Battle of the Multiverse

[HayesAJones]

Twisting towards the woman in the nightgown with one eyebrow arched, Dea pointed a finger at her and stated the obvious.

"You're not Sutekh. But I recognize this room. Persephone, right? Anyway, I've seen worse, believe me. Least you have clothes on."

The demigod glanced down at her tattered robe and ruined pants. "Besides, it's not like I'm dressed to the nines."

[Demon Lord Gira]

Persephone smiled, a genuine sweet smile one would expect from a teenager given her first car keys.

"Yes, that would be me. And Sutekh was spying on me? Oh how little faith there is..."

She shook her head. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. You must be Dea. As one of Sutekh's allies, I must welcome you... and provide you with actual clothes. I'm sure we have something back in the bedroom around your size. Anything better than tattered remains."

[Corzak The Mighty]

"In what world is an angel stronger than a god?" Nyx inquired as Crigan began to try his best to communicate with Cercil, clearly confused.

"His world is not quite the same as yours," Immanuel said. "The multiverse is wide and variable, with many worlds offering unexpected changes from the norm of another."

Nyx shrugged. "Yeah. I guess." She clicked her tongue, before she continued. "You're not gonna leave too, are you? You guys both just arrived. I'd like to at least draw up some kind of strategy to prevent this mess again."

"Unfortunately, I most likely will be leaving soon," Immanuel replied solemnly. "We need to find answers as to who this being is. And I'm afraid I know just who I need to speak to."

"And who would that be?" Nyx asked, a smirk appearing on her lips. "Must not be very friendly if you keep speaking so ominously about them."

"He is... less than pleasant," Immanuel admitted, which elicited to a chuckle from Nyx. "But his skill in tracking down fiends in the multiverse is exquisite. He is the God of Judgment, and I am sure he has already caught wind of this threat, searching for his own solution to this conflict..."
_________________________________________________________________________________
Tengri roared in fury as Hellsbane was pulled from his grasp. No! Such power - it deserved to belong to HIM! He had earned it! Before Tengri could try to pull the blade back to him, Sutekh conjured his monstrous maelstrom of psychic power, bringing nothing but devastation with him. Tengri cursed Sutekh, as he watched Ubel and the other ninjas escape. Before they vanished, Tengri made sure that Ubel caught the ire burning in the king of king's sapphire eyes.

That one... that one would be his nemesis.

Tengri let out a loud whistle, calling upon his trusty metal steed, who soon returned back to his side. As he mounted the iron beast, he saw the Kandyman's mangled body approach him. Tengri waved his hand, and soon, Kandyman's mangled body bent and warped itself back into its original, untouched state.

"Servitor," tengri said to Kandyman, staring into the eye of Sutekh's storm, "where shall we go now?"

[HayesAJones]

Dea smirked. "Sure, let's have a sleepover. We can gossip about Sutekh and his other goons. As for clothes... got anything tough? I have the feeling this is gonna keep being a problem now that I'm playing in the big leagues."

"Must be old clothes, huh?" the demigod hummed, eying Persephone up and down. "You're a tall chick. Or are they not yours? Got a shorty girlfriend or something? Or maybe an ex. Would explain why you're so eager to get rid of them."

The dark-haired woman was grinning up at her silver-haired host now. "Or maybe you just want a replacement? I'm flattered, but let's get to know each other a bit better first. Women aren't my first choice, but you try lots of things when you're my age and bored."

[Demon Lord Gira]

Crigan raised an eyebrow at the mention of the god's title. Could... Could it be, really?

As he was about to ask, a form began to manifest before him. It came together like a hologram, before it took on the crimson robed form of Cercil. "O-oh, I wasn't expecting anything from you so soon! "w-what is the progress? Status report?"

Crigan took a deep breath. Cercil seemed... antsy, as if on edge. Perhaps she had found something out. "We split up with Mulek shortly after we left, and the first world we came to was a barren wasteland. We were too late to save it. The next one we came in time to help turn the tide, but the enemy withdrew shortly afterwards. And now, we're speaking with their military commander, this woman here."

Cercil looked over at Nyx. "Oh. You are a rather young spirited girl. One that's had several restless nights and nightmares, but strong and capable. A pleasure to meet you, Nyx."

________________________________

Persephone shook her head. "Oh no, I just want to be nice, that's all. They're hand me downs, not anything from a girlfriend or the like."

She lead the way out of the throne room. It was a short walk to the bedroom, and when they entered, she made over to her drawer, and began to pull out clothes . "These clothes are all able to withstand plenty of firepower. When I was younger, I used to be something of a freedom fighter, so I got into many scuffles and skirmishes. I needed clothes that wouldn't be destroyed in a day, so one of my friends helped reinforce them with Arbanium. It's like a kind of metallic fiber that is flexible, yet highly resilient to wear and tear. I got many different kinds of clothes, so feel free to pick what you want... and a slumber party is something I haven't had in a very long time."

She giggled. " Ah, the age of youth. Me and my sister and our friend, all together in the same bed, sharing stories and pulling pranks on my dad. I miss those days, I really do."

[Godzilla165]

Ubel’s portal expanded into existence on the other side. Once the ninjas and their new friends stepped through, they found themselves bathed in moonlight. Nighttime had taken full effect in the ninja realm, a warm glow from the kingdom lights illuminated invitingly nearby, the sparkle of various foliage shined prettily across the landscape. The group had arrived outside the kingdom’s gates, the ninjas taking in a deep sigh of relief.

“Home sweet home.” Evron mentioned psychically, before reaching out and opening the towering gates with a mental push.

“Yeah...” Daeva solemnly remarked as she laid Dante carefully down in a nearby patch of grass.

Her brothers knelt down beside her. Ubel placed the backside of his hand on Dante’s cheek.

“He’s freezing cold, what do we do?”

“We get him to Hale, and fast. Let Aphrodite know, too.” Evron said.

Just then, Dante’s eyes peeled open. His vision blurred, it slowly came into focus, and the ninja Prime eeked out a pained groan.

Daeva’s eyes widened in surprise, “Dante? Dante!” She squealed and went to hug him.

“Wait wait, hold on, Peri, be careful. Let’s sit him up. Eeeasy now, eeeasy.” Evron started as they slowly and gently raised Dante to a sitting position, with Ubel and Daeva supporting his back. Evron placed both hands on Dante’s face, staring into his dimly glowing eyes. “Em, you okay, are you okay?” He asked.

Dante was silent at first, merely staring at each of his siblings with a disoriented look. He reached out to touch each of their faces. “Are you guys okay?” He feebly asked.

They all gave reassuring nods. “We’re fine, we’re just worried about you.” Ubel remarked.

“How are you feeling?” Daeva said, rubbing his back.

Dante reached up to massage his pulsating temple; his hands were a bit shaky. “I... I have a really bad headache right now.”

Evron nodded, “Well, you did just have an aneurysm a short while ago.” He spoke gently.

“Suketh had you before you passed out, big bro; he’s the one who caused it.” Ubel made mention.

“S-Suketh...” Dante weakly began, “... What happened to him, where are Nichelle and the others?”

“They’re right behind us, they’re safe, don’t worry?” Daeva said reassuringly.

Dante couldn’t turn his head to see them all for himself, but he could indeed sense their presence, which caused him to let out a relieved sigh. Evron shot Daeva a glance, to which she instantly understood, and the two of them went to help Dante to his feet, fully supporting his weight.

“Come on, Em, we’ll worry about Suketh once you’ve gotten better. Right now, we’re gonna take you to see Hale, okay?” Daeva spoke.

“Guys, I’m... I’m okay, really. I’m just worried about you.” Dante murmured, inadvertently resting his head upon Evron’s shoulder.

“We’re fine, bro, trust me. Just keep your head on my shoulder, okay? We’ll be there in no time.” Evron reassured as the three of them headed through the gates. He looked back and gave Ubel a nod to stay with Korraz and the others, to which the former complied and watched them head further towards the castle. More and more Yakuza soon started exiting from the castle, gathering worryingly around their king. When Evron and Daeva got to the castle’s main entrance, they saw Aphrodite there to meet them, her eyes too filled with angst.

“Dante? Sweetie, are you alright?” She inquired before looking to the others. “What happened?”

“We’ll tell you inside, come on, let’s get him to the emergency room.” Evron responded.

Dante craned his head to meet Aphrodite and gave her a tiny smile. “Hi, baby, I missed you.” He croaked.

Aphrodite returned the expression and placed her forehead against his. “Try not to speak too much right now, okay? We’re going to get you feeling better in no time, honey, I promise.” With that, Aphrodite took over for Evron, wrapping on of Dante’s arms around her neck, and her and Daeva carried him to see Hale with Evron right beside.

Ubel stayed outside with Nichelle, Doris, and Korraz. He reached to remove his helmet, and decided to deconstruct his whole armor and make it dissipate into violet energy trails. In its place were a pair of black jeans, and a simple grey tank top. He stressfully ran his fingers through his hair, before turning to the others.

“You know, my siblings and I, we’re sorry for dragging you three into this... I’m sorry.” Ubel apologized. “Maybe if we hadn’t come to your world, if I hadn’t suggested it... Maybe it would still be alive right now.”

Ubel gazed up at them with saddened eyes, before quickly turning away and motioning for them to follow. “Anyway, I know you ladies don’t want to stay out here forever. Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.” He stated, guilt still stricken in his voice.

[Monster X]

To my master’s ship” shouted the robot “He’ll join us there once he’s done here.” The robot then looked around desperately. “ I cannot detect Dea anywhere nearby, my master will be most displeased if she should die... but we have no time.” His chest panel opened with wet, squelch and he reached in with melting fingers. When he retracted it, in his hand was a small pyramid identical to the one Sutekh’s had used at Olwzarus’s library. Soon it began to spin and a knew rift appeared in reality

Sensing they had no time left the pair passed through the portal, which shut behind them.



Sutekh’s fury reached new heights when he sensed his enemy had escaped. With a roar he unleashed his building power.

In a flash the broken planet beneath him was completely vaporised in an explosion of psychic energy. The blast wave kept expanding however, consuming the moon, the planet Venous, part of the asteroid belt, and several outer planets. Even the gigantic burning might of the Sun couldn’t hold back the will of Sutelk and it to was annihilated. The blast kept going though, still yet to reach its peak. Eventually Mercury and Mars were also consumed in it’s wake, and soon what had remained of the solar system.

In the heart of the destruction was Sutekh, for whom this catastrophe was soothing. Soon the blast wave pestered out and he was left floating in the deathly silence of the void.

After his mind was fully calmed, he realised the full magazine of what he had almost done... and how he had failed. With those sobering thoughts, the Last of the Osirans made a rift in space time and departed this now barren sector of space.

[HayesAJones]

"Never had one," Dea shrugged as she began picking out clothes, focusing on plain athletic wear. A pair of low top sneakers and dark magenta, high-waisted pants quickly caught her eye, so she laid them to the side. "Where I come from, you got snatched up quick by the world government once you showed powers. Never really did the whole childhood thing."

She almost added that her only sibling had been much younger than her, but the words died on her tongue. Each left a bitter taste in her mouth. She didn't feel like talking about siblings anymore today. The blonde ninja had yapped enough about her brothers.

[Demon Lord Gira]

"Unfortunate, the folly of man when it comes to powers beyond their own. What is unique, they fear and try to control. What they cannot control, they snuff out like ashes after a fire."

Persephone took off her night gown, and began to put on her black bodysuit. "Where I am from, we all had powers derived from the gods. We were close to them, we worshiped them, and in return we were born with a fraction of their power. It was odder for one to not be born with such powers."

She waved her finger, and the air grew a few degrees cooler, and a white mist formed around her hand. "Mine isn't much to talk about. My old friend could control rock and steel, and my father had a voice that could travel for miles. I? I make things cold and can control ice. What can you do?"

______________________________

Nichelle and Doris, who had been let out of the pocket by Korraz once they were through the rift, were silent. Nichelle especially shuddered. It was if she could feel the explosion of the entire planet, and all within the solar system behind her, even with the rift closed.

No, her mind was still back there. The world she had called home, where Molly called home... gone, erased beyond existence. All that remained was but a field of dust and atoms. What would Molly say, if she knew everyone was gone? Her mother, no doubt worried sick about her, among the perished.

She fell to her hands and knees, and vomited.

"NIchelle!" Doris ran to her side and tried to pick her up. To her surprise, the clone was heavier than she looked, but Doris managed to get her to her feet nonetheless. "Nichelle, sorry."

"Sorry won't fix this... Sorry won't bring everyone back." She weakly whimpered. " Sorry won't bring back our home, everyone we knew. Sorry won't-"

Doris's hands grabbed Nichelle by the cheeks. To the clone's shock, Doris spoke again, but with a slower, lower voice than before. There was a sort of rhythm and flow to her voice, something that soothed away at her soul.

"Nichelle, Voz'mi sebya v ruki, pozhaluysta. My poteryali nash mir, tak mnogo my znali, no yesli my ne budem deystvovat', to yeshche bol'she budet poteryano. Nash vrag silen, no ne nepogreshim. On ne bessmerten. Togda on byl ranen, i yesli on mozhet byt' ranen, yego mozhno ubit'. Kogda ya sluzhil v korpuse, ya poteryal mnogo druzey, mnogikh yedinovertsev, kotorykh ya znal godami. Nekotoryye umerli, prinyav svoyu sud'bu, drugiye pogibli, ne skazav ni slova. Tem ne meneye, ya poobeshchal vsem im, chto ya ne pozvolyu ikh smerti propast' darom, chto ya vernus' i sdelayu ikh gordymi. Nishel', my naydem sposob ubit' yego i, vozmozhno, sposob otmenit' to, chto on sdelal. Yesli takoy bog, kak on, obladayet takoy siloy, to my mozhem zastavit' yego otmenit' to, chto on sdelal, ili nayti drugogo, kto smozhet. Nishel', kogda my naydem Boginyu i drugikh i vernem ikh obratno, my vernem ikh v vosstanovlennyy, obnovlennyy mir, a ne v razbitoye pole kamney. Pozhaluysta, radi nikh i vsekh ostal'nykh, naydite v sebe sily vstat' i prodolzhat' srazhat'sya, pozhaluysta."

The clone shuddered. She... She had to keep going. She couldn't lose faith now. Not for those who had perished. Not for Molly or Demmy or the others. Not for Dante. And not for those who might be Sutekh's next victims.

She had to keep moving.

She managed to control her body, and her eyes watered. "I... Yes. You're absolutely right. We have to keep trying, We cannot stop here, and we cannot let Sutekh continue this destruction and madness. Thank you, Doris. Thank you."

She looked over at Ubel. "A tour... would be nice, yes." she finally said.

[Corzak The Mighty]

Tengri huffed. Typical of the girl to run off on her own. Her life was of no matter, anyways - she had consistently proven to be a liability to their plans. Without hesitation, Tengri followed Kandyman into the portal...
_____________________________________________________________________________
Nyx and Immanuel both froze at the mention of her rough nights. Nyx wondered to herself how had the angel known she was having trouble sleeping at night, while Immanuel had a sinking feeling as to what exactly had happened.

"Okay, first thing, how the FUCK do you know my name?" Nyx asked. "Nobody mentioned it yet. And how do you know I have trouble sleeping at night?"

"I do not think you are who you say you are," Immanuel replied, his wings sprouting from his back. "There's no need to hide yourself, dream demon. Show yourself."

[Demon Lord Gira]

Crigan had been caught off guard by what Cercil had said. The archangel had many powers, but dreams was never one of them. She also wasn't omnipotent despite her power, so she had no way of knowing Nyx's name...

Unless...

"W-wait! Immanuel, let's not be hasty." Cercil stammered. "Is it not my responsibility to-"

The spectral form fizzled. Crigan's arm swung through it, and as the form reassembled, for but a moment, what appeared in its place was not Cercil. The black leathery wings were instead like those of a dragonfly, emerald green and crystalline in the pattern upon them. The red robes were instead a white flowing dress, and the head was covered in a hood. Only the fiend's smile could be seen, a twisted mockery of a smile, and the scepter that had been in her hand was instead that of a purple veined budding flower. Yet, the true form was only for a moment, as the spectral form remolded back into Cercil's image, though the same twisted smile remained.

"Oops! I guess I said too much. Still, you boys keep doing a fine job, and while you were out partying with the locals, another world was destroyed, an entire solar system at that. Don't come back until you've settle this! Goodbye!"

"Imposter! STOP!"

The spectral form vanished, and Crigan was only left clawing at thin air. His right arm glowed, and he tried to tear open a rift back into Makai, but his entire body was wracked with an unnatural pain. Dark purple lightning flowed from the rift opening into his hands and down his body, and the God was flung across the room into the wall, as the rift closed once more.

Yet, around the two gods and Nyx, the voice of the fake Cercil rang out. "Sutekh the Destroyer. That is the name of your enemy. But, believe me when I say, neither of you hold a candle to his power, especially not you, Rangis, God of Death." The voice cackled with laughter, and then faded away....


__________________________

In the empty reaches of space, what had once been the world the Ninja's family and Sutekh had fought on was nothing but a dead land. An empty vaccuum, filled with dust, debris, and the souls of the dead. Eight billion souls of man, many more of various creatures, all snuffed of life against their will, doomed to float in the aether forever.

Yet, they were not forgotten. Across what had once been the planet, rifts opened. Tendrils reached through and wrapped around the formless souls and began to pull them back in by the tens of thousands. It was a harvest for them to collect, a harvest that would serve a greater purpose...

And one the gods would have no say in. Nor would Makai, or the angels that dwelled within...

[Godzilla165]

Giving an understanding nod, Ubel led the trio into the kingdom. As the three, smaller beings strolled through the open doors, so too did Korraz due to the ceiling, and overall space easily accommodating her towering height and enormous bulk. Her hairy feet clunked and thumped over the marble flooring. Various Yakuza had stopped whatever they were doing to gaze at the mysterious guests, a lot of them even greeting the three women with warm smiles and friendly waves. Others merely stayed respectfully back and watched on curiously, bowing as Ubel casually made his way though the expansive hall. A plethora of different rooms, avenues, and spaces were placed intricately on either side of the group, all fairly quiet from it being late at night, and from the events that just transpired a minute ago.

As Ubel continued to lead Nichelle and co. along, pointing out different places and things of interest, a tall, slim, and balding old man came up to greet them. He gave a respectful bow before reaching out to shake Ubel’s hand.

“Prince Ubel, it is good to see you all have made it home safe and sound.” He greeted with a smile, and then turned his attention to the trio behind the ninja. “Ah, and who are your lovely guests?”

Ubel grinned, “Good to see you, Theo. These are my friends, that’s Doris, this is Nichelle, and that’s Korraz up there.”

The man, now known as Theo, gave a little bow before meeting each of their eyes. “It is very nice to meet you girls, you can call me Theo; I serve as one of the head blacksmiths in the kingdom.”

“You know, Korraz here happens to be a blacksmith herself.” Ubel pointed out.

Theo’s brown eyes lit up with interest, “Is that so? A fine, fiine profession to choose, my dear; there aren’t enough of us in the multiverse anymore, not enough of the passionate ones, that is.” Theo smiled at the titan, “I can both see and feel that you are just that, dear child. You keep that passion alive.”

Turning back to Ubel, Theo wondered what pleasure the kingdom had of welcoming such fine guests. Ubel’s eyes glowed solemnly, and his face grew sad.

“They... They just lost their home, along with countless others.” He stated.

Theo’s enthusiastic expression turned into one of empathy and sorrow, as he turned to make his way over to the three. He reached out and took Nichelle’s hand into his. “You have my deepest condolences, young one, all of you do. No living being should ever be dispelled from the place they call home, under any circumstance.” He remarked, giving the cyborg’s hand a soft pat before letting it go. “I am certain however, that his majesty will insist on letting you all stay here for as long you like, when he is well again. We have plenty of room.”

Giving them all one final, warm glance, Theo bowed once more to Ubel, “Your highness.” He remarked, and headed off to the right.

Ubel waved a goodbye, “Talk to you later, Theo.” He said, before motioning the others to continue following. “Hey, Daeva, just checking in. How’re things going over there? How’s Em doing?”

“Hale just took him in to run some tests now, so we don’t know just yet, but I think he’ll be okay soon.” Daeva psychically responded.

“I know he will.” Ubel reassured.

“Hey, so how are Doris and those doing? How’s everyone been treating them?”

“They’re still a bit shaken from everything that’s happened, but I think they’re doing a bit better. Everyone’s been super nice so far, too, which is to be expected, honestly.” Ubel said.

“Good deal. Hey, why don’t you take them up to my room and let them get washed up, and then find some clothes to wear out of my closet... And if my stuff doesn’t fit, then Aphrodite said that they can go through hers.” Daeva gladly offered.

“Okay, I’ll let them know, and then I’ll come trade out with one of you guys too if you want. I don’t wanna go the rest of the night without laying eyes on Dante one more time.”

“If they want, they can just hang in my room or wherever else until I get there. I dunno, they might just feel like being alone for a little while, Ubie.” Daeva mentioned.

Ubel gazed at the tired looking beings, “Okay, I’ll let you know, okay... Love you too, bye.” Ubel cut the mental link and turned to Nichelle and co. “Come on, I’ll take you up to Daeva’s room to wash up and change into some other clothes; she doesn’t mind at all. And then, maybe we can think about getting some food in you guys, yeah?”

[Monster X]

Sutekh appeared upon the Deck of The Eclipse of Ra. He was admonishing himself for allowing his fear to gain mastery of him. The key to all he desired had been right their for the taking and he’d tried to destroy it! Now he was going to have to find Dante all over again!

The Osiran then finally noticed Tengri and the Kandyman, and that someone was missing. “Where’s Dea?” he asked. It was the Kandyman who spoke first. “I tried to find her master but I couldn’t before...” the robot cut itself befor he blurted out that Sutekh had tried to vaporise them all.

“I’m not entirely certain but I believe I felt her leave before the planet was destroyed.” stated the Osiran. “How that happened I cannot be shore but for the time being her fate is her own. If we find her again her place among us will depend on her explanation, if she still wish’s to part of our alliance.”

He then turned his attention to Tengri. “I’m note above admitting my own failures Tengri. Dante escapes due to my over-site. We need to form a new strategy.”

[Corzak The Mighty]

Immanuel's body tensed, subconsciously moving his body to protect as many people in the hangar as possible as the black lightning shot out. But it soon became apparent that the attack was no threat to the people in the hanagar - only to Crigan. Seeing his ally flung across the room, Immanuel moved to his side to check on his condition.

"Holy shit!" Nyx shouted, turning to some of the personnel in the hangar. "Get medical in here, stat!" The personnel nodded before running into the nearby facility.

"Is he gonna be alright?"

"Most likely," Immanuel stated solemnly. "But unfortunately, it seems our main ally besides the two of us is gone now. Though at the very least we know what threat we face." A warm light soon enveloped Crigan, its soothing power protecting him form for further damage and causing the painful sensations to disappear.

"This 'Sutekh'... he is a threat to all of us. An active threat. The sooner we find and defeat him, the better."

"What about that flowery bitch? Shouldn't we deal with her as well?" Nyx said.

"She will have to wait," Immanuel replied. "More than likely, the fiend has found a way to ensure her plans go unchallenged. Even if we were to confront her now, we would only be wasting time with dealing with the true threat. If the demon succeeds, she controls one world. If Sutekh succeeds, there will be no worlds left."

Nyx nodded in agreement. "That's about what I figured. Better to protect more than risk everything on a small gambit."

Immanuel nodded, before pausing. "So, if I recall, you mentioned wanting to make some sort of defensive strategy to prevent another invasion."

"Oh, right.. about that," Nyx said, scratching the back of her head. "I've made up my mind now. I don't think I can bear sitting here in the background, knowing that there's something out there that'll just cause this to happen again. I want to go out there and fight too."

Immanuel crossed his arms. "I do not think that is wise. You are too important for this world to lose. And even if you do desire to fight, it is far too dangerous. These forces are beyond anything you could reasonably handle. They may be beyond what even Crigan and I can handle. It is better for you to remain here to protect and guide your people."

Nyx shook her head. "No, I insist. I can't let shit like that fly without repercussions again. Besides, we got backup commanders for when I'm absent." She smiled warmly at the god. "And I know how to take care of myself. I got some toys that'll keep me up to snuff with you two."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
"The loss of the girl is of no consequence, lord Sutekh," Tengri replied, rubbing the 'mane' of his iron horse. "I witnessed her interfere on behalf of the female ninja and the one who wields Hellsbane during my battles. She also aided in your enemies' escape. To allow her back into our team would be a liability."

Tengri smiled at the mention of a new strategy. "Strategies are one of my strong suits. May I ask for a map of these stellar systems? No war is won without proper set-up. If we are to defeat Dante and his brood, we must strangle every avenue of alliance and escape they may have; once they are fully isolated, we will be able to destroy them once and for all."

The King of Kings cracked his neck to relieve some of his body's tension. "And, my lord, may I ask that you allow me to return to my homeworld for but the briefest of respites? My people have a weapon that may prove quite useful for our endeavors..."

[Demon Lord Gira]

Even with the light of Immanuel, the pain was only subdued somewhat. As Crigan struggled to his feet, his body twitched and sparked with the purple lightning. He collapsed onto his knees, his breath ragged and skin covered in dark blotches.

"T-thank you... Immanuel." He winced. He finally rose to his feet, and the electrical arcs ceased. Still, it hurt just to stand. "I... I was not expecting that..."

He coughed. "Nyx, you said you were used to... dealing with monsters and world ending threats, correct? Could you... elaborate on that, please? Perhaps you might be able... to fight alongside us."

Still, to leave Makai in the hands of a monster for now... it burned away at Crigan's heart. Cercil was the oldest living friend the God of Death still had. No matter what had happened, no matter the losses, she had always been there to help, to support and to fight by his side. To think there was nothing he could do, nothing at all to help her, to help the entirety of Makai against this imposter...

But, who even was this imposter? Despite the pain that ran through the God of Death's mind, several ideas flooded through, and none of them were ideal...

_______________________

"Food, yes, good." Doris nodded. "Eaten not today. Hungry yes."

Nichelle as well nodded. All of this, for them. She... She couldn't. It was almost too much. "Thank you, Ubel. It's... Thank you."

Korraz began to hand gesture, and Nichelle was quick to translate. "She would like some tea, and if there are any beds her size available."

[HayesAJones]

"Me?" Dea repeated as she pulled a long-sleeved, light pink jogging shirt from the pile of clothes supplied by the lord of Sheol. Turning towards Persephone and giving the dark-skinned, hoary-haired woman a small, mischievous smile, she threw the fresh shirt to the side and began peeling off the old, dirtied one. Her exposed core and naked leg tightened, and the room shuddered in response. The sound of her flexing was almost audible, filling the room with vibrations. The air itself was quivering.

"I'm strong," the demigod said simply. "I hit hard and can get hit hard."

The dark-haired woman released the tension in her muscles, and the throne room- perhaps even the whole palace- seemed to relax in turn. "Nothing fancy, but sometimes you just need a hammer, right? Lots of times, actually; if you swing hard enough, that is. I was the biggest hammer where I come from, but not now. It's great. I was so bored."

Simply tearing away her ruined trousers, Dea started pulling the dark, reddish pants up her legs. "So how'd you get to the top if all you can do is make ice cubes, Persy? Was that a fib or are your enemies just stupid? Or is ice that valuable down here? I'd pay for ice. I miss refrigerators."

[Demon Lord Gira]

"Nothing that fancy, I'll admit." Perserphone chuckled. "Though your strength, that is quite something. I don't think I've seen anyone pull off a simple but intimidating trick quite like that."

She sat down on her bed and stretched her arms upward. "I had a lot of help. Like I said, I used to be a freedom fighter, and the previous ruler was a monstrous demon who wanted to wipe out mankind. As I myself am kind of human, I helped to bring him down, but not without many casualties. By the time the dust settled, I was one of the only few left, along with the local scientist here and my strongest ally of those original freedom fighters. Really, the only reason I keep the throne is because of my friend. She's carried me through thick and thin, and put down every usurper with her talents and power. Never once did she complain or turn her back on me. She is as reliable, and faithful, as one could hope for any partner. Though, even she has her limits, and right now, she's recovering from those limits being eclipsed."

[Godzilla165]

Ubel winked, “Like old man Theo said, we’ve got plenty of room. Matter of fact, I think there’s a room across from Daeva that’d be perfect Korraz. Come on, you guys can go wash up while I get some tea and supper going.” As Ubel started up the lengthy ceramic stairs in front of them, he stopped and pointed to two, giant doors on the right of them. “The main kitchen is through those doors, when you guys come back down. I’ll find you all if you get lost; this place can be a maze sometimes, I’m not gonna lie.” He chuckled and escorted the group up the stairway.

When they reached Daeva’s room on the far side of a long hallway, Ubel reached to grab the sculpted wooden door handle, and pushed the heavy door open to reveal a room that was the size of a large basketball court. Allowing Nichelle and Doris to walk through first, they walked across reinforced, stained glass flooring that was sat underneath a large portrait of the ninjas’ mother painted on the ceiling. In the center of the room was a large, brown leather couch with a bronze table sitting in front of it. Sat atop was an asteroid about the size of a softball, three, messily stacked books, Daeva’s camera, and a framed picture of the siblings all together. To the right of the couch was Daeva’s silver colored bed with navy blue sheets and about a dozen pillows. Built into the wall on the left side of the bed, was a bookshelf stuffed to the brim with various books, and Swift Redemption surprisingly hung above it.

Straight towards the back was an entire wall of windows that spanned at least 20 feet high, granting an amazing view of the realm’s never ending horizon. To the left, were a pair of intricate wooden doors that led to the living room, and were separated by a large, glass wall that stuck out. Tucked behind it was a large, diamond door that housed Daeva’s closet.

Ubel pointed at the double doors, “The shower and hot spring are through there, to the left, and the closet’s over there. Take anything you want, Peri wears like, two percent of whatever’s in there.” He said. “And hey, Nichelle,” the tired ninja began, “don’t mention it, alright? It’s the least we can do. The three of you can stay here for as long as you want, and I mean it.”

With a warm smile, Ubel patted her on the shoulder, “I’ll give you all some privacy.” With that, he headed out the bedroom to meet the awaiting Korraz stood in the hallway. “You can hang tight here, big girl, I’m gonna go make some tea.” Ubel , before heading back in the direction of the kitchen. He suddenly stopped and pointed towards a massive, golden door across from Daeva’s room. “Oh! And there’s the room for you I was talking about, I hope it’s big enough for ya.”

Ubel shot her a grin and continued towards the kitchen.

[Beast Blood]

Korraz smirked back to Ubel, thanking him with a respectful gesture of her hand. She turned and followed Hod, who had flown off her shoulder and waddled onto the floor towards the set of golden doors.

[Monster X]

Sutekh absorbed Tengri’s words. So Dea had proven unreliable after all. For all her bluster and amusing statements, she was still conceited, hypocritical human. As the warlord had stated she was of no us to them going forward... and should she try to make a pest of herself in the future the Osiran would send her to a cage that would make her wish to be on her home world.

“Very well Tengri, you may return to your realm.” Sutekh the produced from within his robs one of the pyramids both he and the Kandyman had used. “This is a device of my own making, it can allow you to travel anywhere you wish provided you already know its exact location. They have been tested extensively and will not fail you, however only my mental powers grant us the ability to travel to unknown world, all be it at random. When you get back I will provide you with a full itinerary of the marshal power I can bring to bear and we shall work on an effective strategy on how to use them. As for the worlds of our enemies, the world of the Yakuza’s location is unknown to me but I will be correcting shortly. The world the human girls came from is naturally of little consequence but that large creature that was with them, my forces had attacked it’s realm and I can grant you as much insight as I can.”

The small pyramid floated over to Tengri and landed softly on his waiting palm.

“While your gone I will pay Owlzarus another visit and ask him about the exact location of the Yakuza. While he will also provide aid to our enemies, he cannot refuse a question asked of him. I will also put my singular puppets back into use. They will seek out more suitable allies to join our army.”

The Destroyer finally turned his attention back to waiting, misshapen form of the Kandyman. “As for you, you performed you task to the best of your abilities but it is abundantly clear that even with the modifications I made, you are too weak and limited for combat against the kind of enemies we face.” The Kandyman was suddenly bathed in the light of Sutekh’s powerful gaze. In a flash he was whole once again... but he felt weaker and his mind diminished. “I release you from my survive Kandyman, for your loyalty I have restored your body and will send you to place were you may continue the acts which brought me much amusement, but I also take back the power and knowledge I gave you. When you go you will also forget all that has occurred during your time with me” The Kandyman was about to protest but before he could speak, he was gone.

Sutekh looked back to Tengri. “Like Dea, he was only in my service because they amused me” answering the question written on the warlords face. “I am not about to make the same mistake twice. Besides why should I keep around a tool if it has no use?”