They came from the star 10.
~0~
They had made a mistake... X and Zero had made a terrible mistake.
Axl and Vava were...
They were...
:Shit... what the hell are we supposed to say to Alia and Signas? Sorry we let those two hang out unsupervised?: Zero 'whispered to X as they traveled the corridor, unwilling to look at the apocalyptical sight
:I thought my disaster algorithm would have predicted such an outcome.: X lamented. :I should not be so surprised about what happened.:
:Yeah... We really should have seen it coming.: Zero sent as he turned to... the most terrifying sight in the world.
Mangalanada was perched on Vava's unoccupied shoulder while the ancient mercenary had slung a lazy, amicable arm around Axl's shoulder.
At first glance, it was an even better outcome than neither robot master (well, one robot master) could have hoped for, since it was well known that Axl was... not really fitting with the rest of the hunters, save Layer.
But then... Mangalananda joined in the moment Axl began to brag about the pranks he pulled on HQ.
Then Vava let out a laugh and told of his own prowess.
The three had now planned an entire war of practical jokes, to Kamala, Zero, X and Ghandarva's great chagrin.
Dharadhara looked resigned, muttering about how he didn't have time for this. And Madan remained the mysterious swordsman and showed no emotion on this matter. Save for a Flickering of his eyes.
Suddenly, Vava stopped in his tracks, all traces of levity were gone.
"We're here." he spoke free of his usual bravado, instead, ninety years worth or resentment tainted his words.
"So, what's the plan?" Axl asked as he bounced to his usual position between the two elders. " We go in? Shoot the guy and bail out?"
X turned to the young reploid. "Yes... if." he turned his peridot glance toward Vava. "Vava... do you think... Do you really believe I could purify him?"
Vava turned to his elder. "... yeah, sure but... I don't think we'll get good ol' Siggy back." He shook his head. " he was always pretty salty about the whole reploid situation, saw it as nothing more then slavery wihtout the blood."
" I do not believe he was wrong." Madan interjected. " Thus, even if he is without the corrupting influence of Dark Matter, I do not believe he will let himself be swayed, even with a friend's heart."
"Love and friendship has to be a willful act... if it's forced, then there's no love." Kamala spoke solemnly.
"So, wait." Axl gesticulated. "You mean... you don't brainwash moster's to follow you around?"
"No! Why would I do that!" Kamala yelped with eyes filled with indignation. "Love has to be willing!"
"All right, All right." Axl yelped as he showed his palms in a show of surender. "So that's another part of the game that's changed from reality. I get it."
The diminutive puffball nodded with huff, causing Vava to coo over the aeon old star warrior.
"What? Is it a crime for a badass dude like me to like cute pink things?"
Zero opened his mouth to make fun of him when X stopped him with a glare.
"And don't ya dare say another word about my love for anything cute, whipped-bot." The rescued reploid spoke with an audible grin.
Zero's cheeks turned as red as his armour before he gave a feral smile of his own. "Oh? Are you jealous that I have the most amazing being as my spouse?"
"Zee!" X sputerd in indingation as he laid a weary glance back at the green mercenary.
Vava gazed at the two, remaining silent.
"A bit..." He admitted quietly. " But... Let's get this over with before you guys start shipping me with Layer."
"And why Layer?" Zero asked with a narrowed gaze, practically growling at the reploid.
Vava rubbed the back of his helmet. "Well... I have a thing for tall gamers in Kigu... I just want to bundle them up in a pillow fort and snuggle with them and... Layer sounds like a smart lady also."
"You bet she is!" Axl gave this wide grin. "Now, let's put the big guy to his grave again!" the young hunter declared as he rushed to the other room. "Last one there is as dead as last year's softwares!"
"AXL! WAIT!" Zero yelped as he run after the stupid kid with a death wish, closely followed by Vava and the Interstelar Vaishnava's.
X closed the trail as he entered the room... it was a narrow corridor with barely any light... and a foreboding feeling flooded the place like a heavy Miasma.
"AXL!" Zero scolded as he grabbed the young hunter by the wing. "What the hell have I told you about running ahead of us like that?" He shook the redhead.
"Not to do that?" Axl spoke with an unrepentant grin.
"And why is that?" Zero gave a fearsome scowl. Only to have Axl roll his eyes at him.
"C'mon, old man. The place's not as booby trap as those ancient movies you l-'' But Axl did not manage to finish his phrase for the floor opened from under them, a magnetic field pulling those with metallic bodies (and mask) down faster then they would like.
X, who had been flying, his body made out of magical Crystals remained there, too shocked to react.
Not that he could, for a force field had activated, blocking his path.
"Oh no... no, no no.." Steaming his panic, the elder hunter touched the side of his head. Trying to reach his team... those he could anyway.
:Zero?: He called a few times... only to meet with static. :Axl, come in! Don't play a prank on me or I swear I'm destroying your game station... I will personally teach you about human history and classical literature...: his threat met only the heavy silence of his com.
:Vava, Vava, Come in! This is X! Vava, Commander X speaking, please copy!:
'They are not dead, Zero won't die so easily and Axl's been trained to be a wily merc and Vava... If Zero didn't manage to off the guy for good then He'll make it too...' X tough as he also tried to contact his Navigators. Only to be rudely reminded that he had no satellite service on the fake moon.
"Alright, X. You're used to Solo missions, there's nothing much you can do now and... Yeah, better go and Face Sigma, I'm bound to find them again." Since Zero always had this uncanny ability to find his beloved just as all hopes were lost...
and... X also had another person he could call on, but would He listen?
Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him.
X whipped around, his buster at the ready.
It could be anyone.
It could be anything.
It was Lumine, the kidnapped New-gen... he was floating, and once again, this uneasy feeling seatled deep in the Crytlas bomber's tank.
"Lumine?" he asked as he lowered his buster.
Maybe he should not have, he could already hear Zero berate him for his carelessness but...
Lumine was to be rescued...
and it was not as if he could do anything except throw a few punches and launch the legendary hadouken...
Lumine grinned, and took this opportunity... activated something.
The only thing X remembered was his entire body began to vibrate and...
there was a shattering sound, and all turned black.
~0~
back at the bottom of the shaft, Kamala shook himself off from the fall.
Sure, falling never hurt him, and it was quite fun to feel gravity reverse. Still the landing was not that pleasant, even if he was squishy.
He could hear a weird humming sound. Lifting his head for the ground, Kamala was met with the sight of Madan-Mohan trying to fly off the ground. But since his mask was stuck to the magnetised floor.
"Oh no! Are you alright, madan?" Kamal asked as he rushed to aid his best friend. He tried pulling (To madan's great discomfort) pushing, shoving and suking. But it seemed nothing short of removing Madan's mask would free him.
"... Why didn't I think of that?" The blue knight huffed as he managed to fiddle with the latch, releasing him from his protective trap.
"Hoy... that was a scary fall." Kamala spoke as he tried to peer through the pitch black darkness , only to see all but Madan's glowing eyes. "I hope the other's are ok."
"Well. Dharadhara... his body is fixing itself, so give him five minutes." Madan-moha spoke with a deadpan wince. " I have no idea where Gandhi and Mango are at the moment, they may have managed to float away."
"Oh, I hope so. Mangala's not that solide. And Gandharva hates being squished."
"Indeed."
"And how about Zero, Vava, Axl and X? Can you see them?" The legendary pink puffball asked as he worried his widdle paws.
Madan looked around. " I can see Vava, sir Zero and Axl. But X is not nearby at all, I suspect he may still be up."
"Oh, yeah since his body's not made of metal... and he can fly better than Axl." At this admission the sound that resembled a broken Furby met Kamals... whatever it is that he used for hearing.
"... Oh my." The pink puffball sweatdropped. " So... I guess we'll have to find a way to turn the big magnet off then."
"Yes, and soon." Madan spoke as he looked around the place. "Oh... I think Sir Zero has already found a clue as to what should be done." And with that, the maskless knight grabbed Kamala's paws and pulled him further in the catacombs.
"This brings back memories... I can still smell the damp stench of the ripple star Catacombs... did you know that when a fairy body p-"
"Kamala, I swear, if you start talking about this morbid subject again, I'm leaving you in the dark."
"Ah sorr-" But Kamala stopped before he could finish his sentence, and began to sniff the air.
"Kamala?" Madan-mohan asked.
"Uh... you know, it smells a whole lot more like the Catacombs... like very dead fairies but... older."
Madan froze. "Kamala... now it's not the time for joking, especially about that."
"No, it's true!" Kamala started jumping up and down. " It smells like rotten strawberries mixed with sweet vanilla."
"No... please don't tell me... we're on a Nova, not ripple star." Madan begged. "This is an ancient Nova, not ripple star. We passed by Ripple star on the way there and-" The blue warrior stopped as he whirled around, all of his senses on high alert.
Something... was making a slimy noise... and it was coming closer and closer...
Until Ghandharrva turned the corner and waved joyfully at the duo.
"Hay! Hare Krishna!" he happily warbled. " Magoo and me found something' interesting, follow me please." and then he turned around, as if nothing had happened.
Kamala and Mandan-Mohan gave each other a sideways look before following the mock matter deeper in the grim place.
Madan-mohan das grabbed his pink companion.s paws. The smell of death and dust was at its strongest, and the fearless knight was probably having vision of the catacombs again.
Time destroys everything, and no one is spared from it's effects. All but the souls, that is.
And as they followed Gandharva, the smell got stronger, and soon, they were walking through an urn filled hallway. Some of those colorful urns were broken, their grim content spilling on the ground, resembling sparkly dust.
Fairies never buried their dead, they would burn the body and bring the ashes to the celestial ganges. But, obliviously, something went wrong and had to pile the glitter jars in Nova's bowel.
"ah... Gandhi, is this... this, that Mangala wanted to show us?" Kamal cautiously asked as he ambled his way through the grim sight.
"I dunno, but a dead fairy left a message." The gooey being informed his friend as he led them deeper in the bowels of the wish granting star.
They walked through another room, this one was clearly older than the rest of the palace. The smell was...
Well, first of all, you had to have a nose that could smell in an anaerobic environment to smell. And for Kamala, this smell was musty, stale and overly sweet.
Soon they noticed that the room was getting brighter, and indeed, there was Mangalananda, hovering in front of an ancient mural, on it was ancient text... text only Mangala could read and interpret.
At the bottom of the wall... was what remained of a fairy.
Whether it was Ribbon or another, Kamala didn't want to know. Being a traveler of the stars, he could not afford to be attached to any friends he's met, since all would eventually leave to another body.
He felt Madan stifen beside him. It was clear he wanted to be anywhere else but here.
"Mangala." Kamala whispered, feeling the numerous souls looking at him with hope, desiring to move on to their next body. " What happened here?" He asked as the cat-like entity, who did not bother turning to face him.
"... From what our friend Barret told me... when 02 fell to the earth, his body charred and broken, no fairy felt safe to descend. They all stopped here, in the eartly Nova, waiting for the time when you would come again and get rid of him once and for all." the Flying alien spoke without much inflection. "Barrette... was waiting for you, but... Sigma came and-"
"He killed her."
"He killed a guardian of the urns... this... is unforgivable."
"I don't think any of us will forgive the sin he did..." Madan groused.
"Well... Jesus did ask Krishna to forgive his killers since they were all ignorant." Kamala spoke quietly. "Sure, what he did was bad but, it wasn't like he knew what he was doing."
"Yet, fire will still burn the ignorant." Gandharva spoke wisely.
"So, what else is there, Madan? Barrette didn't write all of this, right?" Madan asked, clearly on edge by the whole thing.
"Right." Mangala cleared his throat. "So this, as you may have guessed, is ancient Ancient. And believe it or not, but Barrette, as she waited for the Yamadutas, translated most of it. "
"They could not have found a better name, did they." the blue knight grumbled as he kept his wings close to his body.
" Hey, it's not my fault if the Cosmic Archeological association registered them as Ancient and not as the actual name of the race."
"What's their actual name?" Madan asked, keeping the conversation going.
"Nobody knows, we just know that they were called 'Ancient' and every textbook."
"Chozo." Kamala piped up. "They were called the Chozo, they're all dead now."
"...'' The silence of Mengala's mind was worrying, but it was clear that he was rewriting everything he knew about the Ancient Chozo. "Right... right..." She let out a puff of air. "Right. so... it's talking about the Fallen Angel 0 and the true Nature as the Crystal."
"Hoy?" Kamala chirped with curiosity.
"to make a long story short. The An... the Chozo, knowing of the great threat that was 0, gave birth to two new beings. The Lor starcutter, who had the power to pursue and immobilize the fallen angel, and Nillor-Mappop, the one who could neutralize him fully."
"Killing him." Madan spoke grimly.
"Unfortunately, when the great evil arrived and began to destroy the last settlement. Nillor was incomplete, for no soul had been attracted to the vesel. And so, they sent the unfinished vessel to a place unknown, meaning ``Ripple star."
"Oh? Is that the Crystal?" Kamala asked as he pointed out the diamond shape that used to be a bright azure. "The one the Rippliens were guarding with their lives?"
Mangala hummed pensively as he returned his attention to his light computer. "Hmm... Yes, Barrette has explained that the Hope Crystal was missing love. They knew the Love Love stick was a repellent, but without Love, the crystal was no better than that."
"But... I killed him." Kamala spoke with clear confusion. "I saw him explode in light."
"Kamala..." Mangalanada turned to face his friend. "When you taught me... how many forms did I have?" He asked, surprising everyone.
If mangala was dragging his dark past for this... it must be beyond important.
"You had two... Dark Mind had three forms and... I think of seven phases. Nightmare had two phases, the dark mater spawn had two... same as the first time I faced Zero, he also had two stages." The pink puffball rubbed his head. "Let's see... Marx only had one form, and he came back to cause trouble."
"Please, Kirb, don't remind me." Mangala moaned.
"Sorry... Hmm, I think Haltman and Star dream also had a few forms... but I'm not too sure about void..."
"No, Void had more than one phase in his duel." Gahndarva provided. "But he had two configurations... like walking mode and flying mode."
"But 02 only had one form... and I don't think he had more than one phase." Kamala murmured, not liking where this was going.
"So... we can assume that 0 is still alive."
"But... didn't Wily use the blood from his carcass?" Kamala asked as he rubbed his head. " And... where would he be? It's not like he was small, you know?" then... Kamala's beady eyes grew wide.
"Kamala?"
"Hey, why you be leaving us behind to rot!" The voice of King Dharadhara resounded, and the sound of heavy footfall met the other group's ear. "Had to pick maself up all alone to the sound of dying dial ups and eyes... do you know how bad that was?"
"I said I was sorry!" Axl whined, looking properly repentant.
"yes... and I wonder how Red would feel about his Son running in an enemy base without making sure the place was secure." Zero grumbled under his breath, clearly in a nasty mood.
He took one look at the dead fairy and the writing on the wall before growling. "We don't have time for this, X is missing. Can't contact him." His tone was clipped, and he was already moving away to..."
"Sir Zero, where are you going?" Madan asked as he managed to catch his mask, thrown by the irate reploid.
"Up, there should be a well down here, let's go."
The rest of the group stared at Zero's retreating back, they could see darkness floating around him, mirroring his anger.
They all look at each other silently asking why they felt about to face a much stronger foe then sigma.
Mangala took a quick scan of the mural, leaving behind a Sacred Tulasi leaf on Barrete's remains as they all caught up to Zero.
Not even Vava wanted to speak. He knew Zero's mood, He knew how the legendary red ripper felt when his husband was taken hostage or could not be reached.
He had been at the sharp end of the red hero's blade often enough to know what he didn't to say to rile him up a bit.
Not only that... but, there was the black smoke flowing around him like a storm. And he knew this was their virus... but like... worst.
'X... you better still be alive.'
~0~
They wordlessly made their way to another well, water pooled at bottom.
"How come it's not ice?" Axl broke the silence as he poke the liquide, only to have it light up with rainbow ripple.
"Dream water... or Amrita." Dharadhara spoke as he took out a cream and orange inner tube, floating on the liquide. "Yah can bathe in it if ya want, but... Ah haven't the slightest as to how it acts with your type of body."
"Act with my body?" Axl asked as he swished around the 'water', watching it ripple with rainbow waves. "I wonder how tough it tastes?" he asked the king.
After his last tumble and the heart boxing he received from Zero AND Meta Knight, the young hunter had learned his lesson.
Especially with alien shit. he was not like those chronicly stupid explorer who would try food from another planet for science and then suffer from funny to dramatic effect.
That… and Zero was so on edge, his mood was sharper than his blade.
"Meh… it's… sweet and poisonous at the same time." He explained. "Just like everything in the material world."
"In this world of Mater, what is sweet at the start becomes bitter in the end." Madan spoke from his perche on Zero's shoulder. "And everything that is bitter as the start becomes sweet at the end."
Either the blue knight was truly a brave man without any fear. or he was a fool.
"And how about the spiritual world?" Vava asked as he polished his gun.
"In the spiritual world," Madan eyes turning a vivid golden blue. "Everything is sweet, and if bitterness is perceived, it is only due to our imperfect senses." He explained as he closed his glowing eyes with marked bliss. "In the spiritual world… Everything is pleasurable, because Swayam-Bhagavan Krishna is at the center of everything. and We are all in the centre of Krishna's life."
"Wow, sounds like a major case of the Lotus eating machine and everage personality Cult." Axl sassed as he stretched his hands behind his head in an uncaring motion.
"Axl… Shut up, please." Zero glowered from his spot on the wall.
Axl was about to egg the warrior furter when Vava planted a heavy hand on Axl's shoulder. "Hey, Kid… If I had half the processing power you have, I would leave the Ripper alone." He warned in a harsh whisper. " you Don't want to see him mad Without X, like… The guys a Nightmare if his mate's not around to ground him."
For once using his intelligence and not 'what would be the best way to have a shot of pseudo-adrenaline, Axl stood down.
Zero pushed himself away from the column and began to pace back and forth. "What's taking them so long?" He growled as he prowled. "Kirby said he would only be gone for five minutes, and that was eight minutes ago… and don't you dare tell me 'three minutes over aint; a big deal.' I don't know where X is, I don't know his status, we got caught up in a trap, X isn't there, for all we know He's been torture, vivisected Ǎ̡͚̩̿̚n̫̻̹̳̹͑ͤ͜ḍ͉̘̯̦̦̔ͣ̉͂͡-" Zero stopped deap in his track, his body lurched forward as he covered his mouth.
The rest of the group made different sounds of distress, and Vava was quick to rush by Zero side. "Hey, Zero. You know X, it'll take far more than Siggy to send him to the recycling bin. Remember the time I tried to kill him? you know, the first time."
"Not helping." Zero wheezed while it was impossible for him to grow paler, the way he held his body betrayed his raging emotions.
Madan wordlessly gilded beside his friend and placed a gentle hand on his feet. "Chant, you will feel better." Those were his only words, for, being a war veteran, he knew that could, and would not be fine, especially when dealing with a mad man.
Zero closed his eyes and clenched his fist, his lips working silently, despite the sacred prayers on his lips.
Axl had been about to make fun of his mentor, when Dhara splashed water in his face. sending the young reploid a withering glance.
But before the ex bounty hunter could sputter out one of his shrill lines, the glorious sound of the warpstar met everyone's ears.
and, sure enough, Kamala all dived in the dream water with Mangala and Robobo in tow. only to bob out like the world's roundest rubber ducky.
"Hi~i!" Kamala waved his… stub around. "I managed to find my warpstar! it's got stuck on a stone!"
"FInally." Zero grumbled as he hopped on the star shaped thing, causing it to flash angrily and shudder. "Oh, Hush now." He addressed it.
King Dharadhara das narrowed his eyes at the Chozo-build conveyance reaction, but chose not to command on it.
"Oh, my gosh! I'm about to ride the warpstar, that's it, best trip ever, ten out of ten, would do it again." The youngster of the group practically jumped in place as he latched onto the cartoony star. followed closely by the rest of the team.
"Alright… I said it once, and I will say it again, I really missed out when I joined Sigma." Vava spoke as he managed to wedge himself on the legendary warpstar. right beside Robobo. "And you… I need to know who you are, bud."
Robobo beeped a few times as he managed to convey a smile despite a severe lack of facial facilmily.
"Ah… sure. not really sure what you just told me but.. you're definitely mighty strong, my man… even if you look like a rusted beach ball. badass beach balls tough."
"His name is Robobo, and he's my friend." Kamala happily helped with the introductions. "And he's super strong, he helped me drive out Halt man and the Mother Computer and Star Dream away from Popstar…"
Once again, Vava turned his attention back to Zero. "Dang man, was this always this amazingly chaotic and crazy.
"Not really." Zero groused. "It's just recently that things went a bit crazier than normal."
"Huh… I see. Say… your ah… hot." Vava noted after Dharadhara and Gandharva hopped on the star.
"I have a partner."
"No, like. You're running hotter than Usual man, and I can't hear your fans." Vava spoke his worries out. "Maybe you should take a dip in-"
"No, I just need my Partner in my arms and Sigma in pieces. Let's go."
Kamala, unwilling to make his tentative friend even more desperate, spurred his star up and away from the crypt, sending an apology to all the spirits lingering there.
~0~
They flew out of the crypt and around Sigma's palace, giving them all an impromptu tour until they reached the tallest point of the main building.
"So, you crash? or you land?" Axl asked Kamala over the non existent wind, never mind the fact that the 'moon' had no atmosphere and that none of the visitors were equipped with radio transmitters.
(Dharadhara would later explain to them that unexplained phenomena like that were facilitated by dream water… and that Mangala had a neural implant to communicate with his ship and he had straight up magic.)
"We land!" Kamal declared as he jumped from the star, being followed by the rest of the warriors, mage and Blob.
And indeed they landed, heavily, with the weight of worry and anger.
all sound ended as the Heroes got to their feet, and saw Lumine kneeling in front of what could only be sigma.
He was but chinks of nanites and canibilasied reploid parst held togheter by what looked like a bastirdised electromagnetic field anomaly based around a blood red neauclesu.
Madan-Mohan's eye turned red, and Kamala's whole body tensed. Dharadhara leered at it with dread.
He knew that stench.
"No way… Lumine?" Axl whispered unclear betrayal. "Please, tell me you've just did that because this Asci tortured you!" He begged.
:Oh Scrap.: Vava cursed.
:Yes, Vava. did you forget to tell us something?: Zero hissed dangerously at the newly redempted Vava… and soon to be a stain if he didn't answer the irk Robot-master.
:Lumine's serving Sigma… why the fuck didn't I remember that?:
But before Zero could snark about the rhetoric, Sigma spoke, ending all conversations.
"Hmmm… I will admit, Zero. you came here much earlier than what I had expected." The ghoulish being spoke, his voice distorted. " But then… you had help." He pointed his dead eyes to the travelers of the stars.
"Damn right he did!" Dharadhara das took a heavy step forward as Kamala nodded with determination, already challenging the irredeemable Villain to a final fight.
Sigma waved them away. "How cute. are you all so desperate to kill me again that you've enlisted the help of some toys to defeat me." he gestured as the star warrior group dismissively…. causing Axl to snort, yet kept his mouth shut for once.
"Shut up, Maveric!" Zero snapped. "What have you done to X?!"
"Oh? your B.O.B?" Sigma asked innocently as he tilted his head. "Ah, you would need to ask Lumine, he has proven his alliance quite nicely with the help of your… partner." He practically spat.
"what di you d̴̟͇ͬo̢̲͓̝̪̝̩͕̜͂̆̃ͥ?͙̗̹͚͖̣ͯ͛͂̿́͢"̰̠̞̝͎̦͕̥̔̔̀ Zero sked, once again, his voice glitching to something other and extremely dangerous.
The walking metallic abomination got up and took his massive blungoen of a sword out. "Nothing Father… I merely watched." The smirk said everything they needed to know, and all hell broke loose.
Sigma swung his sword, and Zero dodge expertly, making way for Vava and Axl to shoot the mad man down.
But even with Vava's extra fire power, Sigma wasn't fazed at all, and sent a laser at the two, somehow, igniting the stone walls in an anaerobic environment…
either that or they truly were on earth… but since this was a Nova…
Logic did not apply here, it seemed.
The two hunters dodged the strike as Kamala sucked up the flames and gained a flaming hat.
"Oh yeah! It's fire Kirb-'' But before Axl could finish his declaration, Vava and Madan pushed and pulled the talkative brat out of a volley of circular lazers. "Dodge now, geek out later!"
Sigma warped again, falling from the ceiling with his monstrous sword about to slice Zero despite the blonds best effort, only to be deviated by the warping Blue knight himself, his Galaxia making short work of the much broader sword.
"Come back to me, when you know how to fight!" Madan taunted. "And when you have a proper sword."
Sigma let out a scream in pure rage as he shot yet another lazer at Madan, only to be blindsided by the fat penguin with a jet-powered mallet.
"It's Clobberin time!" The sound the wooden mallet made as it broke off one of his ridiculous horns. "If ya ain't texan, ya can't get the horns, boy."
"Shut UP!" Sigma roared as he released a circle of condensed electricity. "The Lunar project was made by my children, it was to be our home! our abode… not something that would belong to an inferior race of obsolete naked ape!"
A fire infused star crashed on the mad reploids back, spat out by Kamala. "Sorry… but why didn't you say so in the first place?" The tiny powerhouse asked sadly. "If you wanted a place to stay-"
"but you don't understand!" Sigma addressed the heroic pink puff. " If we try to ask, we get denied, we, the reploid race… especially the new gens, are considered tools with no basic human rights… no dignity… no freedom." All anger seemed to drain from him. "Humans… the moment we try to be freed from their slavery, see's us as no better then rogue units to be hunted down and destroyed." He spoke regretfully before he clenched his fist. "And this is why I cannot let the inferior being up on the moon… no, I won't even let them live on earth's husk!" Then Sigma turned to Face Zero. "Father, you have opened my eyes to the injustice we have been subjected by humankind… no, all kinds. our enemies are dead, please, join me and annihilate this poor excuse of a planet." He gave his hands to the red and blond reploid, who pushed it away.
"Like hell I will." He sent a devastating sword beam towards the madman, who lost an arm to it.
After his scream, he grit his teeth. "Oh course, you lost your way Zero… X really corrupted you, hasn't he?" He coughed with a sneered. "I can't believe the fallen o-" but before he could finish, Zero lunged at Sigma, who somehow dodged him.
"Shut UP!" He roared as he attacked the cyber-devil. "DO NOT BRING X INTO THIS!"
Sigma chuckled. "Ah, but don't you want to know what happened to your corrupter, Father? you are free to act as you want, Zero! And even if you still refuse to return to your glorious nature, even if you, you quiter, want to do as your precious 'boyfriend' wants and betray us all. the moment this body get destroy, I'm taking over this Nova, and no one will be able to Stop ME!"
"Well, I will!" Kamala declared as he threw a friend heart at Sigma.
The bright pink heart struck the pulsating nucleus, and the Cyber devil let out a metallic screech as the very telling eye erupted from it's depth, trying to ditch the old body and to sink in the mechanical planet.
"Not on our watch!" Vava declared as he and Axl sent barrages of bullets to Sigma's remains.
Being a pair of sharpshooters, they managed to coral the demon in a corner where Kamala did something unexpected.
He ate him.
There was no fanfar, no shouting, nothing.
He was just gone!
The heavy silence that filled the room was deafening. only the clicking sound of the cooling bodies filled the air.
"That's it…" Vava whispered as he started at Kamala. "You… ate him."
"No choice." the adorable eldritch abomination shrugged. "He didn't have anything friendly to latch on, he was filled with hate, and hate-filled demons are better to be put in the brahma-jyoti… he won't be back for a long, long time." Kamala confirmed.
Suddenly, Axl barked into laughter. "If you can't beat them!"
"Axl!" Zero barked. The war-bot looked about ready to start one right at the moment with how agitated he was. "It's not over until X is recovered." and with that, Zero pressed the side of his ear cone, his teeth clenched…
until…
His eyes grew wide, his vans stalled, and a look of horrified disbelief twisted his features.
he silently shook his head… "No… Not him."
"Zero?" Axl asked. "WHat's going on man…"
But before Zero could answer, a sinister chuckle. and some slow, condescending clapping.
"My… what a show." Lumine spoke as he walked out from behind the throne. "A beautiful opening to your Drama… and my divine comedy." he spoke grandly as he came into view.
"Lumine." Zero growled. "Where's X?"
"You mean your warden?" Lumine asked with a tilt of his head. "But Zero… why do you want to remain shackled by him? Aren't you better off without him? oh fallen Niru?"
Zero screeched, well and truly at the fag end of his patience. "W̨̦͙̲̟ͣͅh̳̪͐̾͝e̻͉̩̞͈͈̘͍͛̉͆͠ȑ̴̬͔̪͕͈̠̙̐e̜̩̫͖͈̜̟̹͒̒͌̕ ̜̩̙̰͈ͩ͒͞ͅȉ̮͎̜̫ͪͮ͜s̢͈̯̰͍̺ͯ̌̎̓ ̟͖̤͓͉͔̓ͮ͠m̭͈̣ͯͩ̽ͤ̀y̵̼̺̮̺̌ ̤̣͇̤̭̣͈̦̓͛͟X̼̹̙̳̀̌̑͢?̵̰̩̯͖̳͚͙̆ͦ ̳͍̘̼͙ͨ̾ͬ̿͟W̵̜͉̘̣̹̗͓ͫ̇h̶̤̺̮̭͋ͅͅe̹͓͚͂̄͝ͅr̶̳̖̹̦̼̩͊͆ͥ̓e̽҉̗̻͉̞ ͇̞̞̱̮͌́́ͅͅĭ̴̼͖͔͎͎s̷̫͚̲͆ͥ ̹͉̮͍̤̻ͣ̊̓͞m̷̩̰̘͎̬̿y̡̦̱̲̺̲̪̩͊̌ͣ ̸̼͚̦̼̣ͣ͊̆̓P̺̩͂̅ͥ͠a̼̹̬̳͈̰͇̜̓̉͟r̥̼̼͈͊̌͐̏͡ͅt͇͓̤̳̻̰ͪͮ͢ͅn̲̫̲̼ͮ̐̑ͮ͘ͅͅē̗̻̜̇̎̀ͅr̘̫͇̣̝͋̉͆̏͢?̷͍̙͍͙͈̼̥̏ͅ!̛̻͔̦̺̪͈̣ͧ͋̐ ̢̼̯͈͓̠̘͎̣̚Ẅ͉̣́̈́̓̀͘h̾͒͏͎͕͇̦ȃ̡̙̝̝̫̲̓̄͊ẗ̠̫̘̲ͯ͢ ̷̲͙͚̗͎́͛͗h̺̟̭͛ͦ͠ạ̞̬̲̣̜͆̓͌́͞v̵̭͇ͣe͔̪͚̗͉͛ͫͣ̕ ̨̥̲̥͈̳̣̫̂ͪ̈ͫy̴̪͕̱̖̯͇̮̥ͣ͌͛ò̖̱͓̮̙̬ͭͤ̽͘u̞̖̺̪ͫͦ̕ ͖̬̞̩̲͓̣̃͞ͅď̼̺͂̓͞o̟̘͙̻̞͋̊̕n̵̼̯͓͓̞͇͇͒̀̄͂e̞̘ͭ̕ ̡̝̰̱͐ͥ̈ͫt̷͉̗͇͔̳̤͑ó̸̤̬̤̞͋ ̡͍̪̠ͣ̋̏̾ḧ̶̯̣͎̱̗̔͗i̢̙̠͔͕͆m͇͕͓̱̫̰͍͈̋ͭ̆ͭ͝?̛̬̠̆̒̆!͙̗̜̬̮̝̣̬̓͢
Behind Zero, Madan, Kamala, Ghandarva and Dharadhara froze, their eyes bulging out of their socket.
They knew who it was… and Madan, being a psychic, was unfortunately an empath.
He felt The penguin king grab his arms. "Breath… running won't help you."
A wicked smile stretched Lumine's lips, his lack of browns making the whole thing even more unsettling.
"Do you want me to confirm what you already know? Niru?" He… they smirked as he reached behind the throne and dragged out…
Axl clamped his hand to his mouth and Madan's eyes grew gray.
"Oh, Fuck." Vava cursed.
X's gilettery body, once bright and shiny, was rendered dull and lifeless, and only some light shone from his heart gem. "No…" Zero whispered as he took a step back. "No! What have you done?" he screamed in agony.
"I've freed you, Niru… now cease this play and return to your true nature!"
Rage filled Zero and darkness filled the room.
Then , he smirked, his usually bright blue eyes now dull and lifeless. He stood there, in the middle of the room like a puppet on slackened stings.
then…
He suddenly threw the Z Saber at Lumine'd core, hitting him right in the middle of the gems.
Lumine gasped as oil and coolant flowed from his mouth. Stumbling back over to Sigma's old throne.
"Y-you." He wheezed and he grasped the child of the sword. "This… how dare you… cut my presentation short…" he gasped in pain. " this is not the end." He painfully hissed. "behold!" He got to his feet, and opened his arms as his body began to glow, forming a column of 'divine light.'.
When it faded, a eight 'winged' monstrosity flared in the air. His face was the same serene cherubs-like smile, now as violet as the rest.
but it was still a reploid…
"Paradise lost…" He declared as flared his appendages open.
Lumine chuckled as the arena grew darker and darker. "I will be honest, Zero. I have no idea what Sigma was talking about, about you being the Fallen Angel, now on earth to cleanse the unworthy ones away and to pave the way to the new gens… I only see a mess of an obsolete unit, too old to function properly, field to the brim with organic matter. An abomination to be deleted." He spat.
But Zero… remained silent, not even his fans where working.
And then… he spoke.
"You… took him." Zero said. "You took… my hope is gone."
"Zero?" Axl whispered in confused horror as he unconsciously huddled closer to Vava as the Arena turned darker still. At his feet, Dharadhara das deposited Madan, now rendered unconscious by the nasty vibe the Red Hunter generated.
Between the last two hunter's Lifeless bodies lay, as if guarded by the two.
The new-gen could practically feel his superior's ocean of sorrow. Zero was practically drowning in grief… a grief so powerful, Madan, no, Almost none of them could move.
Kamala-Kantha and Dharadhara moved at the front, the powerful king's eyes were hard and filled with fear while the pink powerhouse's were filled with determination.
Zero stood still as the pressure built up, would he be a normal reploid, he would have been atomised.
and then… they heard Zero give off a sinister chuckle.
̝͓ͤ̅̾͢ ̵̩̹̫͉̳̜͊ ͋̀͑̚͏̲̰͎͍Ý̻̩͞o̶̦̻̳̊̐̽u̴̬̣͆͋̍͛ ̹̘͍̰͔̎͘w̮̤̤͚̦̻̲̽͛̓͞ǎ̡͓̟̪̬̪n̛͎͉̫̘͉̹̉̅ͅt͋̏͋̉͏̪̼̟̹̰͓e͔͉̻̮̬ͥ͌́ḋ̪͉̦ͨ̿̕ ̜̥̱̞͆́t̺̩͕͛͑͗͛͡ǫ̼͖̹͍͖̊ͬͤ ̜̫̲̘͚̦̅̽̀f̨̗̼̬̘͔̍r̨͎͇̞̩̾͌̏e͐ͥ͏͉̲͈͍͓̖͈ë̷̻̙͌ͥ ̛̝̟̦̯͖̊m̛͈̼̝̠͇͙̺ͣ̏̀̔ë̛͖̖́ͫ͋,̴̦̝̙̟̺̅͒ͮͮ ͖̻ͧ͟t͈͉͉̹̙̝͋̆͒͗͢ŏ̦̙͖̰̦̟̬̮͆̊̀ ̖͈̠̘͌͋̉̀͘ȟ̞̺̻̟̫̤͆̓͡a̹͚͚̲͌͞v͕̟̦͎̟ͩ̔͜e̤͓͖͇ͣͥ̌͒͝ ̘͔̺̱͉̖̓̎͢ṃ̴̮͖̟͔͔͕̀e̵̻͉̮̲͖̐ͯͫ ͣ͏͍͍̱ḑ̟͕̺̭̥̬͎ͬ̆́ͅe̡̗͔̼̻͇͚̠ͯs͌ͮ͏̹̩̱̩t̷͓̘̠̭̻̼͑ͬͩ̽r̶̟̟̺͑o̧̰̖̺̝̹̫ͧ̔̌ẙ͔̬̬̯̫͞ ͇̰̗̲̩̘̰̇̄̍͗́w͖̙̣̦̞̯̃͗̀h̵̩̞͓̙̦ͧͤ̓̏aͮ̏̏҉̲̭̙̥̫̺͇ţ͖͈͚̼͔̼̊̽ ̩̰̘̏́ͅw͍̙̻ͬ̾́a̡͓̬̰͉̽̄̓̋s̷̖̞͓̜͍͍͊̽̔ ̺̳̹̹̘͉͕͊͘ͅs̴̫̬̟̞̥̺̾͋e͍̠̠̳͖͙̺͊͠e̯͈̣̰̗ͥͪ̐͒̕n̵͖̖͚̄̅̉ ̩̮̃̐̈̓́ȃ̏̾͏̣͕̱̲̭̝͚s̹̜̥͎ͯ͝ ͖̣̠̹̭̬ͥ̐̒͠f̧̩̮͈̦̾̇̒̎i̫͍̓̾͜l̢͖̙̯̥̞̟̺͖ͬ̈́ͥt̤̥͍̳̝̮͋̉͠h̦͇̘̜͍̝̃͋ͤ͜ͅy̳̟͇͗̄̕ ̛̙̙̘͈̝̓a̻̤̅̑ͦ͢ṉ̥̲̬ͪͯͫ̔͡d̤̞̱͇̻ͨ̉̎͠ ̹̻̠̮͍̩̬̺ͧ͝oͨ̄ͯ̾҉͓̠̮b̐҉͔̥̞͚s̸̭̗̼̩̹̦͚̊͆ͅo̴̘͖͚͔̊ͩͮl̄҉̙͔̦̭̟̜̬ḙ̷̜̑̈́t̡͎͓͖͖͑ͭ̄ͧe̤̝͉̹̯̹̯̍̐͡.͍͙̈́́ͬ͢ ̖̟̫̰͔̈́̚ ̱̯̼̹̘̳͕ͩͧͨͧ͟ ̘͈ͩͨ͢
Zero spoke as blood began to spill from his vents.
͇͇ͩ͂̚̚͟"̼̦̮̼͎̥ͧ̃͢ͅS̹̪͔͓̒ͮ͜i̟̪͍͍͓̞̳͒̇̓̑́g̩̲̘̼͂̽́m͕̗̹̉̃̐͘ă̦̭̳̠͍̜̹͘ ̦͚̱̤̲̝ͪ̋͋͡ḥ̨̤̱͔̭͓̜͖͊̔ͯ͗a̤̪ͦ̑͘ͅͅv͕̺̤̤͎ͣ́sȩ̪̖̣͚ͫ̅̌̆ ̬̟̻̜̪̱̓̎͠ͅd̛̺̭͉͙́o̡͕̤̣͕͇͗̀̂n͈̭̪̤̱̝̠̣̈́ͯ͟e̵̝͈͎̍̇ͮͅ ̛̯͉̲̂͊ͨ̚ẅ̵̬̲̜̱̮͆̾e̖̙̞̘̹̼̿͞l̟̭͔̟̿ͦ͆̑͟ͅl̠̺̣̩̦̪̰̎̔̀͜ͅ ̧̞̠͉̣̝̝͔̑t͔̤̥̺͔͒ͬͦ͞o̢̳͈͉͔̘̱̚ ̤̙̫̳̬̥̪͌͛̈́́ͅr̷̳̟̫̗͗ͅĕ͖̟̊̍͡c̣͕̺̙̬ͩͯ͞o̸͇̗̻̝͔̱̮͈̎̐̈n͇̘ͤ̉͗ͦ́ͅģ̩̥̠̖͎ͪi̸̺̮̪̾̈̏͋s̸͚͈̬̹͕̏̐e̴̝̙̼̭͚̖̰͎̓̋͆͒ ̧͉̼̪̩̳̳͆ͣͧw̤̜͎̤̖̟͉ͥ́h͍̗̞ͬͨ͊ͭ͘o̡̙͔̗̜̯͖̟͗͛ͅ ̫͖̲̮̙͒̍̚͜Î̢̖̮̘̩̺͚̺͊ ̗̖͛̂̓̀w̜͖̻ͣ̀ǎ͌̓҉̼͉̝̩̭ͅš̵̗̫͉͇ͬ.̨̞̬̦̜͈͑̈́̓̐ͅ.̛̝̤̆͐.̩̼̣̺͔̭ͮ́͆ͨ͟ ͙͈͎̫̥̞͎̒̀a̝̥̩͑͌̎͟ͅn̥̫̞̼̤͈̔̌̾ͨ͟ḋ̷̩͍͕̭̮͈͈̾ ͍͚̯̪̞̞̊͟w͕̻̘̬̆͊ͮ́ḩ͖̬̥̭̞̯̻̱̋̾a̡͚͉͎̞̎̾̐t̟̮̦͍͔̑͐̀ͅ ̨͕̮͓͇͕̝̙͖̿ͯ͗̅c̺̗̰̙̜̮̓̀̆͘ͅā̱̤̥͓̀̈́̇́u͓̞͎̪̥̓͜sͨͩ͌̎͏̻̝̦̰̰̠̭ę̝͈͓͙͈̰͖ͨ̀ͅd̥̯͕̞͂̄ͧ͡ ̗̥̭̫͉͒̑͢b̶̥̫̘̗̋ͅͅḙ̢͎͊̎ ̗̦̟̱͗̄̓̈̀t̉ͫ͊͏̩͎͙oͤ̉͏̜̥ ̢̳̘̬̹ͦͅr̝̱ͦ̽ͤ̄́ė̲͈̲̫̭ͦ͜m̵̖̬͕͚̥̖͚̼͊̎̚a̡̖̟̤̠͚̦͍͌̅i͆̑̈͑͏̹̦̠̗͓n̮̙̩̼͉̮͉̰̐̔͘ ̴͎̻̖ͤ́͂͌ͅi̘͖̼ͩ̉ͬ͝ṅ̖̺͔̥̺̈́͡ ̛͇͕̗̯̉̈̀ṱ̬̣̪̯͈̳͈ͬ́h̸̻͓̘͚̱̿ͯ̆ï͙̞͕͔̜̹̣̒ͫ̍͝ŝ̴̙̘ͯ ̶̘̮̼̺͚̝̠̚ͅs̪͙ͬͮͤͨ́h̠̪̦̣͇̆͝e͖͖͋̀̇̕l̮̣̟̖̲͗͟l̫̟̙̭̹͍͋̅̀.̨͉̲̯̼͚̪̪͉̞̩̒͛̋ͭ̔́"̫͔̬̻̠̘̱͊͟
Darkness covered the playing field as Lumine called Maniacally, despite the fact that his voice quivered in fear. "No matter, you are but another piece of obsolete filth to be purged. now, begone, disappear from my perfect world!"
and then the curtains fell on Zero, sealing his fate with a sickening crack.
Axl screamed in anguish as he released his father figure where gone…
But, surprisingly, Kamala, Mangalananda, Ghandarva, Robobo and Dharadhara stood their ground, watching, waiting for something… anticipating an even bigger threat than even Lumine.
there was a sickening sound… and then, reddish yellow eyes began to bob in and out of the impenetrable darkness.
"Oh, fuck…" Vava whispered as he instinctively pulled Axl and Madan-Mohan back.
"That's… Dark Matter." Axl whispered with the same awed horror one would a bit of Viral data…
For the Maverick Virus… was the same as what they were seeing.
̼̝̞̰̫̤͚̩͒̄̂̒̀"̶̼͔̝̙ͦ̽͛b̛̜͎͈̀Ȕ̺͚͑ͥ͛͜Ý͈̝̲͕ͣ̓͡ ̳͔̞͕̥̖̞̏̅̕ī̵̝̱̮͈̙̻̟̟͋ͮ͑ ̄ͬ̚͏͈̘̦D̼͕̠͙̖̀͟ͅO͚̩ͮ̆̽͠U͔̣͓̠̲ͬ̂́ͪ͢B̛̻͇͙͓̩̣͇ͣ̎ͅT̢͚͉ͩ͂̔̂ ̫̝̲̗ͤͮ͋̕Y͌ͫ̿ͩ҉̫̼͍̼ͅO̵̱̱͉̟̦͈ͭ͛U̙͕̮̝̤̤͍͒͑͛ͦ͟ ̸̭̞͎̝̣͋͂͗K̺̜̒͝N̢̠̖̮͑̐ͧ͛O̯̼̟̙͑͞W̧͙̣̫̦̭̺̞͇̾ͥ̋ ̝̭̲͚͓̋͢O̵͎͉͔̺̻͔̹̭̔ͣ̃̂F̙̙͈̥͈͕ͤ̊͗͞ ̸̰̙̪͉̾̈Ṱ̷̻͔̦̦̞ͬ͋̑ͧͅḨ͙̟̲͖͔͔̱͕͐̓ͦE̶̪̫͚̳̟̿ͧ̈́ͥͅ ͈̥̒͠C̱͍̠̱̣̻͓̀ͧ͞ͅŌ͖͔̥͠N̡̝̯̟͈̹̳̓̒̽̚C̞̫͓͂͆͠É͒ͪ̉͏̥̰Q̴̼̣͖̗͖͖̝̱̊U̼͚̗ͭ́̚A̵̜͇̰̪̙͑͗̇N̨̺̜̭̱͈͓͊̚ͅĊ̻̖͎̗͞E̲̠ͣͦ̽͜ͅ ̴̰̜͇̠͖ͩỎͫͩ͏̫̥̜͔͙̭F͇̫̜͚͖̭͈̝ͭ̿ͪ̉́ ̨͎͉̘̼͒Ḳ̩͇̲̫̦͎̹ͩ͑̒̈͞Ì̶̠̭̈́L̛̰̻̯̈ͣ͐͑L̥̻̃̑̑́I͈͓̲̥͋̀N̗̬̱̒̇̿͟G̖͙̠͉͍ͫ͋ͦ̀͜ͅ ̶͔̝̺̥͑͊̚T͕̼̦͍͍͓̟ͧ͝H̷̟̯̻̖̹͉͊͂͗E̴̱̮̮̳̙̮̖̥ͥ ̨̗̳̻̼̾ͤƠ̫̠͓̺̻̣͉̫͂ͬ̅̚Ň͇̪͐͗͢L̰͎̭͓ͫͣ͞Y͙̦̯͓̞̮͂ͭ͗̋͡ͅ ̭͉̄̀L̼̼͖̅ͫ͞ͅỈ̡̟̗͐͛ͮV̢͍͇̥͕͊I̪̭̽̐͊̌̕ͅN̰̟̐̆ͩ͝Ģ͓̝͍̠ͨ͌ ̡̝̲̙̻̠͕̤ͣĘ̭̫̰̱͔̫̎͊̉N̤͉̄͛̌͂͟T̵͉̭̲̜̫͍͕͕͆ͯI̡̼̗͓̰̦̦̞ͭT̪̪͙͔̑̈́͟Ÿ̢̥͕͚̇ͧ ̖͔̟͙͛̏̃̃͠W̹͎͇̳̳͒̉̕Ḩ̮̭͓̬͖͕̯͌̎ͬ̒ͅO̵͎̬̠̘ͭͅ ͕̙̤͙͉̯̪ͭ̾̃̒́C̮͚̗̐̈́̎̕O̺̤͖̯͔͈̻͋ͨ͘Ư͇̘̰̙̥̓L̢̺̤̳ͬ̌D̶̗̖̠̘̬̪ͯ͛̂ ̼̫͈̩̯̇͘L̷̳̞̻̮̯̣͊̂O̺̲ͣ͗́́V̧̜͕̼̬̻̓E̷̱̱͍̥ͧ̐͌͂ ̭͇̲̮̼̦̀̌͞Ä̼̰̯̖̟͟N̡̮̺͉͚̗̩̉͋̉ ́͆͏̱̲̲̖͔a̷̱̗ͦS̨̫̪͔̥̹͎̠ͬ̅U̖̗̳̓͛̌̃́R̊̃͏͕̜̩̹̻̞̪̘A̷͎͔̳̮͓̱ͣ ̵͕̼͇̝̔̍̃S̢̫̫͍͂̍͋̐Ũ̜̖̙̙͍̣̈͡C̴̩̲̬͎̼̚ͅͅH̡͔̪̣̰͓ͥ́̂̃ ̢̫̥ͧ̽͑A̧͓͕̺̞͉ͯS̡̹͎̜͈̓̆̏ ̶̳̺̤̜̟ͥ̅ḭ͇̋̽̀ͯ͢ͅ
Zero boomed from the darkness… now lifting up to reveal the bloodied body on the last creation of Doctor Wily.
Blood and Dak Material flowed from every vents, every seems and every crack on his metallic shell. a Halo sat upon his horned helmet.
The red ripper tore his own arms off, letting the corrupting blood flow and dissolve the metal until only the forams were left, now a pair of free floating appendages.
But he was not done there… for having lived so long in the cruel confine of a moving metal casket, the fallen Angel proceeded to split his back open, the sickening sound of ripping metal and fletch resonating on the false moon like a doom bell.
and out from the hole… a pair of segmented wings grew, starting as fleshy veins and arteries pulsating from a very real white part glistening in the star light.
Then, Zero-2 emerged from the robotic body. his skin marred by numerous open wounds that had, once upon a time, been closed by wires and holding different electronic pieces.
He had no more legs, only a thorny tail swayed back and forth like a snake, the green materials that oozed and swirled from its spine corroding everything it touched.
the only thing that remained of maverick hunter Zero on the beast was his hair and face…
He reached up to the last piece, and crushed it away, to Lumine's ( and everyone else's.) Great Horror.
̲̠̂ͭ̇̕"̗͖̙̦̜̻̏͊ͥͪ͢Y̭̠̮̹̱̬̜̲̑̕o̺̟̍͌ͯ̀u̥̘̰̞̹̺͈ͮ͟ ̐̊͏̻̰͔͉̖͖ḁ̸͎̤̽ͅn̮͚̤̠͚̠͈ͥ̉ͣͯ͡d̷̩̣̏ͣ͗ ̶̦̪̜̲̜͖͋ͅŞ̤͈͍̥́̃i̸̠̹̪̪̟̾ģ̱͈͚̩͉̰̦͖̏ͥm̹̼̳͍͙̤͔ͫ͜a̷̮̞͚͉͙̩̗̙͑̂̌͊ ̧̼̻̦̻͛̒ͅw̬̮̙̫̤̻ͣ͑̿͑͠h̔̓͊͏͙̩̞̖͇̲̞̣e̷̟̦͔͙͈̳͂̓̾̓r̴͇̠̊e̴̞̱̗̰̔ͭͪͤͅ ̵̰̲͈̗̮̳̝͊͌ͯr̸͎͕̤̭͙͈̽ͫi̊̐̿͏̘̖̰͎g̷̼͎͕͖̪ͥͅh̶̲͍͚̖̩́̀t̡̤̫̺̱̟̪̞̏ͦͬͨ ̗̤̌͡ͅi̢̞̮͊̅ͫň̬̯̜͐͡ ̨̟̘̥̝̬̭͎͖̌s͒͊͏͚͍͔ͅa̱̼͗͝y̡̰͎͖̤͈͎̰̓̌i͖̬͙̼͓̍ͫ͑͝n̴̻̗̘̘ͨ͌g̢̤̞̦͚̭̜͔͙̚ ̛̦̻ͮͩt͈̰̖͚̽͝ͅh̷̲̝͙̬̪̯̪ͬ̎ͬå̵̜̬̬̫͉̥͎̝͌̈ͥt̴̰̼̮̩̣̭̞ͥ͂ ͉͎̓͘X̘͓͎̰̘̃͌̋̒͢ ͚̣̇̅ͩ͢w̡̝̞̼̍a͔̫͇͕͊͒̕s̴͕̰̩͆͒ͭ̓ ̷̩̲̬̗̦̖̜͕͛m̭̤ͤ͗͢ͅy̐ͨ͆҉̺͎̫̫͈̻͍͇ ̢̻̤̥̠̦̊́w͕̼͚̠̌́ą̰͚̤͉̮͚̔͛̊r̛̘͖̗̉d͈̳̰̲̠͇̟͇̐̉͐͡eͥ̂͏͕̝̯̫ñ̵̦ͅ,͙̥̥̩͎̳̗̖̎ͧ͢ ̻̩͐̍̈́̒̕f̳̳̦̈ͨ͢o̵̳̝͔̖͓̞ͪͣ̆ͅr̴̖͙̯̹ͦ ̭̗̞͎̠̦̙̞̒̈́̚I̶̠̮̬̾ ̙̝ͮͣͬ́w̷̼̙̳̝̻̞͚̹̐̂́̌o̴͍̥̲̪̭͛û͚̫̝͚̤͎͈ͣ͜l̛̻̖̿͗ͨd͕̬̮̥̜͆͡ ̖̰̎ͣ̀h̹͔͓̠ͤ̽͊̈́̕a̧̲̞͛̍v͍̤̤̂̊͊ͫ͟é̸̹̞̹̦͒̒ ̧͕̲̜̫̮̺͙̔ͪn͍̰̙̣̎̕ë́͂͏̖̥͍͉͓̜v͕̫̣̑̑ͩ̾͝ė͍͈͞ȑ̶̦͉̼͙͖̝ͨ̂ ͓͍̣̖̘̃̓̏̚̕s̸̤̫̠̦̠̳̉ͣh̞̻͙̝̘̜͎̜ͧ̇̌́ŏ̢̪͓̝w̙͍̱̗͓̹̋̎̾̈́͠n̢̤̠͕̈͂̏
͕̼̜͖̰̼̖̻̃ͣ͝m̺͚͍̼̬̯̔ͦ͊́y̨̩͖͂ͨs̅͏͎̝͍̜̩̗eͣ͆ͦ҉̘̯̳l̡̟̤̹͕̩̯̔̓̃ͬf̤̤̿ͤ͂͜ ̟͕̣̼̩̥̍ͩͧͧ̕ͅͅi̡͙̰ͬ̀ͅn̢͕͚͇̤͖̲̈ ͚̬̠ͦ͋ͨ̇͜m̻̝͍̖̫͖͔̟ͫ͌͘y͗̾̋̋҉̟̞͙͎͎͖ ̡̭͈̼̉ͧͩf̨͖̙̹̠̾̓ͅͅu͗͊̽͛͏͚͍̳͓̦͓͕ͅl̰͓͓̲͐͆͋͞ḷ̖͚͛̀ ͉͔̪͉͓̬̱̒̓̉ͧ͞g̝̪͖̖͎̪ͤ͂̀̕ļ͔̝̱̺̌͌ͭͧo͈̙ͪ͒͢ṟ̝̳̘͊ͫ̔͘i̘̣̻͙̞̭̯̞̓͢e̢͎͕̮̲ͭ̓̃̚s̴̤͙̟̼̜̜͖͇͗ͪ͂ ̴͚̥͇̘̟̺͈̓ͫͣͭŵ͖̦͈̌̚͢ȋ̤̺̻ͤ̔̃͡ͅh͇̺̖̟̰̙ͩ͋͜ͅt̷̹̪̙̾͊̈͛ ̢̤̬̫̝̖̂̄̄m̶͍̲̲̘͙͕̱͊ͦ̄ͩy̵̫͔̓ͩ́ͅ ̩̪̮͈̑ͨ͆̔́b̝͕̜̎͠e̸͈̱̭̜̹͓ͩͬl͎͕̄̕o̘̰̠̐͑ͭ̌́v̛̝͔ͮë͇̖̲͔́̐͑̀͟d̶̤͔̯̣͖̗̹ͪ̚ ̥̦̍̅̃ͩ́â͕̻͙͉̼̥̺̝̔̽͝r̖̩͙̘ͤ̅͞o̡̮̭ͧu͓̣͓̣̙̗̼ͮͬ͞ͅn͍̤̘̳̻̝̹̈́̒̂̚͞ḑ̖̞̩͚̜̝̜͎ͣ͂.̪̲̳̲͈ͭ̇ͭ̇͡.̪̞̯̈́̾̕.̶̭̬̝̣̫̜̓̔̔͊ ̨̬̥̌̄b͔̝̭̼͕̻̈̌ͧ̕ù̹̳̱̬̠͕͓͙ͧ͌͑͜ṫ̶̫̱͇̙̀̅ ̶̙̺͉̪͇͕̆w͔͉̪̣͐̋ͯ̎̀ȉ̷͓̣̩̠̹̦̟͈h̡̯̥͇̦̘͙͛ͧ̎̀t̛̫̩͍ͬͫ̋ ̧̻̹̫̞ͪh̐ͯ̓ͬ͏͙̤̫̩͕̱̼ͅi̴̱̯̮̥͖͉ͧm̠̺͖̂ͣ́ ̲̻̠̫̠ͮ̈́͂ͤ͟g̴̗͎͙̳̝̝͈͙̉̈́o͍̱̮̪ͣͨͬ͘n̤̪̽̄͝ȩ̠̭̣͇̂ͦ̾.̘͇͐̃̄̔́ ̯̼̰̘͉̯̪̗͐̕I̧̜͉̝͇̰̣̾͆ ̙̼͕̺̘̈́̓ͮ͝h̳͕̳̘͍͓̒ͪ͠a̪̞̓ͤ̍̄́vͫ҉̺̪̞̠̞̺e͉̪̱̣̞͔̖ͫͧ̀̚͢ ̼̝̪͍̥̠ͧ͡ņ̦̭͕̊ͧŏ̭̣͓̘̫̪̮͓͟ṯ̨̗ͤ̔ͬh̳̺̣̪̫̞̻̝̋̀i̖͖͙̜̓̿̓͐͟n̵͔̼̳͍̦̏ͅg̶̩̳̟̫̼̓̈́ ̵̼̻͎̪͍͚̆̏̾ͅę̩̳̤̘͆̋̀̆ļ̻̳̀̏s͛̂ͬ͏̬̟̣͎̙̣̲̳e͈̦̭̬ͭ͠ͅ ̲̝̂̾͠b̒ͮ̓̅͏̘̙͙ū͓̦̮̮̃͝t̪̟͊̿̋̕
͉̝̺̲̯̼̥̫ͦ͠ṁ̩̮̞̟͍͙̂͢y̛̜͔̦͂͌͌ ̠͖̙̫̦̪̳͔͌̈̃ͣ͢o̫̘̬̩̼̯̫͑͊̈͝ẇ͏̺̦̖̮̗̮̞̝n̡̝̫͖̮̓̈͋̈ ̵͉̬͈̰͔̀̓p̶͔̩ͮͤ͆a̡̘̖̫̳̻͋ḯ͇͎ͮͬ̀͠n̜̪͓̤ͨ̾̓͟ ̸̦̭͍ͫą͎̗̭͇̙̳͉̥͌̂n͎̬̅͟d̵̲̜̺̳̹̱̟ͫ̃́ͅ ̡̣͔͗ͤ̅̀ś̩̮̮̱̣͈̜͡o͉͓̓̉͌̚͜r͍̭̰̟̾͆͘r͔̮̹̝̞͈̪̦̽̄͆͜ǒ̦̳̯͖̪̀̚ͅw̖̳̫̓̈̈́̀́ͅ.̸̸̠͇͍̯͚̟͉̳̞̹̯̆̒ͦ̃̄ͮ̒"̢͈̹ͤ̓
̵̻̹̫̖͔̗͎̈̌ͮͫ"̘̠͂̃͆́B̶͖͇̬̮̳͙̙̹ͭe̥͎ͨ̐̅̊͡ ̦̳̖̟̼͗͘n̖̪͇̺̙̄ͣ͌͟ͅo̵̻̣̍ͮt̏ͭ͒͏̹̤̥̰ ̧͚̗̟̩̝̱̖̙͂a͕̫̥͖̻͓͆ͩ̕f̴͎̦͇̙͔̣ͩ̅ͬ̄ͅr̢͖̜͇̣̠̘ͯͮå̈́ͤ͑͏̤͇̬̘ͅḭ̪̓̈͡d̷̙͕̩̻̖̺͂.̢̤̤̻͑̈.̹̹̂͡.̴̠̺͉̹̫͍̱̈́ͧ̉̿ ͉͎͙ͬ̾̄́b̨̻͈̘̤̯͐̈́̔̈ḛ̜͈̬͕̣̄ͯ̀ ̫̰̜̈́͜t̛̝̦̭̲̠ͪͮ̃e̶̥̣͖͖͕̣̱ͣr͙͎̲̦̤ͬ̐̋̿͝r̺̼͕̭͖̼̪̾ͨ̈́͞i̎͋͏̤̳̜͍f͙̞͓̗̟̬͔ͩ͛̊̏̀ͅi̛͕̪͔̊ͣͬḛ͇̣̘̪̒̀d̯̭̻͔̟̤͖͋͊̇̚͘.̶̫̱̥͓͎͖̙̇ͦ̓̅ͧ̀"̩͖̹̮͖̫̊̀