Silence.
A deafening wind blew over the remains of Sector V; where there were once hundreds of suburban homes, roads and street ornaments, there is nothing but cracked earth and crumbled bits of rock. The echoes of a bygone era whispered through the twisted remnants of what had once been a bustling hub of activity. Now, the landscape lays in ruin, a chilling testament to the devastating power of Fuse. A toxic fog of green had reclaimed much of the area, nature's relentless march reclaiming what had been taken by force. Vines snaked their way around broken structures, wildflowers sprouted defiantly from cracks in the pavement, and trees had taken root where buildings once stood, their branches reaching towards the sky like silent witnesses to the tragedy that had befallen the sector.
The earth was hollow.
Amidst the ruins, fusion monsters roamed freely, their twisted forms a stark contrast to the once orderly and disciplined operatives who had called this place home. Mutated creatures with amalgamated features prowled the streets, their eyes gleaming with an unnatural hunger as they scavenged for scraps amidst the wreckage. They knew there was still no one left to ravage, although they continued a desperate yet hopeless search.
The air was heavy with a sense of loss and despair, the sounds of distant cries and eerie howls mingling with the rustle of leaves and the creaking of damaged structures. Earth had lost a battle it never anticipated, and Sector V stood as a grim reminder of the consequences of failure in the face of overwhelming odds. As the sun dipped low on the horizon, casting an orange glow over the ruined landscape, one couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for what had been lost. The once proud symbol of hope and resistance had succumbed to the relentless onslaught of Fusion, leaving behind a scarred and battered world where survival was a daily struggle and hope was a distant memory.
A slight thrashing could be heard as three figures had exited an untouched suburban home; a tall, skinny figure in black had walked in black shoes. Their nearly all black suit was a slight hue of purple, a blood red cloak with a charcoal outer layer had flown in the breeze. Two bright skulls on its chest and a bright green flame. Two red eyes scanned the horizon as this creature violently held two victims in both of its hands: Fusion Demongo.
He had turned.
Tattered and beaten in his left hand was the very same young boy, his chrome academy armor crumbled and scraped from the violent fight he had just endured. With a black eye, various bleeding cuts and dozens of bruises all across his body, young Niles weakly turned to look out toward the rest of the world in front of him. Demongo's slender fingers held a cold grasp over his neck, nearly choking him from behind. One slit from just one finger and he would be dead within mere seconds. He was outmatched, frightened and confused about what had happened in front of him.
In his right hand, her black suit had been cut and scraped. Blood had stained her clothes, forcing a miserable and ruined look. Her eyes, although unharmed, held a grim stare as her strained ginger hair wildly flowed down her face. Blossom broke; unable to handle the situation she was placed in, she couldn't bear to witness what had happened to the rest of the world. She was stiff, slightly bouncing in Demongo's hand like a stuffed animal which didn't want to be won as a prize.
The fusion lifted his head up high in the air, gently hovering above the ground while Niles and Blossom swung. A click echoed in the vast distance, an unnatural and gut-punched ring like calling some unhinged border collie.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ground slightly rumbled through each step, a creature of gargantuan size making its way forward. An outline of a humanoid shape took place from the fog, coming into view.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Muffin-shaped craters were left in its tracks, resembling unnatural feet. The figure's body was a mixture between a strange rock and pure fusion, the ooze itself flowing in between each step like a water tank. Its limbs were muscular, mimicking the shape and size of a healthy human man but unnaturally large. Dried fusion had been smeared over both its transparent inner body and rocky outer shell for some unknown purpose. Past its large pecs and on its broad shoulders, fusion unnaturally orbited its head creating its own gravitational pull. Up the throbbing, veiny neck and past its glowing red eyes, a huge sack of gloated fusion pulsated like an open brain.
In the shape of a lion's mane did it flow backwards, a small amount of tentacles on the very end tips mimicking dreads, gently rubbing and slobbering all over itself. A faint glow came from the head each time a new thought appeared, going off like silent fireworks. Lights traveled all across its miasma head, centering somewhere within the main part of the overdeveloped brain itself before disappearing.
The giant stood at an intimidating eighteen feet tall, its pair of thick hands bundled into fists as it slightly hunched over to look down at the display in front of it. Its red eyes sparked and fizzled, empowered by an unknown current of electricity within its body.
Niles looked up, slightly shaking in horror as his small eyes widened. His hands and fingers twitched, the nerves in his legs twitching him to get up and start running. He couldn't, a terrible dread falling over him as a slight whimper in fear escaped his mouth.
Blossom's eyes widened a little, coming to her senses as she adjusted herself in Demongo's grasp. A sliced open and bloody hand reached out to grab onto the fusion's grasp to ease the grip, her eyes staying locked onto the giant in front of her.
"Ahhh, my mastaaaa!" Fusion Demongo's smile widened as the fire within kindled. He tapped his shoes in excitement and hovered forward, landing before the creature and hoisted the two up. "Our war is finally over! Not even five men remain on this rock, my mastaaaa."
The creature slightly leaned over, its red eyes fixating on Blossom and Niles.
Blossom didn't say a word, Niles couldn't.
A deep speech started, "TO RAVAGE THE UNIVERSE FOR CONQUEST IS ONE THING, BUT FOR KNOWLEDGE? YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME A VALUABLE LESSON. I HAVE MIMICKED YOUR PHYSIQUE, MIRRORED YOUR FIGHTING STYLE AND HAVE EXHAUSTED EVERY FIBER OF FUSION IN MY BEING JUST TO DESTROY YOU. SHEER WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE THE BLAZING HATE I HAVE FOR THE HUMAN RACE. YOU HAVE BEEN MY GREATEST FOE YET."
Demongo dropped the two of them onto the ground, forcing them on their knees and placed his hands on his hips. His cape continued flowing, now a living flag of victory.
"YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH A FORMIDABLE FOE FOR MY GRAND ARMY, INFACT, THAT I LEARNED YOUR LANGUAGE JUST TO BOTHER SPEAKING WITH YOUR LAST SOLDIER. YOU, UNLIKE MANY OF THE SPECIMENS WITHIN THIS UNIVERSE ARE NOT WHAT YOU CALL," His jagged, yellow fangs grit. "DOGS."
Niles gulped, slightly holding a hand up and curled a point finger. "A-Are you-"
The creature leaned down even more, his face nearly the size of the young boy. "YOUR HELL INCARNATE, EATER OF WORLDS."
It adjusted itself back up, Blossom glaring up at him. "Lord Fuse."
A broad smile formed on his face, holding up a clasped fist. "I AM IMPRESSED BY YOUR WORLD'S FORTITUDE; YOU WILL MAKE A GREAT AND TERRIBLE ADDITION TO MY ARMY." A finger pointed up at the sky above them. "WITHIN HOURS, YOUR PLANET WILL BECOME ONE WITH MINE." His hand opened up its palm. Fuse took a good look at the oozing calluses formed from his recent battle before closing it. His red eyes turned to the two of them again, motioning with a finger. "YOU ARE GRANTED YOUR CUSTOM OF LAST WORDS. YOU HOLD ME BACK, BUT I AM RESPECTFUL."
Niles and Blossom both turned to look at each other, feeling the mutual fear between one another. Still, in this nightmare, they shared a connection.
"Niles," Blossom began, frowning as she teared up a little bit. "I am so sorry."
The young boy's lower lip quivered as he struggled to speak; he cleared his throat, forcing himself to get a little louder and fought his fearful stutter. "Did.. did we lose?"
A hot tear ran down Blossom's cheek as she nodded, sniffling.
Lord Fuse took his hand and grasped it around Blossom's head, hoisting her up into the air before him and widened his eyes. "YOU WILL LEARN TO RESPECT ME."
His grasp tightened and a slit of ooze unleashed from the folds of his fingers. Blossom's head, face and body began to coat in this fusion. She shrieked, an immense pain running down her entire body. Despite the high frequency of her cries and expressions, she was muffled by the sheer size of his hand. Her body temperature rose, her hair slowly melting away including now the first layer of skin and muscle.
Her legs violently thrashed, kicking and strutting left and right as her hands curled around his giant fingers. It was to no avail, the heat from his hand now rising as it looked like he was boiling her alive within his grasp.
"LET IT BE SO THAT MY NAME, LORD FUSE, SHALL BE ECHOED ACROSS GALAXIES!"
Niles stumbled back, turning to look over at Fusion Demongo.
The man's smile had reached the corners of his thin cheeks, the green flame burning even brighter. A slight cackle of excitement and joy came from him as he held his hands together, watching this foreign ritual.
Within a split second to react, the boy quickly got up and began taking off. His panic fueled him, pushing him faster and harder than he had run ever before. He turned to the side of some wreckage, continuing onward.
"My mastaaa?" Fusion Demongo asked, slowly gliding his way toward his direction.
Lord Fuse's other slimy hand held up, forming a gesture to stop. "LEAVE THE BOY. OBSERVE."
The muffles of Blossom grew quieter and quieter as she had now stopped moving. She went limp, dangling in the air like a stringed ornament. As her eyes rolled into the back of her head, the only last thought she had in her mind was failure. Swallowed by a dark green all around her, she couldn't escape. She was suffocated in fusion, coursing through her veins and in between the folds of her eyes, nose and mouth. Her skin, her natural beauty and everything that made her human was slowly fading away, becoming a metamorphosis. A coating slowly traced down her body, moving in between her clothes and quickly boiling her skin. She was transforming, every tissue and blood cell being replaced with more green fusion. The uniform she had remained, though her hair twisted and brambled into a gooey mess like himself. Illuminant white light flashed in between his fingertips, the tentacles in the back of his Fuse's head wriggling with anticipation as Fuse took in a deep, watery breath. His lower lip quivered, information beginning to pour its way into his brain like an open water bowl.
His head reeled up, flashes of recent memories appearing in his mind as he nodded his head.
Suddenly, his head jolted and his red eyes widened.
Forming from the edges of his free hand was a long, slender tentacle of green. He quickly chucked it into the ground; it pierced the hollow land underneath, burrowing its way at an immense speed.
Young Niles continued running, slightly tripping on himself as he loosely continued to dash across the streets. He had to get somewhere, away. He couldn't escape, there was no time left. Where would he go? What would he do? A hundred thoughts uproared in his head as he looked for the next path to take.
CHOOM!
The green tentacle sprouted up into the air and wrapped around Niles ankle like a loose vine, lifting him up with great strength. The boy screamed, throwing himself around and thrashing into the air for some kind of help. His cheeks turned red, his hair dangling upside down as he reached frantically for the bright orange lightning gun on his belt. It slipped out, falling with the strap and all onto the ground in front of him.
His screams crackled as that stinging pain started in his ankle. He lost feeling in his entire foot, realizing that this was his end.
"No! No! Please! I want to live! I give up! Please!" his hoarse voice dried out, throwing his hands around to try and fight out of it. His breathing grew frantic, the world spinning around him. His entire leg had now shifted into a bubbly green, as if liquid acid started to melt his insides. Next came his crotch, followed by his torso and his other leg until it started to dwindle.
Eventually, he stopped. Niles closed his eyes and loosely dangled as the pain took over, the panic making him go numb. The last thing apparent on his mind was fear, the image of Fuse burning through his thoughts above all else.
Then lastly, nothing. An empty void.
The tentacle started sliding itself back through the ground, dragging the morphing body with him. It smacked onto the pavement, then slipped through its burrow hole like jello.
"My mastaaa," Demongo began, looking up at him. Fuse's mind linked with the creature in front of him, a great deal of hive-minded concern between the two. "What troubles you?"
The body of Niles was brought back, dangling in front of him right beside Blossom. Their bodies remained stiff, waiting to be restored while he was in deep thought.
"I HAVE NOT SLAIN THE LAST MAN; THIS WAR.. IS NOT OVER."
The two had been set down, placed before Fuse in front of him. They stood up, reacting like wind-up dolls with stiff movements as their joints and bones began to take place. In through their slime was the faintest outline of a skeleton, slowly even fading into the folds of goop that was their bodies.
Fusion Niles and Fusion Blossom had been birthed, standing before him awaiting orders.
Fuse concerningly turned to look out toward the horizon, then up at his planet as his fist clenched. His anger grew, his large head twitching as the thoughts reeled in a loop.
"THEY HAVE CONSTRUCTED A DEVICE, ONE CAPABLE OF TRANSCENDING WORLDS. IMPOSSIBLE."
The flash of the time machine from Blossom's point of view struck in him, the emotional bondage between them, the fear from young Niles being replaced in the future. A sigh of frustration came from him as his brain began digging deeper, seeping through the memories like a bundle of library books.
"NILES ARACHNID, THE MAN WITH THE SUIT." Fuse grit his disgusting teeth in fury, his rocky eyebrows furrowing and his ounce of breath growing shorter by the moment. He roared, "I HAVE BEEN MADE A FOOL!"
SLAM!
A colossal hand crashed into the ground away from the fusions, rocks and dust spurting everywhere as several fusion monsters nearby stopped to observe his rage. The rocks and dirt cracked, forming a crater from where he had pushed his outburst. Fuse breathed in heavily, his enormous chest rising and falling as he turned to look back at the three standing in front of him.
"TO THINK MY LAST OPPONENT IS SUCH A COWARD, HE HAS HIS YOUNGER SELF TAKE HIS PLACE. THIS SPECIES MAKES ME SICK!"
"My mastaa, he did not know." Demongo replied as an agent of reason, making a hand gesture stoically.
Fuse zoomed his head down at Fusion Demongo, nearly miniaturizing him. "HE STILL. RAN."
Fusion Niles and Fusion Blossom watched in silence, trapped in a momentary stasis of pause while listening to his frustration. They kept their eyes on him at all times, arms clasped against their sides. They waited to be puppeteered, if anything eager.
Then, suddenly, came an idea.
Fuse beckoned this new thought coming to him with open arms, looking down at the two fresh spawn. His teeth widened, his crusty face forming a sadistic smile. "SHOULD HE WISH TO LIVE ON IN THIS IGNORANT FANTASY HE HAS PAINTED, I WILL ENSURE THAT HIS DEATH IS INFINITE. NO MATTER WHERE HE RUNS, HE SHALL BE REMINDED OF HIS TROUBLED PAST."
Fusion Niles gave a nod, while Blossom remained silent.
Fuse turned to face them fully and took a step forward, leaning down to get close to their level with a squat. "WITH THE POWER I HAVE COME TO SCAVENGE, WE WILL REBUILD THIS MACHINE IN MY IMAGE. I SHALL ENACT AS A CATALYST; ONCE IT IS COMPLETE, YOU SHALL BE SENT BACK TO HIS TIMELINE. I SENSE.. A CLOSE BOND, BETWEEN YOU TWO."
"Yes, Lord Fuse." Fusion Blossom's hissy voice spewed as she bowed before him. "What should I do to him?"
There was a long moment of silence as the large alien contemplated his next words closely; a hand scratched his chin.
"BEFORE HE IS SLAIN, SHOW HIM WHAT HE HAS ABANDONED."
With one telepathic command, the two bowed and promptly began to walk in a direction elsewhere within the ruined sector. Lore Fuse placed his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky, witnessing the surface of his wasteland planet slowly inch toward the surface he dominated. It was beautiful, the array of green in every separate direction. Although the slightest timid thought of Niles getting away frustrated him, in his eyes he had won. The world was fusion, and his, as it should be.
"WHEREVER YOU ARE, NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU WILL GO, I WILL FIND YOU IRON WARRIOR. THEN, SHALL WE SEE WHO IS VICTORIOUS."
The great migration of the fusions began back to their home planet, preparing to move at the earliest convenience. The many diligent people who once worked in the labs of their hidden base had all been altered into more fusion spawn, the combined intelligence and strength of every single hero had claimed deep in his mind. Their vile counterparts awaited for the role they were to play in the future, should he need them to fulfill this one last hunt. Hundreds of creatures dragged themselves across the wastes, many of them looking up and out toward the surface of Planet Fusion. It was here this time that there would be no more mistakes. The end of a difficult war was near, the beginning of another conquest someplace else in the vast reaches of space. This long awaited day was closer to finally coming than he thought; despite his short outburst, nothing was left but an ambitious smile on his face. His bold arms folded behind his back, his eyes remaining fixated on his sky.
Victory was near, and he intended on claiming it.