Awesome Land VI: Dawn of a New Era

[Monika]

Artemis emerged from the elevator doors onto the main floor of the tower, greeted at once by the smell of all sorts of food being prepared nearby, the sound of palace attendants hastily shuffling back and forth, and the sight of a massive, multicolored banner strung overhead that read:

WELCOME, QUEEN FRANCINE MAMBUTOO O'MALLEY!

From the kitchen, Artemis was able to catch bits and pieces of some conversation.

"Oh man!" someone said. "I don't know the first thing about cooking ramen! Why'd the emperor have to put it on the list?"

"Didn't you train as a chef in Ramen Land, sir?" asked someone else.

"What? No! I trained in Sugoi Land! They aren't the same country, you know. Don't be racist."

"Sorry..."

Artemis had actually lived in Sugoi Land for a time - it was where she'd earned her master's degree before going to Scholastic Land for her Ph.D - and she knew for a fact that they had excellent ramen there. Any chef worth his salt who had trained there should be more than capable of making a decent bowl. Part of her wanted to march into the kitchen and chide the so-called chef for his excuses, but instead she let it pass and continued to take in the the many sights of the palace. It had gone from a mere 'entertainment room' to a veritable banquet hall.

"This is rather extravagant," she said. "He must really be trying to make a good impression."

She couldn't help but frown, despite herself. All these people were trying their hardest to put on a good show for the emperor and the incoming queen, and here she was fussing over merely having to attend the thing. She felt...she felt...

"Ashamed?" she asked herself. "I think that's the appropriate emotional response. It's...uncomfortable." She blew out her breath in an exasperated sigh and said, "Fine. If it's for the sake of diplomacy, I should be able to put up with it. Besides, it might make my job of securing the country easier."

It was then that her attention was drawn to the field commander for this campaign - the woman directing all of the resources to and fro, setting the stage for what might be the greatest event the palace had ever seen.

"No, no! The banner is 4 milliverals too low on the left side! Raise it up a little! And you there! I specifically asked for blue roses! Those are lavender! Excellent! The lighting is perfect! Haha, you're the best!"

The brown skin, the rainbow hair, the designer everything, from her jeans to her glasses. And the bubbly yet focused demeanor, getting things done effectively and with cheer. Artemis recognized this woman at once and carefully approached her.

"Cydney?" Artemis asked.

"Hmm?" The girl whipped around and started beaming. "Ah! Artemis!" Cydney threw her arms around the Immortal of Space, squeezing just enough to show her affection (but not enough to make it weird). "I haven't seen you in...I dunno. Days? Weeks, maybe?"

"What are you doing here?" Artemis asked. The question came out a bit more roughly than she'd meant; her tone was something she wanted to work on now. But Cydney had been the official logo designer for C.O.M.A.S., a group that Artemis had most certainly disbanded. And the Immortal had also ordered and verified the evacuation of everyone in the metro Dynasty City area, except for the handful of people who were directly helping in that regard. To that end, Cydney's presence there didn't make much sense and certainly warranted explanation.

"Emperor Awesome is hosting a dinner for the Queen of Really Cool Land!" she exclaimed. "I was asked to decorate the palace and make sure everything's ready for her arrival!"

"I'm aware of the dinner," Artemis said. "I'm required to attend. What I am asking is-"

"Ah! You're going to the dinner?"

"Yes, but I want to know-"

"Oooh! And if you've come here to talk to me, that can only mean one thing! You want...a makeover! From the legendary Cydney Centerfold: Designer Extraordinaire^TM"

"That is technically what I've been asked to do, yes, but you shouldn't even be here. Did Asher put you up to this? He has to understand that I'm not reestablishing-"

"Oh, we've got a lot of work to do!" Cydney said, her eyes roaming all over Artemis' body. "Hair, makeup, mani-pedi, some jewelry..."

"Are you even listening?"

"No time! To the Imperial Dressing Room!"

And so Cydney snatched Artemis' hand and dragged her back into the elevator, ascending to one of the upper floors of the tower...

---

Amelia smiled. "All right, Your Majesty! Back to the crime scene!"

This is what happens when you ask me to stall, Emperor, she thought. You'd better have the entire empire cleaned up and the palace fit for a whole army of queens with all the time I've given you.

---

Alastor couldn't do much but look behind him in horror as Evangeline was dragged off into another room, her bloodcurdling screams chilling him to his very soul. She may have been clumsy, careless, and overly exuberant, but she was still his partner. She was a kind, passionate, promising young scientist, and she didn't deserve whatever they were planning to do to her in there. Whatever Alastor was going to do, he had to do it quickly if he was going to save her.

Think, Alastor, think! You don't have much time. Evangeline is in mortal peril. Think! What would Aurora do in this kind of a situation?

He closed his eyes and sighed in resignation. It wasn't really much of a question, was it? The answer was, unfortunately, painfully obvious. He knew exactly what Aurora would have done.

"I guess it's too much to ask that one of these adventures ends with a shred of diplomacy," he sighed again. This time, his breath came out thick and visible, like mist or fog. Was the room getting...colder?

The former empress, like Leon before her, had taken a very hands-on approach to governing the empire. She was not one to 'reason' with aggressors - Ophiuchus didn't seem the type to be reasoned with, anyway - and she certainly had never been one to shy away from a battle. Conversely, Alastor loathed violence. He detested fighting. He often went out of his way and made a conscious effort to avoid it! All except in one case: when someone close to him was in danger.

SQUELCH!

There was a sickening, squishing noise as jagged pillars of ice burst from the floor, spearing Alastor's captors through their vitals. The ice receded, and the dead body of a guard on either side fell to the ground with a dull thud.

"Listen," Alastor said, dusting off his labcoat. "I'm a scientist, too. Biomedical engineer, specifically. I remember one of my first assignments when I was appointed by the empress was to make a life-sustaining power suit for her older brother. I understand all too well the desire to learn about the human body - to find out what really makes them tick. But you can't just perform experiments on innocent, living people!" he shouted. "If you want to take someone apart so much, then you've got a couple of corpses right here just begging to be researched."

On the subject of learning about bodies, Alastor stared at Ophiuchus and gave him a quick, mental dissection of sorts. True to his profession, Alastor had a reasonable understanding of anatomy, and he could tell at once that this...thing he was looking at was not human. Not even close. Whatever Ophiuchus was, he'd be a lot tougher to deal with than either of the guards were.

It doesn't matter, he quickly decided. I'm not here to take him down. I have to free Evangeline and get out of here. Killing him would just be a bonus.

Alastor dashed over to the wall and placed his hand over where the hidden door had revealed itself just moments before. In a matter of seconds, the entire section of the wall was coated in a thick layer of frost.

"Shatter!"

He reeled his fist back, inhaled deeply, and punched the wall at a fraction of his full force. Fissures erupted along the surface of the wall and then -

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

- the door (or what had once been a door) crumbled to the floor in the form of tiny cubes of ice.

"I'm coming, Evangeline!" Alastor yelled, rushing through the hole in the wall to take care of her captors.

[Sariel of Tevet]

The Nightman stomped his foot on the ground and a herd of slaves came barreling around the corner and fell to their knees. In unsettling unison, they yelled, "Yes, Lord The Nightman, how might we serve you?"

Unimpressed with the response time, or, with his slaves in general, they were quite boring you know. Did this, did that, why didn't anyone ever try to rebel? Talk back? Create a small coup? Such is the curse of being such a....strong....leader. The Nightman thrust his newly upgraded codpiece in the direction of the group on the right.

"You lot. Head to the robot clone cloning facility. I want it to be producing one hundred times faster than it already is. I expect quite a grand army when Sark returns, ready to be upgraded with Immortal powers. "

They scampered off on all fours, as is customary. The Nightman thrust his codpiece toward the other half. They knelt at attention.

"I need you to pick up my dry cleaning, hand wash it, and take it back, just for good measure. Pick the bits of rabbit out of my ocelot's teeth, find out who framed Roger Rabbit, then bring me Jessica Rabbit. Look up the meaning of the word 'Shogunate', I can't really remember why that last one is important, it seems like it has nothing to do with me. Write me an evil theme song and make sure The Channel Twelve Live Action Literally Right Now Usurped Newscopter Race Report Turned Project Midnight Alter System has fuel, lord knows those pixies can't be bothered to get it themselves. Mine some more obsidian for the cloning machine. Find out what happened to those other twerps from The Land of Blades, and destroy them. Wash and wax all of my cars. Tend to my herb garden. My basil must be roasting in this heat. Get me a bluray disc of the last D.W.A.R.F tournament. I heard it has a quiz show right in the middle of it, how evil. Spit shine all of my old codpieces. Stop to pray to my likeness at least five times through all of this, and finally, reflect on how miserable your lives are and how all of you orphans thought that you were being adopted, rather than enslaved. That would make me quite giddy. Now, hop to it. "

Half the group scurried off, and the other half just fell into the fetal position, rocking slowly back and forth with tears in their eyes, because of that last remark. It warmed The Nightman's cold, obsidian, heart.

He sauntered forward and sat side saddle on the back of one of the remaining slaves, and pulled a riding crop from....somewhere. The Nightman cracked the riding crop and pointed down the hallway. "Now, to 2IRI. I would like her to examine my new codpiece...intimately...with her computer. To see just how powerful it truly is."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Atsáli sat down on the ground, legs crossed, and sword lain across his lap. His mechanical eyes honed in on Leporis and there was a slight humming of gears to be heard.

"Of course, you know nothing. It is why I advised against keeping you alive. However, worthless as you may be, perhaps my bloodlust was premature. Any road that you travel would surely end with more Shogunate. Think about it. They can't allow for, even the weakest of their group, to be captured. They will come for you eventually. You're a loose end. And when they come for you..."

He raised his blade and slid his palm against its edge, creating a metal screeching sound that made the nearby guards wince.

"...I will come for them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heimrall was staring at a small spinning device in her hand. It seemed pointless, but it kept her calm. Especially times like this when she's stressing about making it home in time for prom and her phone has no service. The little three pronged spinning device, that may or may not be trademarked, was a godsend. As she spun it, she began to get lost in the swirl of colors and motion. Her eyes began to deaden, pupils dilated. After a while, she noticed that it wasn't just spinning in one direction. It was actually spinning in one direction, and then simply reversing and starting over.

"Am...am I doing this? Can I really turn back time? I wonder what else I can do?"

She became startled when a group of vultures began to make noise. Her new companion was sort of just...attacking them? There was probably an explanation as to why, but honestly she was too involved in her spinning device and dreading the ever approaching prom date. Heimrall simply shrugged and then charged into battle.

She ran her fingers through the sand and began to use her powers to create a sandstone bo staff. It cracked into one vulture after another, but they simply started to blip and reverse away from her wild swings. A particularly large one knocked her off balance. As she fell, Heimrall unconsciously reached her hand out to attempt to grab something, but merely managed to reverse time to just before the attack. She was struck again, missing her opportunity to dodge, and fell to the ground. As she lay there, she watched the birds carefully. Using a fast forwarding technique to attack, and a reversing one to evade.

The bo staff stuck into the ground and she used it to spring herself up into the air, drawing a large cluster of vultures to her. As they closed in, she reversed time to bring herself back to the ground. The vultures had come together as she escaped, and as soon as her foot touched the ground, she blinked forward and smashed the swarm with her staff before they could retreat.

[Sariel of Tevet]

Alala was pacing around the training grounds, watching children, boys, and men, of all ages, throwing themselves at one another from one clash to the next. This was normal for Pólemos, even before the invasion. However, since the arrival of the Star Samurai, the days have gotten longer. Dawn til dusk the training grounds shake with violence, but not with fear. Pólemos seemed to have a way of training that out of you.

It was like that all over the country, in fact. It wasn't quite tense for a country that has been at war for the last two decades. Pólemos had made up a decent amount of ground and things had now been at a stalemate for quite some time. The losses weren't even all that bad anymore. They had the resources to sit back and defend against the superior technology of the Star Samurai, but not really to push the line any further. The occasional tech had been stolen over the years, but most everything was beyond the capabilities of even the top philosophers, astronomers, and mathematicians. Smaller items, like radios and radars, have been utilized, but only if they were found in working condition already. Otherwise, the metals have been stripped from captured technology and made into armor and weapons.

The new weapons and armor were much harder and lighter than any metal that existed on Pólemos, so they were able to use it to start training children at younger and younger ages. The Queen passed by a regiment of some of their youngest trainees, that couldn't have been more than ten years old. She watched a particularly small child struggle with his sword and shield. He even seemed to have trouble maneuvering in his armor.

At moments that he managed to pick up his sword, he swung wildly at the much larger boy in front of him, who wouldn't even flinch. Alala calmly walked into their makeshift ring, and waved the larger boy away. She unhooked her armor and weapons (all made from recovered Star Samurai metals), and placed them on the ground.

"Stand like this, boy."

Alala took a mild bow stance, and the child tried to mimic her.

"Now, swing."

The child was able to swing his sword, though with much difficulty still, much less wildly. The boy smiled and turned to look at his friends and classmates, almost in reassurance of what he had just done.

"Good." She bent down and picked up only her sword. "You're a real soldier now."

She swung her sword overhead directly at the child, who merely fell backwards and screamed.

"Soldiers have to be ready at all times. Rise."

The child scrambled to his feet and held his tiny shield close to his chest. The rest of the training ground had now stopped and had begun to watch the scene unfold in silence.

"Again."

Alala calmly swung down and her sword cracked against the child's tiny shield. He hadn't raised it at all, just hid behind it.

"Raise your shield, or next time it will be your head. AGAIN."

She swung and he used both hands to raise his shield up to block, and she promptly kicked him in the stomach and sent him to the ground.

"Either raise your shield with one arm or don't raise it at all. Weakness will not save you when the enemy strikes the second time. AGAIN."

Alala swung to the side at the child, and he managed to glance the shot away. He was trembling too much to raise his shield, and tears began to form in his eyes.

"Fear will not save you from the enemy either, boy."

She threw down her sword and stood in front of him. "Strike me. Show me you can conquer your fear."

The child's eyes widened, this time with disbelief. He looked around at the growing crowd and waited for someone to tell him what to do, but no one dared to speak. Alala merely stood there, arms folded, waiting for him to strike. He wiped snot and tears away with his forearm, and then clinched his fist around his sword as tightly as he could. The sword swung through the air, quite spectacularly, and the Queen merely flicked the sword away with the back of her hand, hitting the broad side of the blade. She knelt down and placed her eyes level with his own.

"That is no conquering your fear, that is pretending. A fearful sword will never hit its mark. Conquer. Your. Fear."

The child began to sniffle and use whatever strength he had left to try and raise his sword above his head. He held it there, hesitating. Alala grew impatient and slapped his cheek with all her might, and sent the boy sliding across the training ground with a yelp. She stood and addressed the crowd that she had since been ignoring.

"Weakness has no place in your training exercises, my kingdom, or this war. Pólemos did not gain its status in Ceinia, as the feared, respected, and undeniable rulers of nearly every country in the world, through weakness. "

She lifted her arms, and her servants began to put her armor and weapons back in place while she continued her speech.

"You, generations old and new, are the only thing that stand in the way of regaining that status. The Star Samurai are no obstacle for us. Our only obstacle is the weakness within our ranks. The only reason the war has gone on for this long, is because battle after battle, there are soldiers that fail to live up to the expectations of this kingdom, my, kingdom."

A servant retrieved her sword from the small training circle and was about to place it in its sheath, when the Queen took it from her hands instead.

"I cannot be at every practice, every battle, or around every dinner table. I cannot, and should not, have to carry the burden of snuffing out the dimly lit flames of this army. Its weakness is beneath my presence, and should be beneath your own, as soldiers of Pólemos, and guardians of my kingdom, and conquerors of this world. "

The Queen walked over to the training circle, and handed her sword to the larger boy that had been fighting earlier.

"It is your jobs, as those without fear, without weakness, to ensure that your fellow soldiers are the same. That they are worthy of being by your side. It is the only way to end this stalemate, and end this war. It is the only way to bring Pólemos back to its former glory."

She knelt down in front of the boy, and said, "I ask of you, and to all other Pólemian soldiers, now and henceforth, to do what is right. Conquer your fear and your weakness. Blow out the dimly lit flames within our ranks, for Pólemos, and for your Queen. "

The child stood there in stunned silence, holding the sword of his Queen, and trying to glean the meaning from her words. His brow stiffened with understanding, and he clenched the sword, which was much too large for himself, and drug it behind him as he walked to his still cowering classmate, who was now shouting and pleading for his life.

Alala stood and began walking back toward her fortress, and the shouting behind her suddenly ceased, only to be replaced with murmurs and the muffled sobs of those around them. Her handmaiden ran to catch up to the Queen's strides and motioned for another servant to go retrieve and clean her sword. The Queen waved her back, signalling for the servant to stop.

"Leave it. It has....weakness...all over it. I prefer a sword that isn't tainted."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Queen slunk down into her throne and awaited the endless droves of people that needed her. Some reported on food shortages, others on small, but failed, flanking attempts by the Star Samurai armies. A man came rushing in, dressed in tattered armor, and pushed through the line of people waiting for an audience with the Queen.

"My Queen! Forgive me!" He was running too fast and almost stumbled over himself. He was carrying a small piece of parchment and held it out for her. A handmaiden took the parchment and opened it for Alala, and held it in front of her.

"The Shogun is on Ceinia, in the former Chersónisos region. Repeat: The Shogun is on Ceinia in the former Chersónisos region."

Alala smiled.

"Good, I believe we may find ourselves in his presence quite soon, whether either of us like it or not."

[Calefrun]

"How can I trust that anything you say is true?"

Al sighed. "I guess you can't, really. I didn't exactly take any souveniers with me."

Worn out, he slid down until he was seated on the ground. "Either way, I don't think I can keep fighting much longer. I held my own against the Octopodes well enough, but at the end of the day I'm... just a guy."

---

"Ah, jeez." Cetis avoided Tiamat/Draconis' attack, then yelled over to Cozal, "Don't worry about this guy. I wanted to use him to test your abilities, but I think he might be a little more than you can handle right now."

"You... you what?" Cozal called back, still not sure exactly what he had done to the Star Samurai.

Turning his attention back to his opponent, Cetis changed his weapons back into swords. "I'm not sure where all this power came from, Samurai, but you'd better not go disappointing me now! Let's dance!" His tube suddenly accelarated, bringing him close to where Tiamat hovered, and he let loose a flurry of slashing attacks towards the Dragon-possessed samurai.

---

The hooded man watched as Heimrall dealt with the birds. "Impressive... Thank you."

He turned back to the large, ruined statues, and placed a hand on more damaged of the two. "Your power... control over stone and... time. I want... need you to... restore.... statues.... memories.... how they once were."

[Mizagium]

Ophiuchus laughed, a terrible thing full of malice and venom. Magic! A rare trait in Space Landers, typically requiring long preparations for rituals. The Tsuno people were the most magically inclined people he knew of, and the Shogunate had them enslaved. But this man just cast a spell that would have taken most practitioners hours to prepare – and in seconds! Marvelous.

Plus he had thoughtfully provided him two fresh corpses for his experiments.

“I don’t need to take them apart,” he said as though Alastor was still within earshot. “I put them together. What could I possibly gain by dissecting them? No, it’s you I want – you and that woman. Exohumans are so interesting! And you can cast! What kind of world must Earth be like?”

Suddenly aware that he had been abandoned, Ophiuchus rolled his eyes and picked his way towards a console on an undamaged wall and drummed out a familiar, but hitherto unused command sequence. Some alarms started to blare, but another command silenced them. He couldn’t see, but he knew that in the previous room his orders were being carried out. A microphone extruded from the wall and Ophiuchus leaned towards it.

…

The cylinder labeled 002: Starburst – Roman, Alaizabel registered the command almost immediately. Various safety locks were engaged on the specimen contained within. Unbelievably quickly, the internal temperate cooled from tens of thousands of degrees Melvin to something nearly matching the ambient temperate of the FORD Laboratory.

Once the computer was satisfied, the cylinder hissed and recessed into a space above. The young woman hung there, suspended by cables and armatures – then they lowered her gently to the base. Tentatively, they retreated and the cables detached from their sockets on her arms and back. She stood on her own, but shakily.

“Starburst,” boomed Ophiuchus’s disembodied voice, “can you hear me?”

The being that had once been Alaizabel Roman stiffened. “I can, Lord Ophiuchus.”

“We have some troublesome guests in the operating room. Would you be a dear and take care of them for me?”

The shell of a person that was now just Starburst nodded dumbly. “Of course.”

She stepped down from the altar and flexed her powers. Superhot flames erupted along her spine and arms, melting some of the monitoring equipment that had not been created especially for her. Something about it infuriated her. She spun on it and spit more fire and plasma until it was reduced to molten slag and sparking wires.

“Sometime today, please.”

Starburst knew exactly where the operating room was – it was where they had made her into…into…what? Her memories of that event were blocked, locked behind invisible doors with complicated locks she couldn’t find. But why would she want to even open those doors? Her instincts told her nothing was there.

Shaking off the confusion, Starburst flared her power again – then jumped! The force and heat kept her aloft and she shot forward, towards the far wall. With no fear, she thrust an arm forward and spilled the heat of a star all over the wall. It had only just begun to melt when she slammed into it; it gave with little resistance and she emerged into the room where Evangeline had been taken.

Molten plastic and metal had erupted onto the guards that had dragged her away and were preparing to fight Alastor. They died screaming, smelling of burning hair and flesh.

Starburst immediately dismissed Evangeline as a threat and instead focuses on Alastor.

“You’re the troublesome guest,” she declared flatly, still hovering in the air. “Sorry.” She opened her hand in Alastor’s direction. Sunfire spilled out like before. It didn’t seem as if she was conjuring it, but that she was simply allowing it to flow out of her.

Not like before.

Before what?

Anger surged and she added her other hand to the waterfall of fire.

-

Mayuri Kurosutchi had slipped away from Ophiuchus some time during the ‘tour’ and found an unguarded terminal. Relatively confident she wouldn’t be caught, she started to snoop. Of course, it wasn’t as thorough as she would have liked, but it was at least in the right direction. Arcturus wanted anything she could find.

“Project: Stardust,” she muttered after coming across that name for the fifth time. Every project Ophiuchus had worked on in the last twenty-five years seemed to be classed under Stardust. This had to be what the Shogun was after.

Alarms blared once – then silenced.

Mayuri cursed and fumbled in her pocket for the dongle. A small thing, it fit into an OIT (Omni Input Terminal) on almost any device. She had to stand on tip-toe and lean forward a bit, but she was able to insert it into one of the rear ports.

Immediately, a spyware program was executed and began infiltrating the console. A search field popped up and she quickly typed PROJECT: STARDUST. The program accepted the command and began to trawl all the files available on the computer, while another part of it spread copies of itself across the entire FORD internal network. In a few minutes, every device connected to the network would be loaded with a small spy program, all searching furiously for references to Project: Stardust. Any data it found would be copied and discreetly transmitted to a remote location and compiled.

Only she and one other person had the access codes for that remote terminal.

Something exploded and she ducked reflexively. FORD employees were beginning to evacuate the floor and she fell in step with them, leaving the small device still inserted.

-

Pollux flicked between various readouts, becoming increasingly agitated, while Castor waited patiently. Their ship Tyndareus drifted lazily through a nebula not on any of their records. The onboard AI was busy triangulating their position in the galactic disc from star positions. Left to their own devices, the twins were beginning to get on each others’ nerves.
‘
“We’re lost,” Castor said for the fifth time.

“No, we aren’t,” Pollux answered for the fifth time.

“We don’t know where we are.”

“We will soon.”

“We might.”

“The AI will be able to figure it out.”

“Right. We’re lost.”

“Stop saying that.”

“Admit it.”

“What?”

“Admit it.”

“No.”

“Admit you’re lost.”

Pollux turned to glare at his brother. “I’m lost? What happened to ‘we’? We’re lost.”

“Aha! You admit it!” Castor grinned and pointed an accusing finger at Pollux.

“Wha – No! I don’t admit anything. I refuse. We’re not lost. I’m not lost. I just…don’t know where we are exactly at this particular moment, is all.”

The twins had been given a mission from Arcturus himself, along with the other members of what Castor was calling – and tying to get Pollux to call – the Secret Council: Betelgeuse, Draconis, Vega, Monoceras, Leporis, and Ophichus. Their mission was to perform routine surveillance on a turbulent, chaotic world, Abzu. Ordinarily, Abzu was a Class X Forbidden World – no travel permitted to the system, but the Shogun had the authority (or was assuming the authority) to grant them passage.

So they had been given the two-man spacecraft Tyndareus and ordered to investigate. Routine – or it should have been. A freak electrical discharge had wrenched them out of hyperspace and marooned them within an uncharted nebula.

Pollux summoned a display of the engine status again and frowned. The storm had damaged their FTL drive and only miraculously spared their life-support and sublight engines. Which was all fine and good, but if they couldn’t get to an inhabited planet, asteroid, moon, or station soon…well it would e a slow death. Not for the first time, the two envied the voidsailors, who could swim through space without special equipment.

Castor started to bother Pollux again when the ship chimed, “LOCATION TRIANGULATED,” and showed them a red dot indicating their position. The display zoomed out, showing the entire galactic spiral, then back in to their position. Finally it settled at a zoom level that indicated the nearest known inhabited systems. Anticipating their follow-up questions, the AI calculated travel times at sublight, relativistic speeds – assuming they could not get their FTL back online.

It was pretty grim.

Castor absorbed it all quickly. He pursed his lips and asked, “So can I go zap the engine now, or what?” He’d asked the question several times before, but Pollux had always said no. If he screwed up bad enough, he might blow them all to space dust. Now though, it wasn’t looking like they were going to make it, anyway.

Pollux didn’t answer right away, instead leaning forward and resting his head on the console. The he lifted his head, and brought it back down. He repeated this action, rhythmically for several minutes. “Go have a look, but don’t zap anything yet. See if you can figure out what happened.”

Castor rolled his eyes but agreed. Ship scans hadn’t been able to determine the short. With something that complex, the human eye wasn’t likely to detect something an AI had missed, but Pollux was something of an optimist. Well, he was trying to be. The alternative was…

“Ship, scan the local system for signals.”

“WHAT SIGNALS”

“Any signals. Electronic, radio, psychic, magic – anything that might indicate a new settlement, or passing ship. A-and start a general distress broadcast on all frequencies. Try to focus toward defined spacelanes, but, you know, all over is good, too.”

“VERY WELL”

A few minutes passed with nothing other than Castor calling up, “Yep, looks like an engine alright.”

Then, “PICKING UP SIGNALS INDICATIVE OF A SMALL SPACE STATION” A hazy blue sphere filled in the area where the signals were estimated to be originating.

Castor rejoined Pollux at the helm. “Should we?”

Pollux sighed. “We don’t exactly have a choice, do we?”

“I mean - “

Pollux cut him off with a look, then commanded the ship to change vectors and head towards the unknown space station.

“Think they’re friendly?” Castor asked.

“I honestly don’t care,” Pollux said. “All we need is a repair, a new engine, or a new ship.”

“Is that all? Well gee, what could go wrong?”

Pollux didn’t take the bait, but did start grinding his teeth.

Fifteen minutes later, the Tyndareus docked with the unnamed space station.

“Hope someone’s home,” Castor quipped as they disembarked.

-

Corvus Crater came awake with a groan. Stars, did his head hurt. And this creaky wooden floor wasn’t helping either. Nor was the low murmur of the bar patrons.

Wait what?

Corvus opened his eyes a smidge. Yep, this was definitely a bar, but not one he recognized. Well, he might, just not sober. And he really didn’t want to be sober right now, not with this hangover. Because that’s what it was, right? A hangover? He couldn’t remember drinking, but then, he seldom did. That was the fun part of being a complete fizzing waste of space: no regrets.

He sighed and stood, shaking off the piles of old newspapers he had evidently used as bedding and blanket. Curiously, no one had shaken him awake to throw him out – nor had they dumped warm beer on him for fun.

Man, he missed college.

Corvus stumbled to the bar and mumbled something about a drink. When no one answered him or put a drink in his hand, he forced his eyes open some more. No, this wasn’t a bar at all. He was looking out a space. Now, ordinarily, this would not be a problem, but he wasn’t flying. Well, he wasn’t doing the flying. Rather, he was on a ship that was flying – sailing. Whatever.

“Huh.”

He turned (a little too quickly) and spied the flag: a Jolly Roger variant. Painted letters proclaimed this the Foul Thunder.

“Huh.”

Crovus turned back and threw up over the railing, out into space. Visions caused him to lose his balance. Red. Fire. A great bird. Something spoke to him in a language he couldn’t understand. Blue, White, Black. Yellow. A planet, water, a woman. War.

Dizzily, he collapsed back onto his newspapers and moaned, “What the bloody hell is going on?”

-

Queen Francine beamed and pulled Emily along. “Now, then: to the crime scene!”

…

Hrathen scratched his head. “Not for nothing, but isn’t that exactly what caused this problem the first place? Rifling through a lady’s things?” Nevertheless, he started rummaging. It was a quick rummage – ninja speed and all that – but it turned up nothing.

Which was odd. Something should have turned up, even unrelated to the crime. But no, there was literally nothing. Sure, some of that might be the result of the ninja-maids, but they hadn’t been in since the incident. Unless they had. And left it a mess? Unlikely.

“Azzi, there isn’t anything here. It’s…”

Something caught his attention, almost too faint to hear. He rushed to the door, put his ear to the keyhole, then jumped back, as if electrified.

“We gotta go!” Without further explanation, he yanked Azzi off his feet and dove out the window.

“What in the - “

…

Queen France stepped confidently into the guest room with Emily in tow. “Now then, where to begin.” Unknowingly imitating her servant, she also began to rummage through the room.

…

Hrathen was half-listening to the Queen and Emily, but most of his attention was focused in the distance. An origami bird was caught in a tree, carrying what looked like clothing.

Hrathen motioned for Azzi to be silent, then began furiously using ninja hand signs to communicate.

What’s with the bird?

-

Knox shrugged and turned to Roewk. “Yeah I can warp us out of here, but where to go…we need to find out where the other Immortals went.”

On cue, the door burst open and who else but Gale, the Immortal of Wind, burst in. When last we saw him, our favorite Immortal had been dressed as a Crusader, fresh from the battle with Dark Beast Zais. Sometime between then and now, he had swapped out his regalia for that of a samurai, for some reason.

“Knox-dono, I am always at your side.” Gale bowed formally, showing off his top-knot.

Knox sighed. Gale was tiring. Not in the way that some of the other Immortals were – like Vespi or Karzem, or Zais when he had been alive – but in the way twelve-year-olds on the Internet were tiring. A little too loud, happy, and random for the sake of being random. He supposed it came with the territory of being the Wind Immortal – flighty and whimsical.

“Ah, ahem, yes. Thank you, Gale. Listen, we’re gathering up the Council again. There’s, uh, evil afoot.”

“EEEEVIIILL!” Gale drew his katana and raised it above his head, rather dramatically and unprofessionally, ready to charge into battle.

“Yes, evil. So, Roewk and I are going to go find everyone. We need you to stay and guard the fortress while we’re away.”

Quickly, he sheathed the blade. “Of course, my lord. I shall protect the Council Chambers with my life.”

Poor choice of words, Knox thought. “Good. Very good. You do that.” He clapped Gale awkwardly on the shoulder. “Off we go.” He took Roewk by the arm and, through a complicated series of time and space travel that I don’t feel like going into right now, warped the two of them to the Clock Tower in Fun Land.

“Please ignore the post-apocalyptic wasteland beyond,” he said just a bit too quickly. “This way.”

The Clock Tower was possibly the least grand of all Awesome Land and it’s surrounding territories. It was not impossibly tall, like either of the Imperial Towers, nor was it a veritable death-trap like Bill Nye’s Tower of Science (splosions in the distance) in Groovy Land. But it was functional, and working towards efficiency. Also it had cool clockpunk designs everywhere, man. That shit is tight.

They passed a few members of Organization XXI-come-Time Squad but didn’t stop to chat. Everyone there had a duty, with the ultimate end of monitoring the ebb and flow of time, and any potential time travelers in the Timestream. Ever since the Time Eater Incident, no Travelers had come back -m or forward for that matter. Mitzi and Miki had a theory that Time was still repairing itself. The Time Eater had destroyed all the possible futures charted in the previous Time Keeper’s journals, as well as a few that had come to light since; now that the slate was wiped clean, in a sense, time was rushing forward, filling in the empty space between now and the End with possible futures.

If it all sounds real wishy-washy, well, Knox thought so, too. But he kept Stan’s journals anyway. Something in them might be useful later.

“I really don’t want to jump around Awesome Land looking for everyone,” Knox explained to Roewk as they wound their way up. “So, I figured we could come here. The top of the Tower inserts directly into the Timestream. I don’t know what that would normally be like, but for me, it’s like…well, I should be able to intuit where we need to go to find everyone.”

He was going to add more when they reached the highest level permitted to anyone but himself. The entryway to the Timestream was labeled with many colorful warning labels and cute cartoon graphics depicting the dangers of meddling with time. That isn’t what stopped him in his tracks, though. Sarah stood there, arms folded, and pacing.

“Sarah.”

She started and turned. “Knox.”

A long, awkward silence followed.

Sarah spoke first. “Are…are you back?”

Knox cleared his throat. “Uh, no. There’s a Council thing - “

“Right.”

“Artemis had to go, so I - “

“Artemis.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. I see.”

“I know I haven’t been around, but - “

“No, I get it. It’s fine.” She stepped back, although she wasn’t in his way to begin with. “It’s fine.”

Knox took a few slow steps. “We…we can talk after this, ok?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

She didn’t sound convinced, and he didn’t look convinced, but there was an Immortal killer out there. Knox grimaced but went inside the final chamber, adding, “Roewk, uh, stay – stay here. I’ll be right back.”

As he disappeared into the Time Chamber, Sarah muttered, “Artemis,” under her breath.

-

"Either way, I don't think I can keep fighting much longer. I held my own against the Octopodes well enough, but at the end of the day I'm... just a guy."

Vega stepped out from her own hiding spot and found Al seated on the broken concrete. He wasn’t making any moves to flee or attack. Deciding to chance it, she seated herself opposite him, against another broken building.

With a sigh, she said, “It’s not like I can just leave, anyway. I need a ship to get back into orbit. Maybe I’ll trust you for now. Like you said, you’re just a guy.” She almost made a joke, but thought better of it. “I’m sorry about your friend. Whatever the Octopodes did to him – he didn’t deserve it.”

I can at least get Altair back, she thought but didn’t say.

“So, listen, maybe we just…I’ll just say I did it, you know? Believe it or not, I wasn’t given orders to bring back a souvenir, as you said.” She shrugged. “Or I don’t report back. I could find some other way to free Altair. But, I guess that isn’t really on you, huh.”

Vega picked at a loose piece of gravel. “Can you just point me towards the nearest spaceport? I’ll take the first flight out of here and leave you alone.”

-

”Find out what happened to those other twerps from The Land of Blades, and destroy them.”

Little did the Nightman suspect that one such twerp had already infiltrated his secret hideout. Of course, to her, it wasn’t so secret. She had been here many times before – before the Void Wave Bomb had turned the Land of Obsidian into a real land of Obsidian. She had escaped, had spent the remainder of her life since helping others who had also survived Project: Midnight.

She moved above him, along the rafters and girders, along the pipes and machinery. She stalked him, waiting for the perfect shot. She was completely naked, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t feel the heat of the machines, the steam of the pipes; the sharp edges of the broken place couldn’t hurt her anymore than they already had.

And, of course, she was completely invisible.

Windborne Haley – born Haley Cavendish – didn’t like being invisible. Altered by Project: Midnight to be a killer and trained by her own mother to be an assassin, Haley no longer felt things. Invisible to sight, yes, she has become numb to heat and cold, to pain and loneliness. Whenever she was naked like this, with nothing to define her edges, she felt as though she would drift away forever.

But it had to be done.

Haley had left her clothes with Jeremiah: her bandage wraps that normally covered her from head to toe, her long duster she typically wore over the wraps, and her wide-rimmed hat that always hid her head and shielded her eyes. She needed the invisibility this time. She’s even forced the mirror kid, Dorian, to stay behind.

She couldn’t afford any distractions, she had told them. They had tracked the Nightman far from the Land of Blades, and she was not about to let him slip away.

There. He positioned himself side-saddle upon the back of a slave and spoke aloud.

"Now, to 2IRI. I would like her to examine my new codpiece...intimately...with her computer. To see just how powerful it truly is.”

Haley put a hand out to the side and pushed it through thin air, into a dimension she called arsenalspace. There was stored a full armory of firearms prepared by the lovely folks at Project: Midnight. She withdrew and a rifle, the same kind she had shot down Depositron with in Stormfront.

“Putting an end to this right now.”

She sighted down and fired an A+ Class Eradicator Shell at the Nightman.

-

YEAH I’M SURE THAT WAS GEARING UP TO BE AN INTENSE BATTLE AN ALL, BUT IT’S ABOUT TIME FOR SOMETHING ELSE TO HAPPEN. YEAH MAN, IT’S GONNA GET ALL KINDS OF SEXY AND STUFF.

THANKS TO TIAMAT MESSING UP THE LAZY RIVER FLOW AND WHATNOT, IT WAS RUNNING ALL KINDS OF WHICK-WHACK, YA DIG? SO THERE WAS A REAL GNARLY WAVE COMING IN FROM OVER YONDER, DIRTY WITH STRANDED TUBERS AND WHATEVER SEXY WASTE SEXY LAND GENERATES.

SO LIKE, DIAMONDS OR SOMETHING.

AND WHO ELSE WOULD BE HANGING TEN BUT OUR HERO, THE ONE AND ONLY – THE MAN, THEY MYTH, THE SHIFTY FIGURE LOOKING IN YOUR SIDE WINDOW – YOU KNOW HIM, YOU LOVE HIM, YOU’RE CONFUSINGLY ATTRACTED TO HIM – NONE OTHER THAN GOLDBEZ.

“HOW DID I EVEN GET HERE, MAN?”

THE QUASI-ANNUAL LAZY RIVER UPSTREAM TSUNAMI CAME THUNDERING FORTH, CHURNING WITH LATENT, UNCHECKED PASSION, AND WOULDN’T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. RIDING ATOP, CONQUERING THE UNCONQUERABLE, GOLDBEZ PERCHED PRECARIOUSLY UPON HIS LONGBOARD.

HE WAS FLANKED, OF COURSE, BY HIS LOYAL CADRE OF DANCING BADGERS – ALSO ON SURFBOARDS – WHO HAD RECENTLY DNA-DIGIVOLVED INTO LUSTY ERMINES. A FLOCK OF KATE UPTON ANGELS PURSED THE PARTY, CRYING IN THEIR WAY, LEFT UNSATISFIED BY GOLBEZ’S MANY NIGHTS OF PLEASURE-GIVING.

“SOME PEOPLE JUST DON’T KNOW WHEN TO QUIT,” HE COMMENTED, SOMEHOW PERCEIVING THE NARRATION AS TEXT. “PERKS OF THE JOB, I GUESS.”

AS THE TSUNAMI REACHED CLIMAX, HE SPIED THE IMPENDING BATTLE BETWEEN TIAMAT AND CETIS. “AYY YO THAT’S MAH BOI.”

THE LORD OF THE DANCE PREPARED FOR BATTLE THE ONLY WAY HE KNEW HOW: BY DROPPING IN A SERIES OF SWEET CAPOEIRA MOVES; THE ERMINES FOLLOWED SUIT, AND THE KATE UPTON ANGELS FELL FROM THE SKY, SO INTENSE WAS THE NEWFOUND QUIVERING IN THEIR LOINS.

ONCE THE SEXUALLY CHARGED ENERGY SURROUNDING HIM WAS AT PEAK CAPACITY, GOLDBEZ LEAPT FROM THE LONGBOARD. THE TSUNAMI TENSION BROKE WITH A GREAT, RELIEVED SIGH. HE CONTORTED AND SPUN IN THE AIR, CREATING MORE AND MORE ENERGY UNTIL -

“SEXIZUMA KIIIIIIIICK!”

GOLDBEZ DELIVERED A PERFECT DIVEKICK TO DRACONIS’ FACE. ALL AT ONCE, THE WATER-DRAGON FORM OF TIAMAT DISSIPATED AND THE DRAGON SPIRIT WAS FORCED BACK INTO THE SWORD.

THEY HUNG THERE, ALL DRAMATIC LIKE FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE MOMENTUM CAUGHT UP TO THEM. THAT’S HOW IT WORKS RIGHT? WELL IT DOES ON THE LAZY RIVER, SON. OH YEAH.

ANYWAY, GOLBEZ MANAGED TO SNAG DRACONIS OUT OF THE AIR AND LAND ON THE RIVER; THE TSUNAMI’S PLEASURE RADIATED OUTWARD IN ALL DIRECTIONS AND KEPT HIM AFLOAT. ALSO THE ERMINES DISAPPEARED INTO THEIR CUSTOMARY HIDEY-HOLES IN GOLDBEZ’S ARMOR, READY TO BE DEPLOYED AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE.

“SOMEONE ORDER A...” HE GLANCED AT THE UNCONSCIOUS SPACEMAN IN HIS ARMS. “SOME DUDE, I GUESS?”

HE RAISED A HAND TO SLAP FIVE WITH CETIS. “WAIT HAVE WE MET BEFORE? YOU SEEM FAMILIAR.”

[Sariel of Tevet]

"...Are....are you sure you want those piles of garbage fixed? I mean...holograms would be way cooler. Then you could just plug your phone into it and change it to anything you want. Just, whenever. "

Heimrall stared at the hooded man and how...clearly tech deprived he was.

"Right...well. Here goes I guess?"

She stood close to the statues and lifted her hands up in the air. As she closed her eyes, she tried to picture what the statues once were, long ago. Time sand began to rise from the ground and create a small whirlwind that whipped around herself and all the statues, before breaking up into smaller cyclones that took to their own respective piles of broken stone.

Erosion began to reverse and cracks began to fill in. Soon after, the larger chunks began to fly up from the ground and place themselves all over the pillars. Eventually, they were as shiny and new as the day they were planted. Heimrall opened her eyes in time to see the dust of time sand settling around the statues and blowing away. She knelt down, and opened up a few pockets from her cargo pants and filled them with sand.

"Guess I might as well keep some for later. What now?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A bullet came crashing through the ceiling from out of nowhere and was on course to collide with the, as always, quite unaware The Nightman. Inches away from his back, a flare of pure dark energy kicked up and consumed the bullet, almost like an extremely tiny black hole, before disappearing with an audible poof.

A servant screamed and caught the attention of The Nightman, and then began trying to pantomime what just happened in their panic. The Nightman, clearly annoyed, started to nod wave his hand in a circular motion to encourage a continuation of their little game of charades.

"So, you're saying a naked, albeit invisible, person, shot some sort of boss killing bullet at me but I magically stopped it by having my newly upgraded and darkness immortal infused codpiece stop it because it has some sort of passive barrier that protects me? And you're saying it disappeared because now it likely needs to recharge because I'm not a real immortal, I just look perpetually young and sexy so people sometimes think I'm immortal?"

The servant stopped and gave The Nightman an incredibly uncomfortable look.

"Yeah...ok. So I made that last bit up, sue me. Or better yet, don't. You're a slave. You can't sue me. And you are all under my pomp spell anyway. You couldn't disobey even if I wanted you to. Or...could you? Another time perhaps. "

The Nightman dismounted from the slave he was currently riding.

"Looks like I have to heroically defend my base!"

He picked up the servant he previously dismounted, raised them up in front of him, and ran backwards into a corner.

"MY SHIELD THAT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MAY BE DOWN FOR A NAP, BUT I THINK THIS SERVANT WILL FILL IN JUST FINE. WHO, HAS THE AUDACITY TO INFILTRATE MY SANCTUM?"

[Myrdraxxis]

Roewk had barely had time to enjoy being away from that damned Rave, and already he wished he was back there. Maybe the bone-shattering bass and constant motion of the crowds would drown out the sheer uncomfortable awkwardness he was wrangling with. On the other hand, he’d been pretty damn uncomfortable back there too. But that was a different kind of awkward. Hm.

“This is why I let Noores deal with people.” He muttered, glaring at the wall. The lightning Immortal was far better at socializing-well no, that wasn’t true. Noores was as likely as not to piss someone off and get into a fight with his standoffish demeanor. He was just better at handling people. Speaking of, where had Noores gotten to? Hadn’t the Cardinalos team returned to Awesome Land already? “He’s just goofing off somewhere, most likely.” Roewk decided, drawing some odd looks from passersby as he talked to himself.

Five minutes later, standing in awkward, Roewk sighed.

---

Azzi looked at Hrathen, then over at where the other ninja was gesturing. He spotted the origami bird quickly, and frowned. ’Hmm.’ That was a ninja technique alright. Not one he recalled how to do, he’d only vaguely learned of it back during his studies. The important bit was that it wasn’t something that their clan really used. He used hand gestures to communicate as much to Hrathen.

Then he quick-stepped onto the branch beside the bird and snatched it up. A quick move brought him back to his hiding position at the base of the building. He held up the bird construct for Hrathen to see, and more importantly, the bundle of clothing in its grasp.

‘I think we’re being played’ he signed.

---

“This isn’t really how I pictured this would go.” Leske said aloud. He was back in the Sideboob’s foodcourt, with a less stepped-in plate of food.

“These sort of adventures tend to just happen.” Codex replied. ”Magnus always just sorta went with the flow.” Leske grunted. Yeah, his master had been that sort of guy. Leske, on the other hand, wasn’t comfortable with not knowing what would happen next. It tended to end badly for him. He rubbed one mechanical arm ruefully.

“Step in the right direction, I suppose.” He mused. “Where are we now anyway?”

“Some spaceport called Shiganemachi.” It wasn’t Codex who answered, but the space commander Gree. The Shadow (was that seriously what they were called? Codex had called them Umbrals offhandedly once, but no one else had used the term) sat across from Leske, tossing a small, very futuristic and sci-fi appropriate datapad onto the table. “Captain says we’re gonna stop here and refuel, get some more info on the surrounding area. Those samurai people got away, and technically our mission isn’t to fallow them so…” Gree shrugged.

“Suits me fine. I’m not here to start any wars anyway.” Leske said. Then a thought occurred to him. “Actually, I want to take a look around this port. Sounds like a good place to start my search.” Excitement began to well up inside of him. This might actually be a good opportunity to find a lead.

“Well, chances are my team will be the ones to scout the place out. This ship technically has a marine compliment, but all those guys ever do is play in the petting zoo.” Gree shuddered. “Marines.” He said the word with such vitriolic disgust that Leske actually scooted away. “Er, anyway, you’re welcome to come along.” He offered.

“I’ll take you up on that.” Leske grinned. He finished his meal quickly and wandered off. Hopefully he’d find Kayla somewhere in this massive ship.

[Calefrun]

“Spaceport, huh?” Al repeated with a frown. “Unfortunately, the nearest one would have to be... well, a real long ways away. Awesome Land's been so busy in recent times dealing with reckless and irresponsible leadership, the space program has kinda fallen behind. Or, to be more accurate, hasn't even existed.”

With some effort he rose to his feet and turned his gaze to the Second Imperial Tower, visible in the distance over the tops of Dynasty City's other buildings. “That said, you might be able to find something further into the city. Things can change ridiculously quickly around here, and the new Emperor seems pretty rational. I wouldn't be surprised if he had already started taking steps towards creating space-faring vessels. And even if he hasn't, it probably shouldn't be too hard to find a ship. It seems like as you get closer to that tower, you start finding weirder and weirder things.”

After a pause, he added, “I think I'll go with you for a while, if you don't mind. I've got no idea where any of the people I was with have gone, and even though I'm not from around here I'm still a bit more familiar with the area than you are.”

---

Cetis laughed, and pushed a few locks of his unkempt mass of hair from out of his face. “I guess I probably look a little different from the last time you saw me. I guess I could just tell you my name, but I feel like this would be a more appropriate way to identify myself.”

HE TOOK A FEW STEPS BACK AND BEGAN TO DANCE A JIG. IT WAS A SQUIDDLY JIG, AND A JIGGLY ONE AT THAT. MUSIC BEGAN TO PLAY FROM SOMEWHERE AS IT IS WONT TO DO, AND THE AROUSINGLY ALLURING AIR OF SEXY LAND BECAME FILLED WITH THE SOUNDS OF A DIDDLY DITTY TO ACCOMPANY THE JIGGLY SQUIDDLY JIG OF CALE EFRUN, THE ILLUSIVE SQUID.

“I keep wanting to ask 'what the fuck,' but I feel like it's starting to get redundant at this point.” Cozal approached the pair, having climbed out of whatever was left of the Lazy River after GOLDBEZ's entrance.

“Good, you're learning quickly.” Allie, Cetis' female companion, had walked up alongside the young German. “Here, this might help-” she reached into her coat pocket, pulled out a flask, and offered it to Cozal.

“...I'm 19 years old.”

“Do I look like a fizzing cop?” She asked sarcastically while taking a swig for herself.

---

No sooner had Kayla taken a seat at one of the Sideboobs gun turrets than the other ships all left, and their own suddenly arrived at some kind of waystation.

“...Typical.” She left the gun and returned to one of the ship's hallways, and spotted Leske en route to the exit. She jogged over to him.

“So where exactly are- actually, it doesn't matter. You're heading out to take a look around, right? I'll tag along.”

---

Where before there had only been crumbling remains, thanks to Heimrall's magic there now stood two perfectly restored stone statues. One was now clearly depicting a gun-toting man in a long-coat and sunglasses, while the other statue was over an annoyed-looking young woman holding a sword and shield.

The man observed the figures for a moment, then replied to the Immortal's question. “Now... we head for the exit.” He removed the hood of his cloak, revealing long bluish-silver hair. “Thanks for fixing the statues, kid. Or to be more exact, fixing my memories.”

He turned to face her, and a familiar pair of blue eyes met her own. Though clearly lacking the same malice, they were undoubtedly the eyes of Sark, the Vampire Lord.

[Bruce Leroy]

As the cage faded away, Metal Gear Fish began to walk towards his … brother. This was the first time that he had actually looked at Cod and thought of him as his brother with no resentment or anger. He had known all these year. Through all of the battles and constant bickering, he always had known. Maybe that was the reason why he never actually killed him. He could not change anything that they had already done, but they could correct the wrongs their father had made and work towards something better.

Cod was in shock after that bombshell was dropped on him. As much as he wanted to protest, he couldn’t. If what he said was really true, then everything that has happened all these years had all been a misunderstanding. Much worse, the man that he worked for, that he killed for, was his father and never bothered to even let him know. The bastard.

MGF was only a few steps away from Cod when his comlink buzzed.

“This better be good Marcus.”

“So there was an unauthorized docking.”

“Jesus fuck! Where?”

“Section D12”

“I’m on my way.”

“Should I send the men in with you?”

“Of cou…” MGF paused for a moment to look at Cod Commando. “On second thought, have them section off the area. I don’t want anyone to escape. Have your men ready in case my plan backfires.”
With that MGF continued to walk to his brother. “I know this is a lot for you to handle, but there is a situation. I am pretty sure that I can handle it with my men, but I thought we could work together. We are going to have to work together to fight him. I think it could be a good first step. You know killing people, just like back in the academy.”

Cod remained on the ground kneeling with glossy eyes. “We don’t have time for this shit. Look it was a big reveal and all, but gill up.” With that he slapped him in the face. “Get your shit together! If you want to make him pay, you are going to need to get stronger and this is the way.”

Cod sprang to his feet with a new found fire in his eyes. He had not felt this burning in his soul like this since Fish had left. He felt his rage building. His body went hot. “Let’s go!”

“Now that’s more like it.” He slapped the Commando on the back. “Let’s go kick some intruder ass!”

MGF started towards the door with Cod following. It wasn’t that far of a walk and they arrived in a few moments. Marcus and the Gears where already there stationed at the entrance of the area.

“Status report” MGF barked.

“Area secure. No one has exited or entered the area, sir.”

“Good. Stand guard and make sure that no one gets out. We’ll handle this.” Motioning to Cod.

Marcus with a look of approval nodded in understanding.

---

Sky Captain emerged from his cabin trying his hardest to shake off a hangover. Stumbling to the edge of the ship, he felt his stomach turn but managed not to vomit. Looking over the railing he saw a fellow drunkard on the street.

“Aye lad, if ye ain’t dead, do ya know where I can get me a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with a tall glass of rum. I be hungover and not from around here. Something like a Space Waffle House or Space Denny’s. I be willing to buy ye food too and afterwards we can go on some random adventure.”

[Monika]

Artemis soon found herself in a section of the Imperial Tower she didn't even know existed - one that stood out as an anomaly in what was otherwise a fairly imposing, foreboding structure. She saw a round, pink, jewel encrusted bathtub in an alcove on her right, and a row of salon-style hair dryers on her left. A massive wardrobe - it had to be at least 20 verals in length - stood against the far wall, its double doors cracked open just enough to reveal a handful of elegant garments inside.

"Welcome," Cydney proudly announced, "to floor two thousand, one hundred and twenty-eight: the Imperial Dressing Room!"

"Dressing room?" Artemis repeated. This place is as extravagant as the Super Land Royal Library... "It looks like someone would do a lot more than get dressed in here."

"Hmm? Oh, you must mean the tub and salon stuff! Come on, Artemis! Manicures, pedicures, bathing, makeup, hair dye - it's all a part of getting dressed!"

Artemis regarded all the fixtures and amenities in the room with equal parts curiosity and displeasure. She had gotten dressed thousands of times before! She had an array of identical robes (not unlike the ones you see in my signature) that suited her just fine, and - barring various times of graduation - she could count the number of instances that she'd had to wear something else on one hand. Incidentally, this was one of those instances. She looked down and realized that she was still wearing-

"A nightgown?" Cydney asked.

Artemis nodded. "I...neglected to do laundry," she sighed. "In the course of tending to imperial business, I ran out of clothes and had to borrow this gown in Super Land." She didn't mention that she'd picked it up in a hospital. A trivial detail, surely.

"Hmm..." Cydney moved in close to Artemis, staring at the gown with her Artist's Eye^TM. "It's not a bad piece of clothing at all," she said. "but it's still definitely a hospital gown, and we cannot have you show up to this dinner in a hospital gown."

Artemis stepped back, only mildly surprised by Cydney's quick and accurate deduction. "The craftsmanship is above and beyond the paper garments they typically give in hospitals. Will the Queen or Emperor really be able to tell?"

The designer scowled. "Does it matter?" she asked. "I'll be able to tell. And besides, the Artemis I know is one of integrity! And she only ever gives it her all! If she's going to do something, she's going to do it the right way or not at all!"

"Are you really appealing to my sense of right and wrong for the sake of a dinner party?" Artemis demanded. It almost felt...insulting.

"That depends. Is it working?"

Artemis returned the question with an icy glare.

"Look," Cydney said, "you're going to be really stubborn, so I'll do what I have to do to make this as painless for both of us as possible. Now, let's see..." Cydney grabbed one of the Immortal's hands and opened it up for inspection. "Dress aside, it looks like you'll need an extreme manicure and-" She turned over Artemis' hand and noticed a few dried patches of red. "Artemis! What happened to your hands?"

Artemis recalled the incident immediately. She had squeezed her nails into her palms during one of the more...intense parts of her Focus training. Opting not to elaborate, she simply said, "Stress."

Cydney raised an eyebrow but decided against pressing the subject. "Uh-huh. And your skin...It's moist. With sweat." She exhaled sharply and massaged her temples. "Artemis," she said, "have you been fighting?"

"I had a minor skirmish with the Immortal of Time for training purposes," she explained.

"Artemis! You do not fight right before a party!" Cydney shouted.

"I wasn't informed of the party until after-"

"I don't want to hear it! Take off that gown and get in the tub. NOW!"

Cydney pressed a button on the wall nearest the tub. An overhead speaker clicked on.

"You've reached room thirteen thirty-seven: the Safe Room," came a female voice. "Many of the palace attendants are still here under the last known orders from the emperor. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is Cydney Centerfold. I'm getting things ready for the emperor's party, and I need one or two...I dunno, imperial bathers, I guess? Some servants who don't mind scrubbing the filth from a stubborn demigod."

"Oh Seraphina please tell me this isn't Zais again-"

"What?" Cydney stared up at the intercom speaker, her expression one of confusion and - after registering the panic in the woman's voice - pity. "No, no, this is for Artemis. She's an invitee to the party and needs a proper makeover."

"Oh thank heavens." A loud sigh of relief could be heard from the other end. "Someone will be right up."

Seconds later, a loud ding marked the ascent of the elevator from the safe room to the dressing room. The doors opened up and a pair of nondescript maidservants spilled out onto the floor, carrying buckets and loofahs and towels and assorted soaps and shampoos.

"I am perfectly capable of cleaning and dressing myself," Artemis said sternly.

Cydney shook her head. "Bloody palms, sweaty skin, messy hair...All the evidence seems to suggest otherwise, dear. Girls," she said, motioning for the maids to come closer. "It's time to get to work."

The two servants exchanged a look before rushing Artemis with the kind of speed honed by years of fleeing various wars. Before she knew it, Artemis found herself in a bathtub for the second time this story...

---

Immediately upon entering the room with the queen, Amelia could sense that something was...off. As her eyes scanned the guest quarters with typical ninja agility, she noticed that absolutely nothing was out of place...and that's exactly what struck her as suspicious.

Someone's been in here, she thought. For everything to have been so perfectly untouched, that had to be the only logical explanation. That was the fundamental teaching of any halfway decent Ninja Intuition class (which she'd made an S- in - the sixth highest possible grade in the class). And no sooner did she have that thought than she realized the mistake in her plan.

Oh no oh no oh no I left the scene too perfect my natural ninja caution is more than good enough to get past normal people without suspicion but it's exactly what would tip off another ninja and the palace is full of those so now I must have other ninja on my trail and they've found me out and they're going to expose me and I'll have to return to Shadow Land as a complete disappointment and I'll never have my own country!!!

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. No. It will be fine. You're the Princess of Shadow Land, Amelia. The Ninja Princess. Except for James and Dad, there are no higher ranking ninja than you. If enemy ninja are on to you, then just outmaneuver them like normal.

As she ran through the lengthy train of thought in her mind, her ears perked up. Like any royal ninja, she had what amounted to superhuman hearing, and her ears caught the faint, subtle, but distinctive swooshing of wind, as of hands rapidly moving through the air. Ninja hand signs, she thought. Coming from just outside the window.

"Um, Y-Your Majesty," Amelia said tentatively. "I'm sorry, I just...feel really uncomfortable being back in here so soon after the...incident." With an audible, timid gulp, she added, "I just...I just can't shake the feeling that someone is watching me. Right now. You don't think the Peeping Tom would come back to the scene of the crime, do you?" she asked.

Of course, she already knew the answer. There were at least two ninja right outside at that very moment. One was making the hand signs - inaudible to all but the most highly trained individuals. And from their sound, faint as it was, Amelia could tell that they were communication hand signs (as opposed to the magical ones people from Sugoi and Ramen Land were fond of), so someone else had to be there to receive them.

As she continued her effort to pinpoint the location and identities of her adversaries, she found herself shuddering. It could have been attributed to a cold draft (and that's probably what she'd say if she were asked), but she recognized it immediately for what it was: a distress signal. One of her own design. Origami was Amelia's pride and joy - the one thing she had truly enjoyed learning, the one skill she took the most pleasure in. She poured a bit of herself into every figure she crafted, and she could sense when one was in the hands of someone to whom it didn't belong. It was a useful skill for reconnaissance and, when used properly...

Amelia bowed her head and clasped her hands together. "I...I pray to Seraphina that no one is trying to spy on me again, but...but if they are, I pray that She brings them to justice so that they never hurt another innocent girl again."

To the outside observer, it looked as if the girl were simply offering a prayer to her goddess of choice. Only Amelia knew what the gesture truly was. The clasped hands formed two signs of her own making - signs that she'd developed in tandem with her origami skills. The first was the Seal of Release, originally designed to quickly undo a misdone fold (of which there had been many in her early stages). And the second one? That was the Seal of Binding.

Just outside the guest room window, an origami owl rapidly unfolded itself into a pair of dress pants and wrapped itself around the unsuspecting Azzi's hand. Then, the pants reached for Hrathen's waist and tied the two ninja together in a rather compromising position.

"Queen? Would you mind checking outside this window? I...I feel really uncomfortable, like someone is there as we speak."

---

Alastor just barely leapt to the side in time to dodge a wave of sunfire, part of his hair and labcoat getting singed in the process.

"Starburst," he said. "That's what that man, Ophiuchus, called you." You were the one in that test tube, then. Another of that mad scientist's experiments, Alastor thought. He had little way of accurately gauging the woman's power, but the fact that she'd been kept imprisoned and that she'd been freed specifically to deal with him really said it all. Besides, anyone who could generate that kind of heat, well beyond that of even the hottest flames, was certainly nothing to take lightly. Will I be able to beat her? Do I even have a chance? If-

He snapped from his reverie just in time to summon a thick block of ice to intercept (and be melted by) the next wave of sunfire.

Less thinking, more doing, he thought. "He called you Starburst," Alastor said. "But your container was labeled 'Alaizabel Roman'. Am I to assume that you are one of his pet projects?" he asked.

I have to stall for time while I think of an escape route. I can't just hightail it out of here...The moment I turn my back to her, I'm as good as gone. I need to clear a path for both me and Evangeline, and soon!

[Sariel of Tevet]

Heimrall stared at his eyes. She couldn't quite grasp why they made her uneasy. They made her feel like parts of herself began to slip away, like she was losing control of sorts. A switch flipped in her head and memories began to flood her mind. The shock knocked her backward into the sand.

Snippets of the end of their battle with Zais, her capture, losing her powers, being flung into this wasteland, all flashed before her. Those eyes had been there, through everything. She let out a scream and threw sand into his face. Climbing to her feet, Heimrall whipped her arms around and drew up a razor thin wire of sand, sharp as glass, and hurled it around the strange man's neck. She pulled her arms apart to make the wire tighten up as much as it could without taking his head with it.

"How are you here? No one came in after me through the belt. How did you find me, Sark?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Mizagium]

Beyond the final door was one last staircase that extended upward, not curving like the others in the Clock Tower. It was impossible to count them; Knox had tried several times. Each time he either arrived a different number, or lost count and could not retrace his steps. The stairs seemed to expand and contract according to it’s own whims.

Knox ascended. With each step, he left more and more of the temporally-locked present behind. He disabused himself of the notion that time could only more forward, that the present was all there really was. It was a privilege affording to very few, most notably the Time Keeper. Philosophers and astrophysicists thought they understood the concept, they didn’t. How could they, when their minds were restricted to the present by design.

Knox’s mind was not. By accepting the mantle of Immortal, he had allowed his mind to accept the true nature of time.

The top floor of the Clock Tower was a simple platform. Unlike the Imperial Towers of Awesome Land, it opened not to the sky, but a technicolor river of light. Red and black energies swirled past, the gentle current of this world moving forwarding through the Timestream. Knox had not determined if the Timestream was a real, physical thing, or a psycho-magical construct designed to better allow his mortal mind to comprehend it. His predecessor had not, either, and he had spend many, many more years in the flow.

At the center of the platform was one stone tile set off from the rest. It was more worn that the others with two smooth indentations where previous Immortals had stood and listed to the Timestream. Knox took up the position, standing where they stood, and let his mind become one with Time.

A thousand premonitions barreled into him, and he shut them out. He had decided long ago not to divine the future unless absolutely necessary. Instead, he searched for familiar faces, telltale energy signatures. He was looking for points in the future where the other Immortals could be found. Artemis and Roewk made themselves known immediately, followed by Gale. Bill Nye, Gallen Kah, Galro, Scern, and Noores all made themselves known. Dace’s was briefly disguised by the other Dark signatures

Ollie’s Light signature flared brightly but always out of reach. It wasn’t truly her, but whoever – or whatever – had apparently taken her power. Knox chased it along the stream for a while, but it always evaded him, eventually reaching a distance which could not be reasonably predicted with any certainty, so he gave up.

Then he reached for Karzem. To no surprise, Karzem’s future was a chaotic, seemingly random mess of possible points of contact. With a little effort, he pinpointed the mostly likely outcomes and filed them away for use.

Vespi was somehow more difficult. It felt to Knox as if she were intentionally avoiding his divination. Like she did not want to be found. There really was only one future contact point, and it would take place after the others, so he would save her for last.

Knox was almost ready to retreat from the Timestream, when he realized he hadn’t been able to locate Heimrall. At first, he thought she might have been killed like Ollie. Except Ollie’s Light still shone in Time. And everyone else’s Element registered once he focused on them. Heimrall’s Earth Element was nowhere to be – no wait. There!

And there. And…everywhere?

Heimrall’s Immortal energy signature, for lack of a better explanation, had diffused throughout the Timestream, lacking a central knot of being. Confused, he pulled backward into the Timestream, from before he began searching, before she had disappeared. Nothing. Frustrated, he returned to the first Council Meeting, a time when he knew she was there. Sure enough, there she was, but her energy was still not localized. If he focused on the moment, it would crystallize and reveal everywhere there, but still it did not indicate a contact point for Heimrall.

Knox soared forward again, chasing the thin energy. It felt as though Heimrall could be encountered at literally any potential point in the future. But that was impossible. The only other person would could appear like that was Knox -

Or someone with the ability to Time Travel.

Knox retreated from the Stream, accepting the limitations of flesh and present-time existence. The knowledge of future contact points of the other Immortals had not been lost in the conversion, which was nice. He decided he may as well go for the easy ones first, since Vespi would not be available for some time no matter what he did.

…

Sarah had waited only a minute or so after Knox went into the Chamber, before leaving. She muttered a polite farewell to Roewk, then departed down the Tower Stairs. So when Knox returned, he found only Roewk standing awkwardly alone.

“Did she...leave?” He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter. I’ll talk to her later. Come on, Roewk, we’re going to see our old friend Dace first.”

-

‘By who, though?’ Hrathen ushered Azzi out from below the window and took the origami bird and the scrap. ‘Ninja techniques,’ he signed with one hand. ‘Do we have a spy? Are we being betrayed?’

Gear turned and pieces slotted into place. Well, the gears squeaked and pieces mostly fit together. It wasn’t all figured out yet, but he could tell he was moving towards the right conclusion. ‘What do you think? Take it to Veritaz?’

…

“Outside the window?” Francine frowned at Emily. “Certainly,” she said in a hush. “Just wait right there. I’ll get this perv if I – Aha!”

She dashed to the window, thrust her hand down, sized someone and hauled him up. She cocked her other hand back into a fist and -

“You!”

“Please, your majesty!” Hrathen shielded his face with his hands, having no other option, since raising a hand against the Queen would be treasonous.

“So it was you!”

“No! Please, no! I understand this looks bad but we were just trying to - “

“We?”

“Uuuuhhh, well...Azzi is here, too.” He jerked his head at where his friend had been, hoping he had not fled already.

“So it was a group effort? How many are there?”

“None! Er, well, I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

Francine pursed her lips and studied the young ninja’s face. “I’m expected to believe that while you were the first responder to Emily’s crisis, were caught in her room while she was naked, and now are skulking about the crime scene – that despite this, you are being framed?”

“More like, unfairly accused,” he muttered, “but yes. I didn’t do this.”

Francine considered. “You don’t have the cleanest record, you know. Not with my husband, anyway.”

Hrathen blushed. “I don’t – we’ve stayed apart since.”

Francine nodded. “You have. Veritaz speaks highly of you. And Azzi both. Very well.” She released Hrathen and lowered her fist. “Emily, I must exercise my judgement here: I do not believe this man is the culprit or connected other than by unfortunate circumstances. However I cannot be completely sure.” She pointed a finger at him. “You were already investigating? Good, well now you’re on our team and you’ll stay in sight, understood?”

Hrathen bowed. “I am yours.”

“Good. Emily, have you any objections?”

-

“Helllooooo?” Castor called for the fifth time so he could here his voice echo down the empty halls. “Echo!”

“Would you stop that, please?” Pollux asked, also for the fifth time.

“What? No one’s killed us, yet. No security systems, no...nothing. It feels abandoned.”

“Yeah, that’s what concerns me.” They took corridors at random. “This place seems abandoned, but it’s clean. Powered. There’s air and gravity.”

“Soo….?”

“If it’s abandoned, it was recent. But I don’t think it is. I think whoever’s here doesn’t want to be found.”

“That’s awful paranoid of you.”

Pollux glared at his brother. “It’s kept us alive so far.”

Castor rolled his eyes. “Sure.” He counted the sectors. D12. D13. E13. E14. E15. F12

RESTRICTED ZONE: NO ACCESS

“Uh, Pollux…?”

“Not now.”

“I don’t think we’re supposed to be in here.”

“We’re not supposed to be anywhere here,” Pollux said quickly. “But, look – ship parts. You know what we need to fix the ship?”

Castor glanced back over his shoulder. “Uh, yeah...”

“Then let’s get what we need and get out.”

No longer in an argumentative mood, Castor sighed. “Yeah, alright.” He started rummaging through crates and boxes while Pollux paced the warehouse perimeter, weapons still not drawn.

-

“OH MAN.” GOLDBEZ ANSWERED THE SQUID JIG WITH ONE OF HIS OWN. HE TOSSED THE UNCONSCIOUS DRACONIS AT COZALTENE AND JIGGED TO THE MUSIC.

“YOU CAN MOVE YOUR BODY FREELY,” HE DECLARED. “HOW YOU BEEN MAH BOI. LAST I SAW YOU FIZZED OFF TO SQUID-KNOWS-WHERE AFTER THAT WHOLE SPACE THING.”

KATE UPTON ANGELS SQUEALED IN PLEASURE FROM A DISTANCE AND THE LAZY RIVER EVEN GOT INTO IT, PULSING BACK AND FORTH WITH THE RHYTHM.

“SO WHAT’S NEW, AND WHO’S THIS GUY?” HE POINTED AT COZALTENE - OR MAYBE DRACONIS. OR MAYBE TWO AT ONCE, I DON’T KNOW MAN, I’M NOT PSYCHIC. CALE EFRUN, THE ILLUSIVE SQUID CAN TAKE IT HOWEVER HE PLEASES.

AND IT DOES PLEASE HIM TO TAKE IT.

-

Haley shoved her rifle back into arsenal space and began climbing along the pipes and rafters, moving to a better vantage point.

“It’s me, jerk,” she shouted, hoping the echo would mask her location. “I’ve tracked you all the way from Stormfront and I’m going to bring you down. Project: Midnight was dead and buried until you came along.”

-

Rick Thunder appeared from seemingly nowhere and fell into step – well, fashionably out-of-step – with Kayla and Leske. Shades on and leather jacket on point, Rick lit a cigarette and slung his duffel-bag of compies over his shoulder. His free hand was stuffed into his pocket, giving him a practiced non-nonchalance.

“So, where we off to, mamacita?”

He didn’t say anything to Leske, but gave him the cool-guy nod of acknowledgment.

-

Corvus wiped the vomit from his mouth, but never took his eyes from the stars. "Yeah, that sounds like a less stupid idea than whatever I was going to do."

He reached back and offered his vomit-hand to Bactus. "Corvus Crater."

-

Starburst considered Alastor as one might a cockroach that that crawled from beneath a pile of filthy clothes. “I am no project of that snake’s,” she said, even though the words felt wrong. They had come from somewhere deeper than the hard shell around her mind. “Alaizabel Roman. I was that.”

She drifted slightly from side to side the air. This man had conjured ice – and it had neutralized her sunfire. Blocks of programming and pseudomagical seals locked away the bulk of her abilites currently, but she could not be certain of the upper limits of the ice-magic. That he was even in FORD was something to consider; that Ophiuchus considered him enough of a threat to release her, was another.

“Ophiuchus has made me more than I ever was.” She conjured more sunfire and unleashed it – not at Alastor, but at the wall behind him. Steel, plastic, and various other synthetic materials melted or vaporized, and carved a meter-wide circle through the wall. The sunfire burned through whatever else lay in it’s path beyond before, presumably, exiting the building.

“Alaizabel had never been capable of that, was too afraid of her gifts.” Starburst superheated the air around her until something like a halo graced her head. “I have no fear.”

[Myrdraxxis]

‘Oh thank every god in existence’ Roewk heaved a silent sigh of relief. He had been reaching pinnacle awkward and was considering the benefits of turning himself into a tree for a few decades to escape scrutiny when Knox finally returned. Knox’s words caught Roewk’s attention. “Dace? That’s the new Immortal of Darkness, yes?” To be honest he hadn’t paid the Zais situation much mind after he had left. He knew that the Immortal of Darkness had been slain, and a new Immortal chosen. He’d been more concerned with the remnants of Xavian’s power, lingering the far reaches of the world. Come to think of it, whatever had happened with that? Roewk had gotten rather distracted with the recent raves and murders.

Rather than receiving an answer to his question, Roewk found himself teleported across time and space once again. Why couldn’t he do that? Seemed like all the other Immortals could. Maybe he’d have to try sometime. Some sort of wood portal? Well…he’d have to work on the name first. “Where are we?” He asked. He and Knox were standing outside of what appeared to be a large office building of gleaming steel and marble that stretched up into the sky until it was lost in the dark clouds above. The very, very dark clouds. In fact, now that Roewk looked around, the land appeared to be suffused entirely with Darkness.

They were standing in a small square of buildings, and construction work was well underway to building out the burgeoning city even further. But the newly laid concrete and steel buildings couldn’t hide the cracked, dead earth that wafted Darkness into the air, nor the heavy dark clouds overhead. “This is Awesome Land, right?”

“More or less.” A voice behind him made Roewk jump. There was a Shadow being, one of Zais’ old minions, standing in the doorway of the office building. The man bowed slightly. “Lord Dace has been working to ah,” the man paused for a moment, wincing “speed along the recovery to the damage done by our late lord Zais.”

“Ah.” Roewk understood now. They were in northern Awesome Land, where the fight with Zais had happened.

“The boss is in a meeting right now, but if you two would like I can find out if he will see you.”

---

To be honest, Azzi had been ready to bail the moment Hrathen and him had been caught in whatever trap this was. But his conscience won out in the end. Hrathen was a decent ninja but an absolute mess when it came to dealing with their bosses. Hence being caught in this whole situation. Still, the other ninja was explaining them well to Lady Francine. And while they weren’t out of the woods yet, it appeared they weren’t about to be sent to the room where the walls scream at you as punishment, so that was a plus.

“It is an honor to serve, your majesty.” Azzi bowed as well, though dipped his head up to narrow his gaze on Emily. Perhaps, just perhaps, it would work to their benefit to work so closely to the suspicious guest. Azzi would certainly be watching very closely.

---

Leske responded to Rick Thunder with a cool-guy nod of his own, and the trio made their way to the ship’s exit ramp. Gree was waiting for them, along with his old Havoc Squad team. “Decided that a smaller team might be better. Keep a lower profile and all that.” Gree hesitated, seeing Rick. “Supposedly.”

“Well let’s get going then. I’m eager to see what I can find out here.”

Thirty minutes later and Leske was beginning to grow frustrated. Nobody he’d asked had seen anyone close to resembling Magnus. It had been a long shot in the first place, but Leske had been hoping for something. Anything. Gree had been more successful in his mission: The Sideboob had secured fuel and some provisions for the next leg of their journey. How the Sideboob managed to convert normal spaceship fuel into the weird magical energy that powered their vessel was beyond Leske. Even Codex had seemed bemused by it, at which point Leske had decided it was too much trouble to figure out.

“You guys notice that we’re being watched?” Vin asked suddenly.

“yes. By everybody in this damn spaceport.” Corr replied instantly. “Our ship and crew kinda stand out here. They’re all probably curious.”

“Well yes,” Vin conceded, “But not what I meant. Ever since we left that last store, someone’s been following us.” Leske tensed at that.

“You sure?” Gree asked. Vin just nodded. “Well, I guess we couldn’t hope to remain inconspicuous or anything. Think theyre from that Shogunate thing that attacked us before?”

“Dunno. One way to find out.” Gree nodded and abruptly changed directions, darting into a nearby side-street. Leske and the others gave chase, keeping pace with Gree as he led them past startled locals until they came to a dead end. “Oh dear,” Gree deadpanned. “It appears to be a dead end. What a perfect place for an ambush.” Leske rolled his eyes.

Taking their cue, a group of men appeared in the mouth of the alley, each one armed with some manner of weapon. Several with pistols, a couple with bo staves and katanas. One rather enterprising guy actually had a rifle. What Gree noted was that they clearly weren’t military. There was no uniformity to the group, nor any discipline. Well that was a relief. They were just dealing with thugs.

“Hello there.” One stepped forward, clearly the leader. He was of shorter stature, but with a sharper, cleaner appearance than his companions. Garbed in a nice suit and leaning against the sheathed katana in his hands, the man offered a grin. “We happened to notice that you lot are new in town.”

“Somewhat.” Leske grunted, hands slowly drifting behind his back.

“Well, see, this here is a Sakagi-gumi town. And we have a bit of a toll for using our spaceport, right? I couldn’t help but notice that you haven’t visited our local offices set up near the docks. So my associates and I are here to help clear things up before certain misunderstandings take place.” There were a few snickers from the yakuza’s thugs and Leske sighed. This could turn ugly real fast.

“We’re out of money.” Corr muttered to the rest of the group. Great.

[Calefrun]

“Oh jeez,” Kayla said in a soft tone, bringing her hands to the sides of her face. “We didn't mean to cause any trouble, sir. I'm a little confused though... who are you talking about? What associates? And what's that behind you?”

While the man had been talking to them, she had created a giant shield in between him and his henchmen. Kayla walked along beside him and leaned against the wall.

“That's fine, though. The fewer people there are around, the lower the chances that there will be any... misunderstandings.”

---

“OH MAN I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START,” CALE EFRUN THE ILLUSIVE SQUID KEPT RIGHT ON JIGGIN AS HE DELIVERED SOME ABRIDGED EXPOSITION.

“THERE WAS SOME TIME TRAVEL SHIT - I'M ACTUALLY LIKE FOUR YEARS OLDER THAN I WAS WHEN YOU SAW ME LIKE YESTERDAY OR WHENEVER. TURNS OUT I INHERITED LEADERSHIP OF SOME SQUIDS JUST IN TIME FOR SOME FIZZING SHRIMP ROBOTS TO COME TO TOWN AND START DOING SOME NOT-SO-COOL SHIT.”

HE SLID ON UP A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO COZAL. LIKE, UNCOMFORTABLE CLOSE. “THIS KID'S GOT SOME SPECIAL POWERS BECAUSE MY DEAR OLD GRANDDAD GAVE HIM SOME FUNNY JUICE, AND NOW I'M TRYING TO SEE IF HE CAN HELP ME PUNCH ROBOTS.”

Wordlessly, Cozal grabbed the flask from Allie's hands and chugged it.

She nodded. “Yeah, you get used to it.”

---

“Kinda hard to answer... with this thing around my neck.” The man wheezed. He summoned a pair of tiny swords and cut apart Heimrall's sand wire, then ran a hand gingerly over the area where it had been cutting into him.

He cleared his throat, then began speaking calmly, “By the way, I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that. The name's Cale. Cale Efrun the Second, if we want to be specific. Based on your reaction, I have to assume you've had a run-in with the vampire asshole that stole my body.”

“As for your question – how am I here? Well... this is my world. My inner world, actually. Honestly, I'm more confused about how you got here.”

[Bruce Leroy]

MGF placed his hand Cod Commando’s shoulder. He turned the look Cod in the eye; the fire and rage that filled his eyes from their pervious conversation had not disappeared. MGF gave a smug smile. “Easy there killer. Let’s take it easy when we get in there. Assess the situation quietly, figure out what we are working with, and come up with something from there.”

“This isn’t first rodeo Fish.” Cod responded in a short and coarse tone. “You of all people should know that.”

“Look man, you kinda freaked out a little. Just making sure you were still in there. Try to relax man. Let’s go.” Fish replied in a nonchalant manner. With that he gave Cod a pat on the back, and began to move towards the vent.

The two climbed into the ventilation system and began to scout out the section, not that there was anywhere for the intruder to go. After a quick search Cod motioned to MGF to come over to him, pointing to two figures rummaging through crates.

“So not only did they board my ship, they are trying to steal my shit. They don’t seem all that tough. Let’s sneak up on them and take them out.” Fish said to his companion, but before he could finish his next sentence Cod was already on his way over to the figures. “I guess we are going in hot then.” He mumbled under his breath catching up to his brother.

Standing about 10 yards behind the figures Cod barked, “Hey you assholes!”

“What are you dicks doing on my ship?! Metal Gear Fish finished.

[Monika]

Artemis continued being forcibly bathed. There's really not a whole lot to say here. Use your imagination. Just, not in that way, you perverts.

---

Amelia grimaced. "You...you want the people who may very well be responsible for this peeping incident...to be right next to us - to me - the whole time?" The girl shuddered and said, "I hope you'll forgive me, Queen, but that just really makes me uncomfortable." After a moment, she added, "And how can we be sure that they won't try to sabotage our investigation? They are highly trained ninja, after all. It might compromise the integrity of our findings."

---

"No fear?" Alastor repeated the woman's words, looking at her with a hint of pity in his eyes. "If you lack such a fundamental quality, that means you aren't human anymore. Yet you would stand here and tell me that you're not an experiment?"

Alastor didn't dare look behind him - such would be tantamount to suicide, surely - but he kept his eyes fixed on Starburst as he considered the impressive wave of fire she had just conjured. Judging from the intensity of that blast, he thought, there's probably a fairly large hole behind me. A perfect escape route. Did she do that on purpose? Is it a trap?

He glanced over to Evangeline's pitiful form on the operating table. She was deathly pale, as if all the color had been drained from her body, along with her normal joy and exuberance.

It doesn't matter. I have to get her out of here. An exit is an exit.

Alastor focused his energy on the straps that bound his young cohort to the table. The material had already been superheated by the surrounding air, so a bit of rapid cooling was all that was required to crack them into pieces. Physics at its finest.

"If you really have no fear," Alastor said, his tone again one of remorse rather than anger, "then you have no real reason to fight. And if that's the case...you've already lost!"

BOOM!

While monologuing, Alastor had been preparing another batch of ice, this one weaker than the rest. It was more like snow or slush in its consistency - about the least cold it could be while still falling under the category of "ice." It certainly wasn't going to effectively block any more of Starburst's attacks, but that was the point. The material was just watery enough that when he pushed it into the now-molten metals of the walls around the research center, it rapidly boiled and expanded, leading to a violent steam explosion. It really paid to be a scientist sometimes.

Time to go!

Under the thick cover of steam, Alastor grabbed Evangeline and hoisted her over his shoulder, summoning an icy slide from the massive hole in the wall that Alaizabel had so kindly provided. Like a father and daughter at the playground, he cradled Evangeline in his arms and slid down, leaving the laboratory behind him.

[Mizagium]

Knox frowned at the Shadow being, then glanced around at the new city being constructed. “Huh. Interesting. Yeah, uh, tell Dace that Knox and Roewk of the Immortal Council would to see him about a very important matter.” There. Artemis would be proud of him.

“It’s actually really important.”

-

Francine’s mouth quirked just a bit. She hadn’t actually been asking if Emily had any objections; it was more a formality. She was very, very certain that these two were not responsible for the incident.

Surprisingly, it was Hrathen who spoke, not the Queen. “All ninja are required to give an unbreakable vow to the reigning monarch upon completion of our training. A blood-oath that was established between our ancestors-in-exile from…from the Homeland, and Ventus, First King, and Hero of Really Cool Land.” He said it so smoothly without any trace of resentment.

“Besides,” the Queen continued, testily, “we have a foolproof way of testing for truth. Come with me, all three of you.”

She absolutely did not wait to see who followed, expecting everyone to obey.

Francine lead them to the secret vault in the library, which opened at her command. She lead them down the winding, stony stairwell, lit only with the glow of the forget-me-runes which lined the passage. Forget-me-runes were a kind of memory manipulation charm. They way these were set up, a person guided down this passage would recall the broad outline of events, but would never be able to recall the exact details. The command the Queen used, the exact way the stairwell wound, the layout of the locks and tumblers on the final door. Even exactly here in the library the passage lay would be obscured, permanently, from their memory.

The final door opened to reveal an ornate display: all four of the Really Cool Land Royal Family’s treasures were housed here: the True Sword, the False Shield, the Ugly Stick, and the Beauty Mirror. Powerful artifacts of ancient magic, dating back to the Hero, Ventus, to whom all legends of the land were connected – apparently.

With a noted lack of reverence or ceremony, Francine retrieved the mount on the wall. Contrary to popular legend, the Artifacts were not blood-bound. Francine was not a direct descendant of Ventus, but could open the vault and use the Artifacts with no ill effects. The Artifacts recognized purity of heart or courage or something vague and nebulous like that. Also the monarchy was magi or something.

Yeah that’s it. Magic.

Mad Emperor Leon Veralice had used dark magic (and a more powerful magical artifact, Hystoger) to trick the seals and break in, stealing the Beauty Mirror. Even now, Francine still though the glass looked cloudy. She wasn’t sure it would ever fully recover from it’s corruption into the Vanity Mirror.

But that was neither here nor there. Francine hefted the True Sword and leveled it at Hrathen’s heart. The ninja stepped forward until the tip pressed against his chest. The Sword emitted a faint light that pulsed, like a heartbeat. He faced his Queen, unblinking.

“Hrathen Thundercourgerfalconbird, upon your word as a sowrd servant of the Royal Family, and under the revealing light of the True Sword: Did you have anything to do with Emily’s incident?”

“No.”

The Sword’s light continued to beat steadily.

“Were you the one who broke into her guest room?”

“No.”

“Were you the one who stole her clothes?”

“No.”

“Were you an accomplice to the perpetrator.”

“N-Not to my knowledge.” Hrathen frowned. That wasn’t what he meant to say, but Francine nodded. She expected that. Hrathen may not have intentionally been a part of it, but he could have been used. The two-factor Truth he was under compelled him to admit that he may have been an unwitting pawn.

“Do you know who the perpetrator is?”

Hrathen hesitated, trying to say what he wanted in a way he wanted, but the Sword and the oath would only allow straightforward answers. “No, I do not.” He clearly had more to say, but since it did not directly pertain to the specific inquiry, he could not speak.

“Will you assist in this investigation, to the best of your abilities?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remain loyal to the Crown?” That last question hadn’t been intentional, but it just slipped out. Francine almost didn’t believe she had asked it, but held the sword steady while Hrathen answered.

“Yes,” he said finally, though with effort.

Francine held the Sword on him for a moment before dropping it. “Very well.” she turned to Emily as if to say See? I know my servants. Then she put Azzi to the Sword and asked the same questions. He provided similar answers. Satisfied, France retrieved the True Sword’s scabbard from the vault. She sheathed it, tied it to her robes, then ushered them up and out of the vault, resealing everything as they went.

“Are you satisfied, Miss Robertson?” She asked only when they were back in the library, secret entrance hidden, and the forget-me-runes memory scrambling in full effect.\

-

Apparently unfazed by this turn of events, Rick Thunder swaggered on up to the apparent leader of the goon squad. This man was not the leader, as Kayla had already sequestered him, but Rick hadn’t been paying attention. He slouched, swung around, and put his arm around the man’s shoulders. An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips.

“Bro,” he said, and gave the man a good-natured shake. “Bro,” he said again,” and chuckled a bit. “Bro,” he said for a third time. “Listen, I’m sure you and your Sakura Gummy bros are hard workers and all that. I do. But here’s the thing, bro.”

Rick pulled the man in closer and hunkered down, like he was telling him a secret. Surprisingly, the man put up very little resistance. “Thing is, bro, you’re the man in this situation. And you know me – I’m Rick Thunder. The Dinomancer.”

He reached out with his hand, squeezing the thug just a little too tight, and pulled the cigarette free. “Me and The Man don’t get along too well, ya dig?” He dropped the cigarette down the man’s shirt. “So I’m gonna tell you what I told the Dilophosaurus Boys after they’d dug up old Miss Rosylin’s garden in search of buried treasure while they were doped up on T-Rex tranquilizers: Get that decomposing squirrel out of your mouth before you catch rabies!”

The Sakami-gumi goons exchanged hesitant, confused looks while Risk released their leader.

“Also: Get ‘em, boys!” He unzipped his duffel bag and dumped four excited little dinosaurs out. Tikki, Mort, Jelli, and Zooboomafoo pounced on the gangsters with happy chirps and scratched and bit to their hearts’ content. Rick popped his collar and swaggered back over to Leske’s group.

“Compies have narcotic saliva,” he explained. “Eventually they’ll all pass out from the numbing and sleepiness. Unless they’re habitual drug users and somehow have a resistance to this exact kind of drug. In that case, I have no backup plan.”

-

GOLDBEZ KEPT ON SWINGING HIS HIPS AROUND TOWN AND GOT UP ALL UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE TO COZAL AS WELL. THEY HAD HIM SANDWICHED BETWEEN THEIR SENSUAL MOTIONS. A GYRO SANDWICH WITH EXTRA JIG. MMM BABY THAT’S THE STUFF.

“GOOD FOR, KID, I ALWAYS KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU TO GET OLDER AND WHATNOT. AND HEY, I AIN’T GOT MUCH GOING ON LATELY. WHAT’S SAY WE TAKE THIS LOSER AND GO FIND SOME ROBOTS AND SEE IF HE’S GOOD AT PUNCHING THEM?”

ONE OF THE LUSTY ERMINES WRIGGLED FREE OF GOLDBEZ’S ARMOR AND WINKED AT ALLIE.

-

Castor nearly dropped the power cell he was pilfering when Cod Commando and Metal Gear Fish shouted at him. Pollux spun, sword drawn, and hesitated. “Huh.”

“Pol, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“I think so, Cas. Two talking fish?”

“Yep.”

“Yep.”

Castor cleared his throat, but continued to pull items from the shelves. “We’re trying to fix our own ship. Got kinda stranded out here. So, if you don’t mind” he picked up a full crate “we’ll just take these and be out of your way in a jiffy.”

-

“Let them go.”

Starburst had been all set to chase Alastor and Evangeline through Astro City, but Ophiuchus’ command was so hard-coded in, that she actually stiffened. The scientist appeared in the room in a burst of cosmic energy. “I don’t think they’ll get very far out there.”

Ophiuchus studied the makeshift explosion. “Very clever. Ice-types aren’t usually so clever against fire. Either they give up or switch to water – at least until they realize fire usually wins out. Hmm no matter. They’ll end up in the slums that way, and I have many connections there.”

He grinned. “Let’s go, Starburst. I have another task for you.”

[Sariel of Tevet]

The Nightman scoffed. The only thing more pedestrian than a woman he didn't bother remembering, was an echo of a woman he didn't bother remembering.

"Try again, girl. I don't know who you are in the slightest. Maybe you should just show yourself?"

The Nightman began to seductively rub his codpiece, waiting for the mystery voice to show herself, and charging it up for an attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yeah, and your friend isn't exactly being too kind with your body either. He's trying to off immortals left and right, even stealing their powers. That's how I ended up here. He kidnapped me, drained me of most of my powers, and threw me inside this guy's belt...which...apparently leads to inside you. Wait. What's happening again?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Myrdraxxis]

The Shadow secretary (that’s actually what his title was), glanced between Knox and Roewk and then nodded. “Of course, feel free to wait in the lobby while I let him know.” With that, the man departed. Roewk took the free moment to observe the building around them. It looked…well it looked like an office. There were people coming and going, acting busy. All of them were Shadow beings. They looked to be putting a lot of effort into acting like hard working corporate drones. A lot of effort. Maybe too much effort. Roewk frowned.

A moment later the secretary returned. He dipped his head politely in greeting to the both and spoke. “The boss will see you. This way please.” He held out a hand, gesturing past the desk. He led them into a hallway with several elevators lining each wall. All three of them piled into one of the elevators and began the ascent up to Dace’s office. The ride continued on for several long, long minutes, the silence only broken by the faint and annoyingly upbeat music playing from somewhere. Roewk glanced around awkwardly, shuffling in place. The secretary didn’t move a single muscle, standing straight and staring ahead at the elevator doors.

Several moments later, just as Roewk was beginning to wonder if this was, in fact, a trap and they had somehow angered the new Immortal of Darkness in some way, the doors opened with a small ’ding’.

The entire top floor was Dace’s office. Roewk examined it with a critical eye. “Well, I guess ostentatiousness was a Darkness thing, not just a Zais thing.” He muttered. Dace was, predictably, seated behind a desk, framed by a wall of glass windows that overlooked the steadily rising cityscape behind him. Sindri stood off to one side, having been in conversation with the Immortal. Dace glanced up as they approached, setting aside the paper in his hand. “Sir, I’ve brought the Immortals.” The secretary said, somewhat unnecessarily.

“Thanks, Harry.” Dace replied. The secretary, Harry, nodded and took his leave. Dace watched him go, and sighed once the Shadow being left. “He’s trying way too hard at this whole secretary thing.”

“They’re all frantic to find a purpose now.” Sindri said, shaking his cowled head. “Zais created us, and now? Finding new lives will be all we can do. Harry does good work.”

“He led a squad of Shadows pillaging through the Dynasty City financial district. He keeps his old helmet with kill tallies under his desk.” Dace shot back. “Forgive me if I find it a bit jarring.”
“Putting that aside,” Sindri turned his attention to Roewk and Knox. “I’ll check with construction downstairs.” Dace grunted an acknowledgement and sighed again as Sindri left as well.

“So, what can I do for you, gentlemen?”

---

The street thugs of the Sakagi-gumi were not having a good day. What started as a routine shakedown of some newbies in town was quickly turning into the greatest beatdown any of them had ever taken. Things had gone south when that white haired gal had separated the boss from the rest of them. The man looked suitably freaked out. And then some fucking guy and summoned weird lizards out of his back and they started attacking everyone.

That’s about when the screaming started. Closely followed by the barking sound of gunfire as someone tried to shoot the little creatures in an enclosed alley. The boss snapped and launched a punch at the woman. Kagi, low level street tough and new member, didn’t stay to watch how things went after that. He spun and narrowly dodged the eagerly snapping teeth of one of Rick Thunder’s compies. With agility that surprised even himself, Kagi ducked under another gangster, spun to avoid another wildly swinging his bo staff, and darted for the exit.

He actually made it to the mouth of the alley when the world spun around on itself as he was clotheslined by a sheathed katana that popped out from around the brick wall. Kagi made asound somewhere between “yow” and “blurgh” as he struck the weapon. As he lay there, head spinning, a shadow swept over him. Footsteps, ominously slow and meaningful, clacked against the cobblestone, closer to Kagi. Then past him. What? And wait, was that music?

Suddenly smoke filled the alley, accompanied by frenzied, soulful music. A figure stood in the center of the alley entrance, a katana slung over one shoulder, and a shorter blade clutched in the other hand.

“When vile criminals stalk the city streets, who do they call?” A smooth voice called out. One of the gangsters, a compie latched onto his throat, groaned and muttered a quiet ‘godammit’. “THAT’S RIGHT BABY!” The smoke suddenly cleared (now revealed to be caused by a pair of smoke bombs lying used up in the alley). “It’s the ONE, THE ONLY, BUSHIDO JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-oh hey, you already got em all.”

---

“One thing I would like to note, your Highness.” Azzi spoke up. “I noticed that there was apparently signs of ninja techniques being used around Miss Emily’s room. We ah, were caught in one when you found us.” Before using the Sword, such a thing would have sounded incriminating. Now though, having borne the brunt of the ancient artifact’s magic, he was confident in their status as innocent. That still left a bigger problem, one that could be insinuated by everyone present. An enemy ninja was operating within the royal castle.

[Bruce Leroy]

“Yea that’s not going to happen. So if you would, please drop my shit and leave my ship.” MGF barked. “Or if you prefer we could just kick you ourselves.”

The Commando tensed, he felt all of the rage boil inside him. He tried to clear his mind, think back to his training, but nothing was working. All that was going through his mind was all the lies he had been told. All the missions that he had been sent on for the ‘greater good’. Everything turned red for a moment. He charged towards Castor. “Fuck all of this,” he cried as he pulled out his pistols.

‘Well so much for diplomacy,’ MGF thought to himself. He proceeded to pull out a shotgun and followed his brother.

---

“Ayye lads, We be off towards the Space Waffle House. Come on lads, come on. We ain’t got all day. There be a constellation we gotta find after.” The Captain yelled at his men. “We can’t be adventuring on an empty stomach, tis bad for the digestion.”

Just as the Captain had finished his statement, a set of stars flew by.

“Well men, I guess Space Waffle House and the digestive track will be taking a back seat today. Follow them stars lads.”