Cosmic Wars Omega: The Multiversal War across the Infinite Frontier

by Darth Necron

In the aftermath of the Secret Wars a path to the Multiverse was formed. Decedents of legendary warriors Ben Auro and Doug Fitter, Michael Auro and Astra Fitter, now must unite the likes of Rachet & Clank, Sam Porter, MegaMan Volnutt, 2B, Mark "Invincible" Greyson, Tanjiro Kamado, and the other last hero's of the universe to stop the Negaverse from conquering all other universes.

31. C283: Diving into the Heart of Darkness

Chapter 283: To Sail the Forbidden Seas into the Heart of Darkness

While the threats to the Bethal Kingdom were multiplying, those risking everything to defend it were still too focused on fixing the first crises to even think about those after it. After Mike left his sister-in-law, he, Astra, Tyson and the others rejoined Ezan to finalize the plans to stop Muzan at Hollowed Bastion.

The Enji Order's headquarters was isolated enough from the panicked public so they could plan without too much interruption. After only a quick bite to eat Mike met with everyone.

Since there was even more people taking part in this operation the Enji had the meeting in the old briefing chambers that the Enji use to get there missions from Grand Master Myers and the other Enji Masters.

Mike saw Clive in the right corner before he let out an uneasy chuckle." So, what's the deal everyone? Do we got a solid enough plan that folks would bet on it or should I start writing what I want for the epitaph on my tombstone?"

Ezan sighed before retorting with a blunt," If this fails, I doubt there will be any place left to even put graves for us in this universe. But there is still time. However, that window of opportunity is closing each second so lets begin."

Ezan waved his hand before a hologram of a world appeared. Mike looked around before he raised an eyebrow." So, guess it's a safe bet this is where Muzan is hunkering down?"

"Correct Mike." James uttered somberly." That's what me and your fathers once was known as planet Ormus, but was otherwise known as, Lost Jerusalem, and others, but today is most widely known as the world of Vasistha.

To us it was the first headquarters of Sithantos under the command of Xehamaru, the former student of Master Myers that became the Patriarch of Sithantos. After Zannacross fell we occupied the world and tried to make sure all the influence of those who worship demons, the dark side, and all that, but when heaven broke are problems, multiplied.

Then when the planet seemed lost to the Scourge it seemed like a moot point. However, it seems that was just the start of the planet's change, and to fill in the gaps on that it would be best for the rest of the explanation to come from the locals.

If you would Sir Clive."

The exiled first son of the Archduke of Rosaria saw everyone looking at him before he sighed and walked up." I wish it did not take my planet being where the fate of the universe, and even this Multiverse some of you have been talking about to become "a priority" but I'll take what I can get. I'm not a natural historian like my comrade at home, Harpocrates, but I heard enough of his lectures to do my best.

Valisthea is a world that to me, is divided into two main continents: the continent of Ash in the east and the continent of Storm in the west.

The people of Ash once called the world Ormus, while we of Storm call it Valisthea. It would seem that the people of Ash lost dominance over the planet in the last great war."

Mike paused before he shrugged." Not a big fan of the history videos, eh?"

Clive paused before he narrowed his eyes." There's been a misunderstanding, because we don't have videos, or any "advanced" technology on are world."

Astra raised an eyebrow before blurting out," Well you're a long way from home fire boy so clearly there are a few things wrong with what you said."

Clive snorted before uttering," Your supposed to be the "advanced ones" yet you jump so swiftly to conclusions? My words are true, but that's only for the common folk, its master plays by his own rules, and that master is the one you know as Muzan.

I don't know when it started but my whole life the world of Valisthea shuns technology. You see, Valisthea's technological development has been stunted by its reliance on magic, which is used for everything from generating water to forging steel. Everything, is bound to the mother crystals."

Tyson paused before throwing in," Wakanda is kind of like that with Vibranium, everyone wants to keep their ace close to their chest. But mother? These crystals are alive?"

"No, but they are all but worshiped as god, or at least god's testaments. Mothercrystals are the source of all crystals in are world, the most valuable material in the realm due to its property of channeling ambient aether from the air to make one's imagination manifest as magic.

Magic is an invaluable means of enabling are people to live, without it we would all but live as husks thanks to the blight, and the Gloom, instances of decay that are paused by the crystals light.

We, know what technology is, but have been told that it's a mark of the fallen that brought ruin to the universe. Are world still have the ruins of what I know now are spaceships and other machinery, and for us who remained on the surface, the story of the "Fallen" became one of hubris; people who had tried to advance too far, to become too close to God, and thus fell.

Thus, we were told that to even think of machinery was a sin, and trying would make one a Branded, and there was already enough ways to become a Branded as it is."

Clive saw everyone look confused before he grasped his fist, and Jill walked up." Branded in our world makes one a slave. They are people who can use magick without a crystal in are world by manipulating the aether of the environment.

Bearers, Dominants, and those with whom a Dominant shares their power with, are the three types of people in Valisthea who can use magick or" Magic" naturally. Out of these groups, Bearers are the ones who are systematically persecuted and forced into servitude.

Meanwhile Dominants are people born with the ability to host Eikons, the most powerful and deadly creatures in Valisthea.

Each resides within a Dominant—a single man or woman who is blessed with the ability to call upon their dread power. In some nations these Dominants are treated as royalty in admiration of this strength—in others they are bound in fear of it, and forced to serve as weapons of war.

Those who are born as Dominants cannot escape their fate, however cruel it may be. Though, we are trying to change that. Clive, Joshua, and myself are all Dominant. All of us, have spent most of are lives as slaves."

Astra looked at the three natives of Valisthea before she cracked her neck." Something still does not add up here. I can feel your power levels, why the hell are you the slaves? Like, if I'm getting this right your slaves cause some even stronger " Dominant" is holding the chains on you?"

Jill sighed before responding with," Its like that in some worlds, but not ours. There are far more" Normal" humans than those who can use magic, but they swarm with berserk violence anyone who dares not show respect to the" Masters.

All nation states enslave those found to be able to use magick and use them as "tools" for everyday tasks from industry to agriculture to treating the wounded to household chores and warfare.

All newborns, unless their parents specifically try to hide them, are tested, and those found to possess powers are taken away by the state, branded with a venomous mark on their left cheek that should kill them should they try to remove it, and used until their powers are spent and they succumb to the "crystals' curse".

Even if we try to rebel, defying the" will of god" curses us to an early grave. You see, using too much aether leads to "crystal's curse": the Bearer's body will petrify, rendering pieces of their body unusable while experiencing excruciating pain.

The end result of the curse causes their bodies to crumble away to dust, killing the Bearer. Dominants also share this fate should they expend too much aether.

Crystal fetters are restrains made specifically to restrain Bearers and Dominants, preventing them from casting magicks.

But the treatment of Bearers varies from country to country. In the Iron Kingdom, anyone showing signs of being a Bearer, or Dominant, is systematically killed, as their existence is considered unholy.

In the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, Bearers were treated better, or at least Clive and Jousha's father, Archduke Elwin Rosfield had tried to improve their lot. But as Clive said, this disgusted his wife so much that she betrayed him to take the throne herself.

Meanwhile, the other countries, led by Sanbreque, do not pay as much attention to their Bearers. They are barely fed and dressed in rags, they are punished for the slightest misbehavior—such as speaking publicly without permission—and they are discarded as soon as the crystal curse reaches too advanced a stage."

Astra winced before chuckling bitterly." I've been around a good chunk of this universe gal, but I admit this seems as messed up as you can get. Still, if you have enough children you should be able to turn the tables on these assholes eh?"

"That's the thing." Jill uttered bitterly." It is rare for Bearers to have children, as pregnancy is considered a waste of a Bearer's aether, making them less useful for the duration. Nigh all enslaved Bearers originate from non-enslaved people whose children are taken by the state when they are found to have awakened to their powers.

The rich and the powerful tend to have their Bearers wear their emblem to enable them go about their master's business more easily, as unaccompanied Bearers are otherwise a cause for suspicion.

The enslavement of Bearers is so deeply rooted in the customs of certain countries, notably Sanbreque, that they are regarded as disposable objects and sometimes even pets or objects of distraction for nobles who kill them to amuse themselves.

This view of Bearers as inferior to all other citizens means that parents are often relieved to abandon their children to the authorities when a gift for magick is detected in them."

James could not help but look mortified before he looked down." Even though this world once was the head world of Sithantos, the world" Nearest to hell" this level of brutality nearly sounds too extreme. Even the likes of Xehamaru would have found this to be...excessive."

Jousha sighed before adding," This is just how our world 's beliefs have been drilled into us. The Eternal Paradise Faith, the Greagorian church, the Star Religious group ,the Seraphite order, and all the other religions that still are believed in are world are all about the glory of the strong, and the domination of the weak.

Everything is for appeasing god. For most of my life I thought it as senseless, but only now did it make sense, when I realized that all of are world's suffering is to appease the one you called Muzan."

As some in the room looked shocked Clive nodded." Are whole lives the various nations have been fighting to hold dominance over are dwindling resources. I admit, for a while I thought nothing of "the bigger picture" and just wanted to make my parents proud and are people safe from the other nations that wanted to enslave us.

However it all came to light, because ironically, the one who tormented my world is the reason I'm still alive, though not because of any moralistic reason.

My own mother was going to have me put to death for" Having inferior blood" but someone told her to stop. My mother only respects those with power, and her" adviser" Muzan and some servant of his named Doma who runs the Eternal Paradise Faith intervened because he thought" I could be " useful for the future." From there all I know is that I did not see light for years. I was fighting for so long I lost track of time.

I fought to keep Jill and my brother alive, but by the time I saw light again, that's when I met you all, fighting in a caged match. It seems, we were just sacrifices for this Shadowlord's ambition."

James paused before he looked around." Based on what we know now, seems you three were selected so that Muzan could present you to the Sentry, entirely so he and enough influence to take something from the Posidal clan.

He, he's really isolated and turned all of Valisthea to hell entirely out of his hate."

Tanjiro eyed Clive tensely before he shrugged." I don't understand though, why did Muzan just not turn you three into demons?"

Jill paused before she sighed." We did see others become what you call " demons" but because we are all Dominants, we were spared."

"Oh, does that make you immune to being a demon?"

"That kind of demon maybe, but we do have to worry about turning Akashic. Er, what that means is are living beings, flora and fauna both, "turning" from overexposure to aether.

A typical way to turn is from being engulfed in an aether flood for too long. Those aetherial tolerance such as Bearers, Dominants, beastmen, and chocobos, are less likely to turn Akashic.

Akashic are stripped of any intelligence or sense of self, and become ferocious, physically strong, and single-minded in their aggression toward any non-Akashic. Akashic's bodies turn crystalline, and when they die, they dissipate into aether and leave no corpse behind. There's so many ways to die on are world that few even have time to think about freedom."

Shione saw how dismayed Jill looked before she snickered." Damn, this planet sounds so messed up that it's making the relationship Dahna and Rena had look "civil."

Astra nodded grimly before she eyed the other woman carefully." Yah won't lie that Muzan seems own about a thousand ass whopping's at this point. But the thing is, if the world is this crappy, then it does not sound like a place to haul a ship!"

Mike winced before blurting out," This was your idea damn it!"

Astra rolled her eyes before barking back," Hey just double checking that my tip was not rotten ok? Its just, you guys never even see a space ship land on your world right?"

Clive paused before he retorted with," No. But…there are times when there are storms on are world that are so intense that we dare not even look outside for fear of being swept away.

During some hurricanes, it does sound like entire mountains fall to the ground. One thing of note, there are massive holes in the planet, and I think in the time I was a slave, we were held in the depths of the planet."

Golbez paused before uttering," I remember that planet Ormus did have massive chasms even back when I looked it over. If the subterranean landscape is something like say, my and Cecil's world, it's entirely possible Muzan's true lair is in the subterranean."

Ezan nodded before adding," Yes, it would make sense that Muzan would have his minions cause storms that would cloud anyone from seeing any ships that he wanted to take. He is not careless."

Sonic tapped his foot before he shrugged." Alright then so what's the game plan man? Me and some of the others just get us over there at supersonic speed before the creep notices us? "

"Not quite." Ezan answered." We can't leave anything to chance. Remember we are just lucky Muzan wants to "win favor" with Sieg and the rest of the Infinite Victory and Conquest Corporation to have a better position over Homelander, if his back is pushed to the wall he might call them out of desperation.

That's why we can't strike till the last possible moment. And to even the odds we won't even fly down to the planet, we are going to arrive inside the planet."

Mike looked confused before he tugged his collar." Um…my good super soldier I know I don't know everything those eyes of yours can do while you been traveling from one universe to another but how we get are ships to land inside the planet without the whole being detected thing?"

"Because we won't be landing our ships their Mike. We will get to the region of space using ships yes, but from there we will be warping vie magic to the planet's underground.

Remember, even if its centuries ago at this point it was the lair of Sithantos, and thus many magical warp points were established to travel to the planet."

Robotnik readjusted his glasses before getting in front of them." This is something I know firsthand. When Xehamaru recruited me he informed me of a "Emergency" escape path just in case the Enji invaded the planet. It's a warp point called a Slip-gate."

Cortex winced before retorted with a jaded," Hey I don't remember hearing about that!"

"That's because Xehamaru thought you were to pathetic to be worthy. For Pete's sake man you let Crash ride you like a snowboard!"

"Hey that's not funny! That was just a misunderstanding of what really happened anyway! It was a polar bear in my lab coat!"

Coco could not help but let out a giggle." I mean, it was a little funny because it totally happened."

As Crash nodded the female Bandicoot pressed a button oh her labtop before it showed a hologram of Cortex looking over a platform before Crash kicked him off of it and rode him like a snowboard down a snowy hill.

As a few laughed Cortex rolled his eyes." Yah yah well I'm still here so who's laughing now?"

"Fair enough." Robotnik answered." Anyway, the plan would be to warp to the nearby planet Stroggos and either a surprise attack from there or escape. That's all but what happened to the forces that migrated to Vandalgyon after Damonus announced the official return of the Zannacross Empire. Now mind you, I have no idea if that slip gate is still functioning."

As everyone looked at each other Ezan shrugged." Then we will repair it if need be with your incite Doctor. It's still are best shot. So, our plan is to use the special prototype ship led by Optimus Primal, the Axalon, and its trans-warp drive to dive through the Scourge around that region in space.

We will land on Staoggos, and one way use the slip-gate to arrive on planet Ormus, find where Muzan is holding the Hague, then terminate him and any minion he has stand in the way."

Mike saw the sliver haired man was serious before he let out an uneasy chuckle." Wow this is classic hardcore Enji extreme measures eh? Its just, if the whole gate thing has decayed in the past century or so as things tend to do when everything goes to hell then like, we could be warping into solid rock or, magma, or with my luck a black hole."

Ezan sighed before uttering," I'm aware of the risks Mike. I won't have us take a blind leap into the abyss. I'll head first into the warp, with my Sharingan magic I can phase through objects so if something has gone array, I will use the Rinnegan to warp back. I covered all the aspects of this, one way or another we will get into the planet in one piece."

Tyson saw Ezan was serious before he chuckled bitterly." Well, I got to give you that I don't think Muzan or anyone else will see us coming like this if no one can legit see us coming. Long as we can paste that pale asshole before he calls for backup we might be able to pull this off."

Ezan nodded before he looked around." While the ships will not be engaging the planet ideally, the plan is for the Axalon, the Eden Zero, the Yamato, and the Aldous to form a jamming zone to insure they can't contact the IV&C.

We don't know for sure if any agents are already on the world, but, it's something. I do have with me jammers I got from the Multiversal Rebel Alliance that block most of the Infinite Victory and Conquest Corporation's transmissions. It, can't block everything but it will give us some time. I know its a risk but, for are survival its a risk we have to take."

Rebecca let out an uneasy giggle as she nodded." Well, at this point despite how scary this is, it seems if we don't stop this Shadowlord then the nightmares are just going to get worst so everyone at Eden Zero has your back!"

Shiki nodded before giving a thumbs up." No way are we going to let are friends become demon chow!"

Okita gave a salute before the commander of the Yamato added," These SRX members risked everything to free me and my crew, its only right we do the same."

Mike saw Primal and Raymond nod before he took a deep breath." Well, guess you really did plan it enough to live up to the hype of a master and all that. All that's left is to roll the dice."

Ezan nodded before adding," I contacted Omni-Man, he's agreed to attack another known base of operations for the Shadow Lord to give the impression that we think he's there.

With a Bethal fleet thrown in, it should distract him enough to make it seem we are not on to him. Like any mission, all the planning amounts to only so much when it's time for action.

Even after all this time, I'm not going to act like I know how to predict everything. But, after seeing everyone here, some I known for life times, some I known only for a few days, I am confidant that we have the ideal team to complete the mission."

Mike paused before he chuckled bitterly." Seriously? Even though, my parents are not here?"

Ezan paused before he looked around." I won't deny that them being here would make the whole operation a lot smoother, but we still have all we need to complete this mission. Just remember that."

Mike paused before he looked at his hands." Thanks. Guess if I'm doing a classic Enji job, I'll be a true Enji after this like the folks eh?"

Ezan saw Mike was struggling to repress his anxiety before he nodded." This group is not the most likely alliance, but all of us here have what it takes to be an Enji Knight."

Astra snorted in amusement as she looked around." Saying that even in front of the child of the devil that others are pegging as the gal that's bringing about the apocalypse?"

Ezan paused before he closed his eyes." I was made to be an agent of destruction myself, and more than a few Enji came from demonic origins. I'm not one of the masters, all I can say is that your actions now define who you are."

Clive nodded before he grasped his fist." I know my world's just a small part of this universe, but even if its given me more bitter memories then good ones, I still want to free my pepole from the monsters that have made them playthings."

Tanjiro nodded before he walked up to Clive." We may have come from diffrent worlds but...no matter how diffrent are town's cultures are, nothing changes when it comes to protecting what's important to you. You want to save your homeland, I want to save Nezuko, and all of us want to stop Muzan no matter how evil, savage, and powerful he gets! Together, we will cut down his darkness!"

The two swordsmen from diffrent worlds shook hands before Tyson looked around and shrugged." Well, maybe we don't see eye to eye on everything but, I think everyone here can agree that we all are not big on letting some asshole from the universe were everyone is an asshole control make us all his slave. We can work out the rest when there is time to work it out."

Ezan nodded before he looked outside." Then we will leave in an hour. Do whatever you need to get ready."

Mike saw everyone figuring out what they needed to do before he saw Tyson look around and smirk." Hey dude, thanks for sticking with this ride. I know it's a ride into hell and all, and it's a lot to ask anyone to risk everything for."

"C'mon dude it's what friends are for eh?" Tyson replied before the two fist bumped." Not like any of these self-absorbed drama queens were going to not be a pain for Wakanda. Being proactive sure as hell seems like a way to well, keep my people alive."

He was about to say more before he noticed one of his beads glowing purple. He looked around before he shrugged." Hey dude, I'll meet yah to eat for a bit, going to hit the can. Even the Black Panther has bowl movements."

Mike shrugged before his friend left the chamber. Tyson looked around for a bit, before slowly walking down a few hallways. He went to the nearest bathroom, then flash stepped to move into an empty room a few seconds later.

He made sure no one was around before he threw a few Viburnum Kuni around the area before rotating and then pulling on his left Kimoyo Bead, before the hologram image of N'Jadaka appeared.

Tyson saw his brother narrow his eyes before the ruler of Wakanda grit out," So you're still alive after all little brother? That might change depending on how you answer me. How dare you keep me in the dark with your progress on this" Hunt." "

Mike's childhood friend made sure no one was around before he cleared his throat." Well I'd like to fill you in but not sure you can hear me through that organ playing in the background."

"I'm in a angry mood Black Panther" and my chamber reflects it! After all, one almost thought you forgot about your duty."

"Hey, I told you it was going to be a deep cover b, Lord N'Jadaka. My ass has been nearly kicked through my face more then a few times the past week but it's been for the good of Wakanda.

Been hunting some seriously vicious hunters that have us in our crosshairs. I can only tell you the full story when it's done but, close to getting to these hunters nest yah feel me? All of this…was to lead up to cornering the target."

"You mean the Viltrumite nest?" N'Jadaka answered bluntly. As Tyson winced the taller man narrowed his eyes." You think I would not notice when a rival faction is suddenly wiped out? Unless you were the one piloting that massive Mecha then it seems someone else brought Thragg and his tribe of mustached savages to their knees.

They are more animistic then are ancestors of the White Gorilla Cult, and got what all giant lumbering brutes get in due time. I guess Homelander was not just ranting at that party after all."

Tyson felt a lump in his throat as he used all of his willpower to keep his composure." Homelander told you this was going to happen?"

"Not like this, he just ranted at his party that the entire Viltrumite clan was going to learn who had the real power, and now it's clear it was no mere drunken rant. So, it seems a bigger beast already devoured your prey M'Baku."

Tyson paused before he looked at the sky." I never said it was the Viltrumite clan that was the biggest threat to Wakanda. As powerful as Thragg and the others have been we just seen how there are far bigger beasts in the jungle that is our universe."

"And so, it's the Vought clan your hunting? Then why are you still keeping things from your ruler?"

"Because the real threat's hiding in the shadows and I want to know what the hell is going on before we get involved! I told you, the less Wakanda is involved then the lower the odds Wakanda ends up like Viltrum."

"Do you think if just one Wakanda clansmen is seen fighting for the side of the prey that the whole clan will not be blamed? You think if only one Wakanda agent is seen fighting for the wrong side your kin won't pay the price? You think that justifies fighting to defend the Bethal Kingdom?

You think I don't have agents in Corneria? Your own selected Dora Milaje were the ones telling me that some soldiers saw a Black Panther fight against the Viltrum invaders! How dare you risk everything fighting for the wrong side just because you have some childhood memories there!"

"Its not like that bro! I won't deny I helped them fend off the invaders, but since I scratched there back they will help pin down the asshole playing all of us!"

"You think the pathetic remnants of the" forces of heaven" can protect anything without their king and Queen? They only survived because a bigger beast devoured them first. But once the beast is hungry, the hunt will resume. So do you want to be part of the predator's pack, or the prey?"

Tyson eyed his brother carefully before he cracked his neck." That depends on how much I know. N'Jadaka did Homelander tell you anything else? Did you agree to anything else?"

"That's Lord N'Jadaka M'Baku! Don't act like you're the king. The Black Panther's entire purpose is to protect Wakanda, even if the universe burns, we will endure.

I took up much of my valuable time as ruler to try and raise you properly, but it seems the foolish ideals of your youth are more deeply ingrained than I was led to believe. Are you a professional moron or just a gifted amateur?"

"You can't knock a homie's hustle. Waiting to make sure we are in a good spot not just today but a week from now is trying to play the game and win. No one's more pissed off then me about not having all the answers but these punks are keeping there cards tight.

That's why I got to do this one step at a time while risking as little mistakes as possible. Because if we screw this up, there won't be a second chance."

N'Jadaku eyed his brother carefully before he closed his eyes." I'll let you finish this hunt but I will demand answers soon. It seems trying to retrieve you would just risk compromising our position. But if you shame Wakanda my brother, blood won't save you for the price of that dishonor."

"The message is clear my king. If you don't hear from me in a few days I'm either dead or wish I was dead. But no matter what, I'm fighting for the home team. Wakanda Forever."

The ruler of Wakanda paused for a few seconds before he nodded." Wakanda forever. But just remember that matters more then anything to use "Black Panther."

The hologram ended before Tyson took a deep breath, and wiped off some sweat from his brow." I know everyone's on edge with planets being blown up left and right but bro better keep his cool or things are going to fall apart fast."

He moved to the right to see Ezan randomly in the room looking at him with a detached look. Tyson blinked before the sliver haired man had his Rinne-Sharingan out." Oh, things might be falling apart faster than you calculated Tyson."

Tyson blinked and had his eyes dart around for a few seconds before Ezan sighed." If I wanted you dead your head would be rolling on the floor by now. You're good, almost at the level I use to be, but don't think you can be underhanded in my own home without me noticing.

Its because I heard your sibling chat and was satisfied you did not compromising us that your still alive. But don't think for a second that your friendship with Mike or what you have done for us so far will save you if you're a double agent. With how much is on the line there is no room for error."

"Hey man, er, sir, lets not jump the gun yah hear? You made it clear how hardcore you are about protecting your kin, and that's just what I'm doing for Wakanda yah feel me? If I did not keep my brother, the ruler of Wakanda in the loop things would have gotten a lot worst."

"Because you have concerns that he might be working for Sieg already?" Ezan answered bluntly.

Tyson winced before he looked down." What…could you tell with those Uchiha eyes of yours that he's with them or something?"

"Not quite. But I have observed people for enough time to see when someone's on the brink of forsaking his ideals for the sake of what he thinks will give him power or security.

I understand wanting to protect your own Tyson, and I also understand feeling bound to a family member, but trust me, thinking your own honor means nothing as long as you appease that family member never works out as you hope it does. But you know your brother more then me, so tell me, do you think N'Jadaka T'Challa is a man like Thragg?"

Tyson grasped his fist before responding with," My bro's a jackass but he's not a murder loving asshole like Thragg ok? The universe made him hard when he had to become king from a young age and raise me after are parents died when we were young.

All he does twenty four seven is working to keep Wakanda in one piece, but while I get around to see the different sides, all he sees is the one side, and it makes him take a, let's say, conservative stance on things.

He use to trust me to keep his head in the right place but honestly, after Mike's parents vanished he got more on edge, trusting nothing. Normally, I'd say he would have too much pride to side with Homelander.

But honestly, I don't know what happened since he took this recent trip to the Vought clan and it's freaking me the hell out."

Ezan nodded before he looked up." I understand, I had conflicts of interest in the past myself. But do you think your brother is in the right, or us?"

"I saw the footage you and Mike showed me Ezan, I saw what was driving Muzan, I saw what happened to the Viltrum clan, and I know what has to be done to keep us all alive. I just hope my brother can see what's important before its to late."

"I hope so too, I had nothing for respect for your family across the years, and you do have their best traits in them Tyson. But, sometimes we must put aside our personal feelings to do our duty. I know you're not an Enji, but it's still what's required for the greater good, and I feel that does still exist.

For now that means putting the greater good of the universe over Wakanda, and even the Bethal Kingdom, and hope that it's not a choice between the two when the job is done.

I won't tell Mike or Astra about this for the sake of keeping less complications to the upcoming mission. I was taught very well the importance of not assuming the worst. But Tyson, if you betray this faith, it will be your last mistake."

"Yah, that's coming in loud and clear sir. Thanks, but I better legit get some food before we take off. Mike's jokes should be enough to keep my brother's thoughts out of my head."

"Very well."

Ezan flash stepped out of the bathroom before Tyson looked around again and took a deep breath before he made sure no one else was ready to jump him, and left to join his friends.

---

As he did, while he tried to keep the thoughts about his brother out of his head, little did he know that his sibling was reacting much more negatively to the outcome of their talk then he assumed.

After the hologram faded N'Jadaka pounded his throne so hard that he broke it." M'Baku has gotten into his head that he's equal with his king."

Astor bowed before he hissed out," You know your brother more then me my lord, but he always seemed keener on living out the past then living in the present."

The ruler of Wakanda leaned back before he snorted." He wants to have the honor of former Black Panther's like his ancestors. But he fails to realize, or refuses to realize that these days the Black Panther has to stick to the shadows, because those who don such antics in today's day and age are just seen as the actions of a fool! If he wants to act like the hero's and Warriors of light, he will act like the idiots that die!"

"Thankfully he is not the leader of Wakanda, is that not right Lord KillMonger? Is he going to be what represents Wakanda to us, or you?"

The voice came from the right, from the source of the still playing organ music, music that suddenly stopped.

N'Jadaka felt the chamber grow darker before he nodded." The lies of fools have made seeing things clearly quite the ordeal. That is why, I am grateful that the wisdom of the ancestors hit me at the moment of truth."

A deep laugh shocked the room before the same gruff male voice uttered," Oh, it's an act of fate boy. After all, we of blood must ride together, to get what we deserve."

"Of course…great elder, Ganondorf."

A man walked down from the balcony to the right, revealed it to be a brown skinned man with dressed in a superb kimono embellished with patterns, a katana on his left hand, looking like a warrior priest.

Most of his muscular chest was exposed but he had a golden necklace with the logo of the IV&C on his chest.

The man the ruler of Wakanda called Ganondorf smirked before his eyes flicked with red energy." I was worried that this tribe was to corrupted by the fools that plague the universe to be saved. But, you have shown to have the instincts of one of my blood N'Jadaka."

Tyson's brother nodded before saying," I'm just, so grateful that Black Noir introduced us while at Arasaka Tower.

Forgive me for not figuring you out sooner, you looked different then the records portrayed you to be. "

"Heh, perhaps the Ganondorf of this universe. But your universe was given a inferior phantom, and I'll make sure everyone knows the cunning of the true Ganondorf soon enough. But, it will be so much easier with my own blood at my side."

"I am forever grateful that fate let my injustice be corrected. I was at risk of going down the path of a fool, being blind to my true lineage!"

The Ganondorf from another universe chuckled darkly before he raised his hand. The ceiling glowed, before looking like the night sky and forming a link to the Djalia, the transcendent plane that represented Wakanda's collective memory.

Ganondorf had his eyes glow red before he forced the Djalia to bend to his will. "This Wakanda is as prideful as others I seen across the Multiverse. They were prideful enough that in the time that your heaven broke, your universe's Hyrule was lost to this Scourge, and some refugees of the Gerudo clan migrated from Hyrule to Wakanda.

But the Panther Tribe was too prideful to admit they mingled their blood line with the Gerudo tribe and pushed the survivors to the shadows till there identity was crushed. Not only that, the Orisha caged the Hyrule deities to further " assimilate" there power, like a parasite devouring a beast.

Thus, they brushed aside your true linage, but while the Legend of say, Zelda of Hyrule, has failed your legend as a redeemer for your true clan has just begun!."

On the ceiling many ghosts were seen across the Djalia. First N'Jadaka saw himself and Tyson, then the shadows of his parents, then his grandparents, and kept seeing more, till at the end it showed the Ganondorf of this universe.

N'Jadaka saw his family linage and grasped his fist tightly." All these prey tried to make me think I was one of them! I want to see my true clan grasp glory great elder !"

"And you will, if you can prove you can obey your superior "Nephew." Just like I made the Zonai of my universe pay for trying to deny my destiny.

Many seemed to call my counterpart in this universe a "King of evil", but the weak label their predators anything they like! The weak crumble, while the strong endure, and only the strong can durable order last and a tribe thrives and the weak that can't hold on to anything are just swept away into the darkness! "

"Of course, ancestor. I was bound to the lies of the weak but, the I will be on the right side of history."

"Then its good that you made sure you joined the right tribe. I don't bow to any but one, the one above, and below all.

But " Mister V-Day" or Jigen Gorath Yuuzhan, or as I first knew him, as Davoth zos Odio …is the one who will make all there is be bound to his will.

We are of the Gerudo tribe, of the winning tribe, and soon there will no place left in any universe for the prey to hide. But when you have ultimate power, mere victory is not enough.

No, victory beyond doubt makes the taste of the prey all the sweeter. That's why me and the others are going to make things absolute for evil in this universe. And if you want to be part of that feast, then listen well about the hunt are tribe has in store."

N'Jadaka paused before uttering," What about, M'Baku?"

"What about him? See what he brings back from his little hunt, but if he has the blood of heathens in him, do you want that sickness infecting the tribe?"

"No…no of course not ancestor. If he fails to show his blood's true color, he will join the rest of the prey yes?

Now, listen well N'Jadaka, or should I say Killmonger, this is the plan of one who wins above them all."

The leader of Wakanda let the "Ancestor" of his from another universe tell him what the plans of the IV&C were.

---

As they did, Tyson had no idea how far into the abyss his brother had become, but after the chat with Ezan the Black Panther focused on showing the others he was committed to helping get things done.

Before Mike even had time to finish his dessert, it was time to depart so he met Ezan and the rest in front of where the Hague was supposed to take them to the Multiverse only a few hours ago. Instead of that ship, Mike was in front of another ship, the Axalon.

Mike glanced at the basic grey shuttle like ship before he let out an uneasy chuckle." So, not doubting that the military is spitting out dudes but like, this ship is are ace in the hole eh?"

Rattrap rolled his eyes before muttering," Hey it can't travel through dimensions like your pals ship could but it will get through the Scourge so you can have your dance with this Shadowlord ok kid?"

Blackarachnia nodded before looking up." It's not really made for fleet battles so don't expect this to face the big guns and all that. Still, while it's a exploration vessel its whose mission is to explore and survey worlds consumed by the Scourge and its Transwarp engines has already gotten the job done before."

"Works for me." Astra added." Time Geto, Muzan, that goat prick Kirinmaru, and all the other cosplayers find the hard way they are not the start of anything but a new era of ass kicking!

So, unless there is anything else we need to see this through lets get this going before Muzan tries to hard to win favors with his "New boss" and kills someone."

"No arguments there." Ezan uttered." Nothing left to say, but to settle things. Its time…to finish unresolved issues since the Cosmic War, and make sure the embers of the Zannacross Empire are not ignited.

To think that would just be a side issue to the overall threat is still…surreal at times. But, it is what it is. Still, it's become quite clear that are enemies have no regrets or hesitation over what they are doing, so don't expect mercy till this is over."

X was about to say something till a transmission came in, and he raised an eyebrow. The master creation of Doctor Light paused before he cleared his throat." That might not be, entirely true Ezan.

I just got word from Setsuna, and it seems that, a craft just entered Corneria airspace and is requesting to talk to us. The markings on the craft, are the same on the ship that dragged the Hague into the portal, the symbol of the Bonne family!"

Mike blinked a few times before muttering," Wait…for real? The ship just…turned around? Did those pirates realize the demons were conning them and they managed to get away?"

"Its…its not the ship that left, it seems like a smaller bird like mecha that was damaged. The same woman that attacked us is pleading to talk with us."

Astra spat on the ground." If she was smart she would have given up before she screwed everything up. Can't take it back now dumbass."

Ezan paused before he shrugged." There's a small chance she might have information that could help us complete the mission further. Just keep a very close eye on her."

Countless guns and swords were taken out as in the sky the Focke-Wulf was being escorted to them by Graham, Setsuna, Zechs, Sagiri, Suletta, and some of the other Gundam pilots.

The pink machine landed, and the cockpit slowly opened before Tron peeped out and threw out a small rag like a surrender flag." So, um…glad you guys are still here."

"Course we are." Astra spat out bitterly." Because you're the jackass who helped cause everything to go to hell! A little late to have second thoughts cause the damage is sure as hell done. What, you did not like your cut?"

Tron wiped some tears off before she looked down." There…there was no cut. Muzan, thought we were so worthless that his payment to us was, a quick death. Bon, Teisel , they gave everything so I could get away."

Tyson cracked his neck before throwing out," Yah…not really feeling sorry when you made the deal with the devil girl."

Ezan put his hand in the air and cut in with a sharp," You have lost much, but many have lost far more, and everyone could lose everything because your family only cared about your own profits.

We have no time to waste, so the point is you want to avoid the worst possible out come you give us all we can to resolve this quickly now."

Tron nodded before she hugged her fav Servbot." We, we stopped in front of a large amount of Scourge, but Muzan just had some flying space base he called Fortress Doom take your ship.

I saw as I escaped that the ship seemed to not even move, but use a unknown form of space-folding technology to like, just, to reposition itself while remaining stationary. They, they headed to some world named Valisthea."

James eyed Tron carefully before he stroked his beard." Well…at least there is no doubt we have the right target. And this Fortress…that space folding tech almost calls to mind the lost tech of the Argenta."

"We will have time to get to the bottom of that when the crises is over James." Ezan uttered before he looked back at Tron." You told us enough to maybe prove you're not telling lies but its not nearly enough to absolve all the crimes you have done.

You can wait in a jail cell as we resolve this, and if the universe still exists when we get back you will answer for your crimes. Regardless of the state of the universe, the Bethal Kingdom still have law and order, to all that sin."

Tron grasped her fist tightly before uttering," I'll face any punishment you guys deem fit, with most of my family gone, I have no where to go anyway. But before I do, please, please let me help take down the people that killed my family! I can tell you what security and defense systems they had set up to help you get through!"

Astra rolled her eyes before spitting back," You're not really in the position to make demands girl! You were are enemy just a while ago so why the hell would we want to travel with yah!?"

Robotnik sighed before he uttered," Well, to be fair I did the same with Bowser and Meta-Knight all those years ago when we helped you all get to the Zannacross Empire's world to save Lacus from being sacrificed. Seems, history is repeating itself once more."

Astra eyed Tron before she looked down." I can get what desperation does to a gal, but if your double dipping on betraying us I swear your going to wish you died compared to what I'll deal with you. But of course its not just me who has to stomach you eh?"

Mike paused before adding," Yah, its not up to us really, its up to the one's that family got kidnapped because of what you did Tron. If he's not cool with it then neither am I."

Tron winced before uttering," What…you mean…Megaman? What…what happened to him?"

Rachet sighed before answering with," When he realized Roll and Barrel were going to be taken away on that ship he tried to blast Muzan, and got most of his limbs blasted off as a result. He's in mega serious condition, not sure even a ton of nanotech will help patch him up any time soon."

Mike nodded before adding," He's the one who would have to ok working with the one that caused the people he cared about to be taken away in the first place. And if he does not wake up any time soon then well, that's on you Tron."

Tron looked even more ashamed before a new voice cut in with," Oh, Megaman Trigger is ready to deploy now Prince Auro, thanks to my quick work."

Mike saw Samuel Hayden with a giant cargo sphere before he looked at the robot and raised an eyebrow." Er, sorry who are you again? Sorry, did not have time to learn the droids around here."

"I'm not a droid Prince Auro, I'm Dr. Samuel Hayden, head of the Lead Director of the Armored Response Coalition. Forgive my bluntness but we have no time for small talk.

Since you were short staffed I was given some of the injured. This Purifier Unit was lamenting his weakness, so he agreed to be my test project to be repaired, and enhanced."

X paused before he raised an eyebrow." Wait…enhanced? Hayden…was Trigger coherent enough to know what you did?"

"MegaMan Volnutt understood that as he was, he was too weak to contribute anything worthwhile. So, he agreed for me to upgrade his function to wield the Praetor Suit, and become the prototype for the Doom Slayer program.

I realize, this might not fit Doctor Light's ideals, but the times might not call for just another Megaman, but for a Doom man, or Doom Guy."

Tron and everyone else saw the cargo crate suddenly crack before she winced." Wait…what? What…did you do to Megaman?"

A blood thirsty yell was heard inside the create before Hayden chuckled bitterly." I helped him grow up girl. The demons that did this to the world are savage, thus while knowledge and science will help us overcome their brutality, it also must be matched with even harsher brutality.

They are rag, brutal…without mercy. But you…you will be worse. Rip and tear until it is done."

The crate suddenly was smashed open, as a furious voice yelled out," Rip... and... tear!"

Everyone heard a stomp sound before what once was Megaman Trigger march out of the create. Megaman's face still remained, but the former digger's body was now that of a muscular man, clad in mostly dark green and blue, silver, black, and bronze in color, with slightly lighter legs and helmet.

The digger's face was covered by a visor and a modified version of his helmet. On his shoulders were cannons mounted on, and various other internal systems over his body.

The new "Doom Man" nearly looked feral as he grit his teeth." Where…WHERE IS ROLL!?"

Tron gulped before she hunkered down. "Is…is that even the same person?"

He's adjusting to all the new energy he's feeling woman." Hayden answered bluntly." He is now equipped with the custom Praetor Suit, giving him armor that can endure much more then the Digger units. In his left arm now holds a " Doomblade" that can be quickly deployed for sneak attacks. On his right arm a chainsaw can be deployed.

While his weaponry does not match the variety of Master X, his buster can transform to the El Diablo Shotgun, the BFG9000 Buster, mostly known as Bio Force Gun while foot soldiers are fond of calling it the Big Friggin' Gun. He also can form the Ballista Glaus cannon, the Perforator Nail gun, the Shambler Thunderbolt buster, the Phalanx Particle Cannon, and the recently finished Unmaykr Shine cannon.

I'm not arrogant enough to think he can defeat all the demons single handedly, but he should be able to provide much more "efficient" support then before."

Data winced before the robotic monkey looked at his long-time friend." Megaman…are you, ok?"

"Doom man" had his eye twitch before uttering," Is…are Roll and Barrel ok?"

"We, we won't know till we find them Mega."

"THEN I'M NOT OK TILL I FIND THEM AND I'll RIP AND TEAR ANYONE IN THE WAY TILL I DO! Tron…it's because of you."

Zero got in front of the newly reformatted Megaman before he put out," Hey there big guy, calm down she's helping us get to the mavericks ok?"

Doomman had his eye twitch again before he slowly nodded. Mike saw Hayden look static before he sighed." I know we had to be fully prepared for this "stroll into hell" but…killing ourselves seems to be counterproductive eh?"

"The kid, no, the man wanted to be strong enough to make a difference Mike, there's no room for half assed measures now." Astra uttered bitterly. Mike saw the blond woman's resolve before he nodded.

Ezan glanced at Hayden and "Doomman" before he sighed." Fair enough. Well, unless anyone else had a last second make over we should begin to make up for lost time.

Staff Sergeant Bittermen, inform all Bethal planets that Operation Demon Overlord has begun."

Mike looked around before he let out a sigh." Is Bria here?"

X shrugged before the maverick hunter responded with," Cecil, Burns, and Die-Hardman have all told me that the Queen has buried herself in her chamber, dealing with talking with all are allies, at the pace she can bare. More or less, she has no time to talk now."

Mike sighed before nodding somberly." Guess now's not the time for family relationship therapy anyway. Just, got to hope when the war's over we can give it another shot. Just, hope she will be ok, she looks more overwhelmed than me."

"Don't worry Prince Auro." X responded." I and the others in high command will do all we can to keep her, in the right state of mind."

Zero chuckled bitterly before he threw out," Almost feel sorry you have to stay behind to baby sit X, but I and Axl will just cut down even more mavericks for yah. Just don't get all moody like that time with Red Alert when you were behind the desk to long!"

"Hey, I'm not falling into another rut Zero, not now!"

As Zero shrugged Robotnik sighed before he looked at Sage Sera." Well, I'll have to leave you to look over things while I'm with them, Sera. There should not be to many machines so you would just be bored anyway."

"I concede that getting to look at all of the capital planet's networks does sound tantalizing father." The artificial intelligence retorted." Though, I do worry about the odds of your survival without me to make sure everyone's watching you."

"Don't worry Sage, Sonic is infuriating but he is good at quickly saving lives…he's saved me from the treachery of my minions more then any of my servants after all. I won't be in the thick of the fighting, but I have to do what I can to atone for all the messes I made."

Sonic saw Robotnik look somber before he tapped his foot." Real great your heart's not a tin can these days Egg-Man but we got a race so tight even I've got to keep my pace up so are we doing this or not?"

"We in fact are Sonic." Ezan uttered as the ships started to have their engines rumble." May the light be with us now, for the following mission will decide if the whole universe is not covered in darkness."

As Ezan prepared to go to the Axion he heard Kira snicker from this codec," Oh, if you fail Ezan, sounds like an even worst fate then everlasting darkness awaits this universe. So, try not to fail to the likes of Muzan Kibutsuji, its infuriating enough without my former apprentice being slain by a pretender."

Ezan looked around before responding with a restrained," I told you I have no time for your games Kira, most of all now."

"This is no game Ezan. If I defied Zannacross you think I want an even more unworthy fool on the throne of heaven? That's why listen well cause even after all those years I'm aware of that planet more than you ever were.

And that's why you should be even more prepared than you are for that was Xehamaru's base of operations for a long time.

I did disable many of the experiments he had running on Ormus, and some of them were backup clone bodies he was trying to create as a fail safe, using the Edo Tensei Reanimation magic on "true believers" to create clones of himself.

Remember when he invaded Planet Cetra? He may have failed to revive Sephiroth but he did bring back Jenova cells thanks to Genesis. You remember how Sephiroth took over Kadaj's body and nearly did the same to you?"

"Even after all that time you tend to not forget that kind of thing as long as you live."

"Fair enough, but he also wanted to replicate the way Sephiroth controlled those with his cells, such as Cloud.

The point is that Xehamaru was conducting experiments to do the same kind of thing on Ormus. He did not choose who he revived as his Inquisitors just for power or evil, but because of there history. Nightmare was already the first Inquisitor, but Vile, Ganondorf, and Sigma all had returned from death many times, and Xehamaru wanted to take from all of there methods, to come up with his own.

Its not as advanced as the Sleeve bodies that are rampant these days, but he was coming close with his experments with the Megamycete mold native to the world.

But I and Damonus destroyed all the experiments all to further punish him for his failure to well, kill you, Ben and the rest of the Enji.

however, that's only the complete experiments. Traces of his DNA might have remained buried in the planet.

If Muzan was taking the DNA of demons on file on the world, and reactivated replicas of the Curse Seal Crystals, lets say it might awaken another kind of replica.

Muzan's actions are becoming clearer now that he used the Curse Seal of Necrocalcous crystal, and let's just say, he may have stumbled into something and thought it was his own idea, not realizing he was taking a long lost ambition of someone even more obsessed with immortality then him. Just, be prepared for anything Ezan."

The sliver haired warrior realized Kira was not joking before he nodded." Understood, the logic matches. No matter what Muzan, or anyone else's ambitions are on this world, it all ends by the end of the mission."

Mike did not hear what Ezan was saying, but saw how grim his father's rival looked before he looked around, saw Megaman Volnutt looking like he could hardly control himself, and wiped the sweat off his brow." Somehow, feels like even more of a Everything or Nothing bet than before. But, no matter what, I am going to make lady luck's dice land on are favor. I, I have to."

With one last look the curly haired man got on board, and in moments the Axion, the Eden Zero, the Yamato, and the Aldous all took off and left Corneria. They left separately just in case any spies were following them, but after leaving the Lylat System the ships joined up.

Mike tried to get to know Clive and some of the others but had to repress his anxiety about everything and spent a lot of time training with some of the others to get as prepared as he could.

While most did not trust Tron, Robotnik and Cortex and a few others watched her. While she was consumed with grief and fear, she did try and help the others as much as she could and lead everyone to where Muzan and Mahito killed her family.

The group landed where the remains of the destroyed Gesellschaft were still floating in space.

Astra saw the remains, and saw that Tron was sticking to her word to informing them all about the checkpoints Muzan had, before she snorted."

Well…I guess we are at the point where this is all to much for a act. Are we good to go or what? I really doubt this dude has gone to all this length without making sure his home-base does not have some alarms."

"There are alarms, but the satellites fly around the entire area of space." Tron uttered bitterly." I know because I had to avoid them to get back alive."

Primal nodded before the half man half gorilla looked around." We do detect satellites, but they rotate enough to give us room to get through if we time it right. It's now or never. Rhinox, Rattrap, lets go."

Rattrap sighed before he closed his eyes." Hold on to something folks, we can get through this but no promises about any lunch you organics still have not wolfed down!"

Rhinox nodded before saying," Transwarp Drive activating."

The Axalon had a golden glow before it unleashed a bubble. The bubble was just big enough for the other ships to be covered by the barrier before the four ships went through the scourge.

While there was a few bumps that made Mike and some of the others jump, just as they worried if it was going to work, they saw it indeed worked as space returned to normal and all four ships made it through.

Ezan looked around the new region of space with his eyes and nodded." We made it, and no enemies incoming so they were not prepared. Alright, no time to waste, on to Stroggos."

After a bit more traveling they arrived at their target, the planet that was formerly the home-world of the Strogg race.

Most of its surface was comprised of vast industrial wastelands, giving the planet its distinctive brown/orange color.

Mike saw that no green life or surface water is visible from space before he let out an uneasy chuckle." Um, I know we had not checked in a while but the planet is, like, not collapsed right?"

James looked at the data before the hologram shrugged" To be fair Mike, even back then Stroggos was not a very" Lively" world. It has been stripped of much of its considerable resource wealth by the belligerent Strogg civilization, which have mined most of the metals, minerals, fossil fuels, and other raw materials that they could acquire.

Of course as part of the Zannacross Empire its leader the Makron was all too willing to make the entire race care about nothing but death. That's why when the war with Zannacross was over a good majority of the Strogg perished, leading to humans to take over.

In theory it means the world should be less hostile but, that depends on who is left."

Clank looked at the data before he looked at Ratchet with concern." No transmissions at all are detected. Either they also have been forced into a primitive state, or don't even exist."

Ezan eyed the planet carefully before he sighed." I can't detect any human life on the world, but there might be shelters so that does not rule it out. Only one way to find out, so prepare to descend. We will land outside the Cerberon Palace, where the slip-gate is supposed to be."

While the four ships kept on the look out, they managed to land on on Stroggos without incident.

The planet still had breathable air, but with the red sky, and buildings covered in dust and vines it was clear that saying it was a ruined world would be putting it lightly.

Sonic tapped his foot at an even faster pace then usual as he looked around." Well, I think the odds that someone is going to give us a tour then that time we ended up in the future in Soleanna after Mephiles was done with his remolding are really slim, eh? Eggman you remember where this gate is?"

"I in fact do, but you guys will have to make sure it still is in one piece. Knuckle head better get all your treasure hunter skills working, the tracking device will work like how you and Rouge use to find the Master Emerald shards."

The group slowly entered the Cerbeon palace, and braced themselves because while they were not attacked, they saw dozens of rotten corpses. Mike saw that they looked like humans, but with parts of there body being like fungus before he gulped." Hey guys…what did the Strogg look like again?"

Tyson looked around before the Black Panther narrowed his eyes." It's not Strogg corpses dude, its normal humans, infected with the Cordyceps brain infection. It's a nasty as hell virus that is a parasitic fungal infection that does not just turn yah into a zombie, but a fungus zombie. Mostly like a zombie but yah know, fungus stuff.

More than a few worlds went to hell because of it. If that's what happened to this planet then, it got screwed over hardcore. Better check the air for spores."

Astra spat on a corpse before she looked around." Great…have enough to worry without growing a damn rash."

With even more caution the group descended into the palace. While they had to watch out for a few collapsing walls and ceilings, the only thing they encountered were rats as even the machines had long lost power.

While the group had to use their skills to create" alternate" paths to get into the palace's basement, it only took around half an hour to get to their destination.

After going to the basement of the palace they went to the processing station that had giant pools going to where the "spa" was.

Robotnik put in a code, before the leftmost locker in the chamber with the rusty label" Cargo for idBase" opened up to reveal a passageway to a sewer.

After another tense minute the tunnel changed from a mundane sewer system to that of a crystalline chamber. They took the "research resource transport" before arriving at a even deeper underground tunnel where the walls were entirely made of blue gems. They proceeded down a few more turns they at last arrived at the " Zarathustra Dome."

Mike saw some demonic emblems on the walls before he shrugged." Guess the doc's intel is spot on. Well at least we can get this show on the, huh? Whoa!"

As the group lit up the chamber, while they saw a large wound device that was indeed the slip-gate, and that while rusty it looked in one piece, what caused most of the group to cringe as they saw that human corpses were littered across the chamber.

Astra saw a guitar near the warp device before she raised an eyebrow." Alright, unless these guys liked to torture folks with music around these parts, I'm running a blank here."

Mike saw at the left side of the chamber a book before he raised a eyebrow, looked around and went to pick it up. He looked at a few pages before uttering," This, seems to be some sort of diary?"

Clank looked at it before he shrugged." To save time I'll process the information."

He scanned the diary before after a few seconds uttering," Oh dear, how horrible. These were not the acts of soldiers or fanatics, at least not at first. These were settlers who lived here, and this diary belonged to a woman named Ellie Williams. It seems that after this planet was cut off from the universe the Cordyceps brain infection spread across the planet.

It seems that Ellie had an immunity to the infection, but the only way the rest of the planet could be cured was for her to be sacrificed. Her foster parent Joel Miller, cared more about her then the rest of the planet and killed everyone in the lab and lied to her about what happened.

In turn the daughter of the scientist Joel killed, an Abby Anderson, killed Joel in revenge, causing Ellie to want to kill her for further revenge. It seems, that she in turn, killed Abby here."

Astra looked around and saw some corpses before she whistled." That's one hell of a cycle, but how did they end up here?"

Clank responded with," It seemed that Ellie killed many of Abby's comrades, and at this point since they were cut off from the rest of the universe they no longer had the means to power spaceships or most machinery.

But even though the world was dying the only thing that mattered was" Settling the score." It seemed Abby and her Firefly group had heard rumors of a way off the world and made it here, but did not have the means to activate it. Or maybe they were in the process of doing so only for Ellie to kill her first."

Robotnik winced before he stroked his mustache." If her diary was here, then she seemed to not get the device to work. Did she die from her showdown?"

"Unclear." Clank retorted." Her last entry is rather erratic, as she just writes." I hope everyone is suffering as much as I am. You all took Joel from me, I hate you all, I hate you all."

Robotnik rubbed his head before he looked at the device." Well, I'm glad my security systems worked. They never would have got it to work because, there's a voice command to make it work. Speaking of that, lets get on with it."

The former member of the Zannacross Empire pressed a button before the Slip-gate glowed and a AI voice uttered," To whom does the true voice speak? To whom does the true form show itself? I ask, why did humans vanish from the world?"

Robotnik checked his notes before replying with," I answer, because of the darkness."

"I ask: how can humans extend there lives?"

"I answer: by separating body from soul, and embracing the dark side."

"I ask: what is the destination of the soul?"

"I answer: They are placed in there destiny, the embrace of death."

"Very well...you are acknowledged as master."

The device started to glow more before Robotnik looked around and sighed." Guess the precautions were worthwhile after all ths time. Though, even when my intentions were good it still caused more harm."

Ezan looked at the corpses before he sighed." Don't let this get to you doctor, even if they could warp away it sounds like they would have just entered a worst hell based on what we have heard from Valisthea. But if you want to atone, lets make sure no one else has to suffer like this."

Robotnik nodded before from his Egg Mobile came out a few wires. He plugged them into the Slipgate before he looked at his monitor.

As everyone held there breath the "Master of robotics" smirked." The systems are a bit, sluggish but it should still work. I just need to run an systems check so we don't warp into solid lava."

Mike looked around before he shrugged." Well, as depressing a tale as this is, at least it means we can work in peace r,"

Everyone felt the room shake before Mark groaned." C'mon man how could forget the jinx rules now!?"

Everyone felt another tremor before a distorted voice howled out," JOEL! All of you…ALL OF YOU WILL PAY FOR TAKING HIM AWAY FROM ME!"

What everyone thought was slime or blood, started to take shape before they saw a demonic woman, with elements of a pig slither out of the gaps in the wall.

As it oozed out half of the group had to use all there will power not to throw up as they saw the figure was a large creature resembling a hideous distortion of a human fetus. It had swollen black eyes, a gaping, toothless mouth and a slimy red body with slightly underdeveloped limbs.

Its waist appeared to be inverted, leaving its legs pushing backwards as it crawled forward on its hands; the result was a grasshopper-like profile. Its stomach had a large flap of loose flesh that trailed behind it like a short, limp tail, leaving bloody streaks in its wake.

Kaine got her blades out before hissing out," Oh damn, a shade?"

Clank eyed the diary, before the robot tugged Ratchet." I think…this shade might be Ellie, Ratchet. After killing Abby, all she had left was hate, it literary consumed her, mutated her. But with everyone on the planet dead she, lost her mind, till we arrived."

Ellie had acidic slime drip off her deformed jaw before hissing out," The world, the universe, it did nothing but screw me over! I don't care how many people Joel killed, all that mattered was that we were happy! Everyone took my happiness away from me so I HATE YOU ALL!"

The Shade BT that was formerly Ellie stopped hunkering over as countless hands burst out of its back before Astra took out her sword." Hey girl, can't say I don't sympathize with yah but you better calm your ass down. I get that everyone screwed you over but, huh?"

Before she could finish Megaman yelled out with berserk fury and had his left arm transform into a chain-gun. He instantly barraged Ellie with dozens of energy blasts per second before he yelled out," No…NO MERCY!"

As more tentacles came out of Ellies back the now" Doomman" had his chain-gun unfold" into a triple-barreled minigun and barraged Ellie even more. As she was paralyzed with the barrage the former Digger turned Doom Slayer roared before a chainsaw came out of his other arm and he saw Ellie lunge for her before he jabbed her with the Chainsaw and sliced through her.

As she was ripped in half Trigger yelled with rage, and blasted all the fragments before roaring out," NO MERCY!"

Zero saw that the former Megaman was blasting the shadows before he grasped his shoulder." Stand down the maverick's terminated!"

Trigger paused, blinked a few times before he grunted out," These damn demons, never really seem to die."

Astra sighed before rubbing her head." Save your energy for the boss "Doom Guy" not the fodder. Man, if I'm the one trying to be cool headed things are getting crazy."

Ezan nodded before he glanced back at the slip-gate. "I know tension is high, but we all have to keep our composure.

As little time as we have, losing time because of rash actions will just make it worst. So, everyone ready to warp?"

Robotnik checked the data one more time before he gave a thumbs up. Astra just spat on the ground before shrugging." Sure as hell did not come here for the food."

The slipgate turned on, and a red circle mass of energy formed. Ezan went in first to check it out. After a few seconds the super elite warrior returned and nodded." Its dark, and we might need to make our own exit but its stable."

After a deep breath Mike followed him in. While he felt like his body was going to turn inside out for a few moments, he landed on his feet soon after.

He saw what appeared to be a round chamber with a high tech door on one side, and mural on the other. Mike saw some faded words that spelled out," Apodytery chamber" before he shrugged." Well, we are not on fire and I don't see fungus so I'll say it's a improvement. So now what? You guys brought the map with you right?"

Ezan nodded as he saw the entire group made it through safely." Robotnik will stay behind to help with the tech support. One way or another we are to emerge through a series of tunnels outside a minor former Sithantos chapel. Then, we will gauge the situation, and directly head for Muzan."

Mike nodded as he got his light on." Well, just got to make sure we don't trip over any check points till we are ready."

Everyone heard a roar, before Mike checked the light and saw it was a giant eye. More lights went on to reveal that they were in front of a gigantic dragon with two snake-like heads, one of them bearing a shard-like horn protruding over its snout, and the other bearing two horns over its head made from the same material.

Each of these heads had their own partial torso and four pairs of arms. Apart from their own mouths, each head has a long line of gigantic fangs underneath, and has droplets dropped large enough to drench some of the group members Mike let out a bitter chuckle." Guess monster nests would be dandy to avoid too. Well, a Valac dragon is not the worst thing to."

One of the heads instantly unleashed a stream of fire. As Ezan cut off the stream with a slash from his sword, the curly haired man winced." Just hoping all the bad luck will even out at some point today.

Megaman fired a massive red energy arrow from his new Gause Ballista cannon to pin the left head of the Valac's beast to the wall before the recently transformed Digger grunted out," No matter who's here, we are going to tear them apart!"

Clive unleashed a wave of fire from his blade to slice the other head before uttering," I seen plenty of monsters across Valisthea, but most don't look like this. Then again we never been below the planet's surface."

"We won't be here for long." Ezan bluntly replied." But watch your step, the "gloom we were briefed about could be in any puddle. Put your mana aura up unless your fond of sudden pain."

The group saw that the Valac was no longer moving and made their way. They saw more bones, and dozens of wrecked droids, but nothing else as they went through hallway after hallway before they saw a light was indeed at the end of the tunnel.

While at this point the group braced themselves for a fight, when they emerged they saw no one to greet them, only fog.

Clive looked around before he winced." Is this a farce? After all this time we ended up outside Phoenix Gate?"

Tyson looked around and saw an series of ruined medieval styled buildings next to a empty marsh and a blood red sky before he chuckled bitterly." Wait, we ended up near your home town dude? Someone has a sick sense of humor."

Joshua looked at the outside and saw the markings, and the dried blood before he sighed." This place is not are home, just the last place we were at before we were taken away from it.

A walled keep situated near Rosaria's northwestern border. It was originally constructed to serve as an outpost in the wars against the Northern Territories, but its true significance lies deep within the ruins atop which the stronghold stands.

Here, in an ancient chamber accessible only to the "Dominant of Fire, is held the Rite of Ancestral Communion—an important ritual in which it is believed that the Phoenix can hear the words of the duchy's forbears.

I never had the chance to attempt the rite though, the night I was, are mother betrayed us in what others told us became known as the Night of Flames— the castle's invasion by Sanbrequois assassins and the battle between the two Eikons of Fire that arose in its wake.

That was us, the trauma caused are true powers to emerge. We nearly killed each other, but that might have spared us though as are display caused us to be "interesting" to Muzan it seemed.

Ezan eyed around the area tensely before he uttered," If it was of that much importance to your home nation that means there are good odds people are still here, people that can alert Muzan."

Jill looked at the area carefully before she sighed." Not as much as you might think sir. This whole area, seems to have been abandoned because the blight has consumed it."

Astra looked around and saw that while the area looked like it was once a forest like landscape, everything that once could have been green looked like it was a husk before she winced." This planet's not as dead as the last one but it sure is not looking good. But, if this world has no machines to pollute the planet what's making it so crappy?"

Ezan eyed the terrain carefully before he grasped his fist tightly." I'm not sure right now, but looking around, it feels like everything in the area has had its energy drained. Like a parasite has sucked the very life out of the land."

James looked around before he nodded." This, does remind me of something almost like the "Tree of Might" servants of Frieza once used, as well as the "Lavos" demon, and the Iifa Tree my old teammate Zidane dealt with before Kuja tried to use under his master Garland's orders to corrupt the souls of planet Gaia IX. Wait, that could mean, that Muzan is draining the energy of the entire planet?"

Jill looked mortified as she muttered," We, we were told growing up that the Blight was the sinners cursing the land."

Mike shrugged before retorting with," Sounds more like Muzan's setting your entire world up for a hustle till he squeezes every last drop of every one to fuel his ego trip. Yah…this hustle's gone on long enough."

Ezan looked at the foggy, bloody sky before he flew up a little." If I can detect where all the energy is being directed that will narrow down are destination real fast. It, huh? No...seriously?"

Mike winced before he ran up to Ezan." What don't tell me we are busted already? I swear I did not, huh?"

The lanky man saw what Ezan was looking at before he saw a medieval city in the distance. The castle was normal enough, but towering over the castle was a mountain of sparkling blood red crystal. Clive saw everyone's shock before he shrugged." Oh, so mother crystals are a rare sight across the universe?"

James glanced at the crystal, before even the holographic man looked pale." Clive…what's disturbing is that its not just a mountain of crystal, but it's a entire mountain of a curse seal of Necrocalcous crystal!

Just a crystal the size of someone's hand, gave most a burst of dark or " Hell" energy that normally doubled or tripled their power level.

A entire mountain of that, well, it won't be enough to make Muzan become as powerful as Chaos Zannacross Necron himself, but even if he does not transform into a omni powerful devil, it will still give him enough power to drastically turn are situation for the worst. Clive…this is not the only " mother crystal" on the planet?"

The brown-haired man paused before he looked down." Far as I know, Five Mothercrystals are known to exist in the lands but remember, we are not able to get around to much of this planet."

Astra shrugged before she spat on the ground." Well they won't be a problem if we blow then up eh?"

Raymond let out an uneasy chuckle before uttering," Yah um we still want to rescue your buddies right? Like, I don't know if blowing one of those things up will nuke everything around it but, really don't want to risk it."

"He's correct." Ezan curtly added." Neutralizing Muzan will end the risk they all pose. Death has touched across this world long enough."

As others nodded a bitter chuckle could be heard." Whatever you think your intent is traveler, you run a fools deed. Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust."

Ezan quickly drew his blade, only for the same voice to utter," I mean you no harm, I just pondered who my visitors might be. Its…been so long I just wanted to make sure the voices were not from my head."

Everyone heard movement from the right before they saw a man stagger out of one of the ruined buildings.

He was a tall figure, but seemed weary.

As he emerged from the shadows, the others saw he had a black, hooded cloak, along with an red and brown scarf around his neck. Black shoulder blades, and a black medallion with straps on it and a grey undercoat under it.

As many blades and guns were pointed at him Mike took a deep breath." Look man if you're not an bad guy you better explain real fast what you're doing here because you really sell the part."

"I am Coriolanus, self imposed Crypt-Keeper. My garb is to protect me from the elements and impose on would be robbers, but quiet reflection is all I seek."

Tyson saw the man's face covered by a turban before he shrugged." No offense dude but this does not look like a place to take it easy."

"True, but its dangers are ample means to avoid others. My thoughts are the only company I have sought for some time now. I lived a long life, and reflection is the only thing I desire at the moment. After all family and friends alike have all long passed."

Clive eyed the man before he shrugged." There have been merchants who live on their own from time to time so his worlds could not be falsehoods. Still if quiet is your true desire you should not stick around, the last thing are future actions will neither be peaceful or quiet."

Coriolanus paused before he nodded." Oh, so your compatriots of Cid?"

Clive at once looked shocked before walking forward." You know Cid?"

Ezan blinked a few times before uttering," Wait…there's a Cid on this world to?"

Clive saw all the looks before uttering," Cidolfus "Cid" Telamo, is an infamous soldier turned outlaw who strove to build a place where persecuted Bearers and exploited Dominants can die on their own terms. We met once in Muzan's castle, and escaped. So he still lives?"

"For now lad." Coriolanus uttered." But it might not be much longer. I travel vie canoe every now and then, and I met him at a bar. He is one of the few around here that I could enjoy a drink with, and it's clear he is willing to risk everything to try and free this world.

His plan will push him into death's embrace, but cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once."

Mike paused before he noticed that behind Coriolanus was a desk, one that had books written by William Shakespeare before he raised an eyebrow."

I knew that Shakespeare was such a legend that his stories never went out of style in Earth Prime but did not think they would make it all the way out to this planet."

Coriolanus looked back at his books before he shrugged." These books were some of the "lost" books in the nearby chapel, and reminded me of my father's teachings so, it helped me reflect more.

I may seek isolation but I interact when I must so that the situation does not increase.

If Cid is who you seek, I know where he is at if your so earnest to chat with him."

Ezan looked around before he sighed." If there are those on this world willing to fight, might as well meet them while we have the chance. If nothing else, if they attack first Muzan will be thrown off guard. We don't have much time then."

"Him and his compatriots are in the bog beyond here, I'll lead the way."

Coriolanus motioned everyone to the water, where a ferry and a paddle lay.

Clive looked at everyone before shrugging." Let me introduce ourselves to Cid to make sure this goes smoothly, smooth enough that you don't bring the fighting to my meager pad at least."

Astra looked at the water before she shrugged." I don't know, just point us and we can fly there faster."

"You seem to have a lot of skills lass, but I would not try and rush this. If you make a wrong turn you could stumble into unwanted fangs. The Deadlands has ways of swiftly adding to there ranks."

"Hey I came here to hunt not be hunted so, huh?"

Everyone saw some fish shaped skeletons with a blue tinge that were also transparent at moments like a ghost swim by before Astra raised a eyebrow." That's the worst thing to worry about? I can eat them first for a snack!"

Mike was about to respond before he saw a ghost fish casually flying through the fog before he winced." Wait...the fish fly now?"

Astra saw a ghost fish fly at her before she swatted it away like a fly and rolled her eyes." Don't matter how far the fish can jump its still the, GAH!"

All of a sudden dozens of ghost fish swarmed at Astra from all directions. As the blond woman cursed and rolled around Coriolanus cleared his throat and took out a lantern." Another reason is that the ghost fish are repelled by some scents, hence taking a precise path where those scents ward them off is a good way to ward off intruders yes?"

2B, Ratchet, and a few others blasted the ghost fish off of Astra before the blond woman looked at how many bite marks she had and spat on the ground before her eye twitched." This better not be trolling or I'm nuking this damn lake!"

Ezan sighed before he looked at the distance to see where the ghost fish were swimming." Keep your auras up to protect those who can't and follow the boat just far enough to keep out of sight."

The nonnatives nodded and braved themselves as they took to the air to be out of sight as Coriolanus paddled Clive, Jill, and Jousha in the ferry.

Jill saw how putrid the water looked before she saw Coriolanus slowly paddle." How much food can grow in a place that the blight consumed?"

Coriolanus chuckled before uttering," I, can live on very little madam. Despite how hazardous these blighted lands may be, I'm so in tune with the darkness that it just passes me by. But, even if I'm nearly a phantom, its still enough peace to reflect."

Clive saw the man was blunt but not hostile before he shrugged." Are you trying to put your past behind you? I can relate, I still am coming to terms with my grief as well."

"More or less. My brethren are long gone, and I been trying to figure out the best way to honor their memory. That way, when I join them one day, I can have no regrets."

Coriolanus coughed a few times before his sleeve loosened and everyone saw his exposed arm was black and grey before Jill looked alarmed." No, do you have the crystals' curse sir?"

She paused before she looked back at those behind the boat." Its…where channeling aether through one's body eventually petrifies it, leading to certain death. There is no known cure.

The malady affects those who channel aether through their body rather than via a crystal shard: Bearers and Dominants. Symptoms include stiffness and pain in the extremities, and eventually, limbs are rendered immobile and the pain the curse brings forth is described as unbearable.

Eventually, the entire body turns to stone in one go, and soon crumbles into dust. Sir Coriolanus, were you a branded?"

The tall man chuckled bitterly before he covered his sleeve." I was no slave woman. This place is not my native home, we traveled from afar."

"Oh, are you also from Waloed?"

"No, a tad farther than that. We, or at least the man who was my father, Elder Prospero, wanted to do are best to cure people of there woes. It seemed like an impossible task, and it was one that I felt was not eager to commit to, but since I had no where else to go I followed my kin.

We could not fix the…chaos and corruption all over but, people thanked us for are efforts. But, in time one after another of my kin was lost, and Prospero was the last, before he was killed by one who saw his life's purpose as a joke.

I slayed the killer but felt nothing but emptiness, and took my elder's word to heart. I been reflecting ever since."

Joshua paused before he nodded." The guilt I had for not being able to save my father from my own mother haunts me each day sir, but it hurts less after knowing I'm doing all I can to atone for that.

I won't tell you how to live your life but, till the last moment even the damned can make something of there life."

Coriolanus chuckled before nodding." True enough lad, but I suppose I been trying to figure out just what the best act for a near phantom can do amiss the chaos."

Clive nodded as he looked at the red sky." With how much is broken I don't know just what I can do, but at the very least I'll defy my fate till the end."

"Well, at least you're not the only one here that feels that way, for here we are."

Everyone realized they arrived at what appeared to be the hideout, and only saw the ruins of an airship. Ezan looked around before he narrowed his eyes." Are you sure this is where they are?"

Everyone heard a growling before Astra took out Gorr." Well, someone's hiding out here, or something."

Just as Megaman was about to go full Doom Slayer blood rage again they heard a barking before a gray wolf with gray fur, yellow eyes, and a long tail. He had a metal bangle on his left front paw.

As the dog barked Tyson shrugged." Alright who had monster wolf on their bingo chart? Feel like we are going to run into just about every beast there is before this is done."

As everyone prepared to strike Clive looked at the new arrival before he raised a eyebrow." Wait…hold up everyone. That, that's not a threat! In fact, it might be, my pet? Is, that you Torgal?"

To everyone's shock the wolf wagged his tail, and barked again, this time with a much happier tone.

Torgal ran up to Clive before he hugged him. He looked back before uttering," Its ok, Torgal was my pet. I saw him run when I got captured, I just never thought I'd see him again. To still remember me after all this time, is something I'm grateful for boy."

As his pet licked him a cunning male voice cut in with," Oh you better be grateful your dog vouched for yah lad. If his nose did not approve of yah then your greeting would have been my foot up your arse! Bah, bloody wind makes seeing yah a pain."

Everyone saw someone emerge from the fog, and it was a in shape male in dark knightly armor. He had short brown hair and a mustache, and had a sword at his side. Clive saw the man's cocky grin before he gasped." Wait…your, your Cid?"

Ezan sighed before responding with," I don't suppose the pass word would be Wild Rose would it?"

The man named Cid snickered before throwing out a dry," That's last month's password but, not bad. Guess I'm such a infamous outlaw that I can be picked out at a glance? Guess that does make it a pain to sneak around."

"Maybe, but I think we met in the past. I'm, Clive Rosfield firstborn son of the Archduke of Rosaria."

Cid eyed the three natives before he snickered." Come now...fleet as flame, firce of wildfire- You do have Byron's face. I heard yah were dead though."

No, we escaped are fate thanks to allies we made, those allies are with us now to liberate us out now. Come out on the count of three."

Cid paused before uttering," The count of three?"

"Sure."

"Three!"

"What happened to two?"

"Ask one, quickly!"

The others emerged from the fog before Cid saw they were flying and raised an eyebrow." Should have brought my cigar. Guess prayers do work once in a while too, glad I saved it for when it counted. Oy, you hauled this circus act in Coriolanus?"

The man in black shrugged before uttering," They were stumbling around in looking for you so I figured I'd drop them off before they made a mess of things."

"Thanks for that mate. You better take cover, things are about to become hellish, even for a stubborn as hell Namekian like yourself."

"My relationship with death won't change even now I take it."

Ezan paused before he took a deep breath." You have my thanks for the help sir, what was your name again."

The ferryman shrugged before uttering," Zale Pharos Coriolanus if you insist. Have we met?"

Ezan paused before he shrugged." Just…how did a Namekian end up here?"

"My kin came here to help this world, that's all."

"You made it through the Scourge?"

"As I said…the arts of the darkness heed me not."

"I see…well…if you seek silence you will have to get deep into the planet, this entire world might become a battlefield."

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players warrior. But if you think you know your part in the stage, now is the time to prove it. To be, or not to be: that is the question. Now, back to the darkness I go."

Cid shrugged before cutting in with," So, I take it you lot did not come all the way to my home away from home for sight seeing eh? Hope you know what your in for, cause I'm about to declare war on the tyrants that act as the god of this planet."

"Understood, and we are here to ensure your mission is a success because far more then you know is on the line."

"True that it wasn't a good death we should be fighting for, but a better life, but if we are about to fight together I better know what the hell your all about. I'm not an asshole about it, we got food, might as well use it all before, you know. Oh and Clive your uncle might be eager to catch up."

"My, uncle is here?" Clive uttered before Cid chuckled." Follow me boys, miss your step and the water might boil a limb off yah."

As Cid slowly lead everyone to the center of his hideout Ezan saw everyone enter before he motioned to James and Zero.

Ezan saw Coriolanus row off before he made sure no one could hear them and uttered," I take it I'm not the only one who picked it up James?"

"Even in this state I could not forget it. It, it has to be him."

Zero nodded before adding," I checked the records on file, and it's the same energy match since, since we knew about it. Ezan, your eyes pick up that he was lying about this?"

"No, but even if it's pure chance that it's come to this, if something happens it could, cause the situation to get even more out of hand.

But yet, as long as the situation is how it appears to be we have to take things at face value. As bleak as it may seem, even his resurrection is no longer the worst cause outcome for the universe now, and we don't have time for " side-quests" right now.

I'll keep an eye out, but, we can't let Mike and the others get distracted. For now, lets hope there's only one devil that's are enemy today, and do what we can to keep it that way."

With one more tense look Ezan followed Cid, along with Mike, Astra, Tyson and the rest till they made it to the last group of rebels in the hideout, where they met Clive's uncle, along with the other members of the resistance, Gav, Otto, Tarja, Goetz, Blackthorne, Charon, Midadol Telamon, Vivian Ninetales, Harpocrates, Gaute, Desiree, Nektar, Dorys, Cole, Obolus, Geoffrey, Kenneth, Bohumil, Martelle, and a few more.

Despite the direness of the situation there were a few moments of joy as Clive caught up with his uncle and others he assumed was dead or enslaved. But after eating and explaining to Cid's group the most basic abridged summary of the bigger universe and what was going on and why they were there.

By the time they were done Cid finished smoking a cigar before he snickered bitterly." Mate…not sure if it's a blessing or a curse that I know there is something outside this rock since it seems everyone past the misty sky wants to kill us even harder.

Still, good to know I'm not the only bloke that gives a damn about people being able to live how they want. I want to live in a world where it's not about WHAT you are but WHO you are.

Save for our knack. Dominants and Bearers are no different from anyone else. The power to use magic and summon great beasts SHOULD command respect. But instead left us as outcasts. Our kind are used and discarded as tools but we are men so why should we die as less? Because some assholes say so and I for one am sick of it, hence the whole willing to risk my life to fight for it."

Astra snickered before she nodded." Good news Cid, my job's being a " Equalizer" to help out the little guys do just that and did not take me long to know which team to back."

Cid snickered before he glanced at his crew."Good news everyone, some of you might make it out of this alive after all!"

Mike let out an uneasy chuckle before reacting with a gib," I mean, you had a plan that was more then just charging at the enemy and not die right?"

Some of the others besides Cid looked uneasy before the leader of this batch of rebels smoked the cigar he had again." Was not the best plan kid, just the one we had.

If, if we could shatter the Mother crystal, then at least some might live through this. But hey I had more to this than just having us all charge like blind moogles. Er, accept for Nektar their who is in fact a moogle."

As the moogle let out a "Kupo." Mike half expected him to transform , but was glad he just ate a nut before Cid went on to say,"Since we already were going to sneak in thanks to a insider opening a door for us."

As Ezan and the others looked at him Cid shrugged." Hey its not just some guard I'm bribing it's a long time drinking buddy who goes way back!"

"Oh, a general then or some noble?" Ezan responded before Cid shrugged." More like a demon super ace."

Ezan cleared his throat before walking up." So…your about to raid the demon's lair, and the key to everything is, trusting a demon?"

Astra had her eye twitch before she blurted out an indigent," Hey the hell dude!?"

Ezan sighed before following with a dry," I mean a demon that's part of Muzan's inner circle yes? Everyone there is part of his cartel."

"Aye, but that don't mean we are all his lapdogs."

A man walked out from the tables nearby, man of average height, slightly round with dark hair and light skin.

He was dressed in an expensive, dry-cleaned suits of dark colors before he saw everyone looking at him and shrugged." We can't all have fangs and pitchforks if we want to make deals for the Shadow-lord pretty boy."

Cid nodded before uttering," Crowly here and I go back years, I trust him more then anyone else."

Astra paused before responding with," You're a demon but you're not down with demons being the new top dogs in the universe?"

Crowly snickered before uttering," I'm not one of the "Upper Moons" who are made to think every time their boss breaths in there face is a gift from god girl. It's simple, survival. Hope you two are more than just functioning morons and can grasp the nuance to things.

Look, to Muzan, you're just filthy bags of pus. If that's the way he feels about you, what can he think about us? To him, we're just servants. Cannon fodder. Unlike the "old boss" there's no real promise of a better world for everyone, just for him.

If Muzan manages to exterminate humankind, we're next cause we won't need free will anymore. So, help me, huh? Let's all go back to simpler, better times, back to when we could all follow our natures. I'm in sales, dammit! So, what do you say if I help make sure you all go kill the devil?"

Tyson eyed Crowly carefully before he shrugged." Excuse me for asking, but aren't you kind of signing your own death warrant? I mean, what happens to you if we go up against the man who wants to be the devil and lose?"

"Number one, he's going to wipe us all out anyway. Two, after you leave here, I go on an extended vacation to all points nowhere."

"So, you're sure that you can hide your true intentions from your boss demon?"

Ezan bluntly interjected, causing Crowly to snicker." Please. I've sold sin to saints for centuries. You think I can't close one not so little demon? Look, you're right to be suspicious, but I'm your ally. The enemy of my enemy and all that.

I need the Devil back in his stock. In fact, my delicate arse depends on it. It comes down to Muzan backing on his word to me, even after I did every damn think he asked for. With demons there's only one rule – make a deal, keep it. Muzan may think I can't stop him but, that's where you all come in. My focus is on illusions so I'm going to hide where you guys are coming from till you blitz them eh?"

Ezan eyed Crowly before he took yet another deep breath." Its true that we do fight for any who don't want to be bound by someone else's impression of what they should be, as long as they are legit. If your word is true then where is the ship Muzan brought back with him? That's the key to everything really."

Crowly paused, before he snickered." Figured it was something like that. He's being real touchy even to us, but he did warn that anyone, even us demons step into Oriflamme and Drake's Head without his approval would get iced instantly."

Cid paused before he shrugged." That's where the party is anyway so looks like its all coming together eh?"

"Alright then." Ezan declared." We will blitz the enemy while they think you all are the only forces attacking. We will have to move fast, but we just have to settle things before they can realize their ambitions, that's all there is to it."

Cid nodded before he looked at the massive blood red crystal in the distance." Hugo Kupka Dominant of Titan and the Warden of Earth, Dion Lesage the Dominant of Bahamut and Warden of Light, and Barnabas Tharmr, Dominant of Odin, Warden of Darkness will all be at this" ceremony."

And the only man with enough pull to get them all to sit down is the " Mastermind". If…if we pull this off…at last we can be free. We been taught that the mother crystals are a gift from the divine, that there ather is a gift from the heavens."

Clive nodded before adding a bitter," For centuries, are nations have fought for that "gift" when it was all to amuse a " God". I just wish more were aware of the truth and would rise with us."

"Who said they did not see it?" Cid answered bluntly." Maybe the truth was…inconvenient. But I made a promise to all these people that wanted to live a life not bound to another, and I intend to keep it to my dying breath. We can't set our people free, if they are lying dead in a blighted ditch.

Not if we want to create a place where they can live on their own terms at least. Sort of defeats the purpose, eh? If we have to bring the old world down to build us a new one…so be it."

He stabbed a smaller crystal on the table with a dagger before he shrugged." So you all with me?"

Ezan nodded before saying," Its time we repay the faith all of you had in a better world. As warriors of light, its are duty to dispel the darkness. Besides, I plan to keep my promise to Cid that I would not let another Cid down."

Cid saw Ezan's reaction before he snickered." Another Cid eh? Think that could make a good drinking story and we have time for just about one round. Heh, this might not be my final fantasy after all…maybe more of the…sixteenth or so."

Mike saw the group looking more confident then when they arrived before he smirked." Well…at least the odds are not the" Bad Beat" kind, yah, this just might work."

"Course it will work Mikey." Astra uttered with a half-lopped smirk." Muzan may have sucked punched us but he's thinking he's the new god or devil or whatever.

That means giving him one hell of a reality check is going to be a fun way to crash the party. With how messed up things are here, I think it's time karma smacks him back so hard it sends him through hell and back!"

Mike nodded as the two went over things before the group made their last stand. As they did, those they intended to raid were feeling on top of the world, in some cases it was not just a figurative expression as we now turn to the Archon Cathedral, the official central place of worship in the Crystalline Dominion.

In this castle many figures of important had just entered a throne room full of snake statues. While none currently were alive to realize it, they were in the same chamber that Xehamaru commanded Robotnik, along with the likes of Bowser, and the" Inquisitors of darkness" such as the original Ganondorf, Nightmare, Sigma, Genesis and others.

On the left first entered a large and sturdy man, that towered over others, adding to his domineering nature. Bearing tanned skin with gray-white short hair and powerful muscles, he wore clothes that reflected his position, such as golden, bejeweled rings.

As he walked in he saw Geto, Doma, Mother Miranda, and a few others before Geto saw the man and smirked." Ah, how good of you to join us Hugo Kupka, its always good to see that the economic advisor of the Dhalmekian Republic is punctual."

The man named Hugo saw how many eyes were on him before he cracked his neck." There is a literal sea 'twxit' to your prize. I always pay my debts, and I was getting the feeling this could not wait."

A detached giggle could be heard behind him before it was followed with a sassy," Oh with a party like this how could we bare to miss a second of it?"

Behind Hugo strutted out a young woman with a curvaceous build. She had blonde hair, and wore a black jumpsuit. She flashed Geto a wink before the demonic wizard smirked." Oh, I think the likes of you will be quite entertained Benedikta Harman."

Just as Benedikta gave Hugo a seductive kiss another male voice cut in with," Formality aside, just what is this "ceremony" truly for?"

From the right came a man with brown eyes and neck-length blond hair. He was tall, had a slender physique, and was wielding a halberd.

He wore a white clothing under his silver suit of armor, which had a turquoise shimmer, and also had silver earrings that resemble the shape of the tip of his halberd and had red stones.

Geto saw the new male's unease and chuckled." Oh, don't worry Dion Lesage, you, the whole Holy Empire of Sanbreque, and the whole world will see soon. It's a movement so grand that all the nations and religions gathering for one ceremony was a must."

The one named Dion looked and retorted," I need more than hints, this is suppose to be the salvation of the entire world yes? "As others looked uneasy a new male voice cut in with a foreboding," Only for the worthy boy. The weak that image themselves worthy of salvation, will be going through painful enlightenment to at last understand their purpose. "

The new voice came from the center. He was a tall man with a lean but muscular build, with a scar on his chest.

He had black hair with bangs that hung over his forehead, as well as blue eyes and a black stubble beard. His general attire consisted of a royal blue, high-collar shirt with a gold trim, underneath a black doublet, pants and boots.

He also wore a black belt with gold adornments that wrapped around his waist twice, as well as two pairs of smaller belts on his thighs, and another at the top of each boot.

As he arrived Geto chuckled." You and the Waloeder kingdom do understand the state of things well, Barnabas Tharmr.

Yes, salvation is only for those who are worth it but, well, that's why you rulers and elite were here in the first place yes?"

As Barnabas shrugged, a new woman voice cut in with a detached," The blood of commoners is to be the river to carry their betters, it's destiny."

Geto saw a blond-haired woman with a child at her side and a crown walked up past Dion. Her eyes were as cold as ice before Geto sighed." Oh, its destiny for the superior beings to rule over the monkey's "Empress" Anabella, and that's why its time for destiny to take its course."

"And just how is that suppose to happen?" Hugo grunted out with contempt." Are audience was demanded, but we were not told what for! I, huh?"

To his shock snakes slithered out of the snake statues, and crawled out to Baranabas, Dion, Hugo, and Benedikta and opened there jaws to reveal blood red crystials, curse seal of Necrocalcous crystals.

As Geto saw the impatient looks he chuckled." I know you're all " busy" fighting to be king of the hill around here but your" god" thought you were worthy enough to get his blessing and you would be wise not to refute it."

"You think your the one who can act as the voice of god heathen!?"

A shrill voice came out as a man dressed as a priest came in. Geto saw the man's anger before he sighed." He was not on the list, why are you even here?"

The priest had his eye twitch before hissing out," How dare you! I'm the head priest of the Crystalline Orthodoxy of the Iron Kingdom Haearann!"

Geto took a deep breath before he glanced at Elizébet before hissing out," He is not one of the Dominats with the Esper we need right?"

The demonic woman retorted with a disgusted," Its Eikons on this world, but no, Master Muzan already took there Ekion away from them."

"We don't need heathens! Any Dominants found to have been born on the Iron Kingdom are to be executed because it goes aganst the will of god! You who follow the wrong path of, ugh!"

The Priest suddenly lost his breath as Geto waved his hand and used his magic to hurl the priest off the window. The leader of the Iron Kingdom only screamed for a few seconds before falling on a spike.

Geto saw him bleed to death before he snickered." Well...so much for iron blood eh? So...guess that settles who the word of god is eh? Now then, as you all just saw I hate monkey's normally.

There's only two types that I can stand to be around, money-collecting monkeys and curse-collecting monkeys. Anyone else, is just revolting.

And in the end, I know you all would rather be Star Plasma Vessels then heathens right? I'm not a " Dominant" but I to am weighed down by the inferiors of this world, and all other worlds. We will all be rid of these vermin soon, if you can pull your weight. So just smile and nod and get to work, the "Shadow Lord" really does not have any patience right now."

Hugo paused but before he could respond a woman voice cut in with," Quiet now, child! Adults are talking. So gauche. What do you care for bread and circuses? My dauthers love entertaining foreigners. Bela, Cassandra, Dainela, do these guests look happy to you?"

Everyone saw a towering pale woman dressed in a white gown with a pipe in her hand. As she entered three pale woman in gowns came with drinks to offer the new group of men.

As Hugo and Dion eyed the tall woman with caution she snickered." Come now you should all realize by now what a honor it is to be invited to this ceremony, and not be part of the other side of the ritual.

The suffering of the damned is assured, regardless. Obey and my daughters will reward you kindly, fail and you will be part of the feast, yes Mother Miranda?"

As she walked out with a few equally pale women a much sterner older woman voice cut in with," Of course Lady Dimitrescu. We call on thee within the endless step as the midnight moon rises on black wings, we await the light at the end... In life and in death, glory to the lord of shadows."

As Mother Miranda walked up as well the ground started to shake before Geto widened his hands to make a beckoning gesture." The gist of it is that all of Valisthea is about to go through a ritual vie the casting of the Primogenesis spell.

You all will do your part to be "Mythos", "god"s new body, or you will be cast aside with all the trash of the dying broken universe. So, everyone…revel or writhe in agony and despair, your choice.

And with that, let the celebration of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons , the true culling games that will bring forth death and rebirth begin eh?"

---

Authors Notes: Well, know it was a lot going on today so lets get started. So yah, I more or less transformed Megaman Trigger into Doom's infamous " Doom Guy". While I know that such a direction is, very unlikely to be how things would play out if we ever get Megaman Legends three, since Doomguy at least" officially" has no true name figured, why the hell not?

The ghost fish are monsters in the Ninja Gaiden Black Sigma one and two games. They are not the worst monsters but, really can be a pain slowing things down when they just swarm from the freaking air to tear you a new one.

Valacwas a boss monster in Bloodstained Night.

Next Stroggos and the Strogg are from Quake 2, though the underground path to the warp was a homage to the final area in Xenosaga 3 while the " Password" was a nod to the first part of the Shadow Lord's castle in Neir Replicant.

Ellie is from the Last of Us Two. Eh, sorry but, after two, felt very little sympathy for her.

Cid, and the entire rebel group is of course from Final Fantasy 16. I know I'm mixing things up a bit but damn it 16's Cid is one of the few things I enjoyed in the game so I sure as hell don't want him already out of action for this arc lol.

That's also why Benedikta and Hugo are still around in this timeline for the arc as well, felt might as well have interactions that never happened in 16 properly.

Crowly is from the Supernatural show, felt he could be a factor for an arc like this and so here we are.

Lady Dimitrescu is from Resident Evil 8/ Village, I plan to have all kinds of encounters in the upcoming castle raid to say the least.

And Ganondorf is the version from Tears of the Kingdom. Since trying to explain how my previous version of Ganondorf could possibly also have gone through the events of Tears of the Kingdom, and also how Hyrule could possibly have also went through the events of Tears of the Kingdom would be, a lot of twists, I'm just having Tears of Kingdom Ganondorf be from another universe.

To be fair…feels like Tears of the Kingdom Hyrule is another universe from everything pre-Breath of the Wild at this point anyway, ugh.

Meanwhile lastly, Coriolanus is an original creation, and his purpose might seem random but, well, if you happened to have read the final chapter of Cosmic Wars EXE his purpose might be a little less random but that's all I'll say for now.

Know I set up a lot of things in today's episode but hopefully all the build up will be worth it as things are going to escalate more than a tad next time. If you liked what you saw hope you liked it enough to leave a review, and till then thanks for all the reviews so far and till next time folks.