Rising of the Masters of the Universe
ESKK: A new chapter so let's get this chapter started.
(Start Melromarc Aultcray)
Aultcray was signing off on another parchment as he rubbed his eyes a bit. Things were not turning out as he would have hoped in recent times. His attempt to prevent the Shield Hero from growing stronger have been met with difficulties. The fact he had family relations follow him was disturbing and after researching historical text it was not unheard of for past heroes to bring in extras by accident. The Spell that summoned them pulled them from another world and should the intended Hero be close to someone at the time of summoning that person would also be dragged over.
But he grew curious as to why they weren't all summoned together at the time, but he found text for that too. It apparently showed that should two summoning circles overlap on each other because the intended targets were in the exact same spot the result tended to be... unpredictable. He suspected that the five had been scattered from the Shield Hero at the time and thus had been hard at work to reunite. This was bad for several reasons first and foremost was that now the Shield Heroes own party had strong members, and more than the other Heroes had. It would have been a simple matter to separate them via his guards similar to Eclair Seatto locked away in the dungeon if not for the fact that Lady Hajime had inherited his Vassal Staff that now saw him as unworthy.
To think that his own weapon would turn on him like that, Aultcray suspected fowl-play from the Shield Devil but at the moment he could not prove it. More so these interlopers had outsmarted him and publicly humiliated the Spear Hero if they had not surrendered at the time Malty's spell would have given the Spear Hero the opening he needed to be declared the winner. But after beating him in such a way and then just giving him the victory, all the people saw was that the Shield Hero and his party took pity on the Spear Hero and let him win the fight.
It was made worse as now his Wife was breathing down his neck. She didn't understand why he needed to do this he was trying to protect his family and his kingdom from the god of those savage Demi-Human monsters. The Church was needed for this, and his wife was against him every step of the way. She was the ruling Matriarch, and her word was law so if Aultcray can't fix this soon chances are his wife will undue everything he's done, and the suffering of the past will haunt his family again.
This was why at this moment he had a book open and on it was the image of Castle Greyskull. This was his only option left but no one has ever entered Greyskull and returned with the power resting inside. He could not have it claimed now but perhaps after the next wave the Three Heroes might be able to claim the power and at long last vanquish the Shield Hero. All he needed was a little more time to see it done.
(Nighttime Camp Naofumi)
Naofumi the Shield Hero was hard at work crafting something for his party. It was late into the night and already Filo and Raphtalia were asleep. So far it seemed that he was crafting a bracelet and a hairpin for his two, party members thanks to the skills he had learned from that merchant. Nearby were other items he had been crafting and had either finished or taken a break on them. He had plans to make an item for each member of his party to use in battle. Nearby Daito was snoring as he had been helping Naofumi with this unaware that Naofumi was making items for Daito as well. After Daito had made Naofumi the blade shield and crossbow shield Naofumi had been hoping to return the favor to the mechanic somehow.
Naofumi then gave the items a look over as he smiled at his handy work leaving the carriage he headed over to the girls and compared it to see if the bracelet was the correct size for Raphtalia. Once he confirmed that it was the correct size, he took out the hairpin and hovered it over to Filo who began to stir much to Naofumi's surprise.
"What's wrong master? Can't you get to sleep tonight?" Filo asked in a tired tone to Naofumi who in response simply smiled to the young girl. Filo was currently sleeping with her flock in a makeshift pile looking more like a group of children then Filolials.
"I just came to check on the two of you go back to sleep." Naofumi answered as he knew growing girls like Filo needed their sleep after all.
"Ok." Filo said as she closed her eyes to sleep. "Goodnight master thank you for checking up on us." Filo said happy that Naofumi cared for her. "See you tomorrow." She said unaware of the hairpin Naofumi was hiding behind his back no doubt wanting it to be a surprise for them.
"Yeah goodnight." Naofumi said while he continued to hide the accessory. Once he was sure she was asleep again he stood up and began to take his leave so to return to his work. As he did, he passed by Catra who was curled up like a cat asleep before she opened a single eye and saw what Naofumi had been doing. She smirked a then went back to sleep herself as Akane was snoozing without a care in the world.
(Scene Break the next morning)
The group was cleaning up camp as already Daito was hooking up Yuki to the wagon seeing as it was her turn to pull the wagon. The Filolials all wanted to use the Wagon and already they had them fighting over it. Naofumi and Ayato in turn created a system that would force them to take turns and if not then Cringer and Swiftwing will pull the wagon. The Filolials quickly learned to behave and in turn their system was born. Suddenly they stopped what they were doing when the party heard movement causing the Masters of the Universe to look over to where it came from. In turn the party saw a pair of an elderly lady and a young lad walking down the road weak and tired by the looks of it with an old lady carrying a large bag on her back. They all looked to each other and thus all came to an agreement on what needed to be done here.
(Later)
After the pair had been fed, the group had opted to get the story of why these two were out here to begin with. "You folks would do well to turn back while you can." The old lady said as she looked to the trio.
"If you keep going forward on this path you'll die." The boy said as Shiro knew something was going on at their destination.
"We heard there's a village down this path." Daito said as his voice showed he now had concerns about this. Akane for her part felt like they were about to walk in on a situation caused by the three stooges in some form.
"Did something happen?" Hajime asked with concern clear in her voice.
The old lady with a solemn look knew that may not be the case for much longer. "The village is devastated even the village elder got sick with the plague." The old lady said and thus the Masters of the Universe knew that something truly dreadful has happened. They had to hurry because they all knew deep down that something had happened in the village they were traveling to.
(Later on, the Road)
After they fed the wary travelers, the Masters were once more on the road again this time with increased speed as they headed for the village. "What's happening there?" Raphtalia asked as she looked over the map concerned with what was happening at this village.
"I'm not sure but it can't be anything good." Akane said as she could just feel that something had happened. If what happened at the place Motoyasu had saved was bad he didn't want to think that those three were going to cause even more damage. If it was that bad then they felt this world was screwed if they were forced to rely on Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren.
(Scene Break at the Village)
The Masters eventually arrived at the village with Hajime leading Yuki by her reigns through the village gate. An old man at the nearby house saw them and thus knew they may be in danger. "Well, what brings you to a God Forsaken place like this?" The old man said as he left his house to see the new arrivals.
"Just some merchants hoping to sell our wears and medicine." Hajime said as she looked to the old man in question. "Traveling merchants, you say?" He asked as he took a closer look at Yuki as his mind began to work. "Wait that Filolial could it be?" He asked and thus it occurred to him. "Is that one of the heavenly fowls!?" The old man called out as he saw the group here. He in turn made a bee line to the building nearby as he seemed happy to see Naofumi here. "Doctor quick!" The old man cried out as he made a bee line to the doctor grateful that help had finally arrived for them.
(Nearby)
When the old man arrived at the clinic, he was yelling all the way through. "What is it what's the matter?" The village doctor asked as he looked to the old man.
"Our savior of the Heavenly Fowl has come for us he's right there!" The old man called out pointing to Naofumi and his party who stood ready to provide aid.
(Later in the Clinic)
The group had gathered before the Doctor as they tried to get the story of what had happened here. "Doctor?" Yumi asked as she gave the middle-aged man a look.
"I run the village clinic." He responded to Yumi who figured as much. "If I may ask, are you..., are you really...?" He trailed off with his question but was cut off by what Naofumi said next.
"We're just here to sell medicine." Naofumi clarified to the doctor of the village.
"Even that would be great help I can't make anywhere near enough for everyone." The doctor said as he led the group through the building to where the sick were being kept. But once they got there the group saw that all the beds were filled with the infected as Daito gulped to this.
"It's a pandemic." Daito gasped as he saw so many sick people here.
Everyone here was either as good as dead or dying as it was clear that the village was not in a good spot. In the room a nurse was on duty tending to all of those who were afflicted by this plague. "Good morning." The Nurse greeted as she stood up after taking note of the new arrival. "Oh, Doctor are these people with you?" The Nurse asked as Shiro saw that the situation here was bad.
"They just arrived there going to sell us some medicine." The Doctor said as Orko began to scan the entire room.
"It seems everyone here is infected in some way." Orko said as his voice showed concern over the recent events.
"Good god." Ayato gasped upon learning this information.
"Naofumi maybe you should administer the medicine." Hajime offered as she looked to Naofumi who already had a bottle in hand.
"My thoughts exactly." Naofumi said and in turn he headed over to the nearest bed and began to administer the medicine as he intended. In turn the first person Naofumi gave the medicine to showed instant signs of getting better once he was given the medicine. With this event it was time for them to get to work as Ayato, Naofumi, Raphtalia, Akane, Hajime, and Catra all got to work administering the medicine. Naofumi and Hajime focused on those who had the worse cases of the sickness while everyone else handled those in less medical danger.
(Scene Break Later that Day)
The task took a good portion of the day as the party had taken a bit to store the medicine that they sold into a storeroom. Naofumi had gotten the last case and once his task was done, he sighed before turning to the side. It was there that the Shield Hero saw the graves with a lone person there on their knees no doubt grieving for lost loved ones. It was a thought that Naofumi had shared with his party as they knew now that the symptoms were dealt with it was time to figure out what had happened out here.
(Later that same evening)
"50 Silvers?" Daito asked as he saw the coin sack they were given. Naofumi, Raphtalia, Ayato, Hajime, Akane, Catra and Daito were all gathered in the room with Doctor and the Nurse discussing their payment and the plans for what comes next.
"We can't thank you all enough for what you've done." The Doctor said but Ayato had other thoughts to that.
"I appreciate it but what's the plan now?" Ayato asked as he hoped they had some sort of plan to get these people from getting sick again.
"For now, we've staved off the immediate crisis." The Doctor said but Akane did not like that plan.
"You can't be serious if we don't find the source of this sickness and neutralize it then we're going to end up right back at square 1." Akane voiced out as Naofumi was of a similar mindset on this.
"I'm afraid you are indeed correct." The Doctor said as he noted how Akane was scolding him and how her friends were not happy about this choice. He wanted to help these people truly he did, but the village doctor was limited on what he can and can't do with his resources.
"How exactly did this start?" Hajime asked while stepping up wondering what the catalyst for this pandemic was.
The Nurse was the first to speak as she told the group of heroes about the ongoing theory on this. "We believe it's the wind that's coming from the mountain that's the cause of the plague in our village. The mountain that's home to all the monsters." The Nurse said as she looked to the window behind Naofumi which Catra was leaning against.
"Home to what monsters?" Catra asked as she looked to the Nurse with a skeptical look.
"About a month ago a large dragon that nested there was killed by the sword hero that at least was the good news." The Doctor began the story, but the group were aware of parts of it.
"We've heard some of the rumors about that." Ayato voiced to which everyone agreed.
"But wait a sec how does that connect to the plague that here? Naofumi ask with the doctor started to explain to the ground as he said "Many adventurers came to our village, mostly to see the dragon corpse as well purchase supplies, which did help the village to flourish of course.
"Wait, let me guess the rest, when sword boy didn't clean up his mess with the Dragons body, it started to rot and poisoning everything and everyone," Akane said as she saw where this was leading up to as the doctor nodded to this as the group could not help but groin a bit as Ayato soon said, "Did people forgot that all dead thing will break down and rot?"
"It seems so," Hajime said as she could not believe that Ren didn't bother to take care of the dragon's body, and every adventure were so stupid coming to see it when they should have taken care of it right away, and now an entire village was suffering for it as Raphtalia soon ask, "IF you knew the cause of it, why haven't gotten rid of it already?"
"IT could be due to the monsters that are on that mountain, right?" Hajime ask with the nurse nodded as she explain it as she said, "Yes, and the only ones that would go there are the adventures and there nothing else we can do about it."
"And perhaps due to the dragon's poison, the ecology there has change too. Given the terrible consequences the average adventurer won't go anywhere near the corpse," the doctor said as Naofumi said, "Have you informed the royal court yet?"
"Yes, we're supposed to be receiving a shipment of medicine shortly, but they say that the heroes are too busy to help us yet," the nurse said as Yumi soon said, "If I had to guess, that last part maybe a big fat lie."
"What?" the doctor said as he was shocked to hear this as Ayato said, "Excuse my friend, but what she said may be not that far off, I mean, did you explain the situation to the royal court of how all this started being the sword hero's fault?"
"Well yes I did," The doctor said as Akane saw where Ayato was going with this as she said, "Then more than likely, they aren't sending anyone to help, because if it is the sword hero's fault, then they should have him come here right away to take care of it sense it was his mess, but if they haven't then that must mean they try to ignore you in hope the entire village might die and no one would find out about the truth, or most other likely post it on the adventure guild's board thinking someone else would take care of it."
The doctor and nurse were shocked to hear this as Naofumi said to them, "I don't want to tell you this, but it most likely true, so the best thing to do is for you to cancel it, tell them you don't need it, we'll take care of the dragon corpse."
This did surprise the group when they heard Naofumi said that as Naofumi look to the ground and said, "Ayato, Akane, Raphtalia, and everyone else, get ready, we're setting out."
"Right!" Raphtalia said as she was happy for this with the doctor step up saying, "Wait, don't tell you all are going out there yourselves, are you?"
"Not to worry, we got things cover," Daito said as he knew how strong the group is with or without their powers that makes them masters, and it doesn't hurt that he already had some gas mask ready to use just in case of stinky situation that could come up, with some rubber gloves, with Raphtalia soon said, "Yeah, we're kind of used to danger."
"I don't if its danger finding us or we find it instead," Catra said as she didn't know which one to go off of as it seem it goes either way as the doctor said, "I just can't find the word to express our gratitude."
"Keep your thanks What I want is your money," Naofumi said as he was about to call out the amount he wanted until the twin's step in and said to the doctor and nurse as Ayato first spoken up saying, "For a very negotiable Price depending on how bad the situation and your village."
"And no doubt you are running low on funs as it is trying to treat everyone in this village still, so we can also set up a payment plan for you until your village is fully recover and able to pay the full price, with the 50 silver you just gave is a decent down payment which cannot be refunded," Akane said which Naofumi was confused on what his cousins are doing as Ayato took back over as he spoke up saying, "But on the other hand if we cannot complete the quest of removing of the dragon corpse, or of the poison you can consider this job free of charge or no need of paying it off by some chance due to death to us or so forth."
"I see, how much would it be exactly?" the doctor ask sounding a bit worry as Akane patted the doctor shoulder as she said, "150 silver at best if things goes smoothly, but it could jump up to maybe four to five hundred silvers at the least, and we say this just in case the mission escaladed more than we predict, but like we said we can have a payment plan set up for you to pay off the full amount in due time," Akane said as she was taking extra steps just in case things did go south for them as the doctor nodded as he agrees as he said, "Very well, We'll try to gather as much as we can for your payment as soon as you take care of that dragon."
"Good then we have an agreement, we'll write it up and head on our way," Ayato said as soon enough as an agreement was sigh for the group with the doctor agreeing to pay the full price, but they keep some parts blank with the amount of money to be made and the sigh agreement for them to write off on if they make it back or so.
(little later)
Soon enough the group were on their way up the mountain, with everyone wearing specially made gas mask by Daito knowing they would come in handy, while carrying a lot of supplies to clean up the dragon with, as no doubt they will need the bigger tools around.
As the Naofumi saw they were out of the village site, he said to the twins, "Why did you two started saying stuff like that? I had it cover."
"Maybe so, but knowing you at this point, you would have charge them 10 time the amount for cleaning up this dragon, so instead of that we try to make it simple and easy for everyone to know we're not the bad guys here, and we're here to help," Akane said as Hajime said, "They are right you know, if you treat everyone with little to no respect then how can we prove that you are an innocent man?"
Naofumi didn't say a word after that as he keep on rising up the mountain with Yuki pull the wagon still, with everyone preparing to clean up a dead dragon.
"Though with our numbers taking the Wagon and the luggage was a good idea." Daito said as he looked into the Wagon that was filled with tools for them to use for clean-up. Sakura and Filo tried to reach towards the fruits only for their hands to be slapped by Hajime who gave them a scolding look.
"In more ways than one." Naofumi added when he noticed something up ahead.
Everyone looked and saw Monsters were standing in their way causing Orko to step up to the plate. "Allow me to deal with these pests." Orko said as he got ready to attack. "As Source of Thy power as Orko the Great Decipher." He began only for laser shots to come out of his hands hitting the mountain side and taking the monsters out with large boulder.
"Oh crap!" Yumi cried out and thus Hajime acted fast.
"As source of thy power I ordain thee decipher the laws of nature and defend my target, FAST GUARD!" Hajime invoked and thus Yuki began to glow.
"Just what I was thinking, Yuki plow right through them!" Naofumi called out and in turn Yuki nodded.
"Understood!" Yuki called out and in turn she charged and plowed through the monsters as a living battering ram. Needless to say, the monsters did not last against the Filolial Queen.
"YAAHOO!" Yumi cheered as Yuki plowed through the monsters.
(Later at the Mountain)
The group had arrived at the location of the Monster corpse and needless to say they were somewhat impressed and disgusted. "You know I though Ren was in high school he should have known that if you leave meat out its going to rot." Daito complained as they approached the creature.
"It stinks!" Catra whined as she could smell it even through the mask due to her highly sensitive nose.
"That is the smell of a rotting corpse of course it stinks." Akane said as they approached the remains.
Just then Hajime stopped as everyone looked to her. "Filo, Sakura step away from the fruit." Hajime said and thus everyone looked to see the two Filolial girls munching down on the fruit.
"But we're here now." Filo complained as her and Sakura's face was covered in the red liquid.
"Work first then we can have dinner." Hajime said and thus the two Filolials pouted and stepped away from the fruit.
"You know I always forget you were a babysitter." Akane said and in turn they went back to the corpse.
"Well, this thing is huge luckily I have a few ideas on how we can break it down in segments." Daito said while they approached the creature with tools in hand. "It's efficient and considering we're basically dealing with toxic waste we need to have a plan." Daito added knowing that if Ren had stayed behind and cleaned up this mess none of them would have to be here to clean it instead.
But then something began to happen opting Hajime to and Akane to stop. "Wait!" Akane called out and in turn she looked to the group.
"You feel that?" Hajime asked as she looked around for something.
"What are you guys?" Naofumi began until movement was heard from the corpse. All eyes fell to the dragons remains and much to their shock and horror it began to give off a familiar green aura.
"Havoc." Ayato said realizing what was going on here. The spilled blood from when the Dragon died began to be dragged back into the dragons remains as the green aura of Havoc began to spread out in its body. It didn't end there as the previous injuries it suffered when it died and the parts that were unable to heal due to the rot were repaired by, Havoc before it at last opened its eyes with the evil green of the power of Havoc.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now!" Yumi yelled in shock over what she saw.
"A Havoc powered Dragon Zombie?!" Naofumi cried out over what he was seeing.
"First the stooge killed it and then bonehead infused it with Havoc." Catra cried and in turn they knew they had to run.
"RUN!" Naofumi cried out and thus they all began to return to the wagon.
Just as they were about to get to the wagons, Yuki, Filo, Sakura, and Koh all jumped out and landed on the ground before the Dragon. "No Dragon will be permitted to stand in our presence!" Yuki called out and thus the four royals charged into the fight.
"No stop!" Ayato called but was ignored by them. But then to their surprise the four Filolials managed to hit the beast causing it to stumble a bit which gave them an idea.
"There might be a way to fight it." Naofumi said and thus they knew what was needed here. "But first we need to suit up." Naofumi said and in turn Ayato and Akane nodded.
"Yuki, Filo, Sakura; Koh we need Greyskull power now!" Akane called and thus the four nodded.
"RIGHT!" The Filolials called out and thus regrouped with the Masters.
Once they were all gathered, they began to summon forth the power of Greyskull. "BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL!" Everyone bar Akane and Catra cried out summoning Greyskulls power.
"FOR THE HONOR OF GREYSKULL!" Akane and Catra called out and from the sky Greyskulls power came down on them.
For those who summoned the power Ayato, Hajime, Daito, Yumi, and Cringer became He-Man, Sorceress, Man-At-Arms, Ram-Ma'am, and Battlecat with Naofumi and Raphtalia entering their Master Forms proper. The Filolials became the Stratos Flock as the now teenage looking group were ready for battle. Meanwhile Akane became She-Ra, and Catra became Wild-Cat with Swift Wing entering his Pegasus form.
The Dragon acted and released a stream of poisonous havoc gas opting Naofumi to act. "Everyone behind me now!" Naofumi called out and thus he slammed down his tower shield to protect them all. The shield stood firm but despite this the poison was still effective no doubt thanks to the Havoc infused into it. Their masks held firm thankfully but there was only so much they could do with it.
"Nice call on the masks Daito but we need a plan here." Naofumi said once the gas stream came to an end.
"Where is the Havoc infused if we sever it from the Havoc, we can take it down." Ayato said but then Filo roared out much to their shock.
"Now I'm mad!" Filo called out before she and the Stratos Flock flew in to fight.
"No stop don't fight it alone!" Akane cried out as the four Filolials flew around slicing at the beast with their wings or firing talon like blades at it.
"We need to regroup and fight smart!" Naofumi called out when She-Ra saw something about to happen. Naofumi saw it as well, but She-Ra was the first to act.
"Filo, Sakura, Koh, Yuki get your butts over here now!" Akane called out and thus Filo looked and much too She-Ra's shock this left her distracted. "NO!" She-Ra cried and thus she jumped with her power and went straight for Filo and while using her side she bashed into Filo pushing her out of the way. She-Ra then saw the dragon's maw on her and went wide eyed over what was about to happen next. The Dragon chomped down on Akane and in turn the entire world went still for the group. The dragon swallowed She-Ra as everyone was wide eyed in shock over what had just happened.
He-Man dropped his sword, Naofumi eyes were widened in horror, and everyone was in a state of wide eyes or slack jaws. Ayato swore that the entire world had gone silent as there was only a long beep sound over what he had just saw happen to his twin sister. Naofumi was in shock as he saw his cousin get eaten alive by this monster as Ayato began to feel a striking pain deep inside him, yet he could not act.
'Akane... not you.' Naofumi thought as he could not even speak. His cousin who was more like a sister to him had just been eaten and it was all his fault. He was supposed to protect them all and get them all back home and he failed them. Ayato fell to his knees as he then hunched over-looking to the ground his eyes wide in shock and horror watching his sister basically die.
"A-Akane." Ayato said as tears began to form in his eyes. "Why you... why did it have to be you?" He asked with grief and horror etched into his voice. While everyone was in shock it would have aided them to know that Akane was still very much alive.
(Inside the Dragon)
Akane was sliding down the dragon's neck as she held on to her sword for dear life. She could see that the Havoc went deep even to its own fluids as she soon arrived in the stomach. Akane had tried to hold on, but the acid forced her to let go and thus she landed straight into the beast's stomach of liquid havoc. Akane cried out as she fell in before surfacing trying to get out or find a way out but there was none. Akane cried out as the Havoc began to zap her and force her back under while she tried desperately to break free. As this happened Akane's hub screen flashed to life as it issued to her an extreme warning.
"WARNING SITUATION CRITICAL!"
When Akane saw those words flash she saw her hub began to shift change in a way.
"SITUATION A RECOGNIZED."
"RELEASE OF ABILITY RESTRICTIONS FOR EMERGENCY USE OF DESPARA APPROVED."
'Restrictions? Despara?' Akane asked silently as she saw the words flashed.
"PLEASE INVOKE THE ACTIVATION PHRASE."
Then as if by some unholy magic Akane felt the phrase appear in her mind. She soon lost control of her voice as her hand tightened on the Sword of Protection. The gem began to shift color to Havoc green as Akane's eyes also turned green. Thus, when Akane spoke the words, she was no longer in control of herself.
"FOR THE CONQUEST OF HAVOC!" Akane roared out and thus the Havoc around her began to absorb into the Sword of Protection and by extension Akane herself. What came next could only be described as pure chaos.
(Castle Greyskull)
Eldress was roaming her archives when she felt a surge hit her causing her to collapse with a cry of pain. Looking to her side she saw a once blank portrait flash with Havoc before it shifted. On it was She-Ra or at least half of her while the other half was of another figure one, she had hoped would never be summoned again.
"Despara." Eldress gasped realizing Akane was in danger and was forced into this.
(Snake Mountain)
Skeletor roared in pain from a head surge as he collapsed before his pool of Havoc. "Lord Skeletor?" Rino asked with concern as she looked to the man. "There's another Dark Master!" He growled before swinging his Havoc Staff and thus the image of the Dragon appeared inside the pool.
(Back to the Battle)
"Akane!" Yumi cried as Raphtalia was in tears as was Ayato as He-Man. Hajime could barely act as the Dragon glared down upon the group ready to finish them off while they grieved for their fallen ally. But as everyone who were still battle ready prepared the dragon suddenly stopped its attack causing everyone to grow worried.
The dragon felt something moving around inside its body clawing its way through ripping and tearing. Soon an ominous dark glow was seen in its stomach and from there the group got ready for what may come next. The Havoc Dragon Zombie roared in pain as its insides were being torn apart by something it ate and there was only one person who it had eaten.
"Is that?" Ayato asked as he realized what Akane might be doing.
Just then a massive blade shot out and from the tear liquid Havoc oozed out with energy versions of it blasting out as well. The Dragon roared in pain and agony as it let out a final death screech in which She-Ra shot out... or so they thought. She-Ra's form had changed she was now wearing ebony black armor that no longer formed a dress but actual black armor. The gauntlets were tipped with claws as in its entirety the armor had green veins flowing with Havoc. Her head piece had become a crown that gave of the image of a savage conqueror. Her red cape had become tattered at the edges as it seemed that the Sword of Protection had changed as well. The gem once blue was now Havoc Green and the gold of the hilt had turned dull. The blade was now serrated, and the weapon had become much larger than one would need two hands to properly wield.
All-in-all, She-Ra now looked like a savage queen who was now out to conquer. The Dragon for its part began to get back up as it glared at, She-Ra who glared back. Then with a savage roar She-Ra tore through the dragon in such a brutal and blood-soaked way many of her allies could not believe what they saw. She had jumped up and cleaved the beast in two with a swing of her blade showing her superiority to the group.
She-Ra then grinned as her face was stained before licking her lips with her now red eyes showing a bloodlust in them. "More..." She-Ra spoke as she looked over to the others. "I want more." She said and thus the group got, worried.
"Um I don't like that look she's giving us." Ram-Ma'am said as she knew that this was NOT the Akane they knew.
Then with another roar she charged at them jumping to the sky while breaking the ground with her jump. "Get back!" Naofumi called out and thus blocked She-Ra's attack with his shield. He managed to stop She-Ra's attack but then she shifted her sword into a scythe and used the curve of the blade to tear the shield out of her way and then smashed her fist into Naofumi's face sending him flying across the ground.
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia cried out only for She-Ra to appear before her opting Raphtalia to block with her sword. She-Ra had switched to a claymore and began slashing at Raphtalia holding the two-handed sword as if it were a short sword. Just then a whip wrapped around She-Ra's arm revealing that Wild-Cat had stopped her.
"Hey, She-Ra stop we're your friends!" Catra called out trying to stop She-Ra.
She-Ra just laughed before finally speaking. "Sorry... She-Ra isn't available at the moment, you can call me Despara." She-Ra or Despara spoke before yanking Catra's whip and forcing the Demi-human towards her. She then grabbed Catra by the neck and slammed her into the ground creating a crater from the impact. "And right now, I have an itch that only violence can scratch." Despara said before throwing Catra across the ground where she rolled and then impacted against the wall shattering it.
Everyone still standing surrounded Despara as clearly, they were dealing with someone that had a disturbing love for fighting and violence. Even He-Man was on guard, but he knew this was insane. "What's wrong with her?" Daito asked as Hajime noticed it.
"It's Havoc its coursing through her." Hajime said as she saw Akane must have taken a bit of Havoc to save herself.
"No, it's not that, this is something else." Ayato said as he didn't know how to respond to the fact his twin sister had become a berserker.
"Oh, you're all going to fight me?" Despara began as she sounded excited for a fight. "If you're going to fight me then come on give it to me!" Despara called out as she shouldered her weapon. But when no one made a move Despara laughed a bit. "Ok if you won't come to me, I'll go to you!" Despara called out and thus went on the attack directly at He-Man. He-Man for his part blocked Despara's attack and caused the ground behind him to break apart from the force of the strike.
"Oh, you can withstand my attack, good I was hoping to get… a challenge!" Despara said as she push off as she and He-man clash weapon, as Ayato seem to be standing equal footing with her, but he can feel Despara's strike becoming stronger and heavier with each strike, and she could possibly overpower him, but he held up and push Despara back.
"Speed build!" Man at arms calls out as he join in using his speed build ability to build a box to try and contain her and reinforce it with the stone around. But then it burst with an explosion of havoc energy freeing Despara as she went out and punch man at arms which sent him flying while he cry out in pain, as Ram ma'am came at her next as she said, "You bitch!"
Roll up into a ball as she try to slam into Despara, but she held her claymore sword to block it when she stab it into the ground with the blunt side held Ram Ma'am back which did push her back but not much before Despara give a battle cry and punch her weapon causing the force of it to hit Ram Ma'am knocking her back and out of her rolling ball form.
Sorceress was about to attack next until He-man call out, "Hold on Hajime! Don't attack, I need you to get in touch with Eldress at Castle Grayskull and ask her if there is something to somehow stop and save Akane!"
"What about you?" She ask as Despara was ready for another round as He-man held up his sword as he said, "I'm going to try and hold her back, stall for time until."
"Don't worry He-man for I Orko the great shall help!" Robot Orko said as he stood… floated before Despara as she smile in amused to this as He-man call out to him, "Orko No!"
"As Source of Thy power as Orko the Great Decipher!" Orko began only for the robot to fire out lasers again which missed Despara and hit the stone, causing it to go flying everywhere, with some large chunks of rocks and bolides of it coming at everyone as Naofumi somehow recover and gotten in front of the fall debris as he call out, "Airstrike shield!"
The massive airstrike shield appears and stops the rock and bolides from hitting everyone as Orko went, "Oops. One more try, As Source of thy power-
Before he could finish He-man pull him away and said, "Orko Stop, you're not helping!"
"But I can! I just need to find the correct spell and then…" Orko started to say as He-man said to him, "Orko, don't you get it already? You're not a wizard! You're a Robot we found and fit with the real Orok's memory cog! You don't do magic; you're just going to hurt everyone if you keep getting in the way!"
He-man left him next to Hajime as Orko looks in shock to hear this as He-man walk up to Despara and said, "Hey if you're looking for a good fight, then look no further!"
"Then you better hope you give me a good time," Despara said in an almost flirt way as He-man seem a bit gross out while he cheeks puff up a bit before he swallowed and not let what was coming up from his mouth out, as he said to himself, "I just throw up in my mouth a bit, now I got a bad taste, great start."
The two charged at each other as they clash sword against one another as Despara give out a happy battle cry.
(Akane's mind)
Akane came too a bit as she woke up, as she open her eyes and notice she was laying down on a cold stone floor before she picks herself up and found herself in an unfamiliar place as she look around and saw she's in some sort of ruin.
"Where am I, and how did I get here?" Akane said as she looks around and saw her sword on the ground as she quickly pick it up and held it in her hand as she soon notice she wasn't in her She-Ra form before looking around as she said, "I better find a way out of here, but where?"
Getting a better look around as she saw she was in a dimly lit room as candle that were on the walls seem to be the only thing that was giving light, using these candles as she look to see there was only a single door, and a large one at that but she saw no handles or anything that give an idea of how to open it, as she turn around, she saw a throne which surprise her to see it as she said, "What is this place?"
Suddenly a light from above shine through lighting up the dim lit room, as Akane look up and see there was a window there, but to her surprise to the window was a stained glass window and it was the image of her… no, of, She-Ra and some dark form of She-Ra as she could tell, while Akane said, "Okay Akane, don't freak out, maybe someone found you when you were unconscious and brought you here… but when did I black out, think Akane think!"
She knock on her head a bit to try to maybe jog her memory as she said as she said," Think back your last memory, you were helping Naofumi clean up a… giant lizard, no wait a dragon, yes a dead dragon, and then it… it came back to life as a zombie dragon, yes with havoc within it, and then we attack it, then filo was about to get eaten, but... but she didn't as I knock her out of the way and then I gotten eaten."
She looks down at herself as she remember getting touch by the dragon stomach acid but there was no burns, and her clothes were dry and perfect, nothing was ruin in anyway as she said to herself, "But then something else happen… a vision- no wait a window pop up in front of my something about a critical situation then a notification pop up something about a Restrictions item, for emergency use Despara… what the hell is Despara?!"
"I believe I can answer that for you," the light from the window shine more brightly, send out a beam of light which form into a being of light that appear before Akane as she remember seeing the person before as she said, "Wait, I remember you. You're that lady who help me become She-Ra… I'm sorry what was your name again?"
"I am Bright Hope, and I am sorry for putting you through this situation as I didn't believe it would go this far," Bright hope said as Akane said, "What situation… what did you do?"
"You were about to die, swallow up by the havoc that lies within the dragon, so I had no choice but to unlock a power that lies within She-Ra to save you, but now I am unable to lock it away again," Bright hope said as Akane said, "Something dealing with this Despara… what is it?"
"Not what, who, and she is you, or to be correct term is she became a part of you when you became She-Ra, Despara born from the powers of havoc, with no physical body or form, but a spirit that was seal within the sword of protection long ago, she was meant to be a last resort against a greater threat in the world when all other options had fail," Bright hope said as Akane said, "Wait, the world fuse with other worlds many time over, how come she hasn't come out before, and why now?"
"Because there were only a few who became She-Ra before you, with the last wielder of She-Ra had died long ago, but before she did, she hidden her sword so no one else and use its power for evil purposes when the people saw what the power of She-Ra can do unaware of greater destructive power within it, with only the stories of the sword of protection were pass on and keep a legend to those who believe the sword is real," Bright hope said as Akane said to herself, "Yeah I kind of figured with those crazy 3 weapon church people… But where am I, why am I here?"
"This place is a mental manifestation within your mind, a place that had form when you became She-Ra, a place that meant to protect your mind from traumatic event that were cause by incidents, and a prison for Despara, as I saw you were about to parish I had no other choice but to release her to save your life, but before I could pull her back in and bring you back out, she shut the door, locking it so she would be free while trapping you in here," Bright hope said as Akane said, "Great, just great. Please tell me there's a way out of here?"
"I'm afraid not the only way to open that door as if Despara wills it, or if someone from the outside open it themselves, and I hold more bad news" Bright hope said as Akane said, "What is it, what's going to happen?"
"The longer Despara remain free, the more her powers would grow, if she remain free for too long then you would most likely be trap here… forever," Bright hope said as Akane eyes widen to this as she rushes to the door and started banging on it as she shouted out, "Ayato! Naofumi! If you can hear me, I'm trap in mind! You need to get me out of here! Guys!"
(the battle)
He-man and Despara were going at it hard, as the air around them ripple as they clash swords with one another as He-man was keeping Despara distracted well enough. This in turn gave Hajime as sorceress time to try to get in contact with Eldress as she meditated in the air as she was calling out, 'Eldress, are you there? Eldress, we need help, something wrong with Akane!"
"I know!" Eldress confirmed as she knew it happened. "You can tell me how Despara was released later right now pay close attention there is a way to force a reversal, but you need the Sword of Power." Eldress said and thus Hajime paid close attention to Eldress.
Back to the fight He-Man and Despara parted from each other as their blades were evenly matched as Despara smiled sadistically at He-Man. She then charged at him and changing her weapons form again she got a gash in on He-Man causing him to cry out in pain. Despara laughed to this as she landed nearby and saw her weapon dripping with He-Man's blood. "Oh, is the big strong man turning up short." Despara said as she licked her blade cleaning it of the blood. "Don't worry I'll make it all better for you." She said in a seductive tone but clearly for her it's about violence and fighting not sex.
Despara charged into the fight again causing He-Man to block the attacks as they came but clearly Despara was too fast now for He-Man to stop. "STOP!" Filo called out and thus she, Sakura, Yuki, and Koh flew in and worked as one.
"TORNADO!" The three Masters of the Sky invoked creating a Tornado that forced He-Man back. Despara stabbed her blade into the ground to hold her ground while following the current. She saw how rocks were being turned over and thus she released her blade to travel the current.
The Filolials didn't see her coming until it was too late as Sakura was smacked away leaving Filo and Yuki to be grabbed by Despara. She then slammed into Koh and by the time she hit the ground Despara had Foh under her foot and with her hands was chocking the life out of the other two.
"FILO, YUKI, KOH!" Sakura cried out in shock to see her siblings in such a situation.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Catra yelled out and slammed her whip on Despara's hand and forced her back. Following it up Swift Wing charged in and used her back hooves to kick Despara back causing her to roll across the ground. Of course, it was not enough as she got back up showing no signs of fatigue.
Nearby Hajime flew over to Naofumi as he began to get back up. "Naofumi, I know how to stop her, be we need to hold her down." Hajime said as she looked to Naofumi.
"Will it turn her back?" Naofumi asked as Hajime nodded to this.
"I hope so." Hajime said as she knew the risks, but they had no choice.
"Alright let's do this." Naofumi said and thus came the hard part next.
Despara was fighting He-Man, Ram-Ma'am, and Raphtalia all at once as the trio were unable to get a good enough blow on Despara. Despara then performed a spin attack resulting in a wave of Havoc to blast them back. "More! More! MORE!" Despara cried out only for something to happen.
"SHIELD PRISON!" Naofumi called out and in turn Despara was trapped inside the Shield Prison. "Everyone that won't last long get her restrained once she busts out!" Naofumi called out and thus they got ready for what came next.
"RIGHT!" They all called out and got ready for what came next. Not long after Despara broke out of the Shield Prison and thus they acted starting with Daito. As the Man-At-Arms he used his mace to send for energy chains that wrapped around one of Despara's arms. She looked over to Daito seeing fresh meat and went for him. But before she could even swing Catra wrapped her whip around Despara's other arm holding her in place. She was about to stomp out of the scene but then Rapthalia rode in on Swift Wing before jumping down and forced Despara to drop her sword. She then kicked it away for He-Man to catch.
Finally Battle Cat jumped down and forced Despara to her knees and made sure she stayed on her knees. Following it up was Raphtalia who used her swords to keep Despara to the ground while the four Filolials sent down wind forced to keep her there. Despara roared out in challenge as she rose back up to her feet, but it was proving difficult. Her eyes were now completely green showing the Havoc tainting her form. But instead, there was a powerful glow from He-Man and Sorceress with He-Man and Sorceress letting the Sword of Protection hover between them. He-Man then stabbed the sword of Protection into the ground as it stood between them and the now restrained Despara.
"Oh, that's your plan? Disarm me?" Despara taunted as she wanted to fight more. "It won't last, I have the only power that matters and I'm going to use it to rip and tear." Despara said but He-Man and Sorceress glared at each other.
"Starting to sound like Skeletor." Daito said with concern in his voice.
"Skeletor maybe I'll pay him a visit once I'm done at that village." Despara went on but the Sorceress just glared down upon the savage warrior woman.
"Not today." Hajime said and thus she created an energy circle before the Sword of Protection. Following it up He-Man sent the power of Greyskull through the sword and out through the magic circle Hajime made. The power entered Despara as she went wide eyed to this.
"No. NO! NOT AGAIN!" Despara roared out as she tried to get free of her restraints. "I just got back!" Despara cried out while trying to get out of the grip. The Sword of Protection began to return to its original state and as the more Gold was fed into Despara the more the green began to leave her. Despara tried with all her might, but she could not get away and in turn with a savage roar of rage the power went upward reverting Despara to She-Ra and then back into Akane who proceeded to collapse.
"Akane/sis!" Naofumi and Ayato both cried out before they ran over to the downed girl as she was shivering on the ground. The group also joined in as they all began to revert to their human forms to check on her.
"Took you jerks long enough." Akane scolded as best she could as her body had fading green marks that turned into burns. Of course, the burns hurt as Akane hissed a bit from the pain.
"We need to get her to a doctor now." Naofumi said as he looked between Akane, Ayato, and their party.
"No! We need to get this biohazard cleaned up before the Havoc acts up again." Akane defended but Ayato cut in on that.
"Your health is more important than that right now." Ayato said as he did not want his sister to suffer any more of this pain.
"Maybe we can hit the middle ground." Hajime said as she played negotiator on this one. "We split up Ayato can take Akane to the village doctor and the rest of us can stay here to clean up the corpse." Hajime said and thus that was acceptable for all parties involved.
"I suppose that can work." Naofumi conceded and thus Ayato got ready to carry his sister back to the village.
(Scene Break the Village that Evening)
The Doctor was looking to the group after they brought Akane in to be healed from her tenure as Despara. The rest of them got a look over and good news they were all ok save for Ayato who still had the gash Despara gave him when he was, He-Man. "The Mountain wind has gone back to normal we'll be alright now." The Doctor said as he looked to the group thankful for what they had done. "Thank you so very much." He said passing the Coins he planned to give to the Royal Court to them.
The group looked to the pouch and had different ideas on what to do with it. "Keep it, consider it payment to have Akane treated." Ayato said as Naofumi was of similar thoughts on this.
"I don't care how much it costs just cure her." Naofumi added and in turn the Doctor sighed in defeat.
"Curing her will be difficult." The Doctor confessed as right now they needed to know that they didn't have the tools to cure her here. Currently Akane was currently wrapped in bandages where the burns were located. She's been afflicted with a curse a powerful one at that." The doctor confirmed as the group listened. "We've done what we can we wrapped her in bandages soaked in holy water, but we don't have a Holy Water that's pure enough to dispel curses like this." The Doctor said making the group go wide eyed to the amount of damage Havoc can do. "However, if you go to a church in a big town, I know you'll find some." The Doctor said as the group to which they knew meant returning to Melromarc. "Please keep this money for when you do." The Doctor said offering the sack once more to the combined party to which Naofumi took.
"Thank you doctor." Ayato said thankful for all he had done for them.
"Akane how are you feeling?" Filo asked as she walked in with Ayato and Naofumi.
"Well, they've taken good care of me I feel better." Akane said as she smiled to the gathered group.
"I never knew that corpses could inflict curses." The Nurse said causing the group to get nervous to this. "I just can't believe how terrifying dragons are." She said to which Raphtalia agreed.
"I know right?" Raphtalia said trying to cover for Akane knowing this was Despara's doing, hopefully they never have to see that sadistic monster again.
"But still I shouldn't have been so careless and got all that rotten flesh on me." Akane said as she smiled to her friends and teammates. "Well, if you guys don't mind... I'm going to get some sleep." Akane said as she looked to the group.
"Yeah, you do that." Naofumi said and thus that was the signal for them to clear out of the room. Once everyone had left Akane laid there for a moment as her happy disposition changed to an unhappy one. Turning to her side Akane looked and saw someone sitting on the table someone she had started to become familiar with. Standing there so only Akane could see her was Despara while smiled sinisterly at Akane almost taunting her with that smile alone.
"That's right, just sleep for now. The next time you let me out... I'm gonna have so much fun." Despara said with a sadistic tone in her voice. Akane laid there as she ignored her covering her head with the pillow to block her out. "After all your far too weak to ever hope to accomplish anything without my help." Despara taunted as she was trying to edge Akane to letting her out once more.
(TBC)
ESKK: Well, another chapter off the docket. I hope you all enjoyed it now, I need to go to work leave a review and as I always say here, ja-ne.