"On a battlefield far from all you know, how will you prove your bravery? In the savage garden of blood and steel, who will meet their end? Cast the four thrones of fire. Lay seven flames in the cradle. But there is one who knows the truth. In this world, there is no future. My lonely heart does not beat here."
Nel brought the Universal Villains to a kingdom filled with flowers, under Elyos's blood red sky.
"This is the kingdom of Firene. The Royal Family here holds the Bracelet of the Brash General." Nel said.
"How do we want to play this? Do we attempt negotiations, or go in with force?" Techno asked.
"You should know that the royal family are quick to violence and vengeful, and if they see you all especially." Nel said. "But Nil and I entrusted someone to be our eyes and ears in Firene. She is due to meet us here shortly."
"Lady Nel! Hello, hello!" a female voice called out.
"Zelestia. We were just talking about you." Nel said as a woman with pointed ears and horns in the shape of a crescent moon that had yellow tassels wrapped around them approached, two on the left, and one on the right. She wore a revealing black outfit with a black cloak along with a yellow skirt around her waist.
"I've been eagerly awaiting your arrival. You must be so tired after that long trek." Zelestia said before noticing the Universal Villains as she narrowed her eyes in anger. "The Universal Villains…"
"Yeah, saw this coming." DaDan said.
"Calm yourself, Zelestia. These are not the ones you are familiar with." Nel said.
"It's true. We come from an entirely different reality where people think we are the best." Flux said.
"The best at making fools of ourselves, perhaps…" Techno mumbled under his breath.
"Hmm…just curious but…have you…" Zelestia began.
"No. We have not encountered anyone who looks like you. You're a…Mage Dragon right?" Priyan said.
"That is correct. I am a Mage Dragon of small renown. I always considered the Divine Dragon and Queen Lumera of this world to be my family." Zelestia said.
"Well met, Zelestia." Techno nodded.
"What's the situation in Firene?" Boba asked.
"Firene is making plans to invade its northern neighbor." Zelestia said.
"Brodia." Nel surmised.
"The idea was Princess Celinè's, it's technically still waiting for King Alfred's approval. But that hasn't stopped the young princess from mustering a force of elite knights. We can no longer stand by and simply watch how this unfolds." Zelestia said.
"Welp, looks like we're conquering another kingdom then." Dabi said.
"So it would seem." Hawk Moth agreed.
"In that case, I can guess that negotiations are strictly off the table." Techno said. "Hm. What a pity. Perhaps they can be made to be more…compliant. To the castle."
Meanwhile, at Firene Castle…
"Still, Alfred? Still undecided about whether to invade?" Cèline asked.
"Don't rush me, Celine. This is a big decision. I need time to think it over." Alfred said.
"No, you need to take action!" Cèline demanded.
"It's not that easy. Brodia was our ally. If we pick a fight with them, there's no going back." Alfred said.
"Since Mother, our retainers, and many of our friends in the Hero Alliance died in the last war, it falls to us to defend our people. Don't you know they are suffering? With the Divine Dragon gone, the world is falling to ruin. Our crops and flowers are losing their color. Soon the farms will go barren. The only possible remedy is to expand our territory and supplement our resources. Now."
"It's not just our world. Millions have fallen since the Dark Knight rose than vanished. We may as well be preparing ourselves for our inevitable deaths." Alfred said. "Besides that, we need to consider Brodia's military."
"Which is precisely why I assembled an order of knights to defeat them! Or is it their Emblem you worry about?" Cèline asked. "That silly princess is no match for the Brash General!"
"Nothing is certain! Or have you forgotten how many we lost on that day?" Alfred countered. "Our retainers, the Alliance, the Divine Dragon…"
"And your spine, as well." Cèline snapped at her brother. "Fine then. I will take care of it myself."
"Ma'am! The Fell Dragon Nel approaches!" a soldier said. "And…they're leading the Universal Villains."
"So they're still alive." Cèline growled.
"How? What are they doing here?" Alfred asked in disbelief. "I heard Amadeus destroyed himself after Jexi died! He couldn't live with the fact someone ended his arch-enemy before he could!"
"But this is our chance, brother. To avenge those that we lost on that day." Cèline said.
"You're right… I don't know how he came back to life, but we won't find out by standing around." Alfred said. "Knights, prepare for battle! See to it that Sombron's children, and those murderers are finally put down! We'll bring their severed heads to Brodia as a symbol of our might!"
The Firenise soldiers prepared for battle, assembling outside the castle gardens. Alfred was entrusted with The Bracelet of the Brash General as he led the charge, Wolf Beil in hand, while Cèline was in the back, leading the troops.
"Seems they've planned a welcoming for us." Arsen observed.
"What's the plan fellas?" Spinel asked.
"Hmm…" Techno said, as he scanned the battlefield, his eyes falling on Cèline. "That one, the girl in the back. That is Cèline, correct?"
"Yes, that is her." Zelestia confirmed. "She's ruthless. She will crush anyone in the name of Firene."
"It seems she's the one leading the troops." Techno said. "If we can kill or turn her, the army should lose morale. That will make taking the Emblem much easier."
"Once you have the Bracelet, I will take it from there." Nel said. "The Emblem is corrupted beyond measure. So, I'm going to put it back to rest."
"But what's to stop any of us from taking it for ourselves?" Flux asked.
"You mean, besides the fact that we'll be positioning our only guide against us?" Techno asked. "I do not say this lightly, Amadeus, but…stop being stupid, you ass."
"Hey, you do not talk to me like that, descendant!" Flux said.
"Then do not give me a reason to do so." Techno replied. "In any case, we'll uphold that agreement, Nel. In the meantime…clear us a path, everyone."
"Yes! Take them all!" Flux commanded as the villains moved out to attack.
"Come and test your mettle. But there's no way you can defeat the Brash General." Alfred said. "It's more than you deserve, but…I hope you die without pain. Knights, move in!" he declared as the Firene forces moved to match the villains.
"Firene is all the matters. Crush those who dare oppose her!" Celine said.
"Do these guys even know who we are?" Dabi said as he went and incinerated a number of incoming soldiers.
"If they did, they wouldn't bother attacking." Boba Fett said firing at some of the troops.
It wasn't long before Alfred had to join the fight himself. He rode ahead and knocked down a few of Pryian's created troopers who were keeping the Knights busy, before he confronted Techno.
"You're Flux's descendant, aren't you?" Alfred asked, struggling to contain his anger.
"That is correct." Techno replied.
"Why are you following in his footsteps? More importantly, why even work with him? Do you even know the lengths he's gone to, what he's put himself and so many worlds through, just to defeat Jexi and rule over it all?"
"I am aware, he can be a handful." Techno replied. "But he is a capable villain overall, despite what others may think. He does manage to pull through and survive to fight again, at the end of the day. And besides that…I too, seek to defeat the Alliance for my own reasons. But that's enough small talk. Surrender the Bracelet of The Brash General, and you and your soldiers will survive."
"So you can take it for yourselves and research its power for your own nefarious purposes? It's out of the question!" Alfred declared as he urged his steed to charge, aiming his lance to skewer Techno.
The doctor reached down and tapped his shoes, giving them thrusters as he took to the air and avoided the attack. "Very well. Then you all will die." he stated as he pulled out a laser pistol and shot at Alfred.
At the same time, Cèline directed the troops before being confronted by some of the villains.
"You truly dare to show your faces here, after all you've done?" Cèline practically snarled at the villains. "I will at least give you thanks for allowing Firene the honor of wiping you out!"
"Yeah…you aren't all that, little miss priss." Flux said. "Fett?" he said as Boba Fett fired and hit the princess's arm.
"Ah!" Cèline gasped as she held her wounded arm while glaring at the villains. "Do you expect me to beg for mercy, you monsters?"
"...No." Boba stated as he took aim to hit her in the head, and fired…
…before a figure in a cloak landed between them and blocked the blaster fire.
"Oh come on! Not you weirdos again. We are kinda in the middle of a reign of terror sort of deal." Flux said.
Boba was more wary. "Flux, something's not right." he stated. "I think this is-"
He wasn't able to finish his sentence before the figure dashed towards him and shot out a black leg at the bounty hunter, Boba barely managing to block the attack as he was sent hurtling back.
"Boba!" Spinel said as the Gem rushed to his side. "You okie dokie?"
"Yeah…but that kick…only one man in the Multiverse throws out a kick like that." Boba said, his eyes widening under his helmet. "Flux, pull back now!"
"So…my theory was right." Flux said, looking at the figure before taking out a strange weapon. "Come at me, curly brows!"
The wind fluttered the figure's hood, letting any who were watching get a glance at the figure's face. The face of Vinsmoke Sanji.
"Even in another reality, he's still gotta be the knight in shining armor, huh?" Spinel asked.
"I should've guessed he'd come running even before I pulled the trigger." Boba said.
"Don't talk to it. He's not the same guy you two knew." Flux said. "He's one of the Corrupted!"
"Corrupted? You mean…" Toga started.
"Yes… He is already dead. Him and all his hero buddies. Somehow, they were all brought here and corrupted by this world." Flux said. "I figured it out after our first encounter."
"So what you're sayin' is… we get to kill Sanji twice?" Spinel asked.
"No…I'll be the one ending him." Flux said as Sanji was dashing at Flux. Flux only smirked as he fired a sort of mist in the chef's face, causing him to stop and collapse to the ground.
"Whoa…what did you do to him?" Spinel asked.
"Let's just say…it's my secret weapon against these Corrupt Heroes." Flux said.
Back with Techno, the doctor had the king of Firene on the ropes, the man's steed dead as Techno floated over him.
"Damn you…" Alfred seethed at the doctor.
"All you have are words. No real conviction behind them." Techno stated coldly. "But don't worry…I can fix that." he said, descending towards the prone royal.
He grabbed at them to begin his work, but found his powers weren't taking effect. "Huh…that's odd. Magical interference, perhaps…?"
Alfred tried to run Techno through while the doctor was seemingly distracted, only for the man to teleport away. "Wh-What? Where did he…?"
Those were the last words Alfred uttered before a laser blast tore through his chest. The king looked back to see Techno holding the pistol, his cold eyes being the last sight he saw before he collapsed.
"Truly a pity." Techno said, holstering his pistol.
"Good work." Nel said as she appeared, she and Zelestia having finished off the last of Firene's army. "With Alfred dispatched, Cèline will have no choice but to surrender."
"Speak of the devil!" Spinel said as he approached, the Gem having tied Cèline up with her arms.
"Good. But before that…" Techno said, taking the Bracelet of the Brash General and handing it to Nel. "I believe you wanted this."
"Thank you." Nel said, sealing it immediately. "It's done. The Emblem has been put into slumber and will be dormant until the corruption is dealt with."
"Good. Now then…" Techno said, turning to Cèline. "To deal with you."
"No… This can't be right." Cèline said, his voice filled with despair. "We were supposed to succeed. I was supposed to be…happy…"
Flux nodded to Boba, who pulled out his lightsaber and held it to the back of Cèline's neck. "...You will be." he said as he brought the blade down.
The villains then started to clean up the pieces.
"So the theory was right. The robed figures are the heroes who have been Corrupted." Flux said.
"Hmm…this is worrying." Techno admitted. "Even with your secret weapon, there are certain factors we must account for."
"Yeah. Jexi and his buddies." Flux agreed. "Are they good and dead, or…did they get Corrupted too? Another factor…did they really die on this world…or did someone bring them here?"
"Most likely… I doubt this Sombron could have defeated them." Techno said as he held a regular Corrupted's hand. "Hmm…" he hummed as he activated his Mechanize Style, this one turning into a robot. "This one was affected…so why not the king…?"
"Not totally. Look." Flux said as the pieces quickly reverted as the Corrupted rotted. "Seems your style doesn't work on the dead."
"Ah…I suppose that makes sense." Techno nodded. "Glad I found that limit, at least. But back on topic…if someone did bring them here, then for what purpose?"
"You know…that Nil guy…he was oddly okay with us hanging out with his sister, considering how much he doesn't trust us." Flux pointed out.
"Agreed. We can't rule out that he may have a hand in it." Techno said. "But why summon our versions he can already have as his own?"
"If it were me, I'd be setting up an army of these Corrupted to wage a universe wide take over." Flux said.
"Hmm…that's one theory." Techno agreed. "But what can we do about it? He knows us, our abilities. And then there's Nel. If we play our cards wrong, she could turn against us."
"If she's on our side at all." Flux said.
"Yes. We need an ace. Something none of them can plan for." Techno said, thinking before he got an idea, turning on his comm. "Photon, a question: do we have scans for the universal wavelengths of those…what were they called…Rebellion members?"
"Yes sir. I took the liberty of getting them during the Starfall Islands incident." Photon responded.
"Good. Have them ready, we'll be back on the ship soon." Techno said, ending the call.
"What do you have in mind?" Flux asked.
"Well, the Hero Alliance has gotten some out of town 'sidekicks'." Techno said with a grin, the red light reflecting off his glasses. "Perhaps we should consider getting some of our own."
"Well we've already crossed into one reality, what's one more?" Flux said.
While the two Fluxes were planning, Zelestia and Nel were watching.
"Are you sure about this, Lady Nel? Leaving them to their own devices…" Zelestia said.
"I know the risks, Zelestia. Having them here may very well lead to this reality being destroyed." Nel said. "We just have to keep them under control long enough for the Heroes to appear."
"But what happens if they don't? They clearly have designs to take this reality, and once they deal with the other kingdoms, what's to stop them from turning on you?" Zelestia asked.
"Do not worry, Zelestia. The Hero Alliance will arrive before then." Nel said.
"Ah, even though they may not be the ones we know, I look forward to seeing our beloved comrades once again." Zelestia said.
"Yes…of course." Nel said.
With that, Zelestia and Nel would continue to accompany the Universal Villains, as both in this reality and the other, both parties of Hero and Villain would journey to their next destination: Brodia.