PHALANX - The series
Episode Thirty: Seven Days of Doom, part seven.
Day seven, 1100 hours Universe 576 Japanese Time, location: holographic training facility.
The holodeck was grunting as billions of nanoprobes raced over the interior surface like green-glowing ants trying to save their lair.
Warning! Stress tolerance exceeded by 100 gravities! Estimated completion of adaptation in 20 minutes.
"We won't be here in twenty minutes," Frederic grunted. He still hadn't gone Super, refusing his body's cries for easing of the load. He was grunting along with Sorcerer now.
"Increase to 1300 gravities, and give a countdown to collapse," Sorcerer said. Frederic nodded in agreement, and Linda did as she was told, under a lot of protest.
Screaming terribly, the two warriors launched at one another in the strange high-gravity room Frederic had locked them into. As he had told he would do, he had never allowed the gravity to drop beneath 700. In fact, he had never lightened it, only made it stronger for the two warriors to conquer. Together, they had consumed at least 150 Senzu beans to keep to their feet.
Sorcerer jumped up, bounced off the wall, and raced toward Frederic, who swiftly moved out of the way, and tried to punch Sorcerer in an upward motion. Sorcerer twisted out of the way and kicked at Frederic, who ducked, grabbed his opponent's leg, and threw him at the wall. Sorcerer landed on his feet on the wall, and pushed himself off toward his opponent.
Frederic jumped up, made a somersault, and landed on the other side of Sorcerer. He powered a ki-ball, and launched it at Sorcerer. Sorcerer grabbed it, fueled it with magic, and launched it back at its origins. Frederic batted it out of the way, and threw a Kamehameha blast at Sorcerer, who was caught off guard by the fast-moving blast he hadn't seen Frederic power behind his back. The blast hit, and Sorcerer was blasted against the bulkhead, covered in soot.
Sorcerer struggled to his feet under the 1300 gravities, and started throwing his own ki balls at Frederic. The latter decided to play along, and countered by using evolved magic. For another fifteen minutes the two exchanged fire, after which the holodeck literally collapsed, the walls being sucked inward under the enormous pressure of 1300 times their original weight. Safeties engaged, and the gravity dropped to normal, forcing both warriors to compensate very, very quickly.
"Linda, rebuild the holodeck so it can withstand 2000," Frederic told the AI, before dragging Sorcerer behind him. Both could use a shower and fresh clothes before leaving.
"I feel so light," Sorcerer grunted.
"Because you're 1300 times lighter than you're used to. It'll pass, and you'll be stronger and faster than ever before. The special training has increased muscle-strength, not muscle mass, so your speed is only affected the good way."
******
Day seven, 1115 hours Universe 702 Digital time, location:
"Looks like MegaDetrumon is here," David said, as he laid eyes on
the building on top of
"Let's go," Tai told the group. He started walking, and the rest followed. David and Jessie were still keeping well away from each other. The ten children, accompanied by ten digital creatures of various types and sizes, walked up to the large front gate. And a gate it was, leading into the interior of what could only be described as a castle of humongous dimensions.
"Now what?" David asked as the group halted in front of the gate.
"We open the door, moron," Jessie said.
"How, smart-ass?" he shot back.
Jessie shrugged. "We knock," she suggested. "Vogumon, digivolve."
"Yes ma'am!" Vogumon shouted, attempting a salute by lifting himself up to his hind legs. "Vogumon warp-digivolves to…MegaDragomon!"
"Now kick in the door," Jessie told the digimon.
"Wait!" David barked. "If we go in with all guns blazing, don't you think that kinda tips him off?"
"He already knows, asshole," Jessie said, pointing to one of the small windows, where movement was visible.
"Fine, little miss know-it-all. Durumon, digivolve."
"That sounds like a good idea, if he already knows that we're here," Tai said. As the others had their digimon digivolve, MegaDragomon kicked in the door of the castle. He was the first one inside, carrying Jessie. David and MegaRaptormon were right behind, followed by the other digidestined, and their digimon.
******
Day seven, 1115 hours Universe 704 Island of Ages time, location:
"Strange door," Daphnix said, examining the strange writings on the large door. It was located at the far end of the hall they had been following for two days, and boasted a strange symbol, resembling a pyramid upside-down, with what appeared to be beams of light radiating out from it.
"Maybe it is what we're looking for," Ami suggested. She put her hand on the door, feeling the texture of it. "It feels like wood."
When Daphnix tried to touch it, an electric spark jumped from the door to his hand. "I'd say it’s a big possibility," he said. "I can't help you from here, according to the Gods. Only one pure of mind, body, and soul can enter the room where the stone is kept."
Unsure, Ami applied some force to the large wooden door. To her surprise, it slid open easily, and she stepped through it. The door slammed close behind her, soundlessly, as everything seemed to be at this part of the temple. Daphnix never had a chance to see into the room.
"Who dares to disturb my eternal rest?" a male voice boomed through the room. Ami looked around, trying to determine the origins of the voice. The room appeared to be quite large, with what appeared to be an altar at the exact opposite location to the door.
"Hi," Ami whispered. "I am Ami…" she added. She felt scared out of her wits. What does one say to a voice out of nowhere? And what surprised her even more was the fact that the voice spoke contemporary Japanese, her mother tongue.
"What is your business here?" the voice asked.
"I… I came for…for the Stone of Ages…"
"What is your business with the Stone?"
"The…the Gods asked for it… to help against the Destroyers…"
"The Stone is older than the Gods and the Destroyers. It has no business in their petty squabble. Be gone, girl, and never return."
"Please!" she screamed, advancing to the altar. "You have to help us! If the Gods and the Destroyers really fight, the universe might be destroyed!"
"Girl, I was around before them, and I will survive them all. Your heart is pure, as is your mind and your body. For this I will spare you. You may not be so lucky next time. Now be gone!"
"NO!" Ami shouted, totally contrary to her usual quiet nature. She felt the need for urgency. "This is important!"
Facing her, in front of the altar, a huge man appeared. A glowing effect rippling over his body gave him a ghostly appearance. The man was at least two and a half meters tall, and appeared to be dressed in clothes Ami couldn't identify. A helmet of some sorts hid most of his face, while an unknown type of armor covered his arms, body and legs. Heavy metal boots adorned his feet. The entire ensemble was black, with a golden sign on his chest… the same sigil Ami had seen on the door. The narrow pyramid, upside-down, with the radiating light beams.
"Nothing is important enough, girl. I witnessed the birth of the omniverse, the birth and decay of dozens of different types of good and evil, as well as different kinds of Gods and Destroyers. I am ancient enough that I am rumored to have been personally responsible for creating all that was, is, and ever shall be. Now be gone." With a wave of the large man's gauntlet-covered hand, Ami suddenly found herself outside the door, staring at Daphnix.
"He…he didn't want to help", Ami whispered, tears starting to form. As Daphnix gathered her in his arms, she clung to him, crying bitterly. "I tried," she sobbed. "I tried so hard…but…but, he wouldn't listen to me…"
"Shhh," Daphnix soothed her, gently rocking her back and forth. "We'll find a way. I promise. We'll find a way, Sweets."
"I'm so sorry. I should've tried…"
Daphnix placed his hands on her cheeks, and lifted her head from his chest. His brown eyes stared into her blue ones. "This is not your fault, Sweets. You tried your best. It's not your fault," he assured her. Daphnix's heart ached at the sight of his love's beautiful face distorted by sadness. Daphnix felt anger boil up inside him.
******
Day six, 1145 hours Universe 705 Time, location: Mystery Woman's meeting point.
"Good! You decided to show up!" the mysterious woman taunted the two warriors as they approached.
"We'll give you one last chance to retreat," Frederic shot back, coming straight to the point.
"So noted," the woman said. Her hand shot out, and a blast of energy catapulted Frederic back. He landed in a crouched position, and started powering, his fists balled. The ground around him exploded, and his Alter Armor formed into shape. Then he continued to power his Ki. He turned Super-4 in five seconds. Five seconds Sorcerer used to launch a retaliatory strike against the woman.
Sorcerer had blasted the woman with a couple fireballs, but she slapped them away very easily. As Super-4 Frederic attacked, his body surrounded by black flames of ki, Sorcerer went magic augmentation level 6, his body now able to handle the stress without constantly giving warning of impending doom.
The two warriors charged the mysterious woman. Neither of them was able to make much of a dent as the woman kept countering their attacks very easily.
<<Keep her busy. I'm going to get her,>> Frederic promised.
<<Alright," Sorcerer said. he turned Super to distract the woman, and attacked ferociously as Frederic broke off, and pressed his right index finger against his forehead.
This has been a long time. Let's hope it still works. Powering Piccolo's special beam cannon, Frederic was staring at the fight between Sorcerer and the mysterious woman.
Sorcerer attacked with all his strength, actually turning Super-2 in the process, but still he made no progress against the woman, who kept taunting him while she swept his strongest attacks aside. When she retaliated, Sorcerer suddenly found himself outclassed big time. Forcing himself to take all the punishment she could hand out, Sorcerer lost ground at the slowest pace he could handle.
"You're weak, magician. I don’t know how you dealt with Assassin. You're both weak!"
Sorcerer refused to give in to her taunts, forcing himself to remain professional. He knew that more then just his life was at stake here, and it kept him from loosing his cool.
"Sorc! Duck!" Frederic shouted. Sorcerer ducked out of the way as the Special beam cannon was fired. The straight yellow blast was accompanied by a second, stronger, blast coiling around it. The mysterious woman just laughed heartily, and sidestepped. She stared with a sarcastic interest at the beam as it flew past her before turning back to the two men. When she saw Frederic's finger jerk, she thought nothing of it. The next moment, the remote-controlled blast hit her in the back, making the woman scream out.
"You will pay for that!" she screamed.
"Armageddon!" Sorcerer shouted.
"Super Bolt!" Frederic shouted in turn.
The bright-red Armageddon spell hit the woman before the Super Bolt hit, hiding the woman from view as rubble blew up around her screaming body. Once again, the woman appeared relatively unharmed from the blast.
"Fuck!" Sorcerer screamed.
"Damn!" Frederic added. "Won't you ever die?"
"NO!" the woman screamed at the two triple-Phalanxes, an Evil Blade materializing in her hands. The two warriors drew their swords, and prepared to counter. Both knew that things were getting heated. Frederic used magic augmentation to boost himself higher. Sorcerer just crouched a little deeper, his body still at Super-2. He balled his fists. Alter energies exploded.
He immediately became invisible from view as a veil of immense power seemed to drape over him. The veil solidified, closing in on him, covering him in something. Finally, the veil stabilized, and Sorcerer was now dressed in a robe. And what a robe it was. Its color was literally the black of a black hole, and it gave him the appearance of non-existence, as a sort of hole in reality. The hood that was over his head was of the same effect, and what little of his mouth and chin that could be seen form under the wearable black hole that was Sorcerer’s Alter Armor looked as if it just ‘floated’ in the middle of a black hole.
“Come get some,” he said with an evil-incarnate voice he used to use when intimidating alien races into surrendering.
******
Day seven, 1145 hours Universe 702 Digital time, location: Infinity Mountain, MegaDetrumon's lair.
Ten digimon, four Mega and six Ultimate, were shooting at the pitch-black humanoid digimon that was MegaDetrumon. He stood about two times taller than a full-grown man, with a muscular body. The digidestined were standing together, as a group, shouting encouragements at their digital friends. Even David and Jessie forgot their differences for the moment.
The battle seemed to be about even, with the evil digimon managing to avoid a good deal of the attacks, and staggering slightly under the fire when the attackers got a shot in. Then, things seemed to look up for the evil digimon, as he managed to hit WarGreymon with his Dark Beam. The digimon hit the ground with the grace of a ton of bricks.
"WarGreymon!" Tai shouted, running to the side of his fallen friend.
This is too good to pass up, MegaDetrumon thought, and blasted at Tai's back. Time seemed to slow down for everyone as they saw the beam race toward Tai's back.
"Tai! NO!" David shouted. Tai turned around, surprised. When he saw the attack, he stared surprised at the eerily bolt of death that was coming at him. David knew that, if he pushed Tai out of the way, the sudden acceleration would probably hurt him seriously. So, David's ki flared up, and he threw himself in front of the beam.
"You should have died when you had the chance, boy," MegaDetrumon taunted as he increased the strength of his attack against the boy. David's hands were stretched in front of him, allowing him to focus his ki and his mental energy in front of him. He grunted under the strain.
That'll show him… Jessie thought as a grin spread on her face. When David made no attempts to break out, the looks changed. All right, you've done enough David. You can let go now.
David sunk to one knee, screaming under the stress. Jessie could see his ki flame up erratically, a telltale sign that his energy was getting low.
"You stupid ass! Get away!" Jessie shouted, suddenly feeling very worried for her brother. David never heard the yell, so engrossed was his mind in the pain that swarmed his senses. "Fuck!" Jessie shouted, throwing herself at her brother. She managed to get in behind her brother, and pushed her hands on his shoulders. Normally, a mental would extend his or her shields around a second mental. Jessie merged hers with David's. Normally, such a feat required a lot of work, both mentals needing to align their mental frequencies to do so. Jessie and David were so close, even after all their fighting, that it came as second nature to them.
When David felt the stress drain from his shields, he opened his clenched eyes, ignoring the small drops of blood flowing from the sides of his eye-lids. He looked over his shoulder.
"Jess…" he managed.
"I'm sorry, David. I didn't mean…" she grunted. Both were now keeping their ground, both children having more than enough power to comfortably hold MegaDetrumon's beam at bay.
"I know. I'm sorry too, Sis," David said back.
"Damn!" MegaDetrumon shouted. Why didn't you kill each other?" he barked. Using even more of his power, the beam intensified in strength. Still, the digimon had no success in breaching MegaDetrumon's defenses, which suddenly seemed to have quadrupled in strength. David and Jessie screamed out s pain ripped through their minds, and both felt themselves slipping to the edge. The darkness that was death, leading them to the gates where they would either meet the Guardian of the Ghost Roads, or the Guardian of the Crossroads.
The gates opened silently upon their approach, and both felt the compulsion to enter.
"Dad…" David's spirit muttered.
"Daddy," Jessie sputtered as well. The spirit of their father seemed to look at them with strange eyes. A look they had never seen on his face before. A look of disappointment.
"Not yet," David said in their father's place.
Jessie's mind connected the dots as well. "Our time hasn't come yet," she said. The figure nodded.
"We'll continue," David promised. "We will enforce the laws you upheld, and we'll defend that which you have built."
A smile spread over the ghost's face, and both spirits forced themselves back to the realms of the living. As soon as the twin spirits were out of sight, the ghost changed to the Guardian of the Ghost roads.
"You owe me big for this, Phalanx. If it hadn't been for me, your kids would be dead now. I wouldn't have been able to convince them otherwise."
As David's eyes opened once again, all he was aware of were the hands on his shoulders. "I love you, Jess," he muttered, feeling the need to express himself. there was no doubt now in either mind that they were alone.
"I love you to, David. Now, let's go get him," Jessie answered her brother.
David screamed, righting himself under the barrage of power. Jessie rose with him. The other kids, as well as the digimon, stared at the two children who appeared dead mere seconds ago, and were now standing upright under the beam. Yellow ki flames surrounded the two young bodies.
"Father!" the kids screamed, drawing their blades, and holding them horizontally above their heads. They felt it. They knew what was to happen, and they craved it. their bodies feeling strained, they shouted, "Father! The Sleepers have awakened!" The golden ki seemed to explode from their young bodies, shattering MegaDetrumon's control over his beam. He gasped, and hurriedly tried to recuperate.
The twins' chestnut brown hair turned golden as their eye-pupils turned an opaque turquoise. The golden ki aura surrounding the nubile bodies gave the two children a demonic impression, augmented by the looks of pure rage on their faces.
"Look at their crests!" Matt shouted, pointing at the children's chests. Lowering their blades, the children put their free hand over the glowing crests, and both briefly closed their eyes. MegaDragomon and MegaRaptormon screamed as if they were being gutted alive. A golden haze surrounded their bodies.
"MegaDragomon Super-Digivolves to… MetalDragomon!"
"MegaRaptormon Super-Digivolves to…WarRaptormon!"
"What's happening, Izzy?" Tai asked the kid genius.
"I am not sure, Tai. But it looks like we have two Giga-level digimon to help us out," Izzy answered as he looked up from his laptop computer.
"Giga-level?" Matt asked. The other digidestined gasped at the two Giga-levels. MetalDragomon was now covered in a metal armor, including two pairs of metal wings on his back. He also sported a canon on his head. WarRaptormon sported a pair of wings on his back, a well as two metal claws on his arms.
"Fire of Devastation!" MetalDragomon shouted.
"Ancient Claws of Fury!" WarRaptormon added.
MegaDetrumon stared dumb at the two gigas. When the flaming haze hit him like a river of molten lava, he screamed in anguish. The claws on WarRaptormon's gloves extended, and seemed to glow in an unworldly light. The screaming MegaDragomon was punctured through the chest by the ten claws, and he sunk to his knees after they had been withdrawn. The other digimon attacked as well, but MegaDetrumon seemed to be able to recover slightly.
MetalDragomon picked him up, and slammed him into the ground, after which WarRaptormon spiked him again. Just to even things out, MetalDragomon incinerated the body. MegaDetrumon disappeared, shattering into a million pieces. Directly afterward, the two gigas digivolved back to a state of egg, their energy totally depleted.
"So, that's it?" Super-Jessie asked, turning down and taking her egg. "Come here, you," she told the egg.
"It looks like it," David muttered, collecting his own digi-egg. When he and Jessie got back up, they stared at each other. Neither knowing what to say, they stared for a couple of moments at one another. They fell into each others arms right after, careful enough as not to hurt the fragile eggs.
"Hey, guys, look at this!" Mimi shouted a minute or so later. "There's a door back here!"
The ten digidestined walked into a backroom, but it wasn't the room that drew their attentions. It was a large gate, bang in the middle of the room. It was rectangular, and the gateway itself was a bluish vortex swirling in the center or the arch.
"A dimensional gateway," Jessie identified the object.
"These must be the universal coordinates," David said, indicating a series of moveable plaques on the left side of the arch.
"Then these are the dimensional coordinates. Where are the temporal coordinates?"
"Up there?" David suggested, pointing to the top of the arch.
"Now all we need to do is figure out what these marks mean, and we can go home!" Jessie practically screamed.
"What about you? What happens to you now?" David asked the others.
"I don't know," Tai answered. "No Jennai, and nothing seems to be happening, so I don't know what to do now."
"Our world is in danger," Jessie answered. "We saw Daddy… back there, so it's up to us now."
"Maybe we can help," Kari suggested. "I mean, with our digimon we could…" she broke off as the others stared at her.
"I don't know," Jessie answered.
"It's not the kind of thing you've faced here before…" David tried.
"Of course, we could fit them with mental shields to protect them until we can get one of the Slayers to help out," Jessie said, already making plans.
"And we can get them some armor to help physically," David added. Then, he shook his head, as if realizing for the first time what he was doing. "We appreciate the offer, Kari, but… it's just too dangerous."
"Hey, first you saved my sister's life, and now you've saved mine. The least I can do is go with you," Tai said. "If for nothing else but to see for myself it's too dangerous."
"Yeah!" Kari added. "I'm coming too!"
One by one, the other kids said they'd go as well, and no amount of pleading by David and Jessie made them change their minds. So, the twins set out to work on figuring out the gateway.
******
Day seven, 1210 hours Universe 705 Time, location: Mystery Woman's meeting point.
Frederic landed flat on his back. Sorcerer came down right next to him, and the woman walked up to them, smiling broadly.
"It looks like the tables have turned, boys. Prepare to die!" The woman lifted her hands, obviously readying the doom of the two triple Phalanxes.
"Sorc…" Frederic muttered. "Can you get up?"
"Maybe," Sorcerer whispered, and tried to move. He grunted in pain, and dropped back. "Maybe not."
Frederic's hand reached for a small pouch on his belt, and retrieved a Senzu bean. He had to make sure that the woman didn't see him do it. Sorcerer's attempt to get up had her momentarily distracted, and Frederic used that time to swallow the bean. Instantly, his wounds closed and a good portion of his energy was restored. Direct Flow filled in the rest.
As Frederic jumped up, the woman stared dumb at him. "How did you do that?" she asked dumb, continuing to stare at him. Sorcerer had ample time to retrieve his own Senzu beans, and he jumped up as well. The two blasted at the woman, throwing her back. Without delaying, the two grabbed at one another, and fused.
Sorceric turned up to the highest levels he could attain, powering Alter, Magic Augmentation, and Ki virtually at the same time. The woman screamed in rage like an angered tiger, and launched at Sorceric. The fight raged on, with the woman still having the upper hand. However, she didn't manage to actually get more than a few hits in, because Sorceric was composed of two of the greatest fighters ever. Experience enabled them to counter most attacks after only one hit, two at the most. It kept the woman destabilized.
"That's IT!" the woman screamed, jumping back to give herself some space. She dropped the robe, and it landed on the ground with a hard thud. Under her robe, she was wearing a full body armor, shining a brilliant gold in color. Where Sorceric’s was the more body-hiding type, this armor hugged the woman’s curves neatly, showing off what was without a doubt an attractive corpus.
"Weighed clothes? She was wearing weighed clothes?" Sorceric grunted.
"Forty kilos to be exact," the woman said, smiling widely. Her dark brown hair was cut short, and her dark eyes stood cold as they touched the warrior before them.
"That's not that much," Sorceric said, and charged. The woman countered easily. What she didn't expect was for Sorceric to start throwing ki at her from such short distance. It hurt her, sure, but it didn’t incapacitate her. She kept fighting, now knowing to be on the lookout for ki blasts. She managed to avoid most of them, and retaliated ferociously with her own energy weapons. Now it was Sorceric's turn to start dodging.
******
Day seven, 1220 hours Universe 702 Digital time, location: Infinity Mountain, MegaDetrumon's lair, gate-room.
"It's a 12-symbol numerical system," David grunted. "But we managed to decode it."
"Now all we need to do is translate the coordinates of 576, the coordinates of the Ortega, and the correct temporal coordinates into that 12-symbol numerical language," Jessie added. The two kids turned back to the data pad.
"There," Jessie said, mere moments later. "Now, in their symbols, those are the signs we need to put in."
David got up, and started turning the labels with signs until he got the right ones. He had to lift himself up to get at the top ones, but he managed nonetheless.
"Now what?" he said over his back to his sister. "I've put in the right signs. Now what do we do?"
"I don’t know… it looks as if nothing changed. How about a test?"
David got back down. "What kind of test?"
Jessie withdrew the holographic equipment. "If we create a small test-device, the batteries should be enough to sustain it for a few seconds… long enough for us to determine if the gate goes where we want it to go."
"Sounds good to me," David answered, and the mobile emitter was programmed to create a small test-bubble, sending what it saw through the gate to the kids' data pad. The small bubble was thrown through the gate, and the twins stared at the pad's screen, along with the other digidestined, who stared over the twins' backs.
"That's… that's the Ortega," David muttered. "We got it…"
"Yes!" Jessie shouted, and put the pad in her backpack. "Come on, let's go!"
"Right," David nodded. Jessie jumped through, and David stayed behind to help the others. Moments later, the ten digidestined and ten digimon found themselves on the Ortega.
"Linda? Linda, are you there?" Jessie asked.
I am. What are you doing here? How did you get here? Who are your friends?
"Later…Linda, is it true? Has Dad died?" David asked. The others held their breaths, as did the digimon.
Died? Not to my knowledge. Why?
"We saw him… then it's safe to assume Uncle D and Ami are also fine?"
To my knowledge, yes.
The twins turned pale, and fell into each other's arms, crying. The other digidestined were glad for their friends, and congratulated them."They're fine… they're just fine"," the twins cried. Then, David's head lifted from his sister's shoulder.
"Who could have put that TV there?" he asked. The next moment, the two stared into each other's eyes. "Destroyers," the muttered. "That's why the portal was there as well," David added.
"MegaDetrumon was working for the Destroyers. But, I don't understand… the Wise One sent us to the digital world. Why would he send us into a trap?"
"Linda, what else has happened? Where are Uncle D and Ami? Why has she been given powers? HOW has she been given powers?"
That's right, you don’t know about that. The Wise One had a mission for Ami, to retrieve the Stone of Ages. Daphnix went with her.
"Info," David said, turning to a data screen embedded in the wall. The information scrolled over the screen at a pace the digidestined couldn't even see that it was composed of letters. "They fell for it," David said.
"Divide et Conquera," Jessie muttered. "I HATE it when Caesar's used against us!" David's ki welled up in flames along his body.
"Now they've gone too far!" he screamed, his fist hitting the wall. A dent appeared.
"What does that mean? Divide et conquera?" Matt asked.
"Divide and conquer. It means splitting up a team, and hitting them one at a time."
"No wonder… first the Wise One got us, then D and Ami, and finally Mom and dad were split up. Sorcerer was thrown in, possibly in the hopes of him and Dad getting into a huge fight. Jess, let's go. Dad's at 705."
The rage the two children felt got the digi-eggs to hatch, and the cute things that got from them soon digivolved to Bémon and Baymon.
"First, come with us," David said, running to a turbolift. The others followed, not understanding a word of what the kids had just said. Soon, they emerged form the turbolift near a cargo bay. The doors slid open, and the digidestined, as well as their partners, stared at the plants inside. David and Jessie soon harvested about a hundred beans.
"Here," they said, handing out eighteen of the beans, to each of the digidestined and their digimon. "They'll replenish your strength, as well as heal you."
The group swallowed their beans, indeed feeling as if the world had been lifted off their shoulders. The twins asked their friends to stay behind, to no avail, of course. So it came that ten digidestined and ten digimon squeezed into Sorcerer's small craft, on a course for 705.
The small craft entered orbit around the planet mere seconds later. Everyone stared at the barren rock that was earth705, but it was Izzy who asked, "What is THAT?"
"What's what?" David asked, looking over his shoulder at the brown-haired boy.
"That strange phenomenon blocking sunlight," he answered, pointing at a strange occurrence between Earth and the sun. Jessie and David grew pale.
"Dad's using the Oech-anya combat transformation. It always causes a solar eclipse. This is urgent…" David whispered. After checking with the Daedalus, the transporters in the emergency craft, coupled to the ones on the Daedalus, transported the entire group down to the surface, close to the battle. David and Jessie had instructed both smaller vessels to erect a shield around the group of digidestined. They didn't want their friends to get hurt.
The scene down on the surface surprised the new arrivals even more. The planet was completely devoid of life, and the eclipse stood high up on the sky. The small ring of the corona plunged the entire scene in a ghostly twilight. Bathing in the light were two warriors, locked in mortal combat.
"Dad!" David shouted.
"Daddy!" Jessie added. Sorceric just nodded in their direction when he found a second to do so, and returned to the fight immediately.
"This is not good," David whispered. "He's fused with Sorcerer, yet it's still not even. That bitch has the upper hand, and she's just toying with him!"
"I noticed," Jessie whispered back. "Vogumon, Durumon, our turn."
David and Jessie crouched, and allowed the rage in their hearts to exit the confines they had erected around it. The golden glow of ki soon framed their young bodies as their hair turned golden, and their eyes turned turquoise. The rush of energy blasted through the digivices directly into the digimon. MetalDragomon and WarRaptormon immediately engaged the woman, taking her completely by surprise. As WarRaptormon held the woman impaled, MetalDragomon bathed her in rivers of flame.
The twins, now turned Super, exhausted their entire reserve of power in a single blast. Sorceric turned his head to one side, and closed his eyes as it hit. The digimon, digidestined, and Super-twins had to do the same. After the blast had died out, they realized they had better plugged their ears as well. The screams of the woman had been terrifying in their volume alone.
But still, she got to her feet. The children, having exhausted their energy, grabbed for their Senzu beans. Unfortunately, their bodies had also been exhausted, not only from the blast, but also from fighting against MegaDetrumon, and the stress they had been under for the last four days. As such, the beans had little effect, and no amount of struggle would keep them Super.
Without the rush of Super-energy, the two giga-digimon dropped from their advanced states, and hurried out of the war zone, where Sorceric once again engaged the mysterious woman, who still hadn't identified herself.
The twins and their digimon hurried under the shield.
"There's nothing we can do… not even gigas could damage her sufficiently. Our digimon wouldn't stand a chance," Izzy said. David and Jessie just nodded in resignation.
"This one's up to Dad and Sorcerer," David whispered quietly, as he and his sister huddled together.
The twins had drained a lot of the woman's energy, however. Sorcerer had felt it the moment he had reengaged her. Her blocks were less powerful, her attacks less focused. He started powering a Super Bolt while first jumping over her sweeping leg, and then dodging under a couple of swings. Sorceric jumped back as she kicked at him. With the fury of a woman scorned, Mystery Woman launched at him, screaming.
By now, Sorceric's Super Bolt was ready, and he infused it with every last bit of magic and telekinetic enhancements he had. The Bolt hit her, and for a full second, nothing happened. The woman stared at Sorceric, who stared back at her. The digidestined's mouths feel open, as did the mouths of their digimon. Everyone stared at Mystery Woman, who started laughing, even though it was only for the last remaining tenth of a second. Then, her body was engulfed in a silent light, bathing the surrounding area in a light not even the sun's rays could hope to accomplish.
As silent as ever, the ground started shaking as the light now obscured the woman from view. A high-pitched whine was the first sound to accompany the Super Bolt's detonation. The whine was joined by a gust of wind, which was picked up speed. When the detonation bang sounded over the area, totally out of place as the light was already diminishing, the terrifying scream of the woman also became audible.
Mystery Woman was sitting on her knees, her beautiful armor covered in cracks and dents, her perfect skin now torn with bruises, cuts, and burn-marks. A tickle of blood ran from the right corner of her mouth. Smoke rose from her battered body, and her eyes now stood almost vacant. Sorceric knew her spirit had been broken. There was no reason for her to continue the fight. Sorceric closed his eyes as he felt himself split into separate entities once again.
Sorcerer wanted to finish her off, while Frederic had just one more question.
"Where are they?" the look in his eyes told Sorcerer that he could have his fun after the woman had answered the question. Mystery Woman's vacant eyes lifted, and met Frederic's. her battered right arm lifted, and pointed at a cave. The arm dropped, her head bent back down to stare at the ground, and Sorcerer's face twisted in rage as he was about to disintegrate her.
"Wait," Frederic said, putting a hand on Sorcerer's shoulder. Not in front of him, as a stopping manner. On his shoulder, indicating ti was merely a suggestion, and Sorcerer didn't have to follow it if he didn't want to. "Maybe we should make sure first."
"Fine. You check. I'll guard her."
Frederic nodded, and walked to the cave. He was inside, and saw the two Jennifers. Screaming out in pure joy, he raced towards them, cut their Divine bounds without too much difficulty, never giving a second thought to the fact that he was shredding Divine Steel as if it were paper. The two were led outside, where Sorcerer was still covering the Mystery Woman.
"She spoke the truth. Finish her," Frederic said, his voice cold as steel. His Jennifer stared at him. Sorcerer's Jennifer kept herself to one side, not wanting to bother her love right now. she recognized the look on his face. She did not want to give his mind anything else to cope with. Almost feeling jealous, she looked at Frederic and Jennifer. How they could cope with seeing each other under combat conditions, she would probably never know.
"Love?" Frederic's Jennifer asked. "What happened?"
A small portion of Frederic's seal dropped. He raised it almost instantly. Jennifer gasped. "You've been the Warrior for three days?" An almost invisible nod.
Sorcerer's hand twitched as power built up around it. Both Jennifers stared at it.
"Ki?" Jennifer asked Frederic. "You taught him the use of ki?"
"And Alter. He taught me magic." As she wanted to ask more, he silenced her with a single hand-motion, and gave her the small pouch of Senzu beans. Knowing what to do, she slipped a couple of beans into her mouth. Her wounds healed, and she released her death grip on his shoulders. She gave a couple of beans to her dimensional twin, healing the other woman as well.
Both Jennifers walked some space away from where Frederic was watching Sorcerer build up strength to disintegrate Mystery Woman.
"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, Third," a caped and hooded figure appeared right next to the woman, facing her side. The woman's head lifted, to look at the figure.
"Lord…Lord Second. Forgive me."
"Hah! Look at you! On your knees, waiting for your destruction! I should kill you myself!"
Frederic and Sorcerer were dismayed to see a hint of strength return to the woman's eyes. "Lord Second…please…"
"Please what, bitch? You had the easiest part! MegaDetrumon had
to kill off his brats," Second pointed to Frederic while continuing,
"and they turned Super on him. At least he got
them so far they had to go to the next level. And Daphnix and Ami are lost in
the
"Give me one more chance, Lord Second. I promise I won't fail!" her eyes had now regained all of their strength, and the two male warriors backed off slightly subconsciously. "Since the Divine Treaty will be cancelled shortly anyway, there is no reason for me to keep holding to it, correct, Lord Second?"
Second nodded his hooded head. Third got to her feet, and stared defiantly at the two male warriors. Her arms lifted into the air, palms wide open. the ground shook as clouds covered the skies. Moments later, it seemed to split open, and a beam of light engulfed her. Third screamed at the top of her lungs as Sorcerer and his Jennifer backed off even more. Frederic and Jennifer remained, staring at the spectacle. Sorcerer wondered whether he should be more surprised at what this Third was doing, or the fact that Frederic and Jennifer seemed to know what was going on.
Frederic lifted his arms, and screamed. A second beam of energy hit him moments later. Before he was completely engulfed, he turned to Jennifer. "Jenny…Love…I'm sorry…"
"I LOVE YOU!" she shouted at the engulfed figure. Frederic smiled, turned to Third, and screamed. The beam disappeared, as hers had disappeared as well.
"This is a battle between GODS," Frederic shouted. "If that's what you want, that's what you'll get!"
"Hah!" Third said back. "Your puny mind is already loosing its ground. You'll become addicted to the rush, and you'll never let it go!"
Frederic just snarled at her. He launched a beam of Divine Energy, with enough strength to literally shred a star to pieces. Third batted it out of the way, and Frederic was forced to deactivate it before it damaged anything else. This momentary lapse was all Third needed, as she launched at him, hitting him in the stomach with a couple of energy-enhanced punched and kicks.
As Frederic had feared, his lesser experience in these matters would be his downfall. He had no way of controlling this tremendous power, and they both knew it. he was literally shown all the corners of the universe as Third punched him around their new war-zone. Suddenly, the two combatants found themselves back on the planet they had started out.
"That's ENOUGH!" the Wise One said. On his right, another hooded figure had appeared, this one towering over a kneeled Second.
"Lord First," Third said, with fear in her voice. First walked up to Third, and pushed on her shoulders. Third knelt obediently.
"Do you actually think you could go Divine on the Gods' chosen champion, and we wouldn't know about it? Were you that foolish? I still don’t know what your plans were, but this was a grave miscalculation!" He walked to the woman's back, and pressed his index finger against the base of her skull. "For endangering the Divine Treaty, and for high treason, your punishment is death." The next moment, her head disintegrated. The headless corpse fell forward, decomposing rapidly. Soon, nothing but a headless skeleton remained.
"Now, about you… Since you've been kicked out of the Destroyers, I have no more authority over you," First said to Second. "Oh, well. I'll execute you anyway."
"Why not give him what he wanted so desperately? Let him fight them," the Wise One said, indicating Frederic and Sorcerer.
"Are you sure?" First whispered. "You know that he's at the top of the Destroyers… he's at least three times stronger than Third was, and you saw how much trouble they had with her."
"What are you two whispering about? And why are you helping us, anyway?" Frederic shouted, targeting the last at First.
"You insolent brat!" First shouted, his fist clenched. "If you really want to know, I don’t want war between the Destroyers and the Gods. As such, I am protecting the Divine Treaty, and don't think for one moment that I'm doing this to help you!"
"Fine," Frederic said back.
"Since he got kicked out of the Destroyers for conspiring against the First, he can't go level 2. It also means I have no more jurisdiction over him. His challenge is personal now, and none of my business," First continued, jerking his head to the still kneeling figure of Second. "In other words, it's none of my business, and I'm out of here." With those words, First disappeared.
"Good luck, Young Phalanx," the Wise One said, preparing to disappear as well.
"Wait!" David suddenly shouted, running up to the Wise One. "He was in on it!"
"In on what?" Frederic asked, suddenly very suspicious of the Wise One. If there was one thing he had learned over the years, it was that he trusted friends and family over Gods any time.
"He sent me and Jessie to the digital world to fight MegaDetrumon! It was he who placed that TV there…"
"TV?" Frederic asked. "David, we'll talk about this later. I think Second over there is getting impatient."
"Dad, listen, please! In the digital world, there was a TV that showed you…fighting…and dying. It also showed the deaths of Uncle D and Ami… It nearly destroyed us!"
Frederic's eyes narrowed. "Wise One? Is this true?"
"He sent Uncle D and Ami away too! Don't you see? Together, we're invincible, and he knows it! He used Caesar's tactics! Devide et Conquera!"
"You did say that there was no danger connected to D and Ami's mission. Why haven't they returned, and why did that TV show their death?" Frederic asked the Wise One, advancing on the God.
"I did what, Young Phalanx? I never sent the children to the digital world, or ask for Daphnix and Ami to go somewhere."
"He's lying!" David screamed. "We first thought that the destroyers arranged the whole thing, but that didn't make sense. If they had, why would the Wise One have sent Daphnix and Ami away? If something really was going down, he would have sent all of you! Sending us after MegaDetrumon I can accept. It was needed. But according to Linda's files, you sent Daphnix and Ami to retrieve the Stone of Ages, in order to beat the Destroyers. If that mission really was that vital, you would have asked Mom and Dad to accompany Ami as well!"
Frederic stared at his son, and slowly looked up, to the Wise One. "Wise One?" Frederic's voice stood dangerous. It was obvious whom he believed. "That all makes sense. Please, tell me, if you really had nothing to do with this, why did you split us up?"
"I didn't, Young Phalanx! I knew the children were gone, and that Daphnix and Ami were gone, but I had no idea where. There are other things that require our attention, we can't watch you every minute of every day!"
Frederic was now beginning to doubt his sanity. Who should he believe? Right now, logic told him that David was right, and that the Wise One was lying though his teeth to get away from Frederic's wrath. Out of the corner of his eyes, Frederic saw Second move. A quick glance showed him a grin on the Second's face.
"You…" he suddenly whispered, turning to the Second. "You had something to do with this."
"You figured it out," second said, spreading his arms. "Sure took you long enough." His form shimmered, and was replaced by an appearance identical to the Wise One's. Abruptly, the appearance shifted back to his old form.
"You BASTARD!" Frederic grunted, advancing on Second. "You split us up, attacked us, sent an Assassin after us, and now you mock us?"
"And why not? You're weak, and you don't stand a chance. You barely got Third, and I'm five times stronger than she was!"
Frederic Altered, turned Super-4, and charged. Second was blasted backwards, laughing insanely. He crashed through a couple of mountain ranges, before returned to the fighting location.
"Oh my, that was fun. Do it again!" Second sneered. Frederic powered a ki ball, and threw it at the Second, who simply sidestepped, and allowed the ball of energy to disintegrate the mountain range behind him. Frederic stared at the man before him, and let his thoughts race. There was no way he would be able to get him… not in his present form. Something flashed, jumping out of the jumble that was his long-term memory. He remembered something…something ancient, 250 years old.
Bulma had told Shadow about the Saiyan super-form, and Vegeta's ability to control that form's emergence. Under the full moon a Saiyan would turn into a huge ten-meter tall ape-like being. There were two rules connected to it: one, the Saiyan needed his tail, and two only the light of a full moon could bring it out. Shadow had learned that Vegeta could create an artificial moon by using his ki.
<<We're not going to get him like this. Listen, if I loose control, cut off my tail.>>
"TAIL?" Sorcerer shouted, looking flabbergasted at Frederic.
However, Frederic's mind had already locked up. His Alter Armor created a hole at his tailbone, and a brown furry tail emerged through the hole. Frederic's face stood impassive as he told Second,
"You wanted to destroy us. You split up my family, hurt my children, hurt and kidnapped my wife. You attacked me, and sent an Assassin after me. And when that wasn't enough, you sent your second in command after me." Frederic's voice was normal. No shouting, anger, coldness, or anything like that. A small smile crept into the corners of his mouth, and Second seriously began to doubt the sanity of the person in front of him.
Frederic's right hand came up to chest height, palm facing upwards. A white sphere of ki appeared in it. Without a single muscle twitching, the ball was thrown into the skies. The battlefield, until now illuminated only by the weak light coming from the eclipsed sun's corona, was now lighted by the light of the fake-moon sphere.
Still not looking up, Frederic took a couple of steps forward. "But before I pull the big guns, I will show you just what I am capable of." Frederic's form shimmered, and Shadow appeared, standing in his place. The Alter Armor shifted with them. Frederic’s Alter Armor hid his body, and was a flat black in color. Shadow’s hugged her curves tightly, and was a shiny metallic black.
Something clicked in Sorcerer's mind. When fighting the Wardroid, Frederic had shifted to Shadow, too… and if there was one thing Sorcerer feared more than Frederic, it was the maniacal female warrior. Shadow crossed her eyes, and rolled her tail around her waist. She never questioned its appearance, nor its origins. She just accepted it.
"You force me to go against my wishes. As such, I am scorned. You have hurt people I care about. As such, I am outraged. You impersonated the Wise One. As such, language is insufficient to describe my feelings."
Second smiled at her. "Fancy talk. What do you hope to accomplish? Scare me?"
"Die," Shadow said, voice even. Second stared back at her, still smiling. When he saw a purple stick appear in her hand, he frowned slightly.
"Cute stick, baby. What? So scared you're going kid on me?"
"Earth Star Power," Shadow screamed at the top of her lungs. For someone who had been taught Sindel's Sonic Scream, top volume was loud. Very Loud. The very scream seemed to take substance, forcing Second to take a step back. "Make-Up!" Shadow finished. Seconds later, Sailor Earth stared at Second, gaze at 'full power'. Immediately, the Alter took over, shifting the warriors into Alter-Sailor Earth mode.
"Now What? Open your legs and fuck me to death?"
Don't insult the outfit… Sorcerer thought. Big mistake, pal.
"Spectral Annihilator Blast!" Shadow shouted, disappearing from view. Again, her body would be beaten terribly as she accelerated to near-light speed. "Temporal acceleration!" she shouted as her powers went to full strength, either accelerating her, or protecting her body.
Shadow led the drag-wave as she raced towards Second, who looked rather impressed at the moment. Suddenly, his hand rose so fast no one saw it move. Of course, no one saw Shadow either. That is, not until she appeared flat on her back to Second's side.
"He knocked her aside!" Sorcerer shouted. Second's hand was bleeding, obviously broken, and his body was now wracked by the drag-wave, but the most damage had been averted. He was still standing, and in not too bad shape.
Shadow, on the other hand, wasn't moving. A grunt escaped her lips, and her eyes opened. She knew what was to happen. Purposely, she looked up into the sky, staring directly at the fake moon that still adorned the skies. Another grunt escaped her lips, but it was a grunt of triumph this time.
Sorcerer's face twisted in disgust when he saw Shadow's body change. Second wasn't much better, as he actually turned pale at the sigh of the small woman shift into the large ape-like monster that was the Saiyan super-form. The huge ape roared, clenching its massive fists as it howled at the full moon.
The ape leered at Second, who backed off, fear striking his face. Still with a look of disgust on his face, he asked, "What are you?"
The ape roared, and a massive white beam of pure energy leapt form its mouth directly at Second.
"That thing makes our digimon look like lapdogs," Izzy commented.
"No kidding… That thing is one of the most powerful fighting machines in every universe," David whispered back. "Remember that fighter race, the Saiyans? Well, that's their form when they look at the full moon. Entire worlds have been conquered by just one such creature."
Second dodged the breath weapon again and again, all the while trying to escape the hug monster's paws. When he wasn't so lucky as to dart aside in time, the monkey batted him into a surviving mountain range with the back of his hand, followed immediately after by a blast from the breath weapon. The mountains disintegrated, taking Second with it.
Or so they had hoped. With a roar, Second made a reappearance, drawing an Evil Blade from somewhere. "That's it!" he shouted. "No more nice guy! I'm going to gut you alive!"
The monkey roared, and batted at the man, who jumped out of the way of the large hand. "You didn't have a tail before," Second shouted. "Yet you created one along with the fake moon. My theory is that you need that thing to transform. Rah, rah. What'll happen when I cut it off?" Second taunted, continuously dodging. Suddenly, he was at the back of the monkey, and aimed for the tail.
"NO!!" Sorcerer and the Jennifers shouted at the same time as they saw the tail shrink, and land on the ground. The monkey screamed, its size diminishing rapidly. Shadow found herself staring at Second from almost the same level.
"Fuck," she grunted.
"Oh, yes. I'll fuck you," Second said, launching at Shadow.
Shadow's body twisted, jerking herself out of the way as the man approached. The fight raged once more, the man attacking Shadow, who was now wielding both Swords of the Phalanx. It was obvious to everyone that she was losing ground rapidly, and Sorcerer decided to once again butt in. The two warriors were still pressed on the defensive, their combined strength not enough to overcome Second's tremendous power.
The three combatants were almost completely gone from the spectator's visions, their speed simply too great to follow. Suddenly, two things hit the ground directly in front of the shield surrounding the digidestined, and the two Jennifers. Frederic's Jennifer desperately wanted to join in, but she was keeping under the shield for the same reason as her children were: not enough strength, or reserves. Direct Flow provided them with infinite ki, but the only way to recharge their bodies was through sleep, or regeneration. And neither Jennifer nor the twins wanted to try either option.
Frederic, now having reclaimed his body, struggled from the pit he had made while falling. Sorcerer struggled up as well.
"This is not going good," Frederic grunted.
"Tell me about it," Sorcerer said. Both warriors stared at Second, who was almost in tip-top shape. It was obvious that this battle was taking its toll on him, but he looked generally in better shape than Frederic and Sorcerer.
"We need to try something," Frederic said.
"Great idea. Let's tickle him to death."
"You take his sides, I'll take his feet," Frederic shot back. "Any other bright ideas?"
"We could make a peashooter out of these peas, and this hollow stick," Sorcerer grunted.
"Ladies, ladies… shall I ask for coffee?" Second asked, bringing them back to reality.
"Sure, and some crumpets," Frederic said.
"Two sugars for me," Sorcerer answered. Second stared at both warriors, dumbstruck. This was exactly what the two had hoped to accomplish, and before he knew it, Second was covered by four blades. He defended himself, but the loss of momentum had made him vulnerable. Now that they had it, the two warriors weren't about to give up their upper hand, so they pressed on.
Unfortunately for them, Second managed to regain his balance, and avoided most of their attacks, and even managed to counterattack. Again, Frederic and Sorcerer found themselves thrown backwards.
"Sorceric?" Frederic asked.
"Can't do it… too separated," Sorcerer grunted. Frederic realized his companion was right. The fighting had drained each differently, and their power levels were now incompatible.
"And Shadow can't merge with Jenny…Shadow's been hit, Jenny's been drained from her ordeal. They're incompatible too," Frederic told Sorcerer.
******
Day seven, 1300 hours Universe 576 Japanese time, location: Phalanx Star Ship Ortega, Bridge.
"They're fighting…" Daphnix muttered. "And according to these logs, Sorcerer and Fred have teamed up, and things have just progressed from bad to worse from there. Jenny's been hurt and kidnapped, and Sorcerer and Fred have had to train each other over the last few days. We have to go now. Linda, engage on course to 705, full power."
Course plotted. Engaging.
Moments later, Daphnix and Ami found themselves on a planet resembling Faust, or a scene from Dante's Inferno. Frederic and Sorcerer were just about dead, and Daphnix knew it. Grabbing the object in his backpack, he briefly remembered barging into the room, and demanding to speak to the stone…to demand where it had found the ultimate gall to hurt Ami like that. He could suppress a smile at the memory of the Stone of Ages being dumbstruck by Daphnix, and more importantly, his reason.
Not because the Stone didn't want to help, but because of the fact that he had been curt to the girl. The Stone had respected that, and had agreed to help out, but just this once. Daphnix had carefully removed the Stone, which had a narrow pyramidal shape.
"Fred! Catch!" Daphnix shouted, throwing the Stone of Ages to his friend, who expertly caught it.
"Uncle D!" David and Jessie burst at their uncle, hugging him. "We were so worried, and when you didn't show up…" Jessie said. She released her uncle, and looked at Ami. Smiling widely, the girl threw herself in Ami's arms.
"And I guess this is 'welcome to the family', right Auntie Ami?"
David hugged Ami as well, laughing. "Please, you make me feel so old!" Ami protested. "Just keep calling me Ami, ok?"
"Ok," the twins promised. "Auntie," Jessie whispered behind the girl's back, causing brother and sister a small laughing fit.
"Gods…" Frederic whispered as he held the Stone in both his hands, and stared into the brilliant white light that was suddenly radiating from it. "Yes…" Frederic whispered. "I see…" Frederic let go of the Stone, allowing it to float freely between his hands. Slowly, he brought his hands up to above his head, and the Stone rose with them. Standing in an X-shape, arms and legs outstretched, the Stone shone brilliantly above Frederic's head.
"Ancient Plate!
Second's eyes went wide open. Impossible! I've never heard of an ancient plate battle garb! What magic is this?
The ground started shaking, and for moments it appeared that he no longer was on the planet. To anyone who looked at him, from whatever angle, there was no background, just inky darkness. Out of nowhere, a large ring of an unknown metal rotated around his body. To anyone looking, the same impression was formed. An impression of age. Everyone realized in their deepest subconscious that this was older than the Gods or Destroyers, older than the universe itself. Energy ran over Frederic's body, starting at the tips of his outstretched fingers, his toes, and the top of Frederic's head. as the energy made its way to the center of Frederic's body, it left armor in its wake.
As soon as it had all started, it ended. The magical effects died out, and
Frederic was left behind, dressed in an armor of unknown design and
characteristics. It was black, with dark blue-gray joints. The reversed narrow
pyramid shape on his chest seemed to come directly from the
The handle had changed to the same bluish gray as the joints of the armor, and the blade was pitch black, emitting no light or aura of its own, but rather seemed to suck light into it. The black ki-aura of Super level four had gone as well. Instead, the air around Frederic seemed to vibrate as if a great heat was being emitted from his body.
"The power of the Ancient Phalanx runs through my veins, Second! With his strength and wisdom, I shall overcome your evil, and restore balance to the omniverse. You are a threat to that balance, and as such, you shall die."
Second backed off from Frederic, having no idea what to do now. "Im…impossible! I never heard of this! Who or what are you? Why couldn't you just have destroyed each other?"
The great helmet on Frederic's head obscured his eyes from view, yet Second could feel them burning into the depths of his soul.
"I am Frederic Fromthefield," Frederic just said. "Imbued with the power of the Stone of Ages… the sole survivor of the Ancient Race that lived before the birth of this omniverse, over 20 billion years ago."
"Impossible! Nothing existed before then!"
"Your beliefs are irrelevant! This conversation is over! Die! Spectral Disintegrator Volley!"
"Wha…" Second managed before Frederic disappeared. He didn't need protection. The armor would protect him sufficiently. It was linked to his mental powers, so his telekinetic powers were out. He accelerated to 99% lightspeed. Knowing that Second had bested this once before, eh called his last remaining trump card.
"Kao Ken times one thousand!" Frederic shouted, right before he shifted into Shadow, and shouted, "Temporal Acceleration!"
On his planet, King Kai jerked from the chair he had been relaxing in. Fear radiated from his entire body.
"Shadow…NO!!! You can't go over 20! Your body can't handle that much stress!"
On Earth700, everyone stared at the sky, not believing what they felt.
"What a HUGE power!" Goku shouted.
"That's Shadow!" Krillin managed. "But she's not even in this universe!"
"WHAT??" Tien and Chao Tsu brought out. "What…power!"
On 705, Shadow was still accelerating. Under the influence of ancient forces she didn't understand, her fury literally ripped through the fabric of space-time, shredding the laws of physics as if they were written on a thin sheet of paper. Traveling at speeds that were faster than light, Shadow hit Second dead-on. The next moment, she decelerated, and appeared unharmed behind Second's back.
Slowly, she turned around, and saw everyone staring at the very line shadow had traveled. It was plainly visible, a bluish-white trail where the laws of physics no longer applied, and where literally anything was possible. It was slowly sealing itself, but not before Second sunk to the ground, and started to literally disintegrate. Time and space were taking their toll on the former Second of the Destroyers as he was slowly being ripped into sub-atomic particles, and scattered in the void Shadow's FTL flight had left behind. Slowly, Shadow sunk to the ground, the Ancient Armor leaving her.
******
Day seven, 1500 hours Universe 576 Japanese time, location: Phalanx Star Ship Ortega, Frederic's quarters.
"So, what happens now?" Sorcerer asked.
"I'll let you return to your world, as long as you keep out of trouble," Frederic answered. Sorcerer looked at his Jennifer, and both smiled gratefully at him.
"Too bad the Stone of Ages returned so soon," Jessie said for what must have been the millionth time. "There was so much we could have learned form it."
Frederic shook his head. "We're not ready. I know…I touched it when it helped me. But it did leave the specs of that armor in my mind, so I might be able to make us a decent suit of armor. If I can get the Gods to cooperate. Ancient Steel is even harder to forge than Divine Steel."
"If," Daphnix said. "Who knows?"