Chapter 17: End of the beginning. (Part 2: Hellfire in the city of angels.)
Teri x Gumball
(A/N) Don't worry folks, I'm not dead yet and neither is this story.
In all seriousness though, I am so terribly sorry for the delay, it baffles me how easy it is to lose track of time and how what should have been a simple task gets over complicated. My mind's been all over the place and work hasn't been exactly cooperative in terms of scheduling. If anyone is still reading this, I am so thankful for your patience and grateful that you guys are still interested.
I also wanted to thank everyone who's been getting into my fanfiction and dropping faves and reviews while also following me. Seriously guys, it means the world to me that you're taking your time to read what I'm posting and offering some inspiring feedback. You guys rock!
Now diving into the story real quick, I know I promised last chapter that I would include the Defenders vs. the Seraphim confrontation in this chapter, but by the time I had reached that half, the chapter was already over 40 pages long.
To make up for that, the next chapter will feature the clash between the Elmore crew and Babyloth's deadliest team of soldiers, that's a promise.
In the meantime, enjoy this chapter and don't forget to drop a fave or leave a review letting me know what you think.
Cato Anderson and Amber Caesar belong to Fitroz777.
Thulcandra - Silent planet, or Earth. (Latin)
Unconsciously, I rise above the night,
Lost control, I'm reaching for you,
Paralyzed, I fight to save my life.
"Sleepwalker" By the Anix.
-Derelict Gas Station, 117 miles South of Elmore, November 16th, 2013, 6:30 AM-
As morning washed over the Californian desert, bathing the dry expanse within it's warm, red glow and summoning many a small critter out to begin their daily foraging for food, a single gas station stood in the midst of this lovely scenery. Built decades prior, the small establishment had become quite rundown in the face of the harsh elements and years of neglect. Its windows caked with dust, most of the gas pumps having rusted and the wooden panels that made up its exterior were rotting away and above the front porch, the words "GAS STATION" were painted in faded white paint that was already flaking away. It was a miracle the place was still open.
Sitting on the porch, gently swaying back and forth in an old rocking chair, a steaming cup of coffee in hand and watching the sunrise, Lucy Simian, former seventh grade teacher of Elmore Jr. High, looked on with unease towards the horizon.
It had been over a month since her disappearance from Elmore, having fled not too long after the Nephilim attack in San Francisco and all without saying a word to anyone. While such an action could be considered highly unusual for the old ape, having taught at Elmore ever since its establishment back in the 1800's and engaging in a steady, albeit very unprofessional relationship with Principal Brown, she did have her reasons. She had been around since the dawn of man and bore witness to things people nowadays only consider as legend or mythical.
Shuddering as she sipped at the bitter coffee, Ms. Simian had been keeping track of current world events and ever since early September, a feeling began to fester from within, something primal that had only been lying dormant for over 6,000 years. In a span of a single month, the great ape watched as one event after another brought dreadful news to her attention and came to a head when she attended a seemingly normal trip to San Francisco. A trip that saw fire rain down from the skies above as a force all too familiar to Lucy wrought death and destruction upon 400 innocent souls.
On that fateful day, it became all too clear: They had returned.
Listening to the rhythmic creaking of her chair and the gentle gust of wind that swept the red sands across the desert, it all seemed so peaceful when compared to the storm that was raging in her own head,
"It won't matter how far I run, they're here and they'll wipe us out, just like they nearly did the first time." Her thoughts rung out with fright and dread,
"Hubris. We were fools to believe that the Nephilim had been vanquished, that the world was ours to command and to build upon. All the talk of progress and enlightenment, yet we've proven to be no better. How ironic to have this world be handed down from one race to another, only to have it returned to its original masters once more."
Being no stranger to bitterness and cynicism, Lucy had been cursed with eternal life and the knowledge she obtained from all her experiences by the beings she once referred to as the gods or the Children of Heaven, transforming her life from that of a simple ape living in the country now known as "South Africa" to a servant for the ancient giants. She once thought that she would know joy when she passed down what she learned to her fellow humans, only to instead watch as they turned her gift into something terrible as they began to hurt one another and catching the attention of the planet's masters, leading to further experimentations that left Mankind as the fractured race it is today. Even after their departure following the Great Scouring, nothing really changed, even as the world began to transform all around her and she was still left here to witness it all.
Her passion was teaching, but none of that satisfied her anymore and she could never die, no matter how many times she tried, leaving her to live in endless torment forever and ever.
Perhaps their return was a blessing? A gift from Jade allowing her to finally pass on from this life and find eternal rest? If only she could know for sure.
Whether the end came for her or not, she still feared everything, running, but without direction and on her own as well. She came to this decrepit place to rest, but wasn't bound to stay for long and would probably be moving on as soon as news of the Nephilim's continued attacks reached her. It was difficult to deal with, being alone and constantly on the move, but anything was better than facing whatever lied in wait for her in Elmore.
As she continued to stew in her own thoughts, something caught her attention and when her yellow, beady eyes turned towards the open dirt road, two figures could be seen moving towards her, running very, very fast. Before she could so much as react, the two had already reached the gas station before skidding to a halt and kicking up a cloud of dust. As her lungs came under the assault of the foreign particles, Ms. Simian quickly stood from her rocking chair, coughing violently and frantically waving the dirt away as it covered her faded pink, polka dot dress.
"What in the name of tarnation?!" She growled, still hacking.
When the dust settled and the hairy primate had successfully rubbed her eyes clean of the debris, she blinked a couple times before finally getting a good look at the newcomers.
Standing in front of the porch was a boy and girl, no older than fifteen. Bizarros, the two of them, with the boy being a ghostly white humanoid with bright blue eyes, a visible scar over the right one, a tuft of white hair that hung in bangs over his forehead, while on his person he wore a grey hoodie with a black T-shirt underneath, blue jeans covered in dirt and white sneakers, also covered in dirt. As for the girl hovering right next to him, was an actual ghost with red eyes that glittered like rubies, long, wild hair that was tied back in a ponytail and wearing only a red T-shirt that covered up her feminine physique.
After coming to a complete stop, the boy in the grey hoodie had both hands resting on his thighs as he doubled over and breathed heavily, out of breath from his long run,
"(Wheeze!) Dang!... I thought we'd never make it, but… here we are!" He gasped, already looking like he was about to keel over as his pale face was a bright red and was sweating profusely.
Shaking her head and sighing, the ghost girl's hand found its way to her forehead,
"If you wanted to get here sooner, I could have just teleported us. You didn't have to take the freeway, you know?" She replied with sass.
Taking in another gulp of dry, desert air, he held a finger up to her and then pointed said finger at her,
"You already said that you're getting tired from teleporting, remember? You made over a hundred jumps yesterday just to cover more ground." He countered, making his companion turn red from embarrassment.
"I never said I was getting tired, you doof!" Amber snapped back, folding her arms across her chest,
"I was just done with teleporting, okay?" she claimed, twisting her head to the side and harrumphing.
Rolling his eyes and stretching his arms upwards, he shrugged,
"Whatever." Was all he muttered as he felt his muscles relaxing.
With her gaze fixated on the bickering pair, more specifically on the boy, the black haired ape felt her jaw drop in shock as she recognized the face from many years ago and couldn't believe what she was seeing,
"Cato Anderson?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.
Hearing his name being mentioned, the white teen's head snapped in the direction of the gas station and his own eyes went wide with shock with a hint of dread in them as well,
"Miss Simian?" He replied, equally confused.
Glancing back and forth between her companion and the slumped figure on the porch, Amber was honestly not expecting that they'd be meeting any familiar faces this far from Elmore. However, It was clear as day that these two recognized one another and the teenage ghost girl was very curious all of the sudden. Clearing her throat and getting their attention, the red eyed specter turned to Cato with a question on her lips,
"You two know each other?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
A brief moment of silence lapsed before Cato was able to form an answer and a look of contempt formed on his features,
"Yeah… she's a teacher from Elmore. She wasn't our teacher though, but she lived close by to my old home and every time I ran into her she would act very mean." He described bitterly, turning to glare at the angry ex-teacher along with his friend and Ms. Simian found herself glaring right back at him.
"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud, brat, I treat everyone like that!" Ms. Simian remarked, her permanent scowl somehow becoming more menacing the harder she leered at him.
Now shooting a nasty glare of her own, Amber drifted a bit closer and pointed an accusing finger at the old baboon, shouting,
"That's not an excuse, you rotten dirtbag!" Her eyes held a fiery glow to them as several stones started to lift themselves off the ground around her.
She was very protective over her friend and hearing how this stranger was so utterly despicable towards him already set her temper to a boiling degree.
Ignoring her remark towards him, Cato stepped up right next to Amber and started to question his old neighbor,
"What are you doing all the way out here?" He asked, his voice oddly calm.
Taken aback by this, Lucy froze for a moment before regaining her composure and sporting yet another nasty grimace as she snapped at him,
"Mind your own business, ghost boy!" she snarled, causing Cato's anger to flare up at the mentioning of the nickname he so detested before she finally flipped the conversation to start asking him questions,
"And what are you doing running across the desert with this dead weight? Shouldn't you be in Florida with your dad after what you did all those years ago? Or did you finally ki-!"
"MA! GET THE CASH REGISTER, WE'S GOT CUSTOMERS!"
A booming voice from within the building cut Ms. Simian off before she could finish her degrading statement and seconds later a burly, toothless old man wearing a white tank top covered in stains and tattered brown trousers came practically charging out the front entrance, knocking Lucy aside. Within moments, Cato found his hand within the firm grip of this strange fellow as he gave it a hardy shake and turned to do the same with Amber, but was spared from it when she backed away real quick, not really a fan of touching strangers. Despite his disfigured appearance; the pale blue, mottled skin, his hunched back and the beady yellow eyes that were rather predatory in appearance, he seemed rather eccentric and welcoming.
"Sorry, if I startled ya folks, I just get so excited when new people stop by. I reckon we don't get visitors very often." The old man greeted them with a chuckle.
"I mean, I can see why. The place doesn't exactly scream "cozy" and with the company he keeps…" Cato thought, but politely refrained from stating such thoughts out loud.
"No, no! It's cool, dude." Cato replied while wiping his hand on his trousers before turning to Amber, who just smiled nervously and gave him a thumbs up,
"We were very lucky to find this place." He concluded, flashing him a half smile.
Letting out another lighthearted chuckle, the toothless old man rubbed his hands together and bobbed his head,
"Wonderful! Now what brings you city slickers all the way down to our little touch of paradise?" He asked with genuine curiosity as his eyes kept flicking back and forth between Cato and Amber.
Turning once more to Amber, the ghost girl merely shrugged at him and the blue eyed teen took that as his cue to start talking,
"Well, I'm Cato and this is my friend, Amber Caesar." He said, gesturing towards the floating spirit behind him, who waved once again and smiled,
"We're on our way to Elmore to meet up with some old friends of mine." He explained.
"And to meet my cousin." Amber quickly added in.
"That too." Said Cato.
Hearing this, the old man stared at them with vexation and scratched the top of his hairless, lumpy head with a single finger,
"Elmore, eh? That's where Lucy here came from!" He exclaimed, hiking a thumb back towards said primate, who was glaring at her coffee cup, now completely contaminated with dust.
"Yeah and so is the ghost boy." Lucy grumbled, catching the ire of Cato again as she glanced towards them with a bitter expression,
"Come to reunite with your band of hooligans again?" She asked accusingly.
Waving her off and rolling his eyes, the scary old man quickly cut in with a retort,
"Bah, ignore that old harpy. She ain't gonna be here long anyway." He stated reassuringly, though with the way he sounded, the moment of her departure couldn't come any sooner for him and he turned towards the weary travelers again with a thumb pressed into his chest,
"Name's Daniel Trevors, but y'all can just call me Danny. Is there anything I can get you two? Coffee? A nice warm breakfast? Some new clothes, perhaps? Oh, why don't you come in and check out our little shop? Got all kinds of souvenirs if one of y'all wanna start a collection!" He suggested, giving Cato a wink.
Feeling his stomach growling, the mere thought of food was enough to make the fifteen-year-old's mouth water and after running in the dry desert for over four hours now, anything sounded good at this point. Amber too was down for some food, despite being a ghost and all, the last thing she shared with Cato was a bag of chips they snagged from a gas station some three hundred miles back and was craving something that was more filling. Shrugging his shoulders and nodding, the white humanoid couldn't say no to such an offer,
"Yeah, some food sounds nice, but we don't have a lot of money and we're also in a bit of a hurry too." He explained, already fishing through his pockets and pulling out a crumpled wad of dollar bills.
They were also in a hurry due to Amber sensing a few odd disturbances coming from where they were heading a few days ago and this left both of the travelers feeling particularly worried. Having left Florida about a month ago, the journey was quite harrowing as they've been dealing with all kinds of dangers from crazy bizarrophobes (Humans carrying prejudice towards bizarros.), monsters that dwelled in places where civilization was vacant, wicked spirits and Nephilim, the greatest danger of them all. If Amber's senses were anything to go by, then that would mean their friends and family in Elmore might be in danger.
And after seven long years of yearning to return, Cato wanted to make sure Gumball and Darwin were okay.
Understanding his plea, Danny nodded once and placed both hands in the air in a friendly gesture,
"That won't be an issue and I'll try to keep the chit-chat to a minimum, though you may wanna watch out for my mama, she's quite a talker! Eh-hee-hee!" He chuckled with amusement before finally waving them towards the building as he took the lead,
"Come on in, I reckon mama's got another batch of coffee brewing… (sniff, sniff) and pizza too!" He said with glee.
Following him inside and finding a cozy interior that was filled with stuffed animals set on display along with other items typically found in hunting stores, which really confused the two teens. As they were greeted by an extremely withered-looking woman who resembled Daniel, his mother no doubt, Lucy remained outside and watched as the boy she remembered picking on as a child began chowing down on the food provided, all while making small talk with the small family. While normally it never surprised her to see her people she knew once grow up and move on with their lives, she never expected to see him of all people heading back to Elmore.
"This can't be a coincidence. If the Nephilim are in Elmore and that pale brat is coming back home, does that mean his father failed in his mission?" She wondered, rubbing her chin with both her finger and thumb.
As she continued to ponder this by herself, the boy and the ghost finished their share of pizza and coffee before bidding the two strange folk goodbye. After they exited the building, they shot Ms. Simian one final glare before Cato took on a sprinting position and with a single verbal exchange between him and his spectral companion, took off down the dirt road from whence they came. Running at speeds that rivaled most speeding vehicles, Cato and Amber soon vanished over the horizon, leaving behind nothing but a trail of dust and a baffled looking ape as she stood on all fours.
It seemed as though Elmore's penchant for attracting trouble had only begun and the citizens were truly clueless as to what was coming, was what she thought.
-Ruins of Los Angeles, 7:12 AM-
Halberd squadron
As the dark clouds over the Californian coast continued to shroud the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains in thick, black smokey tendrils, a squadron of approaching F-86 Sabres surged through the darkness. Having launched from an airfield several hundred miles East from the Pacific coastline, the aircraft of Halberd squadron, numbering twenty four in total, were in a race to breach the city's heavily defended airspace and made steady progress as their single Amethyst-celeste powered, turbofan engines propelled them forward at high speeds, belching purple flames from their exhaust. With their sleek, cylindrical fuselages, swept-back wings and fearsome red paint jobs, the fighters were an awe-inspiring sight to behold despite being an aged war-machine. Armed with six .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the nose above and around the air intake; eight wing mounted, unguided rockets or two bombs (depending on the payload of each individual craft.), all of which were capable of immense magical destruction, the NEA squadron was a hellish force on its own.
At the head of this deadly aerial unit was Captain Katherine Cooper, callsign "Halberd one", a decorated veteran of the Kuwait oil wars and an experienced fighter pilot. Being a bizarro herself, Katherine was a short, grey skinned humanoid with menacing black eyes and green hair cut short as military regulations dictated. Dressed in an olive drab flight suit with sophisticated life-support systems mounted on her vest, a patch displaying the squadron's logo, a halberd raining down from a thunder cloud, on her left shoulder, the blue armband of the GAE proudly worn on her bicep and a white helmet bearing the NEA markings with a tinted visor that obscured her face along with an oxygen mask, the suit was comfortable albeit a bit baggy on her.
With the mountains speeding by underneath her, Katherine could feel her nerves acting up as she anxiously scanned the horizon for any telltale signs of enemy air units and found to her frustration that the world beyond the cockpits canopy was unnaturally dark with the occasional flash of red lightning illuminating the murkiness of the storm. Radar was useless too, as the electromagnetic field was too much for their scanners and had they been using the same instruments that modern aircraft used, they would've most likely been compromised at this point. One such squadron of F-22 raptors found that out the hard way back in '10, when an unknown Nephilim was sighted over a village in Alaska and when the pilots were dispatched, their computers mysteriously began suffering catastrophic malfunctions that rendered the jets useless.
Hence, why the NEA switched to outdated machinery to help fight their battles instead, and because funds for the administration were hard to comeby thanks to the UN's notoriously ineffective bureaucracy.
To be honest, Katherine hated these old buckets, but that was irrelevant to the mission and was glad to be in the air, to be able to serve her country and her planet,
"All units, this is Halberd one, we are entering Los Angeles airspace and will begin engaging enemy fighters soon. Keep your wits about you. Visibility's poor and the enemy is sure to know how to track us in this weather." She instructed after switching on her helmet's comms,
"I have just received confirmation from the overseer: first wave ineffective, the Nephilim have taken the city and we are to clear any airborne threats before the transports arrive. Iris will provide fire support from orbit, but until then, we're on our own, understood?"
"Copy that, captain. Weapon's hot and fuel supply is nominal. Maintaining current speed and trajectory." Came Lieutenant Chuck "Slick" Morgan's, her wingman, response over the radio.
Static hissed and the channel was lit with positive responses from all her squadmates as they closed in on their designated location. As the glow of Katherine's control console continued to splash her visor with luminous colors and blinking lights, her eyes would flick back and forth from the instruments to the window as she remained ever so wary of her surroundings. Thinking about how the first wave had failed didn't sit well with her and the grey woman's concerns for her fellow pilots grew ever constantly in the back of her head. If what she read in the mission briefing was true then it wasn't just Locusts that they would have to concern themselves with, but hundreds of thousands of ground units and even worse, possibly the dreaded Seraphim squad too.
If they failed here, would the Nephilim continue to spread outwards and wreak havoc on the nearby cities?
Did Iris have a backup plan if their attempts to retake Los Angeles failed?
Would her daughter be in danger too?
Thinking of her, the captain felt her grip on the plane's throttle tighten and her muscles began to tense up. Her daughter, Clare, lived in Elmore, roughly two hundred miles away from here and while she hadn't seen her or her ex-husband, Doug, in eleven years, she did still care for their safety. Her clouded thoughts nearly blocked out the other voice in her head, specifically the Sabre's Nymph and her battle partner, Candice.
"You shouldn't distract yourself with so many concerns, Kathy. Focus on the mission." The machine spirit warned telepathically.
Feeling herself snap out of the deep funk she was in, Katherine shook her head and breathed a heavy sigh,
"Yeah, sorry about that." She apologized, feeling slightly embarrassed,
"Have you picked anything up yourself, Candice? Radar's still not working here and I think the storm is starting to get worse." She asked, looking about tentatively once again and still finding nothing to see.
From the Nymph, there was first a pause and then a negative reply,
"I'm not so sure. The storm carries high amounts of spiritual energy and- Wait…" She paused and then there was a scream from within her head as Candice shouted with alarm,
"CAPTAIN, ABOVE US!"
There was an immediate reaction as the attentive pilot's head snapped upwards and just in the nick of time too. A flash of red lightning highlighted the space around them and a massive dark shape could be seen heading straight for her. It was large, nearly twice the length of her Sabre and shaped like a teardrop, with the pointed front split into a pair of large mandibles.
Seeing this frightening silhouette in the clouds, Kathy's heart began to race and her mind was so frantic with wild thoughts that she could only manage to utter one word to warn her comrades,
"Locust!" She cried out before pulling the stick to the left.
The fighter lurched to the side in response to the controls and the sudden force slammed Kathy's petite frame into the side opposite of where she was turning, causing her to grunt in pain. Despite this, the maneuver proved highly effective as the captain was able to roll out of the Locust's path and away from its slicing jaws as it continued to dive straight down. Having been alerted by the captain's warning and seeing what happened, Lieutenant Morgan along with several of his squadmates attempted to locate the creature, but only caught a brief glimpse as the floating insect pulled out of its dive before speeding away on its own, vanishing over the mountaintops just ahead.
"What the hell was that?" Shouted Markus "Oddball" Gomez, a rookie pilot.
"Damn thing came out of nowhere!" Exclaimed Liu "Tiger" Befong, a corporal who served under Captain Cooper for three months now.
"You alright, Captain? That bogey nearly made a meal out of you." Chuck called out, concerned for his captain.
With her brow now slick with sweat and her hands shaking from adrenaline, the commanding officer was a bit spooked, but otherwise was just fine,
"Halberd one here, yeah, I'm fine. Good thing Candice was on alert moments earlier or else that could've ended badly." Katherine replied over the mic before turning her attention to said Nymph and contacting her via telepathy,
"How are we looking, Candice?" She mentally asked.
"All flight systems are green, captain. If I were to believe my conjecture, I'd say that Locust was a scout." Candice speculated.
Feeling her gut rolling about, Kathy pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the darkness ahead; having a bad feeling about this,
"So chances are they now know we're here then?" She asked rhetorically before flipping open her mic to all channels,
"This is Halberd one to all units. Accelerate to attack speed and be on guard. We're expecting company to arrive soon and I'm betting they'll be bringing the entire welcome wagon." She ordered, receiving confirmation all across the board as the planes began to pick up speed.
Burning high on Celestial power, the fighters shot across the mountain range and finally crossed into Los Angeles proper. No one knew what to expect when they got there, but as soon as the city came into view, a feeling of dread washed over the twenty four pilots of Halberd squadron and it soon came to light how truly dire the situation was.
There was no city.
Where mighty skyscrapers and prominent establishments once stood, large spindly trees made of several intertwining trunks rose to take their place like crimson fangs. The sprawling sea of housing units that once served as a home to over three million individuals was now a dense jungle of glowing trees, whose canopies shielded the floor from view with iridescent leaves that shifted from hues of violet, blue and pink to red, orange and yellow, suddenly filling the sky with their thick luminosity. Major roadways and streets were completely replaced with flowing river canals and in these rushing waters, Katherine and her fellow pilots could make out many a bizarre creature, but whether they were Nephilim or some strange new inhabitant was hard to say.
They didn't just destroy the city, but somehow they transformed it into some kind of twisted, surreal mockery.
Filled with awe and horror at this obscene desecration of a once proud American city, the grey woman marveled at the sight,
"Gone. It's all just gone. They've completely erased it and set up some kind of biome. What is this even supposed to be? A habitat? Some kind of farm or harvesting area?" She postulated, but knew all the speculation in the world would do her no good as all she could see was the horror that awaited any civilization that came under occupation of these monsters from the moon.
There were further cries of shock and dismay among her squadmates, but none of them registered as another structure made itself known to the captain. The shape of it was an octahedron, if memories from geometry class was to serve her well, spanning at least two miles at the equator with a glossy black surface that nearly blended in with the inky black mist above had it not been for the glowing red linear symbols that ran across its surface like veins. Around it a large ring floated and maintained a constant orbit around its equator.
From the few reports she had received in the past, the name stuck out in her mind like a candle in the dark: Abaddon.
Furrowing her brow, Katherine switched on the missile control and brought her Sabre up to bear,
"Alright everyone, there's our target. Slick, Oddball, you're with me. We'll be making a direct run for the Abyssal Fortress. The rest of you, break off into smaller units and scan for hostiles. Anyone spots a swarm, keep them occupied and remain in formation." Her voice came in loud and clear over the radio,
"Also, keep an eye out for any ground movement. This jungle is thick and we don't know where the enemy is, so don't fly too low. Understood. Over."
"Copy that, captain!" Halberd squadron answered in unison.
"Captain, we have company!" Candice's voice cried out in her head.
Sure enough, from the sky above, thousands of Locusts began to descend upon them, their sleek white bodies cutting through the air and moving about in a frenzied manner. Like rain they fell and soon the air was filled with a dense fusillade of Doom Blasts. In the opening seconds of the battle, three jets were torn asunder and sent spiralling downwards in a fiery ball of destruction.
Hearing their dying screams over the radio, the captain's mind snapped into action and her body followed soon after as she issued immediate commands to her subordinates,
"Evade! Evade!" She shouted, placing her fighter into a tight banking turn as she shot to the left.
Peeling off from the main formation, the Sabres, now in groups no larger than four, began to weave about as the Locusts swarmed them and narrowly dodged the lethal red energy bolts. With her wingmen at her side, Katherine spotted several of the white flyers attempting to pull around and flank them. Calling her comrades to her, the trio got the jump on the Locusts before they could execute their planned maneuver and brought her guns to bear on the enemy units.
"Eat this!" She roared, pressing her thumb on the joystick's firing stud.
Bursting to life, the six nose guns burned with blue fire as streams of Howling Death rounds screamed their way towards their targets and tore their way through the white chitinous armor that protected the giant bugs. One after the other, four Locust shrieked like banshees as they were ripped apart and their remains disintegrated as they fell. The rest of the enemy formation was dealt with by her wingmen and their deaths were celebrated with cries of joy.
Even with the poor visuals, Katherine could make out the battle all around her and in the midst of the chaos, she could make out the distinctive purple glow of the Sabres' engines as they raced about, cutting down one enemy after another in a deadly dance. However, despite their excellent performance, more Nephilim began to pour out from the darkness and the space all around them was thick with their bodies. It wouldn't matter how many they killed if they just kept coming at them like this, they would eventually run out of ammo or worse, be overrun.
"Halberd one to Slick and Oddball. We need to punch through these guys and get to Abaddon before we're overrun! Over!" Kathy ordered as a stray Doom Blast nearly took off her left wing, causing her to flinch.
"Slick to Halberd one, how do you propose we do that? There's no way through these guys!" Questioned the Lieutenant, rolling his plane to the side as five Locusts attempted to catch him in a crossfire, only to lose three of their own in the process.
"We can try cutting through the forest where there's less of them?" Suggested Oddball as he tried to shake several pursuing Nephilim and watched in horror as another Sabre was blown out of the sky close by to his position.
Glancing down at the glowing canopy, Katherine's blood froze and the green haired woman shook her head in response,
"Negative. We'll be confined to the space below the trees and left vulnerable to enemy ground units." She argued before formulating a plan on the fly,
"We need to form up again and clear a path through these things. It may be-!"
"I disagree, Captain Cooper." Came another voice on the radio, one that was unfamiliar to her.
"What in the hell?"
Placing a hand on her headset, Katherine continued to pull evasive maneuvers and cut down enemy fighters as she contacted this newcomer,
"Halberd one to unknown contact. Confirm your identity. Over." She demanded, taking her finger off the button as she awaited a response.
A cackle of static and the male voice returned moments later,
"This is the Overseer, reporting to all units. I'm in position right now above your coordinates with the Jupiter. Stand by and await for orbital bombardment. It's time to clear out this infestation." Came his response.
Iris.
Feeling relieved that help was on the way, Katherine's eyes widened with joy and she let out the breath she didn't know she was even holding,
"Thank Jade." She thought with gratitude.
"I'm picking up another surge of energy. It's coming from above and it's coming in fast too. Brace yourself!" Candice warned.
Not a moment sooner had she said that, the dark skies exploded with blinding white light as thousands of Aether Lances, each a bolt of glowing, fiery, white energy as thick and tall as a telephone pole, pierced through the heavy cloud cover and began raining down on them. Caught off guard by the sudden shower of lethal rounds, the Locusts were quickly struck down by these lances and the ones that tried to escape fared no better as they too were quickly obliterated. Watching as the Nephilim were struck down by the thousands, Katherine and the rest Halberd Squadron were left in complete awe of this immense display of power by their head administrator.
In less than a minute, the thunder had died down and the lights had vanished leaving the skies completely clear of the airborne menace, all the while leaving the NEA fighters miraculously unscathed. The orbital strike even left holes in the clouds, allowing sunflight to shine through and with it, hope.
Seconds later, Iris's voice came through again and spoke with the captain,
"All hostile units eliminated. You're free to make your run now, captain." Iris reported, his voice calm and collected.
Seeing absolutely no enemies in sight, except for the immense Abyssal Fortress that hung over the alien biome, Katherine would have considered it a miracle and renounced her faith in order to serve their new god. Almost.
"Copy that, Overseer. Thanks for the assist, though I would've brought my umbrella if I knew the forecast was gonna be this bad." She replied, grinning at the joke she made.
There was no response after that and Kathy could only assume that he heard her. Still, with the path now wide open and ready to be paved, there was no time to waste. It was time to knock one angel out of the sky.
Veering around and placing the massive floating octahedron in the center of her vision, the grey pilot felt her body being pressed into her seat as she slammed the accelerator,
"All units on me. I want all missiles armed and ready to fire upon- EUGH!" Her commands were interrupted when a powerful force began to press down on her body, as though gravity was pulling down with even greater force.
"What is this?" She wondered with fright as she tried to move her arm, but found it locked firmly in place along with the rest of her body and even her plane was frozen in midair.
Over the comms, she could hear the panicked screams of the other pilots as the same, mysterious force had also taken hold of their planes and their bodies faced incredible discomfort. The entire squadron was stuck in place and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Whatever magic was being used here, it was very powerful and Katherine's mind began to race as fear quickly took over.
"Kathy… I'm picking up something… Oh Jade, this spiritual energy…! It's unnatural!" Candice relayed through her thoughts and the pilot realized with horror that the Nymph was also undergoing some kind of intense pain as was indicated by the distress in her voice.
She didn't get to ponder this for long as the sky split open, revealing a massive portal and out from it came one of the largest flying Nephilim she'd ever seen.
The giant was like a myth come to life as it resembled a grand charioteer being pulled by a team of eight flaming pegasi, their hooves galloping on the air and creating mighty explosions in their wake with every footfall while their mighty wings and manes surged with the fires of the sun. The chariot they pulled was slender and smooth, almost as if it was meant to cut through the air itself as its golden frame was decorated with images of the heavenly bodies and the two wheels at the side were but rings of fire that spun ever so quickly. It's driver, though divine in his appearance, was an odd one as he lacked a lower torso and instead appeared to be seamlessly fused with the chariot itself, his toga flowing into the front of the craft. Combined together, the horses and chariot were as long as an aircraft carrier and could probably tower over the flight deck too.
His upper body, a good portion of which was bare thanks to how little the toga covered, was incredibly muscular and glimmered with gold. Flowing behind him, in trails of golden flame was his luscious locks, combed back from his forehead and held only slightly a laurel wreath that was barely visible from the radiance of his hair. Upon his chiseled features, a pair of eyes with golden irises surrounded by black sclera, like the sun in the midst of darkness, glowed and scanned the world from above with child-like wonder, a gleeful grin gracing his lips.
As he spotted the aircraft, which he held in the grasp of his gravity well, the smile formed into a sneer and as he galloped by, a bow with an elaborate design formed within his palms with a flaming arrow already placed in the drawstring.
Watching with absolute terror, Katherine witnessed the death of every last one of her comrades as the flying charioteer let loose one arrow after another in rapid succession and set the planes ablaze. Screaming, she fought hard against her restraints, thrashing about with her body as the screams of her squadmates filled her ears as they burned alive and her attempts to free herself became even more aggressive. It was a total nightmare, one that she couldn't seem to wake up from and she was powerless to do anything as her death drew near with every arrow that was fired.
"COME ON, DAMN IT! MOVE!" She shrieked.
As if motivated by her words and unrelenting spirit, the fighter suddenly surged forward, free from the Nephilim's invisible clutches.
But it was all for nought, as an arrow that had been set specifically for her shot by and took the entire back section on Katherine's Sabre. Metal shrieked as it was ripped away and the flimsy vessel fell into a wild tailspin as it made its way earthbound. Realizing that there was no saving the doomed vessel, Katherine grunted as she reached down into a hidden compartment for her submachine gun and after grasping the weapon from under her seat, quickly pulled the lever between her legs.
If the force of a spiralling aircraft wasn't already enough to make her head spin, getting shot out of it like a cannon was even worse.
As soon as the canopy popped off, Katherine felt as though she were being sucked up in a vacuum with all the air racing by her and filling her ears with painful wails. For a few moments that felt like hours, all the green haired woman could feel was herself being propelled upwards at high speed and her arms flailing about behind her as the resulting pressure forced them backwards. Once she slowed down and began to fall, she quickly disconnected from her seat and let it fall below her as she pulled her chute.
From her pack, a wide circle of cloth blossomed outwards and caught the wind like a sail, stretching itself outwards above her as she slowed dramatically in her descent.
Then her vision faded, her last thoughts being that of her daughter.
-Cooper residence, Elmore suburbs, 7:22 AM-
"MOM!" Clare screamed.
Having awoken from her slumber, the green haired teen shot up from her bed, her grey skin covered in sweat that forced her pink Daisy the Donkey PJ's to cling to her body and her eyes were wide open with fright. Breathing heavily as she scanned the room, the nightmarish images of monsters and her mom's fighter jet remained fresh in her mind, constantly replaying itself over and over again. Minutes passed by in silence as she clutched her blanket tightly, feeling the soft fabric within her fingers and tried to force the horrific scene from her mind, but to no avail.
Something was terribly wrong.
That dream was like no other. Despite not having seen her mother since she was four, she could almost sense the fear and confusion that was going through her head, like she was actually there with her. It was too real for her to ignore and the feeling of dread continued to grip at her with icy claws.
"What's going on? Why am I so shaken up by a dream? It can't be so serious. I must be overreacting or something because this is ridic-!?" She paused in her thoughts when she realized something.
Turning to the phone that rested on her nightstand, she snatched it up, unplugged it and pressed the home button with her thumb. The darkness of her small bedroom was immediately shattered by the bright light of the screen, causing Clare to instinctively screw her eyes shut and groan with discomfort. Once the pain subsided and she was finally able to adjust, she popped them open again to see what today's date was.
November 16th.
"Strange. Today's the day that the earthquake was predicted to hit Los Angeles, which is where mom and those monsters were..." She trailed off in her thoughts as she continued to stare at her phone in silence.
Now she knew something was definitely wrong.
As much as she just wanted to brush it off as a weird creepy coincidence and go back to sleep, the feeling of desperation was too much to ignore. So many weird things have been happening lately and to be honest, it was starting to get to her. Yawning loudly, the moody teenager swung herself out of bed and began to pace about her messy bedroom, her head clouded with confusing thoughts regarding her next course of action.
It felt weird to be worrying about her mom like this, not only could she barely remember her, but from what her dad had said, she was a very distant person and always placed her duty as an Air Force pilot before her own family. It left Clare feeling very conflicted, not quite sure if she loved her mother or despised her for leaving them. It was, after all, her fault that they had to leave Detroit and her old life behind, so what reason did she have to be so concerned?
Shaking her head and allowing her messy green hair to fall across her face in tangled locks, she sighed,
"I really need someone to talk to about this." She muttered to herself.
Suddenly, a thought came to her and she started browsing through her contacts list. It wasn't difficult to locate the name she was looking for, her social circle consisted of very few friends, and eventually a tab bearing the name "Carrie Krueger" was in view. While Clare hadn't exactly been keeping in touch with the ghost girl as of late, she did know her throughout her time in middle school and if there was anyone she could possibly rely on to explain the weird dream she had, it would definitely be her.
After hovering over the call button with her thumb, the mopey high schooler sighed with disbelief and pressed it, hoping that she wasn't busy with anything.
The phone rang for approximately one minute before there was a notable click and then the somber tone of Elmore's residential punk rock chick could be heard,
"Hello?"
Pausing to quickly reconsider whether or not she was being ridiculous, there wasn't much to debate as the feeling was still there and the green haired teen quietly responded,
"Hey, Carrie. Do you, um, have a minute to talk?" She asked, reaching up with her free hand to grab her arm and rub it nervously as she bit her lip.
"Oh, hey Clare! Been a while now, hasn't it? And yeah, I have time, lot's of it actually, so what's up?" Carrie greeted, trying to sound cheerful, but Clare could detect something off in her tone.
She wanted to know what was going on with her, but Clare decided not to press the issue and instead got straight to the point,
"Um, yeah, it has been, huh. So, the reason why I'm calling is because… okay, this is going to sound weird, but I had this nightmare about my mom- she's in the Air Force and I haven't seen her since I was four- and she was flying through this strange jungle, fighting a bunch of monsters and then this giant- I don't know what you would call it, thing?, attacked. She was going down and there was smoke and fire and I'm worried that she's hurt, but I don't understand it because it was all just a dream and-!"
"Woah, woah, hang on a sec!" Carrie interrupted after noticing something,
"Clare, I need you to do something for me real quick." She said, sounding urgent,
Raising an eyebrow, Clare's tone took on a suspicious edge as she asked,
"What? What is it?" A feeling began to creep into her psyche, casting shadows of worry and causing the grey humanoid to tense up.
Without further pause, Carrie spoke,
"I need you to say my name five times." She instructed, sounding very serious.
"I'm sorry, what are you-!" Clare started, only to be cut off once more by the spooky spirit.
"Just hurry up and do it already!" She said in a raised voice, nearly causing Clare to drop her phone and then hung up.
Staring blankly at her silent mobile device, the temperamental 15 year old shook her head and groaned with frustration,
"Okay, don't need to get snippy about it." She muttered with discontent before getting started on the ritual,
"Carrie, Carrie, Carrie, Carrie, Carrie." She repeated five times in succession.
Suddenly, there was a loud pop and an intense flash of light before the little ghost suddenly manifested straight in front of her. Startled, Clare jumped back in fright and let out a little scream. She wasn't expecting Carrie to show up so suddenly and while the young introvert was having a panic attack, the ghost floated up to her with an intense look in her eyes as she tried to calm her down,
"Sorry, I forgot to warn you beforehand. I know this is probably very weird and unexpected for you." She apologized, hoping that she wouldn't faint from fright.
Having stumbled and fallen back into her bed, Clare sat there with her hand pressed over her pounding heart as she stared with wide, frightened eyes at the big-headed ghost,
"You think?! What the heck are you doing in my room, you weirdo?" Claire exclaimed with embarrassment as she contemplated how many years of her life were shaved off from that experience.
Raising her hands in a peaceful gesture, Carrie's face remained that of a calm one and when she spoke, her voice was smooth as well,
"I'm sorry, but there's no time to explain. We have to- Are those Daisy the Donkey pajamas you're wearing?" The ghost asked in a rather curious tone.
With her one visible eye, Clare followed Carrie's gaze downwards and onto the bright pink PJ's covered in cartoonishly expressive purple/yellow donkeys from the show she once loved as a child. At first it didn't register with her what was wrong, but then after a moment or two of contemplation, she realized just how much the clothes clashed with her overall demeanor. Such a realization caused Clare's face to go beet red with embarrassment before turning once again to the watching specter and screaming,
"YES I WEAR DAISY THE DONKEY PAJAMAS! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?!" The mixture of rage and mortification has left her in hysterics.
Not being phased in the slightest, Carrie simply shrugged and began futzing with her bangs,
"Oh, nothing. They just look really silly on you is all." She snickered, much to the ire of the room's other occupant.
Crossing her arms and exhaling with frustration, the green haired teen expected nothing less from the trickster spirit,
"Yeah, well, no one asked you." She snapped back.
"You just did." Carrie responded with a blank expression.
"What do you want?" Clare growled, her dark eye seething as she glared into Carrie's only visible one.
As if a lightbulb went off in her head, the little ghost suddenly straightened out a little and floated towards Clare again, this time taking her by the hand,
"Oh, right. Listen, I think I know what's going on with you, but you'll have to come with me first. I know someone who can explain this better than I." She proclaimed.
Clare's face blanched.
"Wait, what do you mean by that? Where are we- AUUGH!"
Without skipping a beat, Carrie grabbed Clare by the hand and with some concentration, the two suddenly vanished into thin air. With a few quick jumps, the two would soon reach Jotenheim's cave and if they're lucky, can talk to Grendela before she leaves.
-Elmore Mall, Downtown Elmore, 7:32 AM-
The mall wasn't packed so tightly today, mostly due to the fact that it had opened half an hour ago and at this early in the morning on a weekend, most people were sleeping in. That, and most people were afraid to leave their homes after the government's announcement of the imminent earthquake that was predicted to level Los Angeles. This wasn't a bother for Rachel though, as the rainbow lass found the lack of people less stressful and made what she was going to do a lot easier.
Sitting in front of the marble water fountain situated at the center of the mall's hub, Rachel's thumbs danced across her phone's screen and her eyes remained glued to the device, completely oblivious to the sounds around her.
"And sent." She muttered to no one in particular as she sent a text to someone very important to her,
"I hope he hasn't left yet." She thought worriedly as she placed the phone on her lap and glanced about the mall in a fidgety manner.
The morning sun's rays pierced the windows on the ceiling and brought direct light straight on the turquoise high schooler that slowly shifted as the sun rose. Looking straight down the main hall, dozens of stores were open, shelves freshly stocked with new products, their neat and cozy interiors beckoning any would-be shoppers inside. The music playing over the PA system broadcasted a song from Bruno Mars and added to the soft melody of the trickling stream of water flowing from the fountain's faucet.
She could make out a couple of older women, both humans, a grey haired one and a brunette, dressed in a style reminiscent of an old 70's sitcom having coffee together while appearing sad about something, but as far as Rachel knew, those were the only other shoppers here.
For the curly haired teen, this sense of normalcy felt so out of place and after learning everything that was happening, this feeling never went away. She was still reeling from what happened at Masami's birthday party a month ago, but in that time since, she's been slowly losing it and now she felt like she needed to take action. Anything to rid her of these maddening thoughts and perhaps get some control over her life again.
There was also the case of Gumball and Teri's kidnappings. If the rainbow haired girl was being honest, she didn't know them that well, outside of that one time she met Teri here at this very mall with Clare and Sissy. However, after getting back from Masami's manor that one night, she heard Rob explain to her a memory of a time they were all friends and going by past experiences, he really did care about them.
Not that she could place these memories herself, but given that Rob believed this to be true made her inclined to believe it as well and drove her to see to it that they made it home.
"Please let this work…" Rachel prayed, hoping that what happens next would turn out in her favor.
As if on a cue, she got a text message back that read:
On my way. Could you please take a picture of the place you're at?
Following the strange commands from the messenger, she snapped a quick photo using her phone's camera and sent it to the other end before anxiously waiting once more. Suddenly, from a few feet in front of her, a portal opened and out stepped Rob. Donning his typical combat gear, Rachel recognized the armored spacesuit and noticed right away a few modifications made to it.
For one, the helmet's visor was completely covered by an angular metal face covering with a single red, eye-like camera lens situated at the center and several new radio antennae were added to the inbuilt headset. The armor covering his upper torso and shoulders looked thicker, but was made of a black lightweight plastic that was white at the front with some pockets storing extra panels. On each hand was his usual leviathan book with the gauntlet sporting extra cartridges filled with cloud gel and the array of rail guns on the other boasted a better protected touchscreen to manually implement commands for the weapon, plus a more sophisticated ammo distribution system.
With all this new gear, Rob was both menacing and striking in appearance, like an alien robot coming to conquer, as ironic as that was.
Marching towards her, the portal behind him vanished and Rob slipped the portal rune disc back into his pocket before greeting her with a friendly wave,
"You have no idea how lucky you are. I literally just finished preparations for the mission and was about to head out to Grendela's place." He said, chuckling somewhat as he pressed a button on the side of his helm and the mask slid upwards, revealing his distorted face,
"What's up?" He finally asked.
Happy to see him here, Rachel smiled briefly before a serious expression etched its way into her features and exhaled rather loudly,
"Yeah, sorry about that. I meant to catch you on the way out, but I was-!"
"Out cold after staying up all night doing makeup work for biology after failing your test yesterday." Rob cut in with an amused, yet irritant chuckle.
Offended, Rachel's face burned red with rage and embarrassment as the easily distracted teen stomped her foot,
"Will you lay off me, Einstein! I've had a lot on my mind lately and I haven't been able to focus because-!" Her angry ramblings we're cut short once again by the lanky child as he leaned in and gave her face a close inspection.
"Huh, new eyeliner today, nice!" He complimented, much to the rainbow lass's surprise and her face continued to heat up as Rob continued his observation,
"Also, there's a really big zit on your forehead too."
BONK!
"OW!" Rob cried out in pain as Rachel's fist came down like a hammer on his head, making him regret lifting his mask and leaving it vulnerable.
"NOT IN PUBLIC, JERK!" Rachel shouted with extreme indignation, several tick marks already forming around her and her black eyes threatened to burn holes through him,
"And I do not!" She remarked defensively, using her other hand to brush some of her curly bangs over the marked area in a self-conscious effort to hide the offending blemish.
As the brown haired cyclops muttered something under his breath while tenderly rubbing the top of his head, Rachel cooled down and stood facing him with her arms crossed,
"So, you're already heading out?" She asked, despite already knowing the answer.
Standing up straight, Rob's face glitched out for a moment and when it returned to normal, something was different. Rachel couldn't quite place it, but something was definitely wrong and a sense of unease washed over her as he answered,
"In a few minutes, yeah. Grendela wanted to take care of a few things first and so I've decided to spend the past few hours at Elmore Dynamics getting ready for, well, the main event I suppose." He said, tensing up and feeling his body shake a little,
"To be honest, out of all the fights I've been in, this is something I never thought I would have to deal with, you know? I mean, I've never really faced so many of these creatures all at once and the last time we were outnumbered we nearly…" He trailed off when he realized how frightened his closest friend appeared and quickly put on a brave face as his hands flew up in a frantic flurry of gestures,
"But, it's nothing! We've got this! Grendela's a skilled sorceress and I've faced these monsters before, there's nothing we can't handle." The man in the spacesuit was now rubbing his neck nervously as he practically butchered any sense of confidence he tried to portray and one look at the rainbow lass was proof of that.
Eyeing him carefully, Rachel could now easily recognize the stress and fear present in the lanky pre-teen's posture and voice. Knowing this helped reinforce her resolve and after shifting to a more solid stance, she pursed her lips before taking a deep breath and letting it out,
"I want to join you." She boldly declared, keeping a straight face, yet her tone was soft and certain.
This came out of the blue and a baffled Rob was taken aback as he just stared intensely with his single, yellow orb. After going through a range of emotions and a storm of questions, Rob's monobrow furrowed itself on his forehead as the obvious response finally formed on his lips,
"What? Why would you- erm, hold on one sec." He said, holding up a finger as he raced towards the table where the two elderly women were sitting.
As soon as he reached their table, the odd couple looked up with surprise and wondered why on Earth would some freaky-looking kid in a spacesuit stop at their table. Before either one could ask, Rob snatched up the brown haired woman's tea and took a swig before rushing back to Rachel. Having witnessed such an impulsive and offensive act, both remained paralyzed with shock as they gaped at the glitchy pre-teen.
"The nerve!" Gasped Samantha.
"And this is why I never went to comic-con." Angela retorted with contempt.
Leaving the two to their own devices, Rob stopped in front of his housemate with a mouth full of tea and did a dramatic spit take, spewing water all over her.
"You what?!" He cried, eye wide with alarm and tea dripping off his chin.
Using her shirt as a rag to clean Rob's mess off of her face, Rachel grumbled some kind of threat that was intelligible to the wiry inventor and glared back at him with her arms crossed,
"You heard me. I'm going to join you and Grendela to go help save Teri and Gumball." She responded, sounding very sure of herself.
Shaking his head and waving his arms in dismissal, Rob wasn't having it,
"No. Absolutely not. It's too dangerous for you to come with us." He countered.
Keeping her gaze fixed on his, the rainbow lass cocked a brow and carefully studied his features before finding what was bothering him,
"Because I can't see them and therefore I can't fight them. Plus, I don't have any magic either, so that leaves me defenseless, correct?" She questioned, her voice taking on an accusing tone.
Taking a moment to stare her down, Rob slowly nodded and found himself starting to mimic her stance,
"That's exactly what I'm saying." He said.
He didn't mean to sound so condescending or off putting, but it was the truth. She hadn't had any of the nightmarish visions that indicated one's possession of the Nephilim seed and without a magical weapon or any kind of magic that she could use, there was nothing she could do in the face of the evil spirits. For over a year now, Rob did his best to take care of her and he wasn't willing to let her put herself in greater danger, especially not after seeing what they had once been.
However, the cyan skinned teenager wasn't going to give up and again found a simple rebuttal to his refusal,
"Okay, so I'll just have to call Carrie when we get there and once I summon her, she can take over my body. We'll be able to do more if we're all together, you know." She stated, her frown lifting itself into a smug grin.
Now Rob's tight knit expression dropped and was replaced by one of vexation instead,
"So, you plan on dragging Carrie into this too? Don't you know that if you do this, you'll be leaving Elmore and everyone else here defenseless, right?" He remarked, trying to get through to her and hoping that common sense will be enough to break her stubbornness.
Rachel thought about it. She knew what she was doing was dangerous and not only was bringing Carrie along adding to the risk of greater losses, it was also incredibly selfish of her to just assume that she'll be willing to sign up for what could potentially be a suicide mission. Still, she knew Carrie and she knew that the ghost was willing to help her friends, no matter how dangerous the task was.
"Carrie would come along too if I asked her." Rachel boldly claimed,
"She cares for her friends and wouldn't hesitate to help bring them back. Also, you're forgetting that the Nephilim are tough and even with just two people fighting them, they can't be easily overcome. That's why we have to stick together if we're going to succeed. What difference will it make if all of you end up dead and it's just Carrie and I having to share a body in order to keep everyone safe?" That last question held a lot of weight to it as a deep concern had written itself into her features and forced Rob to take it all into consideration.
She had a point. As skilled as Grendela was, both she and himself were still only two people facing off against an army. An army which, if faced with such minimal resistance will likely spell ruin for everyone and the cyclops began to think it was unlikely that only two people could possibly keep each other safe while confronting such astronomical odds.
As he continued to contemplate this, Rachel stepped in closer and offered one final statement to her friend,
"I don't really know Teri and Gumball all that well, if I'm being honest here, but I know how much they mean to you and whether you realize it or not, that they've been bringing out the best traits I've seen from you. You are kind, brave and protective of those you care about. If not for them, but for me as well, you've pulled me out from that void and gave me a home, another chance, a family." She explained, passion in her voice as her black eyes continued to stare into his single yellow one,
"You've been doing your best to keep me and everyone else safe, but you don't need to do this alone. We have to keep each other safe." She said, meaning every word said to him.
Looking down into her eyes, Rob was filled with surprise and warmth. What he could see in those fiercely determined orbs of hers was a fiery spirit who, despite her shortcomings, wasn't going to let anything get in her way if it meant helping those she cared for. He'd seen this before, so many years ago when this very same rainbow haired girl would lead him and his small circle of friends together on adventures, watching out for them as if they were her own family.
What he was seeing now no longer resembled that helpless, lonely teenager he found in the void, but instead a fiercely loyal leader and friend that he could look up to; the very same girl he'd known all those years ago.
With these feelings of nostalgia permeating his mind, the polygonal inventor tried his best to fight back the smile that forced its way into his blocky features, but it was all for nought and when Rachel saw this, she too smiled in triumph as she knew she won him over, causing him to shake his head in amusement,
"You are so painfully stubborn, you know that right? I don't think I've ever met anyone in my life who's been such a thorn in my side." He chuckled, wishing he knew how her charm was just so infectious.
Slugging him in the shoulder, the sassy rainbow lass laughed along with him,
"That goes both ways, genius, and you're gonna have to get used to it because like it or not, you're stuck with me." She proclaimed, further ensuring him that she was in on this plan now.
With no further means of stopping her, Rob was forced to capitulate and after a long winded sigh had rushed from his windpipe, he dug out his portal rune to use once again,
"Grendela's gonna love this." He thought with bitter sarcasm as he knew that convincing the old witch to let his new companions come along would not be an easy endeavor, but if anything was absolute in this universe, that would be Rachel's sheer tenacity and penchant for being annoyingly stubborn to a fault,
"Okay, as soon as we get to Grendela's cave, you'll have to summon Carrie and as soon as you're ready, we'll form a plan to save our friends." He elucidated, making sure she got what he was telling her.
Nodding in affirmation to what he said, the curly haired woman placed one hand on her hip and with the other, gave him a thumbs-up,
"You got it, bud!" She exclaimed excitedly, trying her best to hide the nervousness she was feeling.
Without further ado, the space suit-wearing pre-teen opened up a mystical window leading straight to Jotenheim's home within the Northern mountains and inside, they could make out the dimly lit, cavernous interior of the troll. Grabbing his hand, the two shared one more look before turning towards the magic opening and after sliding his mask back down on his face, Rob led Rachel through the portal. Once on the other side, the portal closed behind them and the mall was empty once again, save for the two crossdressers sitting at the table nearby.
Having witnessed the two vanish through a strange gateway, both Samantha and Angela were so shocked that they failed to notice a third member approaching them.
"Sorry I'm late. I'm not sure if the bus driver was hitting on me or just trying to sell me something." Said Maria, a much older woman somewhere in her 70's with a mess of frizzy white hair, wearing a red jacket with a light blue button-up shirt underneath, a beige skirt, red heels and a pair of round spectacles that covered her icy blue eyes.
Taking a seat right in between her two closest friends and setting her purse down on the table, the elderly woman looked at her two friends with perplexity as they were still just staring on ahead as if they just saw a ghost,
"What did I miss?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
-Battle: Ruins of Los Angeles, 7:45 AM-
As death continued to rain from above, General Gorothim sped through the jungle and ignored the dying screams of his comrades before they were incinerated. Weaving around the glowing trees and ducking through the collapsed buildings while his six blades whirled about in a protective field, the six-armed skeleton deflected a number of incoming Aetherion lances. No matter where he went however, there was no escaping the onslaught as thousands of white bolts of energy continued to rip through the jungle's canopy and slam into the ground with Earth shaking fury.
Unfortunately, while he'd managed to survive thus far with a combination of skill, quick thinking and just plain luck, many weren't as fortunate.
Within the first ten minutes, the bombardment had claimed the lives of over 50,000 Knights, Guardsmen and also completely obliterated their air support. It was absolute madness. No one knew where the blasts were coming from and all the captains had either ordered their units to fire blindly back into the sky or disperse as the rounds continued to pummel them. In the last half hour alone, their numbers dropped from a little over 670,000 units to less than 480,000.
Not only were they bound to be completely wiped out soon, but even their cover was being destroyed thanks to the Aether rounds and their destructive blast radius. If that were the only bad news, then perhaps they could find a way out of this, but reports coming in from the Northern border showed the presence of NEA transports heading straight for them and possibly bearing a hundred thousand troops. Last he heard, they were predicted to arrive in less than fifteen minutes and without their Locusts to cover them, the NEA fighters would surely help pick off any organized resistance.
Definitely not good news.
Watching as a cowering squad of Guardsmen were reduced to atoms along with the tree they were hiding behind, Gorothim steered away to a nearby abandoned building in an attempt to hide himself from whatever was attacking them and screamed at a few Knights to beat it,
"Nice of Nimrod to remind us of their long-range capabilities." Gorothim thought with bitter sarcasm as he looked back at the massive octahedron that housed the president and his precious tower, all of which remained unscathed,
"I swear, I'll kill that bastard for this oversight, should he be unfortunate enough to survive this Hell."
After finally reaching the broken skyscraper sitting on its side, the thirty foot tall transparent skeleton smashed through the wall, using his body as a battering ram, and used his golden Doom Blast to melt away a space for him to huddle in. With nothing to disturb him except the constant roar of explosions outside and the dark enclosure of the strange Earthling living space (something Gorothim found to be absolutely distasteful.), the menacing general hurriedly held out one of his six hands with the palm facing upwards. From within his open palm, a blue communications lacrima crystal appeared and with a surge of power, activated.
From the crystal's blue glow, a hologram appeared and rather than show a figure, a dark mist manifested instead.
"Metatron. I'm in desperate need of your assistance." Gorothim remarked, his hollow eyes keeping a lookout for any possible signs of danger,
"We're being bombarded by what appears to be Aether energy and from a weapon previously unknown to us. It's range is vast and while I'm not entirely certain myself, I think this weapon is operating in Earth's upper atmosphere. We're getting slaughtered out here!" He trmebled as one of the lances shook the building he was in, causing dust and loose debris to come crashing down on him.
The voice that came from within the mist was harsh and grating, like a thousand knives scraping metal, almost punishing the listener,
"Iris… I should've expected he would show up during our grand entrance… Worry not, my faithful. I will deal with my son momentarily… Keep the forces of man occupied until the Seraphim Squad arrives and they will assist you… It won't be long until Nimrod is ready with the Tower of Babyl and this fight will be over." Metatron answered reassuringly, before signing off.
After receiving confirmation that help was coming from above, there was nothing the supreme general could do except wait and pray that the rain would stop.
-2,000 miles above sea level, Low Earth Orbit, 7:48 AM-
Iris had been to space before and the view never ceased to take his breath away, metaphorically speaking. Having launched from a base in Houston, Texas and circling the globe in a single orbit, Iris took it all in as the brilliant blue planet passed by underneath. With no sound, nothing but an expansive ocean dotted with strings of fluffy white clouds and the North American continent whose west coast lay sprawling with a mix of golden deserts, brown mountain ranges and emerald green forests, it all would've been peaceful for the overseer…
…had he not been tethered to an orbital weapon of mass destruction.
Sixty feet of aluminum alloys, the Jupiter was a twisted marvel of NEA engineering and magic. At the base of the satellite, an array of sensors sat that provided its operator with highly detailed technical readouts of the landscape below including geography, weather, radiation, radio waves and spiritual signatures all via a neural link and at the top sat the spherical red core that housed Iris's true form. Powered by a fixed array of solar panels and the avian entity's own magic, the deadly machine delivered death to thousands of Nephilim invaders.
Thanks to a series of telephone pole-sized aluminum rods stored within the orbital cannon's cylindrical body, each etched with a special symbol called a "glyph circle", the very same symbol formed beneath the weapon as a black circle, surrounded by runes and around that, a massive eye-shaped circle of Aether energy. Using the satellite's advanced instruments, Iris was capable of tracking and eliminating ten thousand targets per round. So long as the red eyed specter maintained geosynchronous orbit, nothing would be able to escape his wrath and Iris watched with his arms crossed as the white energy lances continued to pour down onto the alien jungle below.
"Looks like the first wave failed." Iris thought to himself, filled with both regret and sorrow,
"Had I been here sooner, I could have saved them and maybe even the city as well."
It filled him with grief knowing that thousands of brave young men and women gave their lives to defending Earth, all of whom will know whether or not their sacrifices meant anything. Whenever the Nephilim destroy anyone, their souls are either completely erased from existence or absorbed by the invaders as energy. Such a fate was unimaginable in its horror and the way the lunar giants had completely desecrated the land with their hideous biome, was a testament to their cruelty.
A falsity for which Iris and the rest of the GAE will make them pay for with their own lives.
Watching the battlefield like a hawk from his superior vantage point, the forest and its warring inhabitants appeared like ants in a grassy field as they scattered about like such. From the North, hundreds of transport helicopters and their fighter escorts reached their designated targets. As the carriers dispatched their troops and support vehicles, several Nephilim armies began to close in on their location, with many being picked off by strafing fighters or orbital lances.
Knowing full well that the Republic troops were no match for the combined space, air and ground forces of Earth, the raven haired commander figured they should be able to push deep into enemy territory before they can regroup. Once they've established a prominent foothold here, the arrival of the third wave and the Prometheus should mop up the rest.
The only possible major hindrances to this plan existed in the forms of Sahaquiel, the one responsible for the destruction of Halberd Squadron, and Abaddon.
While the flaming charioteer posed a significant threat to all his major air assets, sniping out fighters left and right in rapid succession while teleporting beyond firing range, Iris's main concern was on the Seraphim that showed up. Housed safely within his dimensional fortress, the nefarious spirit continued to remain airborne in defiance of the NEA's greatest strength and while its own support had already been dealt with, Abaddon still remained a threat to this whole operation. The fate of those first defenders was without a doubt tied to his arrival, but what worried Iris the most was if he was here, then there was something he was hiding and perhaps preparing to unleash.
Underneath his bird-like mask, the overseer frowned and anxiety began to dig its icy claws into his psyche.
As the rod began to deplete itself of magic energy, Iris prepped another one for usage and selected a new batch of targets to fire upon: a legion gathering in an attempt to break through the advancing line of humans and bizarros,
"With all the power I have left, it's possible that I can destroy Abaddon and whatever hides within the abyss, but I also need to provide support for my forces on the ground." He pondered, carefully weighing his options and rubbing his chin with his thumb and pointer finger.
Having already entered firing range, the Republic legion and the GAE let loose a hellish spray of fire onto one another. Within moments, hundreds of troopers and guardsmen vanished under the heavy crossfire while tanks and helicopters lobbed shells and missiles at the charging knights, whose terrifying forms towered over the puny infantry lines, burning swathes of deadly energy into their foes. Despite this charge, the company of GAE troopers held the line and continued to fight back the Babyloth giants despite taking heavy losses.
With the sight of such carnage displayed before him, Iris already knew what he had to do and with a sigh, pointed the gun at the unsuspecting Nephilim,
"It's a gamble, but I'll have to leave Abaddon to the Prometheus and I'll deal with Sahaquiel myself once I'm out of ammo." He figured.
With ten thousand stag heads painted under a targeting reticle and a new rod loaded in the chamber, Iris began to pour more of his own energy into the spell.
"For all the people of Earth, I will end all of you!" He valiantly declared in his thoughts.
Before he could utter the name of the spell, a blinding white erupted from behind and engulfed the entirety of the Earth within it.
"What the-!" He cried out in surprise.
Not only was this unusual phenomenon startling to witness, but wherever Iris looked, he couldn't see anything, for the planet and the night sky itself had been completely washed away within the light. Disoriented and confused, the red eyed entity tried using his sensors to gauge what was happening, but they weren't responding and when he tried reaching out with his own senses, he was drowned in a never ending ocean of spiritual energy. An energy so vast and all-encompassing, for a moment Iris thought he was suffocating, like he was being crushed into an abysmally small space.
However, nothing could prepare the commander in silver armor for the terror he felt when a familiar presence entered his thoughts and spoke with a terrifying voice,
"Arrogance doesn't suit you, Iris." The voice chuckled.
Eye wide with horror and shock, there was no way for avianesque spirit to move as he was hopelessly paralyzed with fear, yet in his head, a single word surfaced,
"Father?!"
Suddenly, his body was yanked backwards by an unseen force and propelled at great speeds away from the Earth, straight towards the moon itself. There, he turned and was forced to meet face-to-face the most powerful Nephilim that had ever lived.
Was he big? No.
Was he ginormous? That word didn't even come close to covering the enormity of this being.
Only one word was worthy of his description: Almighty.
Standing atop the moon in all his glory, the home of the Nephilim seemed no larger than a beach ball in comparison and even the mighty Iris was nothing more than a speck within his presence. Upon his back sat six pairs of golden wings tipped with extravagant jade feathers, four wrapping themselves around his legs in a feathery kilt, another four that floated behind him, completely disconnected from his back and the final sets, conjoined into a pair, the largest of which could encircle the entirety of the Earth while still overlapping. His body, pale as the purest snow, boasted four heads, three of which sat at the top of his shoulders and one placed at the center of his chest while four slender arms covered in geometric tattoos held aloft a variety of tools.
In one hand, he held a sword whose blade was engulfed with silver flames while in the other, a staff topped with a mighty pair of antlers along with a glowing moon sigil and the bottom pair held in their grasp a bowl. His faces though, were quite unsettling to look at and invoked both awe and disgust within Iris. First, there was the three on top, with the middle one being that of a thin-faced male with sharp features, a blindfold bearing the seal of the Babyloth Republic (Four eyes arranged in the shape of a butterfly's wings and within a circle.) concealed the uppermost portion of his face while some nasty burn scars could be seen covering the left side, knife-like ears, white hair tied back in a regal ponytail and a pair of gold/green antlers matching the ones on his staff sprouted from his temples like that of a typical Nephilim's. The other two heads were missing the entire upper portion, cutting off right above the bridge of the nose and from within the empty cavity, more silver flames spewed forth.
The head on his chest was female and was also blindfolded, with streams of blood pouring like tears into the bowl the lower arms held.
Never in the past 6,000 years, had Iris expected to see this individual show his face ever again. No, he should have been wiped from existence, if not for all the crimes he committed against nature and mankind, but for the betrayal of his people. The Jade Emperor wouldn't have allowed it otherwise.
And yet, here he stood. In all his terrifying glory, ready to once again exert his dominance over all life and all things within this fallen kingdom.
The first Nephilim.
The keeper of knowledge.
The fallen king of Babyloth.
The son of Jade and the father of all the Children of Heaven, who once served as Earth's custodians.
Metatron.
As Iris continued to rise to this monster's face, Metatron's voice continued to fill his head and smother his thoughts with his commanding tone,
"Long have I toiled away in that prison of mine… raising my children, guiding their actions and fostering their hatred of the Children of Earth… all for our eventual return… and at last, the one who guides fate has delivered you, Iris, sole survivor of the Thulcandra rebellion, the supposed Overseer of Man, my traitorous son, to me as an act of providence." The way he spoke, years of disdain, pride and vengeance could all be felt within his thoughts while his many faces remained indifferent.
As soon as silence was returned to his mind, the minuscule spirit fought against his father's influence and with a fiery power coursing through his veins, he expelled the invasive aura. With control given back to him, Iris quickly assessed the situation and found that the Jupiter was still tethered to him by his ghostly tail. Still on a direct course for Metatron's face, the overseer figured there must've been at least a few thousand miles between him and his wicked father, meaning he was within firing range.
"YOU SHOULD'VE STAYED DEAD, MURDERER!" Iris's inner voice roared with eons of hatred and resentment.
Snapping into action, the grey entity swung the satellite around until it's other end was pointed directly at the space between his eyes and with the uttering of a spell, unleashed the aetherion cannon's full fury. From the enormous eye that formed at the front, a violent storm of energy lances sprang forth and streaked towards Metatron's all-encompassing visage. Following the rain of Aether lances, Iris used a second rod to fire a concentrated beam of the living energy and with his hands, drew two highly advanced glyph circles; his summons.
From these two glyph circles, a multi-armed Ashura deity cloaked in red and surrounded by a ring of flaming stones followed by mermaid warrior mounted on a seahorse with trident in hand were hailed forth from the realm of the dead.
Joining in with the flurry of attacks, these minor gods of destruction carried out the will of their master and raced to bring ruin to the resurrected deity. As the combination of deadly spells and divine powers closed in on their target, Metatron himself only recognized the foolish actions of his progeny. With powers that commanded space and time, the mighty god of Babyloth simply expanded the distance between himself and Iris's assault.
For years, the attacks traveled without reaching their intended target and after flying for millions of miles, they all faded from existence, no longer able to carry on the energy of their strike.
Outside this space, only a few seconds had passed and dread soon filled the NEA's head administrator after witnessing the futility of his efforts,
"No… it can't be… after all this time, he's still this powerful?" Iris thought with disbelief, his arms dropping uselessly to his sides and a chill made its way down his spine.
Sensing his despair, the expanse between Iris and Metatron quickly collapsed as the latter began to warp the space within his enemy's spectral form. Helpless to stop it, Iris felt the effects of his father's power, and a soundless scream left his lips as the atoms making up his ghostly form were torn asunder. Moments later, the Jupiter was dismantled and discarded, leaving only his core behind. With his sights set on the red orb that hovered before him, Metatron reached out with his telekinetic powers and called out to the being inside,
"Did you really expect to hurt me with that toy and those parlor tricks? You're foolish… just like the rest of your descendants. Hiding within your shells… never allowing your true form to shine!" He scolded.
Under the immense pressure, the red sphere began to crack and despite his best efforts, Iris's power was nothing to a god who lived a million years before this time.
"It's time to come out… my dear song bird." He cooed, much like a doting parent would to a stubborn child.
With his final command uttered, the shell shattered and out sprang Iris, the real Iris.
To any casual onlooker, seeing the overseer in his true form would have been a spectacle to behold and quite beautiful too. Within his shell, Iris was forced into a fetal position, but standing at his full height, he rivaled the common American household. Despite his size though, he appeared as a frail, fairy-like creature with glowing, crimson skin and bits of violet at the tips of his noodle-like legs, arms, his antlers, the four feathery wings on his lower back and the crest of hair sitting atop his bulbous head. Only one of his eyes was capable of opening as the other had received a scar from long ago, in the midst of battle, and with the one on the left, a single red orb that took in the sight of his own body.
Raising his hands up to his face, a feeling of wonder and amazement first came to mind as it had been so long since he saw himself as he was, feeling almost like a newborn child. Then came the horror of what occurred and panic began to settle in. He wasn't supposed to come out of his shell, it was a taboo, one that all his descendants had to follow and a fear greater than the one he felt towards his own father began to rise.
"Damn it!" Hecursed.
Another chuckle from Metatron and his face glowed with pride. It had been so long since they met and the radiant fallen angel wasn't about to let this moment be further spoiled by some smoke and mirrors. As a father, he couldn't have been more pleased to look his son in the eye, but therein lies tragedy, as he had been blinded by Jade and he could still sense the rebellious spirit his child possessed…
…just like his mother.
"If only I could see you now." He cooed like a doting parent as he brought his lower hands up, leaving the bowl to hover in place, and cupped them around Iris's minuscule crimson form,
"Why serve these animals when you could have been ruling over them with all your splendor and power? If they saw you now for what you truly are, they'd kill you without hesitation." He said, carefully noting a shift in the smaller Nephilim's form.
Feeling the sting of his words, Iris saw that there was truth in his words and the overseer's red gaze shifted ever so slightly from his father's face. After the fall, he spent millennia wandering the Earth, carefully watching and ensuring mankind's rise to prominence. Yet, in all that time Iris never felt such loneliness as he remained isolated from those he swore to protect, having seen countless comrades live and die throughout the generations. To make matters worse, six thousand years of civilization brought forth the greatest of tragedies, many of which the surviving Nephilim child had witnessed firsthand and often found himself questioning whether or not he was capable of his duties.
Feeling his fists shaking, Iris grounded his teeth and the antlered shapeshifting fairy creature suddenly morphed into a mighty phoenix. With wings of ruby red flames, a long tail covered in wispy purple feathers and a more prominent crest that crowned his narrow brow, the great bird let out a psychic roar in defiance. With a single eye burning with resolve, he continued to sing out in defiance as he spread his wings and took off,
"You know nothing of mankind!" He proclaimed.
Rising from his hands, the phoenix shot towards Metatron's great visage like a flaming arrow and after clearing millions of miles in under a second, slammed himself into his forehead. Over and over again, Iris bombarded his enemy with his own body. Each strike was stronger than a thermonuclear device thanks to the near-light speed he was traveling and the resulting impacts left behind immense, fiery red explosions that completely obscured the unphased firstborn's head.
Shifting back into his fairy-like form, a scowl etched itself deep within the crevices of Iris's face and all four of his wings formed into extra arms, each forming different hand gestures while he continued to berate Metatron,
"They may be frail and mortal, but their capacity for love coupled with their yearning for knowledge makes them strong and adaptable." He retorted.
Finishing his hand-signs, he held them out and at the tips of each limb, a black flame burned before a glyph resembling a black sun formed in front of him,
"Black Nova!" He cried, uttering the name of the spell.
From the glyph, six black suns appeared in circular formation before spinning around, traveling faster and faster before joining at the center. Once unified, the black orb launched itself like a missile straight at the planet-sized Nephilim and exploded violently, soundlessly, upon contact.
Before the dark blast subsided, Iris was once again met with despair once Metatron's voice cut into his head,
"This I am aware of…" He replied nonchalantly, not even affected by the attacks.
Shifting his two largest wings, a cloud of loose feathers fell before collapsing into glowing green orbs and shooting themselves like machine gun bullets at Iris, who formed a protective barrier around himself at the last moment. As the projectiles detonated themselves in a series of devastating explosions that rocked the transparent sphere with their shockwaves, Iris continued to receive the same condescending speech from his father.
"…but I am also aware of their capacity for wickedness. War, slavery, genocide, pollution; six thousand years of their neglect and abuse of power… I was right in my choice to destroy them once I recognized just how easily they fell prey to Mephistopheles's influence." The debris clouding his head cleared and the disgust was ever present upon his sharp features.
With his defenses crumbling under the continuous onslaught, the purple haired Nephilim fired a blast of Aether energy outwards, clearing a path through the explosions and transforming into a tiny dragonfly before zipping through the rapidly closing hole he made.
Escaping within an inch of his life, the overseer returned to his original form once more and used another summons, this one being Orion the hunter. Riding atop a golden chariot with flaming wheels being carried by a team of white Pegasi, whose manes flowed like streams of honey, a Greek warrior looking to be about twenty and carrying a club, held the reins as Iris stood behind him. Readying another lance, the chariot swerved under his orders and the Pegasi galloped at full speed.
Knowing that all his attacks would prove futile against such a force that is the fallen king, Iris pressed on fearlessly as he was bound by duty to protect the world and its people,
"Art, science, music, medicine and compassion. My mother, your wife, saw their true potential, their capability to reach beyond the stars and become a force for good against Mephistopheles. Unlike us, they had no ties to this world and what they could have achieved was limitless." Iris countered, watching his adversary's frown deepen as his thoughts pierced right through him,
"But, you, with your pride and your insatiable lust for knowledge has brought nothing but misery to millions as well as the destruction of our family, including your wife, Lilith. What have you to say for yourself, oh dear father of mine?" His seething thoughts burned their way into Metatron's head as anger and sorrow for his late mother struck like a hammer.
In response, a turbulent wave of rage erupted from the twelve winged angel, exploding like a volcano within Iris's mind and leaving him paralyzed from the overwhelming power. Fanning out his wings to their full extent, Metatron's slender form began to glow even brighter than before, completely blinding Iris and only him as the people of Earth remained unaware of the happenings outside of Earth's orbit. With his charge halted, Iris braced himself as he was thrown back by an ocean of telekinetic energy, losing Orion in the process, and was punished greatly by the invisible hand that crushed him.
Then he was pulled closer than ever to Metatron's face and all the little Nephilim could see was the all-encompassing brightness of his father's eyes as they pierced his blindfold,
"Such naivety!… I have lived for a million years, faithfully serving my father and when I saw it, the Empyrean… I learned that our world, our solar system, our entire kingdom! Is but a cage covered in a veil of stars… had you seen the realm of Jade and the seven kingdoms of heaven in all its greatness, you too would have sought ascension." He angrily remarked, his rage bringing him close to completely crushing his frightened and confused child.
"Never! With my first breath, I took a vow to Jade to always uphold the natural law, that all life is to be protected, like all my brothers and sisters did. My mother believed in it and so have the Thulcandra, which is why I'll stop you!" He declared, despite the immense pain, stress and fear he was undertaking by uttering such a resistant proclamation.
Then it all went dark.
Confused and feeling eerily alone, Iris tried to gain his bearings, but found himself completely isolated within the darkness. This wasn't to last though, as an image came to and Iris realized he was experiencing a memory. Not his, but Metatron's and the story of what occurred after the fall unfolded before his one working eye.
Standing in the midst of a desolate wasteland, a world of barren red rocks and a starless sky with only the Earth being visible. There was a howling wind that constantly blew up dust devils and the air smelled of burning sulfur, a rancid stench. Iris remembered when Babyloth once held luscious jungles and seas, just like Earth, a lustrous throne world fit for a king and his subjects to watch over all of creation, now a bleak, lifeless prison for all those who failed Jade's mission to waste away in.
That wasn't all there was though, as Iris could see millions of bodies dotting the landscape and standing among them was the king himself holding the mangled remains of his wife.
Metatron, unlike how he appeared before was a withered husk of a being, his wings burnt stumps protruding from his back, his skin grey and mottled with burnt scar tissue, his antlers broken and his eyes had been torn out. Blinded and broken, Metatron's pain was inexplicable, but what hurt more was his pride. After a long and devastating civil war, he lost everything and was left with a tattered, powerless form to reside over an empty world.
The bodies, from what Iris could make out, belonged to the victors of the conflict, the loyalists that fought alongside their king and attempted the complete annihilation of an entire race. The wrath of the emperor had killed them and the only thing that remained was their charred corpses. Without their fiery aura, the primordial Nephilim were just simple fairy-like creatures devoid of color and life.
In his hand, Lilith stirred and Metatron, with his life force drained, held up the white haired Nephilim giantess until her face was leveled with his and peered into her eyes with his hollowed ones. She was a remarkably beautiful creature, long strands of white hair that hung past her shoulders, slender in form, eight wings as black as the night and glittering with stars. She was remarkably brave and strong, having taken the fight to Metatron himself after everyone else had fallen, leaving only Iris behind to continue their sacred duties as caretakers.
Now Iris could see for himself what that sacrifice did for her and seeing her like this wrung his heart with greater grief.
Raising Lilith's own sword, Metatron plunged the blade straight into her abdomen and Lilith let out a piercing scream as blood poured from the open wound, causing her son to flinch. Without even a hint of remorse, the treacherous king pulled the blade back out, casting it aside and thrusting his hand straight into the open wound. Iris wished he could look away, but was unable to as he watched his own dad savagely rip through his mom's innards, her screams getting louder with blood gurgling at the back of her throat and with several weak attempts to fly away or to fight back.
Unfortunately, it was all in vain, as her husband withdrew a glowing object from Lilith's bosom, causing her body to fade to grey and her brilliant amber eyes to darken as her essence was torn from her.
Holding the glimmering soul in his bloodied hand, Metatron placed it into his mouth and swallowed it whole. The resulting action caused an explosion of light and Iris watched as Metatron regained his glorious form once more, still blind and with his scars remaining. With Lilith being absorbed into being, her visage appeared on his chest and from her eyes, tears of blood began to fall as she cried out in suffering.
After blindfolding both himself and his captive partner, the overseer watched as Metatron cannibalized two other Nephilim corpses, specifically two of his most loyal subjects, Aeneus and Romulus, granting him greater power and vitality. Still weak from Jade's wrath, Metatron rested and for a century, a tree formed itself around him before completely engulfing the slumbering giant. From this tree, rivers of red began to pour forth and to Iris's amazement, completely covered the entirety of Babyloth.
Centuries past and from the corpses of the primordial Nephilim, land rose, forming islands and small continents with forests beginning to sprout up from the remains. As the red ocean receded from the land, more flora and fauna began to emerge. In the span of a thousand years, the once ruined land of Babyloth was thriving with a complex ecosystem and creatures of all kinds began to lay claim to this new world.
Then came the new Nephilim.
Though smaller and weaker than their predecessors, they retained many of the same qualities, save for their wings and fiery aura as they unknowingly emerged from the mass grave of their ancestors. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, these new beings flourished in their new environment, forming tribes and discovering magic, they quickly began to rise to dominance over the small moon they called home. However, with so few islands and fewer resources to share, the tribes quickly began to expand and once they met, war quickly broke out amongst them.
For the next five thousand years, the Nephilim fought amongst one another, becoming far more aggressive with every passing generation and as magic continued to advance among the tribes, not even the local wildlife was spared as it too was harnessed as weapons for their endless quest for supremacy. While Iris could see that religion was practiced amongst the Nephilim, one thing remained constant among many and that happened to be their absolute hatred for the people of Earth, who enjoyed the luxury of a resource rich environment. As the past bled into the present and the blood of untold millions had been spilled, something had changed.
In the midst of all the mindless bloodshed, visions of a grand future began to manifest in a chosen few and these premonitions became more widespread amongst the people, bringing together powerful leaders who recognized the calling. In the span of a century, many tribes had gathered themselves, forming a grand nation, a Republic, something unheard of for the warring Nephilim and soon, all who came to know of this government were quickly brought under its banner. On the islands, grand hive cities were built and the once stagnant population exploded into the tens of billions with one city in particular standing in the center of this monolithic government.
As this film of the past drew to a close, Iris saw for himself, the president of the Babyloth Republic, the great conqueror who united the tribes, Nimrod Sienna, and the members of the senate standing atop a grand balcony overlooking millions of Nephilim soldiers gathered in the palace square. A declaration of war was declared and Nimrod could be seen pointing at the Earth as the Republic's grand army cheered in response along with the senators. The last thing Iris saw in the vision was Metatron's ghostly projection standing above it all, watching with delight as the retaking of Earth began and then it all faded to black.
"And look where it led them. Look where it led her." Metatron cackled.
Once the darkness lifted itself from his vision, Iris found that the blinding light had retreated as well and he could see the stars as well as the Earth again. As relieved as he was, Metatron still remained hovering above the moon and something was happening. In a bizarre spectacle, the female face on his chest rose along with the lowest set of arms and the rest of the great being's body fell back, his mighty wingspan eclipsing the entirety of the satellite.
Once this new body rose, spreading its eight black wings glittering with stars, she leaned over Iris and a manic grin split her delicate features,
"Your mother… your rebellious kin… and soon your precious NEA along with every last one of the parasites, will all fall before our might." She spoke in a voice that wasn't hers, her mouth moving soundlessly in the vacuum while the voice in his head remained that of Metatron's.
A chill snaked its way down Iris's back and the red/violet feathered shapeshifter's eye widened with horror. In the final days of the great schism, the Thulcandra had been all but wiped out by Metatron's loyalists, leaving only him and his mother as the remaining rebels. After successfully stealing the king's three crowns, giving each to the Divine Regents to keep Mephistopheles at bay, she left and with her parting, placed Iris in charge of overseeing the nations.
His last memory of her was of a brave individual, whose courage and fighting spirit allowed them to face such impossible odds, smiling reassuringly at him as she rose to the heavens.
Her final act of bravery as she took the fight to Babyloth, against her own husband and his army. Then came a mighty roar from above that shook the Earth, the anger of Jade and then the sky was awash with silver fire. Had it not been for Fjel and the other Divine Regents, all life on Earth would've burned away too, but the only ones swept away by the cleansing flames were the Nephilim themselves.
The memory was like a stab to the chest and Iris could feel his heart breaking at what became of his mother's efforts, causing him to tear up,
"You… you… YOU MONSTER!" He bellowed, screaming out with his mouth, even when no sound could be heard and his tears clung to his eyes in glistening globes of water thanks to the lesser gravity.
With a rage never before felt by the twenty foot tall entity, his red glow became even more apparent as though his body was about to combust and all around him, thousands of Aether Lances were summoned. Even though such a move costed him nearly all the energy he had, he didn't care. He couldn't let Lilith's body and memory be defiled by this horrible abomination of a parent.
"To call such a disgusting, wretched thing as yourself my father… is sickening!" He telepathically snarled as he launched every single magic projectile in unison and continued to rant,
"I'll destroy you and your cursed progeny before you lay claim to this planet! As the Overseer of Man and the head administrator of the Nephilim Expulsion Administration it is my sacred duty to rid the Earth of your vileness. I swear this upon the Heavenly Sovereign and my mother!" He vowed as the white missiles of deadly energy continued to shoot past him and his face remained wrought with righteous fury.
As the Aether bombardment filled the space around Lilith's head with brilliant white explosions, the colossal creature paid the harmless attack no attention as she reached up and removed the blindfold. Even though her eyes continued to cry tears of blood, there was nothing in them, just empty, burned out spaces that stared with a hollowness and blinded apathy. Even though Iris could sense a piece of her soul within that shell, everything else was occupied by Metatron and the fallen king could sense his son's dismay.
"There is no victory for you… starting today, my armies will begin the reclamation of our kingdom and I will take back what is rightfully mine… my vision, my dominion over the realms and the rest of what has been stolen from my memory… and the rebellion will end with you as you helplessly watch as I burn the world down… just like my father did long ago." He hissed, pain filling his mental voice as he began to tire and without another word, a red glow emanated from the darkness within Lilith's eyes, sending a powerful Doom Blast straight at Iris.
With such raw energy smashing into his front, Iris was left blind and winded as he sailed in the opposite direction towards Earth.
Even though Metatron couldn't see, the presence of his son's spirit entering the Earth's atmosphere could be felt and it would be less than three minutes until he crash landed somewhere in Australia. He didn't bother pursuing him or saying anything because all that needed to be said and done had come to be. Still, he felt disappointed at seeing just how dedicated his little song bird was to a lost cause and as he shifted back into his normal form, he mourned for his family.
"My dear little Iris… This won't be the last time we meet and I hope that once the end comes, you'll understand that I am making things right… for all of us." He thought grimly to himself.
For 6,000 years, he lived in darkness, only able to see through the dreams of his children's descendants and the sights always left him embittered. He longed to walk the Earth again, just like he used to with his darling Lilith and he wished that her soul wasn't somewhere on Earth right now, for he missed talking to her. What he missed most however, was seeing the faces of his children and being able to visit them in their dreams while also sharing his own.
He hadn't been able to do so with Iris for a long time and that alone, hurt him dearly.
Lost in thought, the four headed Nephilim god absent-mindedly slashed a fiery meteor in half with his sword and instinctively turned to face his new open with the same crooked grin on his face,
"It's been a while, Fjel." He sang, almost gleefully.
Standing at the top of the North Pole, his upper body piercing the planetary atmosphere, an ape-like titan whose entire body and face was covered with thick icy strands of fur, the shortest of which stretched for miles. Holding another massive rock in hand, Fjel tossed it up and down as readied for another toss. His thoughts carried the same rage and resentment as those he looked after, though his anger for this particular Nephilim went even deeper.
"Not too soon, I'm afraid. I've been waiting a long time to smash that ugly mug of yours." He replied, his thoughts laced with venom.
Chuckling back at him, Metatron held out his sword and staff as a challenge,
"Still bitter about the experiments? I do say, for your first strike, I am quite disappointed, Fjel. For someone who wears the crown of Earth and holds all memory of magic, your performance is quite lackluster." He spat, regarding the Divine Regent of Earth as nothing more than a nuisance.
"That first strike was just to get your attention." Fjel explained.
At his feet, a massive blue glyph circle formed, depicting a snake symbol and from the ice, a white serpent rose, soon towering over the colossus. Covered in glittering white scales except for the head, whose scales were blue, ruby red eyes, fangs that can split a mountain range and an icy mist that billowed from its maw. Curling itself around its summoner, Jormungandr, the world serpent, lowered its head next to the great snow-covered ape and hissed at the lunar entity.
Climbing atop his head and reforming his rock into a one-handed battle axe using alchemy, the Earth giant and his steed readied themselves for battle,
"The real show is about to begin." He announced, raising his axe over his head.
In response, Metatron drew a glyph circle of his own with his staff and the magical item transformed itself into a heavenly dragon with golden scaly armor, broader antlers, a serpentine form, a pair of front claws and a green head with glowing white eyes rimmed with electricity. As the mystical creature encircled its master, Metatron elegantly swung his flaming sword about, creating a silver trail of fire as he held it high and poised for an attack. Covering his face with the four floating wings, the fallen king had mustered up a greater defense and offense as their fight began.
"Good. I will take my crown back along with my powers, so please, try and make this a little entertaining for me. I haven't exactly been able to move for quite some time." He said.
Snorting white mist, Fjel willed Jormungandr and the two surged forward, clearing thousands of miles in an instant as he engaged both creatures. Pointing his blade forward, Metatron's dragon darted at the world serpent, mouth spewing lightning and Jormungandr steadily approached with an icy breath attack to match. With a mighty clash, the two great lizards slammed into one another, creating shockwaves that would've otherwise leveled a small country had it not occurred in space and the two spiraled around one another, biting and snapping with their fangs as they became entangled in a primal bloodbath.
As for his rider, Fjel leapt from his mount and brought his axe straight down onto Metatron's sword, sending up a shower of sparks that fell like shooting stars.
Thus, a battle of titanic proportions began between two gods.
(A/N) And that concludes this piece.
For those of you who are wondering, no, Lilith is not related to Metatron. She was created separately, but has a very interesting origin story that I will explain in due time.
Next chapter: End of the beginning. (Part 3: Defenders vs. Seraphim.)
Hope y'all have a fantastic day and I aim to have a chapter posted sooner rather than later.