Battle of the Multiverse

[MinorBone Good]

Xpveinees aimed her spear towards the small Quatheral and poked her with it. "Youuu stupid little Cider! Why don't you ever listen?" Xpveinees questioned the bunny. She was ready to kick her out into space at this point. She really wouldn't care at this point.

Cider just shrugged and just started to brush herself off. "Hey gal, if you didn't want me coming, you should've closed the portal faster!"

"I had to take the time to seal it. Which means we have no. Way. Back. At least for a bit."

"Well, looks like you're all stuck with me then!"

"Yeah, regrettably." Xpveinees said with animosity. She looked around the large room, gasping aloud. "Geez, this is way bigger than the temple. Kinda hard to breath though. That's a bit weird." Xpveinees leaned in close towards something she really couldn't see. She groaned and looked over towards Cider, whose body was glowing in the dark. She sighed. "Well, since you're here, make yourself useful I guess."

Normally Cider would object, but she had already made Xpveinees pissed enough. Could do without the insult however. She hopped on over to Xpveinees, and showed what Xpveinees what exactly she was looking at. Some strange robot being! Aha! So a sign of life!

Xpveinees lifted the robot up using her free hand. Xpveinees was always a bit kinder to more of the technology based Quatherals like herself. This was good news! "Hello there little guy! We are looking for a guy named Tengri! Blue fellow! Metal limbs I think?" The other robot remained silent, even when Xpveinees began to shake it. "Hellllooo? You okay bud?" She wiggled it around further before looking at O'nugulao. "Uhhh, gonna need help here!"

O'nugulao was busy pressing their hand against the walls of the room. It was pulsing. This thing was alive! Intriguing. At the request of Xpveinees, O'nugulao made their way over to to her. After looking at the robot and then back at Xpveinees, he squinted his eyes at her. "It's deactivated.."

"...Oh." Xpveinees immediately dropped the robot, only to glare at the laughing form of Cider. "Let's get out of this room. I hate this room now."

Suddenly, the door to the room suddenly opened, unaware of the mischievous Mitsif who opened it to cause some trouble.

Cider's ears perked up. "Oh, sweet! Guess this place is voice activated!"

"I don't think that's how that works."

"Whatever! I'm taking it!" The young Quatheral shrugged and swaggered out of the room, ready to meet Tengri with the other Quatheral beings following closely behind.
_______________________________________________________________

Before Aphrodite and Dante could answer, a small ghost soon faded into of view of Dante and Owlzarus. The little ghost waved excitedly at Owlzarus. "IT'S YOUUU!! Hey hey hey!! It's me, buddy! Boore! Wooooww we went on a journey since we last met!" Boore was always so excited to see Owlzarus. It seemed like in this ream, their one person to see them rule was broken. Even though Aphrodite didn't see them.

Boore swirled around the room, giggling out loud. Awww you should've been there! It was sooo cool! I would've cried if I could of! Of PUUURREEE JOOOOY!!!" Boore flew back around towards Dante and hugged the back of Dante's head tightly, his infectious joy spreading throughout Dante's body.
________________________________________________________

Drillgore grinned back at Tengri. "Excellent, friend. I will deliver your supplies shortly. Do not forget however, that Dante and his siblings and allies are all the greater threats than Persephone. Do not let this feud cloud your vision completely. Goodbye and good luck." With that, Drillgore ended the call, and returned back to work...

[Godzilla165]

Daeva smiled an empathetic one. She knew all too well how it was like to smile when things weren't alright, to put on a mask and perform for friends and family, when in all honesty, she really just wanted to curl up in her bed for a few days. She's long since moved on from that, but there was a span of time where the smile on Daeva's face may as well have just been painted on.

"It's okay, I understand what you're saying. My brothers say that I ramble a lot too, which is crazy, can you believe that, me, rambling? I mean, there's no way, right? Like, yeah sure, I can talk sometimes, but that's not the same thing as rambling, right? Do you have a dictionary? Are those a thing here? Maybe we could look up the definition of ram-" Daeva's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she closed her eyes to sheepishly flash a grin. "Sorry, guess I'm that great of a liar either, eh?"

Her expression then became serious, and she rested her hands on her hips. "In any case, you've answered one of our questions already" Daeva replied and turned to Fray. "Looks like Noraage is where we're gonna be for a little bit, until we can regroup with everyone." She reset her gaze back to their friendly traveler. "Is... There anything that either of us can do to help out here? Is there any way for that ceiling to come down? How did it get there in the first place?"

_______________________________________________________

Ubel stopped playing upon Beetle's request, shot her a grin, before summoning another one of his many guitars for her. Upon first glance, it didn't look like anything special, just a regular old, wooden acoustic that had been polished and cared for very well. Yet, upon handing it Beetle, Ubel let out a single chuckle. "Don't let its simple design fool you, play her wrong, and she bites, literally." He pointed to the dozens of tiny, spring loaded metal barbs that were spaced out along the frets. "I got it when Evron and I busted this trafficking outlet that was disguised as a regular old drug house."

"Ugh, don't even remind me about that shit." Evron took a puff, shuddered, and then shook his head. "We'd been following that trail for months before we finally busted their asses. All of those kids... Some people really are genuinely sick bastards."

"Yeah, they are." Ubel shook the images of that day out of his mind, and went back to the guitar. "Anyway, it was just lying there on one of the beds; I guess one of the dealers must've owned it. Why the need for metal barbs, I have no idea, but..."

Having given Beetle the guitar, Ubel leaned back to grab his, strummed a little ditty, and smiled. "Think you're up for the challenge?"

_______________________________________________________

Whereas Aphrodite chose a more subdued approach to greeting Owlzarus, bowing and flashing with a smile that could light up a room... Dante had something else in mind. He grinned massively, before going in to hug the librarian tight, nestling his chin upon the deity’s feathered shoulder.

“Thank you for always believing in me... You’ve guided me down the right path so many times, and I couldn’t be more grateful.” Dante murmured, before pulling back to look into Owlzarus’s massive eyes. “You’re the closest person to a father that we’ve ever had... And, it’s because of you, Owlzarus, that I was brave enough to go to my father’s resting place, and face my demons. You played a huge part in this.”

“Boore’s right, too... It was pretty awesome.” Aphrodite chimed in, shooting the tiny ghost a wink.

Dante snickered before continuing. “We did it, Owlzarus... We actually did it! We went into the black hole, fought the dark side of myself that’s been tormenting me for so long, and then the Inferno Demon showed up, and they almost won to be fair... But then, this... Entity... This woman, she shows up out of nowhere and takes me to the pool of creation inside the Core, and she gives me this power... A power that’s apparently been inside both me and my siblings this whole time, and one that helped us to beat not only the darkness within me... But to do like you said before and join together with it, make it into something more, a symbol of light instead of destruction.”

The Ninja Prime grabbed Owlzarus’s shoulders as excitement crept into his eyes again. “And, the biggest, most important part of all this? I forgave him, Owlzarus... I forgave my father. For what he did to me, my siblings, our people, the multiverse... All of it! That burning hatred that I had for him, it’s gone. So, while I’ll never forget all that he did, I won’t let him hold a dark cloud over my heart anymore. I’m free, old friend... We’re free.”

Aphrodite smiled and quickly wiped a tear away; she had to hold it together. “Babe... I think that it’d be good to show Owlzarus what you’re talking about.”

Dante nodded, “I think that’s a good idea, hun.”

Standing back from the avian god, Dante closed his eyes to focus, to clear his mind of every thought that passed through it, and allow for the divinity to wash over him. He drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and, when he exhaled, then did his entire body become awash in white light that filled the entire library. Seconds later, as the glow ceased, Dante’s ascended nature was revealed to the knowledge god. Clad in iridescent armor, hair as brilliantly white as heaven, and angel wings splayed proudly behind him... The Ninja Angel was here yet again. However, he wasn’t yet finished. He calmly extended a hand out to his side, and turned it upwards as if in invitation to someone.

“Are you there, beautiful one?” He asked aloud. And, moments later, large traces of energy swept off of his hand to funnel and circulate in a dance, twisting and maneuvering around until they joined together to form a huge, powerful shape. Soon, golden eyes peered curiously and pleasantly down at Owlzarus, and a beautiful hum emanated from its throat. He found himself staring not at the horrific demon of hate and malice, but instead at the divinely present Celestial Angel.

Dante reopened his eyes and turned to look proudly at the beautiful being, reaching out to rub along its neck, and head as it bent down to greet him. He turned to Owlzarus and smiled. “You‘ve never stopped believing in me, nor any of us, old friend... And this is the result of that, your love and guidance... Thank you.” He spoke warmly.

The Celestial Angel turned to him and bowed in respect to the ancient being. It was also eternally grateful.
_______________________________________________________

The young trio whirled around immediately after the explosion of wood was strewn about everywhere. Not long after, they were firmly on the defensive against whom ever had mounted an attack against the estate. Vale summoned her razor whip, as Hayden did his spear, and Alexei his staff, and they readied for battle against whoever this strange woman was.

Noting that both Cthelee and Uquillious were still close by with the children, and now Evoex having joined the fray, Vale glanced in their direction to motion them away.

“Cthelee, Uquillious, the two of you take the children, and find somewhere safe. Don’t come out until we give you the all clear, got it? Evoex, go with them.” She calmly ordered.

“You heard the lady, go, now!” Alexei echoed while keeping his eyes glued to this, Dèng, person.

Hayden raised an eyebrow; something was curiously off about her. “Guys, have you noticed that she looks a lot like those... What’d Prince Ubel call them again?” He asked.

“Humans.” Alexei answered. “And yeah, I definitely noticed.”

“But, I’m picking up a ton of power coming from her... And alcohol. Whoever or whatever she is, she’s definitely not your average human based on what his highness described.” Hayden scoffed as a smirk formed. “So much for getting some fresh air.”

Vale narrowed her icy blue eyes at the woman. “It’s Dèng, right? Who are you, and how do you know Lord Dante? Why are you here?” She demanded, whilst mentally signaling for Hayden and Alexei to spread out and inch towards her flanks.

“How do you know us? Where exactly did you read about us?” Alexei asked, all the while edging closer to cover Dea’s left flank, while Hayden stalked to her right.

“Whatever class you’re offering, we’ll have to say no, sorry; we don’t need a substitute teacher, especially not one like you.” Boasted Hayden.

[MinorBone Good]

Boore gasped once Aphrodite acknowledged him. She could actually see him! Well, maybe it was just being able to hear. Owlzarus's library was always a bit wonky with their apparent ghost rules.

The little happy ghost would've teared up at Dante's talk with Owlzarus if he had eyes. Instead, he hugged Dante even tighter, it was the least he could do. Boore continued to look in awe as Dante soon summoned the angel. It truly was a beautiful moment to witness, even if he only knew Dante for a day at this point.

Booled however was focusing on something else. The depressed ghost being floated over towards the large ceiling, sensing something... off. He quite couldn't put a finger on it. Booled continued to scan around until he saw something flicker. He quickly turned to face it and look at it carefully. The light flickered again. Another flicker further down. The presence soon made sense to Booled. The murderous Quatheral was lurking.

[Demon Lord Gira]

True to form, Mulek followed alongside Immanuel, though the god's mutterings did make her think. Why indeed WOULD he choose a place like this for his base? Was it because he was a pirate and thus needed water? No, that would be too literal. Such literal thoughts had been something she was used to in the past, but Cercil had been quick to force her thought process to be more flexible. Or maybe, Hercules just liked water?

No, there had to be something else to it, something strategic, something that could be used to his advantage.. But what? Her eyes shifted from the oceanic basin beneath her to the vessel they were approaching. The familiar soul there, perhaps that was a reason why...

_________________________________

Tenkarus's smirk faded away at the Borskall's words. Her left hand clenched into a fist, and her eyes began to twitch. She jerked her head to the side with a “hmph!”

“That's just your own failings at work!” She huffed. The Celestial began to walk off, her right hand waving off the Borskall like they were gnats. “If you truly were such great warriors, then you wouldn't suffer wounds like-”

She stopped. The Celestial turned to look toward the Ninja's home, and lowered herself down onto a knee. Her opened hand pressed against the ground.

“Now, I'm not an expert of this planet, but small scale earthquakes aren't supposed to be the norm here, and localized in such a way?”

_______________________________________

Minerva's smile grew as she rose from her kneeled position. “I am honored to lead the campaign against the Evening Star. I will not fail you.”

With a flap of her wings, Minerva rose high into the sky, far above the armies of Tengri. She spotted the one he spoke of, the warrior clad in black, and descended next to them. Proditor landed beside her, and took on his humanoid form. Minerva gave a gentle bow to the warlord in black.

“Tengri informed me I should speak with you first. I am all ears, and willing to listen and cooperate.”

“As am I.” Proditor muttered. For but a brief moment, there was a look of dissatisfaction on his face, or rather annoyance, but it was only for a moment...

________________________________________

Karzahni gave a nervous laugh as the plant being receded. The less he had to look at it, the better.

Yet, something Hercules said stuck in his mind. That brew... made from... the essences of the gods? Was he... like Persephone then? What she had done to the many of her enemies before he had abandoned ship? Was Hercules's ability to do so derived from the same source?

Was Hercules... an alternate reality version of Persephone in that case?

Karzahni mentally shook his head. No! Preposterous! One Persephone was already too much for him to bare, but TWO, even so different... He couldn't handle the thought! Why had his mind thought of such a horrid notion? Coincidence! It had to be coincidence! Just sheer dumb luck both figures he found himself under had that kind of capability and charisma to them.

“If you are truly certain that plant is loyal to you, then I won't argue with you on that.” Karzahni finally said. “ If it can kill this Godzilla you fear, perhaps it can also deal with the despot I had to serve...”

__________________________________

Despite their distance across the Multiverse, both Dante and Evron felt a presence within their minds and hearts, and a familiar sweet voice, the childish nature of the Heart itself speak to them.

“Tengri... is on the move.” The Heart spoke to both of them, and only to them. “The time has come... The time to save... the Multiverse. You know where... to find me... for the both of you... The Solution is... at hand... Ehehehe...Hehehehehe.”

The voice of The Heart left them, but both of the Ninjas could sense the Heart's location, where it was, in a tiny pocket dimension of its own...

_____________________________________

The Saiyan moved faster than Tyralus could react. Such blistering speed, such power held within such a tiny frame, it terrified the great reptile. For hundreds of thousands of years, he had been one of the mightiest beings in Sheol, a king who had reclaimed his throne just as often as he had lost it to freaks of nature and abominations. Only Minos was so strong she could put him down again and again, with no way for him to even lay a finger on her.

And this... this mortal, was of the same calibur, no, possibly even greater than her?!

Greater than... perhaps... Persephone herself...No, definitely....

The uppercut lifted Tyralus clear off the ground. His jaws rattled from the impact, and several of his jagged fangs cracked and shattered, leaving behind bleeding gums and holes in his otherwise formidable array of fangs.Many hundreds of his army were crushed beneath his bulk, and a crater formed from the impact. Yet, before the dust could even begin settling, the reptile rose once more. The wyverns and harpies under his control began to surge toward Goku...

“NO.” Tyralus hissed. That one command stopped his armed forces. Once he was certain no one else would come near, Tyralus shifted his gaze back toward the Saiyan.

“Your power is admirable, and not of this world. None of the gods even compare. Nor these wretched humans. None of my army is a match for you.” His voice was lower than before, no longer roaring and bellowing, but almost silent for someone of his size. “I see now that you are beyond what I am capable of, Saiyan. Fighting you is a death sentence, though I see not the same for your friend.”

A low chuckle escaped his maw. “I concede, and I will leave this place, and its people, alone, in exchange for two things. First, are you an ally of the God of Death Crigan? And secondly, if you are not and are truly a stranger in this land... I will withdraw my forces, if you agree to kill my queen, Persephone, for me.”

-----
As Jake landed on the ground, what he saw was a slaughtering ground. Tens of thousands of bodies, both human and demon, were strewn across the town and its streets. Already, ravens had begun to arrive to feast off the carcasses. The air stank of the scent of death, and Jake could see that many of the buildings were closed off and boarded up, though between the cracks in the boards he could see fearful, frightened eyes.

Out of the corner of Jake's vision, was a flash of silver hair. The air seemed to grow cold, as the locks of silver and a furred cape vanished into a building, an abandoned home...

[Cryptid_Liker]

FIVE DAYS AGO



Aezin woke up to an urgent distress call. If it was anyone else, she would've payed no attention. But to her shock, it was the Ambassador. She looked out the window. The view of the Nu'in capital looked unremarkable at a glance but she knew something was off. The daylight horizon was a pale violet instead of the usual greenish-grey she was used to. Four-winged roaches buzzed around in the air, one landing on the window. Aezin got in the Night Owl and prepared to take off but the thrusters stalled. When the ship finally took off, it went out of control. The armored pilot attempted to steer but she was too late, crashing straight into a building.

When she landed, Aezin became even more confused. Instead of the usual glass and debris she'd expect to see, the building collapsed into dust and the giant talons of some dead beast fell from the foundation. Only then did the cyborg realize what had happened. Nu'in had collided and merged with another planet. But she could deal with this later. The Ambassador was in danger and she needed to get him out. The Night Owl left the now-malformed planet and shot into space.

The Ambassador had been located in a solar system far from Nu'in. Outside of the ship, everything had been distorted in some way. Young stars had supernova'd, what looked like giant worms curled across multiple galaxies, and at one point, a gas giant had warped right in front of the Night Owl while imploding. Eventually, she made it to the area where the distress signal came from. And there it was; the Ambassador's ship. It had clearly been ruptured by some unknown force. The planets were frozen in time while vaporizing but the sun had been modified even more. A star that was once bright had been reduced to a gelatinous mass, chunks slowly breaking off of it.

Aezin boarded the destroyed ship and started to search for her superior and father. All that she could see was debris and liquified flesh. But after going through the chaotic aftermath of some eldritch event, Aezin found the Ambassador. He was fortunately alive, albeit disfigured. Right as they were about to leave the ship, a twenty-fingered hand grabbed ahold of the cyborg. In one twirl, the bounty hunter pulled out her Malachite Cutlass and cleaved through a couple of the thing's fingers. She hurried to the Night Owl and upon lifting on, destroyed the ship's remnants with a bottom-mounted cannon.

A couple hours later, the two made it back to the Lapis Nebula, but their journey was in vain. The planet had withered away to its mantle and as far as Aezin knew, she and the Ambassador were the only ones who made it out. The Ambassador was hated across the nebula so if they're going to survive, they needed to get as far from this place as possible. But things were only going to get worse.

[HayesAJones]

Brow knit tight, Dea picked at her ear with a pinkie.

"Uh, can you give me a ring next time, Drillbo? I'm sort of in the middle of something. Look, Pinkie Pie there will probably get disintegrated in the crossfire, so don't worry about it."

The superhuman cleared her throat. "Hey, sorry about that. I got a call. You know how work can be. Let's get back to business, alright, brats?"

"So you're not completely stupid, I'll give you that," the Chinese woman smirked. She was eying Alexei and Hayden as they flanked her. "You're taking advantage of your numbers, that's good. And trying to keep me talking, that's even better. I love talking. It's a good call, you probably deal with a lot of vanity cases and megalomaniacs doing what you do. But here's the deal, kiddos... you DO need a sub, 'cause Dante clearly hasn't taught you anything. You've already got a failing mark, brats: you had a fight break out in a populated area and didn't immediately move it away. All these civilians? They're future corpses."

Dea spread her arms wide, a grin splitting her tanned face.

"But I'm a generous teacher! I'll give you a chance to make up the credit."

With a flashy swirl and a chuckle, the bob-haired woman cut a semicircle into the ground with her extended toes, sending out both a shock wave and a smokescreen-like surge of dust. Vale, Alexei, and Hayden were struck in the ankles by the pulse of pressure, knocking them up and back, their heels over their heads. Delilah, also blown airborne, was knocked back further by a bullet of air from an open palm strike in her direction.

"Here's your extra credit!" Dea's voice range out, not from the entrance of the courtyard, but from behind the trio of apprentices, through a hole punched in the smokescreen.

The swirling dust was dispersed with a simple swing of her arm. In her other arm, Dea held Cthelee, upside-down and balanced where a saddled seemed to belong on his bowed back.

"How do you deal with a hostage situation! By the way, it's Dea. Mrs. Dèng was my mother. She was also an icy harpy, so I'd avoid calling me that. I'm likely to squeeze the stuffing out of your friend here if you make me mad. That would definitely flunk you three."

_____________________

Alex's eyes darted around the destroyed room, bouncing between Jackie being attacked by Salome and Demmy struggling to free Molly. For a moment, he was frozen, wondering what he should do, which he should help. He had no reason to think Jackie couldn't defend himself, but enraging Salome was partially his fault, wasn't it? Maybe he could distract her, draw her attention away and weaken her assault. On the other hand, Molly seemed terrified, and he didn't blame her. What sort of creature had grabbed her? He hadn't see anything like her between Noraage, two Earths, and even Hell.

But then he remembered himself; he felt the winged woman's hand on his.

"Come on," he told her gently, looking up at her. "Let's get you out of here."

Right now, he had to focus on who he knew he could help.

_____________________

Mattuger shook his great, wolfish head. What an irritating ally. Schemes were the realm of his most hated enemies, the old gods who sat behind scores of their subjects and plotted away.

But he was a god of action. One of his foes was dead. That was all that mattered.

The massive varul gave a sharp whistle. There was a whinny from the distance in response. His steed, thankfully unharmed by the battle, chaotic as it was, came rumbling to the giant's side.

"<Come, Bjarg,>" the god rumbled. He patted the gigantic horse's haunches affectionately. "<We have a party to crash.>"

_____________________

Bug snarled at the charging Gyu Oni. Were these orcish creatures allies of Persephone? It did not matter.

They would be rended to nothing, just like any creature but Persephone she met here.

With a lash of her hand, the dark-furred devil turned her claws into razor whips, the air whistling around them as they filled the hallway inescapably...

_____________________

The tall, chisel-jawed woman hummed. "<Come down? I don't know. I've never given it a thought. It was made so long ago. Not many remember this, but it was after a great war: one between gods. They're called the old gods now, but they were but babes then, filled with vigor and drive. They served older gods, primordial gods who controlled the sixteen worlds, which they were free to travel if loyal. But, of course, they themselves were not free, so they waged a war. They lost. This world was made into their prison. They wanted the cosmos, so it was locked away from them.>"

Brown eyes squinted at Deava in a smile. "<You're kind, aren't you? I ask if you need anything, and you only offer help! Kind or stubborn, you must be one. Perhaps both!>"

As the three travelers, one native, two foreign, had talked, the snowfall had become heavier, the air filled with thick flurries. Magparker raised her cloak to protect her lantern.

"<Perhaps there is something you can help me with. You see, I'm here looking for an old friend. There's been a lot of excitement going around lately, and I worry he's been distressed by it. He's the sensitive type, you see. Always had been. I think you would like him! He likes talking too, though perhaps only to hear his own voice. He's rather impressed with his own wit. He means well though. I hope he's well.>"

[Demon Lord Gira]

The Demon Lord's frame crashed through the wall with a force that stung and alarmed Demmy. She had tried to catch herself, to stop her momentum, but the swing had been too great, the power behind it too much for her to overcome. Internally, she had merely pushed aside how strong Dante and his kin were as outliers, that not all of the Ninjas were that kind of powerful.

Clearly, she was wrong. A foe this strong, she hadn't faced one in a very long time. But she had to. Molly was in danger! She HAD to...

For but a moment, Molly's face, twisted in fear, softened as she saw Demmy's form rise from the shattered wall. Shards of stone and debris were stuck in her body, but stood she did. Her Knight in Shining Armor, her protector, refused to stand down. She would save her! She wouldn't fail, she could do this!

"Now, you just pissed me o-"

And then it all came crashing down in the form of Crigan's limp body striking Demmy in the chest, knocking the air out of her lungs and sending both of them sprawling head over heels. Jagged claws dug into the demon's skin, and the chuckling visage of the God of Suffering pressed tightly against both hers and Crigan's. "No, you don't get to have fun. Next stop, Death Alley."

The air around the three crackled and surged as a rift tore open beneath them. Aram's murderous smile grew ever wider as he pushed both Demmy and Crigan down into the portal, and away from the others.

"D-DEMMY! DEMMY!" Molly screamed. She tried to fight off her restrainer, to free herself to help them, but she was too weak, a mere mortal held back by a physical god. "Don't kill them! Don't! Stop it! Why are you doing this?! Aren't we-"

"Allies?" Aram turned to look at Molly, and the deep masculine voice felt like a stone upon her heart. "Only because there was a truce. And that truce's conditions have been met. Now, I finally get what I seek, and you get what you deserve. Shayatin, was it? she's all yours. Free of charge. But the next time we meet..."

The demon fox's eyes narrowed into venomous slits. "No amount of love for your master or the power you get from him will save you from what I will become, wench. I will show you the unfathomable power love is." He descended down into the portal, which closed behind him...

---

The winged girl gave Alex a nod, though stunned by the gentleness of his voice. She decided to follow him, away from this place, away from it all...

If Salome realized that the worthless trash was escaping from her, she paid it no mind. No, her focus was solely onto Jackie. The main one. Yet, the appearance of the duplicates did not go unnoticed by her. She tried to evade to the side, but the one that swung high tagged her across the back. She stumbled forward, and caught herself before she leaped back, one hand which reached into her clothes, before she hurled out several poison-laden daggers at the Jackie which had her chains grabbed...

____________________________________

"QUICKLY! THIS WAY!" Heather continued to call out. The tiny pixie had floated next to a door and swung it open for the rest of the children and Quatheral inhabitants to enter into, which followed down into a dark dimly lit passageway. "This leads to the safety room! Just hurry up and get the fuck down in here! It's for your own good! Trust me!"

Farther out, Delilah crash landed into the ground over a mile away. Everything hurt for her, but somehow, she was still alive. She groaned as she lifted herself back off the ground. That woman... just by punching the air... How strong was she?!

Like a blur, Nichelle ran past the children, the Quatherals and Heather, though she felt tempted to stop and stare at Heather for once being helpful. It was such a weird and strange sight to see, and yet... yet something felt off about it, something not right. But the matter of the chinese woman came first. She stopped when they came into view, the three young children and Dea herself. She had a hostage, Cthelee. But strangely, the tone of her voice, and her words... Despite the fact she had clearly been sent here to kill them, she seemed... far less aggressive and murderous in how she presented herself.

She braced herself, eyes focused and body tensed. If anything were to happen, any hint of ill intent, Dea would pay in blood. But as it was, she couldn't bring herself to strike, not yet. Her heart told her to watch, and observe...

_________________________________

The Gyu Oni didn't stand a chance. The claws of the feral wolf like monster tore through the first few like a molten knife through butter. Bones and muscle were shredded through, flesh cleaved with minimal effort. All but the back bunch of Gyu Oni were spared, as those in front raised a pair of metallic shields to protect themselves. The whip like claws carved through them, but it was enough to stop them.

Those behind them hurled their spears at the wolf like abomination, while one other raised a gun like weapon and shot a concentrated beam of plasma out at Bug...

---------

Persephone tapped her earpiece. A call? And it wasn't from Lilith or Belfrit... then who could it have been from? And at this hour as well?

She turned and walked away from the ledge. She raised her left hand and waved it, a sign that Minos recognized. Begin preparations without her.

As the Death Knight vanished away, Persephone spoke to the person on the other end of the line. "It is not often someone I am unfamiliar with reaches out to me. You speak to Persephone, Lord of Sheol. Who do I have the honor of speaking with, and how may I help you?"

-----

"Because she blinded me with her rhetoric and supposed goals." Lae weakly answered. "Peace across the world, across all worlds, where the tragedies of the past could never happen. It was a goal she suckered me into, but over time, I saw that what she truly meant was a world where no one could stand against her, where nothing could be a threat. Anyone who refused her terms, who defied her and betrayed her was killed, including many I had once worked with, and only those who pledged undying loyalty to her will be a part of her world, under her control. Her betrayal and murder of Sutekh, as justified as it may have been, was when I realized just how expendable all of us were to her. Only then did I fully begin to plan to end her, but it was too little too late. She saw through my attempts, and threw me into that cell you were thrown into later."

Aseya held a finger to her lips. They were at the top of the stairs now, at the top of Lilith's laboratory. Ahead of them was a door, slightly held ajar, and inside came out voices.

"W-we're really going to war, right now?! Against Tengri and his men?! F-fine, we'll get the Necroliths prepared and the Collectors up and running. By the gods, we'll need all hands on deck for this. Why did we waste so many of our forces on that stupid city?"

"Because it was your decision, Mistress Lilith. You decided a full on invasion was the proper course of-"

"I GET THAT! But why did I think that was a good idea!? We only needed to kidnap the one woman, not throw away all those lives?! Gods, what was I thinking?! Stupid me! Stupid fucking me!"

"Only you can read your own mind, Mistress Lilith."

_________________________________

It had all gone wrong... It had all gone so horribly wrong.

The body of the Demon Lord crashed to the ground with the God of Death upon her. Both of them were still alive, very much so, but all Demmy felt was murderous rage within her. Rage toward Crigan for failing to keep Molly safe? No, she couldn't blame him for what had happened. She had only herself to blame, trusting a weakened god in the hopes that those more powerful than he didn't appear. No, her murderous rage had no reason to be directed to him. He had tried to keep Molly safe and failed, and ultimately so did she. Her rage was at herself, and toward that ninja Shayatin...

And toward Aram.

She should have blasted the damn god's head off the moment they had met and Crigan had told her of Aram's true nature. The silent conversation between she and Crigan had been all she needed to know what this Aram was like. A snake that couldn't be trusted, and yet they trusted him all the same. A god binding oath... but one that had been snaked around by following the word of the deal. They should have seen it coming, they needed to... and now they paid the price.

"W-where are we?" Demmy rose to her feet. It was a black void they had found themselves within, one not too different from Makai, but there was no sprawling demonic city, no palace of crystal that towered over all. No, instead there were merely statues, broken and shattered, across numerous hovering islands with a thundering blackened sky above and venomous clouds beneath. What few remained standing were tall and regal, monuments to beings long past. One resembled a conjoined pair of owls, while another was of a hulking lizard like being with jagged claws and a hunched state. The head of a broken statue lay before her, and it was that of a masked serpent like being...

It was Crigan's own.

"This is the Realm of the Gods." Crigan answered. He slowly stood up, and looked over at Demmy. "I... I failed you. I failed her. I didn't expect-"

"Save it." Demmy hissed. "We haven't failed yet. We can still get back there and save her!" She aimed her tentacles up to the sky and fired her eye beams toward the center of the growing maelstrom...

But the beams never made it. Lightning crashed from the heavens and intercepted them, rocking the landscape with deafening blasts of air and shrapnel. From the clouds, came the dark haunting laughter of Aram.

"You should be more concerned with your own safety..." A giant white fox, lighter than snow, yet eyes filled with a ravenous hunger and cruelty, descended from the stormy skies. "And what I will do to you. Your obese little friend is already in far kinder hands than mine."

"YOU..." Demmy's eye tendrils flared to life, and she fired her beams toward the God of Suffering. Yet, Aram intercerpted them once more with bolts of lightning, but this time even more raced forward and struck the demon. Demmy's blood boiled, her skin flared as she was blasted back, nearly to the edge of the island she was on. She twitched, her body locked into place by electrical burst through her muscles.

"Good little bitch. Stay there, helpless, as I finally get to do what I've sought for so long." Aram's eyes never left Crigan despite her words, so when the God of Death raced toward him in his divine form, Aram was fully prepared. His nine tails surged forward and intercepted the god's claws. They interlocked together, neither side budging despite the power of the other. "Now now, where were we, Crigan? Ah yes, I had carved your eyes out and flayed you alive before leaving the rest of you to Persephone. Do you know how good that felt? And I get to repeat the process again, with a Crigan who failed to save his beloved. Tell me, how did your Mara die?"

Aram pulled his claws in close, then lashed out with his fangs. Crigan adjusted his body so the fangs of the fox barely missed him, then send a torrent of divine flames upon Aram. The fox hissed and snarled despite the pain, before his tails snaked further ahead and wrapped around Crigan's body in whole. The serpentine god was slammed to the ground, his body battered and bruised from the impact.

"Was it Miyoshi who did her in? Did the Dream Demon have her way with your wife's body and soul and throw her to the side like a used tampon? Did your timeline's Persephone, realizing the end had come, snuff out her life as a final fuck you? Or maybe, MAYBE it was you, the one who loved her most of all. Perhaps it was you who gave her a mercy kill, as she lay bleeding and broken upon the steps of the Palace?" The fox's grin grew ever wider, and the coils tightened ever so. " Or maybe she herself did it. Maybe she had finally had enough of this poisoned world and threw herself into the teeth of death? Or, was it I, I who simply forced her to grab her own neck and-"

Aram's words were forever silenced by a sharp, overwhelming pain that had ruptured through his ribcage. The fox's eyes drifted downward, to where he saw one of Crigan's own claws having pierced through the coils of his tails and stabbed into him. The wound burned, and the flesh around it sizzled and melted.

"Aram..." Crigan's voice hissed from beneath the chipped golden mask. "DEATH AWAITS YOU."

[Corzak The Mighty]

Nyx sighed at Lae's words. "So she's a tyrant through and through. Just about what I expected, but I have to admit I'm disappointed. She seemed to really believe what she said back on Earth..."

As the group finally reached the top of the stairwell, greeted by the voices of Lilith and an unknown second party from behind ab obscuring door, Nyx felt herself immediately put on edge. A war?! Here, in Sheol?! And with that maniac who was punching holes in reality?! But another thing caught Nyx's attention - something that burned deep seething anger into her core. Lilith... Lilith was who suggested the invasion of her home? This... this degenerate, this warper of flesh, this mad woman who'd condemned untold numbers to torture in the name of "science"... SHE'S the one who had inspired Persephone to invade Earth?! The one who had condemned her people to tyranny?! The one that cost untold people their lives?!

Nyx's fist tightened around her pistol. Ignoring her better judgment, Nyx moved to open the door...
----
On the other end of Persephone's line, the voice of a man with a heavy Zulu accent spoke, his voice strong and assertive.

"Greetings Persephone. I am Mngwa. I call upon you for a... peculiar alliance. I think it will be something that would pique your interests. Meet me in Johannesburg, tomorrow at 12 pm. I will explain more there."

The connection ended, leaving Persephone with the deafening silence of static...
_______________________________________________________
Shayatin watched with a cold indifference as the demon lord, the death god, and the fox-like beast vanished into thin air, gripping the poor, hapless form of Molly in spite of her intense protests. The fallen Yakuza briefly ruminated briefly on Aram's words, her empty gaze narrowing where the bestial demon had once stood. To think he had the gall to threaten her and her master; he clearly had no clue what he was dealing with. But that would be a matter for another day; she had her current mission to complete.

Looking briefly down upon the panicked form of Molly, Shayatin extended a hand forward, tearing open a shimmering violet rift, before stepping inside. In a brief wisp of light and fell ebony smoke, the two vanished from sight...
_______________________________________________________
The group of Quatheral, instead of entering into the warm, lively command room once inhabited by Tengri, instead found the tattered, battered remnants of the once glorious bridge. Most of the seats and computers within, including a massive blackened throne, seemed to be essentially intact, though it looked as though the chamber had been evacuated in a hurry. Massive gashes, some still glowing with a fell golden light, whistled as biting gusts of frosty wind whipped through the empty chamber. Outside the ship, the rhythmic hammering the group heard from before seemed to grow ever louder.

The eerie silence of the howling wind was broken by chatter audible through the holes in the ship's hull, followed by the arrival strange humanoid shapes in full body suits. The two beings seemed to be talking to each other, one holding some sort of hammer and the other a welding torch-like device. As the two prepared to get to work, they suddenly stopped, spotting the group of Quatheral.

"Hey, how did you three get up here?!" one of the beings said in an obviously mechanical voice. "This is property of the Conquering Star!"
----
"I have not forgotten, dearest Drillgore. Fare thee well."

As the call with Drillgore ended, Tengri let out a disappointed grunt. Unfortunate that he had chosen to remain neutral; Drillgore had proven to be a most reliable ally! He could only hope he would be wise enough to truly avoid crawling back to the traitorous queen of Sheol; it would be a shame to be forced to destroy him. Nevertheless, he would keep a sharp eye on Drillgore. He could not risk anything interfering with his plans, not even one who had proven their worth time and time again.

Before Tengri was able to move much farther, however, a purple rift opened up beside him. From it stepped forth the onyx armored form of Shayatin.

"Ah, you have returned at last!" Tengri shouted, clasping his taloned hands together. "Most excellent. Have you returned with my prize?"

The Yakuza merely nodded in silence, rotating her form to reveal the one he had sought out for so long: Molly.

"Yes... the ninja Ubel's greatest treasure, now in my hands." Tengri's eyes visibly traced themselves along the curvature of Molly's form, before falling back upon Shayatin. "Come, relinquish her. I wish to give her a better look."

Shayatin paused briefly, before doing as she was told, giving Molly space with the tyrant. A cold, steely finger ran itself along Molly's neck as the Conquering Star lifted her chin to face him. "Tell me, woman. Do you know why I have brought you here?"
----
The black-clad giant chuckled at the arrival of Minerva and Proditor, resting his hellish, steely-blue sword upon his absurdly large shoulder pauldron.

"Never would I have thought I'd work alongside those my father long ago swore to destroy," the warlord boomed, "but it seems the lord of secrets has ordained a different path for me and my warriors to travel! I am Abaddon, son of Horus, general of the Red Desert's armies. At your service." The enormous warlord offered a bow to the two angels.

"Our plan is to strike swiftly and ruthlessly against the Queen of Sheol. Our initial forces consist of 12 transport ships, each filled with fighters and smaller troop transports. My army of marines, coupled with the Red Desert's legions of Mal'akh, will be deployed once the majority of air and anti-infantry weaponry has been dealt with. But before I can send in the fighters to wipe their defenses clean, I need those who are willing to investigate the extent of their defenses." Abaddon points a finger at the two angels. "That is where you come in. You are strong individually and more nimble than a fully assembled legion. You shall be my forerunners, my harbingers who shall investigate this "Persephone's" defenses and the extent her armies are prepared! Once you report, we shall begin our initial invasion!"
_______________________________________________________
Owlzarus' eyes softened, both upon seeing the joyous forms of Boore and Booled, and hearing the announcement of Dante and Aphrodite. Before the wise being was capable of offering an acknowledgement, however, Dante released to him the truth of his mission, and revealed the fruits of his success! The entirety of the library filled with radiant, celestial brilliance, softening the harsh orange glow that normally filled the silent halls of Owlzarus' domain. His eyes were filled with a brilliance and beauty he had not seen in some time, causing the antiquarian's gaze to widen in a mixture of awe and shock.

"It... it is beautiful..." Owlzarus stammered. From the bird-like being's eye, the shape of a single tear appeared, before it rolled down the length of Owlzarus' feathered face. He looked to Dante, listening to his praise and thanks. "I knew you had the power to cleanse your heart of this evil, but this... I had never anticipated this. You have not only come to terms with the demon, but... you have turned it into something new, something that embodies the ideals and hopes of not just yourself, but all that live in the multiverse."

Owlzarus placed a reassuring hand on Dante's shoulder. "You need not thank me. This strength was not from me; I merely nurtured it. Who you should thank are those who stood by you in the place of your darkest needs, those who saw the vilest depths of your soul laid bear." The caretaker looked to both Aphrodite and to the twin Quatheral spirits. "It is they who are the ones you should praise."

[EdGojira]

The Majin answered, "Got told ahead of time that The Other was going to bring Godzilla. Godzilla needs water to appear."
________
Hercules looked to Karzahni. His expression was grim for a while, his sunglasses reflecting the dragon's visage back onto him. Hercules then gave a light smile. "I've been giving it heavy thought. Whilst I wish to stop battling dictators, they have come to my door. Your despot has a mark on their head. But first, I have to deal with the bloody kings."
_________
Jackie was too caught up in his battle to react to what was going on around him. He swung the chain forward, knocking some daggers slightly off target. He still needed to move so they didn't graze his leg. He managed to kick it precisely, sending it darting toward Salome but had to jump upward to avoid the others.

One of the duplicates summoned a staff, swinging at Salome's head. This was a mere distraction, however, so the other could summon boots made of chi and jump toward the chains in Jackie's loosened grip.
___________
"Sure am," Beetle said cheerily. She carefully plucked the guitar from Ubel's grip. Before she started to play, she stated seriously, "Goddamn traffickers. Hercules is a firm believer that they don't deserve stuff like this. Give them a big fat plunder, he says."

She moved her shelled fingers lightly over the guitar and mounted it in her hands. "Hope you don't mind something more serious." She began strumming, an acoustic tune but one recognizable to the others who began singing. It was a tune that was a follow-up to a personal favorite of Jake's, this one being the third iteration in a trilogy. The song was The Unforgiven III.

The Other took a seat on the left side of the vessel. A soft pain entered his being. It made all too much sense that his nephews would connect easier with perfect strangers. All he was was a stranger himself, but one with a history.

The Other's hand rubbed against the soft green cushioned seat. The amber glow of the ship's wall mounted lamps and chocolatey colors of the walls mixed with the sea green trim. There was something undeniably homey about this ship and, indeed, the main ship too. It was almost supernatural.

Of course the boys would connect more with the pirates.
________
"I don't know any Crigan," Goku said, floating downward gently. "But how do I know you'll behave if I take down this other person?"
________
Jake's eyes moved quickly in the direction of the movement. He was impressed with their survivability. Around him was a sight that he was familiar with. Eventually, you grow numb. Then, you grow even more in touch.

Anybody still living here was having the worst day of their lives, no question. That was unless they were one of the people responsible. He had to approach this cautiously. The silver didn't match the Gyu Oni, harpies or wyverns. Perhaps, he could use his increased visual prowess to see what was hidden.

He moved his head in the direction of the movement and his eyes flickered brighter.

[MinorBone Good]

[Border]"YES! OF COURSE!!"[/Border]

Evoex exclaimed and floated over towards the group. At least, he would've had it not being for the strong abilities of Dea creating a smoke of dust, reducing his sight. He stood still, clutching his text box tight, waiting for this being to strike. Like a flash of movement that rivaled Gearan, he felt a sudden rush of air to his left, where the children were! Evoex floated up to try get out of the smoke that Dèng had made. He finally reached to a point where he was free from the cloudy dust, and heard the yelps of Cthelee!

[Border]"OH NO.."[/Border]

The smoke finally cleared, and Evoex and Uquillious saw what happened to the poor bird. Ohhh fuck! This certainly wasn't good. Cthelee was being held hostage by this woman! He didn't know what to do. What could he even do? One false move and Cthelee would be goner.

Uquillious huddled closer to the children, trying her best to make them feel better. More of her golden glitter came out of her horn to try and distract them from the horrific circumstances. "I-It's okay! We're gonna get through this! I promise!" She winked at them and chuckled nervously. Fiotto passed her, looking at Heather as he did. Something was off about this sudden change.

Cthelee's breathing picked up it's pace as he was lifted by Dea. This wasn't the first time he had been held hostage in his life, quite a couple times actually in his earlier life. Cthelee shook with intensity and fear, a few of his tongues poking through to try and get his breathing under control. It would be too dangerous to try and break free from Dea. That would be a death wish for sure. Cthelee started regain his composure and remained silent so Dea could possibly reveal more information.
______________________________________________________________

Xpveinees kept her spear close by her side as she and her acquittances went through Tengri's ship. It was darker and unwelcome, like an abandoned house. Tengri did say he was the last of his kind, so that could be way it had this cold aura to it. Xpveinees placed her two fingered hand along the side of ship and immediately pulled away.

"Yeesh! This place could be a bit better to look at! Looking a bit droll here. That isn't the right way to use droll is it? Ah well, I think it sounds better that way."

Xpveinees glared at Cider for a moment before continuing on. The group halted however as the two robots entered. Xpveinees stood straight up and saluted at them. "Ах! Здравствуйте! Да мы ищем вашего лидера Тенгри!"

O'nugulao bowed their head at the two beings. "Hello, we do come in peace. We come from Quatheral. Like Xpveinees said, we would like to see Tengri."

"Yeah! I've met him! Pretty cool guy! We teleported up here with the crystal I gave 'em. You guys here to fix this place? 'Cause it definitely needs it."

"Ты заткнешь Сидр!?" Xpveinees hissed.

"Heh, sorry, but you know I'm right."

Mitsif continued to watch from above, looking at the two robot beings below. She rubbed her hands together. She found her next prey! Along with those shiny buttons and screens...
____________________________________________________________

Within Owlzarus's great library, Boore giggled at Owlzarus's comment. "Naaah, don't put yourself out of it Owl! Looking into Dante and Daeva's minds, you are like, one of the biggest inspirations to them!"

Down the long corridors of the library, some more lights began to flicker and out. Soon, the familiar presence of the corrupted Quatheral being made himself know, making yet another telepathic connection from everyone in the library.

"Drillgore." Booled said with distaste, floating close to Boore.

The sound of a record player sounded off in their heads, soon followed by the sound of Drillgore's voice... singing?
https://youtu.be/gkkpUtny99A

With each line that Drillgore sang, more lights flicked off, the darkness continuing to grow. Even the orange lights were starting to be replaced by deep red lights.

As the song reached it's climax, an arrow was shot in between Owlzarus and Aphrodite. More specifically, and one of Aphrodite's own arrows. And just like that, Drillgore's presence begin to vanish, the lights returning back to normal. Attached to the tip of the arrow was a note.

It read: "Dante and Aphrodite my dear friends, I am glad I have found you in a good moment to contact you. Do you feel something missing? Look deep into your heart, I bet you can feel something is gone. While you were busy dealing with my good ally Tengri, I have found a great new opportunity to strike while the dog was down. I am however feeling a tad bit merciful, so I will allow you a chance to redeem yourselves. You want to be a hero? Well then, I have left one soul alive just for you two. The planet of Logithee holds the last remaining member of their species. If you come soon, I will even throw in a bonus if you arrive quickly and save the little child. The clock is ticking." Glued to the bottom of the note, was a piece of Howo's skin and one of Ishome's eyeballs.

[Godzilla165]

Daeva grinned slyly at Magparker, those bright blue eyes glowing through the flurry of snow. “I happen to think my stubbornness is a positive character trait.” She joshed. “But, helping others is the name of the game where I’m from! So, what’s this friend of yours' name? When did you see him last?”
_____________________

For the little time Piccolo had to explore the ninja realm, he had gotten a general idea for where everything was on the outset, or at least how many things were laid out. This was good, because now he knew what spots to safely draw an enemy to should an attack happen.

And, it appeared that now was that time. Piccolo had felt the enormous amount of power long before the sudden quake rumbled the land. It was strangely... Human, but such couldn’t have been possible, could it? There was only one way to know for sure. Quickly, he honed in on the powerful source, silently preparing for a fight.

- - - - - - - - -

The young trio rose to their feet, dazed, but otherwise unharmed. Vale stared at Dea, and her face immediately darkened. She had Cthelee.

“That’s a problem...” Alexei muttered.

“Cthelee? Cthelee, it’s okay, honey, we’re gonna get you out of this, I promise.” Vale assured, though, she didn’t yet know how. Dante hadn’t taught them how to handle this situation yet; it was going to be one of the first things they went over once the war was over. Her face tensed up; what could they do?!

“Let him go, Dèng, you’re here for us, he’s got nothing to do with this!” Alexei tightened the grip on his staff.

“Hayden... How’s your aim today?”

The spear wielding student did a double take at her, “You really wanna test that out... now?!”

Vale shook her head, “It’s the only real thing I can think of, and we have to save Cthelee from this drunkard.”

“Wait, how did you know she drank?”

“You kidding?” Vale turned back to Dea, “You could smell the cheap mead on her breath a mile away. What, was your Mommy a drunk too? Is that why you hate her so much, because you’re just like her? Was she a follower too?”

“That’s it, snow bell...” Hayden slowly and carefully lifted his spear higher over his head, preparing to take aim. “Keep it going.” Whilst she was no Daeva, hopefully, it would keep Dea distracted for long enough.

“What about your Dad, do you hate him too?” Alexei joined in. “Is it for any particular reason, or... Is it because you’re an embarrassment to him? That’s probably it, right? You’ve got ‘disappointment’ written all over you.”

“Heh, I couldn’t imagine you having any siblings; they’d probably want nothing to do with you!” Vale continued to mock with a growing, toothy grin.

Closing one eye, Hayden drew his spear arm back. “Aphrodite, give me strength.” He prayed, and was about to launch it straight into Dea’s shoulder.

Suddenly, a blur of green, and neither Cthelee nor Dea were in the spot they had been a second ago. That is, until the trio realized what happened, and turned to find a towering being, clad in a white cloak, with green and pink skin. They were holding the terrified Cthelee upside down from his ankles at first, but eventually used their other hand to turn him right side up, and gently lowered him to the ground.

Immediately, Vale ran up to the feathered Quatheral and hugged him. “I’m so happy you’re okay! I was so worried!” She exclaimed, before drawing away. “But, I need you to get somewhere safe for me, okay? Lady Aphrodite would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you, and I wouldn’t either. Go, now.”

Alexei turned to Uquillious and the children, “That goes for you all as well, get somewhere safe. No dillying.”

Turning back to their mystery savior, Alexei raised an eyebrow. “Who are you?”

Piccolo glanced at him, before looking away. “A friend, one that’s here to help with your little problem. Name’s Piccolo.”

“Piccolo,” Vale nodded, “thanks for your help, you really saved our skin back there. My name’s Vale, and these are my teammates, Alexei and Hayden.”

The boys nodded in greeting.

“So, Mr. Piccolo, what’d you do with the lady? Did you... Eat her?” Hayden asked.

The Namekian scoffed, “No. I sent her in the direction of the fields, away from your people. We’d better get moving, though; she likely won’t stay down for long.” As he was about to leave, he stopped and glanced behind his shoulder. “I would let the ninjas know what’s going on as well.”

Vale looked down, “I... I dunno, they’re probably all really busy; I wouldn’t want to-”

“Too busy to defend their home from danger? Call them.”

With that, Piccolo took to the air and flew off in the direction of Dea, leaving the kids to share looks of confusion with one another, before hurriedly running after him.
_____________________

“Woah!” Ubel’s eyes gleamed excitedly. “Nice finger work! Here, let me see if I can match you.”

As he sat up to play along with Beetle, Evron groaned and took another puff from his cigar. “You guys wouldn’t know good music if it slapped you in the face.” He sighed.

“The time has come... The time to save... the Multiverse. You know where... to find me... for the both of you... The Solution is... at hand... Ehehehe...Hehehehehe.”

To this, Evron raised an eyebrow. The Heart, calling... Him? While yes, Evron was one of the greatest warriors to ever live, as well as the most handsome, capable, smart, and cleverest... But the Heart was also the advisor to Dante, of which, according to Daeva, it had been failing to do even that lately. For it to suddenly up and speak to him, requesting his presence in a place unknown, as well as Dante apparently, to grant them with a “solution”? One would have forgiven Evron for being skeptical. Finally though, with a humored snort, he answered.

“Oh yes, yes, right away, oh great and powerful Heart! I will be there as soon as I possibly can!” Evron smirked and took another puff. “Except, I don’t believe you for a second, bud. Didn’t you not let Dante know until the last minute that our home had been attacked? Doesn’t exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside with trust, sorry to say. So... No, no, I think I’m gonna chill with these pirates, my asshole of an uncle, and we’re gonna go talk to the biggest of these pirate dickheads. Go bug someone else, ‘Heart’.”

Afterwards, Evron cut the link and leaned back in his seat with a huff. Noticing this, Ubel nudged him on the arm.

“Hey, you good? You seem a little on edge.” He remarked.

Evron merely waved him off. “Yeah, it’s nothing, just got a call from some rando. I already blocked ‘em.”

“Huh, that hasn’t happened lately... Probably a side effect of the Machine of Unmaking.”

“Maybe.”

Ubel nodded, “Well, alright, as long as you’re good, I’m good.”

As he went back to playing with Beetle, Evron frowned to himself. Hopefully, Dante gave that imposter a similar response...
_____________________

Before Dante could respond to Owlzarus, the call of the supposed Heart filled his mind. He listened intently, and once the message was finished, he looked to the Angel. “You heard that too, right?” He inquired.

The being nodded.

“So, what do you think, can we trust it?”

The Angel shook its head no, telling Dante not to follow the childlike voice. Though it may have felt like the Heart, and sounded like the Heart, there was an air of deceit and malevolence that surrounded it. It was merely a cleverly worded trap, and one that it had tried to set on his brother, Evron, as well.

Dante heeded the words of his friend carefully, nodding appreciatively. He would ignore the Heart’s invitation... But what he couldn’t ignore, was the sudden arrow that flew in between the small group. The Celestial Angel leaned over to carefully pluck the arrow from its resting place, using its mouth, and gave it to Dante for he and Aphrodite to study the note attached.

“A ninja’s duty is never done.” Dante sighed, shedding his angel form, and taking the note. He opened the letter just as Aphrodite took place beside him, and they both read it through word for word, even going over it multiple times to make sure neither of them missed anything.

When they were done, Aphrodite felt her heart sink from the sight of the remains of their friends. And, while it would have been so easy for her to let her emotions run rampant now, still did she keep them under control. She folded her arms tight and stared intently at the note. “It could be a trap.” She remarked softly, as much as she wanted to go and rescue this supposed child.

Dante nodded, “Easily.” He looked to Owlzarus with a serious expression, and handed him the letter. “Looks like we’ll have to cut our little celebration short, old friend. What’s your take on this? Are we looking at a trap with the little girl as bait?”

[Demon Lord Gira]

"You... defy the Heart of the Multiverse?"

To Evron, everything went still around him. Everything froze. The pirates, Ubel, everything greyed out around him. Time had frozen still. Then, it blackened. Everything he saw, turned into a pitch black void, a cold empty void, bar a single glowing light. The light grew in intensity, until it was nothing but blinding to Evron.

"To think that you... the Protectors of the Multiverse, would fall so far down...Would fall so far from your purpose and turn against me....That, is unacceptable."

......

"You... are ignoring... me?"

The voice of The Heart was surprised, or at least it sounded so. But when it spoke next, there was something else within the voice of The Heart: Thinly veiled anger.

"You... You would... ignore my warnings... Ignore my words. Ignore what you have never ignored... once in your life. Unacceptable. UNACCEPTABLE. UNACCEPTABLE!

Before the eyes of Owlzarus and Aphrodite, Dante's body was absorbed into a growing shadow and vanished from before them....

.......

Where the two Ninjas landed, was at in a place nether had been before, a place unknown to either. Before them was a grand marble temple, surrounded by three shattered crystals. Curled around the temple was the husk of a great slain beast, some serpentine wyvern of immeasurable size, only bones that remained. Beyond the temple was a ruined cityscape, with the ground carved apart and a vast emptiness beneath.


"Evron... Dante..." The voice of The Heart repeated once more, but this time the childish quality to it was gone. It sounded more mature, and without the jovial tone to it. The skies began to darken, as where the sun shone above, a black void formed. From the void poured forth a blackened fluid, thicker than oil or tar, that began to wash over the ruined cityscape. It washed over the buildings and smothered them, crushing them beneath its bulk. The blood like fluid encircled the temple and the two Ninjas. "You would disobey the Heart... and allow Tengri's evil to manifest across the cosmos? You... You would allow for the maddened warlord to become the Conquering Star? Then... You have betrayed the Multiverse itself to indulge in the present, allowed tens of trillions of lives to perish for those within your friends circles. You, Dante... You have conquered your inner demons, or so you believe. No, it is merely a fantasy, a falsehood you have thought for yourself to justify your evils. "

The fluid around them bubbled and churned, before it began to amass together before the two Ninjas. The black fluid rose into the shape of a woman, one taller than the two Ninjas. The darkness became flesh, and a second layer of the fluid solidified into a flowing white and red dress opened at the front, with a golden crown atop her head. She glistened and shone with the same brilliance as the Heart of the Multiverse, but her dark green eyes bore into Dante and Evron. "Tiamat would be horrified to see this is what has become of her spawn, arrogant and defiant. So it would seem, the despot ruler of Sheol was correct in her judgement. The failings of the gods is clear. You would rather save a scant few Quatherals than the rest of existence... Truly, this is the decay of the divine. You are ill suited to be the Protector of the Multiverse, a mistake that I will rectify. As for who will be chosen instead, the Ruler of Sheol shows far stronger conviction and a desire to uphold her ideals than you do now. Dante, you have been REPLACED."

The skies surged with a fell power as lightning raced above. The rifts Evron and Dante had fallen through were sealed away
___________________________

Why had... Why had it all gone... so terribly wrong?

Demmy was gone, Crigan was gone, and she was alone, alone and powerless, before someone she could only assume was Tengri himself. The blue skinned alien radiated an air of menace around him, and Molly knew she was helpless to try and escape. Everything had been going so well on Noraage... and suddenly, it hadn't. Everything had been turned upside down, and now, all she could do was force herself to not faint at the situation she was in. Between the mysterious black ninja that stood guard, and Tengri himself, it took every bit of her willpower to not fall over and black out.

"Y-y-yes..." She stammered. "I... I-i-i am y-y-your h-h-h-hostage, your p-p-prisoner..."

She prayed internally, she prayed for someone, anyone, to rescue her, to save her. Nichelle, Demmy, Crigan, Ubel, Korraz... Anyone to come and rescue her...

____________________________________

Salome's face twisted into a furious snarl as she leaped to the side, ducking her head low to avoid the staff swing. She sidestepped away from the chain recoil, which carved up the earth beside her. She snatched the chain with her right hand, and twisted it. The chain flailed like a living serpent, the bladed end seeking out Jackie while Salome hurled herself at the other clone, daggers in her left hand...

___________________________________

That was it. That was the last piece she needed. Mulek's eyes widened as the realization hit her. Water... Water was needed for Godzilla to appear. This planet had been chosen, because of Godzilla...

And yet, she had a suspicion it wasn't for any peaceful means. These pirates had something planned, something cooking in the oven if they needed Godzilla to be here...

"Then we better be careful... Don't want something bad to happen." She said.

___________________________________

Karzahni gave a low sigh. "Yes, one thing at a time. Too much at once can weigh down any soul, even the mightiest of us."

________________________________

Minerva nodded. "So... reconnaissance, is it? Very well. I will do just that. I will send Proditor out to survey Persephone's forces and defenses."

"Why me?" The angel beside her asked. "Is it because your face is more well known to those in Sheol?"

"That is correct. The face of my sister is well known and loved in Sheol, but yours... You were supposed to be lost in the great cataclysm. No one knows what you look like, or who you are. You are perfect to sneak around and see what is going on. I will do my own spying of sorts, but the front lines and defenses are for you to inspect and find weaknesses."

Proditor rose to his feet. The angel's eyes were emotionless, yet there seemed to be a hint of satisfaction in them. "As you wish, Minerva." He turned, and the angel vanished into a rift.

Minerva turned back to Abaddon. "I will depart as well. Though, your name sounds familiar, but I guess it is mere coincidence." She as well turned and left..

______________________

Persephone stood away from the ledge of the roof for several moments. There was little doubt in her mind that call had come from Earth, from near Omega City. That raised the possibility of this being a trap, an attempt to get revenge for what she and her forces had done...

But in the off chance it wasn't a trap... Then perhaps it could prove mutually benefitial? She could play off the invasion that had happened as the work of a third party, maybe someone affiliated with the Ninjas destined to make her look like the villain. Just that thought alone brought Nyx's words back to her mind, and she shook them away.

She began to make her way back down into the palace, a hand to her chin. Why was everything happening in this way? What was going on? Was this Tengri's machinations messing with her mind, or... was it something else?

---------

"Wait, don't!" Lae began to say, but Aseya grabbed onto him and both fae became invisible as Nyx threw open the doors with her gun in hand.

What she entered was the primary control room of the tower. Screens covered the ceiling and upper walls, and one wall was nothing but glass, which showed down toward the assembly area below and the rest of the city. Like in Laeptus's laboratory, there were terminals spread across the room, and in one was a red hued outline of some kind of gigantic ship with a bulbous shape to it, and another of a four legged machine with an upper torso strikingly identical to Erebus's.

Yet, there were also people in the room. The three eyed Lilith was in a long white coat, and across from her was the small Belfrit and her plant covered staff. Accompanying the two were a pair of tall skeletal like machines, each of which carried an double bladed staff.

The doors swinging open drew all attention over to where Nyx was. At once, the machine guards moved in between Lilith and Nyx. "A guest, in my tower? No... three guests are here. I'd love to sign autographs, but no guests allowed, especially not those who want me dead over something so trivial as a city being razed."

"Permission to restain target?" Belfrit asked.

"If the Magnaguards fail, then yes." Lilith watched on as the machines approached Nyx, their staffs spinning faster and faster... Until the one in back turned suddenly and began to approach a seemingly empty spot.

"I can read your thoughts, and relay them to my Magnaguards. You really should know better, Laeptus...Gods does it feel good to finally read your mind!"

_____________________________

Tyralus chuckled lowly. "An honest question, but one with a simple answer, really... Because Persephone has what I desire, and that is the throne of Sheol. The existence of powers beyond myself, and even beyond her, is just what I need to take her and her wretched bodyguard down. Once the throne is mine, my sphere of influence will only be Sheol, and not the lands beyond there."

A harsh howl came from one of the wyverns, and the Gyu Oni that rode upon it had a pale complexion on his face. "Mara's army is on the retreat to the caverns! The Goddess of the Earth, Lavidana, has entered the fray and is beating our men back!"

"WHAT?!" Tyralus hissed, before he refocused on Goku. "It seems my time here is premature. You'll know where to find me... I'm certain of that, oh savior of the mortals. ALL FORCES, RETREAT TO OUR LAIR!"

With a pair of stabs into the earth, Tyralus's hulking frame vanished into the resulting dust cloud. At the same time, his forces began to recede away from the besieged city and the countless dead and dying, leaving Goku to be...

------

What Jake saw with his enhanced vision was the owner of the silver hair through a crack in the building. She was dark skinned, and wore a myriad of jewels and rings upon her fingers. She was dressed in a skin tight black suit with skull like armor over that, and a long fur cape adorned over. She was tall as well, taller than an average person, and her eyes were a deep shimmering emerald green. She was seated in a table, alone and with no one else around...

And yet, her eyes turned in his direction, and she held a finger toward him, and curled it backwards. It was an invitation to come in...

[Godzilla165]

When time resumed upon the ship that shepherded Ubel and the pirates along, the former had to do a double, then a triple take to fully realize what just happened. And, even then, he still didn’t have a clue. “Evron? Evron, where... Where in the gods...”

Ubel stood up hastily to look all around the vessel. He spun in circles, checked and rechecked the spot where Evron had been just seconds ago, and came away more bewildered than he already was. “What the f- There’s no way he just up and left. Rube’s a douchebag, but he would never just leave, not like that!” Ubel said to no one in particular. The only other thing he could think to do was reach out mentally. “Evron... Evron, come in, do you read? Can you hear me at all? Where the hell did you go, dude? EVRON, I- Damn.”

He massaged the back of his head while he tried to figure this mess out. He wasn’t angry, he couldn’t be if he didn’t have a clue as to what happened to begin with. “It’s weird... I can’t even feel his energy signature, almost like he just vanished from existence...” Ubel turned the others aboard the ship. “Do any of you have an idea what happened? Did you see anything happen?”

- - - - - - - - - -

“Dante?! Aphrodite gasped. She reached out to the place where he was seconds ago, almost like she believed that she could somehow rescue him, even though he was already long gone. “Dante! Dante, can you hear me?! What happened, where are you... DANTE!”

The goddess swore to herself in frustration, before turning to Owlzarus with notable stress ridden eyes. “Owlzarus, what just happened, where was Dante taken? Who could’ve done something like this so quickly?” She asked with desperation.

___________________________

The two ninjas found themselves in a free fall towards a dark ground, yet where being pulled against their will, also. Seconds later, they both crashed harshly into the earth with a deafening “BOOM”. Dante recovered first and pushed to his feet, before instinctively going to check on Evron, who of which had landed on his back. Impressively, the ninja had managed to somehow hold onto his cigar, but from the forces of the crash, it looked to have been bitten in half, leaving only the tip hanging loosely from the side of his mouth.

Evron groaned, “Uuuugh, damn, that was a harder fall than the rest.”

“Maybe you’re just getting old.” Dante smiled cheekily.

“Piss off.”

He offered his hand, “You alright?”

“Yeah, peachy... Thanks.” Evron jeered as he took Dante’s hand, and hoisted himself up to look around their eerie locale.

Dante’s face scrunched up with confusion while he stared not at the dark realm, but at the ruined cigar that hung from his brother’s mouth. He reached up and plucked it from his mouth, eliciting an unconscious slap of the hand from Evron. “Do you mind???” He spat.

Dante held it up for him to see, his face now one of disgust. “Did you swallow the other half?!”

“Yeah, well... I was kinda focused on something else, notably, being sent hurtling into the fucking ground. Besides, I don’t-” He held a fist up to his mouth to keep from gagging. “I don’t even feel it!”

Being squeamish to that kind of thing, it didn’t take Dante long to mirror his brother’s action, and had to look away to keep from puking. “Whatever, dude, let’s just figure out how get out of this place.” He retorted.

“Yeah? And how’re we gonna do that? It’s not like we can just portal out of here.”

Dante gazed around the temple with a furrowed brow, taking in all of the details of both it, and the destroyed city beyond it. “I’m still figuring that part out.” He finally responded.

“Evron... Dante...” The voice of the, “Heart”, repeated, causing for both to turn in the direction of it. However, it’s presence was felt everywhere, all encompassing in its tonality, and without the childlike nature of what it once was. Suddenly, the skies above grew dark, and a void appeared before the ninjas. Thicker than the most crude tar, poured a bile from the strange portal, a bile that soon began to encircle everything surrounding Dante and Evron.

“Evron.” Dante stated sharply.

“Right.” He replied, and the two brothers quickly drew their weapons and got back to back. All the while, the imposter Heart continued to speak, hurling venom and spite towards them, specifically Dante, words that would have otherwise been uncharacteristic of the divine being... If both ninjas didn’t already know the truth.

Soon enough, the black liquid took form and chose that of a towering woman to be its avatar. The being proudly stood in front of them, clad in a white and red dress, and adorned with a golden crown atop her head. She was breathtakingly gorgeous, but her presence and energy were one of poison and deceit; she was nothing more than a intricately designed mask. The ninjas listened intently to what the woman had to say, and once she was done, there was nothing but silence for several moments. That is, until Evron smirked. He left his position by Dante’s side to instead face her down with no hint of fear nor intimidation from his person.

“Are you done, finally? Shit, I was starting to doze off with how painfully unoriginal your little monologue was.” Evron mocked.

“Don’t play dumb.” Dante stated as he stepped beside Evron, and stared intensely at their enemy. “We already know you’re not the real Heart.”

“Instead, you’re just some haughty, overbearing, and arrogant bitch. And, even if you were the, ‘real’ Heart at some point... Obviously, you’re not the being that Dante bonded with, nor are you the being that our Mom gifted to him, so how about we leave her name out of this.”

Dante narrowed his eyes when he soon remembered something, something the woman had mentioned in her ramblings. “You mentioned the ruler of Sheol, Persephone... How she was fit to rule... Why? Why bring her up at all?” He questioned. Then, a smirk formed on his lips as it dawned on him. “You’re a follower of hers, aren’t you? You work for her.”

Evron’s eyes widened in shock, and he turned to Dante, grinning. “Holy shit, she totally is, isn’t she!”

“She’s a follower!”

“You’re. A follower.” Evron turned back to the woman, crossing his arms. “Some lapdog Persephone has, eh? I wonder where she dug this one up from?”

“No idea, but it’s obvious that she’s really good at disguises.” Dante said, smiling towards her. “Aren’t you, ‘Heart of the Multiverse’?”

[Demon Lord Gira]

The Heart of the Multiverse stared down at the two Ninjas with a blank, yet barely irritated expression. Her hands held far to the sides, her head tilted as Dante and Evron deduced what they assumed was her likely identity. Yet, once they were finished, a thin smile crept across her face. A chuckle escaped her lips, then another.

"A lackey of Persy? Me?"

She burst into laughter, a callous cold sound that betrayed her appearance. "Oh no, I am the Heart. I have been so for a very long time. Things change over time, Ninjas. Nothing remains the same. I have taken many roles across time and space. I have been The Heart, I have been the Holy Grail, I have been the Guiding Light, the Holy Spirit, many roles you couldn't begin to imagine. But Persy's lackey? That is not one of them. Such a role is unsavory for a mother."

Her emerald eyes darken as her smile grew a little wider. " But, since you know too much, never again will you see those you cherish most. Instead, I will take the role of your executioner. Now, go dream of your ideals that will never be fulfilled... Then die!"

Several purple lights flashed from behind The Heart, and Dante's flesh burned as seven beams of fell energy struck into his chest. The Ninja Prime was sent crashing through the ground behind him as the beams intensified in their power. The Ninja's skin sizzled and popped from the foreign energies that made up the beam. At the same time, the blackish mire that surrounded Evron surged up around him, before it caged him in and solidified into hundreds of metallic sharpened blades to run him through where he stood....

[Corzak The Mighty]

"I see..." Immanuel replied solemnly. So the pirate DID intend for godzilla arive here as well. But why? What purpose would it serve to allow the beast to enter here? His pirates seemed to fear and dread it, unwilling to deal with it longer than need be. Why conjure forth their greatest nemesis to their base operations?

It put the god of light on edge. Whatever Hercules had planned, Immanuel doubted it would be good...
________________________________________________________________
The sounds of conflict had reached Yzazil's ears. Something had happened once more here? The God of Judgment shook his head; perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps this was not the place to bring those who were wounded or injured. Yzazil turned to Vegeta, gesturing for him to stay down, before the armored entity took to the skies in a swirl of Prana, making his way towards the source of chaos...
________________________________________________________________
Seeing that The Other seemed to have lost interest in inquiring him, Gigantis relaxed a bit. It was nice to be able to just sit back somewhere and relax. Gigantis leaned against one of the walls of the ship. A wave of lethargy suddenly washed over the reptilian giant and he began to doze off, not even noticing that Evron had vanished in his exhausted daze.

As he fell into slumber, he heard a familiar voice enter into his mind, like the hiss of a serpent.

"Rest well, Gigantis. Soon, there will be much to do..."

What?! Who's there?! Gigantis mumbled in his mind. His dreamy mind was foggy, unable to make out anything in the creeping void around him.

"Have you forgotten our deal so soon?' the voice whispered. "You were to disrupt the ninjas and their allies gathering the dragonballs. You have already failed me. But worry not; fate has granted you a second chance. But this time, I will not leave it up to your will to arbitrate this victory."

W-what do you mean by that? Gigantis voice spoke frightfully into the void.

"When you wake, you shall understand," the serpentine voice hissed. "For now, take your reprieve..."

The voice faded, and so too did Gigantis' consciousness...
________________________________________________________________
Nyx did not have much time to appreciate the cruel irony of Erebus' upper chassis being grafted onto another of Sheol's spider-like machines, for Nyx had a much more pressing issue to deal with. More specifically, She had at least three pressing issues: two mechanical skeletons, and the diminutive ally of Lilith. Acting quickly, Nyx leveled her pistol, first at the magnaguard that had turned its back to her, then at the one coming towards her. A swift squeeze of the trigger and a decisive shot later, and the magnaguards found a hole roughly the size of a grapefruit blown into each of their chests. Not waiting to check if the shots managed to drop the machines, Nyx darted into cover, sliding behind a nearby terminal and keeping a low profile. Nyx took this opportunity to check her clip.

Three shots left. She'd need to make every shot count. And if Lilith really was capable of reading her mind, she'd need to think of creative ways to distract her...

Well, Lilith, if you like reading people's minds, how about I take you on a trip down memory lane? Nyx thought to herself. Taking a deep breath, Nyx scattered her thoughts - rather than focusing on any one thing, she let her mind run wild, thinking back to all the events that had occurred in her life. From her childhood to her demise to her revival by Yzazil, all the way to her incursion into the KAA. It's be hard to focus on the fight at hand, but it'd be worth it if it actually helped to keep her mind from being fully read...
________________________________________________________________
The two suited beings glanced at each other in a confused manner, unsure how to react to the bantering of the Quatheral. They had met the same king they had known, yes? Either these beings had been lied to... or they were completely insane. Given their appearance, they were assuming the latter.

"yes, we're here to rebuild Tengri's flagship. It was damaged in a recent battle with the ninjas and their allies," one of the engineers replied.

"You wish to see Tengri firsthand? He is quite busy, but perhaps we will be able to bring you to him. He will be very interested in meeting beings like you again...' The second engineer said. While he gestured for the Quatheral to approach him, the first engineer tapped onto the wrist of his suit, sending some sort of transmission to those below...
----
A smile crept onto Tengri's lips. "Ah, as observant as you are beautiful! Excellent traits to have." Tengri's taloned thumb pressed against Molly's cheek, as he moved her face side to side to examine her. Truly, this woman was an exquisite specimen. Her tender skin, her short golden hair! Truly, one worthy of being kept around...

Tengri relinquished his grip on Molly's face before he continued. "I have a grand plan in store for you, Molly. You see, I desire a second chance to duel the strong ninja. Surely you recognize him - the one named 'Ubel'. He disgraced me during our battle on Earth; I do not take such disgraceful behavior lightly. But how does one capture the attention of one who has everything? They care not for fame, nor fortune, nor do they care for the rabble who congregate at their feet."

Tengri's smile widened maddeningly, before he pointed a taloned finger at his own chest. "No, you aim for their heart! It is only by taking what they hold dear that those with power pay attention! And you, my dear, you are just what I sought after; you are what the foolish ninja holds dear above all others! you shall be the bait to draw in the shark, the lamb to satiate the lion's hunger!"

Tengri let out a hearty laugh. "But worry not; your heavenly beauty has softened my heart. I shall see to it you do not come to harm. Rather, I have something much more... suitable in store for you."

Tengri turned to the fallen yakuza who stood in eerie silence behind Molly. "Shayatin! Take this one to my tailor. See to it my newest concubine is given proper attire."

Shayatin seemed to pause briefly, before offering an affirmative nod. "Yes, my lord." The fallen yakuza's hand grasped Molly's arm. "Come with me."
----
"Seems we have come to an agreement then." The ebony-clad giant chuckled. "Excellent! No need to waste more time than needed."

Abaddon rested his blade on his shoulder pauldron once more. "Fare well, angels! Report to me when your mission is done!" The warlord thought about the last words offered by Minerva. She had heard his name used by another? the warlord chuckled to himself perhaps stories of his Black Crusade had reached far and beyond his own world. Fascinating....
________________________________________________________________
"More than likely it is a trap. But it is one you must act o-"

Before owlzarus was able to finished his statement, Dante vanished from sight! But this was not the work of some rift, nor was it something innate to his dimension; he had simply been plucked from his demiplane to another one somehow, without him managing to gain notice. Was this... was this the work of the corrupted Heart, as Dante's siblings had warned him about? And if it was so... then Dante was in grave danger...

"My lady, I'm afraid that Dante has been taken beyond my sight," Owlzarus sighed in a defeated tone. "I can still feel his presence, but... wherever he is, it must be beyond the branches of Yggdrasil. If you wish, I may attempt to send you where I believe he has gone... but then, I do not know if we will be able to catch Drillgore and save the child."

Owlzarus looked to Boore and Booled. "Unless, you two would prefer I go with you to confront Drillgore. Though I am... much weaker outside of my realm..."

[Beast Blood]

The Borskall with the horned helmet glared at Tenkarus for but a moment, before turning to her green-furred friend.

"Is this how annoying I am when I challenge you?" she asked. "The next time I do that, strike me."

The pleasant smirk on Gaiyan's face did not diminish one bit, even with the girl's stubbornness. If what Glaxion said was any indication, she was used to being brushed off.

"All we are saying is... It is better to be safe than to be sorry, friend. As a healer, I should know. I spend most of my time watching victims of avoidable accidents walk up into my place for help... Assuming they can walk at all."

[HayesAJones]

Outside, away from the blood, the battle, the bad memories, Alex helped the barely clothed, bat-winged woman onto his heidrun. He gave its great, horned head a few strokes to show it was friendly.

"I'm going to stay here, okay? But this nice guy will bring you someplace safe, I promise. Y- You might not understand them at first, but find the loudest person or the smartest-sounding one and tell them Alex sent you."

He held onto her hand gently, warming it from the cold night air. He wasn't releasing it until he knew she was going to be alright alone. "Do you think you can do that?"

_____________________

Bug bared her teeth in fury at the pig-like demons. These fools were wasting her time.

With her free arm, the black-furred devil shielded herself, layers of calcified skin and dense bone flaring out from her hand to deflect the bolt of plasma. Smoke and ash poured from the resulting stump, but her main body remained unharmed. With her other hand, she swatted the air, sending a wave of motion down her extended, whip-like claws.

When the kinetic surge reached the Gyu Oni, it erupted, thorny growths exploding out in all directions, skewering fur, flesh, clothing, and even metal...!

_____________________

Magparker giggled. "<Oh, don't you worry! You'll know him when you see him. He's even older and bigger than I am! It's been an age since I last saw him, but I have no doubt that hasn't changed.>"

Fray, who had been happy to quietly observe so far, gave a curious grunt and gestured at herself, hand moving from her chest up to over her head.

"<Yes, even taller than you! He's a striking devil, him.>"

_____________________

"The heck hit me?" Dea grumbled as she staggered upright, finding herself chest deep in tall, golden grass. It took her a moment to find the palace in the distance; four rapidly growing blobs of color were moving from it towards her. The superhuman narrowed her charcoal eyes, all humor gone from her face.

So someone had bailed the kids out, huh? They just kept getting coddled, even when the doofus himself was away.

Well, that was just fine.

Why teach the soon-to-be-dead?

"Sure, be gadflies if you want, brats. But there are consequences in the real world. Gadflies get swatted."

Dea's chest swelled as she sucked in air.

"JUST DON'T COMPLAIN WHEN MY FLYSWATTER SQUASHES EVERYTHING ELSE TOO!"

The shout was thunderous- no, it was stronger than thunder! It ripped apart the ground, turning tawny fields into brown trenches. It scored the planet deeply, dipping into its natural ground water, making the canyons it left behind spew mud like lifeblood The sonic yell grew wider at the same rate it grew longer, threatening not only to dash the young ninjas and Namekian on an air wave hard as stone, but to engulf the entire palace like a hurricane, leaving nothing behind...!

[Demon Lord Gira]

The draconic woman nodded to Alex. "Y-yes... I will." She said. "S-stay safe... Be ca-careful."

_______

C-CONCUBINE?!

Molly's heart skipped a beat at the word. She... She didn't know what to make of this. At least she was being spared and... likely to be treated nicely as a hostage, but... to be a concubine, a trophy for Tengri...And one to lure Ubel to his death. Even if she knew that Ubel was strong, that normally he wouldn't have anything to fear, the fact this Tengri was so certain gave her pause. Tengri had clashed with him before, on her planet. He had to have a plan, some way of taking down Ube-

Wait... Her planet?! Her earth?! They had... fought there?!

Was her mother safe?! Was everyone else okay? Her heart sunk deep into her chest, and as Shayatin took her away, she felt an overwhelming sickness begin to weigh her down. No one had told her...

Was everyone okay?!


_________________________________

Within seconds, Bug's ravenous tendrils had cut through the Gyu-Oni horde. None of them saw what hit them, and they died within seconds. The last of them fell to the ground, gasping for air, unaware they had been cut down by someone with the very same goal as they.

The rest of the hallway was silent, yet the very faint sound of feet walking on the hardened floor could be heard from around the corner. Someone was approaching the unknowing killing field...


--------

The machines staggered from the bullets put into them. Sparks flew from the holes torn by the bullets, and they turned their focus once more onto Nyx. They began to approach her...

But something was off. They walked erratically. For every step they moved forward, they twitched to the side, jerked backwards, tumbled over themselves. It was as if they were struggling to control themselves, and the case became clear as Lilith grabbed at her forehead.

Lilith tried to focus, but her weakness was too strong to ignore. As a Satori, her ability to read the mind was second to none, and no surface level thoughts were safe from her... but she had no control over this power. Sutekh had sealed it away as a mercy, but Persephone had undone that sealing, and now Lilith realized just how much of a blessing had been robbed from her. Voices that spoke in and out at random, fires that swept across her minds eye, birthday candles and parties, a great black abomination that absorbed in a small child, so many things began to stretch across her mind it started to hurt her. It was just like with Persephone, how painful it was to read her mind. But now there were two other sets of minds as well, and while those weren't as sporadic, having three such minds all at once was too much for her.

"STOOOP! MAKE IT STOOOP!" She collapsed onto her side, her hands clutched to her head in pain. As she struggled to stand, a switch on the control panel was flipped, and the Magnaguards stopped in their tracks. They powered down, and collapsed into heaps.

"BELFRIT! I COMMAND YOU! DEAL WITH THEM!"

"As you wish, Mistress Lilith." Belfrit's plain voice spoke out. She held her vine covered staff up, and several of the vines surged out toward the control panel in question. There was a groan of pain as the vines wrapped around the invisible forms of Lae and Aseya and squeezed tight, as a portion of the floor around Nyx liquified and began to surge up around her...

___________


Nichelle braced herself as Dea's supersonic scream tore through the palace. Now she had to step in to stop this. her flame blades extended out, and superheated up. She slashed them forward, and the blade of superheated air flew into the supersonic scream, and cut through it. Where the Ninja young ones and Piccolo were,they were saved from the incoming blast.

"Hold it." Nichelle said, both to Dea and to Piccolo. The fact things had escalated when the green man had intervened... it only made her suspicions stronger. Her face turned to face Dea. "If you wanted them dead, they would already be dead by now. You only got agitated when people began stepping in. What is your purpose here? You were much the same down in the Abyss. Are you not working for Persephone? What is your game?"

In her mind, it just didn't make any sense. Did she think she was so far and beyond the others she could toy with the children, even in the heart of her enemy's stronghold? No, that was far too risky, especially for someone under Persephone's payroll. What... what was her goal?

-------------
One the rest of the Ninja younglings and the Quatherals were gatheredin the back of the chamber, Heather floated to the entrance. "There, you should all be safe now from Dea...." She said. She held a hand to the door, and the door out of the passage closed behind her. She looked up at her little group, and a chuckle began to escape from her lips. "And I even brought a babysitter to oversee you all."

From the very back of the room, twin plumes of smoke billowed into the back of Uquillius and Fiotto's backs. Seven golden hued eyes stared out of the darkness as a great draconic head, nearly as tall as the room itself and obsidian in hue, moved forward, blackened molten lava dripping from beneath the fangs of the draconic head. The eyes stared down upon the Quatherals and Ninja children with an envious, hungry glare.

"None of these you brought... are Collin." The Wyvern King hissed as a great clawed wing reached forward and gouged the ground. "But they will... suffice as food."

-----------

As Yzazil made his way toward the battlefield, the barrier above the Ninja Homeworld shimmered as a rift formed on the inside. A great winged chimera, more like a walking corpse than a living being, descended from the rift, carried by decayed wings. The two human heads of the chimera let out an ear rending screech as it dived upon Yzazil, its claws splayed out in full...

--------

Tenkarus gave an exasperated sigh. "I... I get what you mean, I guess. But, it's not like I have much to worry abo-"

An ear rending roar echoed across the plains of the Ninja World. Tenkarus turned in the direction it came from. "Please tell me I wasn't the only one who heard that..."

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The claws of the God of Death had pieced through Aram's tail and into his hide. It was a pain that the God of Suffering was well acute with, and Crigan expected such a wound to send Aram into a flailing frenzy, and for his grip to loosen from the strike. Yet, he seemed oddly at ease, as if he had been expecting as such, and the monstrous fox tightened his coils around Crigan, splintering his scales and cracking bone.

"A notable effort, but not quite enough." Aram hissed. Another of his tails wrapped around the injected claw and slowly began to pry it out of his body. "Even with your newly restored power, you really are a farce of a god-"

Explosions ripped across Aram's back, and the God of Suffering staggered forward. This time his grip loosened, no doubt from the shock of the blast, and Crigan used the momentary lapse in pressure and pain to transform his body state. Where once he had been a solid being of flesh and blood, now his form wavered and turned into something else, something that Aram realized was very, very bad for him.

Dark Matter.

Everything around the demonic fox was consumed in a fiery explosion. Every inch of his body that had been in contact with Crigan was engulfed in pain and fire. His fur burned, and his flesh was scarred as his body tumbled out of the fireball. He only barely caught himself with his claws, and the fox's visage turned into a snarl as his eyes focused on where the initial blast to the back had originated.

An equally annoyed Demmy spat back at him. "Should have put more juice into those shocks." Demmy sneered, as she unleashed another surge of eye bolts toward Aram. The fox tried to evade, but the wounds hindered his speed
and reflexes, and the eye bolts hit home. Each of them bore into his flesh and detonated against him. Aram's nine tails channeled electrical power which was hurled at Demmy, but the demon was ready. She inhaled, then out out a powerful gust of air from deep within. The lightning bolts were thrown off course by the powerful winds, and struck the ground around Aram instead. Shards of rock were blasted up, and the fox's eyes were cut into by the debris. His vision faltered, as everything became dark and tainted with red. Anger building within him, he formed a sphere of electrical properties and hurled it at where the girl had been, but all he heard was it exploding against rock. His ears twitched and his nose sniffed the air. He detected nothing, she was covering her scent and not making a sound.

That was when a different noise entered Aram's mind. Not a pleasant noise, but horrendous racket, the kind that Lilith used when doing her work! It was all gibbirish noise to Aram, and it drove the God of Suffering mad.

"Where the hell did you go, you stupid bitch?!" Aram snapped. "Show yourself! Cease this faggotry!"

Demmy's voice seemed to echo from everywhere. "Crigan told me all about you when you showed up. You really are a furry snake, and an egotistical ass. All high and mighty, thinking you can make people do what you want like puppets. That's why I came prepared. Though, I do have to ask, what exactly does it mean to 'superman a hoe' exactly? These songs the other waitresses listen to are so weird. Do they mean the gardening tool or-"

"ENOUGH OF THAT RACKET!" jagged bolts of lightning shot in every direction, and the entire Realm of the Gods was flooded with Aram's power. The ground was carved apart, statues vaporized and turned to liquid stone, and the skies sundered, yet nothing connected, nothing at all. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

His answer came from beneath him. His own shadow betrayed him, as Demmy emerged from within and struck the fox from beneath. Aram was launched into the air, his fangs snapped and claws flexed as he prepared to jet himself back down to earth...

and then he felt it, six claws dig into his spine, and that was when he realized he had been set up. What the demon girl had been doing, was buying time, time for Crigan to reform from his explosion, and deliver the fatal blow.

"ARAM... GET OUT OF MY WIFE."

The claws parted, and the human form of Mara was torn from Aram's body. In an instant, Crigan wrapped his form around Mara and slowly descended to the ground with her as Aram crashed down upon the edge of an island. The once pirstine white coat of the fox had turned pitch black and was covered in blood. Slowly, Aram rose to his feet, saliva and blood dripping from his opened maw, and began to charge once more, but Crigan had no time for his adversary. A single fireball caught Aram in the chest, and sent the God of Suffering hurtling back where he had landed, before everything there was engulfed in a spiraling pilalr of flames. The god of Death's eyes widened. Aram's... Aram's power, it was...

Beside Crigan, Demmy reappeared. "What a headache. That guy's an ass." She looked at the woman Crigan had in his arms. "You wren't kidding when you said he had your wife. I mean... geez."

Crigan rested his head upon Mara's own. He embraced her softly, and held her tight. He heard a voice reach his ears. "W.. What is... C-Crigan? Crigan... You're alive! Crigan! How... I saw you die! You died-"

"I did, I did die." He whispered to her. "I' not the husband you once knew, but another him. I lost the you I knew, but... we're together now. It's going to be okay." He looked down at her, and his eyes softened as he saw Mara's own stare up at him. Both eyes shimmered, and tears flowed down their faces. " I missed you so much. I'm so sorry! We'll be together now, I promise..."

"I don't care if it's another you." Mara smiled. Her voice was more natural than when Aram had taken control, a somewhat higher pitch, and all the gentler. She leaned in closer. "A is A, and Crigan is Crigan. You will always be you, no matter what. I'm here to stay... Thank you... Thank you."

The God of Death rubbed a clawed hand across her cheek. It was smooth to the touch. He wanted this to last forever, for this to be the end of everything, all of his hard work and devotion to have finally paid off in the most miraculous of circumstances. But, he knew it was not the end. There wre still great evils left to be dealt with, Tengri and Persephone, and right now, he had to make sure Aram was down for the count. "I'm sorry, but I have business to finish."

Mara nodded. Her smile shallowed. "I understand. Crigan, don't die on me again. You can win, I know you can."

He let go, and looked over at Demmy, who had stood by with an impatient tapping of her left foot. "Demogorgon, can you take her and get back to the others? I have to stay here and finish off Aram. I'll meet you back at the Ninja's place, and hopefully we can end this nightmare once and for all there, with the dragonballs. Go find your friend as well."

"I owe her a life debt. Of course I was going to find her. Besides, I know she's not harmed, and I can track that bitch Shayatin's scent trail." She reached a hand out and took Mara's, before she ripped open a rift and hopped down into it. " Take care, Crigan. I'll keep your wife safe. I promise."

"Come back victorious!"

As the rift closed, Crigan turned his attention back to the smoldering crater where Aram was. "I know you're not dead, not from that. Now there's no one to get in the way, no one to keep me from holding back, not until you're a bloody smear on my fist." The God of Death took to the air, and began to charge up not just a fireball, but a second sphere of divine power within his claws...

The crater smoldered, and ash fell from the rising fumes. Then, came laughter. Deep, haunting laughter that came from the smoke cloud within. "An interesting strategy, for a walking carcass. There is just ONE small problem..."

The sphere Crigan had been preparing shattered in his grip as blood spattered out from his chest. A beam of light, concentrated divine light, had fired from the cloud and shot right through the God of Death, just above the heart.Six more of the hard construct lights fired from the smoke cloud and ran through Crigan's body. The God of Death screamed out of pain as the lights burned his essence.

The laughter only grew louder, and the dust cloud blew away. There, within the crater, was not the form of the demonic fox that Crigan had expected to see, but something else that made his blood run cold, and everything around him to fall apart. The life force before him was distinctively Aram's,but now it was intermingled with several other souls, all which flared together to radiate a power that threatened to devour the entire realm. The form was human, with long glistening white hair and pale skin. Yet, their arms were wreathed in a sickly purple flame, the same which flowed around the nine tail like horns that draped down the god's back.The lights had come from the figure's fingers, and its face was twisted into a manical, uncontrolled laughter, with the same deep voice that betrayed the female frame Aram had now taken.

"YOU HAVE WELL, AND TRULY, FUCKED YOURSELF WITH YOUR OWN MISTAKES, CRIGAN!"

[MinorBone Good]

Cthelee's head was throbbing after being suddenly grabbed by an unknown entity. He felt like he was going to throw up. The poor bird soon found himself hanging upside down by the green being. Soon Cthelee was lowered back down to the ground, and stumbled a bit. Cthelee gurgled out loud, and rubbed a wing against his head. At least he got down safley! He looked towards Piccolo with an appreciative smile. He quickly embraced Vale's hug before she told him to run off somewhere. He looked around to where to go. He wanted to go help the children, but it looked like that was being taken care of by Fiotto and Uquillious. Cthelee decided to make aa break for it back towards to the estate to see if he could be of any assistance there. That was until Dea's loud screech sounded off, a small portion leaking past Nichelle's defense and ended tearing up the ground before Cthelee. The Quatheral being lost his footing, and slipped into the growing cracks in the ground!

Evoex however was making his way towards Dea. He wasn't able to defeat her on his own, yes. However, he still had his allies to count on. He hoped this was the right option. He soon landed near Nichelle as she was asking questions to Dea. He waited for her to finish before he decided to speak up.

[Border]"WHY DON'T YOU JUST RECONSIDER YOUR ACTIONS, PLEASE? I'M SURE WE CAN COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING!"[/Border]
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Fiotto and Uqillious dashed into the chambers, with Uquillious trying her best to calm down the scared children. Poor things must've been terrified! Good thing she was made to help them out. She continued to pat one girl's head before looking over at Heather as she started to talk. Wait, a babysitter, she didn't remember Heather saying tha-

Just then, the two Quatheral beings felt the smokey feeling roll up along their backs. Uquillios's eyes widened and screeched out, pulling some children away from the monstrous wyvern. "G-GET BACK KIDS!! Heather, there's a hungry monster in here!"

Fiotto was flabbergasted to say the least. He honestly couldn't believe what Heather had done.. Sure, he knew Heather was an unpleasant, and almost a downright awful being, but to send them to their doom? Fiotto slowly backed up from the Wyvern King, starting to prep a cup of tea fast. He needed to stall as long as he could, and hopefully someone can come to their aid. If Heather was allied with this creature, and with Heather still being in this tiny form. he could at the very least get Heather out of the way.

He looked up at the Wyvern King, still continuing to back up, only a bit more slowly now. "W-W-W-Whhy err, H-Hello there being! M-My name is F-Fiotto!" Fiotto stammered, tapping all six of fingers nervously. "N-Now, I-I-I-I don't think you w-w-will enjoy eating me!" Fiotto nervously chuckled, inching closer to Heather. "N-N-Now, I-II... I don't know who Collin is! B-But.. E-Errm.. I can assure you that we can get you them! O-Okay?" Just then, a loud ding emited from Fiotto's body, and Fiotto's chest compartment opened. He pulled out a steaming hot cup of tea and splashed it onto Heather, momentarily stunning her. As she hollered out in pain, Fiotto jumped up and grabbed hold of Heather tightly.

"A-AHA! I-I.. E-Errmm.." He pointed at the Wyvern King, lifting up Heather a bit for them to see. "Y-You.. You wouldn't want to hurt an accomplice, would you!? R-Right!?" Fiotto begged. Sensing Heather was trying to break free from his grasp, Fiotto quickly shoved the fae into his tea door and closed it. "Y-Y-You n-n-need ea-eachother, right!?" He'd really hoped
______________________________

"Превосходно! Отведите нас к Тенгри, очень красивые слуги!!" Xpveinees said with joy. She began to follow the two while Cider trailed behind them.

"The Ninjas... Yakuza, right? That's a shame. Hopefully we will be able to subdue them. It's what Quatheral requested us to do after all."
_______________________________

Booled was waiting for Owlzarus to finish, worrying about the remains of Howo and Ishome. If Drillgore had the ability to time travel, and access to Quatheral's regenerative powers, this could mean he could have an infinite supply of subjects... A fate most gruesome. However, Booled's thoughts were disrupted once their host just... vanished. That... That was... most strange. The heart.. It had been a false. Disgusting. Booled and Boore moved into Aphrodite as their new host, fading into Aphrodite's view.

"Ah, Aphrodite. It was the false voice of the Heart. Before Drillgore made his appearance, it spoke to him and declined. That is my assumption. Dante sensed the message was sent to Evron as well, so he was probably taken there as well.

Boore flew around Owlzarus and Aphrodite. "Knowing Dante, he's already beaten up that big fakey! He should be back any second now! Watch! 3...2...1!" Boore pointing her arms towards where Dante was. After a few seconds passed, Boore rubbed his mask. "Uhhh...Now!"

"Enough Boore." Booled spoke with his monotone voice of hers. She looked over at Aphrodite and Owlzarus. "If both Dante and Evron are there, they could most likely handle themselves. As for our other enemy, Drillgore.." Booled stopped herself, taking a moment to sigh out loud. "Drillgore with his current power, I'm not sure if we will be able to even stop him. We'll probably die if we go there. Well, you will. We're ghosts."

"Great words of encouragement, Booled." Boore said with rare sarcastic tone.

"He has the ability to manipulate time, and you yourself have seen the destruction of Drillgore, Aphrodite. And that was with you and Nichelle keeping him away. Imagine the hell he has caused on Logithee. However, Quatheral did construct Drillgore to always say the truth. Whether he has bypassed this, it is unknown."

"Pssh! Even then, Drillgore was super weak when against Daeva! Well, kinda! And that was his normal him! So his copies will be easier to beat! You two should TOTALLY go an help!"

[EdGojira]

Jackie evaded the chain. This thing was trouble. It didn't behave much in the way a weapon should. He hadn't managed to get close to Salome either. There wasn't much telling how much agency his clones had to think on their feet while he dealt with this issue nor how strong they were after being around this long.

The clone being attacked summoned forth a sword to block the attack. They only managed to stall her. There needed to be another way. The other clone came in to aim at her with its staff.

Jackie summoned a chi spear and allowed the chain to come in. He evaded and swung the spear down, causing the chain to curl around it and then formed an extension along the spear that held the chain in place. He then buried the spear in the ground. A blade shot from his hand, aiming for Salome's head.
__________
"You're in good hands," Hercules reassured. He soon readied himself to dive into the waters below from the opening on the bottom of the ship. Below was a beach of red and white sand. The red washing into the sea recalled to him the events which brought Godzilla to them.

Hercules had been captivated by the case of the First Ancestral Race. The gods, they were most useless in regards to finding anything about it. But, one day something caught his interest.

Some archeologists on some primitive planet had been in a long since abandoned chapel to honor Olympian heroes when something was uncovered near a volcanic vent. It was said to overhaul the study of the origins of life on Earth. Something had been there, thrown up by geological activity which had likely been there since their planet had collided with another and formed its moon. How this was possible put all their minds on edge.

But said geological activity had caused a massive earthquake and melted down their nuclear reactors. The land had already been bombarded by atomic bombs before. It was a disaster. In more ways that they realized.

There was another seed. One that they hadn't discovered. A knockoff, infesting the wildlife. Hercules couldn't stay for long lest he attract Neptune and he simply didn't want to do it.

Every day since staring into that strange mass undersea, Hercules wondered what it might breed. Every day, he knew disaster was coming. Eventually the gods did too, not that Hercules hadn't warned them in a discreet way.

Only his crew knew that the barely conscious gilled monstrosity had already tried to take a bite out of him.
_________
"We're pretty nervous he's gonna attack us," continued the Majin. "The Other was supposed to make him stop. I don't trust some mean old god, though."
_______
Goku hovered above the devastation, wondering whether he should simply go after the army or stay and see if he could help. Goku chose to help.
_________
Jake stoically realized that the figure had spotted him. The fact that she hadn't attacked him was a good sign. However, being able to tell he was using his abilities from behind cover was a different story altogether. Still, reacting with hostility was likely to make them hostile in return. Not to mention, he was searching for information. This stranger could provide it.

Jake slunk in, his horns scratching across the roof. If they could detect his sight, then perhaps they could his typical method of powering up. It would be too risky to not have some kind of backup plan. He had to prepare to suddenly surge his power.

"I'm taking that as an invitation?"
________
Vegeta steadied his walk. It was mostly good now. Still, he cursed Yzazil. Damned stranger telling him what to do. He would make his own decisions. But damned if it weren't obvious that he wasn't at his best.

The blast attempted to take out the palace but was stopped. Surely, he could handle that. But someone else was already doing it. He hadn't an idea what was going on anyway. He would simply have to wait for things to pan out. If someone came after him, he would show the multiverse what a Saiyan really was.
_________
Xarm hadn't been paying much mind to the situation, but the sound of Ubel's surprise caused the alien Android to rise from his seat. True to Ubel's word, Evron was gone.

Confusion could be read on Beetle's face. She could sense... something. Like, an afterimage of sorts. From what she couldn't fully describe. "It's like when we fire off a time-space distortion round... kind of."

"Seriously?" Garig said. "How does 'kind of' help?"

"It might give me an idea of what to search for," said The Other. He approached the area and placed his hand where Evron once stood. He began channeling his power in an attempt to determine what had happened and more importantly where Evron had gone... if anywhere.

Go'ren sat up from their resting place, sourly observing the situation. They wondered how Nonce would have commented on the situation? Man, it was weird missing him already.