵ot͡ḩer̡ time͞,̕ ̡k̵ay̷?͟" David asked as he placed two fingers to his forehead and winked as he disappeared, his blast dissipating.
"...Grow stronger, boy." Sisyphus said. "And the next time we meet, neither of us will regret the outcome…whatever it may be." the Prime Soul said as he walked away. "Now…to find a way out…"
The group found themselves back where they started in the Ice Sector, safe from any danger.
"Oh man, that was WAY too close…!" Scorpia said. "Thanks David. If you hadn't bought us enough time, our butts would've been derezzed for sure."
"Y͜ea̧h.҉.͠. Honest̕ly. ̴I didn̷'t th͡in̴k I would̵ even̴ làs҉t ̵t͠h̸a͝t long. I guess͡ Ço̡o͘l͠er's tr͠aini̧ng r͢ȩa̴lly͝ di̛d ̨he̢lp.̸" David said before he reverted, stumbling a little before he caught himself. "Well, that…should be all four towers."
"And that means LOKI's lost his defense. We can breach Sector 5 and finally end his madness." Ichiro said.
"Right. After…we rest for a little while." Jexi said as they all collapsed to the ground.
"Holy crap, we almost freaking died back there!" Mark yelled out. "David, forget everything Vegeta said about Cooler earlier. We're getting in on your guy's training."
"I'm sure he'd appreciate it. But… He's kind of got some lingering issues with Goku and Vegeta himself." David said. "I mean, you guys have to be aware he has a reputation to uphold."
"This proves we…' Hope said.
"Say it and we'll kill you." Akira said.
"He gets the message. He knows not to put his foot in his mouth. Right, Hope?" Glimmer asked.
"Yeah, totally." Hope nodded.
"I'm glad we're getting the chance to rest now. Because once we reach Sector 5, there might not be any turning back until we finish this thing." Miu said..
"Let's take all the time we need then." Ichiro said. "After coming this far, we deserve the break."
"Hang tight LOKI…we're coming for you." Jexi said.
Meanwhile with Team XDR, they are also taking a break with Lola using her Septima sparkles to heal them. "Okay, it's official, that guy is way more dangerous than the Neo Time Jackers!" Lola stated.
"Even with the Faust Robe, it's still not enough…" Copen (already reverted to Base Form) muttered before punching the ground in frustration. "Damn it!"
"Easy there, Copen! You're still recovering!" Laura said.
Copen sighed. "...Sorry. But at this rate, I'm going to have to give my gear an overhaul in order to stand a chance. My current one is starting to feel outdated."
"That might be a wise decision." Bronya agreed.
"Our IS Frames need to be upgraded as well." Charlotte stated.
"And we also need to train our own bodies and skills." Houki added.
"Way ahead of you." Ashe agreed. "Even with my A-Trans, I'm still going to get curb-stomped by that guy."
"Yeah, no joke." Model A agreed, speaking from Ashe's armor.
"I hate to admit it, but not even Geiz Revive will be enough to beat him." Geiz admitted. "Although, Woz did mention a final form for Geiz called Geiz Majesty."
"Geiz Majesty?" Cecilia repeated.
"Mhm." Geiz nodded. "It has the same weapon and Rider summoning as Grand Zi-O, but with the secondary Heisei Riders. Though it doesn't have the same time manipulation abilities like Grand Zi-O does. As for his other abilities, maybe kind of like Geiz Revive with the speed and power forms."
"Speed and power, huh…" Copen repeated with his hand on his chin.
"Oh I know that look, Ix." Lola noticed. "You got some ideas cooking in that head of yours?"
"Heh, right on the mark, Lola." Copen smirked. "And Geiz Revive might be the key to that idea."
"Then feel free to look at Geiz Revive's battle footage for some inspiration." Geiz suggested.
"I'll do that once we're back in our multiverse." Copen noted.
"Still… I wonder how Zeo and the others are doing in Bayonetta's world?" Theresa pondered.
"Considering how crazy that world is… it's a whole lot of shit." Geiz answered. "But at least members of the Hero Alliance are with them, so they'll be fine."
"I hope you're right." Lingyin said.
"But for now, let's hope our current strength will be enough to stop LOKI." Bronya stated as they continued their rest period.
"And once that's done, we're all going to Starfall Islands to finish this adventure." Theresa added.
As the heroes rested, the Dark Garden members pondered.
"Why the hell was Sisyphus even here? That one wasn't even supposed to be here." Akira said. "Things must be really going off in the Demon Universe… if that's the case, then I'm glad these guys helped me outta my slump. Because Devilman might be needed soon more than ever."