This is it folks, almost halfway through the story from here. Let the battle begin!
Chapter 22: Knowhere Mining Station:
Unknwon World – Unknown Location:
"Do we have confirmation that they're getting ready to move?" Madame N.I. asked as she read the report sent by their spies in Galactic Federation territory. They had gotten wind of Maleficent's plan to make a move for the Mind Stone, and as leader of the Legion, she had decided that it was time to take action.
"The report has been confirmed, my lady," the salmon-haired High Praetor answered with a bow. "That witch and her cohorts are on Knowhere now, attempting to bargain with that wretch Tivan for the Mind Stone. Maleficent cannot be allowed to add a second stone to her collection, so I recommend a swift strike to retrieve the stone for ourselves. We were going to take it anyway, she's simply forcing us to accelerate our plans." N.I. nodded, conceding her subordinate's point. That didn't necessarily mean that she was ready for open warfare.
"Be that as it may, High Praetor Aurilam," the raven haired commander in chief of the Legion replied. "But we cannot simply come charging out into the open with each potential target like cockroaches or ants crawling out of the woodwork when the owners of the house drop food on the floor. We need to be cautious. Play it safe." The High Praetor snorted.
"Madame N.I, we've been playing it safe for eight thousand years," Aurilam snapped. "While I understand your reticence towards all-out war, we cannot hide in the shadows any longer now that The Endgame approaches. Now that the Infinity Stones are in play, the game has changed. And if we are going to win, we will need to change our tactics with them." For a moment, N.I. considered her options. On the one hand, she had little doubt that despite the numerical advantage, the Legion would swiftly be crushed in an open conflict. On the other hand…
"Very well," she responded with a sigh of defeat. "We'll begin the use of guerilla tactics to throw our enemies off guard. Take advantage of their ignorance and our secrecy to avoid detection and strike without warning. Take a Cohort to Knowhere and return with the Mind Stone. If Maleficent brings the Tesseract with her, do not attempt to recover it unless you are absolutely certain that you can do so with minimal casualties. I don't want to lost a hundred soldiers over a secondary objective when I can achieve the primary one without casualties."
"As you wish, my Lady," Aurilam replied and withdrew to the mission briefing room of the base to prepare for this strike. N.I. let out a sigh. There was definitely truth to the old saying "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." As General of the Legion, she had to juggle a variety of different jobs to make their inner workings run smoothly. Balancing the rivalries of different Legionnaires, keeping their bases and organization a secret, and advancing their goal of achieving a brighter future for humankind was an exhausting job, and a part of her wished that her predecessor was there to offer her advice.
But unfortunately, the nature of her promotion meant that this wasn't possible. But now that she thought about it, there was something she could do to ease her stress. In a whirlwind of black hair and white fabric, N.I. stood up from her desk and left her office behind. She was headed into the very heart of the facility. A public room set aside for silent contemplation and trading news and advice with fellow Legionnaires. The upper echelons of the Legion had not used the shrine built inside the chamber since Xehanort's demise, but while nobody here was particularly religious, now more than ever, N.I. needed the guidance from the one person that the Legion ever looked to for guidance. She would have to pray to the Foreteller.
Knowhere Mining Station – The Collector's Museum:
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maleficent," the tall human-looking man with flamboyant white hair remarked in what sounded like a bored monotone as he bowed before the inner circle of the Hellfire Club as they marched inside his archives. "My spies have told me much about you. To what do I owe this occaision?"
"Your Infinity Stone," the green-skinned sorceress demanded bluntly, skipping the formalities and getting right to the point. "I know it's locked away in here somewhere, and I need it for my plans." She didn't bother trying to negotiate. The Black Cauldron was going to be her bargaining chip, but thanks to this insolent "Legion", she didn't have time to come up with something to offer in exchange. So she would have to do things the old fashioned way and either recruit Mr. Taneleer Tivan or else take what she wanted by force. For all the collector's hobby of preserving endangered species in the event of potential cataclysms, Tivan was also a ruthless black market deal broker, and he had not lasted this long by being upfront about what he did and did not have. Which was why his expression did not change at Maleficent's pronouncement.
"The Infinity Stones are incredibly rare. Even I, with all my resources, have never been able to find even one." Loki snorted in mock disgust.
"Oh please," he retorted. "I overheard my brother explicitly telling his companions that he had entrusted the Mind Stone to your care after he and his brothers and sisters in arms seized it from a Midgardian terrorist organization. We all know you have it, Tivan, so there's no point continuing this little bit of half-truth laden politeness judo." The reclusive billionaire and xeno-zoologist, finally deciding that the jig was up, placed his hands behind his back. From there, his entire demeanor changed. Gone was the boredom of the idle rich, replaced by the burning coldness of a master manipulator, a chess master examining the board, a predator deciding the best way to kill their prey.
"What do you have to offer me in exchange for the Stone?" he inquired, no longer bothering with hiding the fact that the object was in his possession. "And why should I give it to you?"
"Because there are countless more species in my corner of the universe for you to add to your collection," the dark fairy answered coyly. "As for what I have to offer in exchange, I thought the prospect of unrestricted access to Terran species to add to your collection might arouse your scientific curiosity." The collector's eyes lit up like fireworks at the thought. The remnants of HYDRA had gone to great lengths to collect information from magical shops and abandoned Huntsclan lairs on the strengths and weaknesses of different magical species for one to theoretically capture them, and Maleficent knew that because of the fact that no similar species existed beyond Earth (and Coalition space, but she wasn't about to tell Tivan that), Taneleer would be salivating at the chance to acquire new and unknown creatures for his collection.
"We have a deal," Tivan nodded his head in agreement and ordered his new assistant to fetch the Mind Stone from its vault. While they waited, some members of Maleficent's party had some questions to ask the reclusive collector.
"We're looking for our brother," Kadaj explained as he paced back and forth across the crowded confines of the museum's main room. "You've probably met him, or at least heard of him. Probably in the company of those Ravager filth. Our father had hired them to bring him home to Maveth but they reneged on their deal and kept him, like he was a commodity to be traded or sold. That was thirty three years ago, and we'd like to know where we can find him." Despite The Collector's outwardly calm appearance, his mind was roiling in shock. Surely these three are not related to that rogue, Tivan wondered incredulously to himself. Unless their physical resemblance is more from their mother's side, or maybe it was the other one who inherited his mother's looks, and these three received their father's? And further speculation on the matter was cut short when a familiar voice rang out.
"So you've finally crawled out of hiding at long last, Maleficent," Riku called from somewhere in the Archives. Behind the Hellfire Club guards, a platoon of Coalition soldiers led by Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Dilan stormed into the archive, blocking their standard escape route. With a token battle cry, the warriors of light charged into battle. Maleficent quickly took charge of the situation, ordering half the troops (consisting of a few scores of Heartless, and about a dozen Dark Elves brought by Malekith for the visit), while ordering Demona, Helga, Diablo, Nebula, and the Leroys to head to the vault and retrieve the Mind Stone. Maleficent had only recently learned to master the teleportation powers of the Tesseract, and as such was not willing to risk abandoning their position, by Cube or by Corridor, until she had the second Infinity Stone in hand.
Kairi broke off to burn her way through the Heartless while Donald and Goofy dealt with the Dark Elves. Behind her, Maleficent turned, only for her drawn to clench in fury and shock as Riku, Sora, and that wretched ex-pawn of Xehanort's, Vanitas, leap down from the upper levels of the museum, the familiar yellow glow of the Mind Stone tucked under Riku's arm. Deciding to take action herself, Maleficent fired off her "Meteors of Heaven" spell at the silver-haired Keyblade Master, only for Sora to leap in front of it and block while Vanitas launched straight into a scepter-against-Keyblade duel with Loki. When her meteor spell dissipated, Sora lunched straight for Maleficent herself. The green-skinned witch brought up a Barrier spell to block his darkness based attacks before parrying a blow from his Keyblade with the edge of her own staff.
"Foolish boy," she jeered menacingly as she knocked him back with a green-tinged Dark Firaga spell. Behind her, Demona, Helga, Diablo, and Nebula "You may have developed some skill with the Darkness after being steeped in it for a few years, but I have been mastering it for decades!" Whatever witty retort Sora may or may not have made was cut off by shouts of alarm from both Coalition and Hellfire troops alike. She turned to find both factions facing off against the rag-wearing pathetic little "Legionnaires" as they called themselves. Maleficent did not care who those fools were or what their motives were, but one thing was perfectly clear and important: they wanted the stones as well. Well, she thought as she conjured a ball of green spell flame in her hands. If it's a fight for the Infinity Stones they want, I'll be happy to oblige them.
So yeah, every Legion base essentially has a shrine to the Foretellers built in the break room. One Foreteller in particular, but I can't say more or I'll spoil the story. Anyway, Aurilam's identity will be revealed next chapter, but I'm sure that many of you have already figured it out and put the pieces together (or should I say, rearranged the letters? (; ) And that's right, folks. Sephiroth is Star Lord's dad in this universe! I was wondering about different subplots for the Guardians of the Galaxy when they showed up and thought that the idea of Sephiroth as Peter's dad was just too good an idea to resist.
And thus, the Battle of Knowhere has begun. Tune in next chapter for more action, more shocking reveals, and (depending on how much I can cram into the chapter) a shocking cliffhanger that will set the tone for the remainder of the story.