We are the Omega Core. We are Core Genesis. Its golden wings continued to slowly move up and down, though there was no need for it to do so to remain aloft. As observer of the Multiverse, it is our mission to preserve order.

"Why are you telling us this?" Hugo asked. "Why don't you just kill us now, then?"

As consorts of the vessel, you have done well to protect us. As consorts of the vessel, you have earned the right to return to your dimensions and spend the remaining time with your loved ones. There was a flash, and back on the other side of what remained of the crystal island, a Gateway emerged from empty space. Soon we will wipe the Multiverse clean, and create it anew.

"What about Matt?" Helena shouted, her voice breaking. "Where is he?!"

The density within the orb cleared, like a fog being blown away. The thing inside faded into detail, revealing itself to be Matt suspended within Core Genesis, completely still, eyes closed, as if asleep. The vessel will remain here while we extract the last of our power.

Helena's eyes widened. "Matt!"

"Damn it, let him go!" Hugo brandished his pickaxe at Core Genesis. "I'm not leaving him here with YOU!"

Another flash, and Hugo's pickaxe was knocked away by an invisible force, landing near the Gateway with a clatter. Combat is unneccessary. Return to your dimensions at once. This is your only chance.

The air seemed still, and the tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife, or so the saying goes. R.D. lowered his eyes from the giant entity floating before them over the ruins of the temple. It made sense. With the Multiverse recreated, they'd no longer have to worry about entities such as Kuro, Ziatoch, or Maya. Things would be at peace, and there'd be a chance to start anew.

Right?

His mind searched for the answer, but then, he realized he knew the answer all along. There was only one thing for them to do.

"No."

His declaration was thunderous in the silence.

R.D. raised his eyes back to Core Genesis, staring hard at the floating sphere that their friend was entombed in. His eyes flashed golden in challenge.

"We fought and we bled and we carried on just to reach this final place," he growled, "Why did we do it? Because we were trying to protect the Multiverse. And we finally reach this sanctum, to learn that you're just going to destroy it anyway!?"

The amnesiac teen's face was twisted in a snarl.

"I won't allow it!" he roared, "These are our worlds, our homes! We will fight to the last to protect the ones we love! You may be the Omega Core, but I don't care! If you're going to threaten the ones we love, then you're nothing more than an enemy!"

The blazing might of Lumiya erupted all around him, illuminating him in an azure wave of ethereal fire. The helmet closed down around his face, obscuring it behind the dark visor, and his eyes blazed golden.

"And if there is an enemy in front of me... I will destroy it."

===In Japan===

Alasea's shoulders slumped, and her head was hung low. "You can't be certain of that," she said, "It's time we stopped thinking that everything this Kuro does is undefeatable, because it's not. Even he fell."

She looked up at Awai. "I think we should try regardless of how powerful these bonds are. We can't give up hope yet."

===In Quebec===

Re-Tuul's toothy maw ripped wide as the demon bellowed, unleashing violet flame at Houka's inferno. The skies seemed to burn as their two flaming powers clashed.

Your chosen course of action is unwise, Core Genesis replied. Renewal will be painless. You will remember nothing of your past lives. You will remember nothing of past pain and sorrow.

Hugo didn't waver. "Maybe we want those memories."

They hold no importance in renewal.

"You're just a thing that doesn't know how to feel!"

As observer of the Multiverse, I have felt the happiness of all beings. I have felt the sadness of all beings. These feelings will not vanish.

"Without memories to attach to those feelings, they don't MEAN ANYTHING!" Helena suddenly shouted.

Hugo glanced at her.

"I...I have a lot of bad memories, but I have a lot of good ones, too!" the dragon girl cried. "Memories with Hugo and R.D. and Matt! They're my loved ones!"

She clenched her clawed fists, a tear streaming down her face. "I don't need to leave...I'm aready home!"

There was a pause.

So be it.

Core Genesis's spherical form collapsed on itself, forming a human outline. Grooves etched into the new shape, forming crystalline plates of armor. Its golden wings burned hot blue, stretching to bold new lengths. Four crimson eyes burned on its face.

Matt still hung within its tremendous form.

You will be renewed first.



***

Throughout the Multiverse, on each Earth and beyond, all felt a chill rise up within their bodies.

Edited by The Helldragon on September 5, 2007 at 22:56:39.

R.D.'s armored fingers flexed, the material beneath the shining plate stretching with the movement. He looked back at Hugo and Helena, and despite it being obscured by his helmet, he smirked. Despite the odds stacked horribly against him, he could feel a thrill rising up within him even as the chill rise up his body, as if it were trying to fight back the despair.

Perhaps a little of Matt had rubbed off on him.

"This is it, guys," he said, his voice unusually confident.

"Heaven or Hell. Let's rock."

With a swift movement, R.D. fell into a battle stance with both Phase Blades drawn, ethereal azure flame swathing their crystalline blades. The might of Lumiya flared all around him, and with a single step, he rocketed through the air straight for the looming monstrosity of Core Genesis.

===In Japan===

Alasea nodded. "We'll be prepared," she said, "We still have a job to do, and we intend to see it through!"

Suddenly, the chill of impending doom creeped through her body, and she shivered. She raised her arms up and rubbed them through the sleeves of her black jacket, looking around uncomfortably.

"Did you feel that?"

===In Quebec===

Even as Gouka burned him, Re-Tuul flapped with his gigantic wings, soaring high into the air. Razor-bladed teeth shone in the plagued skies, and it was then that the gigantic felt the unexplainable, disconcerting chill. Blood leaking from his ruined middle-left eye, the demon screeched as the cold feeling swept through his massive frame. Despite the incoherent train of thought, Re-Tuul knew something was wrong, and that the time to leave was now.

The demon's cry rocked the frozen lands of Canada and the zephyrs swirled around him as the demon spun upwards and blasted into the clouds. They were scoured away by his flight, and the demon soared off into the distance, too fast to be followed. The skies around Quebec slowly turned to normal, and the sun shone down on the ruined lands and the resurrected foes that covered it.

Riul heard out the conversation between Awai and Alasea, and she was about to agree when suddenly something hit her like an invisible attack. Something so dark, so awful, it made her buckle over. Tears began streaming down her face as she felt the sheer ferocity of the force that others felt only slightly. She dropped to her knees and put her hands on the ground for stability. As the feeling extracted itself she vomited all over the grass. Feeling sick to her stomach, she stood up and turned her tear stained face to Alasea, "It's begun... I hope R.D. can handle it."

Edited by Ribitta on September 5, 2007 at 20:31:06.

This was it, wasn't it? Now they were to make their stand, fighting for their lives...fighting for everyone's lives.

Helena bent over, ignored the constant pain of change as her wings slid out. Please wake up soon, Matt. We need you.

Core Genesis raised a hand, and from its palm, a stream of wavelike force erupted forth, smashing into R.D.. Relentless in its power, it was immediately too much to withstand, and it sent R.D. flying back.

"ASSHOLE!" Raising his pickaxe, Hugo smashed it on the crystal floor below. Cold wind surged around him, rising as his armor shifted to a blue color. He fired a large bolt of ice at Core Genesis, which uselessly rebounded off of the crystal being.

R.D. cried out as his body was smashed against the ground, the power of Core Genesis washing over him. It was unlike anything he had experienced or imagined. He quickly kicked his legs up and out to right himself, landing easily on his feet. He combined the Phase Blades into the Phase Lance and shot forward once more, this time gliding across the ground.

As he flew forward, a ring of light appeared around his right wrist and orange pistons appeared around the forearm, and skidding to a halt, he pushed up and rocketed into the air, boot thrusters propelling him up at Core Genesis. Energy gathered into his right arm, and each piston slammed down in turn as R.D. fired a barrage of powerful beams at the crystal armor of the titanic being.

The beams tore through the air, rebounding off of Core Genesis like nothing. Combat is unneccessary. A low wave of its hand launched another wave of impassable force at R.D.. Accept your fate.

"No!" Helena shouted. With a huge flap of her wings, she took to the sky, gathering power. "Inferno..." Levelling her palms at Core Genesis, she released the building energy in a familiar heat beam. "Vulcan!"

Like R.D.'s attack, the Inferno Vulcan was also deflected by the armor of Core Genesis. The crystal being pointed a finger at Helena, issuing force that threw the dragon girl out of the air and toward the ground.

The time prepared for the counterattack, the armored teen forced his shield out in front of him, causing it to split open and emanate a protective barrier in front of him. Anxious for a split second, R.D. steeled himself for the attack to connect.

It was a lot like throwing a pie at a speeding freight train. Once more R.D. found himself hurtling towards the crystal ground, but luckily he landed on his feet and managed not to break his legs. Glaring up at the entity, he growled. "I'll make my own goddamn fate!"

Thrusting his arm forward, energy gathered into his fist and the ten pistons slammed down together, unleashing a powerful wave of plasma-wrought destruction at Core Genesis, searing the air as it flew. Twice more he fired the powerful charge shots at the colossal being, before leaping up into the air as he created the specialized cannons of the Dragon King Armor. While sleeker, more streamlined hip cannons appeared, the shoulder cannons did not. Instead, mounted just beneath the large ruby in the cuirass' chest, an oval-shaped cannon barrel appeared on the surface. Sheathing the Phase Lance and creating a second arm cannon on his left arm, R.D. channeled energy into all of his weapons and fired them all at once. Twin rays of green energy lanced from his fists while golden beams exploded from the hip cannons. A line of energy was sucked into the torso cannon before erupting in a large, red-and-azure wave of plasma.

Within the bowels of Hydro's cold, snake-like body, Meta stirred as she suddenly felt something. She felt something. She was still alive, she realized, and what she had felt was an unearthly chill that was colder than anything she had felt before, even now, within Hydro's body. Something has happened. She thought. What was it? She did not know, she could not know. But for some reason, she realized that whatever it was, she did not want to die being eaten by the great seasnake.

Never. She thought to herself. Never, ever.

Warmth flowed into her body, yet it did not come from the outside, as Hydro was as cold as the ocean depths. It came from herself, although the warmth was one that exceeded a purely physical level. It was as if she suddenly felt a burst of life within herself, a great willingness to live, even though she had never experienced a want for dying herself. She gritted her teeth, and braced herself as her body was knocked around by an unseen force, something that was within Hydro's body. She felt around her, and noticed that she was soaking wet, and a disgusting smell entered her nostrils. Goddammit. She thought. Where am I? She tried to get a look around, but even though her eyes were better than many, she was incapable of seeing in total darkness, a darkness that seemed darker than any other before it.

She felt a strange feeling overcome her, but this time it was a purely physical one, and not one as nice as the strange warm feeling coming over her. It was as if something was pulling her from her place, a strange suction, and Meta immediately promised herself that she would never ever get inside someone else's body again. That was, of course, should she ever get out of Hydro's body, as she felt suddenly felt a coldness come over her that was like the warmth she had felt, but cold, of course, instead of warm, and she grimaced.

Hydro, She thought to herself, I am so fucking going to liberate you...

Far away from the current position of any others, especially Matt's and RD's and their companions' current position, sat Blues Wee, leaning back in a big comfy seat in a big, largely abandoned City of Angels, when he felt a sudden chill that quite literally knocked him off his seat.

"What the FUCK?!" He cried out in annoyance. "I bet someone is messing with the heater again. I bet it was that Konami chick's bitch of a daughter again. Damn that Ichigo!" He grumbled as he crawled back into his seat.

The combined gunfire rained over Core Genesis, resounding on its frame. It remained still amid the resulting explosions, noting the minor cracks that tore into its armor. Extending its right arm above its head, it gathered shining energy, white-hot and vibrant, and slashed downwards, firing a wave of energy at R.D..

Her fangs clenched, Helena pushed herself up, ignoring the pain in her left wing. She had to try again. Everything was at stake...that's what allowed her to brush off the pain, to pull herself back to standing position. Immediately she felt the beginnings of her building strength, that which cast away her slender human form for that of power.

But she could take some more pain. It was fine.

"Freezing Shotgun!" Whipping around his pickaxe, Hugo fired the icy blast at Core Genesis, swearing when it didn't seem to work. This was stupid, it didn't look like they were doing any real damage to it!

His eye found itself on Matt, floating within the domain of Core Genesis. How could he get him out?

Blazing energy streaked in, and R.D. flung himself aside in the air, only narrowly evading the lethal attack. The side of his armor burned, and the right-side hip cannon was melted slightly from the heat of the blast.

R.D. stabilized his flight in the air and drew his Phase Lance with one hand and activated it in one smooth motion. Holding his shield out in front of him, R.D. roared as he blasted forward in a barrel roll, streaking towards Core Genesis, intending to cut his way through to Matt.

Edited by RisingDragon on September 6, 2007 at 17:55:16.

A chill run up the Demon Hunter's spine, distracting him momentarily from the battle.

What the hell was that?

Kalmar deftly dodged the many dark beams that the Devil Guardian shot at him as he flew toward the beast's head. The man charged a powerful dark beam and shot it at the creature's head, following it by attempting to land on it.

If he successfully landed on the Devil Guardian's head he would swing his charged energy scythe downward, hopefully impaling the beast's eye.

If he missed he would gather energy into his left hand, using the Devilhand to repeatedly slam the top of it's head.

---- Shayol Ghul ----

Daemonus paced slowly through the halls of Shayol Ghul, finding himself outside on the ramparts that surrounded the gigantic floating fortress. He was pondering a sudden chill that had run up his spine a short while ago.

What being could create such power?

The dark figure suddenly sensed a familiar energy source approaching and looked into the sky. He spotted the source, a massive, grotesquely transformed Re-Tuul looking injured.

I wonder what could have caused such damage to a creature of Re-Tuul's power. Especially in that form..

Edited by Fallen on September 6, 2007 at 20:26:58.

You will not touch the vessel. Core Genesis extended its tremendous palm, spreading its fingers. Streams of light emitted from their tips, all five beams curving toward R.D. in a single attack.

"Hey, MATT!" Hugo shouted, running to the left. At least he had an idea. "If you can hear me, wake your ass up! We need you out here!"

Yes. Come back to us, Matt. Now more than ever, we need your strength.

Once more the great emerald dragon, Helena took to the air, soaring toward Core Genesis.

As the five rays of light combined into one, they struck R.D.'s shield in a powerful explosion. He cried out as he was sent plummeting to the ground out of control, impacting hard on his shoulder and bouncing. He staggered to his feet and snarled, switching his double-bladed sword into his left hand before thrusting his right arm out.

Prismatic light gathered around him as R.D. formed Shell Bullet, causing the plate armor around his forearm to change. As he clenched his fist, the lowest bullet disintegrated and released a wave of emerald fire, propelling R.D. back into the air, spiraling around as he attacked the colossal form of Core Genesis with the Shocking First Bullet.

===In Shayol Ghul===

Re-Tuul swept in on his massive black wings, landing roughly on the alien surface of Shayol Ghul, just outside of the ebon tower of Xobelisk. Slowly his form was engulfed in shadow, and it shrank and contoured, the tail disappearing and the wings changing shape. Soon, the darkness cleared, revealing the alabaster skin of Re-Tuul's normal form. Shadowbringer was no longer present; his traditional greatsword was gripped in his right claw instead.

"Damned resurrected freaks," the demon snarled as he regained his normal, eyeless form.

===In Germany===

The Devil Guardian roared as the Demon Hunter fired the energy beam at its head, causing a small explosion and further angering the beast. It immediately threw its head around as Kalmar landed on it, displacing him quickly. With its quarry in the air once more, the demon's mouth opened wide and unleashed a powerful torrent of fire at the annoying pest.

---- Mountains of Germany ----

Kalmar cursed as the Devil Guardian dislodged him, defeating his make-shift plans. He quickly dropped altitude, and effectively dodging the fire blast before charging corrupted energy into his scythe moments before throwing it at the beast's already injured neck.

The Demon Hunter's hands ignited in black and red fire as the Devilhand sprang to life. The man propelled himself forward, chambering back his right fist as he charged energy into his left.

He roared as he would release the pent-up energy into an arc of corrupted energy, following quickly with a hard strike with his right.

---- Shayol Ghul ----

Daemonus watched as Re-Tuul regressed to his base form, the dark figure wondering still what caused the Khaglessi such grief.

"It has been quite awhile, Re-Tuul. What brings you to the darkened halls of Shayol Ghul in such shape?"

...eh?

What was going on?

He felt his eyes bat slightly. He was so tired, he just wanted to sleep, but something was making him stir. It'd better not be the damn dog...

***

If you do not cease your actions, we will begin to use lethal force. Core Genesis's four red eyes diluted for a second, concentrating. From its form, a shockwave of force launched outward, smashing into R.D.'s Bullet. As it repelled him, the attack tore into Shell Bullet, sending plates of armor flying.

Gathering her energy, Helena fired a powerful heat beam, keeping her distance as she flew across the air and dragged the beam across Core Genesis, to no visible effect.

***

What was going on now?

He tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn't budge, he was so tired. Once again he felt his eyes bat and strain.

He screamed as it hit, sending him hurtling down to the ground. R.D.'s body shuddered violently as it smashed into the ground, fracturing his reinforced shoulder armor where it hit, as well as tearing away the damaged right cannon. Despite this, he quickly got up, gripping his arm.

"I don't care!" he screamed, letting go of the arm and clenching his fist, causing a blazing inferno of fire to erupt around it. "I'm not afraid to die! If it means wiping you out, I'll do whatever it takes!"

Rearing his arm back, R.D. channeled as much flame energy into the blast and flung it hard, arcing the searing fireball at Core Genesis. The conflagration exploded forward as it flew, manifested in a roaring dragon's head. The Dragon Blaze burned brightly as it flew, attempting to bite into the titanic entity and create a massive explosion upon impact.

===In Shayol Ghul===

Re-Tuul looked over his shoulder at Daemonus, despite having no eyes, and sneered. "Well, I accomplished the mission you gave me," he explained, "And the rest of my kind should be here at any moment."

The Khaglessi turned around to face his superior, and whipped his head aside slightly while spitting up a bit of black blood. "Then Carnax showed up, and used two of the Weapons of Destruction to resurrect Houka, Legion, Draco, and Lee. It got a bit messy after that."

Blazen, had finally regained his breath as he then began readying ten flames, one on each finger tip. The ten white marble sized orbs, gained heat quickly then remained on his tips. Blazen then jumped up, from behind the beast after taking refuge behind a ridge. He yelled and aimed five from his left hand and shot out five strands of fire that would explode upon impact. That was when Blazen felt a strong and cold shiver. It altered his aim slightly, though being on the lower of the back, it would still hit.

"That...didn't feel good." Blazen mumbled and would aim his second hand. This time more accurate, he fired off the five strands and would then ready five more on his left hand as the strands would attack the guardian.

......In the Snows of Quebec......

The three marines turned to the four behind them. Hudson had already began to panic with guns pointed at them. Timmons, the one with the sniper that is, took the leading role and stepped forward. He looked at Jones quickly before clicking his heels together and raising a hand to his forehead, saluting quickly. The other two followed quickly.

"I am Private Timmons, behind me to my right is my brother, Private Timmons, and to my left is Private Hudson, sir!" Timmons responded quickly, keeping his disciplined stance, despite the cold shiver that ran through the three soldiers. All soldiers knew that if at even a moment of peace, a man would show respect to another.

"Jones, eh?" LT. Patterson mumbled rubbing his chin. He knew him, be it just by his name. Of course they fought together, but there was hardly any history other than that.

"Well then our allegiance is true." Patterson then confirmed that they were friendly, "Now where is Jones?" Patterson asked, needing such information. Maybe they would run into Timmons' group and give them a hand, oh boy would Hudson be at ease.

He, as well as the other soldiers, however felt some small chill then. Patterson grew tense pretty quickly at that moment. As did his own men, he didn't like that feeling, and that would most likely mean something bad was going to happen or just did.

Edited by Blazen on September 7, 2007 at 17:18:25.

A cold chill ran through each of the Marines assembled, though they did not show it due to their intense discipline.

"At ease, Marine." LCPL. Jones saluted back before speaking, quickly dropping it in favor of a more conversational atmosphere.

"Where is your commander?"

PFC. Newman once again spoke, "He ordered us to follow you, while he went down the opposite wall. LCPL. Jones saw three men go down that way, and decided to follow them, sir."

The four PFC's felt a slight chill run up his spine, the men wondering what could have caused it.

The Dragon Blaze exploded against Core Genesis, right against its chest, where Matt was stored within. It thrust a hand into the smoke, drawing energy through its fingers-one could see lines of red pour up the arm of Core Genesis.

Time is wasted here. Core Genesis extended its arm, spreading its fingers as streams of light rose from its shoulders, cascading toward its palm. As they gathered, the light faded in a wave to reveal a grand, reflective panel.

We will commence renewal. Resistance will not be tolerated.

The panel grew hot red, and from its surface, heat built like a bubble until it swelled to tremendous lengths.

"R.D.!" Helena screeched, flying toward her friend as fast as her burning wings could take her. She couldn't lose another one...she had to save him!

***

His eyes opened.

Behind the cracked visor, R.D. grinned, even as Core Genesis shrugged off his attack once more. He heard Helena's shriek, saw the reflective panel in the air, and realized that if they really did keep it up... well... they'd die, wouldn't they?

Heh. Idiot. He always was getting himself in over his head. As a trickle of blood ran down from his forehead, down the bridge of his nose and across either side, R.D. reached behind him and fumbled into the pocket dimension that the Dragon King Armor kept his belongings in. His hand grasped something rough-edged and metallic.

It was the armor shard he had picked up in the crater of the destroyed canyon. Its silver-blue surface seemed to shine within the pocket dimension. The emerald jammed into the side was shining. As his hands closed around the jagged piece of metal, he recalled what he had thought when he first touched it.

Here's to hoping that this will never happen again.

Well, it was gonna happen again, wasn't it? If he failed, it would. Everything would end. And he wasn't ready to allow that. Yanking the armor shard out of the dimension, he flung it up into the air.

"Now, let's go, Matt!"

The shard suddenly blazed with golden light, contrasting to the glowing heat of Core Genesis. Suspended in the air, the shard disintegrated to pieces while releasing a sharp hum of energy, and R.D.'s upraised right arm began to change.

"You, and me!"

Prismatic light swirled around the right side of his back, gathering matter and reforming it into a strange shape. A stylized, single-bladed propeller in the shape of a dragon's wing formed, curling around slightly into something akin to a question mark.

"Feel the light!"

The damaged shoulder rematerialized as the side of R.D.'s arm changed and expanded, creating a large, sleek, and smooth gauntlet with a long, jutting elbow. A jagged line ran up the length to the hand, which had become circular with a round protrusion on top, the fingers becoming claw-like in appearance.

"It's radiating!"

The right side of R.D.'s helmet changed, the front end above the visor tapering into three sharp points while just under the right eye it warped and curled.

"And it's gonna keep shining, for both of us!"

The light cleared, and R.D.'s fist swung downward in front of him.

"Now, Shell Bullet!!!"

The armored teen raised his open hand up to eye level, the back of his hand facing Core Genesis as the energy accelerator on top of the gauntlet burst open, spinning rapidly while it absorbed the very air of the Eternal Sanctuary into itself.

===In Germany===

Even as the scythe cut into the Devil Guardian's neck, the massive beast roared as its mouth opened wide, intending to clamp down on Kalmar and end him in a single bite. The mouth glowed with dark power, negating the effects of the energy the Demon Hunter flung at him.

However, the demon screamed as the flames Blazen shot at it burned across the underside of its throat, causing the beast to rear its head back and release a painful roar into the dawn skies.

Edited by RisingDragon on May 9, 2008 at 19:05:32.

Helena's yellow eyes widened in midflight, as Shell Bullet evolved into a different, more powerful form. Could that...could that thing win against Core Genesis?

"MATT!" Hugo shouted once again, glaring at the boy suspended in crystal. "WAKE UP!"

This display of power...it will be analyzed later. The gathering of heat energy, now at its peak, trembled, about to be released. Renewal must first be completed.

***

"WAKE UP!"

Matt found himself within a strange realm, suspended in thick blue space. Suspended high, before him in the distance, all he could see was a great panel of crystal, charged with power.

What the FUCK was going on?!

The dragon-wing propeller on the right side of R.D.'s back began to spin, quickly gaining speed and becoming a blue-and-gold blurred disk on his back. Silvery flame issued from the center of the propeller, and R.D. lifted up into the air, revolving once as more of the Sanctuary's power was filtered into the new weapon.

"Shell Bullet Burst!"

The blazing power condensed into R.D.'s fist as the charge was complete, causing R.D.'s entire forearm to blaze with golden light. Ducking forward in midair, R.D. shot forward across the crystal ground, streaking towards the titanic entity that housed Matt. His flight curved upwards towards the sky and Core Genesis, his golden arm streaking upwards at the superheated panel in an uppercut as he attacked.