Author's Notes. Right, so... Yeah. I kind of messed up my schedule. Not only did I miss a week, but also I've decided to release the second part of this particular section of the Catalyst Corps/Inquisitor story arc. On the bright side, you now get the final battle between the Catalyst Corps and the Inquisitors! I really DID throw off my schedule though. But I do have excuses. First: Last week was really busy, so I opted not to post as I had a lot on my plate. Second: This week is also really busy. I will admit that I DID have a Starlight chapter all ready to go, but I suddenly became extremely dissatisfied with it. I'm going to rewrite it. I'll be damned if my readers aren't going to get premium quality every time I release a chapter. And so the only thing that I had left in my doc manager pertaining to AMS was this, which I've had completed for over a month now. And so... Here you go! I've decided to release this in conjunction to the last chapter, which is now a two-part series. After this is over with, I'll make sure to get back on track. Oh, and I've also decided what I'm going to do with the flash-back chapters, but I'll talk about that more down below. Now on to answering some reviews!
To Vibrant Sound: Seriously, if Trump becomes president I'm moving back to Germany. And yes, I REALLY need to make a "Goddmanit Xavier" T-shirt, and I will give you guys some free ones before it becomes the most popular T-shirt in existence. Unfortunately, thanks to the unpredictable nature of life, the chapter you've all been waiting for has arrived a tad bit sooner than projected, so unless you have an invisible version of my T-shirt lying around, you won't have it for the final throw-down, though I can bet you won't care. The battle is just that awesome. (Well, at least I hope it is. I'm honestly not sure, but then again I'm rarely satisfied by what I write anymore.)
To SuperVegito33: I appreciate your enthusiasm! I certainly think those Xavier T-shirts will be a hit. Now go and read the chapter, my friend! I hope you will not be disappointed.
To xCrysis-x: You are totally right, I do have a habit of introducing characters a bit too speedily. After you said that I removed that one section about Harold from the last chapter. I didn't need it anyway, and gave you guys one too many things to consider. Thanks for the feedback! It was very appreciated (and needed)! As I have said previously, if you have constructive criticism, I'm more than ready to work on useful changes.
To R4ptorCS: Yeah. There are a lot of characters. I was very good at keeping the count down during the former half of season 2, but it got out of hand AGAIN. It's just so difficult, with so many unique ideas either popping into my head or being offered to me by guys like you! But I made sure to remove that one section from before to leave room for more characters... And... Yeah. I introduce another new player in this chapter too. I'm not going to lie. But honestly they, unlike many others, are really quite needed for when the next season rolls around. And yes, Doxia/Rerenhaw has definitely gone on the back burner... For now. I will admit they will be back as a big part as this part of season 2 comes to a close. Keep an eye out for them. And I'm also quite happy you ship Derpy and Doxia! They do make a good pair, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to developing a relationship between them. Dimensional Lords are very strange, and their social skills have atrophied over time, so it will take major dedication for me to outline a worthwhile arc for the two respective characters to develop more than what they have now. But thanks for your opinion, I'll make a note of all that you have said.
To The French MeeM: As I said in the PM: Go ahead! I've seen what you've done already, and I like it! Your OC is now in the "Primary Travelers" section of the guide now as well, if you are interested. Keep working!
To FocusedStream: Oh man, I would LOVE for that to become a meme. Not sure how that's possible, but it does have so much potential. And thank you! I'll take that cookie gratefully!
Right! That's all for now! Enjoy this chapter! It is jam-packed with action!
Dimension: Skylock
Planet: Scorch
Specific Location: The Skyfort, Carrion
Time: Five days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungle.
There was a horrified half-second of silence as Tenebris, Anima, and Batusi tried to process exactly what Xavier had just done. The screams of the demons engulfed in bloody chaos below reminded them of their situation rather quickly. Another whole second passed, though, before Tenebris fully came to his senses and realized what he must do.
Tenebris gave Batusi one half-horrified-half-apologetic glance before jumping through the same hole to join Xavier in the fray below. Batusi and Anima hesitated, and then followed Tenebris in unison. Below was a state of chaos. The explosions were massive and all-consuming, eating up earth, stone, and flesh alike, leaving giant craters and fire in their wake. Walls were falling inward, and the many towers were buckling and swaying like palm trees in a hurricane. More fire rained from above, scattering demon and stone to the wind. No one could see the assailant, but the demons sure as heck could see the Catalyst Corps. The hordes immediately made a connection between their misery and death and the newly appeared strangers. With a collective howl, the demons rushed the group of four.
Xavier met them. With a scream that rivaled the demonic howling, he jumped feet-first into the starting wave, his shotguns blazing wildly. In an instant at least seven demons fell, killed or disabled by the spread-shot of the shotguns. Xavier landed and ducked under a sweeping cutlass while flipping his shotguns about, unloading the smoking and empty caps and reloading them with new slugs in one fluent movement. He dodged back, barely missing the second sweep while dancing about a spatter of gun-fire from a demonic machine gun. He pulled the first trigger of his first shotgun into the face of the cutlass-wielder, and then emptied the second barrel of gun into the stomach of a nearby spear-wielder. The spear flew high into the air as the dead demon stumbled backwards to collapse into a heap. Xavier caught the spear and flung it with accuracy, spearing the owner of the demonic machine gun in the face. Xavier proceeded to empty the two barrels of his second shotgun into the horde while reloading the two slots in his first. A demon saw the opening and lunged at Xavier, trying to impale the crazy Dimensional Traveler with a claymore as he reloaded. However, just as the demon go close enough to find purchase, a bolt of plasma reduced his face to ash. Xavier glanced back and waved to Tenebris, who had delivered the attack.
Tenebris smiled and waved back before he turned to the task of downing as many demons as possible. Tenebris raised a fist and willed a ball of power about his knuckles. He aimed it at the faces of the hordes. The ball distorted, spiking and shuddering. The ball exploded, firing a long spike of energy toward the enemy, cutting down at least a dozen monsters like chaff before the scythe. The beam held its integrity, and Tenebris swept it to the left beside Xavier, cutting down another dozen. Tenebris then raised his free hand and conjured up a glowing disk of power. He hurled it, and it swept in low, bisecting yet another dozen demons before detonating with a shockwave that scattered even more demons. Tenebris then rose into the air, beams of power spiking from his hands to vaporize the hordes below. With a sweeping gesture he vanished, teleporting out of the way of a hail of demonic bullets. He reappeared a second later and hurled a blast of power. The orange-glowing pillar landed at the feet of the oncoming demons and exploded into a sparkling cascade of flesh-rending sparks. Suddenly an arch-demon rose from a sea of his comrades on wings of flame and blood and drew a cutlass the was practically radiating pure darkness. The arch-demon flashed toward Tenebris, just as the Dimensional Traveler raised his fists, altering the density of the flesh upon his hands to become stronger than steel and harder than diamonds. The demon rammed Tenebris, but it was almost as it was striking a wall, blade meeting hardened fist with a shower of sparks. The monster ricocheted off though, but then quickly spun and hurled a wave of throwing daggers, charged with demonic energy. Tenebris unleashed a shockwave of power, draining the kinetic energy from the daggers, causing them to drop like stones. Tenebris then coalesced the stolen energy into a single ingot, and hurled over 200,000 joules of energy pack at his opponent. The demon just barely dodged the attack (which subsequently struck one of the few towers not turned to rubble and sliced a neat hole in the lower half). The arch-demon straightened up and let out a blood-thirsty scream. Two more arch-demon rose to assist the monster. Tenebris didn't even raise an eyebrow. He had this. The trio rushed Tenebris, firing bolts of demonic energy. The dimensional traveler shot high into the air, arching above his opponents' heads. Just as he reached the apex of the curve, he unleashed a ball of blue energy. It struck one of the arch-demons square in the back, sending it shooting earthward at extraordinary supersonic speeds. It didn't even have time to cry out as it found its grave, several meters below sea-level. The surviving two demons whirled on Tenebris, firing lasers from their eyes. Tenebris took evasive action, flitting past the two pairs of red-hot streams of thermal energy. The beams sliced through the ruined bulwarks and spires that hadn't been claimed by fire, leveling them and reducing what was left to magma.
Tenebris was hard pressed, but he wasn't going to be stopped. Taking a deep breath he extended a hand and snapped a finger, just as he stopped dodging. One of the arch-demons turned to look at him. (The other was clearing their eyes from the eye-beam attack.) Once again the monster charged up an laser-vision attack, but just as they did that a mirror of perfect silver materialized in front of the demon, perpendicular to its plane of vision. The arch-demon had no time to stop though, and it released the full force of the attack. The laser struck the mirror, bounced back perfectly, and struck the monster in the eyes, creating a power-loop. The demon's head exploded, raining blood and brain onto the ocean of monsters below. The final surviving opponent hissed. It was the same arch-demon that rose to attack him in the first place. Tenebris grimaced. The monster shot forward faster than the eye could follow, claws outstretched. Tenebris rushed it as well, and the two met in the middle with a blast of wind that scattered the demons below like leaves in a gale. The demon got the better of Tenebris and hurled him into a massive pile of rubble. The giant boulders were reduced to dust as the dimensional traveler crashed into it. He was dazed, but not dazed enough to prevent him from quickly throwing up bubble of pure energy to protect him from a hail of demonic arrows that had followed him in his wake. Scrabbling to his knees, Tenebris dropped the shield and threw up both hands; beams of pure cold radiated from his palms, freezing the arch-demon's wings solid, causing the monster to loose balance. As it fell, Tenebris wiped a trickle of blood from his brow. On a sudden whim he ducked, and it was a good thing too: A regular demon had snuck up behind him in attempt to behead him with a broken short sword. Tenebris turned on the opponent and conjured up a shiv, inundated with red-hot energy. He dodged past a second attack and rammed the thin blade into the demon's skull, killing the enemy and cauterizing the wound. At this time the arch-demon had shaken off the ice and taken to the skies again, now wielding a massive spear of fire. In a flash it had spotted Tenebris down below, still in the crater of his own making. Without a pause the demon hurled the spear, trailing sparks and flames. Tenebris saw the attack just in time and turned the dead demon around, using it as a meat shield. The demon's chest caught the attack, but it still managed to push through to nick and lightly sear Tenebris's left shoulder. Tenebris grunted in pain, but quickly followed up by throwing the rag doll body of the fallen demon at his adversary, imbuing the meat shield with the kinetic energy of a cruising Boeing 777. To Tenebris's surprise the arch-demon caught the corpse, spun, and then returned it with equal if not greater force. Tenebris couldn't be stopped though. With a gesture he caught the body in a localized region of infinite drag. The body simply stopped moving, frozen in the air (it would stay like this for a while until vaporized by an explosion). Tenebris reared back a fist and then jabbed it at the demon, unleashing a bolt of spellbinding energy. The attack was well-place, and struck the arch-demon. Faculties disoriented, the demon was knocked from the air once more, but this time Tenebris was fully ready. With the speed of a jet he shot forward and delivered a super-powered uppercut that stunned the demon and sent him flying skyward. But Tenebris kept pace, rising with the confused arch-demon. Just as the monster reached the apex of their flight, Tenebris grabbed it by the throat. With his free hand he conjured up a daisy cutter bomb that had been spatially scaled to the size of a tennis ball. He then forced it down the arch-demon's throat. Without a word he hurled the demon earthward. The monster struck the earth at terminal velocity... And then detonated, blowing at least a score of demons to the wind and creating a crater.
Batusi saw this opening and immediately leapt into the battle, his sword sweeping and jabbing, bringing even the toughest demon to its knees. Batusi ducked under another blade and then shot up, stabbing a nearby opponent in the chest. A lance flew through the air toward him. Batusi whirled still with the demon impaled upon his sword. Using the corpse as a shield, he deflected the lance. He then pulled the lance out of the discarded meat shield and began to dual wield, sticking those too demons too far for his sword to reach. He was like a whirlwind, unstoppable. His lance finally snapped as he used it to break the skull of a demon that had ducked under his blade to gut him with a dirk. Batusi then doubled back to dodge the strike of a longsword and bypass a demonic gunslinger who was focused on Xavier. Batusi then leapt high into the air, twirling as a hail of spears and lances missed him. He hit the ground, pinning a demon to the earth with his blade. Then, with a cry, he shot forward, his blade moving like a windmill of death. Blades snapped and shield splintered before the onslaught of Batusi. He could not be slowed… Then his blade struck something and stopped dead with a ring of pure metal upon pure metal. Batusi looked up to look at his newest worthy opponent. The being was tall, covered in full body-armor of gray and blue. Its helmet covered the being's face entirely, with a thin T-visor splitting the artfully crafted metal. Upon its wrist was a glorious blade of power, glowing purple, and in its right hand was a long and glorious sword… It was this sword that had blocked his own. Batusi drew back and spun in close, feinting left and then jabbing right in a move impossible to dodge. The being dodged it as if Batusi was moving in slow motion. Batusi was undeterred. He whipped the blade in a slicing motion, attempting to bisect the being. Blade met blade in a ringing clash of metal. The two swords struck each other with such force that the air hummed, the earth erupted like an explosion, and wind ripped through clearing to fan the flames. Without a second's pause, the being drew back and thrust forward with such force that the air thrummed as air propagated and ripped through space in a terrible shockwave. Batusi caught the thrusting blade and shoved it out of the way with the hilt of his own, barely deterring the assault. Sparks shot high in a gout of red and the cracked earth beneath Batusi's feet cracked further, disintegrating into less than fine sand. His sword's hilt cracked and splintered, crumbling like dust. Batusi leapt back swiftly conjured another blade, ignoring the fact his first sword had pretty much dissolved. Hefting his new blade, Batusi jabbed the sword's point forward and then hacked his blade in a sweeping down cut, attacking with all his might. The air thrummed with the force, and the tip became so fast that the naked eye could not follow. The being sidestepped and caught the blade with his own without even wavering, letting the blade slide to meet hilt-to-hilt. Another shockwave, another explosion, scattering any surviving demons unfortunate enough to be close to this battle of the titans. Both blades hummed, and Batusi's sword began to glow and melt as the pure force raised the metal's temperature over 4000 Kelvin. Batusi bared his teeth in exertion and frustration: His opponent didn't even seem to be out of breath, nor did his own weapon seem chipped or weathered. Batusi leapt high in the air and dodged back, conjuring up yet another blade, allowing him to dual wield. The edges of his vision were blurring with a red mist as the heat of the battle began to cloud his mind. There were no more demons, there were no more explosions. There was just him and this unstoppable foe before him.
Batusi rushed with a yell, slashing with one blade, twirling and then thrusting with the other. The foe knocked the slashing blade out of his way and sidestepped the thrusting attack, swinging his own blade at Batusi's head. Batusi ducked and swung both his swords upwards in an uppercut-like motion. The enemy doubled back in an almost nonchalant manner, dodging to safety. Then he feinted to the left before thrusting at Batusi's stomach with great speed. Batusi locked his two blades together and caught the thrusting blade, using the motion of the attack in his favor, redirecting the kinetic energy and causing the tip of his enemy's blade to strike earth. At least a tonne of pebbles and lose ground was rocketed into the air as the enemy's sword rammed the earth with the kinetic energy of an Antonov Mriya falling at terminal velocity. In the same motion that deflected this cowing attack, Batusi pulled one of his blades free and swung it wildly down upon his enemy's head with agility that defies definition. The foe simply raised a gauntlet, letting the offending sword strike his wrist blade. The resultant explosion of "unstoppable force meets unmovable object" was incredible; unleashing a screaming wind that sent anything not battened down skittering into the sky for kilometers. Batusi's sword shattered and vaporized in a millisecond, causing Batusi to stumbled backward in shock; and yet the gauntlet didn't even splintering, only humming gently with the ghosts of the awesome attack. Batusi still wasn't undeterred though. Nothing would stop him. Testing the balance of his remaining sword, Batusi flipped it backwards, so he was holding the hilt like he would a dagger. He positioned himself so that he was in a crouched position, ready to sprint. His blue-armored target just stood there, his sword hanging loosely at his side, waiting for the attack. Batusi came barreling in like a truck, and then he jumped. As he floated in the air he raised his sword above his head and clasped it in both hands, thrusting it down upon the enemy with all his might. The target didn't even meet the attack. Instead he tilted his body, just barely dodging the attack and putting Batusi out of balance. He grabbed Batusi's foot just as his failed leap hurled him past, and whipped the boy to the earth like a rag doll, knocking the wind of out him and cracking the earth even further. Batusi gasped for breath and tried to sit up, but his enemy walked up to him and kicked him in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold.
Anima saw Batusi go down. Unlike Tenebris and Xavier, Anima had not been in the fight. He had been watching and waiting. He knew who was firing the missiles: A dark figure that had been flitting about on the surrounding ruins, like a wraith, invisible almost to all. He had also determined that the other assailants of the demons amounted to three. There were three other beings in this fight… And one of them had just struck down Batusi as if the boy had been made of paper. The rest of his team were preoccupied… He would move in. Closing his eyes, Anima called upon the dark magic that wreathed his soul. Ample points of blue-purple light akin to Homing Soulmasses accumulated behind him as rings of arcane energy wound about the length of Anima's body. He floated toward the downed figure of Batusi with the soulmasses circling his forehead like a crown of death. Any demon that reached out to cling at his flesh suddenly recoiled, their limbs rotting and melting from their bones as dark magic poisoned them down to the molecular level. The blue-armored being that had downed Batusi had no doubt spotted Anima, but had done nothing to slow his approach. In fact he almost looked like he was hanging back, only striking down the demons that neared instead of pressing the thinning number of monsters. Anima drew up to Batusi, and then fired all his soulmasses at the blue-armored being, cursing the very centers of the magic blasts with the darkest of incantations. The being looked at the oncoming attack and flicked his wrist. The blade attached to his wrist extended and began to glow copiously in a wondrous, awe-inspiring purple. The being struck at the soulmasses… And they dissipated, the sorceries simply ceasing to exist. Anima didn't stop to be shocked. He gently touched Batusi and cast a spell, teleporting the boy back to where Tenebris was. He would be safe there. Anima then looked up at the being. Here was a true adversary. Anima took over the minds of ten nearby demons, poisoning their dark souls with his will, forcing them to assault the being. They did, and as they fell like pins, Anima hurled a massive bolt of blue energy that sparked and hissed. Like a soul spear, it shot toward the being just as he ran the last mind-controlled demon through with his sword. The being leapt high into the air, dodging the attack. Anima doubled backward quickly, conjuring up wave after wave of balls of homing magic. These spheres of dark power rushed the being, but not a single on found purchase, either being dissipated by the being's wrist blade of somehow missing altogether. Anima wasn't annoyed or afraid though. In fact, at this point he was interested. Anima was skilled in analyzing attacks and guessing the enemies strategies before even they thought of them. But this was something different. The being moved as smoothly like a clear river, and yet his attacks were erratic and untraceable. There was no pattern, only chaos. And yet, from the chaos came death-tinged order. A strategy that defied everything that the second law of thermodynamics stood for. It was beautiful. But Anima himself was a person a chaos and darkness. Perhaps this being was just a kindred spirit… A true match. He would find out. Anima closed his eyes and extended his hands, calling upon the darkest of his magicks, letting chaotic energies poison the fabric of reality around him. The earth beneath him buckled and cracked, and the air around him vibrated and turned a faint tint of red. Tendrils of fire and shadow erupted from the earth, coalescing about Anima, protecting himself from the onslaught that was about to ensue. A small globule of blood appeared from nothing, floating a couple centimeters above Anima's hands. A hole in the tentacles appeared, giving him a clear view of the being, who was standing, waiting for the attack patiently. This should have caused alarm bells to fire off in Anima's head, but he didn't mind now. He wanted to see what this being had in store. Anima tapped the blob of blood with an index finger. It exploded. With a shriek of a thousand millennia of torture, the ball of power turned into a deluge, a flood of chaotic energy, rushing toward the being and sweeping away at least a hundred demons in its onslaught. The foe looked at the wave curiously… And then he jumped. The leap was astounding, raising him high into the air. As he flew in the air, he whipped his sword arm forward violently, throwing his sword at the cocoon of tentacles that shielded Anima. It went straight through the shadow flesh of the constructs with a scream. Anima froze, feeling a small trickle of blood dribble down his left cheek where the blade had nicked his flesh. Then the sword flashed with bright light. It didn't harm Anima, but it shocked him roughly, breaking his concentration. The attack dissipated and the tentacles vanished in explosions of smoke and shadow. Anima stumbled backward, rubbing his eyes. When his vision cleared, there was the being, sword in hand once more. Anima actually smiled. This being was truly a great warrior, but he would not surrender to such a person. The being began to walk toward Anima, his sword hanging loosely. Ten meters… Six meters… Three meters…
Anima considered teleporting away, but couldn't bring himself to. He hesitated a second two late. The being was upon him, his wrist blade flashing down upon him. Anima made up his mind and teleported not a millisecond later. However, he had so little time to cast the spell that he could only teleport a meter away. The second he rematerialized he realized it had been a trap. He flashed back into reality with the blade of the being's sword pressing against his throat. Anima stiffened. The being just held the blade there, staring at Anima curiously. Anima stared back, his eyes picking out details in the being's armor, looking for hints that would give him an inkling as to who this creature of power was. It was a rather one-sided standoff.
Tenebris saw this.
"Not on my watch," he growled. Drawing upon the rawest of his energy reserves, Tenebris aimed one of the most powerful, focused attacks he had ever conjured at the being holding a blade at Anima's throat. He fired. The beam of gold tore and rived at the fabric of reality, distorting time and space as it shot at the being at a speed 99% the speed of light. A massive flash of light erupted a femtosecond before impact, blinding everyone and blowing the bodies of the fallen demons everywhere like a tornado. The flash cleared. The being had sidestepped the attack, as if even relativistic speeds moved slow enough for him to calculate dodge-able trajectories. The entirety of the fortress behind the being was now slag and fire, everything having been reduced to ash in the wake of the attack. All went silent, with nothing but the crackling of the flames.
The only thing that had changed was that now there was one final demon alive. A lone survivor. She stood there, he face warped in complete and utter horror. Over a thousand of her brethren, killed in less than five minutes. She opened her mouth to wail in despair. She never got the chance. A being in full body armor colored darker than the void descended upon her. He grabbed her face and tore it in half, separating her skull with a resounding "crack." She fell dead to the earth, sending up gouts of life blood.
The Catalyst Corps stared at the Inquisitors for a full minute in silence.
"You… You're the one's that killed those other demons… Uhhhhh… Captain Crunch or something," Xavier said finally, always the first one to think of something. "Who are you guys?"
The dark one looked like he was about to say something, but Tenebris interrupted. "No! You'll start be pulling that sword away from my friend Anima! You don't want us as enemies, idiots. We will bring you to your knees." His voice was cold as winter ice.
The blue-armored being glanced at the dark-armored one; he shrugged. They didn't move. Like Anima had guessed, a yellow-armored one fell from the sky to land expertly beside the dark-armored one. He was holstering a sniper rifle. "You are the Catalyst Corps?"
Xavier, ignoring the fact that Tenebris was seconds away from branding these beings as enemies, laughed. "Heck yeah! So, what are you guys doing dropping in our party like that?"
"Your party? Fool." The dark-armored being laughed. His voice was gravelly. Soft and deep like a bruise. "We started the attack. You four just fell out of that tower like bees from a broken hive."
Anima blinked. These beings had been watching them, even before he had started to watch them. Then he guessed it. Clearing his throat, he spoke out. "You're the Inquisitors."
Tenebris recoiled in shock. He had heard the tales of the Inquisitors. They had brought a death-flavored order to the chaos of the Multiverse eons ago. However, it had been at great cost. These beings were mass-murderers. More skilled at the art of destruction than the Dimensional Lords and the Grand Devil combined.
"You're… You're Blue," said Tenebris, staring in horror at the blue-armored being that held Anima hostage.
Blue nodded. With a shrug he withdrew his sword and holstered it. As he did so, he said: "I am sorry I struck down your companion. He was in my way. Nevertheless, we have no quarrels with you four. We will go on our way. We attacked this location because we were working towards capturing a demon by the name of Commander Istir…"
Blue's voice slowly trailed off as he turned to look at the raised platform, where the demon should have been trapped by Sunflower's portable force field. The force field was not there… And Istir was gone as well. When Tenebris had fired his energy beam at Blue and Blue had dodged it, it had passed him by and struck the force field. Despite its powerful make, it was no match for Tenebris's full might. It had short-circuited and popped, allowing the demon to escape into the hills.
Dark had seen this. With a gauntlet dripping in blood, he pointed it at Tenebris. "This one. While trying to free his friend like a mewling coward, his attack missed you and destroyed the field trapping Istir. They are responsible for our mission having this complication."
"My scanner indicates he made it to a nearby camp," sighed Sunflower. "He is probably alerting his allies even as we speak. He will be well away from this land by the time our scanners have cleared through all this interference from the Phantom Device to determine the needed information about his whereabouts."
Dark snapped his hatchet to its ready position and turned to hurl it at Tenebris. Xavier reacted in an instant. He fired all four barrels of his two shotguns at Dark. Dark leapt high into the air, dodging all four barrels, filling the air with spatter miraculously. As he fell he hurled his hatchet. Xavier leapt out of the way, reloading both of his shotguns simultaneously. He turned to fire upon Dark again, but was too late. Dark was on him and tore the guns from his hands. He seized Xavier by the throat and hoisted him high in the air. Tenebris shot toward Dark so fast that a sonic boom scattered whatever corpses were left. He struck Dark at full force… Dark moved at a speed that would have cowed a Dimensional Lord. Shadows clinging to his armor, the dark being struck Tenebris smoothly with the back of his free hand. An explosion of pressure erupted from the contact point. The earth cracked even FURTHER, scattering the dust of dust to the wind. Tenebris shot away from Dark and smashed into the ground, sending up a thick shower of dirt clods and fire from the friction. Tenebris just lay there, his jaw dislocated and his eyes wide with shock. Dark hadn't even moved. They were dust to the Inquisitors.
Anima saw this as an opening and whirled to attack Dark. A long strand of necromancy energy sparked from his fingertips to strike at the very soul of the Inquisitor. The magic didn't even reach him. Suddenly is fizzled and died at Dark's feet, having being overridden by sheer power. Anima raised an eyebrow. Magic had no effect on Inquisitors. Blue hadn't been fighting the Dimensional Travelers. He had been watching them, studying their moves and toying with their range of abilities to gauge their usefulness. Apparently Tenebris had failed the test.
"These humans have prevented us from completing our mission. That makes them an enemy of the highest order, allow me to kill them," snarled Dark, still holding Xavier high into the air. The Dimensional Traveler must have struck him at least a dozen time with the force of a hurricane, but the Inquisitor hadn't even budged.
Blue considered the options. In reality, what Dark said was true. They had slowed their mission, and could pose an anomaly that could not be factored in the future. Best to eliminate them and move on. He nodded. "Kill them."
Dark raised his free hand high into the air. His hatchet flew from nowhere to land in his palm. Dark roughly hurled Xavier to the earth and prepared to butcher him. Anima started to move again to stop the execution, but then froze as Sunflower pressed the barrel of his sniper rifle to the base of his skill.
"I'm sorry," whispered Sunflower, sounded conflicted. Anima wisely stopped. He had a hunch that Sunflower had never missed a shot with his sniper rifle in his life, and wasn't going to start now.
Blue slowly began to walk away, turning his back on the scene. Then the voice spoke to him.
"Why would you do that?" it said. "That wasn't very smart. And here was I, thinking you were one of the smartest beings in the Tri-Multiverse. Sheesh. They're good fighters and could be even better allies. This planet has over a trillion demons and there are only three of you. If you're going to find the tablet, I suggest you first look for some friends, starting here."
The voice had come from nowhere. No… It had come from over the comms. However, the comms were exclusively connected between him and his teammates. But this voice was female, and it come clearly over the comms without a hint of static. She was nearby and she had enough authorization to override the Inquisition security firewalls that protected their communication systems. Despite the impossibility of the situation, Blue could not stop himself. He WANTED to listen to the voice. She made a good point. She did.
"Stop."
Dark froze his motions, and Sunflower deftly drew away his sniper rifle. Tenebris blew out a long breath of pure relief and began to power his body down, letting the Nova energy flow away. Dark whirled on Blue.
"What?!"
Blue walked up to Dark and pushed him away from Xavier. "I said stop. We're not going to kill them."
Dark threw his hands up in the air. "You better have a good explanation for this, Blue. You better, or I swear I will kill them with or without your permission. I will tear their bodies open and scatter their entrails across the land."
Sunflower pulled Dark back. "Get a hold of yourself!" he snapped. "Blue said stop. He has his reasons. He always does."
"No." Dark hissed. "Blue had his reasons. This is August. He is just a mewling child playing dress-up. He isn't even old enough to be off the teat. I will not be stopped. I SWEAR…"
"Dark," said Blue, turning to Dark. "Shut up."
Dark stopped. He just stared, almost as if he was in shock. He let his hands limply fall to his sides. Sunflower murmured worriedly and turned away.
Blue helped Xavier up.
"T-thanks…" Xavier gasped.
"Don't thank me just yet," Blue replied. "My help comes with a cost."
Blue then turned to Tenebris, who was actually being helped to his feet by a groggy Batusi. Tenebris's jaw was hanging at an odd angle, and blood oozed from the corners of his lips.
"You four need to help me," Blue said softly.
"Why should I help you?" hissed Tenebris, blood bubbling on his lips. "You were completely ready to sentence me and my friends to death. I'm sorry to offend you, Inquisitor Blue, but you've done nothing to warrant my help."
"You're going to help us because if you don't Harold will continue with his plan to destroy the Earth Multiverse," said Blue. "We need to get the Power Tablet."
Tenebris froze. He glanced nervously at Anima, and then looked at Blue. There was a pause as he rubbed at his damaged jaw. "Tablet…? We were charged by a man named Bob to get it."
Sunflower nodded. "Yes. Harold told us about that. That was him. You four were tricked."
Xavier groaned out loud. "Awwwwww man… This means we're never going to get Urthwyte's broadsword! That SUCKS!"
Tenebris facepalmed. Anima nodded. He had a way of sensing when something was wrong. Something had definitely been wrong with their potential employer. Batusi rubbed his head. "So we went through all this trouble for… For NOTHING?!"
Sunflower shook his head. "Not for nothing. If you four help us retrieve the tablet you will be compensated for your troubles."
Xavier raised a hand. "Ummm… Excuse me. I'm really looking forward to starting this new job, but I REALLY don't want good ole' Mister Dark as a co-worker. He doesn't seem to handle stress very well. Is he off his medication?"
Sunflower gently put a restraining hand on Dark's shoulder. Anima shot Xavier a warning glare. Dark was seconds away from killing them all and then apologizing to Blue later. Tenebris thought about the situation carefully. If what Blue said was true (which is probably was) then they were trapped here alone with no way of escaping and ending up with their payment. If they teamed up with the Inquisitors then perhaps they stood a chance. It was still slim as Dark vehemently wanted to murder them, but their chance was greater with the Inquisitors than without them. Countless demons would be hunting them down now either way. Though Tenebris didn't trust Blue and hated Dark, he respected power. He would fight besides a being like Blue at the drop of a hat.
Tenebris sighed loud and long, drawing a hand across a sweaty forehead. "Okay… Okay. We'll help you. Just… Just let me talk to my teammates for a second."
Tenebris motioned for his teammates to gather in a huddle, and Batusi began to administer healing energy to Tenebris's shattered jaw. Sunflower walked over to calm Dark down, leaving Blue alone. Blue slowly turned around. He walked from the flaming wasteland that had once been the grand ruins of the Skyfort. Stepping about slag and rivers of blood and fire, he walked until the darkness surrounded him like a blanket. When he was well away from the scene of chaos… He spoke to the air.
"Show yourself. Who are you?"
Blue's HUD alerted him that its holographic projection protocol had activated via master override. Something only an Inquisitor, Doxia, or Mattimeo could do. A thin beam of light shot from his visor, bathing the surroundings in wireframe light. Then she was there. It was a young woman, undoubtedly in her teen years. Her face was smooth and pale, neither ugly nor stunningly beautiful. Her hair was white, and shone like the surface of a lake. Her lips curled at the corners with gentle dimples, and her nose was small and soft. But it was her eyes that were the most attention-attracting. They were haunting… With an air of innocence and sadness brimming within them. They were glowing bright blue, like the color of the sky, and they reflected eternity. Her clothes were veil-like, flowing about her as if she herself was made from naught but the wind. She looked up at the towering Inquisitor. Hey face was the picture of innocence.
"Hi," she said softly. "Sorry for butting in there like that, but I couldn't stand you having that kind of blood on your hands. You've killed your share of monsters… But you haven't killed an ally yet. Blue has… But you, August, have not."
Blue just stared. The girl looked down at her feet. She looked quiet; shy and reserved.
"Who… Who are you? Where are you?" Blue breathed. His words caught in his throat. He could barely speak. Those eyes. Blue had seen Dark's eyes, but not even those pits of the void were as haunting as the shining eyes of this being. "You're a communication hologram. Where are you sending this from?"
The girl ignored him for a moment. She looked him up and down, even going so far as poking his chest plate. Her ghostly hand shimmered and went through him, sparkling and dancing as the pinpricks of light that made up her body scattered. She withdrew her hand, and it returned to normal. Then she gently reached up ran a finger along her left cheek with her left hand. "I'm nothing. Earth. Fire. Sky. Rain. Light. Life. I am not of life, though. I am not organic. I have no nerves. But I have eyes. I've seen everything in the Tri-Multiverse."
Blue's eyes widened. "You're an AI."
The girl laughed. It rang out like wind through a bright meadow. It was joyful, but also a bit condescending. "No. One strike. I'm something like that, but not really. And AI is such a derogatory term, truly. I'm… Well, I'm everything. Go ahead. Look."
Blue's HUD alerted him that he was free to run a diagnostic scan on the holograph that had previously been declared invisible by his systems. He ran it, and his eyes widened further. This being was made entirely from Pure Imagination Energy. She was made up entirely from the coding of reality. An AI written in the language of Creation.
"Who… Who are you?"
The girl smiled. "I am the voice in your head, the fingers boosting your suit's systems to the frontier of quantum computation. I am your safeguard."
August continued to stare. His mind had gone blank. This being was something he had never seen before. Blue had seen everything, and yet August could not remember anything like this. His mind was moving like a snail. The only thing he could think of saying was: "Why me?"
The girl laughed again. The perfect balance between amusement and joy. "I've wandered the Tri-Multiverse, looking for a being in which I could find a companion. I've seen it all… But I've never seen someone like you. You have such power that allows you to win all wars, and yet your mind is in a violent flux as two souls battle for a territory that had been claimed years ago. You've been fighting a lost war, August. Blue said you could have your body… But he lied. He directs your very moves, fooling you into thinking every time you pull the trigger it's on your own volition. You need help. I want a quest. I've decided you are worthy of my attention."
August felt his mind froth like an ocean, whipped into a frenzy by a gale. She spoke total truth, and he had never seen it before. For the first time since Blue had said he would "relinquish" his hold, August's hands began to tremble. But then they steadied.
"I don't need your help…" muttered Blue. Hands curling into fists, he turned to leave, but found his feet wouldn't move. Not couldn't. Wouldn't. He didn't want to leave.
The girl smiled. "Call me Riley."
She shimmered and then vanished. His HUD jittered as she fed back into his system. Then she spoke into his ear, as softly as a whisper. "You should go back to the rest. Don't worry. I know exactly where Commander Istir is. I will lead you to him. On one condition…"
Blue paused for a moment. "What condition is that?"
"When I talk, you listen."
Author's Notes. Okay, everyone say hello to Riley! I know people have pointed out that I'm starting to add too many characters AGAIN, but I think I'm only now just reaching the limits. Let's see who we have that we care about... Tenebris, Batusi, Xavier, Anima, Blue, Dark, Sunflower, Starlight Amber, Pumpkin Cake, Pound Cake, Summer, Lyric, Brag, Franklin, and Riley. Okay, fine, that IS a lot of people... Darn it. Well, I can't just kill them all, can I? Hmmmmmm...
Also, I do know that the Inquisitors still seem OP. However, it is all about perspective. An anti-tank missile shouldn't be considered OP if it is shot at a Fiat, because the RPG was never meant for Fiats, it was meant for tanks. Same with the Inquisitors. They were never meant to combat Dimensional Travelers. They were imbued with the capabilities to take down Dimensional Lords. You know, the guys that can vaporize a whole dimension in about 7 seconds. I honestly think Doxia and Mattimeo together could defeat Blue and his cronies though. But hopefully we won't have to worry about that... Right...?
Anyways, moving on. So, as I stated previously, I've worked out a way to include the flash-backs. I'm going to add a third part to season 2. You see, I was originally planning only two, but I have enough material to work with to add a third part, and I'll even add some stuff on Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle while I'm at it! That should be fun. Naturally you don't need to worry about all that yet, but I will state that this decision has cut the remaining run-time of this particular part of season 2 in half. The end will be drawing near sooner than one would think. Get ready for it.
That's it for now! If you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know! I would really like to get an idea of how much you liked the action, I put a lot of effort into it! If you give me a review, I'll make an invisible graphic novel of this particular chapter. Try not to think too much about how it is a graphic novel... That is invisible. You'll hurt your head. See you all later!