Matt made a thin frown, shook his head. "Eh. Nothing could've been done for it. Helena's safety was priority one."

"Even so, looks like we'll have to start walking," Hugo said. "Or fly there."

"Pffft. I ain't fucking walking if I can help it. We'll ride the wind."

"We can't all fly, and Helena's still unconscious, Matt," Alasea pointed out.

"Wake her, then," R.D. said. "We don't have time to rest anymore. Not with--"

Ileyna winced, as if something was tugging at her. "It's getting worse," she said. "The Convergence..."

"We'd better haul ass, then," Matt said. "So let's -"

In a wide ring about them, massive tendrils of pure darkness erupted from the ground, bursting through easily like it was made of water. The tendrils rose high to loom over them.

"What the HELL?" Hugo shouted, arming his pickaxe.

"Shit!" R.D. cursed, easily recognizing what was going on. "It's Malvettix, he used Helena to wear us down!"

Grimacing, Alasea concentrated, opening up a barrier spell. Energy flashed up around the group in a circle, between them and the darkness that loomed around them.

"You did pretty well," Malvettix's voice boomed from all around them. "You're right, of course - this was all a setup. Now it's time to play one more game...the last game."

Matt swept his hand. "Leave them out of this, Malvettix! It's me you want, so drop the crap and let's duke it out already!"

"That's the plan. Get them out of the way and settle this once and for all."

Alasea grit her teeth. She had no doubt that after Malvettix was done with Matt, he'd turn their attention on the rest of them. He'd gotten a taste of her fear already--she knew he'd be relentless. And with Helena out of commission...

She caught R.D.'s eyes, who was looking at her. She could see the dim glow in them, the glow she'd never seen before. But she understood--not the glow, but the gaze. Slowly, she nodded, and they both looked at Matt.

They all looked at Matt.

R.D. slowly shook his head. His mind was set.

Matt blinked. "...what? What is it?"

"You know what," Alasea said softly. "We're not leaving."

Ileyna nodded once behind her, her fists clenched before her.

"We're a team, Matt," R.D. said. "We always were and we always will be. If he wants you, he has to get through us. We're not leaving."

He turned and roared. "You hear that, Malvettix!? I'm right where I belong! Between you and Matt!"

Malvettix just laughed. Then: "We'll see how cocky you are in a few minutes."

The tendrils intertwined at the tips, wrapping themselves together, spiralling to cut off all view of the twinkling sky. Light faded as cold darkness invaded all space, and sight and sound and touch faded to nothing.

When it finally cleared, each of them were alone, each in a strange new reality.

With a cry of surprise, R.D. backed up, away from the sudden surging darkness. He could feel, rather than see, the others doing the same, backing up closer to one another. One by one, R.D. saw them blink out of sight, swallowed up by Malvettix's shadows.

R.D. thrust his hand out, firing a Light Beam at the nearest tendril, burning it away. He fired again and again, trying to stop them from reaching him, but he was quickly overwhelmed. His curse was cut short as an all-too-familiar blackness swallowed him up.

And when his vision returned, he saw that he was in someplace else entirely.

"Well, this can't be good," he muttered, looking around for his friends.

===

"Matt!?" Ileyna called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. "R.D.! Alasea!"

Her voice echoed out over the expanse, and silence was her only answer. The girl's body twitched as she looked around wildly.

"Hugo? Helena?" she called out, voice softer and trembling.

===

Alasea fought her damnedest to keep her breathing under control. It was issuing out in short gasps, quickly getting to the point where she'd be hyperventilating.

Calm down, Alasea.

She ran herself through a breathing exercise, clamboring for control over herself. She'd faced Malvettix's terror before, she knew what to expect. She wasn't powerless here.

You can do this. There's nothing to fear here.

Her breathing slowed, and she let her hand drift down to her sword, and stood up from her kneeling position. The first jewel hanging around her neck was still glowing, and her sword was still there. She was still in power. Alasea opened her eyes, and swept them around her surroundings.

"Owwww." Matt pushed himself up from the pavement. "Even now, I'm still falling on my fucking face." He got up and scoped the situation.

"...what the fuck...?"

He stood on a large island of rock floating in the midst of s moky void. Ruined structures surrounded him - a bank ruined by war. The scattered remains of a patch of biomechanical trees. Alien structures carved from ancient rock. Remnants of floating castle walls, disjointed neighboorhood fences floating lazily midair...

"...wait a minute," Matt said, turning around. "I know what's going on."

***

"All pieces taken from our travels," Hugo muttered to himself. He tapped his G-Stone to ensure it was still in place. "I get your game, Malvettix. You're going to use your memories against us."

The Mettaur peered in the distance. The mist only peeled back a few inches. He THOUGHT he could glimpse the hint of another island or two in the near distance. But it wasn't much to work on.

Ileyna let herself drop to her knees, causing a puff of dust to fly up from the cracked wasteland ground. She felt small here, smaller than before. She looked up, seeing what she saw before--the smoky void made a discomforting backdrop for the suspension bridge, with its center crooked and broken apart. She tried not to think of how it was weird that the bridge's supports and the ground didn't quite meet up.

It felt weird here.

Everything looked familiar, at least. Ileyna took comfort in that, but she knew that it must be Malvettix that created it. "But wait," she said to herself, standing up and looking about wildly. "If this is here... and that is here... then what else could be here...?"

===

"... could that be it?" Alasea murmured to herself, letting her free hand brush against the crumpled pagoda wall. The sound of the waves crashing against the beach was all that she can hear, but she blocked it out. "Malvettix is smart, a surreal memory taken from us wouldn't bother us."

She edged around the waves, and was careful not to trip over the time-frozen waters that merged with it. She ignored the pale reflection of the shattered moon that gleamed on it. Her senses only sought out threats, and her thoughts focused on the oddity playing around her.

"And he knows it," she said to herself. "So what else did he make?"

===

Everything seemed hazy and indistinct. R.D. raised his hands to his temples, rubbing at them as he felt the headache return. As he walked, shapes flickered through the fog, like forgotten memories teasing on the edge of realization. The crystalline ground made soft crunching noises with each of his steps as he made his way over to the wrecked starship.

His senses tingled even as his headache tried to make his thoughts difficult. Here, no one could see the dim glow in his eyes, and he could not see anyone else--he was alone here.

But how long would that last? "What are you trying to accomplish?"

Something fell over, and Hugo spun around, aiming his gun. His glowing G-Stone cut through the fog. It seemed to waver in more deeply, making it harder to tell what could be walked past.

His scanners were passing around him, trying to find any signs of a potential attacker, as he walked towards the edge of the floating island, passing ruined cars, the front of the hotel they stayed at when helping Jotaro and Joseph.

Something flickered on his radar.

Hugo leapt away as fast as his little body could, propelled by his jump jets, as something long burst towards him from the mist. He swept his gun, firing an array of shots.

It was answered with a blast out of nowhere, striking Hugo with deadly accuracy and slamming him into a floating pile of brick. He slumped to the ground.

"Damn it..." Hugo glanced up as the long thing swooped out from the mist and charged down on him - something massive and serpentine and blurred. Another jump helped the Mettaur escape the bladed weapon it swung at him, and with a twist in mid-air, he landed.

"...what the fuck is this?" Hugo asked, as the thing - a serpent cobbled together from arms and hands and metal - loomed up, brandishing the familiar scythe of Prometheus with the arm and torso of Roll. The head of Zant lolled backwards, unable to hold up its own weight.

The giant glowing mushroom blew apart as Ileyna flew past, screaming. Chunks of the radioactive material flew through the air, bouncing off of her shielding as the... thing... chased after her.

The Omega Pirate's eyes stared unseeingly as each step made its cannon bob. The bird-like monstrosity spread out its cobbled wings and took flight after her again, causing Commander Komodo's torso to dangle freely from its gut like an obscene tumor.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I asked!" the girl gibbered hysterically as she ducked under the bridge.

"And now that everyone's occupied..." Matt looked towards the mist, and Malvettix stepped out of it, flexing his fingers. "We can get this started properly."

"Malvettix!" Matt shouted. "What the hell is this? What'd you do with everyone?"

"I've condensed all of your experiences into this single world of darkness," Malvettix explained. "Nothing's stronger than memory. And now your friends are fighting for your lives against abominations that represent the most powerful memories lurking in their subconcious."

"You DO realize I'm just gonna avoid you and go find them, right?" Matt said.

"It doesn't work like that," Malvettix replied. "You're all in the same realm, but you're all experiencing different illusions within your individual minds. You're not even actually here right now, you just think you are." He grinned wider. "But they don't know that! And that means what they think will work against their attackers won't actually work at all."

Matt grit his teeth. "So you just decided to cheat? I thought you were all about toying with me as long as possible. If you had this power, why didn't you pull it to begin with?"

"Because this is the extent of my nightmare abilities," Malvettix said, spreading his arms to gesture at the world about him. "And it has rules to follow, prices to pay to keep it constant." He pointed at Matt. "Your friends have more restrictions placed on them, but for you I've kept it loose. You're at full strength. There's nothing stopping us from tearing each other apart."

"If it means stopping you once and for all and saving the others..." Matt flared his arms, eased into a combative pose. "Let's party."

Malvettix mimiced Matt's stance. "It's those little things you say that remind me why I enjoy being your shadow."

Alasea ducked low as the arachnid-like... thing made another pass around the castle ramparts, its Ganmen-made legs scrabbling over the broken cobblestone of the walls. She thanked her luck she was able to get away from it to what was left of Celia's castle. Primada's torso jerked about as it searched, like it was the "brain" and eyes of the creature, and as it scanned over the top of the ramparts, Alasea ducked low again.

"Okay, so chalk it up to Malvettix to find something horrifying to fight us with," she muttered, drawing her sword. How does one go about fighting something like this?

The hairs on her neck stood up on end, and for a brief moment Alasea stilled before realizing something had changed. With an oath, she stood and flung herself off the other side of the castle wall, just as it exploded with the creature put a Ridley-like talon through it, trying to skewer her.

Matt and Malvettix clashed fiercely, exchanging swipes and blasts, rocking the nightmare dimension with their struggle.

"I told you we're two of a kind!" Malvettix laughed, slashing a wave of darkness to counter a Silver Tomahawk. "I can match anything you come up with!"

Matt set down his leg. "But I've got allies and you don't." Switching to electricity, he fired a Thunder Blast, saying, "And once I get them in here, we're gonna end your ass!"

"Good luck with that!" A Devil Pulse clashed with Thunder Blast, and the two attacks dissipated. "No, unless I die, there's no way they can interfere with me." Malvettix grinned wider. "Face it. This is one roller coaster ride you've got to ride alone."

***

"...what happened?"

Helena rose from the dark ground, shielding herself with her arms. "Where am I?"

***

At the edge of Ileyna's conciousness, she felt the familiar ping of Omega Essence.

Ileyna fought to keep her breathing under control--the bird thing wasn't chasing anymore; she'd managed to elude it for the time being, but now she was winded. She dropped down to her seat, clutching her beret to her chest. She could hear the monster moving about, stalking, trying to find her.

She needed to get out of here and find the others. Where would they--

Ileyna's hair flashed blue, and the chime of her powers cut through the still air, sounding much too loud even to her ears. Before she knew it, one of the more popular swearwords the older kids said escaped her mouth. "Damn!"

She shrieked as she took to the air, the wall blowing apart as the bird monster flattened it into rubble. With powerful flaps of its impossible, mismatching energized and feathered wings, it gave chase, even as Ileyna wildly zipped about, wondering where in the hell the new Omega Essence piece was in this blasted, foggy mess.

"Your sudden show of pity would appear... insincere... to anyone who knew you," a voice spoke up, not quite emanating from behind the slain Balance, but almost from everywhere and within. "You show grief over a world you strove to ruin, as if trying to cling to a purpose you have foolishly thrown away."

The voice trembled dangerously close to the Darklink, but oddly lacked any of the corruption that would be associated to it. But just as similar, there was nothing sacred, nothing divine about it. It was not God, but it was not Ziatoch that chose to open a dialogue with Kuro.

"A curious gesture on your part," it continued, the odd voice lacking any form of spite or condemnation towards Kuro's actions--an oddity in itself given the Balance's grisly history. The only thing that was relayed through the voice was simple truth, a detached observation. "But I have seen many curious gestures since the Convergence began."

Edited by RisingDragon on August 6, 2012 at 19:57:48

The figure that had stood behind the former Balance looked just as out of place in Heaven as Kuro did. Somehow seeming neither short nor tall, the figure was clad in a hooded robe of a muted black, hands hidden within sleeves that were clasped together. A hood obscured its head and face, showing an abyss of darkness within the cowl, with no features discernible, if there were any features within it at all.

"Labels of identity are irrelevant. My purpose supercedes such formalities."

Indifference to the stature of a Balance was probably something Kuro was unfamiliar with. Every inch of this figure's constructed avatar--for that was surely what it was, any being that was beyond mortal bounds could see that the projection before it was disconnected from the realm, and not truly "there"--seemed to scream that Kuro, for all of his might, all of his reputation, mattered little to the entity.

The unknown present seemed to be judging the Balance.

"Your words carry the true weight of your sincerity." Whether the alien voice was confirming or denying Kuro's statement couldn't be discerned. The entity seemed to switch topics. "This portion of the realm figures into the future of everything. Your knowledge of it drifts on the wind for others to prey upon. Gambit upon gambit is being run against each other, and even you cannot resist the temptation to try your hand at the coming gamble."

The statement had truth in it--had the Balance not revealed the true identity of the construct that had masqueraded as him as it activated the slumbering Beasts? Had it not confronted the Destroyer of Worlds as it feasted on an ancient source of power? Would it not step into the affairs of the living once more, perhaps in an effort to amend the wrongs he had begun?

"Your life factors into everything present upon this individual world. Many plans would come to fruition with your return to it. Many plans would come to ruination as well."

The voice sounded... undecided. As if it were trying to come to a conclusion.

"I am only concerned with the fulfillment of my purpose. It is not for me to decide the future of the worlds," came the entity's curious response. "The end of the Age is coming. It alone can decide the path your world will walk."

"My goals are not necessary for you to know."

Again, the impartial response. The entity barely inclined its head to the side, and showed little to no response concerning the commentary of the slain Balance, words that would've alarmed anyone else who knew Kuro to any extent.

But not this entity, oddly enough.

"What matters now is the actions of a select few in the land of the living," it explained, stepping past Kuro with nary a sound to peer beyond the edge of the realm, at the planet itself. "One Avatar has returned to slumber. Another still walks, as one between worlds."

The planet was still shrouded, the ominous black and silver clouds only giving brief glimpses of the devastated world beneath. The portal storms still raged across the world. The forces of the aberration that obliterated an entire continent still marched on NightShade's stronghold, as dragons were on the verge of initiating a daring operation to retake a stolen friend. Time dilation fields cut off a portion of Japan as two monsters fought over possession of a dangerous artifact.

From their vantage in Heaven, Kuro and the unknown visitor could see it all. From their vantage in Heaven, they saw as a rift tunneled through the fabric of reality, allowing one between worlds to step through.

For a desert, it was remarkably cool. Thunderheads were roiling in the distance, rolling beneath the black and silver clouds that obscured the sky. A storm of dust obscured the two figures that slipped out of the vortex, and it diminished and winked from existence before the scattered debris could settled.

The two of them looked to have walked out of Hell itself. Their clothing was worn and ragged, having gone unrepaired from a vicious battle. Shirts hung loosely on sore shoulders and breasts, obscuring scars and fading bruises. Bared skin was still caked in blood that had dried over healed cuts and gouges. Their pants were tattered and frayed, as if animals had torn them apart in an effort to bring them down for a kill. Their hair was matted with sweat and blood.

Their spirits felt just as battered and worn, stretched to the breaking point by trials whose purpose boggled their minds.

And yet R.D. and Alasea Dagenais still chose to come back to this ravaged world.

"I think I can walk on my own now," Alasea said again, still getting her request ignored. "Really, you took a worse beating than me, I should be helping you... nnnghh."

The girl leaned against R.D.'s shoulder and moaned, her body taking on a brief glow, like pale silver, as the Pillar of Dawn relinked to her.

R.D. glanced down at her troubled face, peering down over the scars that cut through his face. "You were saying?" he remarked.

"Shut up," Alasea muttered. R.D. helped the girl back onto her feet, and then finally loosed his arm from under her own.

"We better get on the move soon," he told her, glancing out at the barren surroundings. "This looks like America, but I'm sure our arrival hasn't gone unnoticed and we're not in any shape to fight back yet."

"I know," his companion said. The last thing they needed was Carnax to come and check it out. Or any of the rampaging monsters that Ziatoch kept loosing to keep Carnax busy and distracted. "But we need to find a place to go first. I have to return to the Pillar, of course, but we need to find out what to do with what you've learned from the Core."

R.D. pursed his lips, nodding. His memories were still locked away, linked to the remaining Ciphers on Lumiya's power. But that hadn't stopped the Core from telling him other things.

Ryu Draconios...

What the hell kind of name was that anyway? Even if his imagination was non-existent like Matt said it was there was no way that name could be real, it was too damn ridiculous. A code-name then. So he had a parallel universe incarnation, unlike Matt.

"Well, the Core said that there was beef between me and NightShade. NightShade's an Ancient," R.D. said. "Might as well go ask Juno about him and see where to go from there."

"So... Kattelox Island then?"

"Good a place to start as any."

Edited by RisingDragon on August 15, 2012 at 23:57:52

R.D. busied himself with retrieving a Chaos Emerald from his satchel, muttered to himself about how everything was in disarray after that last battle. There had been no rest, no reprieve of a sort after they had vanquished their most dangerous foe. And just like that they were back, their quest at an abrupt end and a new bloody goal just on the horizon--

He felt something warm press against his back, something warm encircle his wrist. He stilled as Alasea rested her head against his back.

"Do you think we can actually do this?" she asked quietly. "We've been had, after all. That... thing used us. Used Matt, used Helena, used little Ileyna... all of us were just pawns. We're just mortals to the Balances and the Isle and the like."

R.D. remained silent, pondering her question.

"Do you think we can do this?" she asked again, her fingers brushing against his one bared hand.

"We will," he said, looking down at her hand. His other hand clenched, creaking the fabric of his glove. "We have to. I don't know about you... but I'm done being a tool. No more gods. No more masters."

Alasea was silent. But after a moment, she closed her eyes and smiled. "I hope you're right."

R.D. nodded and pulled the violet Chaos Emerald from his satchel, and in a flash of light, they were gone, to the shores of Kattelox.

"And as such, the cycle will begin anew."

The cloaked entity spoke with certainty, as if it had seen the cycle before.

"The destiny of destruction cannot be stopped. The end of the Age is coming. The Avatar will see to it when he ascends to your realm."